Talk:Grand Haven Musical Fountain

Ron Hartsema trivia
Removed information below. Perhaps Ron deserves his own page, but this information has nothing to do with the Musical Fountain.


 * The fountain's narrator for many years was Ron Hartsema. Hartsema is perhaps best known for his regional radio hit, “Toe-tappin’ Saturday Night.”  Station managers initially refused to play the song due to the colloquial nature of the title.  So Hartsema, in a fit of marketing genius, set up a record player at the corner of Washington and Second Streets and broadcast his little gem for all who cared to listen.  And once the passersby heard the accordion solo, their toes just couldn’t stop.  So the station managers were forced to give in, eventually catapulting Hartsema’s “Toe-tappin’ Saturday Night” to Number 3 in the regional countdown for two straight weeks.  In later years Hartsema became active in the anti-Rock & Roll movement.  He invested his royalties from “Toe-tappin’ Saturday Night” into an educational campaign aimed at young people, hoping to teach them about the evils of Rock & Roll.  He lectured tirelessly on the subject, warning of knee injuries from the new-fangled dance crazes, hair damage from unnecessary primping and perming, and even premature hearing loss due to the high volume.  And when guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who disclosed he suffered from tinnitus from his years as a Rock & Roller, Hartsema was heard saying, “See?  I told you so!  Didn’t I tell you?”