St. Johns in the bleak midwinter
an album by Maralyn Fink
St. Johns once had its own White House
The White House restaurant in St. Johns was located just south of the intersection of M-21 on Old US-27, now Scott Road.
Beulah and Jake Wabeke had this restaurant built in 1938 and operated it until 1943 when he was drafted into the Army Air Corps. It was a popular stop for truckers who enjoyed home made pies.
The restaurant was later moved and has become two separate residences on Oak Street.
Remember When – Remembering Jeanne Rand in 2012
St. Johns lost a great lady with the passing of Jeanne Rand on October 5
by Rhonda Dedyne
St. Johns lost a great lady with the passing of Jeanne Rand on October 5, although her lengthy list of community projects – many of which involved pushing, prodding and perseverance – may be unknown to area newcomers, or forgotten by others.
Anonymity can happen, even to movers-and-shakers like Jeanne.
That being said, now seems like an appropriate time to cast the spotlight back on a vibrant lady who genuinely wanted to make her hometown a better place for everyone. The word “visionary” is frequently – and often inaccurately – used in tributes by today’s pundits. Jeanne was more than a visionary – she lent her hands and heart to help accomplish the projects that her mind’s eye envisioned.
I had the good fortune of knowing Jeanne, and the pleasure of writing about the projects she helped bring to life not that many years ago – although I must admit, those stories from the 1980s and ’90s and even into the first decade of the current millennium seem to exist in another dimension. Time marches on for us all.
One of those stories is reprinted here. “Up close and personal: Jeanne Rand gets set to start a new chapter in her book of life,” was written in May 1995, upon her retirement as President for the Clinton Area Care Center Board of Trustees. Talking with Jeanne was always a true pleasure, and our conversation in her home on Oak Street for this particular story was lively, as usual, spiced with plenty of comments that did not appear in print – she was never lacking in opinions.
Several items jumped off the page at me in re-reading this piece from 17 years ago – a couple errors of omission on my part, and two things in particular because of the impact each had on my life.
Jeanne Rand and Hugh Banninga were among the attendees at RAVE’s Founding Mothers banquet in 2004.
First, my mistakes. In the story I neglected to mention Jeanne’s involvement with Relief After Violent Encounter, RAVE. Specifically, her work helping Janet Holden make the initial contacts for the founding of RAVE in the early 1980s. Next, while I did cite Jeanne’s years on the St. Johns City Commission, I did not note the fact that she was the first woman to serve in that capacity – a HUGE omission on my part. One other item is an addendum to the original story: the $1,000 Jeanne Rand Scholarship is awarded each year to a CACC employee for continuing education in healthcare.
My involvement with Jeanne as a member of the Depot Committee, one of the “new chapters” in her life that was part of the story’s headline, brought back a flood of memories. It took lots of meetings – and pushing, prodding and perseverance – by the volunteer group working in conjunction with the city of St. Johns to renovate the historic Grant Trunk Depot. A grant of $325,000 received in 1999 from the State of Michigan Art, Cultural and Quality of Life was essential to the project. Renovation work began in 2001 – and Jeanne along with Depot Committee members had every reason to be pleased at the official opening of the refurbished structure a year later. The Depot has been, and will continue to be, an important part of the city’s landscape.
Finally, and perhaps most important to me, personally, are names of individuals in that 1995 story who spoke highly of Jeanne – and are no longer with us: Charlie Coletta and Mark Barber. Both of them along with Jeanne are likely working together now on some sort of project – and maybe even sparring a bit in a good-natured way; Charlie with his warm, wry smile and Mark jabbing at himself. None of the three ever took themselves too seriously – but they weren’t afraid to stand firm in the face of opposition, and they never backed away from a challenge.
Jeanne’s closing comment sums it up best, “If you never want to have people disagree with you, just don’t do anything. But, if you’re convinced that you are right – and you can qualify that – then go ahead and just do it.”
Thanks, Jeanne, for being you.
Up close and personal: Jeanne Rand gets set to start a new chapter in her book of life
After 17 years at the helm of the Clinton Area Care Center, Jeanne Rand is ready for a change of direction following her resignation as president of the CCAC Board of Trustees. She may not know how the rest of the story will unfold, but two things are certain – the plot involves local people, and it will be interesting.
“Life is made up of chapters, and when it’s time to close the book on a chapter, it’s time,” the St. Johns native says of her decision to step down from the CACC board. “Each chapter is just as important as another, and each chapter is different – the time is right for a new chapter now.”
What an important part of Clinton County history that chapter contains.
The centerpiece is Hazel Findlay Country Manor which began as a vision in Rand’s mind long before she gathered together a group of local citizens for informal meetings in the late 1970s. That vision became a reality in 1982, thanks in large measure to Rand’s bulldog tenacity.
“Jeanne was the sparkplug for building the Manor,” says Charles Coletta, who served as co-chairperson with beloved St. Johns resident Tony Kuntz for the initial fund drive. “The care center was basically her dream – she kept it going.”
Ironically, the dream originated in a previous “chapter” of Rand’s life – her restaurant, Jeanne’s Beans. “People used to come to the restaurant who had been married for many years. Then, the time came that one or the other had to go into a nursing home in Lansing or somewhere farther away,” Rand recalls. “Often, their mate wouldn’t be able to see them for a week or more at a time.
“I thought, isn’t that tragic – to spend your life with someone you love, and then not be able to see them.”
To Rand, the logical solution was the construction of a local, nursing care facility. In her trademark fashion, the businesswoman set out to do just that, even though she admits she didn’t know “anything about building a nursing home.”
As she had done previously in her venture as a restaurateur, Rand found the answers to her questions. “If you don’t know something, find the experts and get them to work with you,” she says.
And, that’s just what she did.
“We needed people with expertise in a lot of different fields – a township supervisor, city commissioner, a minister and a priest, owners of Rivard’s Nursing Home, two bankers, a county planner and someone from the county health department, and an attorney,” Rand says, recalling the makeup of the first CACC board.
“I called those people and asked them if they would be willing to work on building a nursing home – not one person refused, and in the seven years that followed, we only lost one member. To me, that’s a testament of how badly we needed a nursing home.”
While Rand labels the board as “fine,” noting that they “put their shoulders to the task of the building project,” she gives all the credit for the dream becoming a tangible structure to some equally fine people.
“It took a whole county-full of people giving of their time, energy, and money to build the Manor,” she says. Everyone got behind it, and we had some very dedicated community leaders – Tony Kuntz, Charles Coletta, Bernard Feldpausch. These men were well-known and well-loved. It was really something to watch.”
The end result was more than $1 million raised locally for the $2.6 million, 108-bed facility that debuted in a community open house 13 years ago this weekend, May 22-23.
“Every person who worked on the project played an equally important role in the Manor’s construction,” Rand says. “We wanted to do something that would be a showcase for other counties – we wanted our county to be self-sufficient.”
That spirit and feeling of community pride still plays a key role in Rand’s active life – and may provide a clue for future “chapters.”
“I feel the same way about the hospital, the library, and other aspects of the community,” Rand says. “I’d like to be a help in getting a new library; we need a bus station where people can come and go; and we need a good chamber of commerce office.”
Certainly, those are all worthy – and challenging -projects, and one fellow “dreamer” believes the fiery lady is just the person to get the ball rolling.
“Jeanne has always had the community at heart,” says St. Johns businessman Mark Barber. “She’s really a visionary – she’s always been progressive, and she’s always been concerned about making sure that things in St. Johns are done right.”
Over the years, the focus of her life may have changed – being a loving wife and mother, seven years as a St. Johns city commissioner, building and decorating homes, and operating a successful business – but the character remains intact.
“Life has been fun – I wouldn’t change a day, not even the bad,” she says.
“I’ve always said, if you never want to have people disagree with you, just don’t do anything. But, if you’re convinced that you are right – and you can qualify that – then go ahead and just do it.”
Maralyn’s Pet Corner – Can Cats Eat Dog Food?
This is a common question to come up in the course of a veterinary visit.
The short answer is yes, a cat can eat a small amount of dog and not have any toxicity or lasting effects.
However, the longer answer dives into the species-specific differences between our feline and canine friends. While a nibble of stolen dog food will not harm cats, it will definitely not help them achieve their best possible health.
Here’s what you need to know about cat nutrition and why you should not feed dog food to cats in the long-term.
Can Cats Safely Eat Dog Food Long-Term?
No, cats cannot be maintained on a dog food diet.
If a cat is only fed dog food for a long period of time, then detrimental, if not deadly, consequences can occur.
This is because dog food and cat food formulas have different nutritional components in order to meet the different nutritional needs of these two species.
Cats and Dogs Have Different Nutritional Needs
While both dogs and cats share our hearts and homes, over time, nature has molded them into very different animals with very different nutritional needs.
Cats are obligate carnivores, which means that they require a diet of meat-based proteins and animal fats in order for all of their body systems to function properly.
Dogs, on the other hand, are actually omnivores. An omnivore has a more flexible diet and can easily eat both meat and vegetables. A dog food diet does not meet the specific nutritional needs that cats require.
Differences Between Cat Food and Dog Food
Here are just a few key differences in the formulation of dog food and cat food.
Taste
Cats perceive taste differently than dogs. Cats, unlike dogs, lack of the ability to sense sweetness, and even the number of taste receptors are different between the two species.
Cats have a measly 470 taste buds, while dogs have 1700—for reference, humans have over 9000.
Cat foods are specifically engineered to be highly palatable in order to entice our occasionally picky (and taste-bud lacking) feline friends to eat.
*Side note: It’s generally uncommon for cats to even want to eat dog food, as they tend to find it unappetizing. Dogs, however, love the delicious, high-protein content in cat food.
Protein
As strict carnivores by nature, cats need food that has a much higher protein content than dog food does.
Occasional brands and types of dog food do feature higher protein levels, but as a whole, not even these specialized dog foods reach the high level of protein needed to keep cats healthy.
Most dog foods have an “As-Fed” protein amount of 18-26%. For cats, however, I usually recommend to aim for at least an “As-Fed” protein percentage of 30-34%, with an optional supplement of canned cat food with 40-50% protein.
Taurine
Cats (and humans) are among a few of the mammals that don’t have the ability to make taurine, so they must get this essential element from their diet.
Cats that lack taurine in their diet can have:
– Weakened hearts (dilatated cardiomyopathy)
– Loss of vision
– Digestion problems
All commercially available cat food today has taurine added; however, it is rarely included in dog foods.
Arachidonic Acid
Arachidonic acid is a fatty acid that cannot be created by cats either—it must be ingested.
Cats suffering from low arachidonic-acid levels have nonspecific signs of illness, such as:
– Abnormal liver/kidney values
– Occasionally, increased skin issues
Dogs can create this fatty acid all by themselves, and thus, dog food is seldom supplemented with it.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is yet another dietary element that cats cannot synthesize on their own and must have supplemented in their diet.
While dog foods do often contain vitamin A supplements, these foods will never contain high enough amounts for optimal cat nutrition.
Cats suffering from lack of vitamin A will have:
– Poor quality coats
– Muscle weakness and deterioration
– Possible night blindness
– Niacin
It’s important that a cat’s diet also contain niacin, as cats cannot make their own.
Animal tissue is the most common source of niacin in cat food; but plants do have low levels of niacin. But a food containing a lower content of animal tissue and higher contents of plant tissue, such as grains, may not give cats the proper levels of niacin they need.
Life Stage Is Also Important
There is an organization called the Association of American Feed Control Officials (more commonly called AAFCO) that closely monitors and regulates the pet food industry.
The pet foods that follow AAFCO’s nationally agreed upon nutritional levels will have a label stating: “…formulated to meet the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profile for… (a life stage).”
Life stages fall into three main groups in the pet food industry:
– Growth
– Maintenance
– All-life stages
Not only do cats have specific overall protein, vitamin, and nutritional needs, but these vary throughout their life stages as well.
Fast-growing kittens need more nutrients and energy sources, while older, healthy cats need more protein to help maintain their muscles as they age.
Dog food—with its lower percentages of proteins and other nutrients—cannot possibly sustain a cat long-term at any one of their life stages.
A High-Quality Cat Food Is Essential
The best way to ensure that cats share our lives for a very long time is to ensure they get a healthy, high-quality diet that’s geared to meet feline needs.
While dog food is nontoxic and will not cause harm if a few kibbles are eaten, it is not designed to meet a cat’s nutritional needs.