UPDATE: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - As told by John Grettenberger:

"My great great grandfather, Johan Grettenberger, came here from Germany in 1840 and built the home that is now located in the Meridian Historical Village.

So, we've been around in this community for a long long time and we do have a great deal of loyalty and enthusiasm for the maintenance of historic things for Meridian Township.

Historically, every little village in Michigan and elsewhere around the country had a church that was the focal point of everything that went on in the community. And we needed one and we didn't have one.

So we were able to make a set of plans and get it approved for construction and then raised the money to build it. And it's complete now. The Historic Village has a chapel that is on the exterior exactly the way that the old one was.

It means a great deal to me because I said earlier I have a lot of roots that go way back and are planted really deep. And what I did with GM and so forth required my family and I to go all over the place.

But all of the roots are here.

My best memories without even thinking twice about it are family ones. They start with my grandparents and my own parents that gave me the foundation for the things that I was able to do, and I'm hopeful that I'm leaving the same legacy for my kids and grandkids."

ORIGINAL STORY: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - John Grettenberger was awarded Park Friend of the Year for his construction of the chapel in the Meridian Historical Village. But his connection to the village goes even farther then that. Community Connection has his story.