Page 4 — Thursday, March 23, 2023 — The Hastings Banner
The Hastings Banner
Devoted to the interests of Barry County since 1856
Published by... Hastings Banner, Inc.
A Division of J-Ad Graphics Inc.
1351 N. M-43 Highway • Phone: (269) 945-9554 • Fax: (269) 945-
News and press releases: [email protected] • Advertising: [email protected]Frederic Jacobs
Publisher & CEOHank Schuuring
CFO- ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT •
Classified ads accepted Monday through Friday,
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Chris Silverman
Mike GilmoreTy Greenfield
Jennie Yonker- NEWSROOM •
Jayson Bussa (Editor)
Molly Macleod (Copy Editor)
Brett Bremer (Sports Editor)
Greg Chandler
Hunter McLaren
Subscription Rates: $78 per year in Barry County
$85 per year in adjoining counties
$90 per year elsewherePOSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
P.O. Box 188
Hastings, MI 49058-
Second Class Postage Paid
at Hastings, MI 49058Have you met?
Do you remember?
Did you see?
An artful restoration,
a renewal of faith
Art as an expression of people and
their communities returned to Hastings
this past Sunday.
For more than 150 years, St. Rose of
Lima, my church home, has been an
inspiration to values that transcend us and
to the beliefs we hold even beyond the
times in which we live.
Over 300 parishioners, former priests,
the Most Reverend Paul J. Bradley, Bish-
op of Kalamazoo, and special guests
packed the church on Sunday to celebrate
a Solemn Mass of Dedication, the special
and long-awaited event that marked the
re-opening of the church after nearly two
years following an electrical fire that
began in the vestibule.
The church immediately began an
extensive renovation after the July 2021
fire, but material shortages prolonged the
project more than anyone imagined. In
fact, when parishioners met within days
of the fire to decide where they were
going to meet, most felt we could be back
in the church in months, not years. Since
that first meeting, services have been held
in the gymnasium of the church’s adjoin-
ing school.
What has transpired is not only a testa-
ment to the faithful dedication of a com-
munity faithful to its beliefs but also to
the spiritually-inspired expression of
those beliefs in the beauty of what their
hands can create. The newly-restored
church is a work of art and its renewed
beauty is an expression of the love people
have for their God.
Tourists see this same presentation in
the famous and historic architecture of
Europe. I’ve never been to Europe but I
have read and heard great stories from
those who’ve witnessed hundreds of
churches and old buildings built years
ago that continue to amaze visitors today.
I’ve read about great architects like
Antoni Gaudi’s style of architecture and
his Roman Catholic Sagrada Familia
Church in Spain that he began working
on in 1886, which remains unfinished
even to this day.
Gaudi took over as chief architect,
transforming the project with his special
style and devoted the rest of his life to the
project. He died in 1926 and is buried in
the church’s crypt. At the time of his
death, less than a quarter of the project
was completed. Today, nearly 70 percent
of the church is completed, and it is esti-
mated to be finished in 2026.
Describing the church, art critic Rainer
Zerbst said “It is probably impossible to
find a church building anything like it in
the entire history of art.”
I would love to travel to Spain in the
future to experience the mastery of
Gaudi’s special work, but the story and
the beauty of St. Rose of Lima carries
equal inspiration.
The fire in 2021 was not the first time
St. Rose parishioners had to deal with the
loss of their church. When the church on
the present site was destroyed by fire in
1909, members used their parish hall for
mass until the present church was con-
structed and completed in 1915.
Stones were collected from nearby
farms for the church’s exterior under the
direction of mason John Young, resulting
in a building that was one of the finest
examples of stone masonry of the time.
The interior of the church was described
as a traditional design with curved lines,
reflecting a Roman style of architecture.
The church is shaped like a cross with the
altar area being the head with the choir
loft at the foot.
Stained glass windows for the church
were donated by parishioners, many in
memory of former parish members.
That rich history was present in the
mind of everyone who helped with this
restoration. Parishioners like Bill Cusack
and Phil Green and a small group ofmembers dedicated countless hours to
making sure every detail was taken into
consideration during the project.
Plus the altar, the Ambo, and the
Shrines were constructed by Bud LaJoy
and his son, Jeff. “It was quite emotional
when the altar went into place,” Jeff told
the Banner. “It was very touching and it’s
been very special – it’s amazing that out
of some disasters come so many bless-
ings.”
When I toured the church for the first
time a couple of weeks ago I felt the
same. What was a tragedy for our parish
turned into the beautiful restoration of
our beautiful church. I told my wife that
it was breathtaking walking into the
church for the first time and seeing the
beautifully-restored artwork by Christo-
pher Moran of Kalkaska, who specializes
in fine art paintings and murals.
I can remember as a child when the
church walls were all white before the
parish decided to have the original paint-
ings done more than 60 years ago. I felt
the artwork added so much to the beauti-
ful church sanctuary, but now the bril-
liance and intensity of the colors provide
a sense of a historic European church that
echoes the fact that it’s simply beautiful.
One might ask, am I being a church
romantic? I would say not at all. I believe
the artistic beauty in a church like St.
Rose instills awe and reverence not found
in plain and utilitarian churches.
The beauty of our church represents
the sacrifices of time and talent to restore
such a temple fit for God. The building is
not just a meeting hall, it’s a symbol
where God dwells and we gather to cele-
brate the Christ his son who came to save
us from our sins.
The church is a place of silence and
calm – a time for reflection and prayer.
Now that St. Rose of Lima has been
restored it will hopefully attract those
who’ve missed the historic church in
coming back to enjoy all it has to offer.
I hope readers get a chance to visit our
church when the parish holds an open
house at a later date to welcome citizens
from the area to visit and experience this
beautiful reclamation of our beloved
church.Get your hair did
The Village of Middle and its Downtown Development Authority recently celebrated the opening of a new business.
On Monday, Studio 37 Salon cut the ribbon on its new storefront in Towne Centre Plaza, which is located at 4525 N. M-
Highway in Middleville. The hair salon is currently booking appointments and looking to hire stylists.An eye on the sky....
Banner March 24, 1983Ralph Junold peers through one of his smaller, hand-built telescopes. The 84-year-old Junold recently built an 8.5-foot long
reflecting telescope, three times the size of the one pictured, which he is giving to the high school.Leah Mockridge is not a J-Ad Graphics
employee or contributing writer, but she did
play an integral role in producing this
week’s edition of The Hastings Banner.
You may have seen the Muskegon resi-
dent with Banner staff writer Hunter
McLaren if you’ve attended a Hastings
school board meeting in the past two weeks,
or if you happened to be dining at Richie’s
Koffee Shop or State Street Diner.
When McLaren had car troubles that put
his vehicle into the shop early last week,
Mockridge sprang into action. Knowing the
importance of local news coverage, she
helped McLaren get to and from his various
appointments in Hastings.
Mockridge, who has been dating McLar-
en since last October, had a chance to see
the news process from start to finish. She
attended public meetings, watched as
McLaren took notes and photographs, and
even had the chance to see him frantically
type his stories on deadline all while guz-
zling gallons of coffee.
Not only that, but she also had a chance
to meet some of the other J-Ad staffers that
make Barry County’s weekly publications
possible, like Greg Chandler and Molly
Macleod. She even met J-Ad Graphics
CEO Fred Jacobs, who gave her a tour of
the printing press.
“I think everyone actually seems really
excited to be there (at J-Ad). It’s a really
cohesive team,” she said. “Everybody was
very nice. I got the official tour from Fred,
which was very exciting.”
Mockridge, who generally hears about
the news process from McLaren sec-
ond-hand and reads copies of the Banner
and The Reminder that he brings to her in
Muskegon, said it was interesting to see the
whole thing up close.
“It was definitely interesting to see the
writing process and what you have to do on
a weekly basis,” she told McLaren. “I only
get the finished copies typically. So literally
going to the actual event, taking the photos,
talking to the people there, seeing you draft
it, pick the photos, pick an angle for the
story and submit it – it was really cool to
see it actually done behind the scenes.”
Mockridge, who has been making the
nearly hour-and-a-half drive from Muskeg-on to Hastings several times a week for the
past two weeks, said she was mostly sur-
prised by how much travel the job required.
“Honestly, it was a lot more driving than
I would expect for a writing job,” she said.
Mockridge, a Greenville native, was
somewhat familiar with the Hastings area
but had never been until last week. She
attended Lake Superior State University,
where she double majored in communica-
tions and creative writing, while taking on
a triple minor in professional communica-
tion, literature, and public relations.
“I hate free time and fun,” she joked.
She’s been working as the marketing
director of Red Dog Logistics, Inc. for the
past two years. Mockridge, 24, takes pride
in the fact that she’s the youngest director at
the company. When she was hired on, she
was the youngest employee in the company.
“I’m responsible for anything that you
see online for our company,” she said.
“Social media, video production, press
releases, newsletters, internal communica-
tions, graphics and design, merchandising,
anything you can think of under the market-
ing umbrella – I’m doing it.”
Working out of Grand Rapids, Mock-
ridge bought her house in Muskegon about
a year ago. She lives there with her two
dogs, Ellie and Ida, as well as her two cats,
Toast and Philly Cheesesteak.“It was cheaper than Grand Rapids, but it
still had kind of all the perks of being in a
city,” she said. “There’s also a lot less traf-
fic, which is super nice. I’m right by a
beach so the summers are really fun.”
For Mockridge, tagging along with a J-Ad
writer for the past two weeks was a fun depar-
ture from her normal routine. She said she’d
be happy to do it again if the need arose.
“I just feel honored to be part of the pro-
cess,” she said. “I don’t think it was that big
of a deal, but it was fun nonetheless.”
Something on my bucket list: Be on the
New York Times Best Seller list. I’ve had a
few poems published in different publica-
tions, and I won a few awards in college for
my poetry. I would love to write a realistic
fiction book or a collection of memoirs.
Favorite board game: Mancala. It’s got
a good mix of strategy, but it’s so simple in
concept. Also, I’m really good at it and I
never lose.
If I won the lottery: I would donate a
pretty high amount to local animal shelters.
They’re really packed right now. I’m really
invested in animal welfare and I volunteer a
lot of my time at the Muskegon animal shel-
ter. I also foster occasionally. I would defi-
nitely donate a lot of money to help them
out to make sure animals find good homes.
Something most people don’t know
about me: I’m a huge Brendan Fraser fan.
I’ve been on this wave way before he was
making a comeback and I stand by that.
Two years ago now, I not only got a custom
sweatshirt made that says Brendan Fraser
Fan Club, but online I got an ad one day for
meet-and-greets. I just randomly clicked on
it and there was a meet-and-greet for him in
Texas in three weeks and I booked the flight
that day. Here’s the downside: he canceled
the event, so I went to Texas for no reason!
But it was still a lot of fun. I forgive him
because he’s such a good man.
Each week, the Banner profiles a person
who makes the community shine. Do you
know someone who should be featured
because of volunteer work, fun-loving per-
sonality, for the stories he or she has to tell,
or for any other reason? Send information
to Newsroom, Hastings Banner, 1351 N.
M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or
email [email protected].Leah MockridgeFred Jacobs, CEO,
J-Ad Graphics Inc.