Our meeting this week will be outside at Smallenburg Park. We will meet at the pavilion in the park and you are encouraged to bring your own chair. There are picnic tables, but a lawn chair might be more comfortable.
The Grand Haven Musical Fountain first performed in 1962. A fountain in a dance hall in Berlin inspired a WW I veteran and then Grand Haven Mayor to propose building a similar fountain. A group of citizens stabilized the sand on Dewey Hill by planting dune grass, designed and built the fountains, and programmed the songs. Patents were even awarded for some of the devices designed for the fountain.
The fountain plays nightly from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A non-profit organization now runs the fountain. For the 60th anniversary in 2022, new water features were added and controls were upgraded. Every song is individually choreographed and one minute of performance will take between 1 and 3 hours of work.
In recent years much of the work has been around expanding the musical repertoire of the fountain. The team engaged the public via social media to understand what would interest people. They offered a class on choreography and how to use the custom software that creates the programs that run the fountain. More than 60 people showed up to take the class! From this effort, there are now 9 certified choreographers creating songs for the fountain. They have produced 75 new songs for this year. The themes and songs performed each night can be viewed on ghfountain.org
Holland’s efforts to become a Heart-Safe Community began in September 2022, when retired paramedic Steve Stegeman (left) approached the Holland Fire Department. Firefighter Angela Lound (right) is now the Team Leader of HeartSafe Holland. In 2024 Holland officially became a HeartSafe Community.
The designation comes from a national preparedness program that measures 13 criteria — each demonstrating a community’s commitment to improving sudden cardiac arrest outcomes and saving lives. Those requirements include establishing an organization to guide local efforts, training 15% of the community in hands-only CPR annually, developing strategies to improve public awareness and bystander intervention, and placing AEDs.
HeartSafe is sponsored by the Holland Fire Department, Holland Hospital, American Medical Response, Ottawa County Department of Public Health, the Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority, Evergreen Commons, and Holland Rotary Charities.
Left to Right: Rotarians John Shea, Andrew Bissonnette, and Kent Fry along with Paramedic Steve Stegman.
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The Grand Haven Musical Fountain first performed in 1962. A fountain in a dance hall in Berlin inspired a WW I veteran and then Grand Haven Mayor to propose building a similar fountain. A group of citizens stabilized the sand on Dewey Hill by planting dune grass, designed and built the fountains, and programmed the songs. Patents were even awarded for some of the devices designed for the fountain.
