Ron's Reptiles

Historical Aside

 We’re often asked to weigh in on the June 12th, 1781 diary entry of Brian Staggers. While it is an interesting description of the landscape, we disagree with those in the Historical Society who assert the area he scouted was Herrington. Rather, it’s clearly detailing the woodlands and waterways in Gratiot County, directly to our east.

 

The pride that county's residents feel about the survey should not be undermined by a petty high school rivalry. Herrington has plenty of its own history.

 

For example, a less historically controversial event occurred in the summer of the US Bi-Centennial.

Ron’s Reptiles

Rebellions come big and small. And this was certainly an odd one in the summer of 1976.

 

Ron Seelwright moved town three years prior with this young wife, Diane. He has seen some rough action overseas and wanted to escape to a more idilic life. He opened an animal shop named Ron’s Reptiles and specialized in selling snakes, turtles and amphibians.

 

The vast majority of these unique pets went to children breaking away from 4H projects caring for goats, pigs or cows. Variety was key to this business.

And The Deli

As one can image, a pet shop in this area is not very lucrative. So the couple opened a sandwich shop on the opposite side, named Diane’s Deli. This provided steady income and enough foot traffic for the pet shop. Diane served up the basics which was fine by everyone. Often you would see the police or firemen on the go with her food. During warm weekends they also served ice cream.

 

The real draw for the deli was Diane’s coleslaw. Delicious! The sandwiches were nothing to shout about but there was something special about the way her coleslaw tasted. She happily gave out the recipe and people even watched her mix it together. But it couldn’t be duplicated. And people did try!

 

Something about her touch gave it a special zing.

Out And About

The couple were involved locally as well. During the Clown Art and Hearse Show, they would put up a booth and do sales: reptiles on one side and ready-made sandwiches for sale on the other.

 

They seemed pretty strict about keeping the two sides separate for health inspections.

 

It’s an easy summer to remember, as Ron seemed to wear nothing but a JAWS tee shirt while Diane sported cut-off jean shorts. They were quite the active couple.

Mystery Starts

And then it happened. Of all the unusual events a town could have, this one leaves most dumbfounded. Keep in mind, this was a time before security cameras or alarms on every door. We can only reconstruct, or suppose, what occurred. It’s a head-scratcher.

 

To backup, the day started normal enough. Mid-morning Ron received a shipment of animals. Shortly after that, the deli opened for lunch business. An otherwise quiet start to the day.

 

However, that changed by the afternoon. At about 4 pm, they had to close the shops and drive Ron to the emergency room. One of the new pythons unexpectedly bit him on the hand. Hardly life threatening but certainly worth a couple stitches. After receiving care, they returned home.

Out The Back!

That night there was a break-in on the reptile side. Or rather a break-out? The front glass of the shop went out, onto the brick sidewalk. No broken glass was found within the building. The cages were discovered tipped over and mostly empty. A large percentage of the animals were missing. Those kept in stronger metal cages remained and all handles appeared to have scratch marks.

 

Early morning joggers did observe some larger snakes heading northwards toward the beach area, slower turtles marching along as well. Not just one or two, but in groups. But people being people, they were too focused on themselves to realize something odd was happening.