tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64595895218231289242024-03-06T00:32:05.947-05:00Remembering Rochester© 2009-2017. All Rights Reserved.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-29253717176436114312017-04-01T17:02:00.001-04:002017-04-01T17:02:52.902-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryHalf a century ago, Avon Township held its annual meeting and considered its options for a new cemetery. Rochester had just become a city two months earlier, in February 1967. Cityhood for Rochester meant that Mount Avon Cemetery, which lay within the former village - now city - boundaries, passed from the administration of Avon Township to the new city government.<br />
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Avon Township had other cemetery property, most notably the Paint Creek Cemetery on Romeo Road. There was still some burial space available there, but the cemetery was small and could not serve the township into the future. Fortunately, in 1956, Sarah Van Hoosen Jones had donated approximately 16 acres of land on East Tienken Road to the township specifically for use as a cemetery.<br />
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The township approved $15,000 to grade the Tienken Road property and build roads within the new cemetery. Clerk Thelma Spencer promised taxpayers that the cemetery's business model would be designed to be self-sustaining. The new Van Hoosen Jones-Stoney Creek Cemetery was laid out with 11,200 two-space burial plots, a cremation section, and a chapel.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-8590484052346218062017-03-01T06:00:00.000-05:002017-03-01T06:00:34.587-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, Rochester welcomed a new automobile dealer to town. L. Keith Crissman, the community's Chevrolet dealer at the time, made a deal to sell his business to Bill Fox. Thus Crissman Chevrolet became Bill Fox Chevrolet, a local company that is still going strong in 2017 and has expanded across the state.<br />
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Meanwhile, Crissman became a partner in the Wilson Cadillac dealership in Birmingham, and that business was renamed Wilson-Crissman Cadillac. Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-28672407853298452962017-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:002017-02-01T06:00:03.225-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFebruary 1967 was an important milestone in the history of Rochester. Just a few weeks from the 150th anniversary of the settlement of Rochester by the Graham family in 1817, and 98 years after the community had incorporated itself as a village under Michigan law, Rochester officially became a city.<br />
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The voters had approved a city charter in January 1967 on a vote of 689 to 166, a culmination of years of attempts to transition from village to city government, or to consolidate with Avon Township. At 12:01 a.m. on Monday, February 13, 1967, the village faded into the pages of history and the City of Rochester was born. On the evening of February 13, the new city council met and selected Roy Rewold to serve as the town's first mayor.<br />
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The new council's first order of business was to address the separation of city and township property, as Avon Township had several assets that found themselves lying within the municipal boundaries of the new city. The City of Rochester assumed operation of Mount Avon Cemetery, formerly administered by the township. Eventually, the city also assumed operation of Avon Park, renaming it Rochester Municipal Park.<br />
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In 2017, Rochester celebrates both the 200th anniversary of its founding by the Grahams and the 50th anniversary of its incorporation as a city.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-62436250798678877752017-01-01T06:00:00.000-05:002017-01-01T06:00:24.304-05:00This Month in Rochester History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the start of another new year, we turn our attention to the events of a half century ago in Rochester, during the year 1967. In January 1967, members of American Legion Post #172, also known as the Homer Wing Post, were celebrating the purchase of a new home. The post had previously been headquartered in the <a href="http://rochesteravonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/09/vanished-rochester-dr-rollin-sprague.html" target="_blank">historic Sprague house</a> on West University Drive, but had sold that property for redevelopment in 1965. In 1966, the Sprague house was torn down to make way for the construction of the office building at 134 W. University, leaving the Homer Wing Post without a permanent home.<br />
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After the Michigan Bell Telephone Company <a href="http://rochesteravonhistory.blogspot.com/2016/09/this-month-in-rochester-history.html" target="_blank">vacated its building</a> at the corner of Third and Walnut streets in the fall of 1966, that building was offered for sale. The American Legion post, under Commander John Boeberitz, completed purchase of the property in January 1967, and the former telephone company building has been the post's home ever since.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-82815589305805290882016-12-01T07:31:00.000-05:002016-12-01T07:31:24.117-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, Rochester's two funeral homes, Potere and Pixley, made a joint announcement. The two firms notified the city of Rochester that they were going out of the ambulance business in order to devote all of their time and attention solely to funeral services.<br />
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For years, ambulance calls in Rochester had been answered alternately by the funeral homes. The police dispatcher used a card with "Pixley" printed on one side and "Potere" on the other, as the two companies took turns responding to calls. Their ambulances were transportation only, and did not carry life support equipment or personnel with medical training.<br />
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Following the announcement by the funeral homes in December 1966, Rochester contracted with Fleet Ambulance and St. Onge Ambulance to provide services to Rochester residents.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-74125779260633621462016-11-01T06:00:00.000-04:002016-11-01T06:00:07.649-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryIn November 1966, the citizens of Rochester celebrated an improvement to the Avon Township Park (known today as Rochester Municipal Park). The Kiwanis Club of Rochester dedicated a brand new pavilion on the bank of Paint Creek at the east end of the park, overlooking the river and the municipal pond. The shelter had been built at a cost of $6000, with Kiwanis Club members doing all of the work themselves, except for the pouring of the concrete floor. Fifty years later, we are still enjoying their contribution to the park.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-49588410358839013952016-09-01T06:00:00.000-04:002016-09-01T06:00:17.099-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryIt's been half a century since touch-tone telephone service was inaugurated in the Rochester area. In September 1966, Michigan Bell officials announced that a new facility on Tienken Road would take over the telephone circuits for Rochester and the old building at the corner of Third & Walnut streets would be vacated. All 5,800 telephone customers in greater Rochester would be assigned the '651' prefix, and touch-tone calling would be available for the first time in the area.<br />
<br />The company announced that it would no longer offer 4-party lines, but 2-party service would still be available on a limited basis.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-29076460442572046822016-08-01T07:00:00.000-04:002016-08-01T07:00:11.134-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryApparently, the old adage was right - there really is nothing new under the sun. A look back at the <i>Rochester Clarion</i> headlines of 50 years ago this month reveals the same news that is unfolding in our community today. In August 1966, Rochester area residents were impatiently watching the reconstruction of the intersection of Avon and Rochester roads. Part of the project included the installation of a long-awaited traffic signal. Leader Dogs for the Blind, along with Detroit Broach and Machine (located where Sanyo is today), had told the State of Michigan for years that the intersection was too busy and accident-ridden to be governed only by stop signs. Fifty years ago, state officials got the message. Can you imagine that intersection without a traffic signal today?Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-69544378273647723912016-07-01T07:00:00.000-04:002016-07-01T07:00:16.139-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryHalf a century ago this month, the Rochester Board of Education voted to take its first big step forward with computer technology. In July 1966, the board agreed to participate in the new Oakland Schools data processing center, which was under development at the time and was slated to begin service in January 1968.<br />
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The proposed network was described as being the first of its kind in the country. Participating districts would be linked via leased telephone lines to the mainframe computer located in Pontiac. The system was designed to handle budget and finance, pupil and personnel records, and testing and grade reporting. The cost to Rochester Community Schools for these computer services was estimated to be $13,000 - $32,000 annually.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-13695224454588299022016-06-01T06:30:00.000-04:002016-06-01T06:30:02.722-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryIn June 1966, leaders of the Rochester community gathered to celebrate the cornerstone laying for the suburban unit of Crittenton Hospital on University Drive. The first full-service hospital to serve the area was welcomed and eagerly anticipated by citizens who were accustomed to traveling to Pontiac, Mount Clemens or Detroit for their acute health care needs. Thus, when Crittenton Hospital of Detroit announced plans to build a suburban unit, village and township officials lobbied to have the facility located here. Howard L. McGregor, Jr., vice-president of the hospital board of trustees and chairman of the fundraising committee for the Rochester location, presided over the cornerstone ceremony and U.S. Senator Robert Griffin delivered the keynote address on that memorable day.<br />
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<br />Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-66907516164652839112016-05-01T06:00:00.000-04:002016-05-01T06:00:11.944-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, Rochester took a big step forward in the redevelopment of the old <a href="http://rochesteravonhistory.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-month-in-rochester-history.html" target="_blank">Chapman mill pond lake bed</a>. The property lying east of the railroad track in downtown Rochester had been under water until June 1946, when a spring storm caused the bermage around the <a href="http://oaklandregionalhistoricsites.org/property/1514106011" target="_blank">Western Knitting Mills dam</a> to fail, thereby draining the pond. The dam was never rebuilt, the old lake bed was filled, and the property lay vacant for two decades before plans for the parcel began to take shape in the mid-1960s.<br />
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In 1966, the former mill pond area was undergoing development and the Rochester Elks Club planned a $300,000 lodge building on the property. The single-story building would include a dining room, banquet room, cocktail lounge, and two meeting rooms, plus an office and lobby. A patio overlooking Paint Creek was also planned. In May 1966, the official groundbreaking for the new Elks Club building was held. The building stood until about 2003, when it was demolished to make room for the construction of the <a href="http://www.royalparkhotel.net/" target="_blank">Royal Park Hotel</a>, which now stands on the site.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-11288646821005312122016-04-01T06:30:00.000-04:002016-04-01T06:30:16.682-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryIt was a half century ago this month that Rochester residents first learned about the development planned for the former Great Oaks Stock Farm on the west side of the village. Slavik Builders of Oak Park unveiled their concept for the 400-acre development that included 600 homes, 900 apartments and a 9-hole golf course, plus a shopping center to be built later. It was announced that the homes in the new subdivision would be priced starting at $30,000.<br />
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The former Howard L. McGregor home on the property was designated to be re-purposed as a clubhouse for the <a href="https://www.greatoakscc.com/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Great Oaks Country Club</a>. The entire Slavik plan was scheduled to take 7-10 years to complete. Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-82198239064107370192016-03-01T07:00:00.000-05:002016-03-01T07:00:24.695-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryHalf a century ago this month, the citizens of Rochester were watching a labor dispute play out on Main Street. In March 1966, workers at the Jim Robbins Seat Belt Company plant located in the old Yates Machine Works building on South Main staged a wildcat walk-out. The Rochester facility was one of several locations of the Jim Robbins Company, which was headquartered in Royal Oak. The labor action in Rochester was called to protest what the employees called unbearable working conditions, and was not authorized by their union leadership. It was followed the next week by a vote of the 200 workers calling for a sanctioned strike.<br />
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An authorized strike action began in May, two days after workers learned that the company owner Jim Robbins planned to close the plant and move the work to one of his southern locations. Employees picketed the plant on South Main Street to protest the move and their working conditions, but Robbins remained firm about closing the Rochester location. He was also quoted in the <i>Detroit Free Press</i> as saying that the workforce at the Rochester plant was mostly "hot-headed working wives to whom the strike is a lark," and further commented that he did not believe that many of the women who worked in his Rochester factory "needed" the money from their jobs.<br />
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The company owner followed through with his decision to close the Rochester plant, and it never opened again after the strike. Owner Robbins, along with his wife and son, were killed in September 1966 in a private plane crash in South Dakota.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-40445085975628250842016-02-01T06:15:00.000-05:002016-02-01T06:15:03.823-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, the <a href="http://www.rochesterchurch.org/church/Home.html" target="_blank">Rochester First Church of the Nazarene</a> moved into its new building at 1520 Walton Boulevard. The congregation had been founded in 1920, and purchased the former <a href="http://oaklandregionalhistoricsites.org/property/1515235002" target="_blank">Universalist church building</a> on Walnut Street in downtown Rochester. Services were held in that building until the new church on Walton was ready for occupancy in February 1966.<br />
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In those days, the congregation paid $40,000 for the land and $75,000 for the construction of the new building, which had a seating capacity of 300. In 2002, the congregation was once more in need of a larger facility and built a brand new church at 1799 Walton. The 1966 building at 1520 Walton was razed in 2009.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-47065630005881323612016-01-01T06:30:00.000-05:002016-01-01T06:30:06.648-05:00This Month in Rochester History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The local news of fifty years ago this month wasn't a lot different than the local news of this past summer. In January 1966, Rochester area residents were talking about the upcoming paving of Tienken Road. But rather than a rebuilding project, the 1966 work proposed to pave Tienken for the very first time. And not everyone was in agreement about what ought to be done. The <i>Rochester Clarion</i> reported as follows:<br />
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A motion to proceed with the paving of Tienken Rd. from the North Hill Plaza Shopping Center to the New York Central Railroad was approved by the Avon Township Board last week.<br />
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Paving of Tienken Rd. as far west as the railroad will still leave less than a half mile of unpaved road between Rochester Rd. and Livernois Rd. It had been proposed to pave the entire mile so that the route could be used for a bypass around the Village of Rochester.<br />
Avon Township Supervisor Cyril Miller said this week that he personally would have liked to have seen the entire one mile paved.<br />
The recommendation to pave only as far as the railroad was made by the Township Board's Road Committee, chairmaned [<i>sic</i>] by Trustee Donald Campbell.<br />
Campbell said that the estimated cost of the project to the railroad is $35,000, with the Township and the County sharing the cost equally. He added that the lack of funds prevented paving the entire one mile at this time, but hinted that the remainder may be paved before another year goes by if funds are available.</blockquote>
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In related news, a traffic signal that had been requested for the intersection of Rochester & Tienken was denied by the state highway department. Officials who had conducted a traffic study reported that there was simply not enough traffic through the intersection to warrant a light - only 328 vehicles crossed that point between 6 & 7 a.m. on weekdays. The<i> Clarion</i> responded by awarding the highway department a bouquet of poison ivy for its decision (see photo above).Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-31952258841321335912015-12-01T07:00:00.000-05:002015-12-01T07:00:18.546-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryThe Avon Playhouse celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this month. It was on December 3, 1965, that the brand-new theatre on Washington Road opened its doors to audiences for the first time. The inaugural play for the new facility was the Avon Players' production of<i> Inherit the Wind</i>.<br />
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The Avon Players were organized in 1947, but had no permanent home for the first 18 years of their history. The members rehearsed in the American Legion hall and in private homes, and gave performances in various venues such as school auditoriums. After saving $30,000, funding another $30,000 through bonds and raising another like amount through a fundraising drive, they were finally ready to build a stage of their own.<br />
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Member Ted Stratton designed the new playhouse, with the assistance of architect Bob Edge. A local builder donated his services as general contractor, and much of the manual labor on the building project was done by volunteer members of the Avon Players.<br />
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Much more about the history of Avon Players and the Avon Playhouse may be found on the <a href="http://www.avonplayers.org/site/about/history.html" target="_blank">organization's web site</a>. Happy birthday, Avon Playhouse!<br />
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<br />Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-20209808995844734582015-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:002015-11-01T07:00:01.210-05:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, the Rochester area was preparing to welcome a new industry to the community. Holley Computer Products Company moved into a brand-new facility on the southeast corner of Tienken and Rochester roads. Holley Computer was a manufacturer of computer printers and had been founded in 1962 by Control Data Corporation and Holley Carburetor. By 1965, the company had already outgrown its original plant in Warren, Michigan and began looking for a new location for expansion.<br />
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A 13-acre site in Avon Township was chosen for a new 60,000 square foot plant that was expected to employ 350 people immediately and eventually employ as many as 800. The Rochester facility was later renamed Computer Peripherals, but was still a subsidiary of Control Data Corporation.<br />
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The company later closed the Rochester plant and the building was razed in 2004 to make way for the City Walk lifestyle shopping development that now occupies the site.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-72413222793513717742015-10-03T14:17:00.000-04:002015-10-03T14:17:09.157-04:00Memory's Eye: Northwest corner of Main and University<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This photo of the north side of West University, looking east toward Main Street, was taken by Clarence Whitbey about 1967. The Houghton Power Center, located in the old <a href="http://rochesteravonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=livery" target="_blank">Swayze Livery</a> building, and the <a href="http://rochesteravonhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=rosier" target="_blank">Rosier-Butts-Swayze house</a>, located on the corner, were torn down about 1970. The Standard gas station seen in the background stood across Main on the northeast corner, where Knapp's Donut Shoppe stands today. After the old livery and the house were torn down, the gas station moved across Main to the northwest corner, where it is located today, and the donut shoppe was built on its former location. Some years later, the Rochester Apothecary building, somewhat reminiscent in style of the old livery, was built along the alley. The only building that appears in both the 1967 and current photos is the <a href="http://oaklandregionalhistoricsites.org/property/1511352016" target="_blank">Peter Lomason house</a>, which still stands at 113-115 East University and can be seen in the far right background of the frame.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-40473570618512069262015-10-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-10-01T06:00:01.480-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryIn October 1965, Matilda Dodge Wilson laid the cornerstone for a new building on the campus of Oakland University, the school to which she and her late husband, Alfred G. Wilson, had donated their 1,500-acre estate. Mrs. Wilson participated in the ceremony during her 82nd birthday celebration on October 19, 1965, as university officials christened the new building Wilson Hall in her honor.<br />
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Wilson Hall was designed by the Detroit architecture firm of O'Dell, Hewlett & Luckenbach, which was best-known for the design of Ford Auditorium. Wilson Hall opened to students in 1966, and is the home of Meadow Brook Theatre.<br />
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To watch a short video on Matilda Dodge Wilson and her legacy at Oakland University, click<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_i_-Iy5uc" target="_blank"> here</a>. Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-90271388599880086822015-09-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-09-01T06:00:07.108-04:00This Month in Rochester HistorySeptember 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Rochester's Art & Apples Festival. The very first Art & Apples Festival (or Art 'N' Apples, as it was known then) was opened for a four-day run on September 16, 1965 with a parade down Main Street, led by Rochester's First and Finest, the Falcon Marching Band. The Rochester Arts Commission, under the general chairmanship of Dr. John Solverson, developed the plan for Art 'N' Apples and brought the first event to fruition with the assistance of several civic organizations. The festival drew an estimated 20,000 visitors in its inaugural year; Paint Creek Center for the Arts, which now sponsors the festival, estimates that more than 200,000 art enthusiasts will visit during the 2015 event.<br />
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Artists participating in the 2015 festival will come from all over the United States and Canada, but the first festival in 1965 had a distinctly local flavor. A large tent featured the classroom art of students from the Rochester Community Schools. Children eagerly pulled their parents by the hand to show them the projects they and their classmates had been working on. Adult artists from the community were able to showcase their efforts in the "Sunday Painters" tent, where friends and neighbors could stop by to admire their work.<br />
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More information about the 50th anniversary Art & Apples Festival may be found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/artandapples" target="_blank">here</a>.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-84828195619974403592015-08-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-08-01T06:00:02.270-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, Michigan Christian College (now Rochester College) began a 54-acre expansion of its campus on West Avon Road. In 1957, the North Central Christian College Association had acquired the former Maxon estate on Avon as the location of a new school. North Central Christian College welcomed its first students in 1959, and changed its name to Michigan Christian College in 1961. It became Rochester College in 1997.<br />
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Back in August of 1965, college leaders were planning for an expected student enrollment of 250 to 275 students by starting construction of a new classroom and office building, as well as a student center and library facility. Today, Rochester College has an enrollment well over 1,000 students and offers bachelor's and master's degree programs.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-971423692803843552015-07-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-01T12:26:14.608-04:00This Month in Rochester History<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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An important community institution was born fifty years ago this month. On July 11, 1965, a group of 400 people assembled on some pasture land recently owned by Howard L. McGregor, Jr. The property was just west of St. John Lutheran School, and the crowd watched as Ormond S. Wessels pushed a shovel into the ground to mark the beginning of construction for Crittenton Hospital.<br />
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Two years later, Rochester's first full-service general hospital would open its doors to patients. Before that day, the community had been served by small hospitals or clinics such as Avon Center and Woodruff-Geiger; residents had been accustomed to traveling to Pontiac, Mount Clemens or Detroit for anything the local clinics couldn't handle. Building a fully-equipped hospital and emergency room was a huge step forward for the community and its health care needs.<br />
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View Crittenton Hospital Medical Center's video, above, to see how the facility and campus have grown and changed since 1965.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-76512951911987586282015-06-15T09:13:00.000-04:002015-06-15T09:13:58.846-04:00Parallel Lives: The Hamlins and the Woodwards - Now Online<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you missed the Rochester Avon Historical Society's February program on the lives of the Hamlin and Woodward families, here's some good news! The program, entitled <i>Parallel Lives: the Hamlins and the Woodwards</i>, is now available online in its entirety on the RAHS Youtube channel. If you're interested in the stories of two of Rochester's prominent pioneer families, take a look at this program.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-69123969267723365042015-06-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-01T06:00:06.384-04:00This Month in Rochester HistoryFifty years ago this month, Rochester residents learned that they would soon be saying goodbye to a treasured local business that had been a Main Street fixture for 65 years. The owners of Burr's Hardware announced that they were selling out and retiring, ending their long run as hardware merchants that had started in 1899.<br />
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In that year, a young Macomb County entrepreneur named <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=burr&GSmid=46907294&GRid=103384424&" target="_blank">George Burr</a> had established a hardware and farm implement store on Main Street. His store was located for several years on the east side of Main, in the former <a href="http://oaklandregionalhistoricsites.org/property/1514101005" target="_blank">Joseph Reimer building at 418 S. Main</a>. Having outgrown that location after his first decade in business, he built a brand new brick block across the street at 429 S. Main and moved his store there in late 1914.<br />
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In 1922, George Burr retired from the business he had founded and passed
the management of the store to his daughter, Neva, and her husband,
Ward Crissman. Burr died in 1934 and Ward Crissman died suddenly in 1935; at that time, Neva Crissman
brought her own daughter, Arlene, and son-in-law Leon Robertson into the
business, and they continued to manage it until they decided to close
the hardware store and sell the building in June 1965.<br />
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<a href="http://www.greensartsupplycatalog.com/" target="_blank">Green's Artist Supply</a> opened at 429 S. Main in late summer 1965, and celebrates its 50th anniversary in that location this year.Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459589521823128924.post-42298565035602711952015-05-16T13:13:00.002-04:002015-05-16T13:13:18.884-04:00Remembering Blodwen Morris Falconer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WeUGxAPX4zLHM6VRpiKFDiWVU4fbrgzpeb0FkMH7pTHJLCr9TIuvBZanFNKe58UYpV6nmt8bFdHbCXzOs-Udl6DsHLtQEV757QUlt7ef7-pLnLmtzDW7D3ZA-mATm3acK_m0_1rpL0MN/s1600/falconer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WeUGxAPX4zLHM6VRpiKFDiWVU4fbrgzpeb0FkMH7pTHJLCr9TIuvBZanFNKe58UYpV6nmt8bFdHbCXzOs-Udl6DsHLtQEV757QUlt7ef7-pLnLmtzDW7D3ZA-mATm3acK_m0_1rpL0MN/s400/falconer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
In a couple of weeks, the world will observe the <a href="http://www.wharf.co.uk/whats-on/family-kids-news/armada-dunkirk-little-ships-bring-9229432" target="_blank">75th anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk</a> during World War II. Code-named Operation Dynamo, the evacuation was carried out between May 27 and June 4, 1940. A large number of British, French and Belgian troops had been cut off and stranded on the northern coast of France by a Nazi Panzer offensive. A hastily-assembled fleet of privately owned boats of all sizes and purposes was successful in rescuing more than 338,000 troops from the beaches and ferrying them to larger naval vessels, or in some cases taking them all the way across the English Channel. As they conducted the evacuation, these boats had to navigate heavily-mined waters and endure bombardment by German shore batteries.<br />
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The men who volunteered their services and their boats to evacuate Dunkirk were rightly hailed as heroes. However, they were not the <i>only</i> heroes of Operation Dynamo. Though the evacuation was a huge success and dubbed a miracle, it was not without cost. Over 200 ships were sunk during the operation and 126 merchant seamen were killed. Many others were wounded or had been wounded during the fighting that led up to the evacuation. These men were tended by the nurses who stayed with them throughout the treacherous journey across the English Channel - through the mine-filled waters and under constant bombardment.<br />
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What does this have to do with Rochester? In a quiet corner of Mount Avon Cemetery lies a hero of the Dunkirk evacuation. Her name is Blodwen Morris Falconer, and she was a Canadian citizen and registered nurse who served with the English Civil Defense Corps during the war. She was present at the Dunkirk evacuation to tend to the wounded and was decorated for her service. After the war, she and her husband came to Michigan, and eventually to Rochester, where she died in 1953. Her obituary in the <i>Rochester Clarion</i> said in part:<br />
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<b>World War II Dunkirk Heroine is Dead; Received Bronze Medal</b></div>
One of
the highly honored veterans of World War II passed away last Wednesday
afternoon when Blodwen Faulconer [sic], 3380 John R., died at Pontiac
General Hospital shortly after admittance.<br />
Mrs. Faulconer, born at
Edmonton, Ontario [sic], was a member of the first contingent of nurses
on hand to give aid to the wounded survivors of the Dunkirk evacuation
in World War II. She was a graduate of Grey's Hospital, the oldest and
largest hospital of its kind in the world.<br />
Wearing the cap of a
registered nurse, and as a member of the English Civil Defense during
the Dunkirk evacuation, she was awarded a Bronze Medal for her heroic
and outstanding services at that time.<br />
Born on April 1, 1915, Mrs. Faulconer moved to Detroit from Toronto in June 1949. She came to Rochester in 1950.</blockquote>
This Memorial Day, when I visit Mount Avon Cemetery, I think I'll leave
some flowers at the grave of Blodwen Morris Falconer, to remember her
service. I invite you to do the same.<br />
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In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about the evacuation of Dunkirk, watch this British Pathé newsreel footage: <br />
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<br />Remembering Rochesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01664321554979055748noreply@blogger.com0