I’m picturing a place. Here, Speedway is the main attraction, Vitale’s is this place’s version of fine dining, the Covered Bridge is the historic monument, and Godwin’s Hardware Store is the place to go for everything and anything. The buildings have a sense of timeless beauty, the people are genuine, and the streets radiate a sense of home. This place is Ada, Michigan.

For someone who has grown up in Ada their whole life, I hardly stop to realize how beautiful and cool the town is. Driving around the bend on Ada drive as I make the descent into downtown Ada, I see the rolling hills beyond town and the brilliant colors of fall. Driving under the train bridge, the quaint town surrounds you for a few minutes before you reach Fulton and the nature takes over. When I actually stop to look around, I realize that Ada’s charm comes from perfect blend of nature and city, old and new, and past and present. For a town with a few restaurants, a barber shop, a coffee shop, and a small museum, Ada truly does have it all.

Another aspect of Ada that seems very underlooked is the incredible history that the town has. A quick google search will reveal that the history goes back to when Ada was known as Ada Village in 1821, and founder Rix Robinson had opened a trading post to have business with local native americans. The Village was established at the mouth of the Thornapple River, and the famous covered bridge was built in 1867. As Grand Rapids developed, so did Ada, and the establishment of schools and roads in the late 1800s turned Ada from a small trading village to a legitimate city. Since then, the town has grown slowly, but the population has skyrocketed to 15,000 people.

Ada’s beauty also lies in the people. The presence of Amway’s headquarters in Ada has provided the town with so many brilliant, hardworking people who genuinely care about the wellbeing of the town and the people around them. Forest Hills Central provides Ada with an injection of youth whose energetic, optimistic spirit provide life for the town. The people of Ada, in conjunction with the beautiful landscape and respected history, are what make me proud to be a resident of the town.

As you can tell, Ada truly does mean something to me. I take pride in Ada’s beauty and Ada’s quirkiness, and am excited to see what the future holds for my home town. It is important to keep in mind next time you complain about Speedway’s small parking lot or the lack of restaurants, that we are lucky to live in the vibrant, beautiful, and historic city of Ada.