INSIDE
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REFLECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY
Volume 4, Issue 4 June 19, 2026
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YOUR YOUR LOCALLY LOCALLY OWNED OWNED ANDAND OPERATED OPERATED NONPROFIT NONPROFIT NEWS NEWS SOURCE SOURCE YOUR LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NONPROFIT NEWS SOURCE Agriculture and family roots run deep for Asparagus Queen Shannon Beishuizen By Claire Marshall The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent For Shannon Beishuizen, the road to becoming the 2026 Asparagus Queen could be best described as, first and foremost, a family bonding experience. It’s a journey that did not just begin this year when her father and co-worker suggested she apply when the competition was advertised, but germinated years ago as Shannon grew up on a farm. Agriculture is deeply rooted on either side of her family, leading her to join FFA in school and guiding her through the last decade growing asparagus with her husband, Scott, in New Era. Her family was with her all the way through the spring, with her four daughters splitting the work of helping their mother prepare - from writing bios to dress shopping and hair styling. They were there to congratulate Shannon’s success and see her through the festival weekend; four grown girls, two sons-in-law, nieces and nephews, five brothers who were quick to tease their newly crowned older sister, and one granddaughter in a new green dress to match the queen’s. They doubtlessly will all be there through the next year to support Shannon’s reign - especially the girls, as Shannon laughed, “with four
daughters, they’re helping something fierce.” She goes on to explain, “The girls are excited and the family’s excited… it’s been a whole family camaraderie." A new empty nester working parttime as the Grant Township clerk, Shannon saw the Asparagus Queen as the start to a new chapter in her life, one where she could begin focusing on herself and inspire other growers to follow in her footsteps and represent the crop nationwide. “We [growers] need to step up and do this,” Shannon explained. “A lot of them are becoming empty nesters like me - let’s do something for ourselves, let’s do something for the growers, our community.” As she informed her grower friends, “I plan on crowning you next year!” Of all the events over the weekend, Shannon’s favorite was the Taste of Asparagus competition, trying everyone’s different recipes and getting inspiration for her own asparagus cuisine. “It gives you different ideas,” explained Shannon. “I’m creative, so it’s like, ‘okay, I can just spin this [recipe] off and I can make that. But just trying different people’s ideas, that was my favorite.” Shannon certainly isn’t blinded by the glamour and pageantry of the crown, as her farm-grown work ethic ensures she’s “treating it as another job.”
Asparagus Queen 2026 Shannon Beishuizen and 1st Runner-up Sami Weesies, above, received their crowns Friday, June 12, at the Oceana County Fairgrounds. • Amanda Dodge/Echo
She’s bringing to the role a collection of qualities honed from her background in agriculture. Hard work and dedication are at the top of that list - as Shannon put it, “you finish your work first, then you can play” - a lifestyle modeled by her dairy-farming parents.
Shannon and her husband have been growing asparagus themselves since 2015 and have just expanded operations to include 30 acres. Shannon has a wealth of hands-on experience from her work; “[I’m] not only picking it, but I bring it in - you don’t see very many wives back up the trucks and haul it into the processors.” Respect is another quality growing asparagus can teach a queen - respect for the industry and respect for the workers, for whom she works tirelessly to show her appreciation. Simply put, for Shannon, agriculture, “[is] my life. That’s just what I’ve always done. I’ve always lived on a farm. We’ve always done hard work.” Perhaps the best talking point in her asparagus arsenal is her proximity to the industry. Over the weekend, folks were asking her, “Oh, do you get free asparagus as queen?” Shannon’s answer? “Actually, I do! Because it’s right out in my front yard!” Now Shannon has a year of representing the asparagus industry in a new way to look forward to, and already she’s overcome with gratitude over the honor. Tearing up, Shannon expressed, “I’m excited to step up. I’m excited about the whole year. I've already met so many neat people…you know, people care, you just don’t realize how much.”
Centuries of Pentwater's history carved in stone - part 1 By AnnaMae Bush
The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent
PERMIT NO 62
RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL POSTALCUSTOMER CUSTOMER POSTAL ECRWSS ECRWSS
PRSRT STANDARD PRSRT STANDARD NON PROFIT NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGEU.S. POSTAGE PAID PAID
BIG RAPIDS, MI 49307 BIG PERMIT NO 62RAPIDS, MI 49307
Five years ago during the Covid pandemic when socializing was discouraged, a Pentwater resident found a new pastime and way to exercise. Ron Beeber took a weekly stroll through the Pentwater
Township Cemetery and leisurely studied the headstones. Noting dates and names that spanned more than two centuries, he recognized many persons mentioned in the history of Pentwater and found residents who had fought during the War of 1812 and the Civil War as well as veterans of WWI, WWII and Vietnam. When the information etched in stone piqued his interest, he took time to research the names and record his discoveries. Adding photos of people, buildings and events to his written information, Beeber created a presentation that he shared at the Pentwater Service Club's May 28 meeting. Beeber describes the cemetery as an “open-air museum,” and his interest reflects that of “people around the world [who] go to cemeteries to learn about local history.” Attending one of the annual tours led by the Friends of the Pentwater Township Cemetery (PTC) sparked his desire to learn more about Pentwater’s past hinted at through the markers and mementos on the gravesites just north of the village. Beeber shares, “I didn’t grow up here and am no historian, but I’ve learned a bit about [Pentwater’s] history, and doing
• AnnaMae Bush/Echo
A new headstone can be seen on the grave of Justus H. Koon, above left, which was left unmarked for decades; and the oldest headstone in the cemetery is for little Willie Brillhart, above right.
so makes living here even more special.” The unique history of the cemetery itself is familiar to many residents. In 1860 Jacob Brillhart purchased land for a cemetery when his 2-year-old son died. The site, now home to the First Baptist Church, was then outside of the village limits. A decade later, Pentwater Township purchased 40 acres for a new cemetery and required the relocation of all those buried in the old cemetery. Family and friends complied with most of the graves, but 70 remains had not been moved by 1879. The township contracted someone to move them en masse for $194 to the new location. It is not difficult to distinguish the “old cemetery” section at the “new” cemetery location. The nature
of the headstones and the challenge of the terrain contrast with the appearance and carefully organized sites in the newer section. The newer section also contains a columbarium and plots for cremains. Noting names and locations of headstones, Beeber’s virtual tour made 71 stops at which he commented on the person/s buried there. “Every headstone has a story with it,” he remarked. The Service Club audience included some long-time residents and generational descendants of former residents, and Beeber invited them to expand upon the stories he told or answer questions he could not. Stories shared included tales of heroism, tragedy, financial courage, businesses born, activists and artists, fires and ship-
wrecks, and familiar buildings that changed ownership and purpose many times over prior to their current status. It is interesting to note that veterans from the War of 1812 through the Vietnam War have found their final resting place in the Pentwater Township Cemetery. Each veteran’s gravesite has a special metal flag holder installed to enable the placement of flags for Memorial Day, Veterans Day or other times of the year. The installation of flag holders, distinctive to different wars, and the placement of flags have been two of the contributions made by Friends of the PTC. This volunteer group also schedules dates for cleaning headstones, repairing tombstones and replacing bases, conducting annual themed tours of the cemetery and decorating veteran sites with the Wreaths Across America program in November. The group holds an annual meeting in May at which time the schedule of activities is set for the year. Shannon Larson, chair of the Friends, also lists research as one of their valuable contributions. Research played a role in the recent placement of a brand new stone on the
gravesite of Justus H. Koon. His grave was shown on a cemetery map, but it had never been marked with a headstone. Koon was a Union Army soldier in the Civil War who died in 1871 at the age of 36 in Pentwater. The Friends had a stone made, appropriate to the time of Koon’s death, and installed it this spring. Reporting on another project, Larson shared, “With the help of a grant through the Dunes Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), and current research with Native American tribes, we are also creating a marker for the Native Americans buried in section four of the cemetery. It will be installed and dedicated in October.” Several of Beeber’s photographs illustrated the work done by the Friends of the PTC. Complimentary of their efforts, he thanked members of the group who were in the Service Club audience. Keep reading next week for Part II of this series which offers more details on purchasing cemetery spaces, the job of cemetery sexton, some interesting stories from Beeber’s presentation and the calendar of 2026 activities for the Friends of PTC.