plowing - WKTV Journal

By Janet Vormittag
WKTV Contributor

Paul Vander Laan grew up on a flashlight farm—his dad had a day job and worked the farm at night.

Dave Kamps Showing his 11-year-old granddaughter Libby Kleyn how to drive his team of Percherons. (Janet Vormittag)

“Mom wouldn’t let him get a tractor with headlights. She didn’t want him working all night,” said Vander Laan who lives in Walker.

When Vander Laan was 8-years-old, he recalls the last horse leaving the farm. Nostalgia of those long-gone days has turned into a hobby for him. Vander Laan owns two Percherons, a breed of draft horse that originated in France, and he is a member of the West Michigan Draft Horse Club, which has about 40 members.

One of the club’s activities is plow days where members bring their teams to a local farm and put them to work. Plow days are open to the public and signs are placed by nearby streets pointing the way for anyone interested in seeing draft horses pulling plows.

On May 13, the club met at a Christmas tree farm in Ottawa County and worked a field that will be planted with seedlings. A light drizzle didn’t stop club members from attending. By 9 a.m. several pickup trucks hauling horse trailers were already parked side by side, teams were unloading, hitched up and bring starting to plow. Both walk-behind and riding plows were used.

Owning Draft horses is An Expensive Hobby

Vander Laan estimated he spends $2,500 per horse annually and that doesn’t include a truck and trailer for hauling the animals. To offset the pricy pastime, he built a horse-drawn funeral coach. Last year, he was hired 21 times to be part of funeral processions, transporting the casket from church to cemetery. He handled the team and the minister or one family member can ride by his side.

Business card with a photo of Paul Vander Laan and his Percherons pulling a funeral coach. (Janet Vormittag)

Club member Dave Kamps compared the expense of owning a draft horse to not smoking. “If you don’t buy cigarettes, you can afford the feed for one of these guys,” Kamps said, adding that a pack of smokes is about $7 and that’s what it costs to feed one horse for one day—but it’s cheaper in the summer when the horses are pastured.

Kamps spent part of the plow day teaching his young grandchildren how to handle his Percheron team, Jasper and Sweet Pea. His daughter, Betsy Kleyn, said her kids enjoy helping with the horses.

“He’s always doing horse stuff and they always want to help him,” she said.

Besides spring plow days, the club offers wagon rides at special events and compete in draft horse shows including one at Michigan State University.

This year the Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show and Pull (www.mgli.org) is Oct. 12-15 and will be held at the MSU Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education. Included are competitions in halter, hitching, plowing, pulling and riding. The four-day event features 330 vendors, and 1,200 horses from 30 states and three Canadian provinces. More than 35,000 people attend the show.

Family Tradition

Martin Daling, one of the original members in the West Michigan Draft Horse Club, said he won the plowing competition last year at MSU. The year before he took second place. He explained that the dirt is judged, not the horses. Criteria include the depth and the straightness of the furrows.

Carrie Dalling plowing with her dad’s team of blond Belgians. (Janet Vormittag)

Daling owns a centennial farm in Tallmadge Township near Leonard Street and 8th Avenue and is the third generation to farm the land. Daling and his Belgian draft horse team work the fields and in the fall they harvest the hay, oats and corn that provide feed for the horses.

Daling’s daughter, Carrie Daling, said she’s been attending plow days with her dad for at least 30 years.

“Everyone is always here,” said Carrie Daling. “People I’ve known since I was a kid.”

When the plowing is complete, club members have a potluck.

Carrie Daling said she occasionally drives her dad’s team of blonde Belgians, Roy and Roger.

“Dad’s teams listens very well,” she said explaining that one horse always walks in the furrow. “You point him in the direction and he knows where to go.”

Janet Vormittag started Cats and Dogs, a Magazine Devoted to Companion Animals in 2006 as a monthly publication. It’s geared towards West Michigan readers and features pet-related advertisers, animals available for adoption, and articles about animal rescues and pets. In 2018, Cats and Dogs transitioned to a quarterly publication. The print edition is free and can be found at local libraries and businesses.

The intersection of 52nd Street and Burlingame Avenue in Wyoming.

Thanks to early warnings from the National Weather Services, warm ground temperatures, advance preparation by local Public Works Departments and the coordination from various municipalities, most travelers had an easy commute this morning.

A storm, forecasted by the National Weather Service, hit West Michigan around noon yesterday, leaving about seven to eight inches of heavy wet snow in both Wyoming and Kentwood, with some areas south of 44th Street receiving a little more.

“The National Weather Service really got this one right,” said Kentwood Public Works Director John Gorney. “Because of the early alerts, we were able to reorganize our work schedule so we were ready to go when the snow came.”

The same held true for the Wyoming Public Works Department, said Wyoming’s Assistant Director of Public Works Aaron Vis.

“Because we knew it was going to be a heavy wet snow, we were able to approach it a little differently,” Vis said. Starting about 2:30 p.m., Vis said the Wyoming Public Works department began to work on all of its major roads, salting and clearing them. Once those roads appeared to be staying clear, the plows were redirected to the city’s secondary and local streets.

“This way, as we went back out this morning, the plows would be only moving about three to four inches of snow instead of seven to eight,” Vis said. “The goal was to make sure residents wouldn’t get hung up on the instructions and were able to get out of their homes and to work.”

Gorney said Kentwood Public Works Department tackled its snow removal similarly by first working on the city’s major roads and the collector roads, which are major roads through the neighborhoods.

“The various communities do work together to make sure we are all providing similar services,” Gorney said. “The goal being that if a person is heading down 44th Street, which means they will be going through Grandville, Wyoming and Kentwood, that the plowing is such it appears seamless as the person drives down the street.”

Gorney said plows were working through the night with the department’s goal of having all the streets cleared along with the city’s 300 cul-de-sacs, the 20 locations with city sidewalk, all city-owned parking lots, and two miles of bike trails cleared within 24 hours after the storm. This one officially was done by 8 a.m. today, so it should all be cleared by 8 a.m. tomorrow, Gorney said.

Vis said Wyoming should be pretty much cleared by 2 p.m. today depending on whether a second lake effect storm comes through as predicted. That storm warning advisory is up through 4 p.m. today.

A few things to keep in mind as the plows continue to work on the streets are to slow down, keep a good distance away from the plows, and Vis said for Wyoming residents, keep in mind the odd/even parking rule as it helps the plows clear streets faster.

With temperatures expected to jump to the upper 40s by Saturday, the snow will be melting fast. Ground temperatures are also warm which has not allowed the precipitation to freeze.

Both Vis and Gorney said residents should not experience any problems as it melts since the drains are clear. However, if residents do see problems, they should contact their respective municipalities.