The Nankin Township Historical Society

Plymouth Mail , June 22, 1888 Even though they spelled James Kuebaugh's name wrong they gave us some of the intimate details of his unfortunate death. He passed from tuberculosis at the home of John Wallace of Wayne at the age of 30. The funeral took place from the Congregational Church.

Plymouth Mail , October 21, 1887 It's a good thing that I randomly searched some cabinet card photographer's names tonight because they led me to this clipping concerning the death of Hiram Sackett as well as the setting of his stone at Ganong Cemetery. Hiram was a brakeman on the railroad and died on the job. That his father Alonzo erected a fine monument is an understatement. This is a bittersweet clipping but one I'd rather have than not.

Detroit Free Press , May 27, 1962 I don't know if the Imagine Theater, located at 33455 Warren Road in Westland, occupies the former Tonquish Elementary School building and property or if the clump of birch trees that were planted there in 1962 still remain but if so the trees have a bittersweet origin. John "Johnnie" Paxton, a WWII Marine and North Carolina transplant, was the custodian, and sometimes bus driver for the sports teams at the school. During a road game at Northville, in which he was the driver and the ever-enthusiastic fan, Paxton died of a heart attack. Beloved by the children they began to bring pennies to school to buy something to remember Johnnie. They considered books as a remembrance but a tree seemed more enduring. So with the help of principal Patrick Hamil they planted the birch near the school. "Be the kind of generous, understanding person Johnnie Paxton was." said Hamill as some children wiped away tears. A boy played the trumpet ...

( enlarge ) Is it improper to post about Nankin Township after Nankin Twp. was no more? I don't care if it is. If you're ever in the mood for fourth-rate high school journalism then the "Fifth Estate" (think Peter Werbe) is the perfect rag for your tastes. I mean, they are leftists so you can't really expect reason or good taste to prevail but this is the bottom of the barrel in written media. This article from the spring of 1971 deals with party goers in Hines Park at Valley View in Westland. The revelers in "ripple and joints" were apparently raided by busloads of marauding cops who wanted to put an end to the nightly partying on the drive. A guy named Glenn got throttled by the "pigs" as did countless others according to the Marxist propaganda. Brent Little of Garden City spoke for everyone when he said "Why don't they just leave us alone? We can't get jobs, and can't afford to go anywhere else. What do they want us to do--g...

scroll through the pages with the arrows at the middle edges of the book The Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital, located on the grounds of the old Eloise property was the heir to the local insane with the demise of the Wayne County General Hospital in the 1980s. At least for the elderly it was according to the general information page of this 1985 handbook. Outside of that I haven't really glanced through the pages. One thing of note: both the covers and pages were originally light blue but I edited out the color completely on the pages and darkened the covers to eliminate library markings of the University of Michigan where I borrowed the booklet from. So much for gratitude, eh?

Westland Observer , October 28, 1982 While I'm seemingly on a Westland Halloween posting spree here's a 1982 clipping about a haunted woods trail that a teenager set up in the late 1970s. Paul Staros, then a 16-year-old John Glenn High School senior, and twenty of his friends and family members held an annual haunted woods attraction that garnered a small but loyal following. It started when his sister gave rides through the woods on a family-owned rickshaw. Staros then incorporated attractions along the path that would startle the guests. Namely monsters. The idea grew from there into an annual Halloween event. Keywords: Dave Stine, Steve Stine, 6710 Farmington Road, Steve Maciarz, Monica Staros, Matt Staros, Westland Lions Club, Doug Staros.