When Vern Verplank was a young boy, his father Tony owned and operated an ice business, which began on Smith's Bayou in Spring Lake Township. In this interview, Vern, joined by his son Midge, recalls the daily operations and hazards of the business, which continued until 1952. Vern dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and worked winters in the ice business before joining his father's coal business with his brothers in 1927. By 1952, the Verplank Coal & Dock Company also dealt in slag, limestone, shale, salt, and aggregate. Vern, nicknamed "Tooter," also recalls stories of his youthful adventures with friends Preston Bilz and Fred Nienhuis along with the life of his grandfather Joos Verplank, who emigrated from the Netherlands. In his later years, Vern was a member of the Spring Lake Yacht Club, the Spring Lake Country Club, and was a founding member of the Spring Lake Rotary Club.
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