STURGIS — After almost 70 years, the Sturgis Kinsmen, with heavy hearts, made the difficult decision to call it quits.
“It is with deepest sorrow that we made the decision. We just could not continue as a club despite merging with the Kinettes a few years ago and undergoing a name change to the Sturgis Kin Club. We just did not have enough volunteers to continue being viable,” said Daniel Wasylenchuk, current president.
“We will continue to support the Sturgis Nursery School as we turn over all events and funds to them. We have always supported the Nursery School program and in the future we as individual volunteers will continue to aid them as much as possible,” said Wasylenchuk.
Eugene Boychuk, one of the lifelong members, can remember a time when the club had many members and was a fun time with a lot of work.
“It is a very sad time for our community with the Kinsmen shutting down. With the changing times, everyone is busy with their lives and doesn’t seem to have much interest for volunteering anymore. It was a time of friendship and fun while serving the greater needs of the community. The announcement is not a big surprise and I want to attribute Daniel with keeping the club going as long as he did. It is very disappointing to see this day. The club had many highlights and helped organize and fund the Sturgis skating rink, curling rink, and insulated artificial ice in the curling rink. The Kin Club was built on to the curling rink later as a meeting room and expansion of the rink facility. We put in a spray water park in memory of club member Kelvin Walker. Another major fundraiser that we started was Mini-Miracle.”
Ron Wagar, another lifelong member, also shared his disappointment with the club disbanding.
“It has always been a challenge to recruit more volunteers. The younger generation needs to start stepping up before we have nothing left in our community to be proud of. I was a member for over 50 years and saw many changes and positive highlights brought to the community. It is sad to see the end of the era for a group that did so much for the community. Mini-Miracle was one of the biggest events that raised over a million dollars over the years.”
The following was taken from the Sturgis History Book.
The club motto, that Kinsmen shall carry on service work within their communities, is something that the club excelled at since its being chartered in 1956. Some of their projects through the years were equipping the community hall with chairs and tables; a kiddies Christmas show; donations to minor sports; Red Cross, Camp Easter Seal; food hampers donations; building a kiddies park; and providing financial aid for the sports arena. The club also supported the sports day, ice carnival queens, and many other donations that supported events and items within the community.
