H Wishing you all a happy and peaceful New Year!

Clarkston
COLUMNS
News about the
Clarkston Community
Historical Society Activities, exhibitions,
people and plans
for CCHS members
Board Members
Alma Goldner
248.625.4654
Jennifer Arkwright
President
248.922.3757
Jonathan Smith
Treasurer 248.625.8624
who joined at the
n
James Schultz
Cemetery Walk
248.625.3062
Kim Huttenlocher
Secretary/Education
248.625.2499
Toni Smith
Museum Director
248.625.8624
Bart Clark
248.922.9166
Lydia Strnad
Newsletter Photos
Design
248.922.0019
Kelly Crawford
Publicity
248.625.6624
w
New Members
Glenida Olafsson
248.394.1180
Debbie DeVault
Vice-President
248.625.0153
Annual Membership
You’re Invited!
6495 Clarkston Road
Clarkston, MI 48346
& Heritage
museum
Clarkston
community
Historical
society
This wonderful map offers many great
stories that connect both Clarkston and all of
Oakland County to the Civil War.
"I think the map
creates an opportunity to share Oakland
County Civil War era history with students
and adults," said Melissa Luginski, who
researched many of the stories for Oakland
County. "It also creates an opportunity for
The map is printed in color on heavy
stock and unrolls to 42” wide by 36” high
and it would make a great gift to the history
buff in your family. Call today!
meeting
The map, which highlights stories about what
the people of Oakland
County accomplished
during the Civil War, is
now available to the public
for $20 and can be purchased at the CCHS
office by calling 248.922.0270.
The map also
notes the locations of
12 confirmed Underground Railroad stations
and 13 unconfirmed
Underground Railroad
stations that exist today
in Oakland County.
Cultural Tourists (including Genealogists)
to travel Oakland County and experience
our many Civil War era and Underground
Railroad points of interest."
Tuesday, January 24th • 7 pm
W
ould you like to know more about the
Clarkston citizens who fought for the
cause? Or where the nearest Underground
Railroad stop was? Then
you will certainly find
the new Oakland County
Civil War Map to be a
wonderful source of human interest and historical
information.
These include:
• A remarkable story of a woman from Holly
who enlisted disguised as a man and later
became a spy for the Union.
• The Rochester soldier spared from a Confederate hanging because of the intervention
of a confederate family with whom he had
shared his food rations.
• The Lake Orion teacher who became the
Commander of Michigan’s 102nd Colored
Regiment.
Library Meeting Room
Join us for an informal
Annual Meeting.
Hear what we are up to
and just as important;
let us know what you are thinking!
New Oakland County
Civil War Map
Now on Sale Toni Smith
Winter 2012
Wishing you all a happy
and peaceful New Year!
n
From the President
2011
ended on a festive, glowing
note at the lovely and historic
home of CCHS members Joe & Melissa
Luginski who graciously hosted a holiday
gathering of more than 120 guests and
members of the historical society. Thank
you to the Luginski’s for sharing their
historic home for the evening. Every
room was illuminated in candlelight and
adorned in the greens of the season. The
evening included something for everyone with a selection of hor d’ oeuvres,
desserts and cocktails; also genealogy
and silent auction tables, singing performances and the opportunity to tour the
original Clark home.
The historical society’s membership
grew that night with almost 40 new and
returning memberships. We are elated!
Thank you for supporting the society’s
mission which is to preserve the Clarkston
area history and educate the community
Holiday Party
Bruce & Amy Annett Jr.
Chris & Julie Busyn
Dan & Lori Anne Dickerson
Dan & Susie Dubeck
Joe & Theresa Fabrizio
John & Gail Glowski
Eric & Nancy Haven
Clark & Eileen Headrick
Mike & Jennifer Herrmann
Ric & Carola Huttenlocher
Mark & Beth Kirchner
Paul Kivin
Bruce & Margret McDermott
Jennifer Radcliff
Deb Rakoczy
Frank & Liz Schoebel
Sarah Schultz
Robert & Leigh Sowles
Jason & Jill Thomas
Patrick & Kathryn Tooman
Mike & Helen West
Robert & Sara Wunsche
w
about it through the Clarkston Heritage
Museum exhibits and other programming.
The society was founded in 1974 and the
museum has provided fresh, interesting
and professionally-crafted semi-annual
exhibits since 1999!
For Members who weren’t able to
renew memberships at the holiday party,
you’ll find the renewal envelope included
in this newsletter for your convenience
(saves on postage!). And remember,
CCHS Membership not only gives you
the pride in supporting the society’s
mission for our community but it also
includes Members-only benefits such as:
a 15% discount on all CCHS merchandise sold at Art in the Village, Green’s
Market and by appointment at our office;
discounts on CCHS event tickets such
as this year’s Ghost Tour (May) and Barn
Tour (October); free admission to CCHS
lecture programs; and good reading with
this newsletter, Columns, mailed at least
twice a year which will give you first
notice of exhibit openings and special
events or programs as well as local history
articles and museum acquisitions. All
donations are tax-deductible as we are a
501c-3 organization.
We have put together a full calendar of activity this year. Next up is
The Underground Railroad in Michigan program to be held February 22,
7 p.m. in the Library Meeting Room.
The presenter, Rochelle Danquah, will be
emphasizing our local area.
Please take a few minutes to register
with Kroger online for their Community
Rewards Program … see the article for full
instructions. Kroger will send CCHS a
check quarterly just because we shop there!
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful
New Year!
Jen Arkwright
What’s New
(and Exciting)
in the Museum?
Toni Smith
E
ven through the hectic holiday season, we’ve still
had some wonderful items added to our collection.
Case in point, I was actually at a Christmas party held in
a private home when a friend handed me an autograph
album that belonged to Washington Street resident
Vivian O’Roark from 1930 - 1938. By 1936, Vivian was
a student at Clarkston High School and many of the
signatures included in the book are from local students
and teachers. There is also a reference to a couples dance
contest that Vivian took part in. What fun that must
have been! A special thank you to Mary O’Roark (no
relation) who found the album at an antique mall in
another city and thought it belonged in our museum.
From Donald Steiner we received a porcelain urn
with a matching pedestal that once graced the entryway
of the Caribou Inn. The inn was located on the Millpond at the corner of W. Washington and N. Main,
where the parking lot is now. It’s amazing that an item
like this could still turn up, even though the building
was demolished in the mid-1950s. Thank you to Donald
for keeping the urn safe all these years, and for his wonderful donation to our museum.
As most of you already know, much of the profit
from our Antique Tent at Art in the Village goes into
a museum budget for purchasing Clarkston items. We
recently purchased two wonderful pieces of ephemera to
add to the collection.
The first is a 3½” x 5½” card for
Diamond Dyes. This advertising piece
suggests to ‘Boys and Girls’ that they can
use Diamond Dyes to change the color
of their pen ink and thereby have the
option of colored ink. On the reverse it
is imprinted with the name “CHAS. M.
SMITH, Clarkston, Michigan” who was
a local druggist in the late 1800s.
From the same source came a truly
remarkable piece of history. Surprisingly,
it is an invitation to a birthday party!
The event was held on Wednesday, February 22, 1865 at the Clarkston Station
Hotel and was a celebration of George
Washington’s Birthday. The Clarkston
Band, made up of local musicians,
provided the music. Both of these items
are a wonderful addition to the Heritage
Museum collection and if it weren’t for
all the many donations we receive for
the Antique Tent, we wouldn’t be able
to purchase items like these when they
become available. So thank you to our
donors and let’s hope for more great
donations this year!
Major Donations
Assure Success
in 2012
W
e are very pleased to announce
that the CCHS had two generous benefactors over the holidays who
each donated a substantial amount of
lovely antiques for our next antique
sale in the fall.
First there was Hester Hull, a CCHS
member who has donated antiques for
our sale many years in a row. Hester has
wonderful taste and the items she gave
us included a beautiful upholstered fainting couch, cast iron animals and banks, a
great oak judge’s bench and many, many
more lovely things. Some of which were
already used in our Holiday Party Silent
Auction and earned the CCHS over
$2,000, way to go Hester!
Then there was a fateful phone call
from Earl and Carolyn Fenningdorf of
Troy, Michigan. Would we be interested
in some antique furniture? Lots and
lots of antique furniture? “How much”
we asked? “Bring a moving van and a
crew of volunteers” was the answer! We
Toni Smith
had to act fast, but thanks to some great
help we were able to get everything in
a single night and what an incredible
donation it was. There is an oak pedestal
table, beautiful mission oak carved
bench, chairs, primitives, early painted
goat cart, Jenny Lind twin beds, tools,
a buggy seat, unusual slat wash stand/
coffee table, artwork and so much more.
This was the largest donation we have
ever received for our Antique Sale, and
we can’t possibly thank Earl and Carolyn
enough. They even provided our volunteers with dinner after everything was
loaded, now that’s generosity!
Clarkston
Community
Historical
Society
2012
Calendar
of Events
JANUARY
SEPTEMBER
Tuesday, 24th, 7 pm • Library Meeting Room
Join us for an informal Annual Meeting. Hear
what we are up to and just as important; let us
know what you are thinking!
Saturday, 15th • 10 am to 5 pm
Sunday, 16th • 10 am to 4 pm
Our biggest fundraiser. Held
at Depot Park, CCHS runs
four tents: Cider and Donuts,
Clarkston Merchandise, Silent Auction and the
Antique Tent.
Annual Membership Meeting
FEBRUARY
The Underground Railroad in Michigan
Wednesday, 22nd, 7 pm • Library Meeting Room
Presented by Rochelle Danquah with an emphasis
on our surrounding area.
MARCH
Oral History Project Meeting
Wednesday, 14th, 1:30 pm
Library Meeting Room
We would like to start this project up again. If
you are willing to record the stories of long
time residents, then please join us.
APRIL
How to Research the Genealogy of
your House
With all these great antique items,
we look forward to holding our tent
sale in the fall. It’s a guaranteed success
and we are so very grateful to everyone
involved. And FYI, if you have anything
you would like to add to our sale just
give us a call at the office 248.922.0270
to arrange for pick-up.
Tuesday, 17th, 7 pm • Library Meeting Room
Ron Campbell, Principal Planner/Preservation
Architect for Oakland County Planning &
Economic Development, will provide a presentation on how to research and date your
home or building.
MAY
Ghost Walk
. . . wonderful addition to the
Heritage Museum collection.
Now Accepting
Applications for
Art in the Village!
What would YOU
o you know any artists who
would love Clarkston’s fall
picturesque setting of Depot Park
and friendly, buying crowds? We
are now accepting applications for
the 2012 show which will be held
this year September 15 and 16.
Interested artists can go to www.
clarkstonhistorical.org and click
on the Art in the Village link to
download an application and show
guidelines. We are always looking
for fresh, new work so please send
referrals to info@clarkstonhistorical.
org. Thanks!
page 3.
D
like to do, see or hear?
Fill out the survey on
Date TBD
We’d like to hold a historical ghost walk (they
have them in Boston, Nantucket, Savannah and
many other historical towns). Groups are guided
through downtown Clarkston where they stop
and hear about our local spirits and interesting
historical facts. Are you willing to help or do you
have a story to tell us about your house?
JUNE
Library Parking Lot Sale
Sunday, 10th, 12 noon to 5 pm • Library Parking
Lot CCHS will be running the Food Concession
Stand
JULY
CCHS History Day Camp for Kids
Sunday, 15th, 10 am to 3 pm • Library Grounds
An all-day event focusing on both local and
regional history. Activities, old-fashioned games,
re-enactors, early cooking and more.
AUGUST
Titanic Remembered
Tuesday, 21st, 7 pm • Library Meeting Room
A wonderful program presented by professional
historyteller Maureen Esther. Afterwards, stop by
the Heritage Museum to see our very own treasures and enjoy a refreshing ice cream sundae.
Art in the Village
OCTOBER
Barn Tour
Saturday, 27th
1 pm to 4 pm
Visit several
local barns
and take a
step back into
Clarkston history. Refreshments, farm
crafts and tour guides will be included. We are
also hoping to organize a Barn Dance later that
evening. Shhh, it’s a secret!
NOVEMBER
What Do You Collect?
Thursday, 12th, 7 pm • Library Meeting Room
You’re invited to an informal ‘Show and Tell’.
Bring in a small sample of what you collect and
tell us all about it. A few political items will also be
showcased as a nod to the November elections.
DECEMBER
Clarkston Garden Club Holiday Green’s
Market
Saturday, 1st, 9 am to 4 pm • Church of the Resurrection, 6490 Clarkston Rd.
We will be selling our unique Clarkston gifts at
this event. Think Christmas presents!
CCHS Holiday Party - Date TBD
Ongoing Projects and Volunteer Opportunities
Collection Management: Help Toni Smith
(Museum Director) in the Heritage Museum.
Museum Docent: Be a guide for the occasional
group tour (2 or 3 a year).
Oral History Project: All you need to do is be
a good listener!
Merchandise Chairperson: Help us figure out
what to sell as CCHS merchandise.
Grant Writing: Occasionally we hear of a great
opportunity. They are pretty straight forward
forms and we could use someone to put it all
together for us.
New Program Ideas: Help us brainstorm, how
about a tea and fashion show or a float in the
4th of July Parade? What about an Antique
Appraisal day at the museum?