The Lamont

Civic Association

PO Box 1   -   Lamont, MI  49430

Board:

President: Ron Meyer / Former President: Betty Kingma  /

Treasurer:  Donna Kramer / Secretary: Betty Busman

 About the association

 

 Mission Statement: 

To promote the quality of life in the community by sustaining and promoting the living conditions in the village of Lamont. Activities include decorating the boulevard with Christmas lights, cleaning and maintaining the boulevard and organizing various community social meetings.


The association was formed in 1958.  The objective then was:
  • To sustain and improve living conditions in the Village of Lamont
  • To protect the natural beauty of the village and promote future projects to maintain and improve its streets and parks
  • To cooperate with Church and School groups.
  • To promote safety programs pertaining to traffic and pedestrian safety, fire prevention, etc.
  • To arrange and maintain decorations at Christmas time

    The Association maintains this philosophy yet today.  The Lamont Civic Association has recently been filed as a non-profit charitable organization, and as such all donations made to the Associations will be tax deductible.

The Association puts up the Christmas lights and luminaries in the boulevard every winter, maintains the boulevard, puts up flags lining the boulevard in the summer.  We also try to sponsor various community socials.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

LAMONT SPRING FESTIVAL

click here for   

print out of activities  

 

Saturday, May 18, 2013   from 9am - 3pm

(most activities will take place on the grounds of the Lamont Church)

COME ONE!  COME ALL!  Come to the FOURTH ANNUAL LAMONT SPRING FESTIVAL.  Residents of Lamont, invite your friends to join you for the day.  There will be wonderful activities for all ages.  Grandparents, share a day of fun and entertainment with your grandchildren.  What a grand opportunity to meet old friends!!

INFORMATION TENT  (located just east of the church)

--Get directions.  Ask questions.

--Get your River Cruise tickets here.

--Watch the 175th Anniversary DVD—or pur-chase one for yourself.

--Check out the engraved bricks which will be for sale someday to create a memorial to the old Lamont School in the new park on Leverette St.

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT (10am-2pm)

A variety of local musicians will be performing on the parking lot.  Entertainers will include some of those from Jam Night at the Coopersville Farm Museum.

CHICKEN BBQ (11am-2pm)

This delicious chicken dinner makes it worth coming to the Festival by itself.  Prepared by Rex & Carmen Schierbeek, it is SO GOOD!  Get in line early.  Don’t miss this Lamont ‘favorite’!  Hot dogs will also be available

Also for your eating pleasure:  delicious PIZZA from “327 of Coopersville” and frozen yogurt or ice cream.

RIVER CRUISE (11am, noon, & 1pm)

Again the Grand Lady will provide a delightful & peaceful hour-long cruise on the Grand River.  Cost is only $6 (adults), $3 (youth 6-12), children 5 & under are free.  This year you can reserve your tickets in advance—by sending a check payable to Lamont Civic Association, 13695 Deer Creek Lane, Coopersville, MI  49404.  (Be sure to indicate which cruise you prefer.)

BIKE PARADE (1:00PM)

Again this year:  we will have a children’s bike decorating contest and bike parade.  The theme of this year’s bike parade is:  “Favorite Things of Summer.”  Prizes will be awarded in two age groups:  up to 5 years old and 6-12 years old.  Prizes awarded in three categories:  most creative, most colorful, and patriotic.  The decorated bikes will be judged at 1:00PM—and the parade will take place immediately afterwards.

BEAN BAG TOSS TOURNAMENT

New this year:  you can try your hand at the Bean Bag Toss.  Practice for free in the morning (9A-noon).  For a small fee you can register to compete in the tournament which will begin at noon.  Just show up and sign up.  It’s fun.

CAR SHOW (all day)

Classis & antique cars & trucks—some of Detroit’s finest—will be on display on the boulevard throughout the Festival.  Last year’s event drew over 100 of these beauties for your admiration.  You can register YOUR car by contacting Jim Storteboom (481-4189 or E: jimboom@chartermi.net).  Also on display:  some pieces of World War II MILITARY equipment that will provide an enriching visual history lesson.

TRACTOR SHOW (all day)

New this year:  Antique & restored tractors—some from area tractor clubs—will be available for your inspection & admiration on the old school grounds.  If you have a tractor that you’d like to display, contact John Wells (677-1662 or 498-3115 or E: johnwells7@aol.com).

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES (all day)

 Always favorites among the children are the Bounce House and Rock Climb/Slide.  And it’s FREE!  Jump, climb and slide as often as you want!

ARTS & CRAFTS SALE (all day)

A whole new set of crafters will be displaying their wares this year on the parking lot.  Do you need that special “one-of-a-kind” gift?  This is the place!

If you are an interested crafter, or would like more information, contact Heidi Parcher (635-7065 or E: the_parcher_house@yahoo.com).

HISTORIC HOME TOUR (all day)

The house that all admire—on the NE corner of Leonard St. & 42nd Ave.—will be available to tour—and it’s FREE.  Hoping to host a Bed & Breakfast someday, Becky Hall & her mother (Dar Stoffer) will gladly show you around.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Several individuals are needed throughout the day to help with traffic flow and parking or monitor the children’s activities—in two-hour shifts.  Others are needed to set up the barricades, tables & chairs (on Friday afternoon/evening) and to take them down (Saturday afternoon).  If you are willing to “give a little of your time” to your community, contact Ron Meyer (E: rmeyer@lamontcrc.org or 558-4320).

NEW PARK UPDATE

Progress has been slow on the new park.  Your Civic Association has received a couple of grants from the Youth Committee of the Coopersville Area Community Foundation for playground equipment.  Two initial pieces—a swing set and monkey bars—have been ordered and will be installed this spring.  A few picnic tables will also be placed in the park in the near future.

A SPECIAL “THANK YOU” to the following people who generously donated to our end-of-the-year fund-raising drive:  Tim & Deb Smith, Mark Patterson, Kelly & Katie Clark, Stuart & Elizabeth Kingma, Frank & Mary Krause, Jean De Vries, Carol Lundquist, and Jim & Joan Terpstra.  Additional gifts are always welcome—and will be used for continuing park development.  Do you know of a former student of the Lamont School or a friend that might want to enhance the village with a park for children?  Tell them about this worthy cause.  Your Civic Association is eager to see this vision develop into reality.

THE BOULEVARD WILL BE CLOSED from 7:30AM till 4:00PM on the day of the Festival so that all can safely enjoy all of the activities.  (We apologize for any inconvenience which this may cause some of our local residents, but all county road commission and township regulations must be followed to ensure everyone’s safety.)  Please park on Leverette St.—one block north of the Lamont boulevard.

NEWS

OLD LAMONT SCHOOL...

In December, 2010, the building, along with three acres of property, was purchased (for $10) from the Coopersville Area Public Schools.  More than fifty years ago—when the Lamont School consolidated with the Coopersville Public Schools, there was a “gentlemen’s agreement” that the property and building would revert to Lamont—if CPS ever discontinued using them for educational purposes.  Since 2006 when CPS vacated the building, the Lamont Civic Association has been requesting the transfer of the property so that a community park could be created on that site.  After obtaining its “tax-exempt” status in 2010, the Civic Association was successful in obtaining this wonderful property.

Prior to this transaction, the Civic Association obtained the promise of a generous gift—called “Seed Money”—for the initial development of the park.  In addition, a couple of grants—from the Coopersville Area Foundation—were applied for, and received:  one for picnic tables and another for the initial phase of playground equipment.

As spring approached, the Civic Association began dismantling items in the old school that could be reused by local residents.  An auction was conducted on April 30 in which approximately $1500 was raised for future park development.  Items included used building materials—doors, windows, shelving, lights, ceiling tiles, bathroom fixtures, antique coat hooks, a furnace, stove, hot water heater, AC units, the handicap ramp, maple flooring and many smaller items. 

After the auction, a couple of areas of asbestos were professionally abated.  This was a costly necessity—given environmental quality regulations.

Also, the cupola has been removed for the purpose of renovation.  Lifetime resident Betty Busman and her two sisters have pledged to underwrite the cost of this renovation—with a view toward it becoming a memorial in the new park to their parents.

The Bata Corporation of Grand Rapids donated a park bench to the Civic Association—made entirely out of recycled plastic—which will be place under the humongous maple tree at the edge of the woods.

Meanwhile, Bill Stehouwer has been voluntarily mowing the grass to keep our newly acquired property—and future park—looking good.

Demolition of the old Lamont School finally happened in the month of November.  It took an entire week:  one day to remove the “super-structure,” two days to remove the basement and cement foundation, and another two days to haul nearly 400 yards of sand to fill the hole and grade the area.  This is a major step forward in the creation of a community park.

The Civic Association is already working with a landscape designer to create a “Master Plan” for the park—including a pavilion for picnic tables, a memorial to the old school, a hiking path through the trees, a possible volleyball court, and playground.  Gifts toward this community project would be appreciated—and are tax-deductible.
OPEN LETTER TO THE
RESIDENTS OF LAMONT 		  click here 
 

NEXT BOARD MEETINGS...

The Civic Association’s next Board Meetings will be May 9, 2013 & June 6, 2013 7:00pm, at the Lamont Christian Reformed Church.

for a printed newsletter...

click here         

 

Lamont History 

Founded in 1835 

 

One of Michigan’s prettiest villages began almost by accident when, in 1833, two brothers, Henry and Zine Steele, headed by boat from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven, stopped to rest at a welcoming bend on the Grand River.  They never completed their journey.  Their picturesque stopping place, rolling hills, fertile fields, large stands of trees, and home to the Ottawa and Pottawanimi tribes, was what they were looking for.  Friends and family back home in New York State soon joined them and by 1835, Steele’s Landing—later named Lamont—had become a well-populated, thriving community.

At first accessible only by boats on the Grand River or horseback along the old Grand River Trail, by 1855 the village had become a regular steamboat and stagecoach stop, with two hotels, three general stores, hardware, furniture, and shoe stores, a tannery, a blacksmith shop, a grist mill, and a button factory.

Although its glory days are history, the little town on the hill above the bend in the river has lost none of the attributes that brought those pioneers to settle here.  Quiet, pretty as ever, Lamont on the Grand remains one of Michigan’s most charming villages.

YOUR BOARD

 

President: 

Former President: 

Secretary: 

Treasurer:

  

Board Members:

 

  Ron Meyer       w: 677-1323   c: 558-4320  email: rmeyer@lamontcrc.org

  Betty Kingma   h: 677-3246                      email: bkingma@charter.net

  Betty Busman  h: 677-5482                      email: bjbusman@gmail.com

  Donna Kramer  h: 677-3357                      email: dk4775@aol.com

 

Evelyn Boes, Carol Lundquist, Ron Luyk, Thelma Matthews, John Wells and Heidi Parcher.

     

All donations are tax deductible and can be made to:

  

The Lamont Civic Association

PO Box 1

Lamont,  MI  49430
  

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