Norma Stevens

The Real Mccoy: the Story of a Creek and Its Town Norma Stevens

A colorful, anecdotal narrative history of the founding and growth of the small town of Buchanan, located in southwestern Michigan and chosen by pioneers for the tiny, useful McCoy's Creek in its midst. Written in the late 1960s as a series of local newspaper columns, rewritten and published in book form in 1975, the current volume is a facsimile reproduction created in 2010. "The Real McCoy" details the "acquisition" of land from Native American tribal chiefs, through the first pioneer settlements, water power development, early businesses, leading up to and including the growth of Clark Equipment Company, which made the town famous. The book concludes in the early 1970s, just prior to the exodus of Clark Equipment and other manufacturers from the state of Michigan. The book, also a poignant plea to save the neglected creek from ecological damage, quickly sold out its initial run of 518 copies, but not before it spurred many of the town's subsequent efforts to restore the creek and build parks and trails in its honor.