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Hours of Operation
Monday - Thursday
9:00AM - 9:00PM
Friday - Saturday
9:00AM - 5:00PM
Sunday
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Holiday Hours
Saturday, November 11
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Looking Back at St. Clair Shores 2017 Articles |
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Looking Back at St. Clair Shores is a series of historical articles featured most months in the St. Clair Shores Sentinel newspaper. Unless noted otherwise, the photographs used are part of the St. Clair Shores Historical Commision's Photograph Collection. These photographs, along with many others, are available to view through the Digital Media Archive. Previous articles can be found by clicking on the year. |
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World War I Soldier |
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When the United States entered what would become known as World War I in April 1917, the nation’s military was fairly small. By the end of the war on November 11, 1918, about four million men would have served in the U.S. armed forces. Among the men that served was Charles Martin Green. Charles was born in Lake Township (now St. Clair Shores), Michigan on December 9, 1888 to John Green and Ernestine Selinsky Green. He was one of six children when he registered for the military on June 8, 1917. Charles listed his occupation as “auto truck driver” for Berry Bros. in Detroit. He was single, 28 years old, and had had no prior military service. In this photo, probably taken while he was on leave around the Christmas holidays in 1917, Charles is pictured in his Army uniform on the family farm at 11 Mile and Grant Road. The family log home was moved decades later and is now the Selinsky-Green Farmhouse Museum, a state registered historic site. After the war, Charles returned to Michigan, where he married Hortense Commyn on October 7, 1924 in Grosse Pointe and worked as a trucker. He died August 2, 1929 and is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. |
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St. Joan of Arc |
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St. Joan of Arc Roman Catholic Parish was established in December 1927 by Detroit’s Bishop Michael James Gallagher, making the parish 90 years old this year. The parish’s first pastor was Rev. Joseph L. Fillion. The first Mass was celebrated on December 08, 1927 in the “Newberry Stores”. In 1929, the parish purchased the former Wheat School building (actually two sections of the old wood frame of the school) and moved it from its location at Harper Avenue and Town Hall Road (now Eleven Mile Road) to the parish site at Greater Mack and Overlake Street to serve as the first St. Joan of Arc Church. The structure was known as the “chicken coop church” because of the shape of the building. In 1945, construction began on the parish school building. St. Joan of Arc Elementary School opened in 1947 under the care of the Sisters of St. Joseph from Nazareth, Michigan. The school is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. Ground was broken for the current church on February 23, 1964; the cornerstone was laid on May 28 of the same year. The current St. Joan of Arc Church was dedicated by Archbishop John Francis Dearden on August 25, 1965. In this image from before 1943, one can see the “chicken coop church” behind the shrine to St. Joan of Arc by Dionsius Rodriguez. |
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Carousel Horses at Jefferson Beach Amusement Park, St. Clair Shores |
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It is thought that the idea of the carousel grew out of the sports in which knights in the Middle Ages participated. With the invention of mechanical power, a moving carousel was possible; the first steam powered “mechanical roundabout” debuted at a fair in England in 1861. In 1860, Gustav Dentzel emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania. He had trained as a cabinet maker, but soon grew tired of his trade. He created a portable carousel and found much success traveling with his invention. He established a carousel business in Philadelphia in 1867, which his son William took over at Gustav’s death. The carousel style the family created is seen across the US and remained remarkably consistent over the years. The Jefferson Beach carousel was in the Dentzel or Philadelphia style, with more naturalistic depictions of the horses that were carved from wood. The carousel was installed in 1928. The ceiling had a floral design with gilded angels and mirrors in the center. This was the second carousel at the Park, the first having been sold after a year. Jefferson Beach Amusement Park opened in 1927 and operated until 1959, despite a mysterious fire that swept through the Park in 1955. There is no record of what happened to the carousel after the park closed. |
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Summer Swim |
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The building at what is now 24800 Jefferson (near Ten Mile Road) was moved there about 1911, from Gaukler Point in Grosse Pointe Shores. The Kramerhof (Kramer Inn) became a popular spot, especially because it was so near the water. From the very beginning, Mathew Kramer hosted yacht and ice boat races and people swam there in the summer. Over time, the Inn changed names and owners, but swimming and other water sports were always a part of what has been known since 1920 as Blossom Heath. In a vote on December 28, 1945 the residents of the Village of St. Clair Shores voted to purchase the building and grounds; it was renamed the “St. Clair Shores Civic Center”. Renamed Blossom Heath Park and Pier, today’s visitors will find a beach and picnic area, a playground, a boat launch area, fishing off the pier, and of course the park. This photograph, from August 30, 1962, shows numerous bathers on the docks and in the water, with life guards on wooden towers keeping watch. |
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Mrs. Virginia MacHarg St. Clair Shores Public Library Director |
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Mrs. MacHarg became the St. Clair Shores Public Library director in October, 1959 after the retirement of Mrs. Delia Waldner, the library’s second director. During Mrs. MacHarg’s tenure, the reference collection was greatly expanded and in 1964 the library joined the Library Network of Macomb. This allowed the library to increase the number of books available to patrons, at a lower cost. MacHarg also began the library’s Great Lakes and Michigan History Collection (now the Arthur M. Woodford Local History Center). As the result of city growth in the mid twentieth century, the library needed to also expand its physical space. In 1972, the library increased its size through remodeling and a 14,000 square foot addition; the result was seating for an additional 200 patrons and room for the more than 100,000 volumes in the library collection. Mrs. MacHarg retired in April of 1976, after 17 years of service. The Adult Reading Room in the library is named in her honor. She continued to work for the library, helping to establish the Friends of the Library and serving as a charter member of the group. Mrs. MacHarg died in 2001, at the age of 90. |
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Parade Day |
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2017 is the 65th anniversary of the annual St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade. Attracting tens of thousands of spectators and up to 100 different groups of participants, the parade is the largest in the area and possibly one of the largest in the Midwest. Originally organized by the American Legion, the Amvets, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the parade today is organized by the city of St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade Committee. Although the “first” St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade was held in 1952, there were parades in previous years to honor those who lost their lives in service to the nation. Across the United States, parades were organized in the years after the Civil War to honor those who had died in battle. After World War II, these types of parades became much more common. Beginning in 1882, Memorial Day was always on May 30. It was not until 1968, with the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, that Memorial Day was celebrated on the last Monday in May. This photo shows participants on horseback in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Day Parade in St. Clair Shores about 1947. |
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