Page 8 — Thursday, October 28, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Conclusion
Kathy Maurer
Copy Editor
The June 16, 1938, Banner highlighted the
“real conservation” being accomplished by
the Barry County Rod and Gun Club.
“Definite projects are undertaken,” one
sub-headline announced. “Restocking of
lakes and increase in game bring many tour-
ists,” declared another.
The local club at that time had been around
for about 16 years, growing, dwindling and
regrouping over those years. Its defined, tan-
gible projects were the reason for its recent
growth, according to the article that perhaps
was written by co-editor/owner Marshall L.
Cook. The first part of the reprint, along with
additional information, began in the Oct. 21
Banner and concludes below.
Orangeville bluegills
Five years ago, an agitation for more rear-
ing ponds for gamefish, particularly for blue-
gills, in Barry County was started. A commit-
tee representing the club visited various sec-
tions of Barry County to find what they
thought would be the best available site for
good-sized rearing ponds.
They decided upon a small acreage close to
the village of Orangeville, which was owned
by Robert VanVolkenberg [in Section 17,
between Marsh and Boulter roads, south of
Saddler Road]. They found Mr. VanVolkenberg
willing to have this ground used for rearing
ponds, provided the work would be done in a
satisfactory way, and provided the project
would be a continuous one.
Accordingly, he leased the land where the
present rearing ponds are located, to Barry
County, for continuous use for rearing ponds.
The lease provided that he be saved from
paying taxes on the land and that it must be
continuously used for rearing ponds, or the
property would revert to Mr. VanVolkenberg.
In 1934, the first rearing pond was con-
structed at Orangeville. There are now three
such ponds, which is about the limit of what
can be provided on that property. These
ponds have added much interest in the lakes
of this county. The three ponds provide from
750,000 to 1 million fingerling bluegills each
year, nearly all of which are placed in the
lakes of this county.
The club has not only provided the funds
for marking the ponds but also has paid for a
substantial building at Orangeville in which
to store the equipment it must keep there and
to provide a place for a caretaker, who is on
the job for six months of the year as an
employee of the rod and gun club.
The overhead expense for carrying on the
Orangeville project calls for several hundred
dollars from the club for the caretaker and to
purchase the necessary fertilizer to produce the
vegetable growth in the ponds on which dimin-
utive fish feed until they reach fingerling size.
While these ponds are owned by the club
and financed by the club, they are under the
supervision of the State Conservation
Department [forerunner of the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources], which has
shown the best kind of cooperation with the
club to carry on this good work and is ready
to cooperate in further projects for conserva-
tion game and fish in this county.
Pheasants
This year the club is undertaking to raise
about 600 pheasants in the county. The eggs
are furnished by the State Department of
Conservation. Several 4-H club boys see that
the eggs are hatched. They also look after the
pheasant chicks until they are 6 weeks old,
when they are released and allowed to findtheir places in the wooded areas of the coun-
ty. A considerable number of pheasants are in
the woods in the county. The wild birds rear
many flocks of pheasants.
The State Conservation Department furnish-
es some fully developed birds from its pheasant
farm near Mason. As a result of all this, there
should be much better pheasant hunting in
Barry County this year. The state department is
willing to cooperate in restocking the lakes
with fish and the forests with game, because
they know that the Barry County Rod and Gun
Club will do its utmost to see that the game and
fish are properly protected during the season
when they cannot be taken.
Mr. Smith sees more promise
Anyone who has attended recent banquets
of the rod and gun club understands how
interested in the work of the club Homer
Smith has always been. He is now its presi-
dent and, together with the other officers and
directors, is desirous of having the club func-
tion in an even larger way.
Fishing has been improved in Barry County
lakes as a direct result of the work of the rod
and gun club; but it is believed much more
can be accomplished in that direction.
Hunting will be improved in the county thisyear, especially pheasant hunting, because of
the work of this organization.
Mr. Smith and his associates on the board
of directors of the club feel that it can be of
still greater service to the county. They have
located two or three places in the county
where fine streams of water and other condi-
tions are favorable. But the rod and gun club
has not the funds necessary to acquire the
land and build half a dozen more ponds and
provide a caretaker for them. However, it is
believed that the people of the county have
seen such good results from the work already
done by the club that they will give much
larger support to its work than they have in
the past. So, the officers of the club have
plans for more rearing ponds and a still larger
increase in game birds for this county.
Angling for tourism
One result of the club’s efforts will be to
attract many hundreds, possibly thousands,
more from outside of Barry County to fish
and hunt during the seasons. The county’s
income from tourists will be still further
increased. Last year was the best resort sea-
son in the history of this county. If the county
shall increase its fine support of the rod and
gun club, the people of the county will reap
substantial rewards that will more than com-
pensate for the little money they individually
give up in support of its work.
The rod and gun club has been very helpful
in building up the resort interests of the coun-
ty and in attracting tourists. It can and should
be even more helpful in that good work in
future years.
~~~~~
The fish-rearing effort by the local group
was already paying off. A Banner article pub-
lished three weeks later, July 7, 1938, and
reprinted this past Sept. 16, gave statistics on
area lakes and the fish within them: “These
lakes and streams are replenished each year
with thousands of fingerlings reared at the
state hatchery here and their rearing ponds at
Gun Lake, in the Rod and Gun Club rearing
ponds at Orangeville, and with some of vari-
eties not reared here that are brought in from
other hatcheries.
“During the past year, more than 1.17 mil-
lion game fish were planted in the lakes and
streams of Barry County. Of this number,
more than 230,000 were bluegills reared at
the three ponds at Orangeville conducted by
the Barry County Rod and Gun Club. It is
hoped to double that number this year.”
~~~~~
Like it had early on, the club changed over
the next decade. A Jan. 16, 1947, Banner
article reported that the renamed Barry
County Sportsmen’s Club had purchased a
73-acre tract of land, which today is occupied
by yet another iteration of the group, the
Barry County Conservation Club.
The 1947 article noted that the club had
reorganized within the previous year. The
property, for which the club paid $1,800,
would provide a site for outdoor activities, as
well as the group’s future clubhouse.
Noted state deer expert I.H. Bartlett told the
club at a meeting earlier in the week that theland contains “beautiful hills for winter sports,
a fair planting of pines now about 2 feet high,
swamp areas, a fair stand of timber, and has a
creek running across the southeast corner.”
“The tract is located one-half mile south of
Mt. Calvary Cemetery and was purchased
from Merle Neeb and is a portion of what is
known as the old Tom Heeney farm on the
‘Cook’ farm road,” the article noted. “Neeb
retained ownership of an area on which he
will live.”170362HASTINGS CHARTER TOWNSHIP
BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ROLL FOR LEACH LAKE
WEED CONTORL SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT 01
TO: The residents and property owners bordering Leach Lake and all other interested persons.PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Township Supervisor has reported to the Township Board
and filed in the office of the Township Clerk for public examination a special assessment roll pre-
pared covering all properties with the Weed Control Special Assessment District No. 01 benefited
by the weed control project. Said assessment roll has been prepared for the purpose of assessing
a portion of the costs for the proposed Weed Control Special Assessment District as more particu-
larly shown on the plans and estimates of costs on file with the Township Clerk within the Township,
which assessment is in the approximate amount of $25,200.00 for five seasons.PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Supervisor has further reported that the
assessment against each parcel of land within said district is such relative portion of the whole sum
levied against all parcels of land in said district as the benefit to such parcels bears to the total
benefit to all parcels of land in said district. The proposed special assessment as shown on the roll
is in the approximate amount of $25,200.00 for the five seasons, or approximately $5,320.00 per
year ($255.00 per year per parcel) of land in the district. For further information you are invited to
examine the Roll.PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Township Board will meet at the Hastings
Charter Township Hall at 885 River Road, within the township on November 9, 2021 at 7pm for the
purpose of reviewing said Special Assessment Roll, hearing an objection thereto, and thereafter
confirming said Roll as submitted or revised or amended. Said roll may be examined at the office
of the Township Clerk (at the Township Hall) during regular business hours of regular business days
until the time of said hearing and may further be examined at said hearing. Appearance and protest
at this hearing is required in order to appeal the amount of the special assessment to the State Tax
Tribunal.PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that an owner, or party in interest, or his or her agent
may appear in person at the hearing to protest the Special Assessment, or may file his or her
appearance or protest by letter at or before the hearing, and in that event, personal appearance
shall not be required. The owner or any person having an interest in the real property who protests
in person or in writing at the hearing may file a written appeal of the special assessment with the
State Tax Tribunal within 30 days after the confirmation of the Special Assessment Roll.PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the Hastings Charter Township Board will provide
necessary and reasonable auxiliary aids and services, to individuals with disabilities at the hearing
upon reasonable notice to the Carlton Township Clerk of the need for the same at least five days
prior to the aforesaid hearing.All interested person are invited to be present at the aforesaid time and place to submit
comments concerning the foregoing.HASTINGS CHARTERTOWNSHIP
Anita S Mennell, Clerk
885 River Rd
Hastings MI 49058
269-948-PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:
All real estate advertising in this
newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing
Act and the Michigan Civil Rights Act
which collectively make it illegal to
advertise “any preference, limitation or
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status,
national origin, age or martial status, or
an intention, to make any such
preference, limitation or discrimination.”
Familial status includes children under
the age of 18 living with parents or legal
custodians, pregnant women and people
securing custody of children under 18.
This newspaper will not knowingly
accept any advertising for real estate
which is in violation of the law. Our
readers are hereby informed that all
dwellings advertised in this newspaper
are available on an equal opportunity
basis. To report discrimination call the
Fair Housing Center at 616-451-2980.
The HUD toll-free telephone number for
the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.Conservation at core of
early rod and gun club
This column in the Sept. 16 Banner revisited a July 7, 1938, article on the lakes and fishing opportunities in Barry County. That
1938 piece referenced the rearing ponds at Gun Lake and Orangeville, the latter being property of the local rod and gun club. This
building is a remnant of the Gun Lake hatchery, standing beside a shallow bowl of land mostly devoid of water.Published several years after the
accompanying history of the rod and gun
club, this booklet takes a whimsical but
factual look at pheasant biology, habitat,
hunting and more. It was written by R.A.
MacMullan and illustrated by Oscar
Warbach for the Game Division of the
Michigan Department of Conservation.
The author is the namesake of the DNR’s
Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center
near Roscommon.