Acknowledgements

Thanks for visiting the site!

Please note that the information contained on the site comes from much research by many people. 

Mary Anderson and the gals from the Bluffton neighborhood put together two beautiful books on the history of the area.  Shifting Sands and Sand in their Shoes are highly recommended, and should be sought out.

Barb Martin, archivist at the Muskegon County Museum for many years dug out wonderful pieces of original materials back in 1995, when the museum mounted an exhibit on Buster Keaton and the Muskegon Actors' Colony.  Her work continues to be a resource. 

Mary E. Keating wrote a wonderful piece for the old Grand Rapids Herald back in 1911 on the colony.  It was a certainly a source of period information.

Anyone doing research on Muskegon History will stumble upon the work of Charles H. Yates, a historian who wrote columns for the Muskegon Chronicle titled "Know Muskegon"  for many years.  His pioneering efforts are certainly a source of material. Tressa LaFayette, another historian and Chronicle writer, who penned history pieces under "The Way We Were", was another reference.  Both individuals wrote on a wide range of subjects.

Marc Okkonen, a preeminent historian on baseball, joined me in researching material for a booklet Buster Keaton and the Muskegon Connection. Marc's research skills, his talents as a writer and his ability to layout the book will be always appreciated.  Do yourself a favor and search for his other series of books entitled "Muskegon Stories," available through the Muskegon Chronicle and local bookstores.  They are a treat.

Finally - thanks to Eleanor Keaton, Bill Flemen, John and Barb Barkel, Mildred Millard, Catherine Kelly, Paul Fuller, Al Jurergens, Jane Wickland Kirby, Mary Critchett, Warren Wickland, Mary Jo Moblo, Frank Scheide, Karen Landers, Mrs Rowe, Alessandro Santi, Bill Dragga, Marlene Weisman Abadi, Howard Peterson, Anne Dawson and oh so many others for their donations and contributions to helping remember and preserving the history of Keaton and the Actors' Colony!

Contact Me

I'm always looking to add to the collection of knowledge about the Actors' Colony in Bluffton, the residents who called Muskegon home, as well as images and memories from and about area.

I'm a lousy typist, hence, I'm always chasing corrections to the content.  And, well, as I get older, I find the mind isn't as sharp as it once was.  Or, maybe it's cluttered up with too much useless trivia, that it becomes confused...  I'm not sure.  Whatever it is, I love to be corrected. So, if you spot any questionable  information contained within, well, I'd like to hear about that too.

So, please e-mail me with comments, corrections, images, questions, dating advice and what ever else you might have on your mind.  I'd love to hear from you!

You can reach me at peschstats@comcast.net

With a little digging around the internet, I'm sure you can track me down.  I'm the younger Ron Pesch.  Sports and Keaton.

Dad's about all that other stuff!