Western Wayne County Young Women's Christian Association Flier

I can't recall where I found this flier but since it was stored away in a box that I scavenged through after many years in storage it was mostly likely another of my ephemera serving as a bookmark finds. My guess is that it's from the 1950s though it could well be from the early 1960s. I can't vouch for whether the people shown on the flier are local, national or international members but it seems likely that they'd use local folks for their recruitment campaigns. The address shown on the flier, 1034 Monroe Boulevard, is in Dearborn.

The Young Women's Christian Association began in London, England in 1855 under the direction of Emma Roberts and Mrs. Arthur Kinnaird. The American branch of the organization formed in Boston and New York City in 1858. For the past 150+ years they have been pioneers in the fields of race relations, labor union representation and the empowerment of women.

Some of their accomplishments include holding the first interracial conference in the South, training the Rosie the Riveters during WWII, held the first typewriting classes for women and opened the first female boarding houses as populations shifted from rural to urban. In 2004 the group's name was officially changed to YWCA USA with a major shifting to a grassroots organization that works in a bottom up fashion with local representatives forming an National alliance.

Although the Detroit branch was formed in the late 1800s the Western Wayne branch likely didn't come about until the 1940s or 1950s as the suburbs began to spread out from the center of the city. I've seen the date listed as 1957 but that's merely a guess. Either way, whoever was in possession of this flier wrote some notes on the back which vary from Bible passages, to interpretations of such and even a mention of T. S. Eliot. It doesn't seem to follow much of a pattern though the small, cursive writing is a pain to read and I didn't put much effort into my analysis. Perhaps you will.

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A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

Detroit Free Press , March 28, 1890 If you don't want to hear a racist tale of a suburban namesake then close your eyes now. As early as 1876 Frederick Soop had left his Belleville farm once again, having done a stint at the Hawkins House in Ypsilanti during the Civil War and the City Hotel in Detroit thereafter, and ventured off to Chatham, Ontario to run the Rutley Hotel , which was conducted as a Temperance House. Detroit Free Press , August 17, 1879 In 1879 he was searching for a good restaurant or small hotel to operate. Eventually he ended up on Washington Avenue near State Street running a dining hall which he ran until around 1890. Detroit Free Press , April 16, 1890 It was in 1888 when the aforementioned racial incident occurred at his dining establishment. It was then that William H. Haynes, a black doctor, sat down with his former classmate S. W. Barkwell for dinner. The men ordered but when the food was served none was placed before Mr. Haynes who, ironically, ha...

The Nankin Township Historical Society

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