GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Every year for the last 70, a group of friends from West Michigan has gathered to celebrate New Year’s Eve together.
The tradition started in 1955 when six guys from Grand Rapids Christian High School spent Christmas and New Year’s in Florida. The original crew made up of two Bills, two Daves, Paul and Dick. It was a memorable year — one of the Bills caught a sailfish that was 7-foot-4.
How West Michigan is celebrating New Year’s
Their story grew with the group. Since 1959, it has been a co-ed celebration.
“We ended up marrying girls who are either already good friends or became friends and that’s how the whole gang came together,” Dick Gritter, part of the original New Year’s Eve crew, explained.
Through weddings and life’s biggest moments, the group looks back at the good times and makes new memories. Dave Schaafsma and Gritter, both part of the original crew, are now 87…