Photo of Jeanne Sitter by Kristina Stierholz.
By Kristina Stierholz
Each year, the Lions of Arcadia select a person who represents the best of Arcadia to be their grand marshal. This year, Jeanne Sitter will be the honoree at the Arcadia Daze parade. Despite her somewhat short tenure (only 12 years!) as a town resident, Sitter has deep roots in Arcadia. Sitter’s great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were all village residents, and she visited often while growing up and raising her own children.
Her story
Sitter’s great-grandparents moved to Arcadia (via Cleveland) from Germany and bought a farm outside of town. Her grandfather worked for the Arcadia Furniture Factory, and, as its business faltered, moved the family to Pontiac for work. Her mother, their only child, finished high school in Pontiac and stayed there to marry and raise her own family.
Born in 1934 at home in Pontiac, Michigan, Garnet Jeanne Blahut was the first of three children in her family, each born six years after the last. Her parents stayed in Pontiac until they retired to Arcadia. Though raised in Pontiac, Sitter spent lots of her youth in Arcadia. Her grandfather worked at the furniture factory, so family roots ran deep. Sitter remembers playing with other kids in town, and when she got older she picked cherries on the Miller Farm for 50 cents a lug, once considered significant spending money. After work, her mother would meet her with a bar of Ivory soap and they’d go to the lake, where Jeanne jumped in to wash off the juice and bugs and twigs, then head home for dinner. On “Free Show’ night, which was the social event of the week, movies were shown in an open field next to Finch Park. On the way home, she would get one ice cream cone from the grocery store, finish it, and have another cone from the gas station. Life was simple — no indoor plumbing — and fun. Sitter would also enjoy delicious treats at her aunts’ homes in Arcadia, going from one aunt’s to another’s for their specialties.
Family ties
After high school, Jeanne Blahut met a young law student named Ray Sitter; they got serious, then married. Sitter supported the family while Ray studied law. When his schooling was complete, Ray opened a law practice and Jeanne worked at home. Merrill Lynch moved to town, and Ray switched careers to become a stockbroker, with great success.
After their first son was born, Sitter brought him to meet his great-grandfather in Arcadia and maintained the tradition as the boys grew up. For those Arcadia vacations, Sitter would bring her boys to the beach and go fishing. When the boys attended summer camps, she would come up by herself to enjoy Arcadia. The family moved around the country for Ray’s work. Sitter’s trips to Arcadia became longer, so she could help her mother and grandmother. The last 30 years of Ray’s career were spent in Houston. After considering retiring to the West Coast or Southwest, they decided nothing could beat Arcadia. They bought some property and built a house in town, across from the Lions Club.
Community service
For years, Sitter has supplied and cared for the flowerpots outside the Lions Club. The flower colors alternate each year — from red, white and blue for the FVW to purple and gold for the Lions. She also began the practice of using an old letterboard sign for township messages: birthdays, greetings to snowbirds, important announcements, etc. When, in her eyes, Arcadia Daze wasn’t getting enough press coverage, she drove to the Manistee newspaper’s office and insisted that they start giving more attention to Arcadia. She also sat for a radio interview in Manistee to promote Arcadia Daze. Her basement is the supply depot for all holiday event decor.
Sitter is deeply knowledgeable about the history of Arcadia and has been a docent at the Arcadia Historical Museum for all the years of its existence. She has been a steady advocate for the value of the museum as it has gone through difficult leadership transitions.
She saw needs in town and found ways, and continues to find ways, to help.
“Jeanne Sitter exemplifies the Lion’s motto: ‘We Serve’. Her commitment to improving Arcadia has been an asset for our town,” said Steve Hammon, chair of the Arcadia Lions.
Roger Brown, chair of the Arcadia Daze planning committee, echoed Hammon’s comment. “Jeanne Sitter has lived a life of service to her Arcadian friends and neighbors.”
She has traveled the country and the world, and her love for Arcadia always drew her back. For the positive impact Jeanne Sitter has had on the town, she will be the grand marshal of the Arcadia Daze parade this year, an honor she richly deserves.
Kristina Stierholz has been coming to Arcadia for vacations since 1971 and officially moved to Michigan several years ago. She lives on 10 acres and is learning how to drive a small tractor and manage a much larger garden and yard space than she had in her city-living past.
