By David Fleet
Editor
Ortonville — Amos Orton would be proud.
On Wednesday afternoon several hundred gathered at the Heritage Garden for the 214th Birthday of Ortonville founder Amos Orton. The celebration precludes the 175th Anniversary of Ortonville at Septemberfest on Sept. 15-17.
The event was on the location, next door to the Old Town Hall, that Orton himself declared the village center. Orton was born in Hadley Falls, N.Y. in 1809, and made the trek to Michigan in 1839 with his family.
Village Manager Ryan Madis addressed the party-goers and recognized partners from Oakland County that will help establish Heritage Garden with several upgrades including a small pavilion, stage, seating and downtown restrooms.
“It’s fitting that on this spot near The Old Town Hall that Amos established the center of the village,” said Madis. “The Heritage Garden plan will be just some of the exciting changes coming downtown.”
Other area dignitaries were David Coulter, Oakland County executive, Bob Hoffman, Oakland County commissioner district 7, Robert DePalma, Groveland Township supervisor, Jayson Rumbull, Brandon Township supervisor and Ken Quesenberry, village president.
The birthday bash included several events including a walking tour of the village historical locations, pet parade and the winners of an essay contest hosted by the Ortonville 175th Anniversary committee for ninth-12th grade students in the Brandon School District. Eleven students participated with essays and a poster comparing life in 1848, the year Ortonville was founded to today. First place was August Austin; second place Michael Olrich and third Halyee Allen. The essays and posters were on display at The Old Town Hall.
“The essay contest was created as an opportunity for our youth to consider how times have changed since 1848,” said Judy Miracle, Ortonville Historical Society president. “Copies of all the essays will be in the 175th Time Capsule to see how things have changed in fifty years. We are proud of all our youth in this great community and congratulate the 11 for putting their thoughts out there for our scrutiny.”
Also, during the celebration the Harvey Swanson Time Capsule, which was closed on June 5, 1998 was opened.
The time capsule was discovered about 10 years ago, by Ortonville resident Bob McArthur who was assisting with his grandson Courtland Yahn’s Eagle Scout project to upgrade the Fantasy Castle Playground located at Harvey Swanson Elementary School. The improvements included rubberizing the parts of the structure, painting along with some structure repairs.
“It’s during those repairs that I discovered the time capsule,”said McArthur. “We completed the repairs then just left it hidden for another decade.”
A few years later the aging wooden playground was slated for removal following passage of a school bond, McArthur had the capsule moved to the school for safe keeping. Then, during the Amos Birthday bash, Dr. Helen Clemetsen, who served as Harvey-Swanson principal for 38 years, reflected on the time capsule and it was opened.
“The time capsule was closed following the completion of the Fantasy Castle Playground at Harvey Swanson,” said Clemetsen, who retired in 2012. “The facility cost $93,000 to build and was completed in five days by about 800 volunteers. More than 400 attended the dedication on June 7, 1998. There was 100 percent effort put forth by the parents, staff and students of the greater Ortonville area.”
The contents of the Time Capsule which included a newspaper, photos and letters from the students was on display at The Old Town Hall following the celebration.