ROSE GROWING TIPS, TRICKS
Clawson City Council to go from 5 to 7 members
BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com
CLAWSON — Clawson voters decided to affirm bumping the number of City
Council members from five including the mayor to seven including the mayor during the May 6 special election.
Voters were asked to vote on two charter amendment proposals. Charter Amend-
ment No. 1 was defeated with 63.92% of voters voting “no,” while 36.08% voted “yes.” Charter Amendment No. 2 had 63.07% who voted “no” and 36.93% who voted “yes.”
A total of 189 flags are planted on the hill at Centennial Commons for Memorial Day each year to symbolize the 189 names listed on the Royal Oak Veterans Memorial.
The election results mean that the provisions of the city charter adopted in 2023 will go into effect with the November election in terms of the makeup of City Council
See COUNCIL on page 17A
Royal Oak to honor Memorial Day with parade
BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Memorial Day Parade will begin at 9 a.m., May 26, on Main Street at Lincoln Avenue.
Mike Sherman, a member of the Royal Oak Veterans Events Committee, said that this year will continue the decades-long tradition of paying tribute to those who died in service to our country and veterans past and present.
Sherman said the parade will include Boy Scouts, flag bearers, veterans and more.
Directly after the parade will be a ceremony observing Memorial Day with Sherman as the host.
“It’s a tremendous honor. It gives me goosebumps every time I step up there and talk about our veterans and the people behind me (on the memorial), the 189 people that faced the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” Sherman said. “It’s unexplainable,
See PARADE on page 10A
File photo by Donna Dalziel
Rochester Road improvements go forward after unanimous vote
BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — The Rochester Road construction project to modify the stretch from 13 Mile to 14 Mile roads from three to four lanes has been approved in a unanimous vote by the City Commission.
Construction is slated to begin in 2026, and while all commissioners were in support, a few businesses were against the changes.
According to the proposal document provided in the agenda packet, while designing the project, Royal Oak city staff noticed that multiple properties along the corridor have parking in the right of way without license agreements.
Commercial properties on Rochester Road are currently using parking spaces that are, according to the document, in the right of way. These parking spaces provide more direct access to the front of the commercial properties and are regularly used.
Along the 1-mile stretch of Rochester Road are 12 residential properties with driveways to Rochester Road; five of the 12 properties currently have some type of unapproved parking area in the public right of way, according to the proposal document.
The proposal is recommending to remove the parking
TTAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com
he Shades of Pink Foundation’s annual event, “A Walk at the Zoo,” was a huge success April 26 at the Detroit Zoo.
“It’s our signature fundraising event to provide funds to help our mission,” Dr. Pamela Benitez, co-founder of the Shades of Pink Foundation, said.
Photos by Patricia O’Blenes
LEFT: Tiffany Easley speaks about her ongoing battle with breast cancer and the amount of support she has received from the Shades of Pink Foundation during the Walk at the Zoo event April 26 in Royal Oak. ABOVE: Walkers explore the zoo.
Royal Oak Leprechauns enter a new era ahead of 2025 opening day
BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Leprechauns will have some new faces making decisions for the 2025 season.
One of the notable additions to the organization is longtime Brother Rice head coach Bob Riker joining the front office and taking the role of director of baseball operations. One of his biggest responsibilities is helping put the roster together for the season.
“This is the first year I’ve done this,” Riker said. “We’ve been working since right after Labor Day. It’s been a process.”
The Leprechauns play in the Northwoods League, which is set up to give playing time to collegiate ballplayers who need to get playing time after the college season is over.
“Our main goal is to create a competitive product on the field, but also make sure that we get the players their necessary at bats and necessary innings pitched, so that when they go back to school in the fall, their college coaches are happy with where they’re at,” Riker said.
The roster that’s been put together for the 2025 season is composed of a lot of Division I players and a lot of local athletes who are already in, or from, the metro Detroit area.
Most importantly, the team is full of players who want to play and want to compete.
“Very excited about the guys. The majority are probably first-year college players,” Riker said. “They might not have gotten as many at bats or innings pitched as they are accustomed to … so I think they’ll be champing at the bit to get on the mound or get in the batter’s box.”
The other new addition to the Leprechauns staff this season is newly appointed manager Chris Faust.
Faust played for Riker at Brother Rice before going off to play baseball for Grand Valley State University. He also played in the Northwoods League for the Traverse City Pit Spitters and even had a season with the Leprechauns in 2018.
After graduating from GVSU in 2022, Faust immediately began coaching. He helped Riker at Brother Rice and was a volunteer assistant coach at GVSU before becoming the Leprechauns assistant coach last summer, working on hitting and working with infielders.
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“He knows the game. He communicates like a 40-year-old guy,” Riker said. “Chris will just be great. He’ll be perfect for the kids.”
Faust helped Riker put together the roster and is looking to be competitive right away.
“We’re expecting to be super competitive. … We have a lot of young, hungry baseball players,” Faust said. “That’s the goal, to get guys that want to be there. I feel like we’ve done a great job at that.”
Aside from being around the game his entire life and coaching with the Leprechauns last summer, one of the biggest attributes Faust provides is experience actually playing in this league for this team before.
“I’ve experienced this league before and I’ve played three summers as a player,” Faust said. “I know how the length of it can affect a mindset.”
The grind of the season is no joke. The team is scheduled to play 72 games in 76 days from May until early August. One of the biggest motivators to get the team through burnout is the fans’ support.
“Last year our fans were fantastic,” Faust said. “Just about everybody in this area has a Memorial Park story. So it’s a fantastic place to call home. … We get to represent the city and the community. It’s really cool how involved and engaged they are.”
The organization has been preparing all winter to give those fans a good ballclub.
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Photo provided by the Royal Oak Leprechauns Chris Faust greets a player at first base last season when he was an assistant coach for the Leprechauns. This year, Faust is the manager.
$1.8M grant helps Corewell Health Children’s provide more for pediatric patients
BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — Corewell Health Children’s pediatric programs have received $1.8 million in grants from Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The grants will be used to enhance the pediatric programs at Corewell Health Children’s locations for the spring and summer seasons of 2025.
“Our relationship with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is one of our most valued and impactful partnerships at Corewell Health Children’s,”
Matthew Denenberg, M.D., chief, pediatrics, Corewell Health in Southeast Michigan, said in a press release.“Twice each year, our pediatric programs have the opportunity to be renewed and grow through CMNH grants. Specialized equipment and services are enhanced to better serve our youngest patients and their families — positively impacting the lives of more than 200,000 children annually.”
The grant money will be assisting more than 50 programs with special equipment that will enhance the abilities of doctors and nurses, including but not limited to: infant-specific equipment, special education for clinical staff and patient families, pet therapy, playroom supplies, patient family financial support, physical therapy tools, and more.
Tom McGannon, vice president of community engagement with Corewell Health Foundation Southeast Michigan, said that the grant will also be providing funding for two big initiatives that will bring joy to the patient’s lives.
The first program, Launch, focuses on young adults with special needs. The program helps them develop skills, gain experience in the workplace and more.
McGannon said the Launch program was pioneered at the Corewell
Health Beaumont Gross Pointe Hospital, but now with the grant funding can be expanded to all eight hospitals in metro Detroit.
“The Launch program brings children who might have neuro differences, maybe kids who are on the autism spectrum, to our hospitals as volunteers to learn various career skills,” he said. “It helps them to both learn and connects them to gain full employment as well, too.”
Corewell Health has had a standing partnership with Audacy Media, and with help from the grant, McGannon said Audacy will be bringing some special experiences.
Through Audacy, pediatric patients will be able to meet and learn from experts in the media field and will be tutored by national music artists. The goal is to teach lifelong skills in music, instrumentation, recording and broadcasting.
“Audacy media has been a really strong partner with us for more than a decade. … They have fallen in love with our kids, and the offer that they have presented to us is, ‘We want to help these kids look forward to their futures,’ and so they connected with our Child Life Program, which is funded by Children’s Medical Network,” he said. “This is a program that helps kids feel like kids when they are in the hospital, when they are going through different medical procedures. The beauty of the Audacy partnership is it’s going to focus these kids forward.”
The Audacy program will give the children hands-on opportunities.
See
Photo provided by Corewell Health
Kennedy Shallal is Corewell Health Children’s 2025 Children’s Miracle Network ambassador. Corewell Health Children’s has received $1.8 million from the Children’s Miracle Network to support pediatric programming.
PEDIATRIC on page 12A
especially being a veteran, when you take that oath and you tell them I am ready to give myself up for this country; there’s no other oath like it.”
The parade will have veteran Lawrence Miller, 37, as a special guest this year.
Miller will be participating in the Trek For Vets, a fundraising campaign he created that includes a 200-mile walk May 15-26 starting at The Boulevard Inn and Bistro in St. Joseph and concluding at the Royal Oak Memorial Day parade.
Miller’s goal is to raise $222 per mile, with all donations going toward providing crucial assistance to veterans in crisis, including legal, mental, physical and housing support.
Each day Miller will be traveling 15-20 miles, with checkpoints every 5 miles.
“We (veterans) isolate when we don’t have the answers or can’t figure out solutions. We just bite our lips and try to figure out in our own head and figure out how to complete the task or objective or mission or whatever it is that we are dealing with in our life, and we don’t always have the answers to that,” Miller said.
Miller shared that he has struggled with mental health issues following his deployment, and at first had a hard time admitting that he needed help. Miller hopes to encourage others going through the same things to ask for help through this walk.
“It’s OK to ask for help. I am just trying to share the story of how I went through a rough spot a couple of years ago, lost my family, just because I couldn’t admit that I needed help sooner with some mental health
stuff that I was going through,” he said. “The walk is creating a tribe where you can go to relate, to share your stories with and get mentorship and hopefully get those guys out of isolation to help them get better.”
Following the parade will be a memorial ceremony located at the Royal Oak Veterans Memorial, 200 S. Troy St.
“We are going to honor some of the people at the memorial. We are going to personalize a couple of them, because they are from our community and they need to be talked about,” Sherman said. “They are not just an etching on the stone, you know. So that’s what we are trying to do.”
See PARADE on page 12A
LEFT: The U.S. Army Band performs during the 2024 Memorial Day parade in Royal Oak.
ABOVE: Scouts walk in the parade last year.
File photos by
Donna Dalziel
Leprechauns
from page 4A
“For me it’s been great. … You just see how much work (the front office employees) are putting in,” Faust said. “Everybody is having a great time but is super serious and looking to be 10 times better than last year, putting on a great show, making sure the fans are taken care of, and making sure the players are taken care of.”
Opening day for the Royal Oak Leprechauns will be Memorial Day, May 26, at Memorial Park in Royal Oak. The game will begin at 6:35 p.m. as the Leprechauns play the Kalamazoo Growlers. To get more information on the Leprechauns or to find tickets to upcoming home games, visit northwoodsleague.com/royal-oak-leprechauns.
Call Sports Writer Scott Bentley at (586) 498-1090.
from page 10A
During the ceremony and throughout the Memorial Day observance there will be 189 flags planted on the hill at Centennial Commons commemorating the soldiers who are named on the memorial.
Sherman emphasized that the point of this holiday is to truly remember and honor those who have lost their lives.
“I would remind people that every day, everything they do, they go to school, work, is all because of the people that have given and protected this country for the last 250
Pediatric
from page 6A
years,” he said. “Giving an hour or two to say thank you for your service to a veteran is something we should actually all do.”
Miller said that he encourages anybody interested to stop at a checkpoint or join him during his 200-mile trek across Michigan.
“Anyone is allowed to join. … I am trying to have more people unite on the trek, meet at different checkpoints to unite, share conversations, share stories, and I am trying to unite people across the state through this journey,” Miller said.
For more information on the Memorial Day parade, visit romi.gov.
Call Staff Writer Taylor Christensen at (586) 498-1081.
“They will give them experience learning to play the guitar, learning to sing, and they will get that confidence from people who are not only in the business, but are celebrities who do this,” McGannon said.
McGannon wants to thank the community for these opportunities, given the funding comes from the dollar donations given at the end of checkout at various locations around southeast Michigan.
“The Royal Oak community is very generous to those retailers like Costco and Walmart, and they are contributing those dollars that they are asked for at the register,” he said. “It’s funded by the community, and it helps our patients. It’s a really nice circle of community resources helping kids locally.”
For more information on Corewell Health, visit corewellhealth.org.
Call Staff Writer Taylor Christensen at (586) 498-1081.
Editor: David Wallace | (586) 498-1053 | dwallace@candgnews.com
Reporters:
Taylor Christensen | (586) 498-1081 | tchristensen@candgnews.com
Mike Koury | (586) 498-1077 | mkoury@candgnews.com
Sports: Scott Bentley | (586) 498-1090 | sports@candgnews.com
Artroom: (586) 498-1036 | ads@candgnews.com
Benitez said that the walk at the zoo raised around $315,000 and had an attendance of 2,300 people come to the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W. 10 Mile Road, Royal Oak.
The mission of Shades of Pink is to help relieve patients diagnosed with breast cancer of financial burdens placed on them during treatment and recovery, according to shadesofpinkfoundation.org.
Common issues that patients face can include mortgage, rent, insurance payments, transportation costs, child care and other essentials of daily life.
Since 2005, Shades of Pink Foundation has helped more than 1,600 individuals diagnosed with breast cancer in southeast Michigan and raised $3.2 million of financial support to help cover patients’ costs.
Tiffany Easley, a current breast cancer patient, said that her life drastically changed for the better when she found Shades of Pink Foundation.
“I was diagnosed May 28, 2024,” Easley said. “As you can imagine, it was extremely stressful because of the unknown. I had high anxiety; I was afraid. I was just shocked.”
Easley joined Shades of Pink Founda-
tion shortly after her diagnosis and became an ambassador for the organization. She said that it was a major stress reliever for her.
“When you are in the battle and going through treatment, you worry about everything around you — the fear of the unknown and keeping it all together is so very hard,” she said. “When I finally made it clear to my social worker that I was struggling with keeping it all together, she reassured me that help was on the way. And that’s how I got introduced to Shades of Pink.”
Easley helped out during the Walk at the Zoo event.
“To literally be in it, in real life, it was a surreal feeling,” Easley said. “To actually see these people, touch some of them, to hug some of them, some of them gave me words of wisdom. It just gave me a newfound hope that there are so many people out here to support people like me.”
Benitez said that the walk at the zoo continues to provide hope and camaraderie for people who have had breast cancer affect their lives.
“It provides a wonderful day of camaraderie and support for people who are survivors or people who have lost someone to the diagnosis, to the disease,” Benitez said. “It’s a welcoming, warm, friendly community event where we embrace the journey and
Paws, the mascot for the Detroit Tigers, greets Pamela
share the journey and the stories, as well as understanding that we are all there supporting not only those who have gone through the journey or have passed, but also those that have financial need. That’s our mission.”
The day at the zoo with Shades of Pink Foundation included snacks, breakfast, vendors, entertainment and more.
“It’s really a time to just be with one
another, all there for one purpose. You can feel that energy, that warmth and camaraderie and the love just by being there,” Benitez said. “We hope that the walk continues to grow every year and really embrace awareness.”
Increasing awareness of the help that the foundation can provide to those going See PINK on page 15A
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Benitez, Shades of Pink Foundation co-founder.
from page 13A
through this disease is the main goal for Benitez and the foundation team.
“It’s our 20th year of the foundation, how people still don’t know about us, and we have money, we have connected to the different social workers, nurse navigators, health care professionals at all of the area hospitals, letting them know we exist, and still our community is not on the tip of everybody’s tongue,” she said. “We are here serving our own community, which is one thing that I find that’s very special and unique.”
Detroit Zoo features a brand-new fantasy world
ROYAL OAK — The Dragon Forest, a brand-new installation, will be debuting on May 24 at the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W. 10 Mile Road in Royal Oak. The interactive experience will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 24-Sept. 7.
The 3-acre trail adventure includes interactive, climbable sculptures for hands-on fun, photo op-
Easley encourages women to take action and get regularly checked for breast cancer, even if it does not run in their families.
“To all of the amazing women out there, go get checked anyway, regardless of if it runs in your family. If you feel any different, just go get checked anyway,” Easley said. “That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t have any signs, I didn’t have any background or history of it, and something still showed up. So just go anyway.”
For more information on the Shades of Pink Foundation, visit shadesofpinkfoundation.org.
Call Staff Writer Taylor Christensen at (586) 498-1081.
portunities with mythical creatures, and educational stations connecting legends to real life.
The fantastical sculptures feature animatronics to givr attendees the opportunity to see a phoenix rise from the ashes and listen to the hiss of a basilisk slithering through the trees.
Some of the sculptures will also be climbable for those who want to experience what it’s like to ride on a mythical creature.
For more information visit detroitzoo.org.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico performs in the tent during the fundraiser at the Detroit Zoo.
HOMES
EVERYTHING CAN BE COMING UP ROSES FOR PROACTIVE GARDENERS
BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com
They’re beautiful, symbolic and have been immortalized in poems and songs, but even seasoned gardeners can express trepidation when it comes to roses.
As one gardening pro recently observed, “They are fussy.”
Still, that doesn’t mean that gardeners should avoid this legendary bloom.
Monica Sabella is a rosarian, horticulturist and greenhouse specialist who takes care of the roses at the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. During an April 8 presentation on rose care, she said there are three main categories of roses: old garden roses (sometimes called antique or historical), wild roses and modern garden roses. Sabella said old garden roses — which have been around since before 1867 and only bloom once per year — “are not as disease-resistant and not as hardy” as modern roses; modern roses are the ones most common in stores today.
The Ford House has 16 rose beds, with 30 to 50 roses in each, Sabella said. She said they include wild roses, tea tree roses and climbing roses.
Floribunda roses are the most popular and easiest to grow, and they don’t need to be pruned often, Sabella said. They include Knock Out roses, which she called “very, very low
maintenance” compared to many other varieties.
“Roses are really not as difficult as people make them seem,” Sabella said. “They are just needy.”
George Papadelis, owner of Telly’s Greenhouse and Garden Center in Troy and Shelby Township, knows a lot about roses — the Troy location grows about 4,000 of them in more than 100 varieties, although roses can be purchased from either location.
“First and foremost, they should be planted in full sun, or as much sun as you can get them,” Papadelis said. “The more sun, the better.”
There should be more organic material in the soil than clay, Papadelis said.
Sabella echoed that sentiment, saying gardeners should plant roses in a balanced mix of sand, silt and clay.
“For soil, you want something that’s very loamy,” Sabella said.
Papadelis said roses are hard to grow in containers.
“You should always dig a big, beautiful hole for a big, beautiful plant,” Papadelis said.
Location is important as well. Sabella advised against planting roses beneath large trees that might block sunlight, and she also said gardeners should avoid planting roses near anything with a large root system, like a tree or lilac.
ABOVE: Bright pink Earth Song hybrid tea roses bloom at the entrance to the Ford House rose garden.
LEFT: Among the hybrid tea roses in the Ford House rose garden are the sweet-scented apricot Serendipity, front, and the vibrant pink Aunt Honey roses behind them.
Photos provided by the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
ROSES
Council
and how its members’ terms will be awarded. The city charter calls for the expansion of the City Council to seven members and for the terms of the top three vote-getters to be four years and for the fourth-most vote-getter to win a two-year term.
Jamie Gills-Takenouchi, a resident of Clawson, said that she is pleased with the results of the election. However, she is not pleased that the election occurred.
Gills-Takenouchi said that it was confusing to her and other residents that this issue was being decided again, considering the residents voted on this in 2023 as part of the updated city charter.
“I was upset that we were spending $20,000-$25,000 on a special election,” she said. The issue could have appeared on last November’s regular election ballot.
Gills-Takenouchi said that since this was put on the ballot for the special election, she spoke at meetings and talked with fellow Clawson residents about it with the goal of spreading awareness and getting as many people as possible out to the polls.
“We were informing the community what was going on, on Facebook. We did
door-hangers, it was kind of a total spur of the moment, grassroots, which was kind of amazing,” she said. “We got a ton of support. We had a huge turnout at the election; for a May election to get 26% of the electorate out was big.”
Gills-Takenouchi said that adding two more people to the council will be a benefit for the city of Clawson.
“I think our council has problems, and I think a seven-person council makes more sense,” she said. “I am also just super happy and excited about the engagement of the community, because we don’t get that for May elections. So, I thought the Clawson community was pretty amazing, talking about it and getting out there and voting.”
In the event of another special election in the future, Gills-Takenouchi hopes there will be more communication and transparency.
“For a special election, I want there to be a good reason,” she said.
Councilman Bruce Anderson told the Review before the May 6 election that the vote needed to be before the November election because the November election is when the people will need to vote on the new people on the council.
“Bottom line, the document (updated city charter), it’s pretty well done. But the one element (the council’s size), I kind of
wish they had left that alone, and then you know you can revise charters piece by piece over years,” he said. “It’s been done, and it would have been good if they just left that alone and then brought it up as it changed a
year or two down the road.”
For more information on the city of Clawson, visit cityofclawson.com.
Call Staff Writer Taylor Christensen at (586) 498-1081.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Clawson held a special election on May 6. On the
Roses
Because of aphids and other pests, she said roses should be planted away from vegetable gardens as well.
For northern climates like Michigan’s, Papadelis said grafted roses should be planted with the bud union — a knob or knot at the base of the upright canes — 2 to 4 inches below the soil. Own-root roses should be planted 2 inches deeper than that.
To protect grafted roses over the winter, Papadelis said gardeners should put extra soil over the crown of the plant in November or December. This step doesn’t need to be taken with own-root roses, he said.
Fertilization is another critical step to growing healthy roses. Sabella said that around Mother’s Day is a good time for the first session of fertilization.
“It’s important that a rose gets fed and that you protect it from disease and you protect it from insects,” Papadelis said.
He recommends a three-in-one granular product such as Rose-Tone, an organic product which is sprinkled on the ground about three to four times per season, or roughly every six weeks.
Pests like aphids can be blasted off roses with a hose. Japanese beetles, which emerge
in June, should be hand-picked off the plants and dropped in soapy water. Neem oil will take care of destructive thrips, which Sabella said look like lice, although gardeners will likely need to make multiple applications. Diatomaceous earth is an effective tool against flea beetles, which Sabella said tend to emerge in late June and mid-September. Horticultural oil should be sprayed on scale during the “crawler” or nymph stage, Sabella said.
Green lacewings, which can be purchased online, are a beneficial insect that Sabella said will eat pests like aphids.
Fungicide, insecticide and pesticide can be used as needed, but Sabella warns that some of these products also kill beneficial insects.
Sabella said gardeners should start by watering their roses twice a week, preferably in the early morning, before dawn; that gives the leaves time to dry before nightfall. Handwatering is better than overhead watering because in the latter, the leaves get wet and this can lead to bacteria or fungus growth, she said.
Papadelis said roses can be planted at any time but will need more frequent watering if they’re planted in the hotter part of summer.
Telly’s Greenhouse has a rose care guide on its website. To see more tips and recommendations, visit tellys.com and under the drop-down homepage menu, select Plant Care Guides and then Telly’s Rose Care Guide.
When
Life is full of ups and downs. But together, we can overcome any obstacle. Rise to any challenge. And fght any battle.
Pontiac Transportation Museum gears up for its ‘Phase II Fanfare’ event
BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
Walking into the Pontiac Transportation Museum is like spending time in your grandfather’s pristine garage as a kid.
The museum is a leisurely walk back in time that pays tribute to the car manufacturers and assembly line workers who made everything from 19th century carriages to late ’60s GTOs in Pontiac-based automobile plants. That includes the Oakland Motor Car Co., Pontiac Assembly, the Pontiac Tractor Co. and GMC.
Memorabilia tells the city’s auto history, vehicles from different decades are on display, there’s a section dedicated to 50 years of Pontiac coach buses, visitors can view interactive videos, and much more. Volunteer docents are available to answer questions and take guests on museum tours. There’s also a gift shop that sells T-shirts, baseball caps, glassware and stickers.
“Our scope is basically wheel vehicles in Pontiac, either engineered here or manufactured here and or both. Forty-seven companies were here over time. We live in southeastern Michigan. Everybody is related to somebody that worked in the auto business,” said Pontiac Transportation Museum Board Chair Terry Connolly, a Rochester Hills resident. “The nice thing about opening the museum is people walk up almost every day with a box of stuff. You find some
MUSEUM PAYS TRIBUTE TO PONTIAC’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE AUTO INDUSTRY See MUSEUM on page 22A
AND LEFT: The
Transportation Museum, located at 250 W. Pike St., opened in May 2024. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The public is welcome to attend.
LEFT: Pontiac Transportation Museum Board Chair Terry Connolly, of Rochester Hills, reads a map that shows the location of the former Pontiac auto plants.
Photos by Patrica O’Blenes
ABOVE
Pontiac
Road
from page 14A
As of May 6, the licensing agreement fee was waived by the city, according to Judy Davids, Royal Oak community engagement specialist, and a letter sent out by the Engineering Division.
A separate letter also dated May 6 outlines a potential cost in place of the licensing agreement fee. Instead of a licensing fee, businesses and property owners will be paying for the concrete used to make parking spots.
“The construction cost, insurance, and future maintenance of the new pull-off parking space will be the responsibility of the property owner. … To give you an idea of the
Museum
artifacts in there that are just amazing that people kept.”
The museum, located at 250 W. Pike St., opened in May 2024 with phase I of its installation. Just a year later, organizers will open the second phase of the museum on May 17, and the public is cordially invited to the “Phase II Fanfare” event.
The day will begin at 9 a.m. with a car cafe kickoff that will include free coffee, doughnuts and cider. Car buffs who drive classic Pontiac, Oakland and GMC brands are welcome to showcase their models on the museum grounds as space allows.
The museum will open at 10 a.m. with “Phase I” admittance prices. At noon, the event will switch gears with guest speakers and a ribbon-cutting to officially open phase II of the museum. From 1 to 5 p.m., the public can enjoy live music outside, and food will be for sale.
“We want people to be proud of what happened in Pontiac. We want to attract heritage tourism to Pontiac,” said Connolly, a retired automobile engineer. “There was a lot of wealth accumulation in Pontiac at one point in time. It happened because of manufacturing prowess and science and technology.”
There are bits of history throughout the museum that highlight all kinds of vehicles made in the city: carriages, sedans, station wagons, sports cars, convertibles, 18-wheeler trailers, medium-duty trucks, pickup trucks, and buses. Inside the museum is a 1908 Pontiac High Wheel Runabout, a 1912 Flanders Colonial Electric, 1968 Pontiac Firebird Ram Air II, 1940 GMC pickup truck, the very last Pontiac 2010 G6 sedan and more.
“Pontiac had 80% of the transit market in the whole United States for about 40 years,” Connolly said. “The Department of
cost, a very rough estimate for a new residential parking pad is approximately $7,500. If you wish to move forward, staff will prepare a more detailed design and estimate specific to your property,” the letter states. “The cost would be added as a special assessment to the property with a 15-year payback period and no penalty for early payoff.”
Donoghue said that the goal of the Engineering Division is to create a way to please everyone.
“I imagine we will have a few iterations before we get the chance to bring it back to you, but our goal is to work with properties to maximize what we can but still follow our own rules for traffic safety and improve sustainability as much as we can,” Donoghue said.
Justice didn’t take kindly to that and took GM to court for about 10 years and said, ‘It’s a monopoly, you’ve got to break it all off.’ So GM sold it all off, but most of the transit buses in the United States were built in Pontiac.”
Also on display are Whizzer motorbikes, which ran on gasoline and became popular during World War II.
“Gas was rationed, and women began working at plants,” Connolly said. “They all bought Whizzers” to get to work. The Pontiac manufacturing plants also supplied vehicles during World War II, including DUKWs, antiaircraft guns, armored cars, torpedoes, parts for tanks and landing craft and artillery ammunition.
In another site, volunteers placed two cars next to each other that represent the beginning and end of manufacturing in the city: a 1927 Landau sedan and a 1982 Grand Prix. Guests might also spot the 21-foot 1986 Vixen recreational vehicle on exhibit. Only 587 models were produced in 19861987 at the Vixen Motor Co.; they really didn’t generate much interest.
“My assessment is it was too expensive for its market in the mid-’80s because you could buy a bigger motorhome for the same amount of money,” Connolly said. “These were built right next door to where the Silverdome used to stand.”
The Pontiac Transportation Museum was built inside the former Crofoot Elementary School. Private donors have funded the museum along with support from the city of Pontiac’s Arts and Culture American Rescue Plan Act grant of $250,000. Since opening last year, the PTM has welcomed about 5,000 guests from 16 countries and nearly every U.S. state.
A list of admission prices is on the PTM website at pontiactransportationmuseum. org/visit. Information regarding donation opportunities also is available on the website. School groups are welcome for tours.
Fournier asked Donoghue if the Engineering Division conducted any studies before making this recommendation.
“Yes, we did a very detailed study where we looked at traffic safety, which was a big component of it and how lane conversion will improve traffic safety. I don’t have the percentage decrease in front of me here, but it does reduce the accidents along the corridor,” she said. “We pulled crash history for everything going on in the corridor.”
The next steps for businesses and property owners on Rochester Road will be to submit an application by May 27 to the
city if they want to move forward with an estimate on cost for a new slab of concrete parking. The application can be given to the Engineering Division by mail, by dropping it off at City Hall, or via an email copy to the Engineering Division at engineering@ romi.gov.
From there engineering staff will prepare exhibits, cost estimates and licensing agreements for a viable parking configuration.
For more information on the city of Royal Oak, visit romi.gov.
Call Staff Writer Taylor Christensen at (586) 498-1081.
0321-2520
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OAKLAND COUNTY LAUNCHES ‘TECH COLLABORATION’ TO STRENGTHEN REGIONAL INNOVATION
OAKLAND COUNTY — Oakland County has launched Oakland County Tech Collaboration, an ecosystem of tech companies, innovators, suppliers, academic institutions and county government, with the goal of creating connections and spurring economic growth in robotics integration, IT and computer services, research, engineering and design.
This strategic initiative is aimed at supporting and accelerating the growth of the county’s technology ecosystem, powered by the Oakland County Economic Development Business Retention & Growth team.
“Oakland County is taking bold steps to establish itself as a national leader in technology innovation by strengthening our strategic focus on research, engineering and design, IT/computer services and robotics integration,” County Executive Dave Coulter stated via a press release.
Five of the county’s largest tech firms have taken on the role of “Keystone company” to strengthen the tech ecosystem, with their collective efforts intended to support the retention and expansion of the tech industry, attract new talent, and foster a collaborative environment that nurtures innovation and attracts new investments.
The Oakland County Tech Collaboration will host a series of events to connect business with higher education resources and opportunities at the university level, in addition to connecting small tech companies to larger tech companies.
Events are scheduled Sept. 18 at Walsh College in Troy and Nov. 6 at Oakland Community College’s Auburn Hills campus.
For more information about the Oakland County Tech Collaboration and upcoming events, visit oakgov.com/octechcollaboration.
Sound the Alarm program Volunteers needed
METRO DETROIT — The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to help them distribute information for its Sound the Alarm program through May 17. Sound the Alarm is a fire safety education drive in which the Red Cross promotes its installation of free smoke alarms, which are provided year-round. Go to soundthealarm.org/ michigan for more information.
PUPPIES PARADE TO SUPPORT ANIMAL WELFARE
Macomb Community College and the University of Michigan sign transfer agreement
MACOMB COUNTY — On April 15, Macomb Community College and the University of Michigan announced a new transfer agreement for a dental hygiene master’s degree. The articulation agreement will offer an accelerated online Master of Science in Dental Hygiene program. The Accelerated Online Associate of Science to Master of Science in dental hygiene pathway provides a three-year option for transfer students who have completed or are completing an associate degree in dental hygiene and want to advance their education. The online pathway is designed for part-time study and begins in the fall semester of 2025. To enroll, students must have an associate degree from Macomb with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better; graduated from a Commission on Dental Accreditation-accredited dental hygiene program; current local anesthesia and nitrous oxide licenses; and a current dental hygiene license to practice in the U.S. For applicants in the program, 60 dental hygiene credits and 24 general education credits will transfer from Macomb. Students will then need to complete 54 credits at U of M. In addition to transferring to Michigan, students may concurrently take courses and access advising and other services at both institutions.
