From 1957 to 1967, with the exception of two years, the
Heiden Family Reunion was
held at the Ida Firemen’s Park located at 3016 Lewis Avenue behind the
Fire Station in Ida, Michigan. The two exceptions were 1959 when the
gathering was “Postponed” and 1963 when it took place at the Erie
Township Park.
At the time of those
reunions, the place looked very different from the picture
above. The fire station building and the small buildings on
the far right were there but everything else on the picture
is newer. In the 60s, there were a few more small wooden
buildings and the building with the brown roof was an open
sided pavillion with a metal roof. Where the red roof
building stands was an open field where kids could play
baseball.
Toward the back of
the property in front of the water tower is where they used
to hold horse pulling contests. This was a separate activity
not related to the family reunions.
