The 'Ville - December 2017

Northville’s News and Lifestyle Magazine

The Path Forward

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KURT KUBAN – Editor/Publisher

Kurt Kuban is an award-winning journalist, having served as a reporter and editor for several local newspapers and magazines, including The Northville Record, over the course of a career spanning more than two decades. Kurt lives in Northville with his wife, Cheryl, and their three children, who all attend Northville Public Schools.

CRAIG WHEELER – Creative Director

Craig has been in the creative industry for over 25 years. He has developed a diverse background in that time, but publication design has been his passion during the past 16 years. Craig enjoys cycling, running, wine tasting, his beloved Boston Terrier and an unhealthy addiction to movies.

JOHN HEIDER – Photographer/Writer

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John Heider, 53, was the The Northville Record and Novi News photographer from October 1996 until September 2017. He lives in Ann Arbor and enjoys fishing, hunting, gardening, cooking, feature writing, woodworking projects and the symphony. Sort of like a modern day Renaissance Man.

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MICHELE FECHT – Writer

Michele Fecht is a longtime journalist whose first post-college reporter position was at The Northville Record before moving on to The Detroit News. A 30-plus year resident of the City of Northville and historic (old) house owner, she is an author, researcher, local history enthusiast, and community activist/advocate.

WENSDY VON BUSKIRK – Writer

Wensdy graduated with a degree in journalism from Wayne State University. Her first job was working as a reporter for The Northville Record. Now, as a freelance writer and editor, she works for a variety of magazines, and is excited to get back to her roots in The ‘Ville. -Photo by Kathleen Voss

P.A. RECH – Photographer

Photojournalist P.A. Rech (www.palanimages.com) has chased images for news organizations and magazines, including National Geographic; HOUR Detroit; Associated Press; CNN and Fox News.

When not helping the Red Cross or outside running his dogs, you’ll find him clicking cameras for outdoor publications.

-Photo by Mathew Mulholland

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The ‘Ville is a product of Journeyman Publishing, which assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information. Any form of reproduction of any content in this publication without the written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Comments are welcome at thevillemagazine@gmail.com.

A View From The ‘Ville

Read All About ... Northville!

Have you ever felt like life is a current? A relentless river of cosmic energy that pushes you in a certain direction. Sure, we sometimes push back and fight this current, or try to find the calmer waters when life gets turbulent and perhaps a bit too fast. But I think the key to finding happiness and fulfilment in life is to realize your place in this great current and get in groove with it. Go with the flow, if you will.

I don’t mean to get too philosophical here, but I just feel like life has guided me in a certain direction. And that is why you are now holding the very first issue of The ‘Ville – a brand new magazine dedicated to telling Northville’s collective story.

After more than two decades as a reporter and editor for local newspapers and magazines, I grew a little frustrated with the direction of certain publications, which seemingly forgot their mission. I decided it was time to create a new publication – locally owned and produced – focused solely on what’s going on here in Northville, and it seemed logical that I was the person to do it.

Many of you know me from my days as editor of the Northville Record. Covering this town was one of the great joys of my career. I really took to the community, which is why I decided to move my family here three years ago.

I kind of feel a bit like Samuel Harkins Little, who, in 1869, began publishing the town’s first

newspaper, the Wayne County Record (later changed to the Northville Record). Little looked around at the blossoming Northville community, which at the time was not too far removed from being a small settlement hacked out of the forested frontier, and concluded the town wasn’t complete without a newspaper of its own.

I probably don’t have to tell you the newspaper business is undergoing massive changes these days, due in part to the internet and plenty of self-inflicted damage. But I know what Little knew way back in 1869. People want to know what’s going on in their town. I still think local news reporting is important. Knowing about my town, my local government, my schools and my neighbors matters to me. And I’m betting it still matters to you.

Why start a magazine now, when print seems on the decline? I’m still one of those people who enjoys sitting down with a magazine and a cup of coffee, and just reading a good story or two. At the same time, while we are in the process of building a website for The ‘Ville, I’m not worried about tracking your clicks or any of the other tricks so many media companies employ these days to produce revenue.

I do ask you, however, to please take note of our advertisers. They put their trust in our team and our vision. Most people will tell you that they support the idea of local journalism. These local business leaders backed it up with their

advertising dollars. You wouldn’t be reading this without their commitment.

At the same time, they also know The ‘Ville is a great vehicle to get their message delivered directly to every residential and business address in the two Northville zip codes – nearly 21,000 addresses in all. This is the target audience for local business owners, who chose to be in Northville for a reason, and we can help them reach out to that audience.

That also goes for local organizations and clubs. If you have an event or news item you’d like to share with the public, let us help you.

Thank you for taking the time to read The ‘Ville, Northville’s new news and lifestyle magazine. I hope you enjoy it, and then look forward to a new issue every month. I promise we’ll produce a publication with integrity and accountability, and we’ll do it as long as we are supported by the community.

And, I also promise, no more philosophical ramblings.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Kurt Kuban is Editor and Publisher of The ‘Ville. He welcomes your feedback at (734) 7160783 or kurtkuban@gmail.com.

Retiring director oversaw era of change at library

Christmas Comes to the ‘Ville!

Psychiatric hospital to meet wrecking ball

Popular Maybury State Park looks to future

4

6

16

Expanding landfill ‘worst possible scenario’ A Night at the Downs

10

12

20

High School Confidential

22

HerStory: Northville Woman’s Club turns 125

24

‘StoryVille’ adds holiday touch to downtown

26

It’s Your Business: Corriveau Law

30

Cover photo by P.A. Rech - www.palanimages.com

The ‘Ville 3

Members of Northville High’s marching band walk down Main Street with some of their instruments lit up.

Winchester Elementary’s Girl Scouts march in the parade.

Northville Garden Club member Julie Mantay grabs some red ribbon bows for the club’s annual Christmas wreath sales at Mill Race Village’s Cady Inn.

John Johnson takes in the Lighted Holiday Parade with his kids Vivian, 2, and Graham, 4.

Photos by John Heider

Christmas Comes to the ‘Ville

W

ith the flick of a switch, Santa, Mayor Ken Roth, Northville Citizen of the Year Chuck Lapham, and organizers of the annual Holiday Lighted Parade brought downtown Northville’s Christmas tree to life, drawing plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the large, festive crowd.

The tree lighting, which took place at the conclusion of the well-attended parade on Nov. 17, was accompanied by a few carols and lots of cheer. And the Christmas tree helped illuminate

4 The ‘Ville

Town Square for locals and visitors to enjoy.

The parade marked the official kick off of the Christmas season, always a special time here in Northville. In fact, the parade was just the beginning of a busy, holiday-themed weekend.

The following afternoon, former WDIV personality and Tipping Point Theatre cofounder Chuck Gaidica joined many downtown business owners to “open the book”on StoryVille, a collaborative effort to add a little more

Christmas magic to the downtown shopping experience. Gaidica and other local “celebrities” were recorded reading some classic Christmas tales (24 in all) that are being broadcast at different points and in many shops around town through the end of December.

That same weekend, the Northville Garden Club held their annual Greens Market in Town Square. The group, which has been making and selling Christmas wreaths for 42 years, was joined

Carol Leroue (left) and Shirley Millard fashion some red ribbon bows for the Northville Garden Club’s annual Christmas wreath sales at the historic Cady Inn. Lighted Holiday Parade attendees gather around the Christmas tree at Town Square to get some photos after Northville’s Lighted Holiday Parade.

Victoria Miller marches with her Girl Scout troop with some appropriate reindeer headgear during the Lighted Holiday Parade.

by other vendors (many from the Northville Farmers Market) selling decorative items like holiday roping, wreaths, centerpieces, trees and accessories.

The event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Northville Garden Club, which does so much for the local community. Last year, for example, the group raised $6,300, which they donated back to the community in gifts to the following organizations: The Friends of the

Cate Zabkiewicz does her best candy cane impression as she marches in the parade.

Northville District Library, Northville Civic Concern, Northville Historical Society, Northville High School scholarships, Northville Parks and Recreations Adopt-a-Park, Schoolcraft College scholarships, and the Women’s National Farm and Garden Association charities.

And over in Mill Race Historical Village, the Northville Historical Society provided the community a little glimpse of how Christmas used to be celebrated here in Northville with their

Santa greets some fans after the parade in Northville’s Town Square.

annual Christmas in the Village event. The village was decorated for the holidays, and visitors could enjoy a little tea at the Cady Inn while being entertained by the Novi Brass Quintet. And to top it off, Father Christmas greeted people in the historic schoolhouse.

If you missed any of these events, don’t lament because the Christmas spirit will be alive throughout downtown Northville through the New Year.

The ‘Ville 5

OLD

State Hospital

Wrecking Ball TO MEET

By Kurt Kuban

T

he rotting hulk of the former Northville Psychiatric Hospital has cast a gloomy shadow over Northville’s landscape since the state of Michigan shut down the facility in 2003. Located on Seven Mile west of Haggerty, the graffiticovered buildings that date back to the 1950s are without doubt the community’s biggest eyesore.

Sale of former prison property paying for demolition of nine-story ‘eyesore’ Northville Township will spend $5.88 million to demolish the two largest buildings on the site, including the main nine-story hospital building in the background. Photos by John Heider

That will soon change. Northville Township, which purchased the property from the state in 2009 for $23.5 million, has hired a contractor to demolish both the nine-story main hospital building and an adjacent two-story building – the largest remaining structures on the property.

The 332 acres owned by Northville Township include woodlands, trails and even some water features. A sign on the hospital property (at left) explains the township received funding through the DNR’s Natural Resources Trust Fund.

The cost of the demolition – approximately $5.88 million – is being paid with funds the township recouped from the sale of the former Scott Prison property at Beck and Five Mile. The township acquired the former women’s prison in 2012 from the state for $1. At the end of 2016, township officials agreed to sell the property

6 The ‘Ville

to Pinnacle Homes for $8.5 million, but had to split the revenue with the state (60 percent to the township).

In September, the township received 16 proposals for the demolition contract, which initially included tearing down a third building on the site. Ultimately there were six submitted bids, and on Sept. 21 the township board

approved a contract with the Detroit-based Adamo Group, which coincidentally also handled the demolition of the Scott Prison in 2013. Township officials were able to further negotiate with Adamo to get the cost down to the $5.88 million.

It’s fair to say township officials are thrilled to finally have the funding to eliminate the longtime eyesore and public nuisance.

“I am extremely excited that this demolition project is coming to fruition and thank our team for all their efforts,” Northville Township Supervisor Bob Nix said in a statement. “Our residents will soon be able to view the skyline on Seven Mile with that blight to our community removed.”

VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE While the hospital buildings are slated to come down this summer, over on the other side of town, a new “village” is beginning to rise up on the former Scott Prison property.

Pinnacle Homes has already begun a planned development (PUD) with the township for what is being called The Village of Northville.

The 55-acre site will include 110

single family homes (starting in the mid-$400,000’s), 67 townhomes (starting in the low $300,000’s), and 200 loft-style apartments that will be for rent – plus some retail, a grocery market, and even a hotel.

According to Pinnacle CEO Howard Fingeroot, the development will be “pedestrian friendly” and include a central park with walking paths, benches and fountains.

“This is going to be a fabulous project. It really will be a village,” he said, noting the commercial component of the development will be along Beck Road, while the residential will be on the west side of the property bordering Northville Township’s Community Park.

Fingeroot said the roads and utilities are already in for the first phase of the residential construction. The first model home is currently being built, and they will begin selling homes most likely in March. He said all the residential will take about three years to build out. They are also hoping to start construction on the apartments in the fall of 2018 and complete them in two years.

With the old hospital looming in the background, Margie Banner and Fred Shadko, members of the Northville Township Board of Trustees, hold up the ambitious 7 Mile Property Master Plan that was developed in 2010.

‘A LONG, LONG ROAD’ It won’t take that long to demolish the two hospital buildings.

According to Northville Township Director of Public Services Tom Casari, Adamo will complete the work by Sept. 30 of 2018 – and probably sooner.

They can’t come down fast enough for township officials.

The complex, especially the main hospital building, has become a major public hazard. The property has long attracted trespassers, who sneak through the buildings because of rumored paranormal activity and for thrills. But township officials say

they are not only endangering their own lives by entering the unsafe buildings but also the general public because they cause damage, which spreads asbestos around.

In 2018, alone, the township wrote about 500 trespassing tickets.

Nix said the township has had to invest significant revenue to secure the property from both trepassers and scrappers.

“For years, these buildings have created blight and have been a significant drain on public safety resources,” Nix said.

The bad news, of course, is there will still be 16 buildings left on the site after the two building come down, with no immediate funding in sight.

The township has an ambitious park and recreation plan for the property, which includes mature forest, trails and even a stream. But implementing the plan could still take years.

“There’s no doubt, this is a long, long road,” said Margie Banner, the township’s treasurer, who was involved in the master plan for the property, which includes trails, picnic shelters, and a community center.

Hospital continued on page 8

Demolition of the hospital was secured with the sale of the old Scott Prison property at Beck and Five Mile, where Pinnacle Homes is building The Village of Northville. The site will include single family homes, townhomes, loft-style apartments and commercial buildings, including a grocery market and hotel. This is an artist’s rendering of the townhomes.

The ‘Ville 7

Hospital continued from page 7

ASBESTOS REMOVAL The township also hired a consulting firm, Fleis & Vandenbrink, to oversee the entire demolition project, which was necessary due to the scope of the project as well as the fact that

including hiring night time security, and installing cameras, flood lights and fencing.

The asbestos abatement was expected to begin in December, and is scheduled to be complete sometime this spring. The demolition will take place during the summer, and final grading is scheduled for late summer or early fall.

It’s terrible. Just think of the people who drive into Northville and see it.

‘Welcome to Northville.’ It’s an eyesore that needs to go.”

Chuck “Rocky” Rachwitz, Rocky’s of Northville

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asbestos is so prevalent at the site, including in the floor and ceiling tiles, and pipe insulation.

Casari said they are taking great care to protect the public during the asbestos abatement – both for the workers on site and people in the area. Fleis & Vandenbrink will be monitoring the work and testing air quality throughout the project. The buildings will be covered as workers remove all the asbestos. Once that process is complete, they will then tear them down, piece by piece, rather than by implosion.

“They (Adamo) have to completely remediate the asbestos in the buildings, and then prove it, before they can start tearing anything down,” Casari said. “The state will also be out there to make sure they are meeting the standards of the law.”

Adamo has already begun measures to prevent trespassers from getting onto the property during the demolition process,

8 The ‘Ville

Township officials aren’t the only ones looking forward to the decaying hospital buildings to be a thing of the past. Some nearby neighbors and business owners have complained about it since it closed.

Perhaps nobody has been impacted as much as Rocky’s of Northville, the restaurant that sits on Seven Mile directly across from the hospital property. Owner Chuck “Rocky” Rachwitz said his parking lot has been used by trespassers for years, which has led to cases of vandalism and a police presence that “is not good for business.”

“It’s about time they do something over there,” Rachwitz said. “It’s terrible. Just think of the people who drive into Northville and see it. ‘Welcome to Northville.’

It’s an eyesore that needs to go.”

For updates about the Seven Mile Property or other development news in Northville Township, visit twp.northville.mi.us.

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We’re certainly doing things differently.

We’re using different means to get information to people.”

Julie Herrin, Director Northville District Library

Julie Herrin will retire in January, after nearly 21 years as head of the library.

Turning the Page Retiring Herrin oversaw era of change at library

By John Heider

M

uch has changed since Julie Herrin became the director of the Northville District Library in 1996. At the time, the then brandnew library building at 212 W. Cady Street in downtown Northville had exactly one computer for the entire staff, no connection to the emerging internet, and patrons had to use the old card catalog system to find books on the shelves.

With Herrin at the helm, the NDL was able to make a smooth transition into the 21st century, where patrons plumb the internet to access information and entertainment electronically.

Herrin, 71, recently announced that she will retire in January, after nearly 21 years as head of the library.

Herrin has had the library sciences in her blood for her entire adult life.

She landed her first library job in 1968 at Detroit’s Marygrove College, where

10 The ‘Ville

she shelved books. Herrin then worked in the library at Wayne County Community College in 1978 while she was a part-time student there. In 1980 she graduated from Wayne State with a master’s degree in library science and then returned to Marygrove where she was its librarian for four years.

After that she worked at Madonna University’s library for another four year stint, from 1984-1988.

For seven years, beginning in 1988, Herrin studied at, and eventually became the director of the Michigan Library Consortium in Lansing.

This school on organizing data was her springboard to utilizing computer processed and accessed information that would one day be so easily garnered via the internet. Herrin came to the Northville District Library in February of 1996 to coordinate its electronic and reference services - which she did for the first three months - and then became its director.

Herrin notes the role of the library — not just in Northville, but in every community — has changed and continues to evolve in 2017.

“We’re certainly doing things differently. We’re using different means to get information to people,” she said. “Electronic books and films, we loan out wifi hotspots, we do digital conversions (including of VHS tapes). So we’re not only offering the means to do that, but we also offer up the tutoring to show people how to use this technology.”

In fact, Herrin has made it part of the library’s mission to make sure patrons are up to speed accessing information with the latest technology, while also providing all of the services that people expect every day.

upstairs meeting room, the library will soon undergo an expansion. The proposed addition of approximately 800 square feet along the building’s east side on the lower level will include two study rooms and a conference room that will accommodate 15 people.

Herrin, who oversees the library and its 51 full, part-time and substitute staff members, said the additional space will be welcome.

“We’re having more and more demand for this space because it’s a neutral space where people can meet,” said Herrin. “We have people sitting on the floors during high school exam times and we can really use the extra space.”

Herrin, who resides in Westland near her daughters Mary and

“I read mysteries like some others eat candy. It’s escapist literature,” she said.

And she usually has multiple formats going at once: “One book on paper, one on my smartphone, an audiobook in my car and a version on my phone.”

Herrin admits reading isn’t her only form of entertainment, however.

“I don’t watch TV much at all, although I will watch the ballgames.

But that’s about it.”

A SPECIAL JOB As she nears retirement from a career with more than three decades of full-time work in libraries, Herrin said she has been blessed to spend a bulk of her career

CALL NUMBERS

NORTHVILLE DISTRICT LIBRARY Located at 212 W. Cady Street Built in 1996 30,000 square feet 51 total employees (14 full time) Annual budget is $2,700,000.

17,734 patrons with library cards 488,524 items checked out in a year *Figures courtesy of NDL Director Julie Herrin

The proposed expansion of the Northville District Library would encompass this area of the lower level. The east-facing wall would be removed and expanded to include two new study rooms and a 15-person meeting room.

“There are many seniors who turn to the library to learn how to use their electronic devices,” Herrin said. “We still have story times for kids and programs for adults — and we also have the only free meeting space in town.”

PROPOSED EXPANSION Because there is such a demand from the community for those meeting spaces, especially the

Joanne, as well as her six grandkids and two great grandkids, is looking forward to retirement.

It should surprise no one that she plans to do plenty of reading, one of her great joys. That makes perfect sense. But her devotion to a single type of literature and across many different platforms is interesting.

Herrin said she only reads mystery authors.

here in Northville, where she said the community values its public library. She realizes she’s had a special job.

“I’ve met many wonderful people and I’ve been blessed to have many great staff members — and honorable and dedicated board members,” said Herrin. “It’s been a very wonderful 22 years. I’ve had no desire to go elsewhere once I landed here. They love their library here.”

Herrin has particularly enjoyed serving the public. “It’s a job that I love because we do so much for the people in our community. The library has helped inform them, entertain them and open them to new ideas. And everyone can come to the library, everyone’s welcome.”

Herrin will be replaced by current NDL assistant director Anne Mannisto, who will serve as director for one year before retiring herself at the end of 2018.

The library will be searching for a permanent director next year to take over once Mannisto retires.

Despite the fact that people can now access so much information from home as the pace of technology accelerates, Herrin feels libraries will have a role to play for years to come.

“The more information there is out there, the more you need someone to guide you through it.”

John Heider is a features writer for The Ville.

The ‘Ville 11

The

Worst Possible

Scenario

Township residents hope lawsuit curtails odor from Salem landfill [ By Wensdy Von Buskirk

N

orthville is known throughout the region as a highly desirable community with upscale homes, a vibrant downtown, and great schools. But for some residents, Northville stinks.

Literally.

For almost two years, noxious fumes from the Arbor Hills Landfill in nearby Salem Township have been tormenting a sizeable swath of Northville Township homeowners, who complain they can’t open their windows or enjoy their yards, and worry their property values are declining because of the smell.

Despite the recent settlement of a class action lawsuit and repeated rulings from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the odor from the growing landfill persists, and residents and township officials are at wits end to do much about it.

At issue: the dump is located just outside Northville Township, so its citizens get no vote concerning its future. On top of that, no tax dollars compensate the township for the “regulated nuisance” that it is.

12 The ‘Ville

“It’s the worst possible scenario,” says Northville Township Supervisor Robert Nix II. “We’ve got no jurisdiction, no rights, no sayso. It’s a real challenge to protect our residents.”

BUILDING THE HILL Arbor Hills Landfill opened in 1970 and operated for decades largely without issue. Located on the south side of Six Mile Road, between Chubb and Napier, the municipal solid waste landfill remained on the far fringe of urban sprawl, surrounded by the sparsely populated pastures and quiet farm fields of Salem Township, which is in Washtenaw County.

Yet, over the years, as the 337-acre landfill grew to become the largest in Michigan, the area surrounding it developed, with expensive homes built in adjacent Northville Township. Subdivisions like Stonewater, started in 1999; Steeplechase, launched by Toll Brothers in 2004; and Arcadia Ridge, built by Pulte between 200508, brought hundreds of luxury

| Photos by John Heider ] houses with some price tags topping $1 million.

Even still, Nix says, the dump wasn’t really a problem.

That’s because under its then management, Browning-Ferris Industries, and its then agreement with Salem Township and Washtenaw County, the site was expected to be capped soon.

“We didn’t have the problems years ago that we have now,” Nix said. “Everyone anticipated it had a life expectancy that was going to end about now.”

Instead, the site was purchased

by Advanced Disposal, which was granted the right to expand the landfill’s base and height by 400 feet in each direction in 2009.

Nix traces today’s problems to this fateful decision.

“As a result, that landfill can operate 15-18 more years,” Nix says.

“Salem Township extended the life of this landfill that everyone thought was otherwise going to close.”

Today, haulers continue to roll in with household and construction

waste, commercial and industrial waste, sewage and non-hazardous sludge — more than 90 percent of it from outside Washtenaw County. Yes, the dump deliveries cause traffic issues. But more than that, they add mass to “the hill,” and contribute to the offending odor that, due to prevailing winds, wafts right over Northville, an increasingly cosmopolitan town.

COMPLAINTS FLOOD IN According to a report by the State of Michigan, the first odor complaint relating to Arbor Hills was filed by a Northville Township resident on Jan. 4, 2016. After that, complaints dramatically increased mid- to late January of that year.

The MDEQ, together with Arbor Hills, determined the source of the odor was landfill gas coming from the newly constructed and recently filled north side of the landfill that borders Six Mile Road.

The MDEQ subsequently issued three violations to Advanced Disposal and its parent company, Republic Services, for producing

“offsite nuisance odors,” requiring immediate action to upgrade the landfill’s gas collection systems.

Those upgrades continue and are expected to be completed in spring 2018.

According to a report by the MDEQ, 25 separate air quality samples have confirmed the presence of odor, but no public health hazards. The MDEQ also noted that odor complaints persist, although they have diminished since their peak in early 2016.

CLASS ACTION Meanwhile, residents took matters in their own hands, bringing a class action lawsuit against Advanced Disposal and Arbor Hills Landfill on April 25, 2016. In the suit, filed by Liddle & Dubin of Detroit, plaintiffs Jorell Lawrence and Mary Salmon, along with more than 145 other residents, allege the defendants’ operations at the landfill releases pollutants, air contaminants and noxious odors, “causing material injury to Plaintiffs’ property through

negligence, gross negligence and nuisance.”

Plaintiffs cited a “very strong, gassy, rotten egg, rotting garbage, putrid odor” that is “very thick and pungent.”

In the suit, Lawrence says the smell is so bad it makes her sick to her stomach and wakes her up in the middle of the night.

Salmon described the smell as horrible, “like rotten eggs and dead animals,” and said it prevents her from gardening and drives outdoor parties into the house.

Another resident complained that: “one step outside and you are hit with a powerful, disgusting odor that you can taste if you are out there a few minutes.”

The class action covered owners and renters of residential property within a two-mile radius of Arbor Hills Landfill, estimated at 1,700 households. The company settled for $750,000 which, minus legal fees and expenses, will be split between residents who filed a claim by Oct. 23, 2017.

It’s hard for those folks living out there. There’s a lot of emotion that goes through them. They’re very, very expensive homes.

They’ve invested a lot of money in them, so a lot of their investment Margie Banner, Treasurer is on the line.”

Northville Township The company also agreed to $5 million in improvements that would settle all other actions, consisting of more than 80 new landfill gas wells, 14,000 feet of piping, regular odor patrols and testing, and other odor control measures and devices.

TWIN TOWERS

The Arbor Hills Landfill in Salem Township rises above some of the neighborhoods on the west side of Northville Township.

Yet concurrently, Advanced Disposal applied to expand the landfill by building a virtual duplicate mound right across the street.

This further infuriated surrounding residents, and led them to form “Stop Arbor Hills,” a non-profit dedicated to blocking the move. Advanced Disposal has not pursued the expansion, but Nix remains on guard.

“For the time being that’s helpful for our residents, but ultimately if they try to request it again, we don’t view it as an expansion, we view it as Landfill continued on page 14

The ‘Ville 13

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Landfill Continued from page 13

a second landfill. The idea of having twin towers, if you will, creates a tremendous adverse impact on our residents,” Nix says.

Nix has vowed to fight for Northville Township residents, but in the end he admits he has little power, and that’s the root of the problem, because the dump is in a different township and a different county.

communities, but notice and a right to be heard, that’s not a veto right so to speak.”

As the draft proposal winds its way through the legislative process — it is expected to be made available to the public early next year — Nix hopes the ongoing infrastructure improvements at Arbor Hills will ultimately reduce the smell.

BLOWING OVER

Some residents have given up on the issue, Nix says. Others have stopped talking because they don’t DRAFT LEGISLATION want to cast more negative light on Nix said every landfill in the state the place they call home. located near a border — 14 out of Northville Township Treasurer about 80 — faces the same issues as Marjorie Banner says she feels for Arbor Hills, and he’s working with her constituents affected by the a legislative effort to give adjacent dump. communities a voice. Nix and “It’s hard for those folks living Northville Township Trustee Fred out there. There’s a lot of emotion Shadko are part of a Solid Waste that goes through them,” she says.

Advisory Panel that is drafting “They’re very, very expensive language toward that end. homes. They’ve invested a lot of money in them, so a lot of their investment is on the line.”

Salem Township Supervisor Gary Whittaker said he wants to continue to work with Northville Township officials and the state to see the issue righted.

Trash haulers continue to roll in with household and “We’re construction waste, commercial and industrial waste, sewage and non-hazardous sludge. neighbors. It’s a “We proposed legislation that horrible situation and we want to any expansion or new landfills get that under control,” he said. “It’s within two miles of a border require definitely been a nightmare, but we the consent of the bordering do care. You go out to take your kids community,” Nix said. “They for a walk and you’ve got to go right included only part of it, that the back inside, it’s not acceptable. It’s abutting community get notice just not right.” and an opportunity to address Arbor Hills officials have not their concerns. The legislation will returned calls to comment for this include some rights for bordering story.

14 The ‘Ville

Ask Dr.Thea

Dr. Thea Lewis Conway, owner of TLC Chiropractic in Northville, sees hundreds of patients a year who come to her with chronic back pain issues. While she addresses the pain through spinal realignment and other chiropractic treatments, Dr. Thea also consults her patients to find out the root causes of their pain, and then recommends lifestyle changes that will help prevent the chronic pain from coming back.

Here are some of the questions she hears most from patients suffering chronic back pain.

Question: Why does my pain keep coming back?

Dr. Thea: Healing takes time and requires several chiropractic adjustments consecutively. Your treatment plan and frequency is paramount in getting you well and keeping the pain at bay. Chiropractors also train you to improve your posture at work and at home (ergonomics), and how to assess what you do outside of the office that causes your pain to come back. Many times simple changes in your routine can help decrease flare ups and keep you on the road to recovery.

Question: Can’t I just exercise, do yoga or get a massage to fix my back problem?

Dr. Thea: Yes and no. These activities may temporarily reduce pain, but ultimately won’t solve a vertebral misalignment or pinched nerve. In fact, they can even sometimes make the problem worse. It’s best to see your chiropractor first and realign the spine to remove nerve pressure. Then these activities can be slowly resumed after your chiropractor gives you the green light.

Question: Should I take pain medications while I get adjusted?

Dr. Thea: It’s not recommended. Chiropractic is a drug-free profession, and we do not recommend or condone use of pain medications unless it is absolutely necessary, including after a surgery, but even then for only a few days. Chiropractic is most beneficial when the body is able to heal “drug free.” The nervous system has an innate ability to return to homeostasis, which is the body’s internal power to remain balanced and normal.

TLC Chiropractic is located at 424 S. Main Street in Northville. To set up an appointment with Dr. Thea, call TLC at (248) 513-6188. For more information, visit www.TLChiropractic.net, which includes educational videos and more advice about chronic back pain issues.

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User groups, including Maybury Farm and Friends of Maybury, use the park for education and to do service projects.

A New Path Forward

By Kurt Kuban

Popular Maybury State Park plans for the future

W

hen Michigan officials dedicated Maybury State Park back in May of 1975, the nearly thousand acres that comprise the park didn’t look that much different than the surrounding countryside – plenty of woods, fields and waters.

But as Northville and some of the other nearby communities have seen exponential economic and residential growth in recent years, Maybury is becoming an island of green space in a suburban landscape.

“We’re this little oasis of nature amidst all this urban development that is taking place around us,” said Traci Sincock, who took over as supervisor of the park in the summer of 2016.

“The community has very much changed around the park since it was founded. Things that are important today, like connectivity, weren’t even thought of back in 1975.”

Maybury has continued to grow in popularity, as more people move to the area. It makes sense considering the park offers many activities for outdoor enthusiasts, including an ever growing

16 The ‘Ville

trail network that appeals to a variety of users, including hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

“Maybury is a little different than most Michigan state parks in that there is no camping or hunting allowed. It is a day use park, so the users are a little different,” said Sincock.

More than a half million people visited Maybury over the last year, according to Sincock, and she anticipates that number will continue to grow. That’s why she thinks it is time for a new master plan for Maybury, which is still operating with the original plan that was implemented when the park opened 42 years ago.

PLANNING PROCESS Sincock said the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Planning Division will initiate the process to develop a new master plan some time in early 2018. The same division is in the midst of creating a new master plan for Belle Isle State Park in Detroit, and will move to Maybury next.

Maybury Riding Stables operates a horseback riding business at the park from April through November.

Sincock, who spent 26 years with the Northville Parks and Recreation Department including 19 as director, knows a thing or two about planning. In fact, her connections to the community (she also worked for the Northville Chamber of Commerce) and her experience with park planning were the main attributes that landed her the job at Maybury, she said.

Sincock’s goal is to include as many stakeholders as possible in this new planning process. That includes communities like Northville Township, where Maybury is located, as well as the City of Northville, Novi Wayne and Oakland counties and other nearby municipalities. She also wants user groups involved, including Friends of Maybury, which is P.A. Rech - www.palanimages.com Maybury has an extensive, well-marked trail system.

an organization of volunteers who do incredible work for the park, the Michigan Mountain Biking Association and Maybury Trail Riders Association, an equestrian group.

“My strong suit is bringing different parties to the table. I love collaborations. I love partnerships,” Sincock said. “I think we need to build more partnerships to make this park what the community wants it to be.”

She pointed to Maybury’s recent expansion of its trail system in 2015, which included building connectors to trails leading north to Novi and east to Northville and beyond. Many different groups came together to complete the project,

including both Wayne and Oakland counties, which were reconstructing Eight Mile Road at the time.

“You can now use the trails in the park and then travel on designated trails to Maybury Farm, which is home to about 70 farm animals, connects the community to animals and agriculture through education and special events. downtown Northville and all the way to Dearborn, and into Novi. We think there are farm on the park property, and Maybury Riding plenty of other opportunities to expand the trails Stables, which operates a commercial horse even further,” Sincock said. riding business at the park. Both groups operate Chuck Murdock is president of the 60-member independently of the park, but depend on its Friends of Maybury State Park (www. popularity for their success. friendsofmaybury.org). The group is comprised of Maybury Riding Stables (www. volunteers who got involved because of their love mayburyridingstable.com) is operated by Kim of Maybury, which is something they want to pass and Leroy Hone, with an assist from two of their on to others. All of their work at the park revolves daughters, Cody and Presly. They’ve been at around that goal.

Maybury for 11 years, offering horseback riding “Our mission is to help people enjoy the park. from April through the end of November, as well We want people to come out to Maybury and have as camps in the summer to teach children about fun,” said Murdock, a Northville resident. caring for horses.

The group meets this mission in three ways, Kim Hone said business has been good as more he said. First, they conduct events at the park, people discover Maybury. In fact, she believes including monthly hikes. Their recent Owl Prowl their business is one of the main attractions hike attracted 80 people, he said. Secondly, the Maybury has to offer.

Friends complete needed projects in the park, “Our business here has grown every year. There including building bridges over creeks and are times we can’t keep up because we can’t find boardwalks over wetlands, constructing benches enough reliable employees to help out,” she said. and maintaining trails.

“We get a lot of repeat customers for our riding, Lastly, the group raises important funds for and our summer camps have been a huge success. needed projects like tree plantings, or purchasing Our hourly rentals are definitely the main part of the lumber for some of their trail work. For our business, though.” example, they were able to secure a $20,000 The number of visitors is also growing steadily grant from REI to pay for the construction of over at Maybury Farm, which is operated by the an informational kiosk at the new trailhead non-profit Northville Community Foundation connector that was built in 2015. (www.northvillecommunityfoundation.org).

Murdock said the group has already developed Maybury Farm, which is located on 85 acres along a great working relationship with Sincock and the Eight Mile side of the park, is a working farm the park team, which includes two full-time staff that has a mission to connect the community to and two part-timers, plus seasonal workers in the animals and agriculture through education and summer. special events, including farm tours, a popular “Traci has been great to work with. I’ve known corn maze, maple syrup outings and a Great her for many years and worked with her when she Pumpkin Festival. was in other positions in town. She is full of ideas, The farm is home to 70 animals and a u-pick and the best part is she knows how to get them community garden, which are used to teach done,” Murdock said. children about where they get their food. They also offer summer camps for kids between the MAYBURY VENDORS ages of 5-12.

Two of the groups that Sincock said will definitely play a role in the planning process are Maybury continued on page 18 Maybury Farm, which leases land and a historic

The ‘Ville 17

P.A. Rech - www.palanimages.com

Maybury Continued from page 17

“We’ve definitely seen an uptick in the numbers for our farm tours, which is really what we are all Maybury State Park Supervisor Traci Sincock about – education,” said Maybury Farm Manager Cindy Kern. “Our festivals be built near the main Eight Mile have also seen great crowds come entrance. Currently the main park out. We’ve had a great year. We’re office is located off of Beck Road in still compiling our numbers for the a historic 1939 home that used to year, but our monthly numbers have house the doctors when Maybury been really good.” was a Detroit-owned infirmary for Kern said the Community city folks who were infected with Foundation has a great working tuberculosis (at the time often relationship with the park called consumption). Most of the leadership, and is looking forward sanitarium buildings were torn to participating in the planning down when the park was dedicated, process. though a couple still remain.

“While the farm and the park Sincock said bids will go out have their own goals, I think we in January for the headquarters are enjoying a very synergistic project and work should begin in relationship. We’re working really 2018 sometime. well together. We both share a goal As for other changes, Sincock of serving the community. We both makes no guarantees. She said have a strong vision and strong the new master plan process will goals, and we compliment each determine what’s in store for other very well,” Kern said.

Maybury State Park.

“The whole point of this is to NEW HEADQUARTERS make sure we have a clear vision One change that people can for the next 20 years. We want to expect to see in the near future is a provide the experiences that people new park headquarters, which will are looking for,” Sincock said. “We may already be doing that, but we need data to support it. And that’s what this process will be all about.”

Maybury State Park covers 944 acres in Northville Township.

The current park headquarters is located at 20145 Beck Road. For more information, including all the amenities the park has to offer, visit www.michigan.org/property/ maybury-state-park.

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION? Friends of Maybury members often volunteer to do trail maintenance.

18 The ‘Ville

If you could recommend changes at Maybury State Park, what would you like to see? Email Editor Kurt Kuban at kurtkuban@gmail.com and he’ll publish your responses.

Support Local Journalism!

EACH MONTH, The ‘Ville is mailed directly to every residential and business address – nearly 21,000 in all – in the Northville Community, covering the 48167 and 48168 zip codes.

The ‘Ville is locally-owned and produced by an experienced team of award-winning journalists, designers and sales associates who are invested in the Northville Community – just like you!

Every month we deliver important news and engaging lifestyle stories about the Northville Community that will increase your advertisement’s shelf-life on coffee tables and office lobbies around town.

Survey after survey has shown people hunger for local journalism, and want to know what’s happening in their hometown. This is what The ‘Ville delivers in a high-quality print format that will help you reach your target audience.

To secure your advertising space in an upcoming issue of The ‘Ville, contact Publisher Kurt Kuban at kurtkuban@gmail.com or call (734) 716-0783.

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Live harness racing will start back up in March on Friday and Saturday nights at Northville Downs.

A Night at the Downs H Track adds new virtual reality harness racing experience Story and photos by John C. Heider

Mike Carlo, operations manager of Northville Downs, tries out a virtual reality system he created to give people a good idea what it’s like to compete in a harness race.

20 The ‘Ville

ave you ever wanted to get behind a racehorse, in a lightweight cart and race around an oval track at 30 miles per hour as other jockeys dangerously jostle for the lead all around you, with gravel and weather elements stinging your eyes and face?

If that sounds a little too dangerous, but you’d still like to get a little taste of the sights and sounds of harness racing, Mike Carlo, operations manager of Northville Downs, has the solution for your daring curiosity.

Carlo, who’s been managing the track at 301 South Center Street in Northville since the late 1990s, created a virtual reality system to give anyone 12 years of age or older a real good idea of what it’s like to compete in a harness race. The invention, which sits in the track’s lower level near the main entrance from the Center Street parking lot, is free to anyone who wants to try it and consists of a harness cart (or

‘sulky’ in the racing parlance) which the player sits in, reins to hold onto - and a pair of virtual reality goggles to wear.

“It’s an invention of mine that I kind of put together for the harness racing industry,” said Carlo. “I wanted to try to give a simulation of what it’s like to actually race a horse on a racetrack - and lucky for me I have access to a racetrack and a lot of video equipment.”

The virtual reality experience lasts about three minutes and gives the user an idea of what it’s like to see and hear a race as a jockey. In order to experience actual flying gravel in the face and the aroma of racing horses visitors will have to get their own racehorse and sulky.

Carlo built the interactive display to garner more interest from harness racing fans and had a race at the Downs shot with a camera capable of recording a nearly 360 degree view. It’s stitched together in a virtual reality playback system

that the rider experiences when sitting in the cart. Grabbing the leather reins that lead not to a horse but a nearby support rail - only enhances the feel of being part of the racing.

Carlo also believes that his invention is the first in the world to combine virtual reality technology into a harness racing experience.

“I was looking to see if anybody else had done it yet and I haven’t seen it anywhere in the world - and I’ve been working on it for a year now,” said Carlo. “I’ve gotten all positive responses, people seem to really enjoy it. I always said to a lot of people that being out there on the racetrack is the one thing you’ll never experience because nobody’s crazy enough to go out there behind a horse at 30 miles an hour.”

The experience, explains Carlo, leaves many users with the same question.

“They have a tendency to ask me ‘was this a real race?’ and I tell them that yes, this was a real race at Northville Downs. To actually feel that excitement,” in virtual reality “and then walking out there on the

track and seeing it happen live 10 minutes later - people really get a great kick out it.”

Carlo also mentioned that he’s had interest from race tracks in seven different countries - and

“Northville Downs is good fun for a group - as opposed to a casino.

What normally happens there is that everybody scatters because you can’t all fit on the same blackjack table or some people like to play the

I wanted to try to give a simulation of what it’s like to actually race a horse on a racetrack.”

Mike Carlo, Operations Manager Northville Downs

many harness racetracks in United States when he’s told them of his invention.

The Downs, which will again start hosting live races in March, offers great treats on the barbecue outside the main stands on Friday nights and on Saturday there’s a buffet inside. Post time is 7 p.m. both nights.

Finally, when asked why Northville residents, and those of surrounding communities, should give the Downs a try - if they haven’t in years, Carlo offer this assessment:

slots - so everyone gambles away from their friends. At the Downs you’re always together all night long enjoying the races. It’s a great hang.”

Northville Downs is located at 301 South Center Street in Northville at the northeast corner of Seven Mile and Center Street. Live racing for the fall concluded in December, and will begin again in March. Simulcast races can be seen at the Downs every day. For more information, call (248) 349-1000 or visit www. northvilledowns.com/live-racing.

The ‘Ville 21

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL

Stage Presence

Freshman leads impressive production of A Christmas Carol

A

tangible silence settles in the dark Northville High School auditorium, and a spotlight shines down on freshman Tristan Presley and junior Sarah Poulos, beginning a successful three-day run of the Drama Club’s production of “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” Nov. 16-18.

This was Presley’s debut performance at the high school, and he said he was ecstatic to have landed the leading role of Ebenezer Scrooge – as a freshman.

“When I saw I had gotten the lead role, I nearly screamed. With me being just a freshman, scoring the lead role was astonishing to me.

I was starstruck for three days,” Presley said.

Acting alongside Presley, Poulos, who played the ghost of Christmas past, said he was a joy to work with, even though his character was so ill-tempered.

“It was a great experience. He is very easy to work with. He brought a great character as well as a great energy. He’s very nice off stage.

It’s weird seeing someone who plays such a rude role be so sweet off of the stage,” explained Poulos, secretary of the Drama Club.

The feeling of camaraderie was mutual. Presley said he had a strong connection with each and every member of the 30-member cast, which made him enjoy acting in the show even more.

“I will miss the cast and crew of the show — everybody that helped work on it. Though I see many of them at school daily, it is a whole other beast altogether in Drama Club,” Presley said.

Other cast members included sophomore Jack Fulton, who played the role of young Ebenezer Scrooge, which allowed him to show off his acting chops.

Sophomore Jack Fulton and junior Giovanna Reyes stand together under the spotlight, rehearsing for the Northville High School Drama Club’s performance of “A Christmas Carol” as Sarah Poulos looks on.

22 The ‘Ville

EDITOR’S NOTE High School Confidential, a regular feature of The ‘Ville, is produced by journalism students at Northville High School under the direction of English teacher Amy Baditoi. In this first installment, the photos were taken by junior Nick Volakakis and the content was written by sophomores Mia Testani, Saarah Alam, and Katie Davis.

NHS freshman Tristan Presley and junior Sarah Poulos perform a scene.

“I got to be young, happy and in love — and then grow old, nasty and watch my fiancé leave and my best friend die. It certainly allowed me to act, which is always fun. It’s a multi-dimensional character, which makes it really enjoyable to play,” Fulton said.

The musical was directed by Tracy Spada, and the music was directed by NHS choir director Beth Richter.

“A Christmas Carol - The Musical” proved yet again that the Northville High School Drama Club is a close-knit group of students, working both on stage and behind the scenes, according to Racheal VanLoo, who acted in the play and is also a Drama Club officer.

“My favorite part of the production is the people you get to work with. We all worked so well together. If one of us needed help, there was at least one person that was willing to do the job,” VanLoo said.

If you didn’t get a chance to see “A Christmas Carol - The Musical,” you still have two more opportunities to see this year’s Drama Club in action.

“Peter Pan” will run Feb. 1-3 and “Bullets over Broadway” will run this spring from April 19-21.

For more information about the Northville High School Drama Club, including how to purchase tickets for the upcoming shows, visit www. nhstheatre.com.

Rick Neal, RN

Beaumont Health A.A.S., Nursing, 2015

REGISTER NOW FOR WINTER 2018 Web site: www.schoolcraft.edu Answer Center: 734-462-4426

PAST TENSE

HerStory

Northville Woman’s Club legacy stretches back 125 years

By Michele Fecht

I

t began with little fanfare or notice in 1891. A circle of female friends gathered in the parlors of Northville homes to research and present programs on a variety of topics of a “literary nature.”

The only written record of those 1891 gatherings is a mention in The Northville Record in a column by then-editor Frank S. Neal, who noted that he had learned through community gleanings that a new organization had formed but that its activities were a guarded secret, and it had “a funny name — The Society for Philosophical Inquiry.”

By 1892, the gatherings gained in popularity and by the following year, the group dropped its “funny name” and formally organized as the Northville Woman’s Club.

club’s first president. Dowd was an organizing member and secretary of the Northville Woman Suffrage Association formed in 1874.

It was Dowd who formed the early “literary” circles, and it is her legacy that the Northville Woman’s Club celebrates as it gathers this

cultural and educational programs to its members. Though the club supports higher education through yearly scholarships to Northville High School seniors and contributes to local civic organizations through personal donations, there is no fundraising.

OFFICIAL BEGINNINGS The 70 charter members of the club listed in the minutes of the Sept. 5, 1893 organizational meeting are a veritable “who’s who” of Northville history permanently etched in the city’s street names.

Among the early members were Mrs. C.L. Dubuar, Mrs. W. Ely, Miss F.L. Beal, Mrs. A.H. Randolph, Mrs. Helen Yerkes, Mrs. Sarah Yerkes, Mrs. W.H. Yerkes, Mrs. Charles Yerkes, Edith Lapham, Mary Lapham, Mrs. Francis Horton, Mrs. Minnie Carpenter, Mrs. Eugene Clarkson, Mrs. E.K. Simonds and Mrs. William Ambler.

The charter members of the organization elected Lucy Stout Dowd, an ardent advocate for women’s rights and supporter of the temperance movement, as the

24 The ‘Ville

Estelle “Stella” Stark, standing at far left, and Emma Cole Stark, third row, sixth from left, were among the early members of the Northville Woman’s Club. This gathering of women was at the home of George and Eliza Stark on Main Street.

From the Archives of the Northville Historical Society.

year for its 125th anniversary.

Though the heyday of the universal woman’s club has waned, Northville Woman’s Club remains a fixture in the community with nearly 170 active and associate members, meeting the first and third Fridays of the month, October through March.

The club’s longevity as one of the oldest organizations in Northville — and one of the oldest woman’s club’s in the State of Michigan — is due in large measure to its commitment to its original purpose to provide

The club’s program books, originally titled the Club Calendar, have been published annually beginning with the 1895-96 club year. The pocket-sized books have become an iconic club fixture and reveal the evolution of its history from member-produced literary programs to off-site tours of cultural institutions such as the Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Symphony Orchestra to the current format of guest speakers addressing a myriad of topics.

The club’s archives, housing

minutes dating back to the first meeting in 1893, annual reports, scrapbooks and the club’s trademark annual program books, reveal history spanning the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Among the historical highlights are: 1917-18: The club contributed $2 to the Women’s Council on National Defense, $44 to the War Victory Commission and $7.75 to the local Red Cross.

1918-19: There were no meetings from October 25th to November on account of the influenza ban.

1919-20: The club sent telegrams to Michigan’s senators and representatives in Washington, D.C. requesting they support the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (establishing prohibition) and the Volstead Act. 1941-42: Due to the limitations of transportation in wartime, the club held no out of town meetings and dispensed with the usual guest day for neighboring clubs.

1943-44: The club helped collect 10 tons of tin for the war effort.

A ROOM OF ITS OWN While club members originally met in members’ homes, charter member Mary Lapham, the club’s second president, provided the organization with a permanent meeting place when she gifted the former library building — now the New School Church in Mill Race Historical Village —to the community.

For more than 70 years, the building — originally located on

South Wing Street — served as Northville’s library and home to the Northville Woman’s Club.

Constructed in 1845 by a faction of the Presbyterian New School, it would change hands and uses many times before it was sold to Lapham in 1891. An astute businesswoman, Lapham served as a cashier in her father’s bank, J.S. Lapham & Company, and was named chair of Northville’s library organizing committee in 1889 and elected president of the Ladies Library Association.

In 1899, while attending medical school in Pennsylvania, Lapham officially turned over the building to the Ladies Library Association.

There was, however, one condition.

She stated that the Northville Woman’s Club be allowed to hold its meetings in the building as long as

Molly S. Yerkes, the wife of prominent Northville businessman Robert Yerkes, was among the more than dozen Yerkes women who were members of the Northville Woman’s Club. From the Archives of the Northville Historical Society.

its members desired. This building remained the Northville Woman’s Club’s home until 1964, when the club’s growing membership moved its meetings to the First Presbyterian Church. In 2015, the club changed its meeting venue to the First United Methodist Church of Northville.

In 1904, the Ladies Library Association voted to name the

In its 125th year, the Northville Woman’s Club maintains an incrdible legacy of enhancing the lives of women.

For information about the Northville Woman’s Club, please call (248) 982-1442.

Michele Fecht’s column Past Tense is a regular feature of The ‘Ville.

In 1904, the Ladies Library Association voted to name the library building in honor of Mary Lapham, who gifted the building to the community.

library building in honor of Mary Lapham.

A 1904 article in The Northville Record noted: “The action of the board was ratified by the association at the annual meeting in June and this week the name, ‘Mary E. Lapham Library’ has been placed across the outside of the front of the building in neat lettering.”

Mary Lapham died in January 1936 in St. Augustine, Florida, at the age of 76. The Northville Woman’s Club’s annual report for 1936-37 states that “In cooperation with the Library Board, we are placing a memorial tablet in the library in memory of Dr. Mary Lapham, past president and donor of our building.” That tablet remains today near the front door in the interior of the New School Church.

A LEGACY PRESERVED The threat of demolition of the former library building galvanized members of the Northville Woman’s Club to form the Northville Historical Society in 1964. The charter officers of the society included three men and four women. All four women were members of the Northville Woman’s Club. These included President Ruth M. Chase; Recording Secretary Elizabeth Chapman,

a past president of the Woman’s Club (1956-58) and niece of Mary Lapham; Treasurer Ruth Knapp; and Director Carol Couse, who would become president of the club in 1968.

When Ford Motor Company gifted the property for Mill Race Historical Village to the city in 1972, the first buildings to be moved to the site were the former library building and the Greek Revival Hunter House.

In the Dec. 7, 1972 issue of The Northville Record, writer Jean Day, who served as president of the Northville Woman’s Club from 1972-74 and would become The Northville Record’s first female editor in 1980 wrote the following: “Last Friday Northville Woman’s Club recalled that it had held most of its meetings during its 80-year history in the library building and voted to donate $2,000 toward its restoration. Mrs. John Burkman, wife of the president of the Northville Historical Society and a life member of Woman’s Club expressed her delight with the donation.”

Since 1975, the Northville Woman’s Club has held one meeting a year in the New School Church in homage to its roots and the lasting gift of Mary Lapham.

Meeting Schedule

The Northville Woman’s Club meets at 1:30 p.m. every first and third Friday from October through March. The remaining programs for this year are as follows: Jan. 5: Our Island Jewel: Detroit’s Belle Isle Park / Joel Stone, Detroit Historical Society Jan. 19: Gone With the Wind / Kathleen Marcaccio Feb. 2: The Detroit Public Library: An American Classic / Barbara Cohn, Author Feb. 16: Boomtown: Detroit in the Roaring 20’s / Bree Boettner, Detroit Historical Society March 2: Girls of the Big Band Era / Stuart Johnson March 16: Annual Meeting / Happy Birthday, Northville Woman’s Club: A Celebration of 125 Years For further information about the Northville Woman’s Club, please contact Michele Fecht at (248) 982-1442.

The ‘Ville 25

Emaline Kara, 9, plays the part of Virginia O’Hanlon in Comerica Bank’s window display “Yes, Virginia – There is a Santa Claus.”

Chuck Gaidica reads The Grinch for Edward’s.

Enjoy A Hometown Shopping Experience ‘StoryVille’ adds holiday touch to downtown Northville

By Denise Jenkins

T

here’s something very special about shopping locally, especially in downtown Northville where the merchants are also often your neighbors. With every dollar you spend, you are supporting your community in more ways than one.

And there is immediate gratification in that.

The shopping experience is also more rewarding. With our diversity of shops, you are sure to find the perfect gift, and most of the merchants will wrap it for you.

It’s fun and easy, plus saves you time and money on shipping and wrapping it yourself.

Downtown Northville certainly has a lot to offer in a very walkable environment. Park in any one of the lots in town and you are close to shopping and shipping, ATMs, breakfast-lunch-dinner, entertainment – candy, flowers, and ice cream for kids and adults. There are a variety of women’s and men’s clothiers, stocking Detroit-ish wear, Michigan plus Great Lakes “stuff ”, warm snuggly choices, classics, kids clothes and shoes.

26 The ‘Ville

The Knickerbocker Group window was decorated by ColorfuLaura.

There are books, bikes, and bakeries. Jewelry is always in style and Northville shoppers will find nothing but the very best. You can find what you need to decorate your home – and perfect gifts for the home from ten dollars to ten times ten dollars. There is artwork for sale, on exhibit or you can even create your own. The services you need – framing, shoe repair, manicures, haircuts – it’s all right there in a charming downtown district.

This holiday season there is a bonus to your shopping excursion in

downtown Northville. Experience “StoryVille” through the end of December. You’ll notice many of the windows are decorated to tell classic, cherished holiday and winter tales – including about Frosty, the Grinch, the Nutcracker, Jack Frost – just to name a few.

In all there are 24 stories being told throughout downtown. As you stroll through town you can see the story come to life in the windows – and hear it being read by celebrity readers including: Chuck Gaidica, Jasen Magic, Blaine Fowler from WDVD, Northville Mayor Ken Roth,

Fire Chief Steve Ott, Lisa Barry from WEMU, Chris Edmonds from WNIC, author Michele Fecht, The ‘Ville publisher Kurt Kuban and others. The recordings are playing outside the stores, adding another wonderful holiday touch to the downtown shopping experience.

It’s a family-friendly, free experience for visitors of all ages, all day – every day. Stop in and introduce yourself to the shopkeepers and ask them to tell you their story.

Give yourself a gift this holiday.

Feel good when you support your neighborhood merchants. Enjoy the personal service. Bundle up and take a stroll through downtown Northville, enjoying the magic of the windows and shopping. Grab a treat, a hot chocolate, or a coffee and enjoy the festive town center. It promises to warm your heart, and hopefully, rekindle the joy of the season.

For a little preview of the StoryVille recordings, you can also hear them by visiting enjoynorthville.com.

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ALL AGREEMEN

out & about YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NORTHVILLE THIS MONTH

Shoe Year’s Eve Trek at Maybury State Park Sunday, December 31 from 10-11 a.m.

Organizers of this event are hoping for plenty of snow, but the event will be fun either way. Maybury State Park, Friends of Maybury, Gazelle Sports, RunDTP and the Northville Road Runners are organizing this non-competitive activity. Depending on the conditions, participants will either run, walk, hike, snowshoe or even ski. It’s up to the individual. The only requirement is getting outdoors and having a good time. The event is free. Use Maybury’s main Eight Mile entrance and meet at the trailhead shelter. For more information on Shoe Year’s Eve Trek contact the Maybury State Park Office (248) 349-8390.

New Year’s Eve Dinner Theater at Genitti’s Sunday, December 31 at 6:30 p.m.

Genitti’s Hole-In-The-Wall (108 E. Main Street in Downtown Northville) will host a special New Year’s Eve Dinner Theater featuring the music of Neil Diamond and Dean Martin.

Dinner will be served family style starting with Italian wedding soup and garlic bread, pasta, antipasto salad, baked chicken with vegetable, Italian steak with potato, Italian

28 The ‘Ville

sausage with green peppers and onions, and cannoli for dessert. At the conclusion of dinner, everyone will head into the theater to see the show.

Organizers promise to have you home by midnight. Cost is $65 per person.

To make a reservation, call (248) 349-0522. For more information, visit www.genittis.com.

dancing, appetizers and prizes.

They will dim the lights and do a big countdown at noon. The cost is $8. Reserve a spot by calling (248) 305-2851.

favorite pajamas and, of course, bring their favorite American Doll along. The event will feature pizza, snacks and drinks. The cost is $12 per child. Please RSVP by Jan. 8 by calling (248)349-4140.

First Friday Experience in Downtown Northville

Coloring for Grownups at the Library Wednesday, January 3 from 1-3 p.m.

Northville District Library’s Adult Services will host this fun event designed just for adults. According to the library staff, coloring can calm the mind and promote relaxation and wellness. The library will supply the coloring pages, as well as colored pencils, markers and crayons. The event will take place in the Carlo Meeting Room. You must register to participate by visiting northvillelibrary.org, calling (248) 349-3020 or stopping by the library’s information desk on the main level.

Friday, January 5 from 5-9 p.m.

On the first Friday of every month the galleries and boutiques of Downtown Northville host special hours for the First Friday Experience. The participating galleries will feature artists, trunk shows, demonstrations and specialty products. There are more than 50 shops and galleries to visit. Some of the participating galleries include: Dancing Eye Gallery, Northville Art House, Northville Gallery, Starring “The Gallery”, Tiffany Art Glass and The Urban Pearl. And, after you get all shopped out, make sure to stop into one of Downtown Northville’s great restaurants or watering holes.

For more information, visit www. enjoynorthville.com/first-fridays.

2018 After Party Celebration Thursday, January 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

If you miss the big countdown on New Year’s Eve, fear not. Northville Senior Adult Services will be hosting a special party at the senior center (303 W. Main Street) for those who didn’t stay up but still want to celebrate the New Year with a group of other active seniors. Get dressed up in your favorite party outfit and ring in the New Year with music,

American Girl Party Friday, January 12 from 6-8 p.m.

Northville Parks and Recreation will host this event for children ages 4-10 at the Northville Community Center, 303 W. Main Street. Participants are invited to attend wearing their

Jazz@The Point Sunday, January 14 at 7 p.m.

Tipping Point Theatre (361 E. Cady Street) will host award-winning vocalist and songwriter Kathy Kosins, who will perform as part of the popular Jazz@The Point series.

Presented by Tipping Point Theatre and 2 Stones Events, this is the second of the five-show series that features great live music, and also wine tasting and appetizers. Kosins will be backed by Sean Dobbins on drums, Cliff Monear on keys and Marion Hayden playing the upright bass. Tickets are $30 per show.

For more information, visit www. tippingpointtheatre.com/jazzthepoint.

Parent’s Night Out Friday, January 26 from 6-8 p.m.

Calling all parents looking for a little time away from the kids, Northville Parks and Recreation will host a special Parent’s Night Out at the Northville Community Center, 303 W. Main Street. Parents can drop off the kids for a couple hours and head out for a little break. And, of course, kids will get a break from their parents. The event will feature live entertainment, crafts and games.

Pizza, snacks, and drinks will be provided. The cost is $15 per child. To register, call (248)349-4140.

EDITOR’S NOTE The Community Bulletin Board Page is just what it says. If you have events, photos or accomplishments you’d like to share with the community, please email Editor Kurt Kuban at kurtkuban@gmail.com.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

Adding a Splash of Beauty The Northville Beautification Commissions (in both the city and township) recently hosted the Northville Community 28th Annual Beautification Awards at the First Presbyterian Church of Northville.

The groups have spent three decades recognizing local businesses that have maintained their properties in a way that beautifies the community.

The recipients in the township are: • Aisin World Corp. of America • Applebee’s Restaurant • Cantoro’s • Cedarbrook • Chase Bank • Deadwood Bar and Grill • Hidden Springs Veterinary Clinic • IAV • L. J. Griffin Funeral Home • Moose Lodge • Noah Properties • Northville Township Hall • Oakmont of Northville • Patio Plus • Rocky’s Restaurant • Rusty Bucket • Sunrise Assisted Living • Top of the Cone • ZF Group

Diane Pittaway (right) presents Elizabeth’s Bridal Manor owner Elizabeth Clancy an award during the Northville Community 2017 Beautification Awards.

The city award winners are: • Angela Carson Photography • Casterline Funeral Home • Community Financial Credit Union • Corriveau Law • Elizabeth’s Bridal Manor • First Presbyterian Church • First United Methodist Church • Franklin Center of Northville • Fraternal Order of Eagles • Garage Grill and Fuel Bar • Gardenviews

Always Remember A modest gathering of local residents celebrated Veterans Day with members of the Northville VFW Post 4012 around the veterans memorial on Main Street near the post.

Northville Mayor Ken Roth and Post Commander Mark Newman provided the remarks for the solemn occasion. Here VFW members prepare to engage in a 21-gun salute at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Photo by John Heider

• • • • • • • • •

Good Time Party Store Inch Memorial Kelly and Kelly, PC Main-Seven, LLC/Cross Fit & 540 S. Main Margo’s Salon/Holistic Chiropractic North American Legion Post 147 Northville Art House Northville City Hall Northville Garden Club Park

• • • • • • • • •

Northville Town Square Northville Winery & Brewing Company Our Lady of Victory Church & School Red Dot Coffee Company Rotary Park Singh Development Company Starbucks Studio 324 Tipping Point Theatre

welcome to northville The Northville Board of Education unanimously approved the appointment of Aaron Baughman as the district’s new assistant superintendent of instruction. Baughman comes to Northville from Wayne-Westland Community Schools, where he had been employed for 16 years, serving as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, director of Professional Development, and ultimately executive director of curriculum overseeing K-12 curriculum for the district.

Baughman succeeds Deanna Barash, who

left the district in September for another job opportunity.

Superintendent Mary Kay Gallagher called Baughman “a passionate educator and lifelong learner” who brings a wealth of experience promoting student learning through collaborative relationships between teachers, administrators and the community.

“We are happy to have Aaron joining our central office leadership team and are excited about the depth and breadth of experience he will bring to Northville Public Schools,” Gallagher said.

Baughman has been married for 20 years to his wife Jennifer Baughman, a middle school teacher

in South Redford. They have two children, a son, Malachi, who is 13, and his daughter, Molly, who is 10.

He is excited about the opportunity.

“I am eager to begin the work of developing and cultivating relationships across the district to benefit the students and staff of Northville Public Schools,” Baughman said. “I had the opportunity to meet with many stakeholders in the district during the selection process and I can tell that this is a district where great people make great things happen every day. That is an exciting outlook and I can’t wait to dive in and get started.”

The ‘Ville 29

It’s Your Business Corriveau Law

Richard and Joe Corriveau

A Family Tradition Serving the needs of Northville for a quarter century

W

hen attorney Richard Corriveau was looking to expand his practice back in the early 1990s, he took notice of Northville. After having spent many years at Ford Motor Company working primarily on workers compensation cases, Corriveau decided to branch out on his own.

He first rented some office space in Livonia and after settling some successful cases, he was looking to buy his own building.

“Northville seemed to be an up and coming community, and it seemed like a great place to do business,” said Corriveau, who grew up in northwest Detroit.

In 1991, Corriveau purchased a small office on S. Main Street

30 The ‘Ville

next to the VFW hall, and began what you can only describe as a love affair with the Northville community. Soon thereafter he moved his family to Northville, and still resides here today. In fact, all but one of his five adult children (and all 11 grandchildren) still live in Northville.

Practicing personal injury, family law and workers comp cases, Corriveau’s firm thrived. In 2001, Corriveau had the opportunity to purchase a historic Tudor at 324 E. Main in the heart of downtown Northville (next to the current Starbucks).The building dates back to the 1930s, when it was built by physicians Harold and Irene Sparling.

The move took place about the same time Corriveau’s son Marc, who had recently graduated from law school, joined his father and founded the Corriveau Law Firm.

Another son, Joe, would soon follow Marc’s footsteps, and join the firm.

In fact, he took over management of the firm when Marc was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2007.

Having just celebrated their 25th anniversary in Northville, the Corriveaus are still going strong.

Joe takes on family and criminal law and personal injury cases, while Richard, who has been practicing law for 42 years, still works on workers compensation and personal injury cases. They’ve also begun offering estate planning services, which Joe says is a growing need in the community.

Grateful for their success, the Corriveau family has tried to pay it forward with community service. Marc served in the State Legislature, while Joe ran for City Council and currently serves on the Northville District Library Board of Trustees. You may have also noticed the large Toys for Tots train in the parking lot next to Starbucks.

The Corriveau Law office is located in a historic building at 324 E. Main in the heart of downtown Northville (next to Starbucks).

Corriveau Law has been a drop-off location for the annual toy drive run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for three years now.

“We are always looking for ways to improve our community and give back,” Joe Corriveau said.

plan in place. It would be no different than not getting inoculated. We’re all going to get sick or old, and we’re all going to die. From a financial standpoint, it just makes sense to take care of it today so it will be in place for 30 years. And we continue

where the money is going or if it’s a worthy cause. It’s not too expensive for people to participate in. All they have to do is just buy one more toy when they’re out shopping for the kids. And it’s one of the most appreciated charities. This is

We are always looking for ways to improve our community and give back.”

Joe Corriveau Corriveau Law The ‘Ville: Joe, how would you describe Corriveau Law? Joe Corriveau: We pride ourselves at being accessible to the needs of the community. We have an open door policy. There’s always somebody here.

Plus, all of us live in town, and that adds to our accountability, because it gives us additional pressure. We’re not in some ivory tower in Southfield or Detroit. I run into a lot of clients in Kroger. In fact, most of my clients know where I live.

The ‘Ville: Why is estate planning becoming such a large part of your business?

Joe Corriveau: My practice’s primary focus beginning this year is in large part to serve the community’s growing need for estate plans and wills. I always tell people I don’t like the word estate, because people say ‘I don’t have an estate.’ But an estate means anything you would want to avoid having your children arguing about.

The number of Americans without a will or trust in place is just staggering. The more I’ve educated myself on this issue the more I realize most people don’t understand the issue. Everybody needs one. I urge everybody to go and get a basic estate

to provide maintenance if you need to make changes.

The ‘Ville: Community service seems to be a big issue for you guys. We’ve been impressed with your efforts for Toys for Tots. Why did you choose that particular charity to support?

Joe Corriveau: We chose Toys for Tots because, as an organization, it is so well established and trusted.

So people don’t have to worry about

something that puts a smile on a kid’s face.

The ‘Ville: Why did you decide to go into law? And has your career turned out the way you envisioned when you left law school?

Joe Corriveau: My dad was a major influence on me, and the path I’ve taken. He inspired me to go into law.

Also, thankfully, I found out I like being my own boss, and this job has given me the opportunity to do so. It’s

also given me the opportunity to work in the same community as my home.

The hours alone I save commuting has made a major impact on my kids’ lives. I can get them to school and to games.

The ‘Ville: What is it about law that you love?

Joe Corriveau: I’m able to communicate things to people that are really impactful on their lives.

I’ve been able to solve problems and come up with solutions to problems that other people didn’t think could be solved. I take a lot of personal satisfaction from that. I feel a lot of pride what the job has given me in terms of how people I care about respect me. It’s nice to have a job that your family respects.

I think people trust me that I have their best interest in mind. When I get called by my clients, they think I have the answers for everything. The best part of being a lawyer I think is the respect the general public has for us.

The Corriveau Law office is located at 324 E. Main in downtown Northville. You can contact them directly at (248) 380-6800. For more information, visit www. corriveaulaw.com.

Corriveau Law has been a Toys For Tots drop-off location for three years.

The ‘Ville 31

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