Plymouth Area News by Joyce Steiner
Tried to mow a tree stump with my push mower and that did not work. Took it to Henry’s Service in Bowen and it works better than it ever did. Thanks.
We got 2 inches of rain on Monday. Think we got about 2 1/2 on Saturday so we were luckier than a lot of people. Noticed a lot of damage in Augusta. A large part of a dirt bank on the south side of the city cemetery slid down, probably on to the road. The road just west of the cemetery nearly washed out. Over half the road is gone. Currently there are barricades around the wash out.
You may have noticed an interesting colored sky for several days. The moon was orange one evening and I finally heard on the news that we are getting a lot of smoke in our area from fires in Canada. This is causing very bad air quality here. Seems strange that Canadian fires could have a serious effect on us, but it does. Makes one realize how what we do can have an effect on the whole earth.
Mentioned that I got a call at church last Sunday because a gentleman’s car had broken down and it had been towed to Ralph’s in Plymouth. Got the fella settled in and he checked on his car on Monday morning. Seems something with the power steering had broken and the fluid had spilled out on the ground. The gentleman fell in the fluid mess and cut his leg and arm. Anyway he was here for three nights but it turned out well. He was very happy with Plymouth and plans to come back in August. Perhaps I should have urged Ralph to take a little longer fixing the car!
You have probably noticed that there is something going on at the Community Center on the East side of the Plymouth Square. Many years ago there was an active Plymouth Business Association. Plans were made to remodel the building which had formerly housed “Ellen’s” restaurant. Saturday Night on the Square was held for eight years. Gradually the group got smaller, Saturday Night on the Square was a thing of the past and the people in charge either moved, lost interest or passed on. For many years the Center has been kept open by a few men who drink coffee there in the morning. The problem is that the income from the coffee has never been enough to cover the expenses on the building and we have now used up all the savings that the Plymouth Business Association once had along with other donations. Something had to be done to produce an income for the building. Though it is expensive to maintain the building, it would also be expensive to tear it down. Dylan McCurdy and Kendall Hill are currently putting an apartment on the second floor of the building. By renting the apartment, the building will have some steady income. The next plan is to put a beauty salon on the first floor. That would require a minimum of construction cost and would also generate a monthly income for the building if a beautician can be found to work out of the salon. Hopefully there will be more uses found for the building. We will be having some fund raisers for the Community Center as funds are very low. The roof needs repair as does the north east corner of the building. Dylan found a brick lodged in the down spout on Saturday evening so hopefully the gutter will now carry the water away from the building instead of letting it pool near the foundation. Any contributions toward the renovation of the Center would be greatly appreciated. You can send donations to the bank to the Plymouth Business Association account.
Friday I attended the Lowderman auction in Macomb. A gentleman helped me carry some things and called me by name. Finally I asked him his name and it was a gentleman I was in 5th and 6th grades with at Cherry Grove School. He was Joe Matthews and I was amazed to learn that both he and his brother Jack live in the area. So happy to see him again but so sorry that we have not run into each other in all these years.
Saturday was a wild weather day in the area. My weather radio went off all day long. Came home and it was still going off periodically. Guess one of my smoke alarms got jealous of all the noise so it started going off too. Checked the house for fire, found nothing. Changed the battery and the alarm still went off so guess I need to buy a new smoke detector for the kitchen.
Sunday, after church I went to Carthage to see the “Big Band Luisenschule”. The band was comprised of approximately 40 students from Germany. They perform in various places in the Rhine-Ruhr area. The group was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ontario, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and in the Carthage area from July 10-13. The students stayed in homes in the area to learn more about our country. John and Arlis Dittmer served as a host family. They performed a concert at the auditorium in Carthage on Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful. I certainly wish that the area band instructors and students had attended the concert. Some of the performers were as young as the 8th grade. Most appeared to be high school age. Anyway it was a great show and I am glad that I was able to be a part of the event. This visit was a part of the Blue Lake International Exchange Program.
Still many people ill in our area-keep them in your prayers. Scatter Kindness.