The Value of Diversity

     Thanks to the genealogical work of a relative on another branch of the family tree, we have learned that our forefather, Peter Horton, came to Long Island, from England, in the year 1640. So, while my ancestor didn’t come over on the Mayflower (like everyone else’s), he wasn’t too far behind.

   His descendants, I’m told, prospered, becoming prominent in that part of New York. Of course, the family tree by necessity kept branching out and, as the country grew, Horton’s (like the families of other early settlers) had kinfolk move westward.

   Aaron Horton arrived in the Fowlerville area, I believe, in the late 1840's or early1850's. He and his wife, Hannah (Mills), are buried in Miller Cemetery on Stow Road. The ensuing lineage saw their eldest son, Stephen R. Horton, marry a Duncan, which has made me a shirttail relative to half of the town. Their eldest son, my great grandfather Rollin, was united in marriage to a Durfee, a Swedish connection, and Grandpa Lloyd was wed to Illah Mae Bement, whose family had French ancestry.

The 'Right to Vote'

This was updated and published in the Fowlerville News & Views in the Dec. 20 issue.

    The ‘Right to Vote’ is a nice broad term. But within that breadth exists competing philosophies. Is it a natural, unencumbered right? Or does it (should it) have conditions? Pre-qualifications? And if the latter is preferable, what should those be?

   From the dawn of our country’s founding, those in power have sought to fortify and protect their political control of government, and all its spoils. Back then this political and social elite was comprised mainly of wealthy planters owning large tracts of land and prosperous merchants.

    One of the purposes of the U.S. Constitution, for all its virtues, was to create a republic, with a system of checks and balances, to guard against mobocracy—or as we know it, democracy. Also, with the control of voting and elections being a prerogative of the states, initially only property owner (stakeholders) could participate.

Letter-to-Editor Writers Weigh In on Separtion of Church & State Issue

   Over the past few weeks, three of our readers have weighed in on the issue of religious freedom as it pertains to government and, more specifically, public schools. This topic is more familiarly called ‘Separation of Church and State.’

    A student bringing a Bible or Koran or some other text sacred to them, or expressing opinions based on their beliefs (and citing that text to support their position) would seem an exercise in religious freedom as well as free speech. A teacher or administrator doing that in a public school—as a paid employee of government (i.e. the school district) causes a different consideration.

   While the adult, like the student, is entitled to his or her belief and right of free speech, doing so from a position of governmental authority and power has been judged by the courts to fall within the realm of an endorsement or sponsorship, thus a violation of the First Amendment.

   No everyone likes that judicial interpretation, or the concept of a wall of separation, thus the ongoing debate.

A Message of Thanksgiving

Published in the Fowlerville News & Views on Nov. 22

 In the midst of grief, a way ahead. In the midst of darkness, a guiding light. In the midst of despair, hope.

   The Book of Common Prayer used by the Anglican Communion since 1549, contains this passage for the “Order for the Burial of the Dead.”

   Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up and is cut down like a flower; he flieth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay. In the midst of life we be in death.

   It’s hard to read (or hear) anything more forlorn, or seemingly more hopeless about the human condition. The words echo those at the beginning of Ecclesiastics: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “All is meaningless!… What does a man gain for all the toil at which he toils under the sun? One generation comes, and another generation goes: but the earth abides forever… (and) All things are filled with weariness. . .”

Fishing: A Lucky Afternoon

    This column was published Oct. 17, 1994--21 years ago. Bradley turned 27 on Oct. 31.

     A couple of weeks ago, son Bradley and I escaped from the routines of our so-called regular life—the daily hustle and bustle—and went fishing. It was late afternoon, with only a stiff breeze out of the west to disturb an otherwise mild and soothing setting.

   The waters were an intermingle of blues and browns, with the light from the low-lying sun reflecting brightly off the surface. Autumn colors had already begun appearing in the nearby maples and the underlying brush. As fortune would have it, we had this section of river pretty much to ourselves.

Join the Relay for Life

   As we grow older, the list gets longer. The list I’m referring to is family and friends who have been lost to cancer. Earlier this year my step-father, Bob Bartz (Grandpa Bob to his grandkids and great-grandkids) died from the disease. It was a quick-spreading variety that started in his bladder and, before detected had spread to his lungs. Bob was 84, had lived a good and long life, but even so—sans the cancer—he likely could have been with us a while longer.

   A few days ago we, like many others in the Fowlerville community, said “good bye” to our friend Lenny Wise. He was only 70; certainly had cancer not taken him, we would have been blessed with his presences and great wit for many more years.

The Beatles & the Fowlerville Fab Four

  While browsing a department store catalog, I noticed a page featuring tee-shirts. On the front of those shirts were pictures of different popular bands, including one that had a photo of The Beatles leaping into the air. I believe the image came from their movie “A Hard Day’s Night.”

   What struck me was, first of all, the staying power of this musical group. Fifty-plus years after they debuted in America on The Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964, merchandisers are still making money off their celebrity. My other thought was that these tee shirts are most likely being worn by a much younger crowd than “we” aging Baby Boomers who were teenagers back then. I construed this to mean that The Beatles’ songs resonant not only with the older folks who are contemporaries of the group’s members, but also with our children and even our grandchildren.

Favorite Presidents & Would-be Presidents

We were sitting in the living room of my great-grandparents’ home when I asked my great-grandfather, Rollin Horton, who his favorite president was. “Roosevelt,” he replied.

    I nodded, figuring that the New Deal efforts by FDR during the Great Depression would have appealed to a farmer, struggling to eke out a living during those difficult times.“Franklin Roosevelt,” I said aloud as a sort of afterthought.

    “No, Teddy,” he corrected me.

     I was surprised. Then I did some quick mental arithmetic. The year we were having this conversation was 1972, and I had turned 21. My great-grandfather, born in December of 1879, would have still been 21 when the ‘Rough Rider’ assumed the Presidency in 1901 after his predecessor, William McKinley, was assassinated.

Memories of 4-H & the Fair

   I turned 10 years old in July of 1961 which meant I could join 4-H. I recall going over to the home of Lyle and Eunice Vogt later that year for my first meeting. Lyle was a leader of this club, composed of kids from farm families residing in Conway Township.

    That winter my father brought home a Holstein calf that he’d purchased for $100—a princely sum in those days—from our neighbors, Cleo and Marguerite Donal. We had Holsteins on our farm, my grandparents had Holsteins on their farm, but none of them were registered. This calf possessed that distinction. While you could show grade cattle, like ours, at the Fowlerville Fair, competing with a registered animal improved your chances and also gave you additional classes that you could participate in during fair week.

More Memories of 4-H & the Fair

    My first fair as a 4-H member was in July of 1962. I would be entering the fifth grade that fall. I subsequently attended five more, with my final one being in the summer of 1966 just before the start of my sophomore year.

  

  One of the fair traditions in those years was the annual Livestock Parade in front of the Grandstand near the end of the week. We cleaned up our animals and then, as a club, proceeded from the barn, going clockwise along the back stretch of the race track. There, with the traffic from Grand River passing behind us, we waited until it was our club’s turn to walk past the audience and have each of our names announced. The Grandstand was usually packed.

Observations from the Horton Nature Center

   Here at the Horton Nature Center, also known as our front and back yards, one can wile away the twilight hours marveling at the antics and activities of assorted creatures that share this space with us; a small sanctuary located near the heart of Downtown Fowlerville.

   Depending on my mood, I might be reposing in the rocker on the front porch, in a lawn chair next to the large shrub at the southeast corner of the house, or else in another chair situated next to the garden.

Fowlerville High School Alumni Banquet: A Fading Tradition?

   The Fowlerville High School Alumni Association held its annual banquet on Saturday, June 6. This was the 122^nd gathering of the organization.

   While that longevity would suggest a solid foundation of continuity, organizers fear that this yearly gathering of the school’s former students at one setting may be a fading tradition. A few years back attendance slipped to around 200 alumni and guests. Not a shabby number, yet nowhere near earlier years when an attendance of 300 to 400 was the norm.

   This time around the ticket sales dropped to 123; still a decent turnout, but the trend is going in the wrong direction. The culprit, the officers of the alumni board say, is the younger generation’s lack of interest in the event; a lack of interest that’s been going on for a number of years.

   Most of those present have been out of school for over 40 years.

Elected Officials: Leaders, Servants or Representatives

   On issues we care about—those matters that impact our lives or involve our deeply-held beliefs—not all of the decisions made by  our various governing bodies will be agreeable. Village councils, township boards, school boards, county commissions, the state legislature, and congress will, at one time or another, pass or reject proposals contrary to our preference.

   I cannot speak as an up-close observer on how congress or our Michigan legislature operates. My impression of its inner workings, as is true with most citizens, has been formed by what I read in the newspaper, hear on a radio report, or view on a TV program. On the other hand, I can claim the status of a longtime observer of local governance, based on many years of working as a reporter. From that vantage point, I offer a couple of observations.

    People are elected to a public office with the title of representative, meaning of course that the official makes decisions on our behalf. We elect people to a particular board to conduct the public business on our behalf. Of course we (meaning you and I) are not the only ones casting a vote. An official represents a lot of different people with varying views.

Time Bombs: Governmental choices that have future ill effects

    I call them time bombs, although maybe stink bombs would be a better description.

   They are the choices (either a decision to act or not to act) made by a governing board or other public officials that has had or will have unfortunate consequences. They lie there, awaiting just the right circumstances or the passage of enough years, before exploding. While these bombs are rarely earth-shaking, unlike their real-life counterparts, they can be (like a sink bomb) messy, annoying, and often expensive to fix or remedy.

    They are often the result of choosing the easier path, or putting priority on here-and-now pocketbook considerations, or giving deference to prevailing public opinion.  Sometimes these ill effects are unintended and unforeseen. But too often they are the outcome of deliberate calculation, of picking today’s expediency over tomorrow’s benefit or potential difficulty as well as our all-too-human inclination to get along rather buck the trend. Whatever the motivation, someone—a new set of representatives or officials—somewhere down the road, inherits the problem and has to take care of it. They get to “pay the piper.”

Gov. Snyder vetoes bill that could restrict sustainable forest management

Thursday, January 15, 2015

On Jan. 15  Gov. Rick Snyder  vetoed a bill that could have restricted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources from effectively and sustainably managing forests, potentially putting Michigan’s natural resources at risk. 

“Biodiversity is essential to how our world-class natural resources are managed,” Snyder said. “While there may be opportunities to look into our forest management practices, reducing biodiversity authority will only cause confusion and hurt our forests.” 

Senate Bill 78, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Casperson, would have restricted the tools the department could use for managing forests for biodiversity. In his veto letter, (See below) the governor wrote that this legislation could also threaten forest certification, which is critical in maintaining forest products industries.

Area lawmakers take Oaths of Office

    The Pomp & Circumstance of government was on display this past Sunday (Jan. 4) at the Livingston County Historical Courthouse. Before family and friends, Dr. Henry Vaupel and Lana Theis took their Oaths of Office as members of the Michigan House of Representatives. Both were newly-elected to two-year terms in the recent General Election. Both are Republicans.

    Vaupel represents the 47^th District which includes the areas of Howell, Hartland, and Fowlerville, while Theis represents the 42nd District which covers the areas of Brighton and Hamburg-Pinckney.

    On hand for the ceremony were the two people they are replacing-- Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby-- neither of whom could run for their seats again due to term limits. In the House, the limit is three two-year terms.

   The setting gave the occasion a gravitas, taking place as it did inside the county’s original court chambers on the upper floor; a location where so many judicial proceedings have been held since the late 1800’s, where countless other (earlier) oaths-of-office were administered, with photos of past judges hanging on the walls, and with the ornate and colorful interior wall and ceiling designs evoking a long-age era.