NEWSLETTER FOR NOVEMBER 2009

Calendar

-November Community Meeting & Board Elections: Wednesday, November 11^th 7pm at St. Clare Montefalco

-Block Captain/Street Rep Meeting: 6pm before the Community Meeting

-Fall Bulk Trash Pickup: Tuesday, November 10th (north of Warren) / Thursday, November 12^th (south of Warren)

-Weekly Curbside Recycling: Mondays (south of Warren), Tuesdays (north of Warren)

Save the Date:

EEV Holiday Potluck Dinner: Sunday, December 13th at 5pm

January Community Meeting: Wednesday, January 13^th, 2010

Message from the President

Happy Thanksgiving,

Well the leaves have turned and we are on our way to a winter wonderland again this year.

In the October newsletter edition we covered the need for all in the neighborhood to participate, in some financial way, in our general collection for security and snow.  Volunteered funds keep the paid security force going and keep the snow removal moving forward. I would like to thank the residents that have heard the call and passed the information on to their neighbors. The dollars are coming back in to help keep our two biggest neighborhood-wide services.  If you have not sent in your volunteer contributions please do so this month – we would like to have a conclusion to contracts before the snow flies. The services mentioned are used by all in the village - if you own, rent or dwell in EEV all use the services in a year somehow. Please see the coupons in the newsletter or go to PayPal and pick your volunteer payment option. We need your residential support!

Over 150 people attended our October meeting. We had a last opportunity in EEV before November city-wide elections to hear from several candidates running for city counsel or the charter commission.

The month of October brought EEV two important gifts –  we were selected by the Warren Conner Development Corporation as the Best Neighborhood on the east side of the City of Detroit for 2009 and we won a grant for beautification from Next Detroit. The grant will supply us with tools and stipends to keep our neighborhood looking clean and sharp. If you are looking to help with this program please call our hotline and volunteer - we will get back to you in the month of November.

At our last several meetings we have had the opportunity to inform other city neighborhoods about what and how we do things in EEV. In October we had the pleasure of having representatives from the Green Acres, Morningside, East Outer Drive Association, Cornerstone Village, and Oakman Boulevard, attend our meeting – all are working like us to keep pride growing, to keep all of our areas safe and our residents informed. Thanks to all groups that have attended this past season.

Halloween this year brought the communities of EEV, Morningside and Cornerstone Village together for Angels Night 2009. EEV hosted the event at St Clare and we added several new patrols to get a better understanding and coverage for the overall area. Many thanks go to Lori Sowle, our secretary, who played the pivotal role in pulling the whole thing together. Thanks to all the drivers and the people who helped with the fun two evening event.

Last but not least, - huge thanks are due to all that helped pull our first EEV home tour together – it was a solid success and we look forward to next year. Special thanks to Next Detroit for the funding, the planning team and volunteers, the Clark family, and to the host homeowners for allowing two hundred people walk through their homes and gardens on a very sunny Sunday afternoon. Thanks to our retail supporters for filling the show house with great furniture and accessories as well as showing the Kennedy rug from the White house – Nourison Industries, Elegance by Design, McLaughlin’s and Hagopian World of Rugs and to Cadieux Café for hosting our afterglow. Great event!!!

Please remember: we will have a Holiday decorating contest in December and our Halloween winners will be posted in the next newsletter, we have our board elections this month and EEV’s annual Holiday dinner party is on December 13^th at St Clare.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Bill Barlage

President  

Paula’s Place

If you are a collector, you will understand Paula Luther’s passion. Her resale store on Harper at Kensington is filled with a broad mix of “stuff” – clothing, objects d’art, toys and household items. An avid accumulator for twenty-five years, owning the shop is something she had always wanted to do.

For many years she kept her treasures at home and then, in 2000, purchased a building in EEV. The structure had also housed a shoe store and a glass cutting operation. A lot of repair work was needed which she accomplished herself. She says with a smile, “My mother said I was working like a man”.

Now the stamped metalwork tiles on the high ceiling hover over cabinets with old jewelry, racks of clothing (on sale for a dollar this month), coats, purses and shoes. As of last year, she works at the store exclusively, opening in the afternoon when the activity on the street picks up.

Paula still expresses the pleasure of finding something unique and thrill of realizing, “oh, this is valuable!” If finding treasures makes you feel good too, then stop in and see what you can discover.

Paula’s Place

16559 Harper

313-549-8441

Monday – Sunday 12-5 or by appt

Home Tour Success

The first East English Village Home Tour, “The Other Village” Home Tour, was held on a sunny, windy day in October. Turnout exceeded expectations with two hundred and nine people attending. Visitors walked the neighborhood or took a tour on one of two buses.

Five neighborhood gardens were open for viewing along with the four homes for sale. Realtors Bernice Sabatella of Jim Saros Agency and Albert Hakim of ReMax gave their time and talents for the day, showing the houses for sale.

Adding a delightful note to the tour, music at the garden homes was performed by EEV neighbors Joe Balistieri, Bob O'Brien and Dan Piepszowski, and The Full Montefalco band including Paul Max and friends.

Thanks to all of our volunteers, to the Rabaut, Teeter/Ameloot, Timarac and Cortes households for hosting the garden stops and to our sponsors Next Detroit Neighborhood Initiative, a few good marketers, Dwellings Unlimited, Hagopian World of Rugs, Elegance by Design and McLaughlin and the Cadieux Café!

EastSide History: Conner Creek Detroit Grosse Pointe Cemetery and Chandler Park
by The Village of Fairview Historical Society      

Many people traversing Conner at the junction of I-94 must wonder at the strange configuration of the service drive access heading east to the highway. What few realize is that the small fenced island is all that is left to commemorate the Conner Creek Detroit Grosse Pointe Cemetery. Until the mid 1800’s the area was part of Grosse Pointe Township, hence the name.  
   
The Conner Creek Detroit Grosse Pointe Cemetery was actually a relocation of the Russell Street Cemetery (Roughly what is now Eastern Market) and the Clinton Cemetery also Downtown between 1880 and 1882.  
   
The Russell Street Cemetery contained roughly 4518 bodies. The relocations occurred as Detroit and its environs were expanding. Half of the interred bodies went to CCDGP Cemetery and the other half to Woodmere.  
   
The 2.5 acres for the Clinton Cemetery was purchased from Antoine Beaubien in 1827. The first internment was Friend Palmer, who wrote an early history of the City of Detroit. The body count to be moved was 300, the bulk of the dead buried there was a result of a Cholera epidemic in 1832 to 1833. Catholics were buried in one half and Protestants in the other half. The burial grounds were early European settlers. No Native American were interred at any of these three sites.    
   
The land was acquired by Frederick Ruehle from Antoine Joseph Dubay for $3,000.00 in 1872. Ruehle sold the property to the City of Detroit for $6,000.00 within months of his original transaction in 1872. A total of 34 acres was involved. The dedication of the cemetery was August 27, 1880.  
   
Some notables that were buried in the newly created cemetery were Zachariah Chandler, Major Hunter Holmes (War of 1812) and Detroit Mayor Moffat. All were later moved to Elmwood Cemetery. Their history is preserved. Many bodies in the Conner Creek Detroit Grosse Pointe Cemetery were never re-interred. Bodies that remained include now unknown veterans of the War of 1812, the Mexican American War, the Civil War and other ordinary citizens.    
   
In a study entitled “Land Use History of Conner Creek Cemetery”,1984, the author states, “The burials that remained to the mercies of the city grave diggers during the periods of massive removals were no doubt those who had no one left to mourn them or care for their final resting place. They would become the John and Jane Does of Detroit history – victims, even after death, of municipal incompetence and short sightedness.”  
   
Widespread neglect, abuse and desecration caused this cemetery to disappear from record. The City of Detroit recreation department had responsibility for its maintenance. The area was rediscovered in 1950 when a grave marker from 1838 was unearthed during preliminary earthworks for Interstate-94.  
   
It is interesting to note that the small-gated island that is a commemoration of the early settler’s cemeteries was re-christened The Detroit City Cemetery in 1977. The group that did the research and raised the money for this small commemorative plot and plaque was the Birmingham Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is easy to surmise that a good portion of what is now the Chandler Park Golf course was part of that cemetery. The spot is designated Historical Area #20wn383  
   
Chandler Park, once called Campeau Woods, was named after Zachariah Chandler. Chandler was Mayor of Detroit and later served in the U.S. Senate during the Civil War. His opponents labeled him as a “radical abolitionist. He also presided at the impeachment trial of Andrew Jackson.  
   
Editors note: for information about the area at Jefferson and Chalmers which was once known as Village of Fairview, check out this article in Model D http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/fairview17008.aspx 
 

MHS Pet of the Month

Hi there, the name’s Storm! I’m a two-year-old, 70-pound male German Shepherd and I’m looking for a great family to spend the rest of my life with! I’m a super friendly and silly little guy who will provide you with years of entertainment. I love to play fetch, get belly rubs, and go for walks – so if this sounds like fun to you too, come visit me! My adoption fee includes sterilization surgery, age-appropriate vaccinations and much more. Please visit or call the Michigan Humane Society Detroit Center for Animal Care at 313-872-3400 and provide my Pet ID number, A08886686.

Family Fun Sundays @ DIA

After a hectic week of car pooling, homework and after-school activities, it's time for the whole family to relax and recharge at the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Target Family Sundays. Take in family performances, storytelling, art-making workshops and much more.

Regular admission to the museum is $8 per adult, $6 for seniors and $4 per youth ages 6-17.

November 08-Family Performance: Native American Dance, Song, and Stories
November 22-

Storytelling: Thankful for Families
November 29- Holiday Performance: The Sleeping Beauty…A Marionette Ballet

You can also take advantage of your Detroit residency on Fridays at the DIA. Bring a driver’s license with a Detroit address and you can get in free (Fridays only) from 10am till 10pm. The new DIA. Let yourself go!

Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
Main Line: 313.833.7900
Weekend Hotline: 313.833.7530