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

SPRING FESTIVAL

Saturday, May 19, 2012 9am - 3pm

Support your Civic Association!! This is our ONLY fund-raiser.

CAR SHOW!!

Another Car Show—of classic and antique cars—will take place on the boulevard. You won’t want to miss this amazing display of some of Detroit’s finest products. If you have a car to show, pick up a registration form at the Lamont Post Office, or call Jim (677-5502).

CHICKEN BBQ!!

The Lamont Church will be serving a delicious chicken BBQ lunch. Since this is so popular, you’ll want to get in line early. Hot dogs will also be available. This is a great way to support your Civic Association.

327 Pizza will also be selling pizza and pork sandwiches.

CHILDRENS INFLATABLES!!

Kids just LOVE the Bounce House—and Climbing Wall. Both are back—and FREE as well. Bring the kids! Enjoy the day!

CRAFT SALE!!

There will be an Arts & Crafts Sale throughout the day—with lots of unique and interesting items. Browse all the shops—buy something for yourself or a gift for someone else. Support your local crafters. If you are interested in setting up your own display, contact Jenna Zemaitis (677-0155).

RIVER CRUISES!!

The Grand Lady is returning to Lamont. See Lamont from the river! If you’ve already cruised the peaceful Grand, you’ll want to do it again. Cruises start at: noon, 1:00PM & 2:00PM. Tickets will be sold all morning at the Information Tent. There will be a bus shuttle from the church to the boat landing—for your convenience. Cost is only $5 (adults), $3 (age 6-12), children (5 and under) are free. It will be a memorable experience—and another great way to support your Civic Association.

FOUR NEW EVENTS THIS YEAR:

BAND CONCERT!!

Members of the Coopersville High School Band will provide a free concert beginning at 10:30AM. This will take place outdoors—weather permitting. If necessary, the concert will move inside the Lamont Church.

BIKE DECORATING CONTEST & PARADE!!

Calling all kids! Decorate your bike anyway you want, and bring it to the festival. At 11:30AM, there will be a brief “parade” in the church parking lot. Prizes will be awarded in various categories (most original, beautiful, or patriotic).

PUNT, PASS & KICK COMPETITION!!

Loosen up your throwing arm and kicking leg! Beginning at 1:00PM, competition will begin in several age categories—including an adult group. Prizes will be awarded for the highest overall scores.

PETTING ZOO!!

The Meerman farm will be providing a variety of farm animals to see and to pet. Bring all the kids! Let them enjoy “getting up close and personal” with these friends from the animal world.

BOULEVARD CLOSED... For the safety of all those attending the Festival, the Leonard St. boulevard will be CLOSED from 7:30AM to 4:00PM. All “through traffic” will be detoured to Johnson St. Plenty of PARKING will be available in a large field on the north side of Leverette St.—between 42^nd & 44^th Ave.—as well as on local streets. No parking will be allowed on the south side of Leverette St.—to allow for emergency traffic. If you live in the village of Lamont, the Civic Association appreciates your understanding as we attempt to safely handle these traffic concerns. You are responsible for blocking your own driveway—to prevent cars from parking either in them, or in front of them.

SUPPORT YOUR CIVIC ASSOCIATION ... COME TO THE FESTIVAL ... Tell your friends!

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.

NEXT BOARD MEETING...

The Civic Association’s next Board Meeting will be Wednesday, June 6, 6:30pm, at the Lamont Christian Reformed Church.

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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.