My grandfather, F.L. Roosa was born about 1880 around Albion, Calhoun Co. MI and died in 1947. For many years, he owned and ran a small store at the corner of Northland Drive and East Main Street in Rockford, MI that sold gas and groceries. After his death in 1947, a man named “Johnnie” ran the store, followed by Rolenhagens, then Dennie Bradley. It’s currently a Vitale’s Pizza.

This is an old family story, which may or may not be true. Given the age of the story, it may be difficult to uncover the truth of the story.

Back during the early days of aviation, two men came to my grandfather’s store after landing a small plane up on a hill east of the store. They said they were out of gas and wanted to buy some. Grandpa refused, since he didn’t have the correct type of gas that would work for the plane. The men then went to another station where they were able to buy gas.

They walked back to the plane, took off, and crashed somewhere west of Rockford shortly after takeoff.

(I’d like to thank my daughter for typing this for me.)