As hundreds of people return to their hometowns to celebrate milestone anniversaries of their high school graduations, they will have plenty of which to be proud, and those who have stuck around will have plenty to boast about.

August tends to be alumni reunion season in southwest Michigan, with plenty of beach side barbecues, small get-togethers at the local watering hole and park picnics planned for graduates from our area schools. Leaders from alumni classes have been working hard to corral old classmates, drawing them back to communities that we feel they’ll be impressed with.

As career choices, family decisions, military stationing or pure wanderlust have drawn people away from the corner of southwest Michigan, people who have stayed rooted in our local communities have been hard at work investing in the communities they were raised in.

Being in the positions we are in, we have the advantage of keeping a close eye on business growth, school improvements and other community development projects. It’s safe to say all are plentiful in each of the communities we cover.

In Niles, school leaders are in the planning phases of a school bond that will improve the education leaders are able to provide to our local children. Business leaders continue to work hard to fill downtown store fronts, and South 11th Street is filled with local businesses that draw people from neighboring communities.

The same can be said for Dowagiac, with business booming, constant projects to beautify the downtown and the city’s parks and continued efforts to support the people and students of the Grand Old City.

For those of you returning to Niles or Dowagiac for the first time in awhile, we welcome you and congratulate you on your successes.

For those who have stuck around, or who have returned to your hometown, we thank you for your efforts.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.