Out and About Blog by Norm Stutesman

Growing up in Three Rivers during the fifties, I remember going with my parents to the Civic Theater in Kalamazoo. We’d have a stylish dinner at Schensul’s Cafeteria and then take in a play. I don’t recall the names of any of the plays, but I do remember the event as being very special. Three Rivers had two movie theaters …

A little over two weeks ago, we celebrated Easter. We thought we’d try something a little different and have Easter dinner with relatives at Gun Lake Casino, south of Grand Rapids. I was surprised to find out that the casino was open on such a holy day, but it was, and from what I gathered, a bunch of people had …

In April, 2006, this column appeared for the first time in this newspaper. This means that I’ve written this column for seven years. That amounts to around 364 columns. I’ve done my best to keep the column simple. I don’t write about politics or express my religious beliefs. I’ll leave that to those who spend eight hours a day on …

The Squeeze In, Falvey’s, Vaughn’s, Lee’s, Frosty Bowling Lanes, Wittenberg’s News Agency, The Rose Room, and Templin Feeds. These are all names of businesses from the past. These are places that were alive and doing a fantastic business back in the day. US-131 went right through downtown Three Rivers, because there wasn’t the by-pass west of town. If you wanted …

The one thing I enjoy about the winter months is that there aren’t very many mosquitos around. The same can be said for flies. There is nothing more annoying than to be eating a sandwich, and at the same time, swatting the flies away from your food. I’ve often commented about the need for those flying pests. The only thing …

I’m retired now, but someone once told me that, once you retire, you’ll be busier than you were while you were working. At this point in my life, I don’t have time to work a full-time job. My busy time usually runs from 9AM until around 4:30PM. As a result, I don’t watch any daytime television. During the winter, I …

How many of you forgot to set your clocks ahead one hour last Saturday, before going to bed? At 2AM Sunday morning, Daylight Savings Time began. This means that we will be enjoying one more hour of daylight every day. This is usually an indication that spring weather will soon be here. Remember last March, when we experienced 80 degree …

My wife has always done the grocery shopping for the two of us. Her father did the family grocery shopping when my wife was growing up. He had a method of shopping that worked very well, so my wife’s mother let him do his thing. My wife inherited his grocery shopping traits, such as always making sure you have a …

We recently attended the Lions of Michigan Forum in Lansing. It’s an annual gathering of Lions from all over the state of Michigan. It runs from Friday evening through about mid-afternoon on Saturday. The Forum consists of about a dozen breakout sessions, from which we may choose to attend. A very educational day or so, plus we have the opportunity …

Hopefully, you’ve noticed a slight change in this column. I’ve tried to make it a little more personal, without telling it all. You won’t find as many listings of coming events. Oh, I’ll mention some of course, but there won’t be as many as before. I’ll do my best to keep this column upbeat and more positive. I’d like it …