Tulip City Dispatch

This is an article I've wanted to explore since 2005 and 2006 when I was a staff writer on the Jenison High School newspaper. We'd have pitch meetings with every issue, and go over the articles that were to be featured, length and word assignments, and which articles would be written by whom. I'd always pitch articles about urban myths and legends, but consistently got shot down in favor of current events and topical articles such as sports games, school spirit events, and local youth events throughout the Greater Grand Rapids area. The urban myth that intrigued me the most was the one of a hardwood roller rink under the floor at Field's Fabrics, that was still intact. Questions bounced around my head: Tarry Hall was only a few miles away – were roller rinks popular enough in the 70's to sustain 2 businesses that close to each other? What was meant by “under the floor” at Field's – did they build some joists or supports to raise the current store floor, or did t...

Big things are in the works here at Tulip City Dispatch - things that are hinging on interviewing others.  In the meantime, I've been collecting some links, and want to share them with my readers: https://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/20200711/jenison-teen-ridiculed-online-for-organizing-blm-protest The Sentinel's headline says it all:  A teen from Jenison was ridiculed for organizing a BLM protest.  He organized the event on Facebook, and both he and his classmates were subject to an inordinate amount of online harassment, bullying, and mean comments.  What stung me the hardest was reading about the local comments; people in the teen's community, and the community that I grew up in, spewing hateful rhetoric.  Jenison residents simply didn't want any BLM activity in their town.  While Jenison has never been a bastion of progressive politics, one thing that they profess to be is a Christian neighborhood...and there's no room for hate in Christianity. https://...