People Power

The people of Southeast Michigan are known for their generosity. And this weekend, they will be supporting many, many good causes. Here's a sample of what we mean:

• American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Saturday and Sunday, at Ford Field in downtown Northville.
• Angelman Syndrome Foundation National Walk-A-Thon to support programs helping those suffering from the neurogenetic disorder, Saturday at Kennedy Park in Eastpointe.
• Detroit Asthma Walk for the American Lung Association of Michigan, Saturday on the Detroit Riverwalk.
• Meals on Wheels, Saturday at Heritage Park in Farmington.
• Miles for Miracles Fun Run/Walk to fight Progeria, Saturday at Fountain Park Plaza in Livonia.
• Save the Manatee 5K Run & 2 Mile Fun Walk, Saturday at Metro Beach Metropark.
• Lighthouse of Oakland County Hunger Walk, Saturday at the Lighthouse Campus of Caring.
• Tail-Wagger Two Step Walk for animals and pet adoption programs of the Animal Rescue League, Sunday at Independence Oaks Park.
• Take Steps Walk for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Saturday at Camp Dearborn.
• VisionWalk to benefit the programs of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Saturday at Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge Campus.

 Remember to wear your walking shoes. And to those of you who participate and support these good causes: Thanks in advance!

Masterpieces for all of the senses

Known as a treasure of residential architecture and exquisite design in Detroit, Palmer Woods will host a six-concert series of jazz, classical and world music in five magnificent homes and the Detroit Golf Club (DGC). Each month, from December through May, internationally-recognized, Detroit-based musicians will perform and help preserve the historic neighborhood and support the arts.

Tickets are $25 per concert or $100 for the series of five home concerts; $55 for the Dinner Dance Concert (tickets for the supervised party for children at the DGC are $15). For tickets, visit www.palmerwoods.org or call (313) 920-4864.

The line-up:

• Dec. 22, 8 p.m.: The Shahida Nurullah Trio holiday jazz concert.
• Jan. 26, 8 p.m.: New Orleans Jazz legend saxophonist Charlie Gabriel and his Quartet celebrate Mardi Gras.
• Feb. 23, 8 p.m.: Peter Psarianos & Odyssey lead a musical journey to Asia Minor.
• March 15, 8 p.m.: New York violinist Jannina Barefield performs a classical concert with pianist Michelle Cooker.
• April 26, 6 p.m.: Straight Ahead Trio, three of Detroit’s Grammy Nominated Jazz Divas (bassist Marion Hayden, pianist Alina Morr and Gayelynn McKinney on drums), jazz it up at the Palmer Woods Dinner Dance at the Detroit Golf Club.
• May 24, 8 p.m.: Jazz and classical with A. Spencer Barefield & Donald Mayberry play sounds from Monk to Debussy.

Series presented by the Palmer Woods Association and Creative Arts Collective.

She Lived for Equality

The Detroit Historical Museum presents a new exhibit honoring the legacy of slain civil rights worker Viola Liuzzo. Like many Americans, Liuzzo was horrified by the images of the aborted march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7.  Nine days later, she took part in a protest at Wayne State, then called her husband to tell him she would be traveling to Selma, saying the struggle, "was everybody's fight."

Organized by Davenport University faculty and students, the traveling exhibit includes a sculpture of Liuzzo that was created by Davenport student Sarai Mena and a large mural created by another Davenport student, Sotir Davidhi. The mural is comprised mainly of images of Martin Luther King, Jr., Viola Liuzzo, and Rosa Parks, with other images such as the march in Montgomery that came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” A computer-based component created by faculty and students is also included. The special exhibit is on display Wednesdays through Sundays, through May 13 at the Detroit Historical Museum.

Viola Liuzzo, born April 11, 1925 was a white civil rights activist and mother of five, who was murdered by Ku Klux Klan members after the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama. One of the Klansmen who fired shots was an FBI informant, and the FBI carried out a smear campaign against Liuzzo after her death. While raising a family, Liuzzo sought to return to school, attending the Carnegie Institute in Detroit, Michigan. She then enrolled part-time at Wayne State University in 1962.

After the march concluded on March 25, Liuzzo, assisted by Leroy Moton, a 19-year-old African American, helped drive local marchers home in her 1963 Oldsmobile. After they dropped off their second load of people, a car full of Klansmen in a blue Ford spotted Liuzzo's car at traffic lights, then gave chase for 20 miles. The Klan members pulled up alongside Liuzzo's car and shot directly at her, hitting her twice in the head and killing her. Though she is the only known white female who gave her life for the Civil Rights movement, few know her story. 

Funded in part by the Michigan Humanities Council, the exhibit will then be on permanent display at the Michigan Women’s Historical Center & Hall of Fame in Lansing.

Stories from the Wild Blue Yonder

For almost a century and a half, brave men and women have taken to the air to help preserve our nation's freedom. During the Civil War, manned hot-air Union and Confederate balloons would climb aloft to gather intelligence. Powered flight spans more than a century, starting months after the first flights of Orville and Wilbur Wright and continuing through the present day. You can touch much of that history of American military aviation, right here in Southeast Michigan.

At the Selfridge Military Air Museum, you'll view breathtaking displays from past conflicts, such as Desert Storm Iraqi Freedom, Vietnam, World War I and World War II. Experience what its like to actually be inside the cockpit of the famed F-16 Fighting Falcon. You can learn about the dogfights of the First World War, the air European and Pacific Theatre campaigns of the Second World War, and discover the air battles and other missions over Korea, Vietnam, Desert Shield and the present day. Outdoor displays include actual aircraft, such as the Navy F-14 Tomcat and the F-86 Sabre.

Selfridge Military Air Museum was formed to preserve the heritage and tradition of the Air National Guard in Michigan and the military services, the United States Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard -- past and present. Housed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and in the surrounding communities, the Selfridge Air Military Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4:30 p.m.  Click here to learn more. Call (586)307-6768 or (586) 307-5035 for more information or to arrange a tour.

A Remarkable People's Journey

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History soon will be home to “And Still We Rise." The new permanent exhibit, opening Nov. 30, will tell the story of how African people were transported to slavery in the New World and how their struggle for freedom evolved.

The exhibition follows the voyage from Africa to modern Detroit with exhibits that depict the Ford Rouge Plant, the place that opened up equal pay for equal work in the 1930s; businesses in Detroit's famed Black Bottom; an homage to Detroit churches; and a walk up Woodward Avenue (circa 1960s). Also included are life-size depictions of historical figures, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Coleman Young.

Housed in 22 galleries on two levels filling 22,000 square feet, "And We Shall Rise" was created at a cost of $12 million. Art critic Frank Provenzano, of the Detroit Free Press, called it exhibit that “could have what it takes to transform the Wright museum.” To read the article, click here.

The exhibit will be unveiled Nov. 27 at a preview party hosted by the museum. Tickets are $25 per person and include live entertainment, hors d'oeuvres and refreshments. For reservations, call (313) 494-5800 or visit www.MAAH-Detroit.org.

An Institution Is Lost, Flying Heritage Saved

Southeast Michigan lost one of its remarkable cultural institutions to fire Oct. 9 - the Yankee Air Museum. The museum was housed at Willow Run Airport, the site where four-engine B-24 Liberator bombers rolled off the assembly line. The fire destroyed seven aircraft, hundreds of artifacts, the museum library, store and offices.

The good news is that volunteers saves the museum's B-17G (pictured). And  the museum plans to rebuild. Veterans and their families who are interested in donating artifacts and family heirlooms should call Curator Gayle Roberts at (734) 637-8876. The museum also needs everything from office supplies to monitors and DVD players that were lost in the fire. Those interested in donating items can write YankeeAirMuseum@provide.net. Those interested in making a financial contribution may visit http://www.michiganaerospace.org. Museum staffers say offers of support are coming in from across the state and nation. 

To see before-and-after photos, click here. To read a Detroit Free Press story about the fire, click here.

Art, Antiques, Education and a Party

The Art Center in Mount Clemens is a great place for people who love art and antiques.

Housed in the historic 1904 Carnegie Library building, The Art Center is charged with making the arts accessible to the community. The facility itself houses an art gallery, studio and school and holds paintings, sculptures, ceramics and other works by local and national artists. The institution holds classes and workshops, provides courses in collaboration with Detroit's College for Creative Studies. In addition, it sponsors fairs, festivals and special programs and provides “mini-grants,” funded by the by the Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, to worthy arts projects.

MotorCities National Heritage Area

We all know that southeast Michigan's automotive heritage is pretty special. What fewer people know is that it is officially special.

The MotorCities National Heritage Area, created by Congress in 1998, is dedicated to identifying and documenting significant auto heritage sites and assisting in their preservation. Its projects include working with schools to get auto and labor history and heritage into the classroom; compiling an oral history project; and encouraging tourism by helping to organize tours and events. Its Web site, www.ExperienceEverythingAutomotive.org, is a great place to find out about auto-related events and activities.

The MotorCities  area is one of 24 National Heritage Areas, all of which are affiliates of the National Park Service.

Hall of Fame Honors Superstars of Car Biz

Baseball has one, football has one. It's only proper that the automotive industry should have its own hall of fame and that the hall be located in the Detroit area.

In 1939, a group  met in New York  to create an organization that would perpetuate the memories of the early automotive pioneers as well as the contemporary leaders in the industry. From the beginning, this organization – originally called “Automobile Old Timers” –  was dedicated to honoring automotive people from all industry segments and from around the world.

In 1975, the first permanent Automotive Hall of Fame building was opened in Midland. The present Automotive Hall of Fame building, in Dearborn was opened on August 15, 1997. The  Automotive Hall of Fame welcomes nearly 30,000 visitors a year and recognizes achievement in the automotive and related industries. 

For more information about the Automotive Hall of Fame, visit its Web site at  www.AutomotiveHallofFame.org/about.php 

Unplugged and Very Cool

One hot spot in Ann Arbor is recognized around the world for delivering top quality music most every night. It's The Ark, where nearly 300 acoustic performances are enjoyed by a total audience of 50,000 people each year.

Founded in 1965, The Ark is considered among the top listening rooms in the world and known internationally for quality programming. The space is intimate, with 400 seats and not a bad one in the house. Every concert date feels like a gathering of friends.

You know you want to go! Get all the details at www.TheArk.org or call (734) 761-1818. 

The Rural Past Comes Alive 

The farm, occupied by the Van Hoosen family for five generations, is so meticulously preserved and restored that it's easy to imagine daily routines in the 1800s.  Among the features:

• An 1840 farmhouse and 1850 tenant farmhouse surrounded by 16 acres of beautiful rolling park grounds and hillsides of flowers, and bordered by Stoney Creek.
• A dairy barn designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and considered state-of-the-art when built in 1927.  The Van Hoosen cattle, blue ribbon winners at state fairs from 1929 to 1940, were so desirable that their  “great-great-grand-cows” are grazing now in Venezuela, Costa Rica and Argentina.
• A fountain built in the late 1870s.  According to an 1878 newspaper article, Joshua Van Hoosen  raised 1,000 salmon in this fountain and eventually released them into Stony Creek.

If you’re interested in digging up the past, there are ongoing archaeology digs every Saturday when weather permits.  Volunteers excavating the original sites of an 1823 log cabin and the 1840 Van Hoosen Farmhouse have found more than 150,000 artifacts that reflect diets, toys, clothing, and buildings used by the people who once lived there.

Besides the permanent exhibits, the museum showcases other interesting glimpses into the past.  Right now there’s an exhibit on the history of photography that spans 170 years.  Among historic cameras and photos leading up to today’s digital cameras, famous photographs are on display, along with a real darkroom that explores old and new photo processing.   For more information, click here. 

You can be part of current history on any nice day by joining swimmers, fishermen and women, sunbathers, painters, photographers, and readers who simply enjoy the setting of this beautiful site.

The museum's phone number is (248) 656-4663. It has a Web site at www.RochesterHills.org/museum.htm.