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A supplement to Kalamazoo County Characters, coming out in January 2025 from The History Press, this program introduces audience to an array of individuals who were either born or lived in the Kalamazoo area over the past two centuries, making their mark on its history in one way or another.From founding fathers to early innovators, groundbreakers to entrepreneurs, artists to authors and athletes to entertainers, author Dianna Higgs Stampfler celebrates fifty figures in Kalamazoo-area history.
Since its founding in the early 1800s, Kalamazoo has welcomed a variety of notable characters who have shaped the community’s legacy in their own special way. Some, like Orville Gibson and Derek Jeter, are nationally recognized, while others, such as Sue Hubbell or Donald Bonevich, may be lesser known. Abraham Lincoln and Flora Temple briefly passed through town, and Mary Jackson and Gwen Frostic were among those who came here to attend college. Others, like Darwin and Opal Brown (aka Santa and Mrs. Claus) or Gene Rhodes (aka Gene the Pumpkin Man), were lifetime residents.
While some of those in the presentation are also profiled in the book, others are featured because while they just didn’t fit within the manuscript’s word limits but are too interesting not to share.
This is Stampfler's third book from The History Press.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Ransom District Library, 127 Hicks Ave, Plainwell, MI 49080-1811, United States,Plainwell, Michigan
