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Book

Kalamazoo County Characters

Call Numbers

  • 977.417 S7839 (CEN, OSH)
  • H 977.417 S7839 (CEN)

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Publication Information

Charleston, SC : History Press, 2025.

Physical Description

142 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Summary

Since its founding in the early 1800s, Kalamazoo has welcomed a variety of notable characters who have shaped the community's legacy in their own special way. Some, like Orville Gibson and Derek Jeter, are nationally recognized while others, such as Sue Hubbell or Donald Bonevich, may be lesser known. Some such as Abraham Lincoln and Flora Temple, briefly passed through town. Mary Jackson and Gwen Frostic were among those who came here to attend college. Others, like Darwin and Opal Brown (aka Santa and Mrs. Claus) or Gene Rhodes (aka Gene the Pumpkin Man), were lifetime residents. From founding fathers to early innovators, groundbreakers to entrepreneurs, artists to authors and athletes to entertainers, this title features profiles of 50 notable figures in Kalamazoo area history.

Contents

  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Kalamazoo County
  • Section 1: Early Pioneers
  • Delamore Duncan
  • Bazel Harrison
  • Titus Bronson
  • Enoch Harris
  • Section 2: Innovators, Groundbreakers and Entrepreneurs
  • Orville H. Gibson
  • Albert J. White
  • William Shakespeare Jr.
  • George D. Taylor
  • Albert May Todd
  • Jacob Kindleberger
  • Morris Markin
  • Suzanne Upjohn (Delano) Parish
  • Melvin Richard Harding
  • Larry James Bell
  • Section 3: Educators, Soldiers and Politicians
  • Abraham Lincoln
  • Dwight Bryant Waldo
  • Joseph Burchnall Westnedge
  • Vernice Merze Tate
  • Michael Nicholson
  • Section 4: Science, Religious and Civic Figures
  • Nathan Macy Thomas
  • Uriah Upjohn
  • Sisters of St. Joseph
  • Frank Henderson
  • Homer Stryker
  • Carrella (Clay) Peterson
  • Etta Fairchild
  • Section 5: Authors, Artists and Collectors
  • James Fenimore Cooper
  • Edna Ferber
  • Fletcher Charles Ransom
  • Donald O. Boudeman
  • Gwen Frostic
  • Laverne S. Harman
  • Sue (Gilbert) Hubbell
  • Donald Bonevich
  • Donald Sherwood Gilmore
  • Section 6: Athletes and Fans
  • Flora Temple
  • Thaddeous "Ted" Nowak
  • Jack Norris Moss
  • Mary "Bonnie" (George) Baker
  • Kevin VanDam
  • Derek Jeter
  • Section 7: Entertatainers and Broadcasters
  • John Earl Fetzer
  • Paul Harvey Aurandt
  • Mary Alice Jackson
  • Darwin Brown
  • Jack Peyton and Betty Ragotzy
  • Rembert "Rem" Wall
  • Myron Eugene "Gene" Rhodes
  • Narada Michael Walden
  • James Higgs
  • Author's Note
  • About the Author.

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