Looking Back

Published August 6, 2018

BIRMINGHAM — When it comes to the Woodward Avenue corridor, a lot has changed since the highway was a dirt pathway through the wilderness, traveled by Native Americans migrating between villages.

Published July 24, 2018

Rochester Post

Looking Back: The centennial celebration

ROCHESTER — People young and old celebrated the Rochester centennial in 1969, commemorating 100 years since Rochester was incorporated as a village.

Published July 18, 2018

C&G Newspapers

Old-fashioned ice cream social celebrates bygone era at Pine Grove

PONTIAC — When some think of today’s tumultuous political climate, they might think yesteryear was more tranquil and serene.

They’d be wrong.

Published July 16, 2018

Birmingham - Bloomfield Eagle

Looking Back: A well-stocked 1800s sewing kit

BIRMINGHAM — In the mid-1800s, domestic work and clothing were undergoing a revolution thanks to the availability of the sewing machine, which was invented in 1755 but took more than a century to become a practical item.

Published July 13, 2018

St. Clair Shores Sentinel

Looking Back: Hilgendorf Service Station

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Herman Carl Hilgendorf was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1879. In 1884, his family came to the United States.

Published July 12, 2018

West Bloomfield Beacon

Apple Island lives up to its name with newly planted apple trees

ORCHARD LAKE — Apple Island once again lives up to its namesake, thanks to fundraising efforts by the West Bloomfield School District.

Published July 2, 2018

Mount Clemens - Clinton - Harrison Journal

Bicentennial exhibit looks at city’s, county’s past 200 years

MOUNT CLEMENS — The latest event celebrating local history is going on now at the Anton Art Center, and it’s a big one.Read More

Community Living Centers founder Mary Wagner, foreground, breaks ground in 1973 on a CLC group home on Tuck Road in Farmington Hills.

Published June 26, 2018

Farmington Press

Farmington group homes serve residents, community for 50 years

FARMINGTON — Kathy Stalk has witnessed the landscape change in the 30 years she has worked at the Farmington-based Community Living Centers.

Published June 22, 2018

St. Clair Shores Sentinel

Looking Back: Historic glass house

ST. CLAIR SHORES — In 1881, Capt. John Ford founded a plate glass company in Pittsburgh. By 1883, his company was known as the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. — the first commercially successful plate glass firm in the U.S.

Published June 22, 2018

Mount Clemens - Clinton - Harrison Journal

Looking Back: Summer of 1919

It’s summertime! Heading for the river or the lake or the park or the beach is nothing new. During the Bath Era of Mount Clemens, locals and visitors alike chose one of a dozen mineral springs establishments to sip the water, eat popcorn, play cards, visit with friends or just listen to the old Victrola.

Published June 18, 2018

Birmingham - Bloomfield Eagle

Looking Back: Pomp and Circumstance, 124 years ago

BIRMINGHAM — The Hill School Class of 1894 wasn’t much different from the graduating classes at Groves and Seaholm high schools today, except in size. The Class of 1894 was composed of only 10 graduates: six women and four men.

Published June 12, 2018

Grosse Pointe Times

Gracious 1920s home is setting for 2018 Historical Society gala

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — The Grosse Pointe Historical Society is again inviting the community to step back into the hallowed halls of the community’s past. This year’s 15th annual fundraising summer gala — this time called a Midsummer Night on Kenwood — will take place at the 1927 Henry F. Stanton-designed English manor-style home of Sandy and Robert Riney at 125 Kenwood Road in Grosse Pointe Farms from 7 to 10 p.m. June 21.

Published June 5, 2018

Farmington Press

Historical marker program focuses on these old houses

FARMINGTON HILLS — A number of historical homes from the era of farmland and unpaved streets are still standing tall today, according to the Farmington Hills Historic District Commission, which is helping to keep that local history intact.

Published June 5, 2018

Farmington Press

District court celebrates 50 years serving Farmington, Hills

FARMINGTON/FARMINGTON HILLS — The 47th District Court is now in session, and it has been for five decades, serving the cities of Farmington and Farmington Hills.

Published May 29, 2018

Rochester Post

Looking Back: Four-O-Six Café and Bar

ROCHESTER — Serving as a comfortable spot for men to enjoy a drink after working at Twist Drill or Avon Tube, the Four-O-Six Café and Bar opened in 1936 on Main Street.

Published May 21, 2018

Birmingham - Bloomfield Eagle

Contractors dig up clues from Birmingham’s past under Old Woodward

BIRMINGHAM — With historical buildings and well-preserved landmarks, Birmingham’s story can be found pretty much anywhere you look around town, including right under your feet. As contractors have been pulling up pavement for the city’s $7 million Old Woodward Avenue reconstruction project, they’ve made a few interesting discoveries, including an interurban rail spike and two glass bottles.

Published May 21, 2018

Birmingham - Bloomfield Eagle

Franklin Historical Society walking tour offers a glimpse at village’s untold stories

FRANKLIN — The Franklin Historical Society will be showing off some of the village’s most interesting sites and telling some of its most unusual stories in a new walking tour.

Published May 11, 2018

St. Clair Shores Sentinel

Looking Back: Couchez Farm

The Couchez family farmed in the area of St. Clair Shores in the 19th and 20th centuries. An 1895 Macomb County atlas lists at least three farms owned by Couchez family members. Part of the family had emigrated from Belgium in the latter half of the 1800s.Read More

Published May 8, 2018

Rochester Post

Looking back: Bridge Day celebrated

ROCHESTER — People young and old celebrated the opening of the South Hill Bridge on Rochester Road on Nov. 9, 1927.

Published May 8, 2018

St. Clair Shores Sentinel

Last tax-foreclosed home on city books sold in St. Clair Shores

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Nine years after the city first decided to do something about the large number of homes that had been foreclosed upon in the city, the last of the properties acquired for unpaid taxes from Macomb County has been approved for sale.