MUSKEGON, MI – Last year, still riding the high of being crowned Miss Michigan the night before, Jenae Lodewyk made a suprise discovery.
She was stopping for gas on a Sunday on her way out of Muskegon when she saw something on the side of an unassuming building that surprised her.
Several yards away, a faded mosaic mural of Nancy Anne Fleming Lange, 1961 Miss America, who is originally from Montague in northern Muskegon County, graced the side of the building.
“When I saw that mosaic, I froze,” Lodewyk said. “I thought it was beautiful and then I took a look closer, and I thought, ‘There’s no way.’”
Familiar with her Michigan pageant history, Lodewyk pieced together that the art made of individual tiles had been formed to resemble Fleming Lange.
And, at that time, Fleming Lange resembled more than just a past winner to Lodewyk, but a symbol of how great her impact could be, as she began her year working as Miss Michigan.
“It made me think about how this opportunity is so much bigger than myself,” Lodewyk said. “Here’s this Miss America who meant so much to her community that (they) froze her as an art piece in the community to be there forever.”
Lodewyk, who held the title of Miss Bay County, was crowned Miss Michigan in 2024 and went on to compete in the Miss America contest earlier this year.
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She was the first title-holding Miss Bay County to win the state competition.
This weekend, Lodewyk will crown the next Miss Michigan 2025.
The preliminary competition kicked off Thursday, June 12, with two contestants receiving awards.
RELATED: Miss Michigan 2025 first awards go to Miss South Central, Miss Spirit of the State
Miss Michigan 2024 Jenae Lodewyk and Miss South Central Lacy Jewell celebrate her winning the talent preliminary award with an air-drum duo during the opening night of the 2025 Miss Michigan Scholarship Contest at Frauenthal Center in Muskegon, Mich. on Thursday, June 12, 2025.Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com
The Miss Michigan 2025 competition continues Saturday, June 14, at the Frauenthal Theater, 425 W. Western Ave.
“After the (teen) competition we had last night, I know it’s going to end up in good hands,” Lodewyk said Friday of passing along the Miss Michigan crown. “Or should I say, on a good head.”
Lodewyk plans to have a “full circle moment” when she visits the mural again on her way out of town this Sunday.
“Last year, I was stepping into this as a new Miss Michigan and now I’m going to go see Miss America on the wall as I’m stepping into a new phase of being a forever Miss Michigan.”
Ray Reasoner, owner of AWOL Custom Tattooing on W. Sherman Blvd., points out covered up features of a more than 60-year-old mural.Kayla Tucker
Mural sheds light on impact of local pageant winners
What is now a faded, half-covered mural was once a brand-new sight that drew the community out to see its glory.
Not to mention, it helped to advertise the skills found in the shop, Muskegon Tile and Floor Covering.
The business was opened by Henry VanRandwyk in 1954.
After outgrowing his first space a half mile down the road, VanRandwyk built the building that is at 1780 W Sherman Boulevard, according to his daughter Nancy VanRandwyk Morritt.
When Fleming Lange was crowned Miss America in 1961, employees from the tile shop put together the mural piece by piece.
“I remember when that was done, it drew a lot of attention, people came out,” said VanRandwyk Morritt, who was around 10 years old at the time. “It was beautiful.”
The building has seen several owners since VanRandwyk and now houses AWOL Custom Tattooing.
When Ray Reasoner bought the building 15 years ago, he accidentally discovered the mural while stripping white epoxy, a resin that had been painted over the tile art.
The mosaic tile mural resembling Miss America 1961 Nancy Anne Fleming Lange can be found on the side of AWOL Custom Tattooing, 1780 W. Sherman Blvd. in Muskegon.Kayla Tucker
“I was standing out here one day and noticed the cuts, I had a good inkling it was a mosaic,” Reasoner said.
He has treated it a couple times but said it needs a few more rounds to completely remove all the white resin and reveal the full mural.
There appears to be a sailboat and other water features on the top of the more than 60-year-old mural, in the background of Fleming.
An artist himself, Reasoner said it takes “a lot of work” to individually piece together a tile mosaic.
“We figured something like this shouldn’t be covered,” he said. “It’s almost a lost art at this point.”
Ray Reasoner, owner of AWOL Custom Tattooing, stands in front of the mosaic mural he discovered when he bought the building 15 years ago. The mural was created by employees of the building’s original business, a tile company, after Nancy Anne Fleming Lange, of Montague, won the Miss America title in 1961.Kayla Tucker
Mural highlights Muskegon’s significance to pageant
Lodewyk said she wants to continue the community conversation about helping to get the mural fully restored.
“I want that mosaic to get all the attention to bring it back to life, if there’s anything I can do,” Lodewyk said. “I believe she (Fleming) is a big reason the Miss Michigan program” is held in Muskegon.
The Miss Michigan competition has been held in Muskegon for the past 74 years.
The first Miss Michigan winner to earn the Miss America title was Miss America 1939 Patricia Donnelly Harris.
Other Michigan winners were Miss America 1970 Pam Eldred, Miss America 1988 Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson and Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund.
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