Wednesday evening, Mayor Don and Joan Lyons presented “The Heddons and Their Bait” as part of the Dowagiac Area History Museum’s ongoing spring lecture series. During the lecture, the Lyons spoke about the history of James Heddon and Sons, Co., at one time the leading lure manufacturer in the country, and its history in Dowagiac.

We would like to commend both the Lyons for sharing their piece of history and the Dowagiac Area History Museum for its continued efforts to preserve local history through its lecture series.

There is an old saying, “journalists write the rough drafts of history books.” In many ways, Leader Publications and the Dowagiac Area History Museum share the same goals — we document current events, and the museum preserves that documentation so that it is never forgotten. Without efforts from places and individuals such as the Dowagiac Area History Museum or the Lyons, many of our efforts at the newspaper would be worthless. Our history would not be remembered, and we would never be able to learn from the past or know where we came from or how the past shaped our community.

We commend the locals that work to preserve our local history and make it known throughout the community.

We can’t wait to learn more about our local history through the spring lecture series. The next lecture will be “A History of the Beckwith Theatre” to take place at 6:30 p.m. June 6.

If you appreciate our local history, we would encourage you to attend and to take part in the tradition of keeping our history alive in the community.

Opinions expressed are those of general manager Ambrosia Neldon, managing editor Sarah Culton and sports editor Scott Novak.