My cancer journey
Travis Dopp • February 12, 2021
When you’re young, you have no idea what lies ahead. You look at life through that pair of rose-colored glasses and the sky is the limit. Then, as life encroaches with all of its intricacies and quirks, those rose-colored glasses turn clear, and your analysis of life has altered.
I was born in Battle Creek in October of 1975 and my parents, Bill and Gayle Dopp moved to Marshall when I was 2 years old. Fortunately, I had an older brother Tom Blandford, and shortly after we moved to Marshall my younger brother William was born as was my younger sister Samantha.
Attending Kindergarten at Shearman School, I completed the rest of my grade school at Gordon. I do believe I still hold the record for getting into trouble there. For three months straight, each day I made a trip to the principal’s office. This mostly was due to the fact that I had two small friends who were picked on older bullies, so I would fight those kids each day to try to keep them from picking on my buddies. From Gordon I attended Marshall Middle School and graduated from Marshall High School in 1994. And for the record? I stayed out of trouble!
When you’re 18, you’re really not sure what you want to do, so you try out different avenues. I completed a year of the architecture program at Baker College in Owosso after high school. And that was okay. But having an older brother to talk to help me make some decisions about my future.
After the conversation explaining to Tom about what I really wanted to do with my life, there was a serenity that I felt. I wanted to be a film writer, director and actor yet I always wanted to play music. So, I decided to attend Lansing Community College to study film and writing and to be closer to my friends in Lansing in the band I was playing with.
Our new band, Small Brown Bike, started up and we were gaining some attention. At the same time, I was studying 11 different majors at LCC and spending money without a target goal in sight. In the meantime, we built a skate ramp in our garage. I made the decision to end my time at LCC and spend my time writing, filming, and playing music. That life-changing decision paid off for me, but I do believe that the lifestyle I adopted played a part in my cancer diagnosis.
In 2003 I went to the Los Angeles Film School and completed its eight-week film program. While I was there, the owner of the film school told me I was an “idea guy” so, he asked me to pitch a concept for their ad campaign. I did, and I ended up directing and writing the ad campaign for them.
It’s interesting how interests throughout one’s lifetime change. Growing up in the country, I spent most of my time in the woods, in my sandbox, in the cornfields playing war games, building forts, running with my dogs and brothers. After school, we’d watch our favorite cartoons and then go right outside and try to recreate those episodes. The summer before 5th grade I got into skateboarding and fell in love with the sport, so it became an everyday activity. And I still skateboard, even with bad knees. It’s something I simply can’t shake.
Although I stayed out of trouble in my high school years, the group of guys I hung around with were kind of wild, but I liked that though. I played football, and there I could unleash the aggression of being made fun of for being a skater, a long haired 90210 skater. We were a machine the way our team played and worked together. To me it was cool with the team mentality. Teamwork is also what made our band fun. We worked hard to sound perfect and tight, but the most important things at the time were watching movies, hanging with my buddies, and skateboarding every day.
My musical interests over the years have ranged from growing up listening to Motown, R&B and classic folk music to, by third grade, getting into break-dancing when I fell in love with Hip Hop, which has stayed with me till this day. However, through skating and my older brother Tom and his friends, I was introduced to thrash metal and punk rock. Today those remain my staples.
I’ve digressed. Immediately when I got out of high school I worked at my dad’s station, Walter’s Tire Shop, and I also did some construction work. During that time, I was writing scripts and our band, Small Brown Bike, began touring and putting records out. Officially we’re still together, but we haven’t played a show in four years.
I’ve also completed solo music projects: Leave Let Be and Travis John along with five unaccompanied records. In 2004, I decided to move to Orlando, Florida to write for a wakeboard magazine Alliance; there I was given my own four-page section of the magazine to review music and write my odd stories with wake boarders.
Deciding in 2007 that I needed a change, I moved to Chicago to really focus on my film career. At this point I already had a couple music videos on MTV that I directed and appeared in a few commercial items as well. Since that time, I haven’t looked back; I’ve stayed focused on my film career. I have to say, it hasn’t been easy or pretty, but my determination has paid off.
My brothers and I created a show that was a finalist for Comedy Central, and I’ve pitched my projects to almost every network under the sun. I filmed a show last year, but because of the virus, I had to postpone the series. I’m currently a producer with a company called Brandon TV, which is affiliated with Viacom. But again, the response to the virus has really put some roadblocks up for any true momentum to get going. I do however have a cartoon with some major players that is in pre-production to shoot the pilot episode.
Sometimes I wonder why I chose this path, but I’ve been creating or using my imagination since I can remember. The typical 9 to 5 jobs never made sense to me. I tried a couple of them, but I just didn’t last long at them.
In February of 2020 I began thinking I might have something wrong with me. I started to see blood in my stools. This occurred off and on, not with any consistency. However, I was sick all of December 2019 and the beginning of January 2020. But, because of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to see my doctor, so we had to Zoom our appointments. The doctor thought I had an ulcer, so we began to try to fix that.
In March and April, I changed my entire diet after I started having an absurd amount of bowel movements in a day. I would have between 8 and 12 and there was blood in the stools. So, with my new diet change, everything went back to normal, but when I would walk away from the diet, those symptoms would start back up.
In June I started to see changes, so I went to see about getting a colonoscopy. By that time, I didn’t have blood in my stools for 10 days, so the doctor didn’t believe I had cancer, but felt I should schedule a colonoscopy anyway. I didn’t have insurance and I was feeling good, so I didn’t schedule the procedure.
I felt great all of June and July. By August, things began to really change. The pain in my back and sides were more frequent and I had five days of blood in my stools. I began to realize that something was wrong but didn’t want to believe it. So, I made another Zoom meeting with my doctor and after a stern talking to, she told me to get a colonoscopy. I couldn’t thank her enough, because I was totally going to try and fix this situation I was in, by myself. She gave me the hard truth.
My journey began at Oaklawn Hospital, but then I switched to an oncologist in Kalamazoo. Then, I played the waiting game at the University of Michigan Hospital. I had heard so many promising stories about the University of Michigan, but they were in absolutely no hurry to get me in, so while we waited on them, I had meetings with the Mayo Clinic.
I absolutely loved the surgeon at the Mayo Clinic because she broke everything down for me. Unfortunately, the University of Michigan gave me the run around, and I didn’t like its “unsure diagnosis” nor its bedside manner. I ended up at Bronson in Battle Creek after hearing two great stories about the facility and its team.
On Sept. 17, 2020 I was diagnosed with colon cancer – The Mayo Clinic and the University of Michigan Hospital were both ready to surgically remove the tumor, and since they believed it to be Stage 1, no chemotherapy would be necessary. After five weeks of talking and scans, U of M wanted me to get a liver MRI before surgery because they saw something on my liver. On Oct. 26 U of M told me that I had Stage 4 colon cancer and I was no longer curable, because they found 10-15 lesions on my liver.
The Mayo Clinic thought the lesions on my liver were not cancer, but they were worried about a high aortic lymph node that was swollen, so Mayo diagnosed me as Stage 4 as well. Unfortunately, no one had 100% of the answers because they couldn’t get a biopsy on my liver and the high lymph node might be swollen from infection, not cancer.
After the meetings with the U of M team, I called the Bronson Cancer Center in Battle Creek. After the meeting with Dr. Cox, he said he did not believe I had cancer in my liver, so he deemed me Stage 3.
On Dec. 16, I started my chemo treatment at Bronson Cancer Care Center. I’m scheduled for 12 doses, going every two weeks: one day at the center getting chemo and two days at home with the chemo pack on me. U of M wanted to check me after six doses but because my blood work was perfect and my cancer numbers were lower, Bronson wanted to check me after four doses.
I’ve only done three rounds of chemo and every single one of them have been different. After the first round, I experienced a tingling in my hands and one day of hunger. After round two, the tingling was worse, and I experienced about five days of brain fog. By round three, I basically slept for nearly two days and the tingling in my hands was more intense. But other than that, I feel great, I can work out and my energy is high after the five days of chemo.
When you travel down this rocky road of cancer, especially when you’re my age, it’s extremely daunting. However, the support I have received has been amazing. My family is supporting everything I’m doing to beat this. Additionally, I’m operating from a highly positive mindset, so everyone vibrates at my level.
The music community has stepped up huge as well; the outreach and connections have been deeply appreciated and heartwarming. The stories have been very encouraging and provide fuel for my own survival fire. Since my insurance doesn’t cover everything, a music fan created a t-shirt to raise money. Another friend created a GoFundMe. Bands are helping with music compilations to raise money and a photographer is selling live music pictures of me to raise money for my fight.
When you don’t have a 100% diagnosis, it’s difficult to be placed into a category of numbers and statistics. My cancer and body is different from others. My diet is clean, my mindset is my own and different than others. However, all of these effects are not talked about between the doctor and the patient.
Looking at my cancer as a gift, I needed a deep change, and my body has spoken. Once I understood the change I needed to make, it’s been much easier to unpack and forgive on a daily basis. I’ve been allowed the time to appreciate the moment and plan for a healthier future, the one I’m supposed to have.
As far as a prognosis, one doctor says I’m curable; another doctor says it’s incurable but manageable and yet another told me he’s seen this type go into remission. My personal prediction is that I will beat this and be cancer free.
My genetic makeup is not prone to any cancers. I believe this was all lifestyle. I can change my lifestyle and this disease. I also have a gene that doesn’t allow cancer to multiply rapidly. My blood work remains flawless and I believe it will be again on this next week when I receive a full body scan to assess what the chemo has done. From the way I’m feeling and how my body has been working, I believe I am going to see fantastic results.
It’s strange sometimes the way you look at a cancer diagnosis. At first, I was extremely mad and scared and gave myself a short time to live. That only lasted for perhaps an hour. I then made it clear to myself that I would beat this cancer and remain positive. Since I was 19, I’ve been dealing with anxiety. Most of my anxiety was irrational and I would think I had cancer or some other disease, causing unwarranted worrying. Since my diagnosis, I no longer speak those things over me. My journey doesn’t have an ending. I only see my future without cancer.
Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that change is key. It made me evaluate friendships, relationships, and those who no longer serve my well-being. I’ve learned to forgive those who I believe wronged me but most importantly, I’ve forgiven myself. I beat myself up for the first week after I heard I was Stage 4. My lifestyle did this – my past. I’m living in the present and I’m reversing the outcome with positive affirmations, diet, exercise and strong belief. This journey has prepared me for a better future.
My advice? Perhaps this isn’t “ethical” but if you’re 35 years old, lie to your doctor and say you have blood in your stools so you can get a colonoscopy. Every doctor has told me they keep seeing younger people with colon cancer. However, institutions like the CDC and other health organizations indicate you’re not supposed to need or get checked until you’re 45 years old. That’s wrong. Just go. Because if they find a polyp, they remove it and then you’ll know you need to be checked more frequently. I’ve already had more than 20 people get a colonoscopy since I shared my story. If you have blood in your stools, don’t be like me and think you can fix it. You can’t. Get a colonoscopy as soon as possible. It’s not a joke and cancer treatment isn’t fun.
Since my insurance doesn’t take care of everything and I’m doing my surgery at the Mayo Clinic, they require 20% down on my surgery cost: it’s a six-figure operation. We have multiple ways for people to help, contribute, and donate to help my fight. Stories and kind words are always appreciated to any cancer victims and support from anyone is appreciated. So, I’ve asked people when they’re praying or sending good vibes my way to focus their thoughts on my liver not having any cancer in it and shrinking my colon tumor.
Cancer is not easy, but you can change everything you did leading up to your diagnosis. Doctors will not talk to you about diet, but research diet and cancer – see what works for you. But be open to completely changing your diet. It’s worked extremely well for me and my results are proof. Forgive and unpack any unwarranted stresses or anxieties and believe you can beat this, especially if you’re willing to change. Pills and chemo aren’t the only keys to success.
Anger, anxiety, zero balance in my life and stress contributed to my cancer. I don’t hate my cancer – it took years to make this happen. My body was just telling me we were off. Now I’m doing everything to correct myself. Like I said before,
I look at my cancer as a gift. I’m in the middle of filming a series that documents my cancer journey and sharing my methods to beating cancer in hopes it gives some insight or comfort to those in the same boat.
For anyone who is interested in Travis’ journey and hearing more, check out: Personal Instagram: travisjdopp / Company Instagram: oldpointlight / FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/ShyGuy1975. You can follow his YouTube channel for episodes. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/OldPointLight.
Get to know MPS Superintendent Becky Jones as she looks ahead to the new school year Marshall Public Schools Superintendent Becky Jones said she has always had a passion for wanting to work in education. Even though her master’s degree is in business from Spring Arbor University, Jones originally went to school at Eastern Michigan University to be a special education teacher when she was an undergraduate before making the switch to the business field. “I always wanted to work in some sort of line in education and be a part of the school system,” Jones said. “My aunt was a special education teacher in an early childhood role and she worked for Jackson ISD. That was part of the reason why I wanted to go to school to be a special education teacher when I started. I ended up changing and I’m not 100% sure why I changed, but it’s interesting that I ended up into the system in the career path of doing that.” After Jones graduated from EMU, she landed a job in Jackson as a business manager for a construction company before being hired at Jackson County Intermediate School District in business operations. Jones has been in the school system ever since her time at Jackson County ISD before coming over to Marshall Public Schools, where she served as the director of business operations for the district for eight years. Jones said the relationships she built over the eight years in that role has helped her transition into the superintendent role. “I think with how I am as a leader and how I am as a person, I like to build a lot of personal relationships,” said Jones. “So I think that’s just something that has come natural for me over the eight years, I’ve just always built really good relationships with the people that I work with. I care about the people, I care about families, I care about our students. It didn’t seem unnatural for me to fill into the role of interim, because it was something I wanted to do.” Jones was appointed interim superintendent in May 2021 after the departure of former Superintendent Randy Davis. After eight months, the Marshall Public Schools Board of Education unanimously agreed to hire Jones into the permanent role. When reflecting on when she officially was hired into the permanent role, Jones commended the many who have supported her during the process and said she feels honored to now be serving in the role. “I think that educating people’s children and educating our youth is a very important role,” said Jones. “It’s an honor and a blessing in how I look at it.” Jones added that she is driven and inspired by being able to serve two communities, being students and families in both Marshall and Albion. “When I look at the district as a whole, I look at it as serving two communities,” Jones said. “Obviously we have an interesting history as a school system with bringing Albion into the system and serving both Albion and Marshall. That to me alone, just having the two communities that we get to serve, is a wonderful thing. Both communities have a lot to offer when you look at it. There are a lot of great people, leaders and businesses that are really supportive of the school system and really supportive of our kids. That’s one of the many benefits of this role.” Jones added she is also inspired by being able to serve the students as a whole and being able to interact with them and the teachers who are involved in their learning development. “Also the kids and the interaction with the kids. We get to go out to buildings and interact with the kids and interact with the teachers,” Jones added. “We have a wonderful staff in the district. When I look at the role, I don’t look at it as a superintendent role, I look at it as ‘I get to work with these amazing people who work for Marshall Public Schools and I get to meet all of these wonderful community members.’” In a March article from the Battle Creek Enquirer, former Board President Richard Lindsey acknowledged Jones played a key role in the annexation of the Albion School District and Marshall Public Schools in 2016. Jones further explained how she was involved in that process. “I walked alongside Dr. Davis when annexation happened,” she said. “I sat in all the meetings, went through all the financials and worked on all those things and what it would look like. So I was right alongside working through the annexation piece of it. Through annexation, there were a lot of people that care about both communities and about wanting to make sure that all of our kids have equal opportunity and equal access to good education. To me, in my eyes, that’s the one thing that matters, is equal access to kids for education.” As superintendent, there are both challenges ahead for Jones along with some things that she is excited about in terms of plans the district is implementing going into the school year. “I’m really excited about our strategic plan,” Jones said. “I think it’s really important for organizations to have a vision for what they are working towards. And I think that we’ve clearly written out what our vision is as an organization. I’m really looking forward to putting that in place.” As far as challenges go, Jones brought up being able to educate students in a post-pandemic world and focusing on providing support for students and families on what they need to further their education in light of all the disruptions that took place in schools during the past two years. “I think we still have a lot of challenges post pandemic when we’re looking at children and we’re looking at education,” Jones said. “We as a district need to sit down and focus on where our kids are at and where we need our kids to be in terms of education. So, I think for this year it’s really going to be a huge focus on what support we can give our families and the things we can do to really get our kids educated and where they need to be in a post pandemic world.” Another challenge in Jones’ eyes is how to put a new bond on the table and how to get community members to support one this time around. Last November, a $45.6 million bond was voted down by a 2 to 1 margin. She also mentioned the school’s sinking fund millage that she said will be on the ballot for voters this November. “We have $75 million worth of needs,” said Jones. “We obviously had a failed bond attempt and those needs haven’t gone away. So we’re going to have to go back out to the community in looking at a bond and (figure out) what we need to do. We need to sit down and talk about where we’re at with that. Another thing is with our sinking fund millage. That is set to expire and we’re going to be putting a renewal on the November ballot. It is a renewal but it’s not going to be worded as a renewal, because we’re going to add in security and technology services for that. So we’re really going to have to get out there and communicate effectively with the communities about that.” When Jones’ time is done at MPS, whenever that may be, she said she just hopes for both communities to look at the school district and be proud of what it represents. “I want both communities to be proud of their school system,” she said. “I want Marshall Public Schools serving both Marshall and Albion communities and for it to be a choice district for those communities. I want them to be proud of the work we do here and how we educate their kids.”
Get to know MPS Superintendent Becky Jones as she looks ahead to the new school year Marshall Public Schools Superintendent Becky Jones said she has always had a passion for wanting to work in education. Even though her master’s degree is in business from Spring Arbor University, Jones originally went to school at Eastern Michigan University to be a special education teacher when she was an undergraduate before making the switch to the business field. “I always wanted to work in some sort of line in education and be a part of the school system,” Jones said. “My aunt was a special education teacher in an early childhood role and she worked for Jackson ISD. That was part of the reason why I wanted to go to school to be a special education teacher when I started. I ended up changing and I’m not 100% sure why I changed, but it’s interesting that I ended up into the system in the career path of doing that.” After Jones graduated from EMU, she landed a job in Jackson as a business manager for a construction company before being hired at Jackson County Intermediate School District in business operations. Jones has been in the school system ever since her time at Jackson County ISD before coming over to Marshall Public Schools, where she served as the director of business operations for the district for eight years. Jones said the relationships she built over the eight years in that role has helped her transition into the superintendent role. “I think with how I am as a leader and how I am as a person, I like to build a lot of personal relationships,” said Jones. “So I think that’s just something that has come natural for me over the eight years, I’ve just always built really good relationships with the people that I work with. I care about the people, I care about families, I care about our students. It didn’t seem unnatural for me to fill into the role of interim, because it was something I wanted to do.” Jones was appointed interim superintendent in May 2021 after the departure of former Superintendent Randy Davis. After eight months, the Marshall Public Schools Board of Education unanimously agreed to hire Jones into the permanent role. When reflecting on when she officially was hired into the permanent role, Jones commended the many who have supported her during the process and said she feels honored to now be serving in the role. “I think that educating people’s children and educating our youth is a very important role,” said Jones. “It’s an honor and a blessing in how I look at it.” Jones added that she is driven and inspired by being able to serve two communities, being students and families in both Marshall and Albion. “When I look at the district as a whole, I look at it as serving two communities,” Jones said. “Obviously we have an interesting history as a school system with bringing Albion into the system and serving both Albion and Marshall. That to me alone, just having the two communities that we get to serve, is a wonderful thing. Both communities have a lot to offer when you look at it. There are a lot of great people, leaders and businesses that are really supportive of the school system and really supportive of our kids. That’s one of the many benefits of this role.” Jones added she is also inspired by being able to serve the students as a whole and being able to interact with them and the teachers who are involved in their learning development. “Also the kids and the interaction with the kids. We get to go out to buildings and interact with the kids and interact with the teachers,” Jones added. “We have a wonderful staff in the district. When I look at the role, I don’t look at it as a superintendent role, I look at it as ‘I get to work with these amazing people who work for Marshall Public Schools and I get to meet all of these wonderful community members.’” In a March article from the Battle Creek Enquirer, former Board President Richard Lindsey acknowledged Jones played a key role in the annexation of the Albion School District and Marshall Public Schools in 2016. Jones further explained how she was involved in that process. “I walked alongside Dr. Davis when annexation happened,” she said. “I sat in all the meetings, went through all the financials and worked on all those things and what it would look like. So I was right alongside working through the annexation piece of it. Through annexation, there were a lot of people that care about both communities and about wanting to make sure that all of our kids have equal opportunity and equal access to good education. To me, in my eyes, that’s the one thing that matters, is equal access to kids for education.” As superintendent, there are both challenges ahead for Jones along with some things that she is excited about in terms of plans the district is implementing going into the school year. “I’m really excited about our strategic plan,” Jones said. “I think it’s really important for organizations to have a vision for what they are working towards. And I think that we’ve clearly written out what our vision is as an organization. I’m really looking forward to putting that in place.” As far as challenges go, Jones brought up being able to educate students in a post-pandemic world and focusing on providing support for students and families on what they need to further their education in light of all the disruptions that took place in schools during the past two years. “I think we still have a lot of challenges post pandemic when we’re looking at children and we’re looking at education,” Jones said. “We as a district need to sit down and focus on where our kids are at and where we need our kids to be in terms of education. So, I think for this year it’s really going to be a huge focus on what support we can give our families and the things we can do to really get our kids educated and where they need to be in a post pandemic world.” Another challenge in Jones’ eyes is how to put a new bond on the table and how to get community members to support one this time around. Last November, a $45.6 million bond was voted down by a 2 to 1 margin. She also mentioned the school’s sinking fund millage that she said will be on the ballot for voters this November. “We have $75 million worth of needs,” said Jones. “We obviously had a failed bond attempt and those needs haven’t gone away. So we’re going to have to go back out to the community in looking at a bond and (figure out) what we need to do. We need to sit down and talk about where we’re at with that. Another thing is with our sinking fund millage. That is set to expire and we’re going to be putting a renewal on the November ballot. It is a renewal but it’s not going to be worded as a renewal, because we’re going to add in security and technology services for that. So we’re really going to have to get out there and communicate effectively with the communities about that.” When Jones’ time is done at MPS, whenever that may be, she said she just hopes for both communities to look at the school district and be proud of what it represents. “I want both communities to be proud of their school system,” she said. “I want Marshall Public Schools serving both Marshall and Albion communities and for it to be a choice district for those communities. I want them to be proud of the work we do here and how we educate their kids.”
In February of 1921, while what would eventually become the Marshall Country Club was being organized, 70 acres on the south shore of Lyon Lake was purchased for the golf course. That summer was spent by members raking stones, tearing down fences and leveling off and cleaning land while Harold C. Brooks, the club’s first president, hired golf architect Tom Bendelow of Chicago to help design the course. The following year, Brooks erected the club house that was planned by his architect friend Howard Young of Kalamazoo. A breezeway connected the club house with a pro shop and the country club was up and running. There have been a few changes made to Marshall Country Club over time, including the course being renovated into an 18-hole course from a nine-hole course in 1972. But 100 years later, the country club is still serving area golfers, with numerous events on tap as MCC celebrates its centennial year. Director of Communications Nancy Card said she believes Marshall Country Club’s ability to adapt over time has allowed the golf course to stay open even during ever-changing times. “It (country clubs) used to be much more formal,” said Card. “It used to be the ‘good ol' boys club.’ It used to be a high stakes kind of a thing. And now, through the evolution of all of these years, it’s interesting to me to see how creative we’ve had to become in order to continue to operate in the new world. It’s so different and we can’t operate like we used to back then. Just watching the changes and the evolution and how things have made us who we are today, that’s very important. And it’s so exciting to see how people are consumed with this. They really love our country club.” According to a 2019 article from Business Insider , country club memberships dropped 20% from 1990 to 2014. The number of clubs are also diminishing, as there were over 5,000 member-owned full-service golf and country clubs in the U.S., according to the article. By 2017, that number had fallen to about 3,900. MCC used to be a strictly private country club, but over time has morphed into a quasi-private, quasi-public course, with a restaurant, Lyon Lake Grill, that is open to the public. Feef Dillon, a member of the centennial celebration committee, said offering a warm environment has been one of the main keys to making the country club a successful operation. “I think we have to have a welcoming environment that welcomes all walks of life,” said Dillon. “Female, low and high income, we have to make it affordable for people to want to be here and make it worth their while and offer activities that are appealing to people. Long gone are the days where you could write off your country club membership. It used to be that companies would foot the bill. That’s no longer the case. Now we have to find ways (to gain members) and the relationships make it happen.” Tom Duffey, an MCC Board member and past club president, added it’s not only the friendships that are created, but the community environment that has made the country club a special place for him and many others. “This is a great place for family activities,” Duffey said. “We have both Marshall golf teams here, Homer golf teams, Albion College, Olivet College. I brought my kids out to play and now I’m bringing my grandkids out to play. It’s just a friendly, nice place to bring kids. You’ll see a bunch of kids out here hitting balls. It’s just a nice place to come out to.” The COVID-19 pandemic brought tough times to many businesses across the country, and MCC was no exception. House Manager Sarah Coco has been at MCC for four years and said while there have been some difficult times to get through, she did not ever want to leave because of her passion for the country club and seeing how much it matters to so many people she interacts with. “This is my first time working at a country club and it is different than any other restaurant, bar or hospitality place that I’ve ever worked at,” said Coco. “It was pretty challenging during COVID in that situation to get creative with how to be open, how to serve the members. It was a struggle, a huge struggle. You kind of step back and think ‘why am I doing this? You could go anywhere right now and get a job.’ But for me, I can’t do that because this place just means so much to so many people that it becomes special to you.” Vicki Knickerbocker, another member of the centennial celebration committee and MCC member said the country club is special to her in many ways, from building friendships to simply giving her and her husband a hobby. “I think it’s very important for both myself and my husband because it gives us something to do,” Knickerbocker said. “We could be working in our yard or doing something (else), but we’re outside and it’s beautiful out here. My husband is out here (frequently). I’m here maybe a couple days a week, but if it wasn't here where (would we be)?” To date, MCC has held monthly celebrations to honor its centennial year. On Aug. 13, two golf tournaments and a dinner will be held at the country club. The first tournament of the day is for current and past members only and will begin at 8:30 a.m., while the second tournament—a four-person scramble, is open to anyone and is set for an approximate 1:30 p.m. start time. Both tournaments have limited spots available. The centennial dinner is open to the public and tickets are currently on sale. Anyone interested in purchasing tickets can contact MCC. There will also be a raffle drawing that event organizers hope will be held that night, where ticket holders will have a chance to win a variety of prizes, with the top prize being a free membership to the country club. MCC will conclude its celebrations on Oct. 1 with “100 years of fun” and standup comedian Dave Dyer, an event that will also be open to the public. “We want people to know that we are celebrating, why we are celebrating and that we invite them to come and celebrate with us,” Card said.
Jerry Sacharski was a recreation league director in Albion who pioneered T-ball as an organized youth sport in 1956 because he couldn’t stand to turn away young children with the desire to play baseball. Sacharski passed away in February of 2009, but his memory has lived on, which was apparent on June 25 when well over 100 community members came together at Tee-Ball Garden in Albion, where a new T-ball statue and historic plaque was unveiled under the leadership of the Restore Our Coke Sign: Bring Art and History Downtown campaign team. Many of Sacharski’s former players and their families were present to celebrate the event, along with members of the Sacharski family, including Jerry’s three sons—David, Michael and William. Following the ceremony, current T-ball players played a short game in Victory Park near Hannah Street, which was followed by an “Old-Timers” game. John Sims, one of Sacharski’s former players who spoke at the ceremony, expressed appreciation for his former coach and the impact he left on him and many others who played for him growing up. “I go down to that field and I can see him (Sacharski),” Sims said. “I think everyone who played “pee-wee” ball with him remembers him. We have very few people in our lives as young people who make a mark like that. I’m 70 years old and I still remember that guy with very great kindness. He was good to us.” Sims also cited a 1960 T-ball exhibition game, when Sacharski took him and other pee wee players to Michigan State University to put the sport on display in front of a TV audience as the game was videotaped by a local television station. In 2000, the video was accepted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y. Sacharski was also a teacher with Albion Public Schools for nearly three decades. His son David said his father was great at teaching the fundamentals of the game and brought his teaching qualities to the baseball field. “My dad wanted the kids to learn the fundamentals of baseball while playing T-ball, which was sometimes called pee wee ball,” said David. “Notice the word ‘fun’ in fundamentals. He wanted the kids to have fun and at the same time, learn basic skills. Being a teacher, he made T-ball a classroom activity on grass.” William, another of the three Sacharski sons, said he was one of the original 60 T-ball players in Albion. He remembers the summer of 1956 when “everything changed” in terms of how the game of baseball was played when he was a young boy. “The whole game that we played changed,” said William. “As a 7-year-old kid, we actually got to go up to bat and we actually got to hit the ball (instead of getting walked or striking out). You could take a stance and that ball was sitting there on the tee and you could just kind of drive through it. There were no free passes, there were no strikeouts. Every play, something happened. Just like Dave said, after a while, your fundamentals and your skills (improve) because you’re not standing around.” Michael is the oldest of the Sacharski boys and said he was an umpire during the first T-ball game in June of 1956. He thanked everyone who showed up to the event and commended all who helped his father make the sport successful. He told a story about his father after Jerry retired from school teaching when he was in Hawaii that embodied the type of person and coach Jerry was. “I think the second spring he was there, he ambled up to the park that was near our home, because they were staying in our home,” Michael said. “And he ambled up in the park, and in Hawaii they have springtime youth baseball. He was sitting around on a picnic table watching how teams were practicing on the various fields and he did that a few times. Finally, one of the coaches of one of the teams—the players would have been T-ball players here, but they had (the pitcher) throw the ball, they don’t hit it off the tee—the coach said ‘I’ve seen you here, do you know anything about baseball? Would you like to help coach?’ And he said ‘yes, I will do that.’ The name of the team was the Padres, and they were already 0-3 and by the end of the season, they were I think about 12-3 and took the championship. He never told anybody who he was or where he came from. And to this day, the coaches, the players, the parents—have no idea who this guy was.” Janet Domingo and Linda Kolmodin lead the Coca-Cola team and led the effort for the new plaque and statue at the Tee-Ball Garden. The garden is a cooperative venture with the Calhoun County Land Bank and Albion Community Foundation. Money was raised for these art installations and additional landscape improvements through a matching Patronicity campaign through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, according to a press release that ran in the ad-visor in the June 25 edition. Donated funds were held by an Albion Community Foundation. Other completed projects included the iconic Coca-Cola sign restoration and the new Malleable Mural celebrating Albion’s long foundry history. “This is the completion of our three (main) projects,” said Domingo. “Many years ago, when I was working at the hospital, I made a video about Albion. I named it, ‘Small Town, Big Heart.’ Well, the town’s a bit smaller (now), but it hasn’t changed. As a result of a very successful campaign, we were able to continue with our goal to bring art and history downtown. We’re not quite done yet. We have a couple other small projects in the works. Thanks again to everyone and to everyone who supported us.”
