one sunday

One SundayA SPECIAL SECTION OF THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS | AUG. 28, 2011

A photo history ofWestMichigan

BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

Dawn rose through a misty fog, thesun slowly warming the sparklydew that dressed West Michigan

up for Sunday.Over at Little Flower Farm near

Greenville, farmer Shane Dowellemerged from his farmhouse with asleepy yawn, grabbed his stool andbucket, and milked Guadalupe the goat.Then he put on his tie and scooped

his 5-year-old daughter Bothilde’sblond hair into a church-ready ponytail,as chickens clucked good morning allaround him.It would be an ordinary day. And an

extraordinary day. Both, at the sametime.That’s what you realize, when you

examine a day so closely, capturing it,preserving it, as Grand Rapids Press

photographers did on a recent AugustSunday.A day in the life of West Michigan.

What would it hold?The Rev. Bernice Spears put on her

pretty, Sunday-best hat, kneeled by herbed and greeted the morning with aprayer.Many hours later, 4-year-old Joshy

Walker closed his eyes, snuggled withhis parents in his bed and ended theday with a prayer.In between, we went to church, drove

to work, grilled chicken, gave somewriggly dogs a bath. On inner-cityfront steps and in the glow of nightclublights, we danced.It was a front porch kind of day, a

hula hoopin’ kind of day. Sometimes,you just say thanks for another one,and see where a summer Sunday takesyou. To the beach, maybe, or a baseball

game. Maybe the county fair.Babies were born, joyfully held aloft

to breathe for the first time. ColinWesley DeVries, all 6 pounds, 4 ouncesof him, hollered his way into the world.Across town, Beryl and Al Kooiman,

both well into their 80s, snuggled ontheir front porch, wind socks stirringin the breeze. While little Colin’s lifeadventures were just beginning, theyhave loved and lost and lived so much.Then, as quickly as it began, the day

was over. The sun set in a swirl oforange and pink. Right on time, themoon rose.Back in Joshy Walker’s bedroom, a

rotating lamp casting glowing shapeson his blue walls, he slumbered. Hisdad, big Josh, had fallen asleep next tohim. A good Sunday can wear a guyout.Good night. Sleep tight. Amen.

PRESS PHOTO/CORY MORSE

The day begins: Before going to Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, the Rev. Bernice Spears prays inside her Grand Rapids apartment 8:54 a.m. on Aug. 7, 2011. “I alwayssay a prayer and ask for the Lord’s blessings” before going to church, she said. She prays for the congregation, the pastor and the pastor’s message.

2 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011 ONE SUNDAY: A PHOTO HISTORY THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

S undays are perfect for visiting loved ones. Such wasthe case for Clare Tinknell, 87, right, a resident atClark Retirement Community, who was getting a hugfrom his daughter Susie Smith, of Grandville. The rowof photographs display grandchildren at the apartment

where he and wife, Barbara, 85, moved from Romeo lastMarch. Smith and her husband, Wayne, visit often. She noted,“I wrote on my dad’s Father’s Day card that I will be forevergrateful for the last decade that they’ve given us.”As the Bible passage states, there is a time for everything

under heaven, and sometimes Sunday means saying goodbye.Lowell residents Kenda and Wayne Haines hugged at 7:26 a.m.before Kenda caught the Amtrak train on the way to a missiontrip. Also waiting at the Grand Rapids station were theirchildren, Madeleine, 12, and Alexis, 9.Victor Manuel and Erika Rodriguez found a moment

together but away from the crowd while at Lamar Park for theSt. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church Festival. “We’re justout here enjoying the day,” said Erika.The end of the day found Josh and Kate Walker of Grand

Rapids praying with their son, Joshy, 4, before he went tosleep in their home on the city’s Northeast Side. “We usuallytalk about our day,” said Kate, “ask God about what we canchange, such as obey, or kindness.” That evening Joshy wasthanking God for swimming with his grandparents.

A time to embracePRESS PHOTO/EMILY ZOLADZ


PRESS PHOTOS/CHRIS CLARK

PRESS PHOTO/EMILY ZOLADZ

To our readers: About this sectionThese photos were the result of Press photographers traveling throughout West Michigan andcovering the 24 hours of Sunday, Aug. 7. They collected hundreds of images — far more thancan be shown here. You can see more in a gallery at mlive.com/grand-rapids.Reprints: If a photo touches your heart and you would like to own a print, contact Eileen

Miller at [email protected] or 616-222-5481, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (More information on A2.)

Enjoying life:Faith Damber, 7,

of Burnips, swaysback and forth on

a deck overlookingthe Kalamazoo Riverafter picking flowers.Damber was out with

her mother and sisters,watching her father

fish at New Richmond.

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS ONE SUNDAY: A PHOTO HISTORY SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011 3

A n old song proclaims “There’s something in a Sunday that makesa body feel alone,” which may be one reason we seem so intenton sharing the day. Beryl and Al Kooiman, top, relaxing at theirapartment on Lake Michigan Drive NW, found each other threeyears ago after their spouses died. “I couldn’t stand being alone,

and I was just lonely. She came along and flipped my heart over,” Al, 86,explained. Beryl, 87, joked she “robbed the cradle” marrying Al.Getting ready for bed involves the whole a family for the Walkers of

Grand Rapids. Abby Walker, 2, prepared to brush her teeth with the helpof her mom, Kate Walker. Kate and her husband, Josh Walker, start thebedtime routine around 8 o’clock every night but it can often be as late as 11before everyone is asleep. “Bedtime stories are often the negotiating point,”Kate laughed. At left, Abby and brother Joshy, 4, jumped and played beforegetting into their pajamasA quiet Sunday provided a contrast for Jerry and Sherry Canales as they

ate fruit and played with their dog outside their Grand Rapids home. Allwas not so quiet a few months ago: “They used our porch for the movie ‘30Minutes or Less,’’’ Sherry said. “They had the street closed down and putstrangers on our porch for a high-speed chase.”

‘I couldn’t stand being alone’

PRESS PHOTOS/REX LARSEN



PRESS PHOTO/KATY BATDORFF


B abies enter the world on their own time.Aug. 7 was a day of rest for Angela Vickery, above,

a day after giving birth to the second daughter forher and husband Kyle Vickery, who cradled day-old Abigail at Metro Health Hospital. “A lot of the

feelings of the first one come back,” said Kyle, of Lowell,looking into Abigail’s eyes as she yawned and made a face.Angela said her labor went well Saturday — but Sunday was“much more relaxed.”There was little relaxing that day for 6-pound, 4-ounce

Colin Wesley DeVries, who entered the world screamingat 2:44 p.m., to the delight of his parents Kimberly and MattDeVries of Cutlerville. Dr. Susan Vandenbosch preparedto place Colin on his mother’s chest to initiate skin to skincontact, which helps bond the two as quickly as possible.Colin became one of more than 8,000 babies born a year atSpectrum Health Family Birthplace in Grand Rapids.Two-month-old Ramon spent that Sunday in the arms of

his father, Rosendo Rivera, during a visit to Lamar Park inWyoming. Rivera and his young family were at the park forthe St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church Festival.Brady Thomas Cojocar started a new phase of life that

day as he was baptized by the Rev. Ron Hutchinson at HolyRedeemer Catholic Church in Jenison. Held by his parentsThomas and Jessica Cojocar, Brady was joined by four otherbabies baptized in the service.

A new day is bornPRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN

PRESS PHOTO/T.J. HAMILTON

PRESS PHOTO/CHRIS CLARK



P arent and child bonds are built on tradition and ritual — andsimply spending time together.At Little Flower Farm near Greenville, Shane Dowell finished the

morning chores on Aug. 7 then readied daughter Bothilde, 5, forchurch. Shane and Chiara Dowell, with their daughters Bothilde

and Una, 2, operate a community-supported agriculture farm, wherepeople buy shares, paying for seasonal food to be picked up weekly.At the Newaygo County Fair that day, a young boy adjusted his hat as he

and his father toured the horse barn.The lessons continued after church for Deveion Griggs, 3, of Grand

Rapids, who clapped while he sang a praise and worship song with hismom, Robin Griggs, on their front porch on Prince Street SE near EasternAvenue SE. “The Lord’s been good to me,” said Robin, who attends GoodNews Community Church in Grand Rapids.Rabbi Yosef Weingarten, of the Chabad House on Michigan Street NE,

enjoyed a relaxed picnic dinner with his wife, Sarah, son, Dovid Moshe,and daughters Sheina, Rivka, and Chana, far right. Rabbi Weingarten grilledburgers and chicken that the familly enjoyed with salad, fresh fruit andcorn on the cob. “Sunday is the best day for us all to get together, and weenjoy having a picnic as often as we can,” Weingarten said. The couple’sother children were away at summer camps.

Family traditionsPRESS PHOTO/T.J. HAMILTON



PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN

6 SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS 7

S unday worship is a constant in many lives in West Michigan, but it takes place indiverse settings, from stained-glass sanctuaries to outdoor drive-ins.At LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, congregation members stood as

pastors Stan Mast and Bob Grussing entered the morning worship service on Aug.7. Among the congregation were Roland Lindh, below left, standing and singing

with his daughters Margaret and Isabella and wife, Polly. After the service, Grussing got ahug from youth group member Maddie Meekhof.Hours later, the Rev. Phil Mitchell preached to nearly 30 vehicles of people during the

evening worship service of Immanuel Reformed Church in Fennville. Mitchell, a retiredpastor, enjoyed delivering a message at a nontraditional venue. “It’s just a different kindof atmosphere. ... I’ve never preached to cars before,” Mitchell said with a laugh. Theoutdoor service has been held for more than 40 years and has a strong following with local,vacationing and handicapped worshippers, who enjoy coming to a service where they don’thave to worry about getting out of their cars.Back in Grand Rapids, Monica Hunn closed her eyes in concentration as she prayed at

No Greater Love Pentecostal Church, 1130 S. Division Ave.A little farther north, at Heartside Ministry, 54 S. Division Ave., Mike Tate played a few

tunes on the piano, warming up before morning services. During the service, Maria Rileyhugged the Rev. Matthew Holmes during the “passing the peace.”

‘It is God’s day’When we asked Press readers what Sunday means to them, the response was not

surprising. Nearly every responder spoke to the importance of the day in their spirituallives. “What Sunday means,” wrote Chris Alofs, “is that it is God’s day, and it is a day toworship and sing his praise.” Lori Eizenga could have been speaking for many when shewrote: “Sunday is my day to remember and celebrate that I am part of something biggerthan this messy world, God’s kingdom. Regularly attending my church’s services helpsme to regroup, refocus and reset my life’s clock to ‘kingdom time.’”




PRESS PHOTO/CORY OLSEN

PRESS PHOTO/MATT GADE



ONE SUNDAY: A PHOTO HISTORY


‘F or me, Sunday is about encounteringGod; about being immersed insilence and beauty so I can listen andbe open to dialoguing with Him,”wrote Sister Sarah Doser, right, of the

Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowell. Evenon Sunday, though, the livestock must be tended.On Aug. 7, Methodius, a Nigerian dwarf goat,

showed its playful side by following Doser ontoa roof.Sunday offered the perfect time for Laila Arm-

strong-Spencer, 4, to practice her hula hoop skillsin front of her Grand Rapids home.Recreation can depend on perspective. After

helping her family set up a dollhouse for display atthe Fulton Street FarmersMarket, Rain Beerhorst, 7,peered inside at a little mouse tucked into bed.Out on the Lakeshore, sunny skies made for a

pleasant day at the beach. In Holland, a sailboatpassed the Big Red lighthouse where the LakeMacatawa channel leads to Lake Michigan.Buck Jones mixed some nostalgia with a sense

of humor, and the result was the mannequin inthe passenger seat of his 1955 Chevy Bel-Air SportCoupe, displayed at the Fifth Annual Apple Peel-InCar Show at Klackle Orchards in Greenville. Joneshad his wife raid her closet after buying the man-nequin from a store going out of business years ago.He admitted he gets a few double takes when he’sdriving down the road.



PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN PRESS PHOTO/CORY OLSEN


Playtime


M idnight card games, a sunny dayat the beach or the ballpark: WestMichigan provided plenty ofopportunities to enjoy life on Aug. 7.The card game was being played

just after midnight by Boy Scouts Jared Syrek,15, left, and Dominic Frazzine, 16, both WestCatholic High School students from GrandRapids. The two were having a little fun afterspending Saturday doing volunteer cleanup workat the Franciscan Life Process Center in Lowellduring a service weekend campout.That afternoon found Kristen Smith, of

Kalamazoo, chasing her nephew, Braden Smith,7, with a bucket of water while playing in LakeMichigan at Holland State Park beach.Taking things a little more seriously, Octavio

Parada and dance partner Lisette Leondemonstrated a dance, El Jarabe Tapatio, forattendees at the St. Joseph the Worker CatholicChurch Festival at Lamar Park in Wyoming.The children are dancers with the Shrine of St.Francis Xavier & Our Lady of Guadalupe BalletFolklorico.The West Michigan Whitecaps were playing

the Great Lakes Loons that day. During theseventh-inning stretch, Michael Hughes playedwith his 3-year-old daughter Giana.Fifth Third Ballpark was hosting another event

that day: the Eighth Annual Cody & Friends DogWash for Gilda’s Club. Kevin DeVries of Jenisontried to keep his distance as a newly bathedLondon shook himself dry. DeVries was gettingthe dog washed before his son and daughter-in-law, London’s owners, returned from theirhoneymoon.

Reasons to smilePRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN PRESS PHOTO/CORY OLSEN





U nder bright factory lightsor high above downtownstreets, the work of thiscommunity continued onAug. 7.

It was carried out by workerssuch as Brian Edge, left, and ShawnBussis, who loaded steel into astamping machine at Grand RapidsSpring & Stamping. The steel wasbeing used to make a bracket forNissan cars. The company has beendoing well as the auto industry hasbeen rebounding. “We’re jammin’,”said Vincent Lauria, the weekendshift supervisor.Robert Jones and Joshua Cass, of

Award Window Cleaning Servicesin Grand Rapids, got up earlySunday to clean windows on theMcKay Tower in downtown GrandRapids. The two got started at5 that morning to avoid causingdisruptions downtown. “We try toknock it out and beat the traffic,”Jones said.The language arts took on dual

meaning as Wafa Haddad, ofTigerlilly Arabic Language Institute,got her class ready to create Arabiccalligraphy. Haddad does a special“lab activity” for her students everymonth to make learning Arabic fun.T.J. Cook got his fishing lure

back, along with the use of thisfinger, but lost the bass. Cook wasfishing on Stoney Lake with his sonand girlfriend when he hooked thebass. While trying to remove thefish flopping wildly on the end ofthe line, Cook also got hooked. “Itdidn’t feel very good, and when Itried pulling (the hook) out I gotsick to my stomach, got dizzy andstarted sweating. I should have keptthat fish, it was a keeper.” At MetroHealth Hospital’s emergency room,Dr. Robert Morris returned thelure and hooks he removed afternumbing Cook’s finger. Morris saidit was a “hectic” but routine eveningin the ER.





Some of ushad to work


F inally, it was time for a little night music.As darkness fell on Aug. 7, the Veen

Observatory glowed as astronomerKevin Jung, from the Grand RapidsAmateur Astronomical Association,

turned his gaze to the heavens for galaxies andplanets.Randy Marsh played harmonica during a jazz

jam at the Hopcat nightclub in downtown GrandRapids. Marsh hosts a regular jam that drawstalented musicians from around the state. Joininghim on stage that night were saxophonist HughDeWitt, John Proulx on keyboards and JeffBeavan on bass.At another nightclub, Rumors Bar on South

Division Avenue, female impersonator DejaDelatoro performed during a contest with otherimpersonators late Sunday.Nearly 24 hours earlier, in the darkness of the

day just beginning, Jean Pimentel, 15, and TatianaRodriguez, 15, both of Grand Rapids, waited inline for the Zipper ride at the Grand Haven CoastGuard Festival Carnival.





Afterdark


A s Sunday drew to a close for mostof us, Marv Raap and Kip Monteithwere just getting started. The Life

EMS workers had a busy night ahead ofthem. What follows is an abbreviatedchronology of part of their night on Aug. 7.

6:50 p.m. Raap, left, and Monteith arrived at a GrandRapids nursing home where an elderly

woman was experiencing chest pain. Raap is a paramedicand field supervisor; Monteith is an emergency medicaltechnician.

7:01 p.m. As they secured the woman inside theambulance, they engaged her in conversation.

During the ride to Spectrum Health Butterworth, Raap andMonteith continued to joke with the woman. “By us stayingcalm, that’s what helps them,” Raap said. “If we becomedistraught, then they think, ‘How can we help them?’”

9:41 p.m. Raap, left, and Monteith, share a fist bumpduring a particularly busy night in Grand

Rapids. “Our patients come first,” Raap said.

10 p.m. Raap helps a man who said he had suffered aseizure in Grand Rapids. The man was taken to

Spectrum Butterworth.

10:47 p.m. It’s dinner on the run for Monteith, left,and Raap as they eat their McDonald’s

orders inside the ambulance while waiting for the next call.

PRESS PHOTOS/CORY MORSE

On the night shift

one sunday

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ahula hoopin kind of

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