SPY's Newsletter 7/11/25

Meet the 2025 Sunfield Farmers Picnic Grand Marshal, Robert "Bob" Sandborn!

Robert Sandborn (Bob) was selected as the 2025 Grand Marshall for the Sunfield Farmers Picnic. Bob is the son of Allen, and Meredith Sandborn, formerly of Sunfield, and Ionia. Bob was born in Portland, Michigan in 1942 then spent Eleven years on Tupper Lake Road, in Sunfield from 1944 to 1955, before he moved with his parents and siblings to Ionia, from 1955-1961. After his graduation from Ionia High School in 1961, Bob moved back to Sunfield where he lived with his brother, Bruce, for two years while working at Elliot's IGA, on Main Street until 1963.

In 1961, Bob met Linda Blevins, who was also a Sunfield resident who worked at Elsie Lubitz’s Diner, on Main Street, where they met. They were married at the Sunfield United Methodist Church on June 15, 1963. Bob and Linda spent their lives in Sunfield and have lived in the house on Logan Street since 1968, Linda passed away in 2009.

Bob has six children Teresa (Mike) Hull, Kris (Dale) Porter, Lynn (Melissa) Sandborn, Kim (Marty) Martin, Renee (Kyle) Carigon, and their son, Robert Charles Jr., who passed away at 2 months old.  Bob has 14 Grandchildren, Michael, Ryan, Austin and Elizabeth Hull, Zack, Luke and Taylor Porter, Robby and Alyssia Sandborn, Nicholas, Nadia and Chelsea Martin, and Jagger and Kaden Carigon. Bob also has 24 Great-Grandchildren.

After Bob left Elliot’s IGA, he went to work at Coke a Cola from 1963 – 1971, where he worked as a route manager. In 1971, he went to work at Jay’s Potato Chips, where he was the Regional Manager until he retired from there in 1998. Bob would often donate chips to various programs in Sunfield, including the Sunfield SPY’s, Lakewood Schools sports programs, and golf outings in the area.

During their time together, Bob and Linda, were foster parents mostly through Eaton County DHS from 1969 – 1994. They served 25 years and opened their home to over 350 children and teens. As a result, Bob and Linda were named the Eaton County Foster Parents of the Year in 1984. Bob then went to work at Shanski Dodge, in Ionia, for 18 years and retired from there in 2015. In 2019, he went to work at his daughter’s restaurant in Ionia, “Linda’s Corner Landing,” which was named after his loving wife, where he worked until the sale of the business in 2024.

Bob has given back to the Sunfield Community in many ways. He has volunteered on many local committees and boards in the Sunfield area. Since 2010 he has served on the Sunfield Fire Department board, he has served on the SPY’s Scholarship Committee since 2018 and has served on the Sunfield United Methodist Church Board of Directors for 15 years, where has been the Board Chair since 2012.

Bob is currently retired and still living in the same house on Logan Street where he enjoys working on his 1957 Buick, refurbishing old tractors and motorcycles. Bob enjoys working in his yard and loves spending time at family functions with his kids, grand kids, and great grandkids.

Thank You Volunteers!

A BiG Sunfield Area SPY’s Thank-You goes out to the fine cadre of folks that stepped-up and volunteered to help-out on our recent Golf Tournament fund-raiser.  We salute:

Christina Grosshans

Mandy Grosshans

Renee Strinback

Gavin Grosshans

Craig Cappon

Dewey Miller

Craig Mulholland

Nikki Barber

Addi Barber

Alana Cappon

Grace Grosshans

Shana Cappon

Texas Hold ‘Em Fundraiser On The Horizon

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

Contributions

·      The following fine & generous folks donated their winnings back from the Centennial Acres/SPY Shootout Golf Tournament:

Mike Acker (twice)

Brian Haskin

Daren Bosworth

Terry Smith

Jeremy Shettler

Mike Dennison

Jacob Elenbaas

Steve Maine

Jake Flagg

Rick Praski

·      John & Sandra Fisher and Olivia Fisher made donations to the Dime Pitch Booth activity.

Parting Comments

·      Deep Thought of the Week: Just because someone has fancy sneakers doesn’t mean they can run faster.

·      Notable Quote: “If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees.”

·      That’s Puny Department:  I just heard that my friend’s bakery burned down last night.  Now his business is toast!”

·      Did You Know Section: World War II-era military speak was full of colorful slang terms. For instance, a can of milk was known as an “armored cow.” Prunes, often sent to prisoners as part of Red Cross parcels, were called “Army strawberries.” A cup of coffee? That was “battery acid.” And then there was “torpedo juice,” a term that might seem like slang, but was the actual name of a drink consumed by soldiers.

Torpedo juice, sometimes referred to by the lesser-known moniker Torpedo Tessie, was a highly alcoholic cocktail with a surprisingly literal name. Torpedoes of the era were fueled by 180-proof ethanol, a very potent variant of essentially the same neutral grain alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits. Because liquor wasn’t otherwise accessible, soldiers would drain a bit of the fuel from a torpedo and mix it with fruit juice. As World War II veteran and former torpedo operator Jim Nerison told the Anchorage Daily News, “The torpedo wasn’t going to use it all anyway, so we kind of tapped off a little bit of it.” 

The resulting drink could be a dangerously strong highball. After all, 180-proof equates to 90% alcohol by volume. Most base spirits (that is, the liquors that cocktails are commonly made from, such as vodka, whiskey, and so on) average between 40% and 45% alcohol by volume, so using the same amount of torpedo fuel would result in a drink that was at least twice as potent as one made with a conventional liquor. The most popular fruit juice for mixing the drink was pineapple juice, though citrus juices (mainly orange, lemon, or grapefruit) were sometimes substituted. There wasn’t an exact recipe, but the mix ratio has been reported as somewhere between 1 part torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice, and 2 parts torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice — not very much dilution!

Eventually, the U.S. Navy caught on to the practice and sought to prevent its rank and file from drinking weapons fuel. Torpedo fuel began to be formulated with an additive called Pink Lady, a blend of toxic methanol along with red dye to provide a visual warning. Later, the fuel was formulated with less harmful but still unpleasant Croton oil. Neither of these poisonous formulas did much to curtail the making of torpedo juice, as soldiers found ways to distill the fuel and remove the toxins. During a 1964 Pearl Harbor reunion, a veteran (who wished to remain anonymous) described his process to the Omaha World-Tribune: “I had an in with the bake shop. We’d strain the juice from the torpedo through at least six loaves of bread to take out the oil and other impurities. Then I’d boil it and distill it through some copper tubing… We’d get a half cup… to a gallon of juice that way.” 

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