There’s a good chance that as you read this North Rosedale Park resident Josh McClendon, age 14, is practicing cello. He plays every day, “whenever I can,” Josh says with a smile. His mother, Voncile Campbell, never has to tell him to practice: “He’ll play before he eats in the morning.” Josh’s first instrument was…
Several weeks ago an enormous dead ash tree fell on a vacant house on Penrod Street in Rosedale Park. The tree was not on city property, and the house had been vacant for some time. The issue of who was responsible for its removal was therefore complicated. Several residents in Rosedale Park decided that since…
Grandmont resident Kevin Johnson is a busy man. As the Grandmont historian, Kevin stores and keeps track of his neighborhood’s newsletters, The Grandmonitor. Kevin doesn’t just store them though, he reads them. He reads them because he believes that “history is important. It’s important to leave a legacy, and that’s what I find in the…
Submitted by Kathy Garrett When Grandmont #1 resident Annie Mae Holt retired three years ago from her position as an eighth grade English Language Arts teacher in the Detroit Public Schools, she “was concerned that there wouldn’t be enough to do.” Today, her days are filled with volunteering with the Wayne County Health Care Authority…
Submitted by Kathy Garret For a couple of days during the first summer of GRDC’s Beautification Task Force, Vicki Holmes’ backyard looked like a wedding was about to take place. There were 50 rose bushes and “I don’t know how many flats of flowers” waiting on her back porch. Volunteers from all five neighborhoods came…
Submitted by Kathy Garrett Rosedale Park resident Stephanie Young has been appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan to the position of District Manager for Council District 1. The District Managers are part of a newly-created Department of Neighborhoods and serve as the City’s community liaison in each of the seven council districts. Stephanie is no stranger…
Submitted by Amy Kuras If you’re a resident of Rosedale Park, you know Jill Laufer – or at least her work. She’s been volunteering with the Vacant Property Task Force since 2010, monitoring the condition of vacant properties in the neighborhood, researching the owners of vacant homes in order to put pressure on them to…
Submitted by Kathy Garrett One of Hubert Sawyers’ earliest memories is of his fifth birthday party at his parents’ house on Warwick. Soon, Hubert was getting up early to make it to Cooke School, then Murphy Middle School, then Cass Tech. Inspired by a trip to Japan in 1995, Hubert majored in International Studies at MSU.…
Submitted by Amy Kuras Decades ago, the Grandmont-Rosedale neighborhoods were known for arching canopies of trees lining the streets, creating tunnels of green and dappled light on many blocks where tree branches touched high above the street. Then Dutch Elm Disease hit, devastating the tree cover and leading to clear-cutting of city streets. While maples…
The Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation (GRDC) and area resident Marsha Bruhn were each recognized with awards at the 2013 Community Development Awards Banquet on November 19th. The banquet was sponsored by the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD). GRDC was recognized for Outstanding Community Safety Program for its…