Our official song leaders did not show up, so our wonderful Pianist Paula D'Ambrosio led us to Whistle a Happy Tune, followed by President Christine Hage's choice of R-O-T-A-R-Y.  Christine didn't have a songbook before her and tried to cut the song at the end of the first verse. The singers protested because they were so into the songs! Steve Oehler commented that Interact students said singing was one of their favorite parts of attending Rotary meetings. So there you song naysayers!

 

Pat McKay, Manager of the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, shared some of the museum’s 45-year history.

Originally owned by the State of Michigan and once considered for a prison site, the property ultimately became our local museum, now housing 4,500 photos, maps, diaries, and business records. During the pandemic, the museum staff digitized local newspapers dating back to 1872, which are available online. These include Rochester Eccentric (1972–1992), Rochester Clarion (1974, 1975, 1977), Rochester Era (1873–1949), and Avon News and Shopper (1955).

Pat’s presentation, “Twelve Fascinating Facts from Rochester History,” was a treasure trove of stories:

1. The Rochester Hills Public Library, marking its 100th anniversary, began in 1883 with four teenagers as founders. Cyrenius Parker, 19; Eugene Carlton, 15; Henrietta Hutoff, 15; and Eva Woodward, 17, launched the library. With the passage of an operating millage in 1924, the Avon Township Public Library came into existence. Woodward’s estate later funded the first fireproof library after she married.
2. In 1926, the Newberry Hill Ski Jump, built near today’s Bloomer Park, became the largest ski jump in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Standing 112 feet tall on a 230-foot hill, it attracted international skiers. Occasionally, when snow was lacking, snow was transported from Gaylord, MI, by train. After being blown down twice, the jump wasn’t rebuilt in 1930.
3. Howard Bloomer (1871–1953), attorney to John Dodge and “father” of Michigan’s state and Huron-Clinton Metro Parks, established 15 parks, including Bloomer Park in 1922.
4. Rochester Hills also boasts connections to music icons like Madonna, who attended Adams High School, and Joni Mitchell, who married local Chuck Mitchell. Bob Seger lived on Tienken Road from 1970 to 1974.
5. The polio vaccine was manufactured in Rochester at Parke, Davis & Company, now Par Pharmaceuticals. Jonas Salk’s vaccine was produced here, and over 100 million doses were distributed worldwide. When steel shortages delayed the construction of a specific facility for the manufacture of polio vaccines, steel meant for the Mackinac Bridge was redirected to Rochester to complete the building. Park Davis also produced the diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins, as well as the smallpox vaccine.
6. Wing Commander, a saddle horse foaled in 1943 at Dodge Stables, was undefeated in competition for seven years, earning over 200 championships. He was the greatest saddle horse in the world.
7. Rochester’s unusual history includes a religious cult led by Uriah Adams in the 1840s. Adams, a “Millerite,” attracted followers to his farm, now Rochester High School’s location, to await doomsday. When doomsday came and went twice, it became known as “The Great Disappointment.” Adams was later imprisoned for adultery.
8. Before 1883, Rochester operated with three time zones. When railroads established a standard, Rochester aligned with it.
9. World War I hero Homer Wing, a “Polar Bear” soldier, received Rochester’s largest funeral. Despite the war ending on November 11, 1918, Wing continued to serve in northern Russia and died in 1919 when the train he was taking to get home was derailed. His body was returned to Rochester, where the hero’s funeral procession included hundreds of schoolchildren, soldiers, and local organizations. The local American Legion post bears his name.
10. The Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal, begun in 1837, was intended to connect Mount Clemens / Lake St. Clair to Lake Michigan but halted in Rochester due to financial hardship and rail competition. The Canal terminus is found on the property of  Rochester Christian University.
11. Judge Nathaniel Millerd, a prominent 1827 Stony Creek resident, built the area’s first frame house, which is still standing on Tienken Road. The home, the oldest in Oakland County, hosted Michigan’s first Masonic meetings and was a post office and general store.
12. During patrol duty in Virginia, Rochester resident Sam Harris, a Union soldier, displayed kindness to Maria Brooke and her five children in their Virginia cabin, all of whom were suffering from hunger and near starvation.  Immediately, he gathered rations for the family. Maria wrote a letter to her school friend, Varnia Davis, asking her to do whatever she could to help Sam Harris if she ever met him. Later when captured, Harris became a POW and was about to be executed. He was spared after Varina Davis, wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, intervened. Harris later gifted Rochester’s first public drinking fountain, now near City Hall.

Pat McKay’s love for Rochester's history and storytelling talent make him an invaluable resource for the community.