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Annual Square Dance

The Party Continues

Saturday, October 26, 2013 (Last Square Dance)

Annual Square Dances started in 1920 in 1920 at Edith Greenway-Sutherland’s home. According toLillian Mumford, her father Andrew Flowers called a lot of the dances, and her uncle Ivan (Buck) Flowers played the violin.

Remus Town Hall

Tell One - Tell All!

Where: Remus Township Hall

Remus, Michigan

Time: 5 p.m. - Midnight
Cost: Dish to Pass

square dance 1982 Tom Elizabeth

Tom & Elizabeth Cummings in the Center Left of the table. Other people known Mary Hardiman-Nelson, Cindy Hardiman-Cummings & Julie Gage. Right: Roger Cummings, Beulah Lett (1982)

Norman Wood

People Known: Norman Wood, Robert Sawyer, Janice Cook-Fleming, Alvin Fleming (1982)

square dance 1988 John Berry Carol Gray Hair

People Known: John Berry, Carol Norman (1988)

square dance 1987 Wesley

People Known: Wesley Smith, Kenneth Todd, Delores Todd (1987)

Caller: To Be Announced

It's your night out!

Bring a dish to pass!

Meat, Bread, Punch, Plates, etc. will be furnished

Music: Square Dance, Round Dance, Doo Wap, & Rock 'n Roll

Given by: The Gang

OSRW - 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization

Old Settlers

The "Old Settler" families arrived in Michigan from different places. They came from Canada through "The Underground Railroad," and from Payne's Crossing in Ohio as "free" people. The draw was to homestead land made available through the Homestead Act of 1862 which allotted homesteaders 160 acres. The Underground Railroad was the most dramatic nonviolent protest against slavery in the United States beginning in the Colonial Era and reaching its peak between 1830 and 1865. An estimated 30,000 to 100,000 slaves used the "railroad" to get to Canada and eventually came back to the states and Mexico. A large settlement stayed in Ontario, Canada.

Doraville Whitney was the first Black settler to Isabella County in 1860, and in Mecosta County, Michigan was James Guy. His deed was signed by Abraham Lincoln. He obtained 160 acres in Wheatland Township on May 30, 1861. Lloyd & Margaret Guy were the first Black settlers in Montcalm County in 1860. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed each settler up to 160 acres in Michigan. By 1873, African-Americans owned 1,392 acres in the three counties of Isabella, Mecosta, and Montcalm. In the 1860's most of the land in Remus was owned by the Old Settlers.

$10 + $3 (Shipping/Handling)

More Information at: http://www.osrw.org

Old Settler Dedication

Instead of disappearing into the dust that swallowed many other Black rural areas, the old settlers of Mecosta, Isabella, and Montcalm Counties prevailed. They came there in 1860 and they're still here. Some have moved to the larger cities of Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, and Detroit. There is compiled data and drawn maps of Black households in nine townships in Mecosta and Isabella Counties. In 1870, the nine-township area had 41 Black households; 86 in 1975, and 106 in 1994. The website was created to remember our ancestors who were the trailblazers making us who we are. We have become enriched, enabled, and elevated because of the ample regard and gratitude for the work of our ancestors. This site is dedicated to the Old Settlers.

Square Dance Photo Gallery

Norman_Wood

Square Dance 1

Square Dance 10

Square Dance 11

Square Dance 12

Square Dance 13

Square Dance 14

Square Dance 15

Square Dance 16

Square Dance 2

Square Dance 3

Square Dance 4

Square Dance 5

Square Dance 6

Square Dance 7

Square Dance 8

Square Dance 9

square_dance_1982Janice_Alvin_Old_Dude_Bob

square_dance_1982_Tom_Elizabeth

square_dance_1987_Wesley

square_dance_1988_John_Berry_Carol_Gray_Hair