DOWAGIAC — Hand-in-hand, a couple sat on Monday night in the back of the Dowagiac Union Schools Administration Building, holding a book very precious to them and patiently awaiting the moment they would hand it on to the next generation of leaders. 

Cass County native and county commissioner Skip Dyes is donating Dennis Archer’s auto-biography, “Let the Future Begin,” to all of the libraries in Cass County.

In a presentation at the Dowagiac Union School District’s Board of Education’s regular meeting on Monday night, Dyes handed over the signed auto-biography to the board, saying he wants kids to use Archer as a role model.

“I’m here tonight because me and my wife, Wendy, went to hear Dennis Archer speak,” Dyes said. “Dennis said he had just written an autobiography. He gave me the book, and I took it and I read it, and I think this should go to all the kids of Cass County.”

The couple decided to order 21 copies of the book, one for every school and public library in Cass County.

“Dowagiac you’re third from the bottom of my list, I got two more to go,” Dyes said. “If you go to the library downtown, they got theirs about a year ago. There was a campaign between that time, and I never got back to getting them done, so you are getting yours now.”

Archer was born in Detroit, but grew up in Cassopolis. He went on to become a two-term mayor of Detroit, a Michigan Supreme Court Justice and president of the 400,000-member American Bar Association. The book is about his early life in Cassopolis and includes some details about Dowagiac and neighboring towns.

“We’re donating it because of the life of Dennis, and we think it’s a good instrument for kids to read to show you can leave from here and go on to different things,” Dyes said. “It’s just basically about Dennis and how successful he’s been.”

Archer’s dad was a caregiver of lawns and Archer himself was a caddy on a golf course. He started off as a special education teacher and then went into law and became an attorney.

The Dyes and Archer still keep in touch, as they continue donating the remaining copies of Archer’s autobiography.

Dyes has his own connections to the Cass County community, which is why he is passionate about giving to the county’s students. He grew up in Cassopolis, graduated from high school in 1971 and is a Cass County Commissioner, representing district three.

The signed copy of Archer’s autobiography reads, “Dowagiac Union Schools, with my highest regards and all my thanks. From Skip and Wendy for making this possible, Aug 8, 2018.”