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Living in Kalamazoo
The History of Kalamazoo MI THE NAMING OF KALAMAZOO "Kalamazoo" was originally a Native American name although its exact origin hasn't been pinpointed. Some say it means "the mirage of reflecting river," while others say it means bubbling or boiling water. Intrigued by the name, many poets, authors and songwriters have penned Kalamazoo into their works, the most notable of which may be Glenn Miller's I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo . In the early 1900s, three ships were also christened Kalamazoo . Historically, the city has been referred to by many names. It's been called "The Paper City," for its many paper and cardboard mills; "The Celery City," after the crop once grown in the muck fields north, south, and east of town; and "The Mall City," after construction of the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States in 1959. The fertile soil on which Kalamazoo is built has led the area to most recently be called the "Bedding Plant Capital of the World," as the county is home to the largest bedding plant cooperative in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of plants, many varieties of which are displayed throughout the county's parks and boulevards, are sold each year to home gardeners and landscapers nationwide. Kalamazoo was once the manufacturing domain for Checker cabs, Gibson guitars, Kalamazoo stoves, Shakespeare fishing rods and reels, and the Roamer automobile. Parchment paper, made from vegetable byproducts, gave the city of Parchment in Kalamazoo County its name. In the past, Kalamazoo was known for its production of windmills, mandolins, buggies, automobiles, cigars, stoves, paper, and paper products. Agriculturally, it once was noted for celery and bedding plants. Although much has become suburbanized, the countryside still continues to produce significant quantities of farm crops. One notable business founded in Kalamazoo was the Gibson Guitar Corporation (which spawned the still-local Heritage Guitars). The company was incorporated originally as "Gibson Mandolin - Guitar Co., Ltd" on October 11, 1902, by the craftsman Orville Gibson. Gibson originally produced some of the finest hand-crafted mandolins. This quality and attention to detail followed into the guitars the company began making later. The Gibson guitar is known for its quality and sought after world-wide by professional musicians and collectors alike. Operations were moved gradually from Kalamazoo to Nashville, Tennessee, (Electric Division) and Bozeman, Montana, (Acoustic Division) in the 1980s. Some workers from the original factory stayed in Kalamazoo to create the Heritage Guitar company.[27] Other notable businesses founded in the city include the Shakespeare Company, a fishing and tackle manufacturer; and the Checker Motors Company, an automobile manufacturer, best known for the Checker Cab, now stamps sheet metal parts for other auto manufacturers. The eponymous Kalamazoo Stove Company used to have such slogans as "A Kalamazoo direct to you." The city is named for the Kalamazoo River, but there is debate as to where the name Kalamazoo actually comes from. It is generally thought that the name originates in the language of either the Potawatomi or Odawa peoples who were native to the area at the time of European settlement. The common phrase "from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo" resulted from the strange name, and has served to enter it into pop culture. Today, t-shirts are sold in Kalamazoo that feature the phrase "Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo". There are numerous songs that reference the city name in lyrics and title, including: "Down on the Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "I've Been Everywhere" by Johnny Cash; "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" by Glenn Miller; "Kalamazoo" by Ben Folds Five; "Kalamazoo" by Primus; "Kalamazoo" by Dr. Freeman and the Defenders of the Universe; "Kalamazoo" by Luna; and Kalamazoo by Mike Craver on his album "Shining Down".. The word also features in the opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass. An indie film, Kalamazoo? , features the city as a backdrop. The earliest residents of the area were the "Moundbuilders," an early race on Native Americans that subsisted on farming. A number of earthen mounds attributed to these people still exist in the area; the most prominent one can be found in downtown Kalamazoo's Bronson Park. The park's notable features include an Indian mound on its south side; a fountain designed by Alfonso Iannelli. "The Children May Safely Play" by Kirk Newman, in the west reflecting pool. The park lost many tall, old trees when it was ravaged by a 1980 killer tornado that swept through downtown Kalamazoo. The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency still remains in the form of a small mound downtown in Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to decline at some point after the eighth century and was replaced by other groups. The Pottawatomi culture was resident in the area at the time the first European explorers arrived. Experts feel that other Native Americans who later traveled down from the north probably exterminated the Moundbuilders. The earliest written records tell of the Sioux frequently occupying the region followed by the Mascoutin and the Miami. But by the time the white settlers arrived in the area that was to become Kalamazoo County, the land was occupied by the Pottawatomi Tribe, a branch of the greater Algonquin people. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle is recorded as having passed through the area, just southeast of the present city, in late March, 1680. The first Europeans to reside in the area were itinerant fur traders in the late 18th and early 19th century. There are records of several traders wintering in the area, and by the 1820s at least one trading post had been established. In 1680, the first white men journeyed through southern Michigan passing through Prairie Ronde and Climax. Traders occasionally did business in the county more than a century later in 1795. The Treaty of 1795 opened the Northwest Territory for settlement also setting aside a large portion of what was to be Kalamazoo County for a Reservation known as "Match-e-be-nash-e-wish." This may have been the chief gathering place of the Pottawatomi Indians. The Treaty of 1821, known as the "Chicago Treaty" opened this plot of land to white settlers and became the basis for many of the county's land titles. In 1827 the Indian reservation was consolidated in the southern end of Kalamazoo County and the northern part of St. Joseph County. Another treaty with the Native Americans in 1833 arranged the exchange of five million acres of their land for $40,000 in trinkets and trappings. The enforcement of the treaty in 1840 required the relocation of Kalamazoo's Native Americans across the Mississippi River. During the War of 1812, the British established a smithy and a prison camp in the area. The 1821 Treaty of Chicago ceded all the territory south of the Grand River to the United States federal government. However, the area around present-day Kalamazoo was reserved as the village of Chief Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish. Six years later, as a result of the 1827 Treaty of St. Joseph, the tract that became the city was also ceded. In 1829, Titus Bronson, originally from Connecticut, was the first white settler to build a cabin within the present city limits.[14] He platted the town in 1831 and named it the village of Bronson (not to be confused with the much-smaller Bronson, Michigan about fifty miles (80 km) to the south-southeast). Bronson was frequently described as "eccentric" and argumentative and was later run out of town. The village of Bronson was renamed Kalamazoo in 1836 (due in part to an incident resulting in Bronson's being fined for stealing a cherry tree. Today, a hospital and a park, among other things, are named after Titus Bronson. Kalamazoo legally incorporated as a village in 1838 and as a city in 1883. According to Dr. Willis Dunbar's "Kalamazoo and How it Grew", the first white resident of the area was probably a British fur trader named Burrell who in 1795 spent the winter at his trading post near what is now Riverside Cemetery. A Frenchman named Numaiville erected the first permanent trading post in 1823. Rix Robinson took over the post and operated it until 1837. The first white settler of the county was a man named Bazel Harrison, cousin of U.S. President William Henry Harrison. Harrison traveled to Kalamazoo County in late 1828 and built his home on the shores of a small lake 3 miles northwest of what is now Schoolcraft. (Harrison is said to be the person James Fennimore Cooper had in mind when he created the character Ben Boden in his famous novel, "The Oak Opening"). Other settlers followed quickly and by 1830 over 100 families had settled in the Prairie Ronde area. Within a year, all of the county's eight prairies had been settled. In 1829 Titus Bronson built the first cabin within the modern city limits on Arcadia Creek, west of the present Westnedge Avenue. A year later he replaced it with a permanent cabin on the present site of Bronson Park. The county itself was organized by an act of the territorial legislature and approved by the governor on July 3, 1830. The town of Bronson was officially designated the county seat on May 1, 1831. Five years later an influential group of men in town, dismayed by the apparent eccentricities of Titus Bronson, (he was accused, tried, and convicted of stealing a cherry tree) had the name of the town changed to "Kalamazoo." On August 27, 1856, Abraham Lincoln spoke at a rally in Kalamazoo's Bronson Park, promoting the presidential candidacy of John C. Fremont, who was running on the ticket of the newly formed Republican Party. The occasion marks Lincoln's only visit or public address within the State. The Kalamazoo Mall was the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States was begun with the closing of Burdick Street to auto traffic in 1959. The four block long mall, stretching from Lovell Street on the South to Eleanor Street on the north, has been restyled to match the attributes of the Arcadia Commons development, where the new Kalamazoo Public Museum anchors the north end of the mall. In 1999, however, two blocks of the mall were modified to accommodate auto traffic after a period of political debates on the issue. The creation of the mall gave Kalamazoo the name of "Mall City." Lucius Lyon, a land speculator, who later became one of Michigan's first U.S. Senators at statehood, founded the village of Schoolcraft. In 1830, John Vickers built the county's first gristmill in the Prairie Ronde area. Within the same year he sold it and built another 20 miles away. The village that grew around the newest mill came to be called Vicksburg. TRANSPORATION In 1800 the waterways and the Indian trails were the only routes a traveler in the county could follow. Settlers constructed the first primitive roads after 1830, the main one being the Territorial Road. This ran from Detroit to St. Joseph and bisected the county. The first plank roads were built around 1845 with the most important one stretching from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids. Although these roads aided transportation, travel on them could be slow and sometimes treacherous. The railroads soon became a faster and safer means of transportation. The Michigan Central line first spanned the territory between Detroit and Kalamazoo in 1846 and its link to Chicago was completed in 1852. By 1905 at least six railroads connected Kalamazoo with the rest of the continent. By that time, however, the importance of the railways began to fade. The short-lived interurban systems were attracting short distance passengers and freight shippers. In the first quarter of the twentieth century, the development of gasoline powered vehicles and hard-surfaced roads offered the residents of the county improved transportation possibilities. Presently two major roads in the county are Interstate 94 and U.S. 131, both of them limited access expressways. The county also has four airlines serving its needs. INDUSTRY Since the early days of white settlement, Kalamazoo County has always supported a strong farming economy. Industry has also been a strong force in the county's economic development. As early as 1850 an iron furnace to smelt bog ore was founded in the county. After the Civil War, paper manufacturers began setting up shop in the Kalamazoo River Valley and in 1885, a physician from Hastings, Michigan, invented a pill making machine and developed the first readily dissolvable pill. William Erastus Upjohn moved to Kalamazoo to seek his business future and started the Upjohn Pill and Granule Company (later Pharmacia & Upjohn and now Pfizer), one of the world's leading pharmaceutical firms, was founded. The many other new and diversified industries attracted more workers and families to Kalamazoo County. For further information on the history of Kalamazoo County and its communities, the book "Kalamazoo and How it Grew" by Willis F. Dunbar, Western Michigan University, 1959, is very helpful. Most of the county's early white settlers were fur traders from England or New York. The remainder came from Pennsylvania and Maryland. After 1845 the number of foreign immigrants increased rapidly especially with the coming of the Hollanders in 1850. The growth rate of the county's population reached its height between 1845 and 1860 when almost 8,000 newcomers settled here. That growth rate was not exceeded for 50 years when between 1904 and 1920 the population grew to 214,000, quite an increase over the 1860 figure. Increased immigration, better transportation, and the appearance of diversified industries all played a role in Kalamazoo County's growth. Kalamazoo is home to the Pfizer Corporation, formerly Pharmacia, Pharmacia Upjohn and The Upjohn Company, all pharmaceutical manufacturers. Most of Upjohn's original facilities remain, many have been renovated and some new buildings have been constructed. The presence of these corporations has helped the diversification of the chemistry and biotechnology sector of the area's economy. The bulk of the facilities exist in Portage, Michigan, but many also exist in Downtown Kalamazoo. Among others, Kalamazoo is home to Kalexsyn, PharmOptima, Ceetox, Metabolic Solutions Development, KAR Labs, Jasper Clinical Research and Development, Innovative Analytics and NephRx corporation. Other related businesses within the Kalamazoo metropolitan area include Eurofins AvTech Laboratories (Portage, Michigan), Bridge Organics (Vicksburg, Michigan), AureoGen Biosciences (Oshtemo Township, Michigan), and MPI Research (Mattawan, Michigan). These firms primarily focus on drug discovery and synthesis, clinical support, and finished pharmaceutical testing. KAR Labs also specializes in environmental testing, in addition to bioanalysis. Many of these companies were founded by alumni of Upjohn and its successors, especially after Pfizer eliminated thousands of jobs at its Kalamazoo and Portage facilities. The presence of these smaller biotechnology firms has helped mitigate the economic effects of Pfizer's downsizing. Several have received startup support from Southwest Michigan First's Innovation Center and grants from the State of Michigan through its Technology Tri-Corridor program. Michigan State University has a branch of its medical school and several post-doctoral residency training programs in Kalamazoo. Resident training programs in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, General Surgery, Family Medicine, Orthopedic surgery, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, and sports medicine are centered at The Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (KCMS) founded by Michigan State University. The city is also home to the Stryker Corporation, a surgical and medical devices manufacturer. Kalamazoo has two hospitals, Bronson Methodist Hospital, and Borgess Medical Center. The W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research organization, has operated in Kalamazoo since its establishment in 1945. The Institute conducts research into the causes and effects of unemployment and measures for the alleviation of unemployment. The Institute also publishes Business Outlook for West Michigan , a quarterly journal that provides economic analysis and forecasts on the West Michigan economy. Other notable Kalamazoo businesses include: · The Farmers' Market, located on Bank Street, is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, May through November. A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers are sold from stalls by area growers. · National City (Kalamazoo was formerly the corporate HQ of First of America Bank, which merged with National City Bank in 1997), National City still maintains a large corporate building in Oshtemo Township, and several downtown along with branches in the area. CULTURE & EDUCATION As the size of Kalamazoo County grew, so did the variety of social and cultural activities. The Kalamazoo Gazette, the county's earliest newspaper, is one of the state's oldest. Many other papers were published here in the early years, including the Kalamazoo Telegraph (1844-1916).
Largely due to its college-town influence, Kalamazoo has always been notable as a center for the arts. Celebrating local artists, the city's Arts Council holds an Art Hop every first Friday of the month, circulating among many local businesses in the downtown area. Big-name stars and groups often perform at the State Theatre, Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University, and Wings Stadium. An annual event is "Eccentric Day" at Bell's Eccentric Cafe which celebrates the brewery's Eccentric Ale. The celebration is in December on the Friday marking the end of finals at Western Michigan University. Despite the name and a Woody Woodpecker cartoon, there is no zoo in Kalamazoo, besides the mentioned aviation museum called the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. The city closed its only zoo in 1974. Adjacent to Milham Park is the Milham Park Golf Course, which is rated among the best municipal golf courses in the country. Completed in 1936, the 18-hole, par 72 course features a pro-shop and restaurant, and is located entirely within the city limits of Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo is also the birthplace of the Moped Army. In the Fall of 1971, the Kalamazoo Public Schools system was ordered by a Federal Judge to be integrated after he found the school system to be unlawfully segregated. The judge's determination was the culmination of nearly a decade of racially charged incidents and protests, included several city-wide school closures. A program of two-way bussing was implemented in September 1971, in which the city's black students were transported from downtown Kalamazoo in the north and east sections of the city to predominantly white neighborhoods on the west side, and vice versa. The program was closely watched by education experts as the city's population more closely mirrored the demographic make up of the United States as a whole than any other jurisdiction. The bussing program continued through the late 1990s. Beginning in 1971, numerous white families moved from the Kalamazoo Public Schools to adjacent districts, particularly Portage Public Schools to the south and Mattawan Consolidated School to the west. Despite a nearly 10 percent population reduction over the next two decades, the integration plan was more successful than in other large Michigan districts where "white flight" was more severe. The county's educational facilities have always been a source of pride for residents. The first public high school was built in 1859 and in April 1833, the territorial governor signed legislation authorizing a charter for the Michigan and Huron Institute. Its first building was erected in 1836 on Cedar Street between Park and Westnedge and over the years, the Institute evolved into the well-respected Kalamazoo College. At present the county boasts four institutions of higher learning - Kalamazoo College, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport University. Branches of other colleges are now also present in the Kalamazoo area. The area's cities, Kalamazoo and Marshall in particular have many areas designated as historic districts. Notable examples of Gothic, Italianate, Greek Revival, Sullivanesque, Queen Anne, Art Deco and other architectural styles accent their stately old avenues, providing a glimpse of restored grandeur from the previous century. Frank Lloyd Wright also found Kalamazoo quite right for his "Usonian"style of homes, built here during the late 1940s. Many of his designs are found in and around Kalamazoo. Theater Kalamazoo is home to a number of local theater groups, including the Kalamazoo Civic Players, New Vic Theatre, The Whole Art Theatre, and the Barn Theatre in nearby Augusta. Plays are also performed at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University. There is a small local improv scene, centered mainly around the group Crawlspace Eviction and its sibling production, Bed, Breakfast, and Beyond. Monkapult, a student improv group at Kalamazoo College, also has regular performances. The All Ears Theatre, which invites listeners to return to "the thrilling days of live radio," performs a mix of new and classic works before a live audience. Twelve performances are recorded per year, all of which are later broadcast locally on WMUK. Kalamazoo has always had a diverse and vibrant music scene. The Gibson Guitar Corporation, originally founded in Kalamazoo in 1902, spurred the musical interests of many local musicians specializing in everything from classical genera, to folk, to modern-rock. The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1921, is now a well known world-class orchestra under the direction of Raymond Harvey. The city also plays host to the renowned Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, as well as a Bach Festival. The local and indie music scene has produced pop stars such as RCA recording artists The Verve Pipe, Metal Blade recording artists Thought Industry, Grass Records/RCA recording artists Twitch, Grass Records recording artists Doxie, unsigned heros Rollinghead and Knee Deep Shag, among others. The bluegrass and folk scene has developed a great following partly influenced by local bands like Sweet Corn, folk stars like Joel Mabus, and the local NPR show Grassroots. Recent manifestations of this interest in acoustic, folk, and bluegrass is the recent success of groups like Greensky Bluegrass, and individuals like Seth Bernard and Daisy May. The Coopers Glen Music Festival {http://www.coopersglen.org/} is also a popular music event held annually, previously at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and now at The Radisson Plaza Hotel. The Fretboard Festival, a celebration of Kalamazoo's music scene and it's musical heritage, is held annually at The Kalamazoo Valley Museum The city, with its diverse and multi-ethnic population also has burgeoning world music, hip hop, punk, celtic and blues scenes. Local musicians proud of their city have also written tributes featuring the name Kalamazoo, bringing about greater national recognition of the city, such as "Kalamazoo #12 & 35" by The Corn Fed Girls, "Flypaper" by Micaela Kingslight and "Wanderin" by The Red Sea Pedestrians. Downtown Kalamazoo was struck by an F3 tornado on May 13, 1980, killing 5 and injuring 79. Historic and Interesting places in or near Kalamazoo The city is home to a number of art galleries, with the largest and most prominent being the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, which houses over 3,600 works with a focus on 20th-century American art. The KIA regularly houses temporary exhibitions, some of which have drawn tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world. The Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, generally called the Air Zoo, is just down the street from the airport. It is the first museum of its kind in the world with its "museum-meets-indoor-amusement-park" theme. It boasts many historical and rare aircraft, including the world's only remaining SR-71B Blackbird. Many of its antique planes are airworthy. Downtown is the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, a "hands-on" museum aimed largely at children which also has a planetarium and a nationally recognized Challenger Learning Center. It also features a mural painted by renowned artist James "Jungle" Powell. Northeast of town is the Gilmore Car Museum, which includes cars used in Walt Disney movies.
The city is situated mainly on the southwest bank of a major bend in the Kalamazoo River, with a small portion, approximately 7.3 km² (2.8 sqmi), on the opposite bank. Several small tributaries of the river, including Arcadia Creek and Portage Creek, wind through the city. The terrain in the eastern portions of the city, nearest to the river, is generally low and flat, whilst in the western portions it becomes a series of low hills spreading out to the west and south. Several small lakes are found throughout the area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.2square miles (65.2km²), of which, 24.7square miles (63.9km²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 sq&nbs;mi) of it (1.99%) is water. The city's suburban population is located primarily to the south, in the city of Portage, and to the west in Oshtemo Township. Kalamazoo is located approximately halfway between Detroit and Chicago. At least part of the municipal water supply for Kalamazoo is provided by the watershed contained within the Al Sabo Preserve in Texas Charter Township, Michigan, immediately southwest of Kalamazoo. Another watershed, Kleinstuck Marsh, is very popular with hikers and birdwatchers. Kleinstuck Marsh is located south of Maple Street, between Westnedge Avenue (Kalamazoo's major north-south artery) and Oakland Drive. Kalamazoo is situated in West Michigan. Kalamazoo government is administered under a Commission-Manager style of government. The City Commission is the representative body of the city, and consists of seven members, elected on a non-partisan basis every two years. Whomever receives the most number of votes during an election becomes the council president and ceremonial mayor of the city. The member that receives the second highest number of votes becomes vice mayor. The current mayor, Bobby J. Hopewell, was elected November 13, 2007, beating Hannah McKinney, who automatically became vice mayor. The City Manager is the city's chief administrative officer. The manager is hired by, and answers to, the City Commission. Main article: Neighborhoods of Kalamazoo The city of Kalamazoo is commonly divided into twenty-two neighborhoods, many of which are served by a neighborhood association. The Neighborhood Development Division of the city's government works with these associations to invest federal, state, and local funds, including those from the Community Development Block Grant program, in community improvements and economic growth. There is a great diversity in the character of the neighborhoods. Closer to the city center are historical residential areas such as Stuart, full of Victorian and Queen Anne homes. Neighborhoods in the south west corner of the city are home to the wealthier inhabitants and contain modern developments with more open spaces. The Central Business District and the neighborhoods to the south along Westnedge Avenue (Westnedge Hill, Southside, Vine, and South Westnedge) contain much of the area's retail shopping, mixed with a residential populace. Just west of downtown are the campuses of Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University, surrounded by several blocks of student housing. Neighborhoods north and east of the city center tend to be lower income. The city's Hispanic population is focused on the east side, in the Edison neighborhood. The Edison neighborhood is also becoming a center for the city's gay and lesbian community.
Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University. The college has four campuses in Kalamazoo, (West Campus, East Campus, Parkview Campus and Oakland Drive Campus) as well as several satellite campuses throughout Michigan. West Campus, located just west of downtown, has by far the largest concentration of university students, programs and school services. The school is one of the 50 largest universities in the nation, and one of the top 100 public universities in the country. In 2005, the university had over 26,000 students and employed over 1,200 faculty. Also in 2005, Western Michigan ranked #2 Wireless Campus in the U.S. in a national survey done by the Intel Corporation. Western Michigan University is also the home of the International Congress on Medieval Studies, held each year in May, and organized by the Medieval Institute. The Congress brings some 3,000 professors and students from around the globe to present and discuss a variety of topics on the Middle Ages. Graduate students play an important role in its organization. Kalamazoo College, one of the first educational institutions in the state of Michigan and a pioneer in the field of coeducation, resides next door to WMU. The school was ranked #1 in Study Abroad programs by US News & World Report 2003 Edition America's Best Colleges, with 80% of students spending at least one term abroad. It was also the #1 school in 2005 for recruitment into the Peace Corps (per capita). Kalamazoo is home to Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport University. It had also been the home of Nazareth College, which closed in 1992. Because of very generous private donations from several anonymous individuals, every resident graduate of the Kalamazoo Public Schools is provided with a scholarship for up to 100% of tuition and mandatory fee costs for four years at any public university or community college in Michigan, starting with the class of 2006. This program is known as the Kalamazoo Promise. Books and room and board are not included.
Welcome to KalamazooPromise
SCHOLARSHIP AGREEMENT
Kalamazoo has four popular local breweries and brewpubs producing a variety of beer styles, from light bodied wheat ales to stouts and barley wines. The most well known is Bell's, originally established as the Kalamazoo Brewing Company in 1985 by its founder, Larry Bell. The brewery has expanded from its original Kalamazoo location, which houses the Eccentric Cafe, to a modern, state-of–the-art brewery located in nearby Comstock. Bell's beer can now be found at retailers across the country. Kraftbräu Brewery, was across the street and a few feet east from Bell's Eccentric Cafe. Another local entertainment venue in a brewery atmosphere it is now unfortunately closed and looking for another location. Olde Peninsula is another downtown brewpub featuring a small selection of craft beers to accompany its diverse menu. Bilbo's Pizza, located near Western Michigan's campus, also features a microbrewery. The A.M. Todd Company, one of the leading producers of peppermint oil and other flavorings, is headquartered in Kalamazoo. At one point it supplied 90% of the world's peppermint oil. Many mint plantations once littered the County as part of its operations. Its founder, Albert M. Todd, was elected to the United States House of Representatives for the 55th Congress. Kalamazoo is also home to Kalsec, another flavorings company, which was founded by Paul H. Todd, Jr., Albert Todd's grandson and U.S. Representative in the 89th Congress. Founded as the Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Company, Kalsec is owned and managed by Todd family descendants.
Kalamazoo plays host to four non-collegiate teams: · The Kalamazoo Kings minor-league baseball team plays games at Homer Stryker Field and is a member of the independent Frontier League. · The Kalamazoo Wings (aka K-Wings) minor-league hockey team plays games in Wings Stadium and is a member of the newly revived International Hockey League (2007-). · The Kalamazoo Xplosion indoor football team plays games in Wings Stadium and is a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. · The Kalamazoo Outrage is a soccer club and has mens, womens and junior teams and is a member of United Soccer League, due to play in the Premier Development League as an expansion team in the . On November 14th 2007, the club announced a player development deal with one of England's oldest soccer teams, Sheffield Wednesday a.k.a 'The Owls'. Former USA international team player John Harkes played successfully with the Owls in the 1990s, and current international youngster Frank Simek from St Louis, MO is their current first-choice right-back. The Western Michigan University Broncos, who compete in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference, play at the following on-campus venues: · Lawson Arena (hockey) · University Arena (basketball and Volleyball) · Hyames Field (baseball) · Ebert Field (softball) · Kanley Track (outdoor track and field) Hyames Field played host to the first two College World Series held in 1947 and 1948. Future U. S. President George H. W. Bush was a first baseman for Yale in the 1947 series. The Kalamazoo College Hornets and Kalamazoo Valley Community College Cougars also have several collegiate athletic teams. Kalamazoo is the hometown of New York Yankees all-star shortstop Derek Jeter, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings, and Detroit Lions running back T.J. Duckett. Florida Marlins pitcher Scott Olsen was born in Kalamazoo. The United States Tennis Association Boys 18 and 16 National Tennis Championships are hosted every summer by Kalamazoo College. The event, organized completely by local volunteers from Kalamazoo's vibrant tennis community, has seen some of tennis' great stars in years just before they became pro including Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, James Blake and Andy Roddick. Kalamazoo is served by one main newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette , published daily. Western Michigan University's school paper, the Western Herald is distributed on-campus and around the greater Kalamazoo area. WWMT, West Michigan's CBS affiliate, is licensed and operates out of Kalamazoo but serves the entire West Michigan region from the Indiana border, west to the lakeshore, and all the way up to Muskegon and Big Rapids. Currently the station advertises itself as NEWSCHANNEL 3 with the slogan "Live, Local, Breaking News". Former slogans include "News 3, Where News Comes First" and "News Active 3". WWMT formerly used the call letters WKZO, and was originally owned and operated by the famous broadcasting pioneer John Fetzer. Fetzer, along with television, also introduced Kalamazoo to radio for the first time in 1931, when AM 590 WKZO signed on the air. The Community Access Center located in downtown Kalamazoo hosts a multitude of media outlets including cable channels 19, 20, 21, 22, and 95 where daily media programs are produced and aired to the public. Local television stations which serve Kalamazoo include: · WWMT CH 3 - Kalamazoo - CBS · WWMT CH 3.2 - Kalamazoo - CW- also known as Channel 7, or "CW7." · WOOD CH 8 - Grand Rapids - NBC · WZZM CH 13 - Grand Rapids - ABC · WXMI CH 17 - Grand Rapids - FOX · WOTV CH 41 - Battle Creek - ABC · WZPX CH 43 - Battle Creek - ION · WXSP CH 50 - Grand Rapids - MNT · WGVU CH 52 - Grand Rapids - PBS · WLLA CH 64 - Kalamazoo - Religious WIDR is operated at Western Michigan University. Located at 89.1 on the FM dial, the college student-run radio station is located on the campus and is known for playing obscure and rarely heard underground music. WMUK is also on Western Michigan University's campus. Located at 102.1 FM, the station hosts many local music programs inlcuding Jazz and Classical performances as well as programming from NPR. WKDS is West Michigan's only high school student-run radio station. The station signed on in 1983 at 89.9 on the FM dial, broadcasting from Loy Norrix High School. The call letters stood for K alamazoo D istrict S chools (now Kalamazoo Public Schools). For most of its history, WKDS broadcasted only during daytime hours and not at all on the weekend. In Fall of 2004, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in an attempt to prevent an outside organization to take over the time WKDS was off the air. WKDS was part of a county wide Education For Employment program for years. The radio station is still owned by Kalamazoo Public Schools although the EFE program has been discontinued. High School students from around the area continue to operate the station. FM radio stations which serve Kalamazoo include: · WAYK 88.3 - Kalamazoo - Christian Top 40 · WIDR 89.1 - Kalamazoo - College/Variety · WKDS 89.9 - Kalamazoo - High School/Variety · WCSG 91.3 - Grand Rapids - Christian AC · WZUU 92.5 - Mattawan/Kalamazoo - Classic Rock · WBCT 93.7 - Grand Rapids - Country · WLKM 95.9 - Three Rivers - Classic Hits · WYZO 96.5 - Portage/Kalamazoo - Country · WGRD 97.9 - Grand Rapids - Alternative Rock · WNWN 98.5 - Battle Creek - Country · WBCH 100.1 - Hastings - Country · WQXC 100.9 - Otsego/Kalamazoo - Oldies · WMUK 102.1 - Kalamazoo - NPR/Classical/Jazz · WKFR 103.3 - Battle Creek/Kalamazoo - CHR Top 40 · WBXX 104.9 - Battle Creek - Adult Contemporary · WOOD 105.7 - Grand Rapids - Adult Contemporary · WJXQ 106.1 - Jackson/Lansing - Active Rock · WVFM 106.5 - Kalamazoo - Adult Contemporary · WRKR 107.7 - Portage/Kalamazoo - Classic Rock AM radio stations which serve Kalamazoo include: · WKZO 590 - Kalamazoo - News/Talk · WAKV 980 - Allegan/Otsego - Adult Standards · WKMI 1360 - Kalamazoo - News/Talk · WKPR 1420 - Kalamazoo - Religious · WNWN 1560 - Portage/Kalamazoo - Urban Adult Contemporary · WQLR 1660 - Kalamazoo - Sports
Kalamazoo is served by highways I-94, US 131, M-43 and M-96. It was on the original Territorial Road in Michigan of the 1800s, which started in Detroit and ran to Lake Michigan. Much of that, but not all, later became Old U.S. 12—the "old" designation came about when I-94 was built parallel to it—and also was called Red Arrow Highway after a World War I army division. The name "U.S. 12" was shifted south to what once was U.S. 112 between Detroit and Chicago. Some parts of Old U.S. 12 outside of town, especially in Van Buren County and Berrien County to the west, are still called Red Arrow Highway. The term "Old U.S. 12" has faded from use. Main article: Kalamazoo Transportation Center and Michigan Services · Kalamazoo has rail service provided by Amtrak, with the station located downtown and combined with a newly renovated bus terminal. · Bus service to and through the city is provided by Greyhound and Indian Trails. Public bus services within the city are provided by Kalamazoo Metro Transit. · On the southern end of the city is the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport, where flights on American Eagle, Northwest Airlines, Delta Connection (Comair, Atlantic Southeast Airlines), Northwest Airlink (Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines), and United Express connect people to Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Minneapolis. The Kal-Haven Trail, heavily used by bicyclists and snowmobilers, extends nearly to downtown Kalamazoo. It runs 34 miles (55 km) between South Haven, Michigan, to a point just west of Kalamazoo, though there are plans to extend it into the city.
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