Hadley Township- To fulfill a dream longtime Hadley resident Ralph Hartwig wanted to make one last donation.
About a year ago Hartwig,84, who died June 26, 2003, donated the old Grist Mill and two and a half acres on Hadley Road to the township. The recipients will now open the Mill to complete Ralph’s dream’a Hadley Township Historical Society.
‘My husband would be so happy that we finally have a Historical Society. It’s really something he’s always wanted to do to preserve the memory of a town he’s lived in all his life,? wife Marie said.
Once the Hartwigs made the donation, longtime residents of Hadley put the idea of the historical society into action.
About 20 attended the first official meeting at the Hadley Township Hall on Aug. 12. Discussion included a charter, collecting memorabilia, and how exactly they would form a historical society for the memory of times past.
President pro-tem of the Historical Society, Kent Copeman, said ‘We never formed a society earlier because we had no place to store the artifacts.?
Mary Alice Seelbinder, original member of the Ortonville Historical Society, was invited to join the group to further help them in their endeavor by laying out the state guidelines and how to successfully form the nonprofit society.
‘This is something that Ralph really wanted to happen before he died. We would speak of it often, even years before they made the donation,? said Seelbinder.
The couple purchased the Grist Mill nearly 30 years ago. It was built in 1873, but closed down in 1964. It was rundown with broken windows, cracked cement and leaking water. The mill closed because of lack of farmers in the area, and the fact that grinders were making trips to the farms instead of the farmer having to come to the grinder.
They, however, could see the silver lining on that gray cloud.
‘We, with the help of many others, fixed it right up so it could work again. My husband really was a country boy at heart, and that Mill meant a lot to him.?
Although changes were made, the entrance of the Mill remains very similar to the original.
‘My husband always enjoyed the older things in life. He wanted it to be a place where people could come to remember towns like Hadley, that seem to be decreasing by the day,? said Marie.
The society will have occupancy of the entire front half of the Mill, and expect to be flooded by the community with memorabilia of Hadley.
Copeman said they already have such things as an old baseball uniform from Hadley High School, that closed in 1959. Copeman also has mailboxes from the old Hadley Post Office, a bookkeeping register from Morton’s Hardware, and a microscope from the Hadley High School.
‘We want people to call and tell us what they have, but we won’t be able to take it for some time because the Mill needs to be cleaned out before we can move in.
Copeman said he, and other members of the group are interested in knowing what memories of Hadley will resurface over the many years that have passed of generations and families in town.