Unique stories from the city of Kentwood's past

Oak trees, a young Gerald Ford and lots of cows. All of these things had an impact on Kentwood and the tales the people now tell.

Cow & Land Trade

Back in 1956, Chuck Wiersma was interested in creating a bustling shopping center on the corner of 44th Street and Kalamazoo. The land was owned by John Oosterhouse

Oosterhouse was interested in the nice herd of cows Wiersma had. The two agreed upon a trade of land for cows.

Now the business area is known as Towne and Country Shopping Center.

Growing Airport

The original Kent County Airport was located in Paris Township, now the city of Kentwood. The land was used as fairgrounds in the early 1900's before being used as an air field.

The area was located between 36th and 44th streets west of Eastern. But as the planes grew bigger, the need for a longer runway also grew. Traffic had to be shut down along 44th St. in the 1950's to let planes come in.

The Oak Tree Mystery

A large oak tree on nearby private property also caused issues at the airport. It interfered with the radio control signals and was believed to be a hazard for planes using one of the runways. But Bill Kamp, who owned the tree, refused to cut it down.

Bill woke up on the morning of April 15, 1949 to find the tree gone. An anonymous person chopped it down.

It wasn't until 1988 when Earl Spielmacher revealed Bill Lear is the one who cut it down. Bill didn't want anyone to find out until after his death. Spielmacher kept that promise.