Courtesy photo 2025 Gladstone Fourth of July Parade Grand Marshals Ralph Miller and Ann Jousma-Miller ride in a convertible driven by Jeff Waeghe of Skradski Family Funeral Homes in this photograph by John McDonough.

GLADSTONE — The honorees chosen to be grand marshals of the Fourth of July parade were just two of the countless parties who have taken action to enhance Gladstone and Delta County. They hope to inspire others towards civic engagement.

Attendees of the parade in Gladstone this year may have seen Ralph Miller and Ann Jousma-Miller waving from the back of Jeff Waeghe’s red BMW convertible. Riding near the front of the parade but behind the military organizations, the Millers were the parade grand marshals, selected by the city for their contributions to the community.

The efforts that the couple has engaged in over the years were not for recognition, Ann said, but for the betterment of the place they love and call home. She explained that her role has primarily been as a “facilitator” for the formation of community partnerships, and that other entities and individuals were the do-ers of the various projects to improve Gladstone and Delta County.

Ann and Ralph were spurred to participate more with endeavors in Gladstone because of the support they received from the city commission in the early 1990s, when they purchased and restored a historic home and sought advice.

“We wanted to open a bed and breakfast and needed the guidance from the city, and I’ll never forget this, I went to the city council, and they said, ‘What exactly do you want to do, and how can we help?'” Ann recalled.

The couple ended up running that b-and-b, The Kipling House, for close to 15 years. While operating, they hosted guests from 48 states and 15 countries. During that time, Ann also served on the city’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA). She credits another with the accomplishments of the DDA and the Community Development Committee during that era (’90s and ’00s).

“Howard Haulotte is by far one of the most amazing people I have ever worked with,” she said. “No idea was a bad idea, and we would lay all of our thoughts out on the table, and then we would look for ways to accomplish them for the betterment of the community.”

Nicole Sanderson, former director of parks and recreation in Gladstone, was another individual whose work remains as evidence of collaborative city improvement.

It has always been working relationships between various parties that bring success — “you never do a project alone,” Ann said, and the same sentiment is on a sign at the Upper Peninsula Military Museum, which the Millers helped bring to life.

For example, Dennis Moberg stepped up and built the display cases in that museum, which were designed in such a way as to go along with the Webster Marble: Inventing the Outdoors Museum that is housed in the same building (the Delta Chamber of Commerce, 1001 N. Lincoln Rd. in Escanaba).

When the State of Michigan was gearing to shut down the Upper Peninsula State Fair in 2009, hundreds of people banded together to figure out how to keep it open. With State funding eliminated — a decision made because Michigan was struggling economically — the fair in Detroit was shut down, but the tenacity of Yoopers prevented the fair in Escanaba from falling into the same fate. The Hannahville Indian Community provided funds then and continues to be a sponsor of the fair now; making space on the fairgrounds available for storage rental in the winter brought in additional money; and Ann helped facilitated the transfer from the state to the county. The Upper Peninsula Commission For Area Progress (UPCAP) became the administrator for the U.P. State Fair Authority, which formed in 2010 and is made up of delegates from the 15 U.P. counties and the Hannahville tribe.

Pointing out how difficult a process it is to sell even a single residential property, Ann called it a “miracle” that the entire fairgrounds and event managed to transfer hands between 2009 and 2010 without having to miss a fair. Delta Abstract and Title are credited with handling the lengthy paperwork involved.

“I think the success in anything that we’ve ever been involved in or with is because of the partnerships that we build, and I think it’s necessary in order to be successful or to or or to enhance your community. It takes a village. It takes more,” Ann said.

Speaking of “village,” one building in the Antique Village on the fairgrounds was another project that happened thanks to the hands of the Millers and various community members. The chapel, built from boards cut right at the old sawmill mere meters away and sponsored by local people, was erected through the collaborative efforts of those involved with the Steam and Gas Engine Association.

The newest project that people may not realize is another product of Miller and more but which is quite visible is the installation of many historic signs around Gladstone. Ann said that team members Waeghe, John Noreus, John Pickard, and Eric Buckman are responsible for making contact with home- and business owners to help produce the 60 completed signs — 50 of which have already been posted. Thanks also go to Karen Lindquist, archivist at the Delta County Historical Society, whom Ann referred to as a “go-to person” for anything history-related.

Though Ralph and Ann were reluctant to have the spotlight shone on them, others were pleased to see their familiar faces recognized by the City of Gladstone on Independence Day.

“I’m glad that they were grand marshals,” Waeghe said. “They’ve done so much for the community.”