Scenic Rural Michigan Drive: Otsego, 1889 Old Gospel Church, Doster Blacksmith Shop, Store & Barns

Описание: August 27, 2024

Driving in beautiful scenic rural Michigan from Otsego, Michigan towards the Kellogg House in Hickory Corners. This drive was in Allegan and Barry County. In this video you will see the Doster Blacksmith Shop and country store in Plainwell, Michigan and the 1889 Old Gospel Church outside of Delton, Michigan in Barry County.

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1889 Old Gospel Church in Delton, Michigan - Barry County:

..."Aukerman and his family first rescued the church in 2003. A wooden structure, it had been condemned in 1973, had suffered serious termite damage at the foundation, and had interior walls removed and big double doors cut into its back to accommodate its use in the 1970s as a storage building for hay and equipment.

Aukerman said he hired Laraway & Sons House Moving of Pullman to jack up the building and to move it down the road to the showgrounds of Prairieville Old Fashioned Farm Days, a festival celebrating traditional agriculture which for more than 32 years ran every Labor Day weekend adjacent to Aukerman’s farm.

Aukerman said he was shocked when the church was removed from its foundation, and he could finally get a good look at the extent of damage it had suffered over the years.

“With the Lord’s blessing, we had the under-structure repaired in a week,” Aukerman said. Then began the painstaking work, using old photos as guides, of rebuilding the inside, and creating woodwork to match the original interior. The restored church was an attraction at the Old-Fashioned Farm Days for the next several years, Aukerman said, but in 2010, his health beginning to fail, Aukerman sold most of the farm, including the showgrounds.

The festival grounds is now growing corn again, but remaining is the 3.5-acre Michigan Farmers Hall of Fame building and grounds. So, once again, the Laraways came out, pried up the old church, and moved it from the middle of a cornfield to its new, permanent home just a bit farther down the road. It was a short distance but required the same tedious work of removing stairs and other exterior additions before the move. The move cracked plaster walls and damaged some of the woodwork, Aukerman said."....
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/djcquil...
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Doster Blacksmith Shop and Doster Country Store in Plainwell, Michigan:

...."Steven Doster built the first store in the 1870’s to serve the rural community at the intersection of Doster Road, 3 Mile Road and 106th Avenue in Allegan County’s Gun Plain Township. Barry County is across the street. Doster’s store became an important community institution right away, as local women were selling bread and pies at the store and kids were selling fruits and berries that they gathered. Doster’s son built the current store around 1900. One day people came from all over to catch their first glimpse of an automobile, undoubtedly the event of the decade! The store had a dance hall upstairs and a post office in the back.

The store doubled as a post office from 1900 until 1978. After the post office closed, it became a fresh pizza destination. An old icehouse next to the store was leveled to add covered gasoline pumps. Owners have tried tanning booths and video games. Like that store of 150 years ago, breads and desserts are still sold, made fresh in the deli. And the Doster Store remains an important lifeline for area residents during the occasional blizzard. It’s a place where you can get gas for the generator or lawnmower and a real relief for people who suddenly realize they should have filled up their gas tank while they were in town. It’s a great opportunity for local students to gain job experience and make a few dollars to pay for college and even talk to people without texting.
The Doster family owned the store for nearly 90 years. Byrd and Edna Doster ran it for 46 of those. Since the early 70’s, there have been four different owners. Tim and Christie Howard bought it from Jack Pierce two summers ago. With skyrocketing prices and business costs it hasn’t been easy to make a go of it."....
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https://www.shunpikingtoheaven.com/Ar...

https://www.cityofotsego.org/

#travel #michigan #oldchurch #blacksmithshop #country #rurallife #barn #alongtheway