100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society

Joel Stone

• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780814348888
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
• Index: Business

Since its founding in 1921, the Detroit Historical Society (DHS) has been dedicated to safeguarding the history of our region so that current and future generations of metro Detroiters can better understand the people, places, and events that helped shape our lives. 100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society, written by senior curator Joel Stone, captures in words and photographs the little-known story of the people who have been telling Detroit's stories and preserving its material culture for the last century. 100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society leads in a chronological manner through four distinct phases—each with its own successes and failures—with a nod to the future direction of the DHS. Stone begins by laying a foundation of the city's history and describing the era that prompted the organization's founding—first intended as support for the Burton Historical Collection, then as stewards of a growing artifact collection in a "cabinet of curiosities." DHS became the primary support organization for a new municipally owned and managed historical department, resulting in multiple facilities and storytelling capabilities. Later, changing social and fiscal priorities prompted the DHS and its partners to adopt new strategies for interpretation, funding, outreach, and inclusion. Eventually, the DHS would assume stewardship of the Detroit Historical Museum and Dossin Great Lakes Museum, bringing new momentum to regional public history. It is important to note the truism that historical museums and archives can be poor caretakers of their own history. The DHS's history was intertwined with a municipal department for so long that they actually have two histories that are only roughly preserved. Research for this volume has woven many disparate details into a cogent tapestry that is easily digested by museum professionals and visitors alike. It is a fascinating tale that reflects the pride Detroiters have in their city and shows trends in historical preservation and organizational structures across North America.

Years of the

Detroit

Historical

Society

Joel Stone

Wayne State University Press

Detroit

© 2021 by Detroit Historical Society. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission. Manufactured in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-­0-­8143-­4887-­1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-­0-­8143-­4888-­8 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021932181

Cover design by Katrina Noble

All images in this book are from the Detroit Historical Society Collection unless otherwise noted.

The three facilities managed by the Detroit Historical Society rest on land that has been the ancestral homeland of Native Americans for thousands of years. The sovereign lands to the north and west of the strait now called the Detroit River were ceded by the Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, and Wyandot nations to the United States through the Treaty of Detroit in 1807. The Detroit Historical Society affirms Indigenous sovereignty and honors all tribes and individuals with a connection to Detroit. With our Native neighbors, the Society can advance educational equity and promote a better future for the earth and all people.

Wayne State University Press

Leonard N. Simons Building

4809 Woodward Avenue

Detroit, Michigan 48201–1309

Visit us online at wsupress.wayne.edu

This book is dedicated to the people and organizations that have sustained the Detroit Historical Society through its first century and are committed to its continued success.

Contents

Letter from Detroit Historical Society President 9

Letter from Detroit Historical Society Chairperson 11

List of Board of Trustees and Committees 13

List of Current Staff 15

Abbreviations 17

Preface 19

Introduction 21

Chapter One The Early Years 27

Chapter Two Dynamic Growth in a Dynamic City 41

Chapter Three Driving toward a New Millennium 73

Chapter Four Back in the Driver’s Seat 99

Appendixes

A. Past Presidents and Leaders 107

B. Detroit Historical Society Ball Locations 109

C. Cass Lectureship Series 110

D. History of Major Support Groups 111

Acknowledgments 135

Index 137

I am so proud to be introducing 100 Years of the Detroit Historical Society.

It illuminates our organization’s past and helps guide us through our present and on to our future. This rather succinctly defines what we do at the Detroit Historical Society and have done for a century.

We tell the stories of Detroiters and encourage everyone to understand why these stories matter. All of them. There are millions of stories that make this region what it is, and each one is important.

For 100 years, the Society has encouraged historical scholarship, preservation, and education. In partnership with the City of Detroit and generations of sponsors, donors, staff, volunteers, and members, we hold those stories dear. They are captured in a significant collection of artifacts and documents and disseminated through exhibitions, programs, tours, publications, and online content.

This institution has grown and adapted for ten decades and will continue to lead even as the region’s cultural needs shift. What Detroiters created here over the last century is amazing. Our challenge is to set the next century up for success so that the Society can continue being Detroit’s storyteller.

I speak for all of the directors and staff that came before us when I say that is our commitment every day, recorded here for you to enjoy.

Elana Rugh

As president of the Detroit Historical Society’s Board of Trustees, I am humbled by the long line of board leaders who have preceded me and set the Society up for this centenary celebration. The story of their successes is captured in this book and provides an excellent road map for where we’ve been and where we might be headed.

Besides past Society presidents, I must thank the hundreds of board members who have been so generous with their valuable time, knowledge, and resources, as well as the thousands of volunteers for leading educational tours, serving at events, and processing artifacts. Without ten decades of such commitments, our historical community would be much reduced.

Finally, thank you to the people of Detroit and the communities of southeastern Michigan. You and your ancestors—whether born here or not—made Detroit the city that it is today. Without you, we would have no story to tell. Your interest in this story ensures that future generations will come to understand their rich heritage.

Thank you for supporting our mission.

John Decker

Board of Trustees and Committees

Chairperson

John P. Decker

Immediate Past Chairperson

Thomas C. Buhl

1st Vice Chairperson

Geaneen M. Arends

2nd Vice Chairperson

Mark J. Albrecht

President and CEO

Elana Rugh

Treasurer and CFO

Kevin Gramlich

Secretary

Dante Stella

Executive Committee

Mark J. Albrecht

Geaneen M. Arends

Lawrence N. Bluth

Thomas C. Buhl

Judith Knudsen Christie

John P. Decker

Arthur Hudson

Jeffrey Lambrecht

Sarah McClure

Francis W. McMillan II

Gregory A. Nowak

Dante Stella

Kenneth J. Svoboda

Board of Trustees

Clarinda Barnett-­Harrison

Akosua Barthwell Evans

Marc S. Bland

Gary Brown

Gregory Cheesewright

James Deutchman

Jeffrey A. Dobson Jr.

Douglas P. Dossin

Andrew A. Dunlap

Lena Epstein

Robert W. Gillette Jr.

F. Neal Gram, III

Frederick E. Hall

Hon. Brenda Jones

Daniel Kaufman

Bernie Kent

Michael Kosonog

Dennis Levasseur

Chauncey C. Mayfield II

Stephanie Nicholson

Chris Onwuzurike

Jeanette Pierce

Irena Politano

Bobbi Polk

Heather Rivard

Leslye Rosenbaum

Harriet B. Rotter

Rick Ruffner

Lois Shaevsky

Ned Staebler

Susan Tukel

William Volz

Advisory Committee

Maggie Allesee

Charles M. Bayer Jr.

Kevin P. A. Broderick

Joanne D. Brodie

Judy Christian

Sean P. Cotton

Stephanie Germack-­Kerzic

Ann Greenstone

Robert R. Lubera, Esq.

David Nicholson

Pamela Wyett

Current Staff

Tia Allen

Dontez Bass

Casie Blovsky

Bree Boettner

Leah Buhagiar

Leah Burton

Gail Busby

Kayla Chenault

Toni Cooper

Marcus Craig

Douglas Czajkowski

Eric Dalton

Jeremy Dimick

John Donnelly

Renea Dooley

Kayla Draper

Amanda Ford

Danail Gantchev

Kevin Gramlich

Matthew Greenough

Kevin Hawthorne

Tracy Irwin

Adam Jakubik

Achsha Jones

Ashley Jones

Stevie Jones

Michael Kucharski

Sheena Law-­Killinge...