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The Heyer House

One of the great travesties of our age is the ignorance of local history and even more so the folk version of said study with a focus on the individual lives of citizens from the pioneer to the average man.

Anybody can tell you when city hall was built or demolished and in the grand scheme of things it is an important footnote. But city hall doesn't exist without the people living beside it and propping up its roof beams.

About 5 or so years ago I stumbled upon a treasure trove of photographs from a man named Carl A. Heyer, Jr. from an estate at his home in Wayne, Michigan. Since Mr. Heyer was long dead (1985) the pictures must have been in the possession of a family member. I arrived late but purchased a large box of several hundred photographs of both personal and historical importance. From subject as obscure as the ice house at Eloise to the early schools of Inkster, Michigan to Fellrath's Lumber in that same town - where Heyer was seemingly employed - to towns in Ohio, Michigan and beyond. 

However, the most curious were probably the many he took of his own home at 4541 Washington Street - as pictured above - at the intersection with Annapolis Road in Wayne. They are from its conception in the early 1930s as a dirt road new model home to the mid-1950s or 1960s or so when he seemingly lost interest in the obsessive craft.

Luckily, they found their way into my hands. I obsessed over them for a year or so before everyday life got in the way. Now that I've accidentally moved within walking distance of the home I have rekindled my interest in the project of showcasing both the home and the people who lived in it. That being Carl, his wife Florence and their several children. The great likelihood is that all of them are now deceased and thus bringing forth their personal artifacts won't be intrusive to their current standing. Of course, there is also the privacy issue relating to the current occupants, whoever they may be, and wishing not to infringe upon similar concerns I'll refrain from speaking of them in terms of the dwelling.

Also, so as not to clog up this already neglected page I will make yet another blog for the research while also trying to juggle 50 other projects that I'm working on. If nothing else they make for good storage receptacles for easily-searchable information. The blog link will follow as it becomes available.

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