Helen Corlett Higgins died peacefully on Aug. 22, 2022, at age 97.She and her husband Charles Wheaton Higgins (deceased 2015) raised four children, Charlie (Abby Huntoon), Beth (Rick Ramsson), Tom (Lucy) and Cathy (Tom Kamm). She was Nana to Sarah,…

Robert “Bob” Deets, 69, of Fennville, MI passed away peacefully, surrounded by family on Aug. 5, 2022.Born Aug. 17, 1962, Bob had a gift of engaging in meaningful conversation; thoughtful, precise and caring. A loving man, he was always there…

By Scott SullivanEditorEnergyTwenty-four hours is a long time to stay alert riding tandem bike loops around Belle Isle. Sights, other bikers, spinning wheels, meal stops, varied becomes familiar. My friends’ crash convinced them this day and night’s ride was over.Mitchell,…

Frank Banko, who claims he grew up in Cleveland near “Polka King Frankie Yankovic,” loves busking near Saugatuck’s downtown Butler Street Rose Gaden, offering accordion polka standards, French tunes evoking the Left Bank of Paris and more. He plied his…

By Scott SullivanEditorLocal developer Dave Barker, scheduled for arraignment Sept. 8 on three felony allegations, is proposing a 90-unit Forest Gate condominiums on 13 acres at 485 Ferry St. west of the former Haworth plant and north of Northern Lights…

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor BUCHANAN—Junior Will Doucette had an impressive opening game for the Saugatuck football team.Carrying the ball 13 times, Doucette racked up 181 rushing yards—an average of 13.9 yards per carry—and three touchdowns against host Buchanan on Thursday,…

     JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, also wrote the script for a play, and later a movie, he called The Old Lady Shows her Medals.  It is set right after World War One in London.  The plot is disarmingly simple: an…

It’s so great to be a taxpayer in the United States. Our government continues to pile on the middle class with new tax after new tax.Now we are being told we must contribute to the $500 billion slush fund that…

By Scott SullivanEditorRenaissance“Janice Bleil made a pile right in the middle of Belle Isle,” kids teased my mom growing up in 1940s Detroit, last name from a father she never saw.I saw 982-acre Belle Isle in 1984 crewing for Mitchell…

Pickleball’s popularity, per Sports and Fitness Industry Association spokesperson Laur Futterman, makes it the fastest-growing sport in America, as witness players such as the forehand-whacking aficianado pictured here on the eight courts at Douglas’s Schultz Park. (Photo by Scott Sullivan)

By Scott SullivanEditorNick Wikar has been fired as Douglas planner and zoning administrator, leaving both the city and neighbor Saugatuck seeking new help at that position.Wikar, who replaced Lisa Imus as planner/ZA in March 2020, left after an Aug. 15…

There are worse things than a dog’s life packed by a pet person to peruse Saugatuck’s Water Street. (Photo by Scott Sullivan)

Of all the conditions or diseases, one might encounter, Alzheimer’s/dementia is in my opinion the worst.Many of us know a mother, father or a close relative that has suffered from this disease that saps almost all memory from a person.…

   Play, we are told, is the work of children.  Einstein wrote that when children play it is the beginning of all research. A classic example that philosophy might be the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  As a youngster his mother sat…

To the editor, The mission of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center is to preserve local history and inspire learning to inform and improve our community. We are a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the stories of the people of…

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR It wasn’t musical chairs but close Aug. 10 as the Saugatuck Township Board: • Accepted supervisor Cindy Osman’s resignation and appointed her full-time building official/assistant zoning administrator; • Named clerk Abby Bigford supervisor to replace Osman;…

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Saugatuck City Council has hired Frank Walsh Municipal Services to seek candidates for three city positions, two old ones combined plus a new one. A new combined zoning administrator and project manager, combining jobs recently vacated…

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR New Saugatuck High School and home school graduates Cai Hesse and Lucy Alexander respectively have been awarded $1,000 Mill Pond Realty “Follow Your Dreams” scholarships based on essays written. Hesse, daughter of Jeani and Doug Hesse…

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorGraduation took a serious toll on Saugatuck’s roster, with 12 members of the 2021 squad now done with high school.That, however, doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare for coach Bill Dunn, who is entering his 20th season…

Phillip Lawrence Wightman, 81 of Fennville, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022, at his home.Born Feb. 1, 1941, in Douglas, he was the son of the late Chester and Hilda (Stein) Wightman and the husband of Fae Ann (Christensen)…