Jonesville traditions remembered, continued by businesses
Andy Anderson
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Focus
Visitors to Jonesville, Mich., can see broken fragments of the small town's history in the high Victorian architecture of downtown, the square nails in countryside barns and even the street-lamps that line Highway 12.
However, the history most dear to locals lies deeper than the aesthetic charm of Jonesville: it lies in the community.
"It's a good place to live" said Janis Franklin, owner of the Flair With Hair Salon on East Chicago Street. "I didn't always think so," said Franklin, who moved to Lansing after high school, "but I got homesick, came back and have been here ever since."
Citizens like Franklin can remember when the Kiddie Brush & Toy Co. was still a working factory that let her and other local kids test toys; when the Civic Theater was the movie house and not a playhouse; when the community band would play in the park and when the oil workers stayed at what is now Marcella's restaurant and cafe.
Founded in 1828 by Benaiah Jones,
Jonesville was a trading post along an old Indian trail between Chicago and Detroit in the late 1700's. One hundred and seventy nine years later, it is still on a very well beaten path, but it has blossomed into a community that hardly resembles the trading post it once was.
David W. Pope of Powers Clothing, Inc. which has been family owned and operated since 1890, has seen his hometown in both high times and low.
Pope said he remembers how Jonesville handled the hard times of the Great Depression.
"Sometimes people wouldn't have any money to buy something full price," Pope said, "so they would bring in eggs. We'd take the eggs and mark off, say, $20 from the bill."
Pope said his business is successful because of Jonesville.
"It's really about small-town," he said. "People support us and we in turn support
the community."
Business owners say the strong sense of community is passed to down from each generation.
Laura and Virgil Udzik purchased the Jonesville Bakery in February.
"The bakery has been here for over 60 years, and we're keeping all the original recipes as well as adding a few of our own," Laura Udzik said.
The bakery is known for its butter cookies and the Udzik family plans on adding their own touch to bakery's long history in the form of fresh biscotti and cannolis.
For more information on the history of the Village of Jonesville, there are several useful publications at the Grosvenor House Museum.
For others who wish to experience Jonesville's history, a walk along Main Street, a sweet butter cookie and a talk to a local would satisfy any appetite.
Hillsdale College Collegian 2007
However, the history most dear to locals lies deeper than the aesthetic charm of Jonesville: it lies in the community.
"It's a good place to live" said Janis Franklin, owner of the Flair With Hair Salon on East Chicago Street. "I didn't always think so," said Franklin, who moved to Lansing after high school, "but I got homesick, came back and have been here ever since."
Citizens like Franklin can remember when the Kiddie Brush & Toy Co. was still a working factory that let her and other local kids test toys; when the Civic Theater was the movie house and not a playhouse; when the community band would play in the park and when the oil workers stayed at what is now Marcella's restaurant and cafe.
Founded in 1828 by Benaiah Jones,
Jonesville was a trading post along an old Indian trail between Chicago and Detroit in the late 1700's. One hundred and seventy nine years later, it is still on a very well beaten path, but it has blossomed into a community that hardly resembles the trading post it once was.
David W. Pope of Powers Clothing, Inc. which has been family owned and operated since 1890, has seen his hometown in both high times and low.
Pope said he remembers how Jonesville handled the hard times of the Great Depression.
"Sometimes people wouldn't have any money to buy something full price," Pope said, "so they would bring in eggs. We'd take the eggs and mark off, say, $20 from the bill."
Pope said his business is successful because of Jonesville.
"It's really about small-town," he said. "People support us and we in turn support
the community."
Business owners say the strong sense of community is passed to down from each generation.
Laura and Virgil Udzik purchased the Jonesville Bakery in February.
"The bakery has been here for over 60 years, and we're keeping all the original recipes as well as adding a few of our own," Laura Udzik said.
The bakery is known for its butter cookies and the Udzik family plans on adding their own touch to bakery's long history in the form of fresh biscotti and cannolis.
For more information on the history of the Village of Jonesville, there are several useful publications at the Grosvenor House Museum.
For others who wish to experience Jonesville's history, a walk along Main Street, a sweet butter cookie and a talk to a local would satisfy any appetite.
Hillsdale College Collegian 2007
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