The Hastings Banner — Thursday, May 27, 2021 — Page 3Harvest Pointe
project underway
On May 21, Barry County officials from
local government, health care and human ser-
vices celebrated the groundbreaking of a $
million upscale assisted living development
called Harvest Pointe at Thornapple Manor.
The new 50-bed senior complex in Hastings
Charter Township will be located on
McKeown Road in Section 27 of Hastings
Charter Township, Donald Haney, administra-
tor of Thornapple Manor, said.
The apartment-style rooms with communi-
ty dining and lounge are comparable to
Carveth Village in Middleville and Woodlawn
Meadows in Hastings, Haney said.
The site will include 107 parking spaces
and an internal drive connecting it to
Thornapple Manor.
“In 1958, Barry County needed a medical
care facility that would address the needs of
the frail, elderly, and medically challenged,”
the announcement of the new senior complex
stated. “Now, 63 years later, Thornapple
Manor is once again, as it has done repeatedly
in the past, responding to a need in our area.
“With the severe housing shortage in our
community, the Barry County’s Department
of Health and Human Services board worked
with a strong team from Thornapple Manor,
CM Contracting, and representatives from
Eckert Wordell, to create what we are proudly
calling Harvest Pointe, in honor of the coun-
tryside where the 50-unit assisted living proj-
ect will be built.”
Thornapple Manor, the 161-bed county
owned skilled nursing facility located three
miles east of Hastings, hosted the ground-
breaking ceremonies last Friday.
“Thornapple Manor is excited to be looking
forward to the future with a new addition in
our continuum-of-care services,” Haney said.
“We are adding Harvest Pointe to provide
another state-of-the-art option for Barry
County seniors needing support to maintain
their independence.”and say, ‘This is it.’”
Welton said, “He helped me out of a lot of
pinches.”
“‘It ain’t going to be pretty.’ That’s the
way he’d say it,” Welton recalled. “One time
my hydraulic pump went out on my 4430, and
we took that over to Sam’s, my nephew in
Freeport, and used his shop.
“I went in there one day and ... every
bench, I mean, they had that thing just
scattered all over the place. But he got it back
together and it worked ... He tore it all apart
and he knew how to put it back together. He
found that pump in Georgia, I think it was.”
Kooiman was one of the few technicians
who could work on those tractors, they said.
These machines were built to last and,
thanks to Kooiman, they did.
“You hear that one poppin’ down there?”
one of the farmers asked. “That’s probably 80
years old. ... The ‘B’ I got sitting at home,
that’s 70.”
“B” is the model number on some John
Deere tractors, and the farmers who mentioned
them did so with pride.
No question, Kooiman worked on a lot of
farms in the region and what he did for all of
them was important.
But it was the man who really mattered,
they said.
He was a valued member of an extended
family of farmers in the region.
“Keith was something special,” Finkbeiner
said.
Saturday morning, Peters’ wife, Sonya,
was waiting near the end of the line of
tractors. She was behind the wheel of one of
the big vehicles. and she was ready to roll.
“It’s a wonderful thing for the community,”
she said of the tribute, then turned to Landon
Koster, 14, of Middleville, who was at the
wheel of the tractor behind her.
“He knows how to drive a tractor,” she
said with a smile. “But this is his first tractor
parade.”
Before the procession began, Todd Peters
was using an all-terrain vehicle to get around
fast. Hirsch was on foot, greeting arrivals, as
they worked together on logistics and staging,
directing tractor drivers to their places in the
procession.
During a break in the action, Hirsch
admitted apologetically that he was struggling
to hold it together. Kooiman was not just his
good friend, he was a stalwart adviser to him,
he said.
After the procession got underway, the
emotions got to him and he broke down in his
truck.
“You talk to his friends and family,”
Hirsch said. “Clearly, he was a very, very
special man.”
The tractors followed a special route to
First Baptist Church of Middleville, finally
winding their way down West Crane Roadand across M-37 to Finkbeiner Road.
Police were stopping traffic to allow the
tractors to cross M-37 at that intersection.
Some family members and friends stood
on a grassy outcropping overlooking the
intersection to watch as the line of tractors
steadily made their way to the church. Two of
the young women watching held hands,
another wept and others hugged as the
procession went by.About 200 people from the community
gathered at the church after the tractors
arrived, engines rumbling and big tires rolling
across the parking lot in the afternoon sun.
They all came to pay tribute to
extraordinary man who knew a lot about
tractors – and a lot about people.TRIBUTE, continued from page 1
From left, Chelsey Foster, Barry County Michigan Department of Health and Human Services board member; Sara Tobias, direc-
tor of Harvest Pointe at Thornapple Manor; Don Haney, Thornapple Manor administrator; Liz Bishop, director of nursing at
Thornapple Manor; and Brad Johnson, Barry County Michigan Department of Health and Human Services board chairman, apply
ceremonial shovels to the ground at the construction site.Tractors line up along an unpaved stretch of Stimson Road Saturday in preparation for the procession to the church to pay
tribute to Keith Kooiman Jr. of Middleville, who died May 6. (Photo by Scott Harmsen)Here, from left, Barry County Commissioner Howard Gibson, Thornapple Manor
Director of Nursing Liz Bishop, County Commissioner Jon Smelker and county com-
mission board Chairman Ben Geiger at the festivities Friday.
Bill Hirsch (from left) discusses logistics with Timothy Hirsch and Brandon Pyper,
all of Caledonia. (Photo by Scott Harmsen)Thornapple Manor Administrator Don
Haney said Harvest Pointe will offer a
state-of-the-art option for seniors needing
support to maintain their independence.Hastings High School students gather outside on the school’s front lawn Monday for
a Gay Pride Walkout.
Hastings High School students
hold Gay Pride Walkout
Sophie Bates
Staff Writer
On Monday, May 24, Hastings High
School students, some wearing rainbow-col-
ored clothing, left their fifth-hour classes and
gathered outside on the school’s front lawn
for a Gay Pride Walkout.
Once outside, the students formed a circle
and took turns going into the center to speak.
After each student spoke, their statement
received cheers and applause from their
peers.
Erin Kordelewski, mother of Hastings
sophomore Alex Kordelewski who was one
of the students who helped organize the
event, said she witnessed the walkout.
“It’s really amazing,” Kordelewski said.
“They’re all standing around talking and a
couple of teachers and the principal are lis-
tening. ...
“I am impressed with this group of kids.”
Organizing the walkout was a team effort
by the students, Kordelewski said.
District administrators learned about the
plan for the walkout over the weekend.
High school Principal Teresa Heide esti-
mated that about 80 students participated.
“As with anything and everything associat-
ed with students, our main concerns are
always the safety and best interest of them
and others,” Heide said. “Along with that,
finding teachable moments that may positive-
ly influence our students is, without question,
something we all desire to do.”Keep your friends and relatives informed
and up to date with all the local news
from Barry County. Send them...
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