MARP’s annual meeting was featured in the Battle Creek Enquirer:
After his birth in Chicago, John “Joe” Schwarz was carried home to Battle Creek, where his parents stepped off the train at the old depot off Van Buren Street.
Schwarz remarked on that fact Saturday while standing inside that old depot — now the restaurant Clara’s on the River — just before he was honored by a group of Michigan transit advocates for his long-standing work to improve rail service in the region.
The presentation was made on behalf of the members of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers by the group’s chairman, Robert Tischbein of Utica.
As keynote speaker for the meeting, Schwarz had just told the group about the need for ongoing, aggressive work to safeguard and improve rail service through the area. The plan to present the leadership award had been kept a secret from him, said Kay Chase, the group’s communications coordinator.