Pieces of our distant, and not so distant, past. Real people, real stories that made local headline news, touched our hearts, made us laugh or cry. Several more will publish often. We'd love your suggestions of other memories to include on these pages.

HAT AND MITTEN DRIVE KEEPS KIDS WARM

Each year, volunteers in the community host the annual Breakfast with Santa at Mancelona Elementary School. Kids make craft projects, enjoy a pancake breakfast, and have their photos taken with Santa. The event began as a hat and mitten drive by long-time village resident Dana Sudman. All children who attend are given a pair of mittens and a hat to keep them warm during the winter months. Since her death in 2008, the hat and mitten drive continues in her memory. 

40TH BASS FESTIVAL ON NATIONAL TELEVISION

Mancelona celebrated the 40th Bass Festival in 1995. At the time, CBS This Morning had organizations from around America perform their theme song, "Beautiful Morning." Bass Festival board members contacted CBS This Morning and made arrangements for the High School band, under the direction of Edward Sayre, perform the theme song. Local CBS affiliate 9&10 News was at the school to record the band's performance for later use on national television. Traverse City Record-Eagle photographer John L. Russell was there to capture the excitement for print media.  The performance aired on national television the weekend of the Bass Festival. Then-meteorologist Mark McEwen "woke up" Mancelona and gave our local weather. Mancelona had two national spots.  

VETERANS MEAL AT AMERICAN LEGION

The American Legion George Puckett Post #264 holds a meal for Veterans every year around Veterans Day. Pictured, Herb Tipton and Patty Dykhouse check the food and prepare for the arrival of area Veterans. The American Legion building is located on U.S. 131 (Front Street) in Antrim, on the south end of the village limits and next to the museum.

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

Each year on Memorial Day, the American Legion George Puckett Post #264 leads a parade to honor our nation's dead who sacrificed their lives to serve our great country. The parade assembles in front of the Mancelona Post Office, and begins at 9:00 a.m. A service is held on the grounds in front of the Mancelona Township Library, followed by Fairview Cemetery, and concludes at St. Anthony Catholic Cemetery on West Limits Road. At the conclusion, the American Legion re-assembles in Alba for a brief service at their cemetery, located just west of Star Township Fire Hall on Alba Road. Parade participants include the flag bearers, American Legion, local girl scouts and boy scouts, and Mancelona High School marching band. (Also pictured, Mancelona Memorial Day Parade, 1912. Photo Courtesy: Mancelona Area Historical Society.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL NEW SIDEWALK

The Village of Mancelona held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 29, 2019 to officially open a new sidewalk on West Limits Road between State Street (M-88) and Mancelona Elementary School. The ceremony marked the completion of the Safe Routes to Schools (SRTS) construction project. 

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is an international movement and a federal program to make it safe, convenient, and fun for children, including those with disabilities, to bicycle and walk to school. When routes are safe, walking or biking to and from school is an easy way to get the regular physical activity children need for good health. Safe Routes to School initiatives also help ease traffic jams and air pollution, unite neighborhoods, and contribute to students’ readiness to learn in school.