Now retired from Dow, life has changed somewhat for Don and Virginia, his wife of 55 years. He no longer has to factor an eight hour workday at Dow into his life. The size of the garden that he Virginia put in each spring isn’t as large as it once was when their three children were at home He continues the opening and closing of grave sites for four cemeteries in his immediate area: St. Matthew’s (a Lutheran cemetery) in Freeland, St. Valentine’s (a Catholic cemetery) in Beaver, the Pine Grove William’s Township Cemetery in Fisherville and St. Anthony’s (a Catholic cemetery).

Dominic Dzurka get out of his truck, which has a crucifix on the dashboard, as he gets ready to finish digging a grave at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery in Beaver Township.

Dominic Dzurka digs a grave by hand at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery in Beaver Township.

Dominic Dzurka loads wheel barrows of dirt away from the site of a grave he is digging at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery. Dzurka moves the dirt to an area that can’t be seen during the funeral.

The vault is lowered in to a grave that Dominic Dzurka dug at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery.

Dominic Dzurka waits alone for the funeral mass to end near a grave he prepared at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery in Beaver Township.

Dominic Dzurka, left, talks with a member of the funeral home during the ceremony at a grave site Dominic dug at the Saint Valentine Catholic Church cemetery.

After filling in the grave and laying down flowers, Dominic Dzurka rakes the dirt on the top of the grave after a funeral.

Dominic Dzurka drives to his Auburn home after a full day of work at the cemetery.

Bullock Creek’s Brent Pobocik, right, extends a hand to Hemlock’s Austin Ostowski after Pobocik’s victory in their 189 weight class match at Hemlock High School.

Racers compete in a heat of the 1500-meter race during the American Cup III Short Track Championship at the Midland Midland Civic Arena.

Chris Smith makes his way through the snow toward The Apothecary Shoppe on Main Street in downtown Midland. Smith, who is in town on business, was headed to pick up a few items at the shop. “I’m just glad to find a place that’s open,” said Smith.

Freshman pre-med student Joe Hamlin studies for a biology test in the Albert E’s Food Court on the Saginaw Valley State University campus. Governor Rick Snyder’s budget cuts higher education funding which will affect universities like SVSU.

Lucy Barnes, 74, of Sanford, takes off her clogging shoes after a recent practice in her garage. She’s been taking clogging classes and teaching it since the 1980s.

From left, Gerstacker Foundation trustees Ned Brandt, Alan Ott, Frank Gerace, Lisa Gerstacker and Gail Lanphear sit in the front row near shovels and hard hats as they wait for the start of the ground breaking ceremony for phase two of the Bennett Sports Center renovation and expansion project on the Northwood campus. Bobbie Arnold, standing center, greets the trustees. Phase two of the project will include the construction of the Pamella & Daniel DeVoss Student Development Center and the Carl A. Gerstacker Academic Center.

Clare basketball fans cheer on their team during a game against Meridian at Clare High School.

Meridian High School senior Aaron Maxwell, left, is tattooed by artist and owner of American Revolution Tattoo Jordan Grakauskas in the Midland shop. Maxwell got a tattoo reading “Coach Cole Forever Loved” in honor of missing Meridian coach Bob Cole, who Maxwell had for a shop teacher in middle school. Maxwell is participating in track this year as a tribute to Cole as well.

Volunteer Gordon Rogers demonstrates how to stop, drop and roll to Floyd Elementary School kindergartners during a fire safety lesson as part of the Beauregard Bear Health Adventure at the MidMichigan Medical Center. Hospital volunteers guided the children through six health and safety stations dealing with heart health, summer safety, emergency, germs and poisons, friendship and fire safety using various stuffed bears to drive home each message. At the end of the program students watched a movie that follows Beauregard Bear from hospital admission to post operation. Each student was given bear ears, a small stuffed teddy bear and a coloring book.

Bay City Western’s Matt Costello, right, dunks the ball as Detroit Southeastern’s Michael Burgen, Jr., left, looks on in the fourth period during the Class A semifinal game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Detroit Southeastern beat Bay City Western 53-49.

Wolverine Bank deposits sales and service manager Nick Lyons takes a call while working in the Midland branch on St. Patrick’s Day. Lyons lost a bet between another employee Julia Jodoin on whose teams could raise the most money for Big Brothers Big Sisters in the Heart of Michigan. The loser had to wear a leprechaun suit for the whole day at work. ‘At least it’s St. Patrick’s Day,’ said Lyons about wearing the costume. ‘If it had been yesterday or another day I’d be embarrassed.’
Lyons and Jodin’s teams rasied $1,800 for the organization. Wolverine Bank has five employees that volunteer as ‘bigs’ for the organization as well.

Lou E. Loon waves to fans while sitting in a 1965 Buick Wildcat before the start of Loons opening day parade.

A hearse waits outside Gladwin High School during a funeral for local Michigan State Trooper Jeffrey Werda. Werda was killed in an on-duty crash west of Birch Run in Saginaw County.

Clark Gerstacker plants field corn in a 23-acre field off Waldo Avenue in Midland. Gerstacker, who farms with his brother Kirk, said that the planting of his crops are about two weeks late due to the wet spring.

Meridian Frankenmuth’s Elizabeth Friend, left, celebrates her run with teammate Jamie Hawkins in the second inning during the Division 3 quarterfinal at Saginaw Valley State University.

Northwood freshman Kyle Nudd yells as he and his Phi Delta Theta teammates win a match during the Turtle Tug tug-of-war tournament on campus. Nudd’s team won the tournament. Delta Zeta Sorority hosted the event that took place behind the Sloan Family Building on the Northwood Campus. All proceeds from the event will go to The Painted Turtle Camp, an organization that provides a life changing environment and authentic camp experience for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. In addition to the tug-of-war, the event featured food donations from local businesses.

Midland High sophomore Evan Novak slides through the slime after his team lost during the Turtle Tug tug-of-war tournament.

Northwood students roll around in the mud and slime after the Turtle Tug tug-of-War tournament on campus.

Nickolas Jones, 14, gets sprayed by a car moving through a puddle near the sidewalk of his home on Indian Street. Jones said that he and his friend Orion Lohr, 12, were bored after the storm and decided to play in the water for a little bit. A storm moved through Midland at about dumping rain and causing the National Weather Service to place Midland County under a tornado warning.

Olivia Beasley, 12, looks out at a flooded Saint Charles Park while exploring the flooding with her mother Teri and sister Lorelei, 15, in Midland.

Wearing an intricate flower hat, Maria Christie, center, talks with member Cheryl Bisset during The Little Garden Club’s 70th anniversary celebration at member Mary Reif’s home. The group is one of five garden clubs in Midland. Members from all local garden clubs were invited to the event.

Doug Moody, 82, center, shows off his 1974 Northeastern Little League championship trophy to current Northeastern baseball teammates Maxx Fisher, 9, left, and Alec Newton, 9, while the boys participate in “Tag Night.” Moody, who donated $10 to the team, thought the kids would get a kick out of the trophy that he won as a coach in 1974. Tag night is a Midland little league tradition where teams and parents go door-to-door asking for donations. The funds are used to help the with costs associated with field maintenance, equipment and uniforms.

Lauren Davis, left, kisses her son Mikey, 6, as they wait for U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Aaron ‘Doc’ Ullom’s escort at the corner of Pheasant Ridge Road and Eastman Avenue in Midland, Mich. Lauren, her husband Mike and their children Danica, 9, left, and Saraya, 12, came out to show support for Ullom and his family. Residents lined the streets of Midland, waving U.S. flags and holding signs bearing the name of Ullom as his body was escorted to the funeral home in Midland. Ullom, who just turned 20, was killed in action on July 12 while serving in Afghanistan.

Class of 1971 football players Ed Holder, left, and Jon Walker joke around before a photo shoot in their varsity letterman jackets in the Midland High School football locker room. Holder played for Midland and Walker for Dow. They played in the first match up between the two teams.

Beaverton Historical Society President Bob Frei holds up a shirt commemorating the Gladwin County First Settler Sesquicentennial Celebration that just came in during a meeting about the up coming 150-year celebration between the Beaverton Historical Society and the Gladwin County Historical Society at Beaverton City Hall.

Merrill’s Phil Pierce, right, hugs teammate Zach Kitzmiller after the Vandal’s loss to Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett beat Merrill 5-1 for the Division 4 state baseball championship.

Over time, the aesthetics of Midland, our relatively flat town, began to change. Instead of the sun exposing plain cement lots, the early-morning and late-afternoon light shone down on giant snow banks, which, if looked at from the right angle and with a healthy amount of imagination, resembled those snow-capped peaks and majestic mountain ranges to our west.

And as spring temperatures and longer days melt away the last of these massive mounds — some climbing as high as 15 feet — we take a look back at some of Midland’s most impressive mountains.

Dow Diamond parking lot off Buttles Street.

Taco Bell parking lot off North Saginaw Road.

A puddle reflects the remains of a snow hill in a parking lot off McDonald Street.

Kohl’s parking lot off Joe Mann Boulevard.

Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot off Airport Road.

Best Western Valley Plaza Inn parking lot off Bay City Road.

Meijer parking lot off Eastman Avenue.

Paige Verburg, 7, plays on a snow bank in the Heritage Arms apartments parking lot off Eastman Avenue.

Saginaw Heritage High School parking lot off North Center Road.

Kmart parking lot off North Saginaw Road.

Midland Public School Bus Garage off George Street.

Midland Town Center parking lot off Washington Street.

Calvary Baptist Academy parking lot off Perrine Road.

Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School students laugh during introductions at the first day of school at Santa’s House on Main Street. The three-day event featured various classroom lessons, field trips and networking opportunities for people looking to be the best Santa or Mrs. Claus they can be during the holiday season. Many of the Santas are returning students. The school was originally founded in 1937 by Charles W. Howard in Albion, New York. Dean Tom Valent moved it to Midland in 1986 where he runs it with his wife, Holly.

Ohio resident John Williams gets dressed as Santa during a lesson on wardrobe at the Carriage House Hall in Heritage Park.

Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School Dean Tom Valent, right, and student John Bloomberg, left, of Headrick, Okla., get ready for a mock interview as Ron Beacom, MCTV station director, center, looks on. Students took a field trip to the television station to learn how to conduct media interviews and how to answer tough questions from kids.

Students ride on a charter bus during a field trip to Toys “R” Us in Saginaw where they learned about the hottest toys for the year.

A student’s vanity plate.

Jerry Julian, of Colorado, places his bag in the trunk of his Volkswagen Beetle after a lunch break. Many of the Santas carry the Christmas theme into all aspects of their lives with custom license plates and lots of red and green clothing. The majority of students have real beards as well.

Santa Frank Miller, of Beverly Hills, Fla., lays on the ground after an abdominal workout during a fitness class run by Sabrina Frawley Zielinski at the Carriage House Hall in Heritage Park. Classes include fitness, hair care, legal advice and dealing with post-Christmas depression to name a few. Classes took place at Santa’s House on Main Street, the Carriage House Hall in Heritage Park and Whiting Forest.

Santa Tom Bethke places an elf he bought while on a field trip with students to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth. The trip to the Christmas mega-store is a highlight for students.

Tom Jonker, of Coatesville, Ind., gets his beard and hair dyed white by Susan Myers at her studio. Jonker and others
made appointments to get their hair done while they were in Midland. Myers held a class about Santa hair care during
the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School.

Rob Simanskey, left, along with Tom Valent (not seen) show off Valent’s reindeer after dessert at Valent’s home during the first day of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School. Aside from his duties at the school, Dean Tom Valent becomes Santa Claus each year and visits with kids at Santa’s House on Main Street where much of the school is conducted.

Linda Lee, center right, plays the accordion while parading through the Bavarian Inn with the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School student body during a trip to Frankenmuth. The Santas stopped at a toy store for a lesson on this year’s hottest toys before heading to Bavarian Inn for dinner. After dinner the group went shopping at Bronner’s Christmas Store. More than 80 students attended this year’s school, which was held on Oct. 7-9.

A picture of school founder Charles H. Howard sits in the hallway advertising an outside vendor who was selling Santa suits at the Fairview Inn during school. The Fairview Inn is one of the main places students lodge during their stay in Midland.

Santa Sam Hopeck, left, waves goodbye after talking to to Benjamin Lowther, 3, who shopping with his dad Brendan at Bronner’s Christmas Store in Frankenmuth. Students took a field trip to the Christmas mega-store.

Santa Dennis Blanden, center, laughs while interacting with fellow student Everett Johnson, right, and other students in the lobby of the Fairview Inn after a night at school. After each day, Santas can be found hanging out in the hotel lobby exchanging stories, laughs and business cards. Many of the students have built lasting friendships with the Santas they’ve met in Midland. “You have found the Mecca of Santa right here,” said Johnson about the school.

Santa Bill Neyenhouse leaves the bar during the graduation ceremony for the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in the St. Andrews Ballroom at the Midland Country Club. The students dress up in formal Santa attire for the last event of the three-day-long school. Students enjoy a buffet dinner and then receive their diplomas.

Diplomas are handed out during the graduation ceremony for the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in the St. Andrews Ballroom at the Midland Country Club.

Pat Petty, left, and his wife, Dianne, of Franklin, Tenn., cuddle in their hotel room bed at the end of the final night of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School. It’s not uncommon for Santas to bring their wives to either participate in the school or to hang out with the other wives while classes are in session.

How the story appeared in print.