April 28, 2025
Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com
The Village of Fowlerville is among the top ten finalists in a “Put Your Town on the Map” competition.
The Consumers Energy Foundation announced the top 10 finalists for the “Put Your Town on the Map” pitch competition. It will provide a total of $50,000 in grant funding for projects in three small towns across the state.
The finalists, selected by the Foundation and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, will make their pitches at the Small Town and Rural Development Conference on June 9th. The top three winners will receive grants worth $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.
The finalists are:
-Village of Fowlerville (Livingston County), Mural of Detroit Tigers’ Great Charlie Gehringer
-City of Alma (Gratiot County), Landscaping of Entrance to Historic District
-City of Bronson (Branch County), Viking Wood Sculptures
-City of Durand (Shiawassee County), New Railroad Park
-Village of Lake Odessa (Ionia County), Mural Project
-City of Manistee (Manistee County), Voice of Manistee Storytelling Project
-The Communities of Prudenville and Houghton Lake (Roscommon County), Fish
Sculptures
-The Arc (Shiawassee County), Downtown Outdoor Beer Garden
-Village of Vanderbilt (Otsego County), Gateway to Pigeon River Forest Project
-Watson Township (Allegan County), Seven Generations Park
The Village of Fowlerville is looking to install a mural of the local legend.
Wikipedia states Charles Leonard Gehringer was born on May 11th, 1903 on a farm in the Fowlerville area. He graduated from Fowlerville High School. He died in 1993 at the age of 89. Gehringer was nicknamed “the Mechanical Man” and played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 to 1942. He was also one of the best fielding second basemen in history. Wikipedia states “Gehringer later served as the Tigers general manager during the 1952 and 1953 seasons. After his playing career ended, he operated a company serving as an agent for manufacturers of automobile interior furnishings. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 and had his jersey (No. 2) retired by the Tigers in 1983”.
Consumers Energy Foundation President Brandon Hofmeister said “As a native of a small town in Michigan, I know how passionate Michiganders are about bettering the places they call home. Ensuring every community, no matter its size, has the resources needed for its people and businesses to thrive is one of our top priorities at the Consumers Energy Foundation, and one of the reasons we started and continue to sponsor this competition. We look forward to hearing the pitches for these projects and selecting the winners at the conference in June.”
Consumers Energy started the competition, which seeks to support communities in Michigan with fewer than 10,000 residents, in 2019.
In 2024, grant dollars were awarded to Imlay City for a public interactive art and audio display, Rogers City for a public art sculpture, and St. Johns for artistic benches throughout the community.
In 2021, the Village of Pinckney won $15,000 for its community garden.
Photo: Wikipedia
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