Back in the Day- Celebrity Sightings at Lakeview Square Mall

A Facebook group recently asked about meeting famous people in Battle Creek and the list is a who's who of famous entertainers and athletes.

What do Ted Nugent, the 1984 gold-medal Olympic gymnasts, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Luke Duke have in common? No, they didn't all walk into a bar at the beginning of some bizarre joke, all were spotted shopping at Battle Creek's Lakeview Square Mall.

The You Know You're from Battle Creek Facebook group asked "What Celebrity did you see or met as Lakeview Square Mall? [sic]" The result were gold- as in, gold-medal winning gymnasts from the U.S. Olympic team, rock stars, soap stars, wrestlers and Red Wings. Here are some of the highlights:

• Ted Nugent
• the rock band Poison
• 1984 men's gymnastics team
• Ernie Harwell- Detroit Tigers
• Gordie Howe- Detroit Red Wings
• wrestler Rob Van Dam
• actor Tom Wopat from "Dukes of Hazard"
• Martha Byrne from "As the World Turns"
• Terrell Anthony of "Guiding Light"
• Tony Bennett and Count Basie at the opening in 1983

Santa and the Easter Bunny were also mentioned and, this might get me on the naughty list, but I'm not sure these count as celebrity sightings. Sadly, as the person who met Ernie Harwell remarked, the glory days of the malls are “loooong gone!”