By: Mark Vest | West Bloomfield Beacon | Published August 20, 2023
ORCHARD LAKE — Local history buffs have something to be excited about. Several things, actually.
The Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society recently shared its programming schedule for September through December.
The group is scheduled to have a table at Family Fun Night 5-6:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at West Bloomfield High School. Following that, the group is set to host an antique saws collection open house 1-4 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Orchard Lake Museum, 3951 Orchard Lake Road.
Attendees can expect to see an extensive antique saw collection dating back to 1890, courtesy of Jerry McManus.
According to a press release, McManus began collecting in the Tawas area, which is rich in lumbering history.
“Jerry McManus has an extensive antique handsaw collection that he’ll bring to the museum and share with people who attend,” said Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society President Gina Gregory. “It’s pretty interesting history that reflects our Michigan lumbering history.”
There is no admission fee to attend the open house.
On Sept. 14, the society is scheduled to host an event titled “Tour Orchard Lake Museum with Docent.”
The tour is set for 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the museum.
Tickets for the tour cost $5, which is payable at the door, in cash.
According to the release, West Bloomfield Parks’ Community Transit bus pickup and return are available for current West Bloomfield Community Transit riders.
Preregistration is required, which can be done via visiting wbparks.org.
Those interested in attending can also call (248) 706-2411.
“Normally, when we’re open, it’s self-guided, so I think having (an) opportunity to get a tour with a docent will be really cool for some people — just kinda makes it more meaningful most of the time,” said Shelby Nelsen, who is the museum and communications assistant for the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society.
The last event scheduled in September is “Where History and Genealogy Meet: The Dash Between the Dates Presentation.”
That event is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 in the main meeting room at the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, located at 4600 Walnut Lake Road.
Family historian and professional genealogist Judy Muhn is set to share the ways history, artifacts, stories and documentation “inform the larger stories of our families,” according to the release.
The event is sponsored by the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, with no charge for admission.
Gregory recently had a book about her family’s genealogy published and is also set to be in attendance.
“This is a very interesting presentation,” Gregory said. “Judy Muhn is a professional genealogist and has a good understanding of people and the importance of chronicling our past. She gives a very excellent presentation that people will find informative. There’s a lot of ways people can get into recording their family history, from casual to a published book.”
The presentation is among the “pretty exciting” things that stood out to Nelsen about September’s schedule.
“It’ll be about genealogy and how to research and share stories about our families that’s more than just when they were born, what they did for a living and when they died,” she said. “She’ll go really in-depth about ways to learn more about your family and who they were as a person, so that should be pretty fun.”
The group is scheduled to have a table at the senior health event 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 4 at Henry Ford Hospital, on West Maple Road in West Bloomfield.
Following that, the “Mrs. Butterworth Bottle Collection Open House” is scheduled for 1-4 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Orchard Lake Museum.
There is no admission charge to attend.
“Kyle Staulter has this collection that I thought was pretty interesting — each of the bottles is unique,” Gregory said. “He’s probably got 30 bottles. … I thought it would be fun to share.”
The Underground Railroad “Flight to Freedom” tour and lunch is scheduled to take place 10 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Oct. 19.
Residents can board a bus at the West Bloomfield Parks Recreation Activities Center to the First Congregational Church of Detroit, with a lunch included, following the tour.
Attendees can choose between a turkey or a vegetarian sandwich, served with chips, a cookie, and water or lemonade.
West Bloomfield Parks’ Community Transit bus pickup and return is also available for this scheduled trip, which is sponsored by West Bloomfield Parks.
Those interested in the trip can call (248) 706-2411 to schedule a ride and register by visiting wbparks.org. The cost is $37 for residents and $42 for nonresidents.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Gregory said. “We’ve not been there as a group before. It is open to the public, but by going as a group and taking a bus ride, it kind of gets you there, so you can experience it. We’re looking forward to what we’ll learn.”
The last event scheduled in October is an autumn nature walk 2-3 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary, located at 4700 Pontiac Trail.
Naturalist Carol Fink is scheduled to lead a guided tour.
The event is sponsored by the city of Orchard Lake, with no charge for admission.
“It’s a popular walk,” Gregory said. “People enjoy walking with naturalist Carol Fink through the Orchard Lake Nature Sanctuary to see what is happening and just enjoy the experience of walking, talking and learning more about the world that we live in.”
The first event scheduled in November is a military collection open house, which is set to take place 1-4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Orchard Lake Museum.
Military gear, newspaper articles, photographs and uniforms from World War I, World War II and the Korean War are set to be available for viewing.
Residents can also donate family military objects.
There is no admission cost to attend.
“We have quite a few things to share,” Gregory said.
A presentation on a book titled “The 22nd Michigan Infantry and the Road to Chickamauga” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 9 in the West Bloomfield Library main meeting room.
According to the release, author John Cohassey will share the challenges and experiences of soldiers from the Civil War, as well as information about soldiers buried at Pine Lake Cemetery in West Bloomfield.
The presentation is sponsored by the West Bloomfield Township Public Library, with no charge for admission.
“He’s (Cohassey) doing research for us, which will be great to know more than we currently do about soldiers from the Civil War that are buried at Pine Lake Cemetery,” Gregory said.
The Historical Society is scheduled to have an exhibit at the Heroes Appreciation Breakfast, which is set for 8-10:30 a.m. Nov. 17 at West Bloomfield Middle School, located at 6000 Orchard Lake Road.
The “Hand-crafted Christmas Open House” will take place 1-4 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Orchard Lake Museum.
At the open house, attendees can learn about various handicrafts, including knitting, crocheting, macrame, applique and more with DuAnne Sonneville.
Gregory said that Sonneville is “quite a crafter.”
“If you’re interested in how these crafts are made, it would be an interesting time, and she’s a pleasure to talk to,” Gregory said.
The group has scheduled a volunteers opportunities meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Orchard Lake Museum.
“We depend on volunteers for everything that we do, from docents at the museum to fundraising to newsletters, and we’re looking for people who would like to volunteer in the community and want to support history,” Gregory said. “If we don’t support our local history, who will? We’re not a government agency, so our survival and relevance to the community, what we can offer, rests on the shoulders of citizens, and we’re so happy to have new volunteers come lend their skills.”
For information about the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society’s full open house calendar, visit gwbhs.org or call (248) 757-2451. According to the release, donations are welcome when visiting the Orchard Lake Museum for an open house.