August 15, 2010

Elizabeth Williams School of Dance in Williamston will once again be performing Nutcracker Ballet for the upcoming holiday season. We are looking for dancers to audition for the many roles this production has to offer. Whether a seasoned dancer or a beginner dancer we have a part for you in this production. Acting skills a plus. Dancers from all studios welcome. Most of the production rehearsals will be held on Sunday afternoons.

Auditions will be held at the dance school. Elizabeth Williams School of Dance is located at 128 W. Grand River, Williamston, Auditions are on Sunday August 29th or Sunday September 4th between 1 - 4 pm. Please call the school for your skill level time slot. 517-655-5993

August 15, 2010

The Knights of Columbus Council 7545 will be holding a craft show on November 6 & 7 in the Activity Center of St. Mary Church in Williamston. A luncheon will be served on Saturday from 12 to 2 and a Swiss steak dinner on Sunday. Please contact Vicki Pulling at (517) 214-7570 or Mike Pitlanish at (517) 349-3178 for additional information.

By Karl Bartels

Procrastination and a dubious weather forecast had all but convinced me to skip the Friday June 4, 2010, Williamston Cool Car Night. (I state the date for reasons described below) Karen and Tom Cullimore insisted we join them, so a plan was hatched. They would drive their ‘41 Pickup, my wife, Sandy would bring her ’99 Mustang she named Jane and I would bring Grandpa’s ‘52 Chrysler Saritoga. We met at Cullimore’s, paraded into town and found parking spots a few doors down from Woods and Sons Corn Bin across the street from La Follette studio.

My Grandma and Grandpa Bartels bought the car new and special ordered the C-52 331 cubic inch V-8 Hemi engine from Snethkamp Auto Sales, in Detroit, Michigan. Jet black with dark blue interior was their color choice. As they were about to retire, this car would allow them to travel the USA as they loved to do. From their home in East Lansing, summer trips took them to every contiguous state as well as annual trips to the west coast via Route 66. This was truly Grandpa’s baby which he pampered daily. He made hundreds of notes in the service manual and kept nearly every receipt for service the car received.

Pampered is an understatement. It was never driven in the snow. They had a 1950 Ford coupe for bad weather. Grandpa would use the Chrysler’s drain oil in the Ford. Quite often between Simonize wax jobs, he would back out of the garage to let a gentle rain rinse off the dust and then quickly chamois it dry. He passed away in 1969 and I inherited Grandpa’s car when Grandma died in 1980. It is still in wonderful condition and completely original. I drive it once or twice a year and try to keep up on the maintenance a fifty eight year old car with 164,000 miles requires.

While at the show that night we browsed through the stack of documents that were in the glove box. We found copies of letters between Grandpa and the Chrysler factory discussing problems he was having with engine. Karen then found a hand written post card from the Chrysler District Service representative asking Grandpa to bring the car to Geo. Johnson Motor Sales, 150 E. Grand River, Williamston, Michigan (now the Red Cedar Grill) for his review on Friday, June 4 1954. There we sat just two blocks away on exactly the same day, Friday and date, June 4^th, 56 years later. That, we decided, was a truly remarkable coincidence. They must have fixed the problem because we easily made it home that night.

WILLIAMSTON MIDDLE SCHOOLERS COLLECTING CELL PHONES

The Williamston Middle School is collecting any old or non-working cell phones in the community to recycle instead of throwing away.

For every 25 cell phones they recycle, the school will get placed in a raffle to win a $1,000 green grant (50 will be given out). Cell phones are being collected in a box in the front office of the Middle School and can be dropped off throughout the school day. Please help our environment and school by taking this opportunity to recycle your old cell phones. WMS is located at 3845 Vanneter Road in Williamston.

For additional information, contact WMS teacher Laura Hill at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 517-655-4668, ext. 6250.