Godwin Heights — “In this cafeteria, I had lunch,” Rick Berkey, a 1970 Godwin Heights alum told a group of North Godwin third-graders. “I played on the same playground and had band concerts in the gym. Do they still have band concerts in the gym?”
“Yes,” the students replied in unison.
Berkey, a broadcaster and author, recently visited West and North Godwin Elementary Schools to give back to the community that has supported him throughout his career. During his visit, he read his book “The Night I Borrowed Santa’s Sleigh,” then gave a copy to every student from kindergarten through third grade.
‘It was good to meet an actual author. It definitely inspires you.’
— third-grader Emma Clausen
“I am hoping that when you get your book that you learn to read it really well, and read it to younger brothers and sisters,” he told them, “so you can help them understand, or younger cousins, or friends or family who are younger than you.
“You take this book and you teach them how to read as well.”
Berkey, now living in the Comstock Park area, is a strong proponent of reading.
“I know that, for me, for my own development, whether it was broadcasting or whatever else I did, reading was the basis for everything,” he said. “That foundation is essential no matter what the rest of your life will be like.
“The earlier you read, the better off you are.”
On a Plane, On a Bus, or In a Motel Room
While attending Godwin Heights, Berkey recalled, he was a “sports nerd,” spending his time reading the newspaper sports pages. He also enjoyed math, particularly calculating statistics for local baseball teams before the paper hit the news stands, metal sidewalk boxes where newspapers were sold.
That passion turned into his career, as Berkey, who also graduated from Western Michigan University, worked for three local radio stations and was a play-by-play broadcaster calling professional, collegiate and high school games.
He is a recipient of the Warren Reynolds Achievement Award, and was inducted into the 2025 Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.
He still is active as a broadcaster, while also having completed two children’s books and penning his third.
“Where did you write your book?” asked a student about “The Night I Borrowed Santa’s Sleigh.”
Berkey said over about a year he wrote in the typical places — his home and at a summer cottage — as well as on an airplane and a bus, adding that he would sometimes travel with the teams that he covered.
“Then, sometimes, in a motel room. That’s the beauty about writing a story: you can do it wherever, whenever you feel like it.”
Berkey told the students the story just came to him. He said many people knew the story of Ruldoph, but he wanted to focus on the other eight reindeer.
Third-grade teacher Anglea Winer said Berkey’s visit aligned with students’ current focus on narrative writing. The opportunity to talk to an author about how he writes and where he gets his ideas will help them as they work on their own narratives, Winer said.
“It was good to meet an actual author,” said third-grader Emma Clausen. “It definitely inspires you.”
The Places You Can Go with Paper & Pencil
Along with talking about his writing process and getting a book published, Berkey also shared stories about his time at Godwin Heights, which began at what was called Main Godwin, now the middle-school gym. When the decision was made to add the gym, fourth-graders were moved to North Godwin.
“There were three fourth-grade classes, but they only had room for two of them at the school,” Berkey said. “So one fourth-grade class stayed behind for the first semester, and that was the class I was in. So for one semester, we were the biggest kids in school.”
The current middle school was the high school, and the current high school opened in 1973, three years after Berkey graduated.
As Berkey walked the halls of North Godwin, he pointed out where his classes were, recalled his teachers and noted that the cafeteria does not look much different than all those years ago.
Berkey attended North Godwin during some major moments in U.S. history.
“I remember coming out of class for a drink of water and seeing all the teachers huddled together, whispering,” Berkey said. “It was the day that (John F.) Kennedy had been shot.”
It was at the high school, now the middle school, that English teacher Ruth Kemp, now retired, helped nurture his love of writing. Berkey said the friendship continues today, with Kemp serving as a sounding board for his books, which also include “The Easter Bunny Is Missing” and the upcoming book about the night before Halloween, set at John Ball Zoo.
“The great thing about writing is all you really need is a piece of paper and a pencil,” Berkey told the third-graders. “If you have a laptop or a tablet, that’s nice too, but all you have to have is a piece of paper. You can write down whatever you want and go wherever you want with it.”
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