SPY's Newsletter 6/19/2025

Christina Grosshans
Jun 20
4 min read

SPY’s Community Newsletter

#367

(6/1925)

SUNFIELD FARMERS PICNIC TO HOST ICE CREAM SOCIAL TO ANNOUNCE 2025 GRAND MARSHAL

The Sunfield Farmers Picnic Board will host an Ice Cream Social on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at Van Buren Park in Sunfield. The 2025 grand marshal will be introduced.

The board appreciates all the wonderful nominations for the 2025 Grand Marshal. Please be assured that all nominations will be carried over for consideration in 2026.

Contributions

· Gena Hyde made a donation in memory of Becky Calabro.

· Cheri Thompson also made a contribution in memory of Becky Calabro.

Mark Your Calendars!

Upcoming Events Where We Will Be Looking For Volunteers

· Our illustrious “Captain Highway” a.k.a. Derek Desgranges, fearless leader of the SPY’s Adopt-A-Highway project, wants to remind everyone about Saturday July 12th. will be the second highway trash pick-up of the season. The SPY's pick-up trash along M-43 from Round Lake Road on the west side of town to Shaytown Road on the east side of town, three times a year in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation program.

Again, if for any reason you can’t make it for the July 12th. pick-up day, but would still like to help out by doing some picking up on a different day of that week, just give Derek a call at 269-838-7686 and get some bags and he will give you a small section to take care of. What do you say, let’s have a great turnout and spiff up the roadsides leading into our community.

· The next Texas Hold ‘Em event the SPY’s are scheduled to work is coming up on Monday, July 21st. through Thursday, July 24th.. What’s involved is easy and essential to help underwrite the SPY’s various community programs. Stay tuned for further details.

Feature #1

The Veteran's home in Battle Creek has started a Veterans Food Security Initiative. Attached at the bottom of this Newsletter is a list of food items that they would like donated. Veterans in need can contact the home and receive these items at no cost. Donated Items can be dropped off at Best Tax Service and they will deliver them.

Notice #1

The next meeting of the Sunfield Area Sponsors of Programs for Youth (the SPY’s) will take place on Tuesday, July 8thth. It will be held at the Best Tax Service building starting at 6:30 PM. Guests are always welcome!

Parting Comments

· Deep Thought of the Week: Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long you miss them.

· Notable Quote: “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”---Henry David Thoreau

· That’s Puny Department: There’s a women’s roofing expo this weekend. All the shingle ladies will be there!

· Did You Know Section: The legacies of NASA and the space program are great: the Mars Rover, Tang, freeze-dried ice cream … and popularizing the abbreviation “A-OK.”

“OK” became a popular abbreviation in the 1840s thanks to the presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren, whose nickname was “Old Kinderhook.” “OK” was used on campaign posters as shorthand, and it evolved into a synonym for “good.” The first printed appearance of “A-OK” seems to be in a 1952 advertisement for Midvac Steels, though its meaning at the time wasn’t explicitly clear. The ad promoted durable steel products that could withstand the intensity of any launch: “A-OK FOR TOMORROW’S MISSILE DEMANDS.” The appearance in an ad implies that “A-OK” may have been commonplace in either general slang or perhaps the rocketry field as early as the 1950s, though we can’t know for sure. What we do know, however, is that “A-OK” became widely popular in the 1960s thanks to one particular NASA employee. John “Shorty” Powers worked at NASA during Project Mercury from 1959 to 1963 as the “voice of the astronauts,” often communicating important mission details to the press. During a press briefing after the first U.S. suborbital space flight on May 5, 1961, Powers used the term “A-OK” when he told the press astronaut Alan Shepard said it upon return to Earth, perhaps as a way to suggest “all is OK.” However, mission transcripts revealed Shepard never said it, so Powers was mistaken about the “A-OK” quote.

It’s not some secret NASA cover-up plot. In the book The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, the author suggests that Powers borrowed the phrase from NASA engineers, who regularly used it during radio transmission tests. Given the high amount of static during radio transmissions, engineers found that “A” produced a sharper and clearer sound than “O.” So while “OK” could have easily gotten lost amid the loud static, saying “A-OK” ensured additional clarity.

Even though it may be hard to pinpoint exactly when “A-OK” or any spelling variation was first coined, we can thank NASA for popularizing the term.

Final Notices

1. If there is any organization or business out there that has something they would like to advertise or promote, please feel free to submit it to this Newsletter and we will help publicize it. There is no charge.

2. We are glad to provide this means as a public service to help keep the community informed.

3. If you are looking for further information about the SPY’s events---Corporate or Platinum Sponsorship information---scholarship forms---youth sports reimbursement forms---past SPY newsletters---etc.---just go to the SPY website at www.sunfieldareaspys.com.