33: Graduation. We are Saranac.

“Faculty, administration, Dr. Plethe, families, students, friends, neighbors, and fellow graduates, the time has come for this incredible, well-earned day. I am Sarah Kent, the newest proud valedictorian, adding to a long list since the first valedictorian was awarded in 1961.

Today, I am reminded how many of us in this community have roots as early as 1836, when a judge purchased the land along the Grand River where it meets Lake Creek. Judge Jefferson Morrison sold part of that land to a firm in Detroit, Dwight & Hutchinson, and we eventually inherited the Village of Saranac. Soon after, the original landowners came. Albright, …Thompson, …Wilson, …Lampkin, …Woodward, …Kent, …Battin, …Abbott, …Bird, …Potter, …and Lee; Your family brought money, industry, and farms. They bought over three hundred thousand acres of land and employed thousands of workers from the fields to the kitchens and markets.

If your name wasn’t one of those first 11 families, congratulations! You are part of a legacy of skill. Your families brought more than just money and industry to Saranac. The things we can touch, drive on, walk on, step inside of… were all built by your great-great-great-great-grandparents and your great-great-great-great-great-grandparents. Two seniors from the Class of 1988 are holding cards on each side of me with the names of these families. If I speak long enough, we will get through them all. I’m sure everyone wants that, right? Right!? Just kidding. (Or am I?) Thank you, Allison and Jennifer.

So we are all clear, descendants from both groups lived on to become mayors, trustees, and even senators. Some came back to run their family’s legacy farms. Others took over their parents’ skill-based and independent business. So, my friends and classmates, let us be aware of just one important fact: We are all Saranac because we all sit at the same table, attend the same school, work together, bring our resources under one roof, and solve problems together. We grew because of our commitments to legacy, not individual competitiveness. Imagine what our community would look like today if we followed the same structure as any other small town, sprawling out of control into large, problematic paved communities with parking problems and crime, corruption, and waste. We took the slow, proven, and high road and are better people today for it. Because of this, we have a natural riverbed along Bluewater Highway, which still lives up to its name. We still have a boat launch in the village, which is extremely rare for a town with only 1600 people in 1987. We still have a grain bank silo, our tallest building in the village, and we have a school system where we heavily invest in the next generation of students that will benefit primarily everywhere else as we train them to leave the nest. Resources were well spent on us and future generations of graduates. Money is well spent sending our brightest all over the planet to show the world who we are: Saranacians.

So I say to the Saranac High School Class of 1987, our families, and to all who witness this day:

Be VERY proud of who you are. Take your Saranac pride with you wherever you go on the globe and beyond. Share that pride and our Western Michigan values with those who seek to do better, to be better, to love better, and let them learn from our history of 150 years of service to each other. Our absolute truth is that everyone lives here, and as you live elsewhere, it will become clear to us all that Saranac, Michigan, is the community everyone wants to emulate. It might not seem apparent or evident at first, but even when something tragic happens, we are the thermometer for Western Michigan. The state wants to know how we deal with not only good times but also challenging times, and we are educated and can articulate what has gone wrong and how to fix it. I see you out there shaking your head. Yes! You understand because they have also knocked on your doors with camera crews and microphones. They even come to our fair.

It’s also true that almost all of us will leave our community, and we are well-trained for it. We will all be challenged to maintain our life-to-date friendships. I have to tell you, that’s the most challenging part for me. I have some fantastic friends here who are extended family now, and I’m sure you do too. Like you, I have diverse friends who have vastly different life goals. Nan wants to be a veterinarian; David, an engineer; Curt, an NBA player; Kevin, a real estate attorney; Reby, an English professor; Joyce, a journalist; … and then there is me. I just want to be a genetics engineer. How hard could it be, right? I am lucky, however, because at least I grew up in Saranac, where we make life a little easier for each other and know we can ask for help without judgment. We want what’s best for our neighbor, their kids, and the greater good. We defined the term “it takes a village.” It takes a village like Saranac and the people who make it what it is.

Remember when you’re working hard out there and your ungrateful boss makes you feel like you’re not good, competent, or skilled enough; when they encourage you when you’re having a bad day and being a good boss, remember to remind yourself that you came from a place of builders where we tamed the rapids to support the loggers, where we grew the food that everyone eats, and where we educate our children. Let them know that you came from small-town values and that they could learn a lot from us, not just the other way around.

So STAND UP, Class of 1987! Stand with me, and please don’t throw your hats. STAND with me, and cite our school motto: ‘SMALL SCHOOL, BIG RESULTS!’ CONGRATULATIONS, EVERYONE. Be free, love each other, and make sure your life has BIG results as you, and only you, define it.

I’m Sarah Kent, valedictorian. Saranac High School, Saranac, Michigan. Class of 1987”