Movies and Other Events in Ecorse, Fall 1950

By Kathy Warnes

Movies and Other Events in Ecorse, Fall 1950

Going to the movies in 1950s Ecorse was a fun experience. Remember the Harbor Theater on West Jefferson and Outer Drive? In fact, there was at least one movie theater on Jefferson before Andrew Bzovi built the Harbor Theater, the Ecorse Theater.

 

 

 (Thanks to Leta Blakeman Kekich for sending this article and others that her father, Morris “Sandy” Blakeman wrote for the Mellus Newspapers in Ecorse in the 1950s. Remember the Harbor Theater?  Escaping into the magic world of Superman, The 1950s Phantom of the Opera and  Disney cartoons at the Harbor Theater was one of the fun things about growing up in Ecorse.)

Sidelites. . .

By M. Sandy Blakeman

From silent movies to the era of 3-D and wide screen, the Bzovi family of Ecorse has brought entertainment to countless thousands of Downriver residents.

Andrew Bzovi and his family moved to Ecorse in 1929 and almost immediately afterwards brought motion pictures to the city. They closed the Ecorse Theater in 1948 and built the new Harbor Theater at the intersection of West Jefferson and Outer Drive. Dan Bzovi, son of Andrew and Florence Bzovi, is manager and co-owner of the Harbor Theater with his father and has closely watched the city’s progress. Bzovi emphasizes the important role the youth of a city plays in its development. “Ecorse is still to a great extent dominated by pioneers,” insists Bzovi. “Today’s problems must be met by today’s youth as well as the older generations.”

“First of all,” Bzovi suggests, “we need execution of new and modern ideas in Ecorse and the only way we can efficiently reap the benefits of these ideas is by organizing our progress-minded citizens. It has been my experience to witness the weakening of our community structure when a suggested idea for improvement was termed obsolete by certain pioneer citizens because it had been investigated several years ago and was found unworthy of further comment.

“Much of the progress in Ecorse can be attributed to young leaders,” Bzovi continued. “Check the rapid growth of several Ecorse business places. Almost invariably these establishments are controlled by young leaders. I do not mean older folks are not progress minded. I do mean old ideas should be examined more closely and new ideas should be given preferential treatment if they are worthy. Give the driver’s wheel to those who will bring progress to Ecorse.”

Need Chain Stores

Bzovi believes chain stores in Ecorse would bring new life to the business sections.  He reports however, that in his opinion, the chain stores were not given the opportunity to establish here because much of the suitable property is owned by people who asked fantastic prices for it.”

“The property under the circumstances,” Bzovi says, “will remain vacant for a long time. Several chain stores have investigated and were met with opposition from the start. We need competition,” Bzovi insists. “We need competition to keep us on our toes and to give our people more reason to ship and live in Ecorse. We need competition to help us plan the future of Ecorse.”

Organizations Help

The Harbor Theater was constructed at a time when the future of the entire motion picture industry was threatened by the popularity of television. Despite these odds and the serious handicap of obtaining building materials during the war years, Bzovi was assisted by many local progress-minded civic organizations who helped him obtain approval for the construction of the Harbor Theater.

“Faith in your home town,” Bzovi concludes, “is a necessary ingredient for tomorrow’s progress.”

Ecorse Calendar, Fall 1950

The September issue of the Ecorse Adviser reported that the Great Lakes Steel American Legion Auxiliary Unit 272 would be publicly installing officers in their club rooms on West Jefferson Avenue at Elton on Thursday, September 28, 1950, at 7 p.m.

St. Francis Xavier Church’s Committee on the Festival was held on Monday, September 25, 1950, in the St. Francis School. A House of Wonders booth sponsored by the school children will be added to the festival for Friday, Saturday. A children’s matinee will be on Friday at noon and refreshments will be served.

Roy B. Salliotte American Legion Auxiliary

The new officers of the Roy B. Salliotte Post and Auxiliary were publicly installed on Saturday, September 23, 1950, in the Legion Club rooms, 8 White Street, Ecorse.

Mrs. Ann Miller, installing officers assisted by Mrs. Mildred Wieging, sergeant at arms, installed the auxiliary officers. Ann Cicotte, president, Henrietta Darilek, senior vice president, Augusta Horn, junior vice president, Dorena Manoyian, chaplain; Marie Broughton, secretary and treasurer; Regina Bader, corresponding secretary; Rosa Kirch, sergeant at arms; Helen Ellis, historian. Executive board members are:  Mary Schueter, Ann Miller, Ellea Lajoie and Grace Cyr. Mary Schueter is the retiring president.

The Ecorse Boat Club Auxiliary held their first meeting of the new season on Monday, September 25, 1950, in the Boat Club building on West Jefferson Avenue. A good attendance was on hand to plan activities for the fall.

Halloween Plans

The Ecorse Advertiser reported on October 26, 1950, that over 2,800 Ecorse public and parochial school boys and girls will be the guests of the Ecorse Recreation Department at a Halloween party in their respective schools Tuesday afternoon, October 31. There will be refreshments served.

Each school will make its own plans for the Halloween party.

In the evening the Recreation Department has planned Halloween parties for the 1,000 or more teenagers.

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. there will be movies at School No. 3. From 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. there will be games and dancing at the High School, St. Francis Xavier School, and C.J. Miller School.

Teenagers are invited to any of these parties, William Weeber, Director of Recreation, has announced.

 

 

Al DuHadway Recorded Ecorse History for the Mellus Newspapers

Two Views, 74 Years Apart

Mellus Newspapers

Wednesday, April 2, 1975

By Al DuHadway

Despite a building boom that has seen thousands of new homes and business places constructed throughout the Downriver area, there still can be found buildings that date back nearly a century.

In Ecorse, one of the oldest settlements in this part of Michigan, hundreds of men and women patronize a tavern located in a building which has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 80 years.

Barrett Lafferty, veteran Allen Park city official, recently loaned the Mellus Newspapers a prized old photograph which was taken in 1909.

This week, Frank Rogers, Mellus Newspaper staff photographer, stood on the same spot and with a more modern camera, snapped a picture of the same view.

Lafferty, a peppery Allen Park official, who is not afraid to reveal his age, is quick to point out that he was three years old when he stood in front of the camera on the front steps of his father’s general store.

The late Frank X. Lafferty was a power in Ecorse Township politics for generations and for many years ran the general store in the pioneer village.

As can be seen by the old picture, what is now busy Jefferson Avenue was once a narrow brick street with the rails of the Detroit United Railway interurban street car line running along the edge of the highway.

Lafferty recalls how the streetcars halted in front of the building for unloading of crates and barrels of merchandise that were offered for sale.

Other things were shipped by freight cars on the old Michigan Central Railroad or by boat from Detroit. The cargo was unloaded either at the State Street (now Southfield) dock in Ecorse or landing at the foot of Oak Street in Wyandotte.

Teams of horses delivered goods to the inland farms which have long since become the bustling communities of Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Melvindale and Southgate.

Standing in front of the store is a delivery wagon which was pulled by the faithful old mare, Nance.

“Dad operated the old time general store-the kind you see today in such places as Greenfield Village. He stocked everything you could think of, and if he did not have it he would order it for his customers.

“We delivered everything in those days but the final blow came when a woman called and wanted us to hitch Nance to the wagon and deliver a single spool of thread,” Lafferty recalled.

The elder Lafferty closed the general store but continued to operate a grocery and meat market. After his death, his son Charles ran the business until he joined the Ecorse Fire Department. Charles retired in 1974 as chief of the department.

The Lafferty family had a soft spot in their hearts for their faithful horse and recalled that she lived to be 24 years of age.

Ecorse Officials Struggle to Write History

By Al DuHadway

Mellus Newspapers

Wednesday, April 28, 1976

Two Ecorse officials have undertaken a whale of a job as the city gets ready to observe the nation’s 200^th birthday.

City Assessor Elmer Labadie and Purchasing Agent James Lawrence are heading a committee that intends to publish a Bicentennial history book, but already they are learning that they have a job cut out for themselves.

Labadie’s roots go away back – his great, great grandfather, Alex Descompte Labadie-was granted land in what is now Ecorse in 1701. The land grant was issued by King Louis the XIV of France back in the days when all of the present day Downriver area was a part of the Province of Quebec in the colony of New France.

The two men are learning something this writer discovered many years ago-finding information about the historical old community does not come easy.

Almost30 years ago the late William W. Voisine, Ecorse mayor, named this writer the city historian- an unpaid position with no office space to store records or funds to acquire and preserve old maps, photographs or archives. In attempting to compile a history of the old community, researchers must depend upon local legends – often impossible to document- or try to gather historical tidbits from old land deeds, frequently handwritten in French.

Old photographs and maps must exist somewhere, but they probably are tucked away in attics where the present day owners are either unaware of their existence or reluctant to part with them.

The one single factor that hampers all researchers is the lack of written records. For example, it is known that a hamlet of sorts existed at present day Southfield and Jefferson before the United States came into being, and old timers have often theorized that explorers and missionaries may have halted along the shores as far back as 1679.

On July 24, 1701, Cadillac landed in what is now Detroit, and the French ruled the territory for the next 59 years before losing it to the British at the close of the French and Indian Wars.

Many of the descendants of the early day settlers trace their origins to the strip of ribbon farms that extended from as far away as Lake St. Clair to the present-day Wyandotte limits.

Following the War of 1812 when the British flag was hauled down for the last time the little settlement was known as Grand Port.Grand Port, which existed before Michigan became a state, had streets which remain in their present location to this very day.

An 1820 map, located in the Burton Historical Museum in Detroit, gives an indication as to the age of the community by listing Revolutionary War era heroes as thoroughfares. Streets were named for Jefferson, Monroe, Webster and Jackson as well as French settlers St. Cosme, Labadie and LeBlanc.

In 1827, when Ecorse Township was established, the name Grandport faded from the picture and the settlement gradually became known as Ecorse.

It was not until 1902, more than a century after the first settlers landed on the shores, that Ecorse officials got around to incorporating as a village.So, one can only rely on 74-year old written records to get an official version of the early day workings of the community. Township records, which dated back for 131 years, were lost when Ecorse Township was dissolved in 1958 with the creation of Southgate.

In searching for information about Ecorse’s colorful past, Labadie is attempting to determine which is the oldest building in town.In his official capacity as assessor, he has access to records that date back to the earliest days of the Downriver area. Labadie has discovered what he thinks to be the oldest buildings in the Downriver area. They are the old San Succi farmhouse on Pepper Road, and an old brick dwelling located behind a drug store at West Jefferson and Labadie.

Ecorse Reaps Profit from 1903 Land Swap

By Al DuHadway

Mellus Newspapers, June 1972

Legend tells us that Manhatten Islandwas traded by Indians to early Dutch settlers for a barrel of whiskey and a few trinkets worth $24 – probably the greatest bargain in history.

The annals of the Downriver area tell of a land transaction on a much smaller scale which enabled Ecorse to become one of the wealthiest cities of its size in the nation.

Ecorse was a y ear old village in 1903 when negotiations were begun with officials of neighboring River Rouge to straighten out the jagged boundary between the two communities. Faded, hand-written minutes of Ecorse Village Council meetings tell that “council hed a meeting with the River Rouge village officials in regard to the boundary line between the two towns, etc.”

As a result of the negotiations, River Rouge officials agreed to trade a large section of swampland and marshes along theDetroit River for Florence, Elizabeth, LeBlanc and Cora Streets.

Charles Lafferty, Ecorse fire chief and a descendant of the early day French settlers, recalled hearing how Rouge officials danced with glee after Ecorse councilmen agreed to the transaction, figuring that they had traded worthless swam for valuable residential property.

Today, survivors of that early administration must look back with regret on their “shrewd” bargain. The worthless swamps and marshes are the sites of industrial installations with assessed valuations totaling more than $200,000,000.  Included are the sprawling Great Lakes Steel plants, Dana Corporation, Nicholson Terminal and Dock, the switching yards of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton and Penn Central Railroads, and the slag-producing operations of the Edward C. Levy Company. These firms last year paid nearly two million dollars in taxes to Ecorse.

By contrast, the streets given up by Ecorse now have only a few dozen aging houses, whose tax potential is decreasing yearly. Oddly enough, the land swap did not really clear up the boundary confusion, for as new streets were platted and homes constructed, they often were located squarely on the line between the two communities. There are people living in this area today who sleep in River Rouge, cook their meals in Ecorse and pay taxes to both communities. In a similar manner, there are persons who vote and use Ecorse as their mailing address, but actually live inLincoln Park.

Street pavings, creek relocatings and freeway construction have created similar problems throughout the area served by The Mellus Newspapers, as portions of Melvindale,Allen ParkandLincoln ParkfollowOuter Drive.

One of the most humorous aspects that used to cause confusion was in Southgate. Veteran police officers recall that a tavern is in Wyandotteon Fort near Eureka, but if an unruly drunk is tossed out onto the sidewalk, he will land inSouthgate.

Getting back to the historic land exchange, there are many descendants of the first Ecorse village council members living in the Downriver area today. They probably have heard how the Ecorse Frenchmen “skinned” the River Rouge Frenchmen with their “horse-trading.”

The names of the early day officials can be found on many streets that since have sprung up in the “new” communities of Allen Park, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, Riverview, Southgate and Taylor.

The officials who staged the “land grab” included President Alexis M. Salliotte and Trustees Joseph Reno, George Cicotte, Charles Salliotte, John Maurice, Gustave Raupp and Alex Goodell. Columbus Drouillard was clerk, Charles Montry, treasurer; and Thomas Sommers, assessor.

Ecorse Activities – February 1957

by Kathy Warnes

Ecorse residents were busy with a variety of activities in February 1957.

Schools…Churches…..

Ecorse High School Graduate Disc Jockey in Ann Arbor- Eddie Pietrangelo on Air

Eddie Pietrangelo, sparkplug of the class of 1956 at Ecorse High School, is continuing to make his mark in the realm of higher education.

Although only a second semester freshman at the University of Michigan, Eddie is a disc jockey with two shows, one of them sponsored, broadcasting over WCBM, the Ann Arbor radito station.

Eddie’s evening show, “The Career Hour,” sponsored by Kaiser Aluminum, is broadcast at 11:15 every night and features recorded jazz music. “Jazz Party,” his second dee-jay program hits the air waves from 1 to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays. Taped interviews with top jazz artists appearing in Ann Arbor or Detroit highlight the afternoon show.

During high school, Eddie whose extracurricular activities were legion, was held in high esteem by his classmates, who elected him class president   in his junior and senior years. He also was chosen by fellow members to head the student council, which had, under Eddie’s energetic, imaginative leadership, one of its most successful years.

His other activities included memberships in the National Honor Society, Broadcasters Club, band and choir, Spanish Club and photography group.

Eddie is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Cesidio Pietrangelo of 4312 Seventh. He’s majoring in music education at U. of M., where he is also a member of the famed Marching Band.

Ecorse High Students to Present Play Friday

Seven weeks of grueling rehearsals will be climaxed on February 28, 1957 when 19 Ecorse High School thespians trod the boards in a three act play, “Curtain Going Up.”

A fast moving comedy-mystery thriller, the play will be presented in the high school auditorium. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m.

The play is being staged under the supervision of Miss Helen Garlington, Ecorse High School music teacher.

Members of the cast are Art Whitefield, Paul Henderson, Connie Bakos, Theresa White, James Lee, Marvin Williams, Judith Holmes, Barbara O-Bannon, Mickey Smurda, Bonnie Rose, Sara Batte, Junaita Salas, Willa Mae Nelson, Pat Christie, James Holbrook, Don Foster and Larry O’Laughlin.

The people of Ecorse are urged to attend the play. Tickets will be on sale at the box office until curtain time and may be purchased for 50 cents, 75 cents, and one dollar.

Chef Uses French-Indian Recipe to Prepare Muskrat

Good news on the gourmet front is the announcement of an Aquaba – muskrat- supper to be held beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 8, at the St. Francis Xavier School auditorium, Outer Drive at West Jefferson, Ecorse.

Sponsored by the St. Anne Rosary Altar Society, the supper will provide an “eat treat” for muskrat supper fans who have little opportunity to enjoy the delicacy as prepared y Gene Maurice. A renowned French style chef, Maurice prepares the muskrat from a jealously guarded French-Indian recipe handed down through the family for several generations.

The muskrat considered an epicurean delicacy when correctly prepared, is one of the cleanest of all animals, living on roots, herbs, and marsh grasses.

Many local residents, Catholics included, are not aware of the reason they may eat muskrat on Fridays, since it obviously is not fish.

In fact, this is the only region where muskrat is permitted to be served on Friday by the Catholic Church. A papal decree made this permissible back in the early 1700s, when during a famine, the early French settlers were hard pressed to obtain food. They appealed to the Pope, who granted a special dispensation for the people from Port Huron to Toledo along the waterway, and in certain parts of Canada. This right has never been revoked.

Anyone who would prefer fish instead of muskrat may have it if they order it when purchasing tickets a few days in advance of the supper.

Mrs. Maria Lambrix, president of the altar society, has named Mrs. Russell Goodell and Mrs. Leo McCourt co-chairman of the supper.

Tickets may be purchased from members and at the door. Reservations may be made by calling Mrs. Lambrix, DU-1-3118.

Father and Son Dinner

A Father and Son Banquet sponsored by the Ecorse Presbyterian Church will be held Thursday, February 28, 1957 at 6:30 p.m. at the Leonard Duckett Center. The dinner will be served by the members of the Woman’s Bible Class.

The program for the evening will feature magic tricks and a Punch and Judy puppet show by Harold Ramm.

Honor Three Girl Scout Leaders

Three Ecorse Girl Scout leaders will be presented with three year pins on February 28, 1957, during a recognition dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Wyandotte.

Receiving the pins will be Mrs. Inez Haynes, neighborhood chairman; Mrs. Helen Childress, neighborhood camp chairman, and  Mrs. Mabel Dalkins.

Others attending the dinner from Ecorse will be Mrs. Maud Peffard, group organizer; Mrs. Mary Parks, finance chairman; Mrs. Beverly DuHadway, public relations chairman; Mrs. Vivian Knipe, Mrs. Dorothy Covert and Mrs. Helen Elkins.

Police and Politics

No Nuthin’ on Levy’s Truck

Ecorse police officers Larry Bedo and John Jacobs had a difficult time deciding what charge to lodge against a man they arrested Monday, February 25, 1957. It wasn’t that they didn’t have a specific charge; it was a case of having too many.

The officers stopped Levy Lewis for questioning and learned that:

Lewis had no permanent address, no chauffeur’s license, and no truck registration.

The truck had license plates, but they were obscured. A further check showed that the truck had no tail lights. No turned indicators (required on trucks). No brakes, no lights, no horn.

Lewis was picking up junk from Ecorse alleys without a license, so the officers charged him with violation of a city ordinance which prohibits junking with a license. Judge Alexander Barbour ordered Lewis to pay a $15 fine.

Ecorse Headache-Take Ax to Peak Budget Demands

City department heads submitted record budget requests totaling $2,271,803 and handed Ecorse city officials a king sized headache to match.

The request represents an increase of nearly $100,000 over current appropriations with no allowances for pay raises. A police department request for $289,000 to be set aside for a new police station is not included in the peak figure.

The task of paring the requests into a semblance of last year’s $2,189,000 budget began February 22 at the opening budget session. City officials have only a month to get the proposed budget into shape before April 1, when it must be adopted.

A $300,000 appropriation for debt service is a required budget item.

 

Meeting Ecorse Past Mayors

By Kathy Warnes

Hi everyone,

I am aiming to do as many biographies of Ecorse mayors as possible. If you have any information about Ecorse mayors would you please email me at kathywarnes@yahoo.com or kathywarnes@gmail.com ?  And, if you have any more information about Eli Ciungan, Richard Manning, or Albert Zukonik to add, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Kathy Covert Warnes

Eli Ciungan

Eli Ciungan was the Mayor of Ecorse from 1957-1963.

Eli Ciungan – a Romanian name pronounced “Chung gan”- was born in Salem Ohio, on November 22, 1921 and he died in May 1974.

An Ecorse resident since 1934, Eli graduated from Ecorse High School in 1939 and received advanced schooling at Kiski Preparatory School in Pennsylvania and Tulane University in Louisiana.

Eli served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and in the United States Air Force from 1942-1945. He received the Purple Heart for wounds he sustained when his plane was shot down near Bougainville in 1943.

Married with two sons and a daughter, he was a residential builder and co-manager of Ciungan’s Shrimp House in Ecorse.

Eli Ciungan’s accomplishments as mayor included eliminating dilapidated housing projects and replacing them with new homes, a major alley and street paving program that saved the city thousands of dollars in maintenance costs, installing a centralized switchboard system for fast, efficient Department of Public works Service, and constructing playgrounds and tot lots in all areas of Ecorse to provide a place for children to play.

Richard E. Manning

(Richard Manning (right) and Louis Parker)

Richard E. Manning was mayor of Ecorse from 1963 to 1965.

Richard Manning was born in 1919 and attended Ecorse public schools. He studied naval engineering at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and graduated from Eastern Michigan University and the University Michigan, earning secondary and junior college teaching certification and a graduate school degree in engineering.

In 1944, Richard enlisted in the United States Navy and was assigned to ship for overseas duty. He was discharged in 1947.

The next five years of Richard Manning’s life were filled with educational and political activities. He was assistant city engineer of Ecorse and for the next sixteen years he was an associate professor of civil engineering at the Detroit Institute of Technology. In 1950, Governor G. Mennan Williams appointed him to be a member of the Detroit Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Commission and he served three consecutive terms.

He served as an Ecorse Councilman from 1957-1961 and as mayor pro-tem from 1959-1961. He was nominated for mayor in 1961, but lost in the general election.

Richard Manning was a Cub and Boy Scout committeeman and a committee member for the Ecorse Boys Club. He joined the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Detroit Economic Club, and the Ecorse Rotary Club. He was a member of the Roy B. Salliotte Post 319, the American Legion and the Pulaski Club.

Mayor Manning was married to Elsie and they had two children.

Albert Zukonik

Albert Zukonik served as mayor of Ecorse from 1971-1973.  He was born in Pennsylvania on May 15, 1919 and died September 9, 1973 while completing his first term in office. He was a widower with one daughter and two sons.

An Ecorse resident since 1933,  Albert graduated from Ecorse High School in 1936. While in high school, he played football and baseball and after high school he played sandlot ball in Ecorse, He traveled with a semi-pro baseball team in Washington DC.

Before joining the Marines in 1939, Albert worked at Great Lakes Steel. In the Marines he earned the rank of platoon sergeant and provost marshal’s guard in Quantico, Virginia. During his six years in the Marines Albert Zukonik saw two years and four months service in the South Pacific. In 1942, while serving aboard the cruiser Erie, he swam two miles through shark infested waters when it sunk in the West Indies.  He became light heavy weight boxing champion for the Canal Zone Forces and he also played baseball while in the Marines. He later was head drill instructor for navy aviation cadets at the University of Georgia.

Albert Zukonik’s wife Shevawn was born in Ireland and came to the United States when she was five. She moved to Ecorse in 1943 after she married him. She died in 1972.

Joining the Ecorse Police Department in April 1947, Albert was promoted to sergeant in charge of the traffic department in 1954. A crack pistol shot, he also served as license examiner, weights and measures inspector and vice squad investigator.

In 1959, Albert Zukonic succeeded Alvin T. Royal as police chief. At the time of his appointment, Zukonik was described as a “rugged, deep voice prototype of a Marine platoon sergeant, which he was during his more than six years in the Marine Corps.”

In 1964, Albert retired early on a disability pension because of a back injury he suffered in a motorcycle accident, as well as hypertension and diabetes.

In 1969, Albert Zukonik ran for the Ecorse City Council and came in fourth out of twelve candidates. He served two years and then ran for mayor and defeated incumbent mayor Richard Manning.

In 1972, Mayor Zukonik survived a recall vote in which three of six city officials were removed from office. The recall campaign was launched by a citizens group after state auditors said Ecorse city officials improperly spent $178,000, including questionable expense claims for liquor and food.Of the eleven persons named by the auditors, only Mayor Zukonik and five other men were in office when the recall campaign was conducted.

At the time of his death, Mayor Zukonick had been planning to seek re-election in the November general election. In the August primary election he ran against four other candidates for the two nominations and far out distanced them. He won the top nomination at 1,939 votes. Mrs.  Leona Bourassa also won nomination with 1,066 votes.  After his death in September, Mayor Zukonik’s name was removed from the November ballot, leaving only Mrs. Bourassa’s name on the ballot.

City Clerk Patrick B. Trondle said that no new names could be placed on the ballot.

Mayor Zukonik owned and operated a cartage company and was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He was a past commander of the Ecorse Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Post 5709 and was on the board of directors. He also served as scholarship chairman for the V.F.W. and was a member of the Pulaski Civic Club, Ecorse Hockey Association, Teamsters Local 299 and St. Francis Xavier Parish.

Learn to Row at the Ecorse Rowing Club

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The photo is from the Ecorse Advertiser, July 16, 1975

 

 

 

 

Rowing is a Downriver tradition that dates to the Detroit Boat Club, founded in 1839, the oldest rowing club in North America. The Ecorse Rowing Club, founded in 1873, is the second oldest rowing club in the United States. The Ecorse Rowing Club has a fascinating history that you can read in ebook form. Here is the link for a free sample read. http://cheap-reads.com/sample/55293/rafting-the-waters-and-pulling-an-oar-for-ecorse-the-story-of-the-ecorse-rowing-club I couldn’t include all of the pictures I wanted to include because of mega byte limitations, but I think it’s a pretty good picture of what the Rowing Club meant and still means to Ecorse. You can buy the entire book for five dollars and download it from Smashwords. My Dad rowed with the early 1940s championship teams, so I am emotionally involved with this material!

I have also included some Ecorse Rowing Club pictures and a press release about their National Learn to Row Day which will be held on Saturday, June 2, 2002.

Kathy Covert Warnes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEDATE: April 12, 2012

Free Learn to Row Day event celebrates Ecorse tradition

ECORSE, MI – April 12, 2012 – National Learn to Row day helping to bring back long standing tradition in Ecorse.

Saturday, June 2, 2012 from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Ecorse Rowing Club, located at 4700 West Jefferson Ave., will host its free annual Learn to Row day in support of the national incentive to introduce individuals to the sport of rowing.

The Ecorse Rowing Club was formed as an organization in 1873; it is currently the second oldest rowing club in the country. In the rowing club’s heyday, huge crowds gathered along the riverfront to watch competitions that made Ecorse a name known worldwide in the rowing community. Hoping to build on the success of last years learn to row event, the club is actively looking to revitalize its membership and reputation among the rowing community, they are also very interested in making contact with alumni they have lost contact with.

The Ecorse Rowing Club offers programs for many age and ability levels, from recreational and competitive programs to learn to row classes for adults and youths. Affordable class sessions run for four weeks, informational flyers will be available at the learn to row event.

For additional information about the free learn to row event or summer classes you can visit their website at www.ecorserowingclub.com , or register to join the event at www.ecorserowingclubnltrday.eventbrite.com

Click Rafting the Waters and Pulling an Oar at the top of the page  for a history of the Ecorse Boat/Rowing Club.

For more Rowing Club Pictures click:  (It will take a few minutes to load because there are lots of pictures!)

Rowing Retrospectives

Ecorse Celebrates an Anniversary and Holds a Council Meeting – July 1975

Ecorse Mayor Charles G. Coman and Ecorse City Council were busy during the second week of July 1975.

Mayor Coman issued this proclamation on July 12, 1975.

City of Ecorse

Proclamation

50^th Wedding Anniversary

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Oberdieck

Whereas, Fifty years ago on July 12, 1925, a fine young couple

Exchanged marriage vows in a Church in New York City, New York.

Not knowing what the future might bring, but confident that their

Love and Faith in each other would bring happiness in the years to

Follow, and

WHEREAS, Frank and Elizabeth have lived in the City of Ecorse, Michigan

For forty seven (47) years of their married lives and whereas Elizabeth

Was employed by the City of Ecorse as a Citizen’s Complaint

Commissioner. She and Frank have been very Loyal and Faithful

Citizens of the City of Ecorse, and

WHEREAS, This couple is now celebrating along with their son, daughter-in-

Law and grand-daughter.

WHEREAS, The celebrants are still youthful in Thought and Spirit and will

Surely enjoy many more years of happiness with each other and with

Their son and family, and

WHEREAS, After fifty years of devotion to each other and their family, are

Celebrating July 12, 1975, with a dinner party at the Ciungan’s Shrimp

House, Ecorse, Michigan, with all of the family and devoted friends.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charles G. Coman, Mayor of the City of Ecorse, on

Behalf of the Elected Officials and Citizens of Ecorse, hereby extend

Congratulations and warmest wishes for many more years of Health

And Happiness to Frank and Elizabeth Oberdieck.

Given    under my hand and seal   this 12^th day of July, 1975.

Charles G. Coman,

Mayor, City of Ecorse, County of Wayne

An Ecorse Advertiser story of Wednesday, July 16, 1975, reported that the Frank Oberdiecks Observe 50^th Anniversary. The story said that Mr. and Mrs. Frank Oberdieck of East Rockwood, Ecorse, were the honored guests, July 12, during their 50^th wedding anniversary dinner party, attended by 41 persons, including relatives and friends, at Ciungan’s Shrimp House, Ecorse.

The couple was married July 12, 1925, in St. Catherine Sienna Catholic Church, New York City. The Oberdiecks moved to Ecorse in 1928, where they have lived in their East Rockwood Avenue home for 47 years. Frank Oberdieck is a retired McLouth Steel employee.

Mrs. Oberdieck is the former Elizabeth, “Elsie” Stahl. She and her husband have a son, William, of Ecorse, daughter-in-law, Liz, and one grandchild, Elizabeth.

Besides the milestone anniversary of the Oberdiecks, the Ecorse Advertiser also reported that Ecorse Mayor George Coman and the city council were considering passing a stricter ordinance which they hoped would result in a cleaner Ecorse.

During the discussion at the Ecorse Council meeting on Tuesday, July 15, 1975, Council revealed that the ordinance was being drafted and would probably be ready for its first reading in two weeks. The ordinance concerned rubbish and garbage pickups and spelled out that each Ecorse resident would be responsible for cleaning half of the width of the alley behind his/her home.

Residents from Fourth, fifth and Sixth Streets, between Southfield and Mill Streets, petitioned the City Council to have the alleys cleaned behind their homes. City Engineer Tim Hennessey said that he drove through the alleys on July 13, after receiving the petitions. He ordered the Department of Public works superintendent to see that they were cleaned. Mayor Charles G. Coman said, “It’s sad when people have to petition to get their alleys clean.”

On the other hand, Mayor Coman defended city personnel and stated that when the city cleaned the alleys, a day later they were dirty again.”There’s no cooperation from citizens,” he said.

Mayor Coman said, “I’m not condemning the city at large, but we accept our fault, we won’t shirk that, but the people have a responsibility.” Mayor Coman gave several examples of ways people don’t cooperate with the city’s efforts to maintain clean alleys and streets. He said people cut their grass, put the clippings in the street, and then scream when the sewers block up. “People have a responsibility too,” Mayor Coman said.

He added that the city DPW has “put up a good effort during the last couple weeks to clean the streets and alleys, “but the citizens have to cooperate too,” he said.

Councilman Alex Petri said that he drove through all the alleys in precinct eight – Southfield to Mill- and he said, generally, it appeared that the DPW had been picking up. “Where the problem existed it was created by residents,” Councilman Petri said. “Trees, limbs and debris were thrown into the alley, blocking it,” he said.

Councilman Lee Silva, speaking about the proposed ordinance said unless the ordinance is enforced, “you can talk all night here.”

Mayor Coman also revealed that his office has been receiving many calls from residents who say that when they call the DPW to complain or ask for services, they get abrupt answers. This has angered the mayor. He said residents deserve better treatment. He ordered that all calls to the DPW be forwarded to his office where they will then be referred to the proper department and he will follow through to make sure that the request has been taken care of properly. The city will inform all residents about the new procedure.

Councilman Mrs. Dora Gaines reported that she has received complaints from residents that rats are roaming the area. She said that she has checked out the complaint and found that “the entire town is loaded.” She moved that the city take immediate steps to hire a rat exterminating firm. Council approved her resolution.

Residents of Knox Street in Ecorse presented a petition to Council to install speed reduction bumps on Knox Street in order to slow traffic.

Charles A. Hunter II submitted the petitions from 46 residents. Mayor Coman said that there are a lot of children on the street and the residents are complaining that driver use it as a speedway, that’s why they are requesting the speed bumps.

Responding to the mayor, Police Chief Charles Oltean said that his department has not received any more complaints of speeding on Knox Street than on any other street.

Mayor Coman ordered Chief Oltean to keep an eye on the street to assign a car to the street and to give a recommendation.

Mayor Coman said that in his neighborhood there are “a couple guys who go fast on the street.” He said, “If we can nail a couple of them, maybe the word would get around. We don’t want to drag our feet on this.” He ordered the police chief and Engineer Tim Hennessey to have a recommendation in two weeks.

A petition was also received from about 50 residents who live on High Street, between Southfield and Mill Streets. They are requesting that trucks be prohibited from entering or leaving High Street, from Southfield or Mill.

After some discussion, Mayor Coman referred the petition to Police Chief Oltean. Engineer Hennessey and City Attorney Victor Mitea for recommendations, Councilman Alex Petri suggested that the trio also consider High Street from Southfield to the city limits at River Rouge, in addition to the petitioned portion.

Other Council Actions

Other Council actions included granting the Ecorse City Charter Revision Commission permission to hire an attorney to put a proposed city charter in shape for an upcoming election. Ecorse Mayor George Coman moved that the request be acted on favorably and he said that the attorney would received $45 an hour. Councilman Alex Petri amended the motion to state that unless the attorney completed the work in ten hours, he wouldn’t receive any pay. Council approved the resolution.

City Engineer Tim Hennessey was given the task of setting in motion a request from the Library Commission that protective screens be installed on the windows at the back of the library.

Mayor Coman reported that during the current week, city crews have cleaned 5,380 feet of sewers. The previous week, the city cleaned 6,300 feet. So far, he said, five miles of sewers had been cleaned.

Students Remember Miss Helen Garlington

 

(If you have memories of Miss Garlington you want to share, email Kathy Covert Warnes – kathywarnes@gmail.com or kathywarnes@yahoo.com and I will be glad to put them in the blog.)

 

Singing for Helen

By Roger Held 

 To sum a life, what someone has been to us, done for us, is not possible.  Persons come into to our lives largely by accident; perhaps we’re randomly plunked into their seventh grade music class.  They pay attention to us for seemingly no particular reason.  They share with us something they love and do well.  They share some small part of themselves, enough that we can see the person inside the social role they play.  They freely give us opportunities we didn’t know we wanted.  They teach us things we never realized we needed.  When we’re about to do something truly stupid, they find the right few words to whisper into the phone on a metaphorically dark and stormy night.

In a particular way, I owe my life, my way of being, my way of engaging the world to Helen.  Odd to think of her as Helen, a person, rather than Miss Garlington, the person depersonalized.  Always a distance there but not wholly a bad thing, perhaps a heighten sense of differing generational perspectives.

I remember a story she told me.  It was the only time I remember her speaking of one of her other lives.  During the Second World War, she was a Red Cross worker in England.  She had a beau then, a flyer, fighter pilot, flew p-51s I imagine.  As we stood behind the piano at the front of the classroom, she spoke about the dream she had the night he died.  She saw him struggling to open the canopy while the flames from the engine swept past.  Others on the mission reported, they last saw his burning plane falling with the canopy stuck partially open.  He was unable to escape.  I have no idea why she told me that story out of the blue.  Nothing in particular seemed to prompt it.  It was one of those moments when a person needs to tell a story for themselves, to hear themselves say it.  In a way, perhaps, it doesn’t matter who is listening.  There it was, going on twenty years after the event.  I never forgot it, a summing image of a defining moment in a passed life, much as I now have about Viet Nam.  In a passing conversation, she offered me a glimpse into the world of grown-ups, a complexity, a richness I had never imagined existed.

In those years between, she had learned to live with aloneness.  She knew the difference between being lonely and the state of being alone in our heads as we all are and cannot otherwise be.  The essential aloneness is a necessary respite from the bustle around us.  Being lonely is a temporary state usually accompanied by depression.  Her advice was to be wary of taking actions to avoid being lonely as such acts are usually mistakes that “set you a windin’ (first i is long sound),” in your head and lead to unhappiness.  She had a personal strength, a determination to live her life in a particular way she had decided upon; a quality I have come to admire greatly.

She was an Old School idealist.  For her, and likely her generation, America was an idea.  Though imperfect in execution, the egalitarian end was to be held separate and in a way sacred.  The office was to be respected even if the office holder was not worthy.  We seem to have lost this distinction as a society, and, so, we have lost the grounding that she had.  Her point of view has provided me a balanced perspective.

As I think on it, Helen might well be a model of women I find attractive.  Independent, self-directed but not self absorbed, honest, compassionate, out spoken but polite in a direct way, capable of cutting to the bottom line of a matter and feminine.  Women, who embrace their gender as part of their identity, and do not see that as lessening them.  They enjoy being, who they are.  Certainly, she influenced my ability to select gifts of clothing for women.  That has been a hedge against disaster.  Helen had an aesthetic sense about her appearance.  She always looked a little like she was in a movie, the stylish and simple cut of her dresses, the subtlety of color and decorative accouterments, all arranged without seeming so.  She had a sense of the theatrical in life.

Her gift outright was music, particularly singing.  I have never been musician as my wife and eldest son are.  I feel music; I’m not much interested in the mechanics.  Tenors are noted for not being able to count to four and sometimes eight.  We get lost in the music and hold the perfect note until we turn blue.  I sang in college and in the St Michael Episcopal Choir for money.  Seventeen dollars a week provided meals and gas in those days.  So, she gave me a survival skill.  I still sing on car trips, still some of the songs Helen taught me.  We sang to both our boys after bedtime stories as they nodded off for the night.  Enduring a migraine with the lights out in the emergency room cubicle, my wife asked me to sing her the “the forest song,” a quiet, haunting minor key piece.  So Helen improved the quality of our lives together in a way she likely never imagined.  We are closer, kinder, and gentler with each other because of music shared.

Music led to theatre and theatre to a way of life and a means of understanding the world, the patterns of lives and events around me, and an insight into characters, into people.  I was so ignorant when I began; I had to be told I had “the lead.”  To me, it was just a lot of lines.  I still think of parts that way not as “leads,” more important than “supporting” but as some having more lines than others.  That’s like Helen too; creating ensemble was the foundation of music and theatre.  She taught us to value, to admire the talents, skills, and personal qualities of those with whom we sang, worked, and lived.

We don’t usually push our boys into things, but do insist they finish what they start, and when they move on that they do so with a sense of Garlington style.  We have shoved them into choir, where neither wanted to go.  The oldest now has a music scholarship to sing in his college choir, and he sort of plays cello and piano, each an avocation to be grown.  The other is the choir zany; he’s the baritone in the front row with the pink tie no one else has the intestinal fortitude to wear.  He is the instigator of the men’s chorus singing, “Look on the Bright Side of Life,” complete with Monty Python kick line.  Choir, music and theatre, is where they could find good friends who don’t forget you down the years of sundry travels.  Where they found a teacher, Mrs. Campbell, who gets them summer work in an opera chorus and takes the choir, and all its alums who return for the holidays, caroling through our typical hundred inches of December snow, every year without fail.  Without Helen, I wouldn’t have had the good sense, known the worth, and given the boys a good shove.

The least pleasant but perhaps most valuable lesson she taught me was: not lying to myself, not accepting my improved vision of who and how I was but to question my motivations for any action.  That wasn’t always pleasant.  It’s paradoxical.  We can’t ever really know all of ourselves, yet who else is in a place to appraise our inner most thoughts.  Helen always questioned my actions and motivations, demanded I tell myself the truth about them as best I could reason it.  She was a taskmaster in this regard and gave no quarter for self-indulgence, least of all for doing the right things for the wrong reasons.  This has been a tough assignment, and the best I can claim is maybe B.  I’m thankful she and I have become forgiving of my short falls.

Singing for Helen allowed me to find a place in life and the world, an occupation, a lifestyle, a means of understanding and engaging society and other people and a lifetime of good memories of good people.  I did well in school and tested well for work in the sciences, but, had I followed the advice of the test scores and grades, I’d be a rather mediocre scientist or, god save us, an engineer.  Music and Helen provided me the opportunity to discover what I was, “really good at.”  She empowered me to see possibilities beyond the hill culture of Pennsylvania and the vision of steel-town Detroit, and then, she set me free by getting me into university.  Her shove set me on my own course in life and allowed me to shape myself into a better person than I might otherwise have become.

When I last spoke with her, some seven years ago now, she was as she always was.  The years hadn’t come between.  Mostly we spoke of singers; she had kept track of so many.  She remained self possessed and steady in the face of aging and the world.  That she expired between setting the tea water to heat and filling a cup, in the middle of doing something pleasurable and simply worthy seems appropriate, a passing we might all wish to embrace.

Not yet for me though.  I have things yet to do, things to make happen, things Helen taught me to value and to champion.  She is, and always will be, my teacher.

Miss Garlington the Humanitarian

She generally had kind words for me and my sister…..seemed she knew how unfun it was in our household……….plus singing,i loved it,and she continually promoted my participation…..even when i didn’t have the proper clothes to wear to concerts,she saw to it along with Marcella Lafferty who played the piano, that I was color co-ordinated………..her strength and positive attitude has helped  my perspective of our humanity…………truly a humanitarian, Miss G, I will always remember fondly……….. Joseph Parks

“The most wonderful teacher we ever had. “ Dorothy Bailey

I do remember Miss Garlington very well.  I was in her class.  I remember we had to do “auditions” (I think to see what our voice range was) and had to sing Merry Widow Waltz.  I still remember all the words!!  I googled her and saw her obits and the utube interview.  I knew that she had done something during the war but wasn’t quite sure what it was.  I was surprised that no one mentioned Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians.  She used to go off to Pennsylvania during the summer break and sing with his band or group or whatever it was that he had back then.  Joanne Gibbs