The Milford Historical Society Endowment Fund

The Milford Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1973 with the mission

of collecting, preserving and sharing the history of the Milford, Michigan area. We are an educational organization with the Milford Historical Museum in Milford, Michigan serving as the primary vehicle for our efforts to educate the local community about the history of the area. An important part of or mission involves engaging local high school students to share the area history. Students volunteer at the Museum as docents (guides) over their final two years in high school. Those who complete 100 hours of service as docents by the time that they graduate are awarded $1,000 scholarships. We usually award 2 or 3 scholarships each year.

The Milford Historical Society has created a dedicated Endowment Fund which will be invested to provide income for these student scholarships, as well as supporting the operation of the Milford Historical Museum with any earnings beyond that needed for the scholarships. At the current rate of return on conservative investments, we estimate that a fund of $60,000 should be sufficient to provide for the annual scholarships. We have also provided for the naming of each scholarship on behalf of the donors, should any single donation be made at a level of $30,000 or more. Scholarships may be named for individuals or for corporations. Scholarships are awarded at the end of each school year to the graduating seniors who have completed their service requirements at the Museum.

The Milford Historical Museum is located at 124 E. Commerce Street in Milford, Michigan 48381, and is open from 1 – 4 PM on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The museum displays historic  memorabilia that has  been donated by area residents as well as featuring a second floor that is furnished and decorated just as a turn of the century hoe might have been in Milford in the late 1800’s. In addition, the museum staff provides history research for those doing genealogical work or who want to know the background of the Milford home. The Milford Historical Society maintains at the Museum an archive of every issue of the Milford Times news weekly since its beginning in 1871 and also has an extensive photo collection of historic photos and sells reproduction prints of selected photos.

We have established a crowd funding site for this endowment fund on the Crowdrise.com web site - https://www.crowdrise.com/themilfordhistorical

Please consider supporting our mission.

Come listen to the stories of our own Main Street Brat

The Milford Historical Society presents Mary Lou and Main Street - Our Thursday  April 16th General Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Milford Methodist Church at 1200 Atlantic St and it will be a Potluck. Pot Luck assignments are as follows:  A—F–  Salad or Side Dish   G—Q   Main Dish      R—Z— Desserts.

The Guest Speaker that night will be our own Mary Lou Gharrity (shown on the left

with Marlene Gomez, our recently retired Museum Director). This is a Meeting you will want to attend for sure. Come listen to the stories of the Main Street Brat! Mary Lou grew up in Yea Olde Hotel on Main street and has decades of Milford stories to share.

The Milford Historical Society holds general membership meeting every other month, with guest speakers talking about topics of historical interest from the area and from Michigan. Past speakers have talked about topics like the founding of Detroit and the early settlers who migrated out to found Towns and Villages like Milford, about the impact of the railroads on the small towns that they passed through, about the work of the CCC during the Great Depressing and the CCC camps that were set up in Michigan, about the Vernors soft drink company and about being in the Nazi concentration camps (from a concentration camp survivor).

This months speaker is lifelong Milford resident Mary Lou Gharrity, who spent at least a part of her childhood living in Yea Olde Hotel, Milford's downtown hotel, which her parents ran. Later she and her husband owned and ran the Milford Times. Mary Lou, as much as anyone can represents a living history of Milford, and her stories of the old days are fascinating. we hope that you will join us.

The Milford Historical Society was founded in 1973 by a group of citizens who recognized the importance of the heritage of their community and wished to share it with their contemporaries and preserve it for those who will follow. To these ends, the members have established a museum, a research and archives room, and have sponsored, in conjunction with the Milford Township Library and the State of Michigan Library, the microfilming of the Milford Times newspaper beginning with the first issue in 1871. The Society is currently involved with a project in conjunction with Central Michigan University's Clarke History Library to convert that microfilm library into a searchable, on-line database.

The Milford Historical Society is chartered as a 501c3 Non-Profit organization and as such is eligible to accept tax-deductible contributions. The Society supports the Milford Historical Museum at 124 E. Commerce St (one block east of Main St) and all of its projects from membership donations and fund raising efforts and received no outside support. The Society’s continuing projects include an annual home tour, various research projects and an effort toward local architectural preservation. Through it’s own Sesquicentennial Committee, the Society published a book titled TEN MINUTES AHEAD OF THE REST OF THE WORLD – A History of Milford  as another step towards preserving and disseminating the history of Milford, Michigan.

Help the Milford Historical Society by shopping at Kroger

Shop at Kroger and help the Milford Historical Society

Did you know that you can sign up your Kroger Rewards card for the Kroger Community Rewards program and the Milford Historical Society will receive quarterly donations from the Kroger program, based upon how much you spend at Kroger on groceries, gas and at the Pharmacy?

This program is part of Kroger’s give-backs to the communities that they serve and does not impact at all the points that you get for gas discounts. It is an additional donation that Kroger makes to support local non-profit organizations in the communities that they are located in.

Click here to read a Frequently Asked Questions article about the program. The Historical Society will be registered, but each person who wishes to contribute will have to re-register annually.

Click here or on the Kroger graphic to go to the Kroger Community Rewards site and sign up.

A new rewards year starts MAY 1st and you must sign up each year, so there’s still plenty of time to sign up and get the donations rolling before the May 1 renewal date.

The Non-Profit Organization (NPO) number for the Milford Historical Society under this program is 91661. Write that down, because you’ll need to enter it at the Kroger Community rewards site. You do not have to live in Milford in order to support this effort, just shop at your local Kroger store and register your Kroger Rewards card to this worthy charity.

If you don’t have a computer or feel comfortable using one, bring your Kroger card to the next Milford Historical Society General Membership meeting and we’ll help you sign up. You can find out when and where those meetigns are taking place by going to our Web site – www.milfordhistory.org.  You can also come into the Museum when it reopens on a Wednesday or Saturday between 1 & 4 PM and we’ll help you register your card to help the Milford Historical Society. While you’re there, if you aren’t a member, you can join the society, if you’d like. Remember our motto – you don’t have to be a relic to be a member.

Even if you aren’t a member of the Milford Historical Society, you can register your card to help support the MHS and the Milford Historical Museum. Having a group dedicated to preserving and sharing our area history and a museum right in town is not something that many local communities have, so we hope that you will help out in this painless way to help keep Milford the great place that it is to live and work.

What’s happening at the Milford Historical Society?

January 16th - General Membership Meeting at the Milford United Methodist Church on Atlantic Street, starts at 6:30 with a potluck dinner. Program  - The Unusual, The Unique and The Ugly. Bring your favorite family heirloom, collectible or great garage sale find and show it off.  Tell us a little about it and maybe win a prize for your story.

This is a pot luck dinner meeting and these are the assignments for what to bring - A—F– Main Dish G—Q—Salad Q—Z—Desserts.

Even if you can’t bring a dish to share, come on out and enjoy the evening with us. You will need to at least bring a serving setting for yourself and whatever you wish to drink. Our members tell us this is the best pot luck dinner in Milford.

General Membership meeting are open to the public and are held every other month at the Milford United Methodist Church at 1200 Atlantic Avenue in Milford. There are two special meetings shown for April and October that are not general meetings and have no pot luck dinner. We may add more special meetings during the year, so stay tuned.

The rest of 2014 –

The other programs that we have planned for the year are shown below:

March 20th (Potluck)  Mrs. Lincoln (alias Pam Dawson). Meet Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln and hear her story while in the White House. If you haven’t seen Pam become Mrs. Lincoln you’ve missed a very believable transformation and acting job. The White House years were a relatively good time for Mrs. Lincoln who suffered bouts of depression in later years. Pam is well known amongst Civil War re-enactors for her portrayal of Mrs. Lincoln.

April 17th (No Potluck)  Mary Lou and Main Street.. Our own Mary Lou Gharrity will tell her great stories about Main Street, Milford. Mary Lou didn’t show up on the first wagons to make it to Milford, but she wasn’t far behind. Listen to some fascinating stories of Milford from someone who has lived here for a very long time. Mary Lou can tell you all about the Milford Hotel, where she grew up, because her dad ran the place. She also knows what every store on Main Street used to be, at least back to the early 1900’s.

May 15th (Potluck)  Annick Hewarth will  return and tell about the iconic CCC. Her book tells the stories from the men who worked those jobs. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25 as part of Roosevelt's New Deal.  A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory.

July 17th (Potluck)   Powerhouse Picnic Potluck (say that three times real fast). A tour will be included with this historic building. This is a potluck picnic on the ground of the Pettibone Creek Powerhouse, with tours of that historic building as the program

Sept. 18th (Potluck)  The Chelsea Jiffy Mix Story complete with free recipe books. Chelsea Milling Company

is operated by a family whose roots in the flour milling business date back to the early 1800’s. They’ve been milling flour in Chelsea, Michigan, for over 120 years. Mabel White Holmes, grandmother of Jiffy President, Howdy S. Holmes, developed and introduced to the homemaker the first prepared baking mix product, “JIFFY” Baking Mix, in the spring of 1930. They currently offer a variety of “JIFFY” mixes. Our mixes provide you, our consumer, with the best value available.

Oct. 16th (Milford Library, No Potluck)  Phyllis Barkey will speak on the famous downtown J. L. Hudson Building. She will bring with her a display case full of J. L. Hudson memorabilia and we are asking for everyone  to bring their favorite cherished item from Hudson's. Mine is a tin tea canister. Phyllis’ book about the downtown Hudson's eateries is in the works.

Nov. 20th. (Fall Potluck)  Milford's own Joe Salvia will be telling his war and military stories after eating a delicious turkey dinner. Joe works tirelessly every year to make the Memorial Day Parade a success in Milford. For those who’ve heard Joe speak you know he talks from both experience and passion about our military people and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

We are also planning a series of workshops on topics like how to preserve and repair historic home windows. Stay tuned to our web site – www.milfordhistory.org  – for more on those workshops. So, come on out and join us during the year. You don’t have to be a history buff to enjoy these programs and remember our motto – “You don’t have to be a relic to be a member!”

The Milford Historical Society Meeting

The September General Membership Meeting of the Milford Historical Society will take place this Thursday, September 19th.  Our Speaker will be Don Wilson and will be speaking on the Evolution of the Bicycle.   Our speaker collected vintage bikes in the past but now only has three vintage bikes (pre 1910) in his collection.  Presently he just collects photos and postcards, which he had done for several years.  Don will be focusing on bicycles from 1800 – 1930.  He will share the most interesting ones with us.  Also we will see pictures on what was the “in” thing to wear for bicycle riders of the time.

Our meeting will begin at 6:30 with a Potluck dinner.  We will meet at the Milford Methodist Church located at 1200 Atlantic St.

Our evening will begin with a scrumptious potluck dinner at 6:30 pm at the MilfordMethodistChurch located at 1200 Atlantic Street.  A brief business meeting will begin at 7:30 pm followed immediately by our program.  Please feel free to invite a guest.  Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.  All are welcome.  You do not have to be a member to enjoy this Thursday evening with people who like history.  Bring your own table service and a dish to pass based on the first letter of your last name as shown below.

A – F = Salad      G – O = Deserts    Q – Z = Main Dish

So, come out and see what the Milford Historical Society is all about. Remember that “you don’t have to be a relic to be a member.” Visit us on the web at www.milfordhistory.org.

Change of venue for May Historical Society Meeting

There's a change in venue for the Milford Historical Society meeting this Thursday, May 17. The General Membership meeting of the Milford Historical Society will take place this time at the Christ Lutheran Church ay 720 General Motors Rd in Milford. The meeting klicks off with a pot luck dinner at 6:30 followed by a short meeting and a program.
Our May 17th Speaker Ron Rademacher will be here to get us in the “Pure Michigan” mood.  Ron is a author of three books about out of the way places and small towns in our Great Lakes States.  He manages two sites about Michigan and produces a free monthly web magazine.  He does know his Michigan.  His presentation includes color photos, both educational and entertaining (Q & A and chat time will follow).

Come and hear about our lesser-known towns, festivals, unique shops, great food and the people who call Michigan their home sweet home.  Do I hear Road Trip anyone?  Websites to explore on your own without leaving your comfy chair:  www.michiganbackroads.com, www.upnorthmichigan.com and his web magazine:  www.travelinmichigan.com.

Pack your Pot Luck with your favorite Michigan recipes bring your questions to ask Ron and we will see you on Thursday May 17th, 6:30 p.m. Michigan time.

Cabin Fever Sale Preview

The Cabin Fever Sale that the Milford Historical Society will be running tomorrow Friday, March 9, from 9 am until 4 pm and Saturday March 10, from 9 am until 2 pm will also have a preview sale today Thursday, March 8, from 4 pm until 6 pm. The sale is set up at 210 S. Main St in the old stone blacksmith shop across from the now defunct Colonial Motors location onthe south end of the Village.

There will be lots of stuff from estate sales - furniture, jewelry, collectibles and more - all priced to sell quickly. Check it out. It's for a good cause and, who knows, you may find that treasure that you've been looking for.

For more pictures and details on the sale go to http://www.milfordhistory.org/ and click on the Cabin Fever ad.

Our little bit of vicarious fame

I live and work in the Village of Milford and I'm the Webmaster for the Milford Historical Society. One of Milford's claims to some amount of fame is that the stage, motion picture and TV actress Mary Jackson was born and raised in Milford. She appeared in countless films and in stage productions, but is likely best remembered for her recurring role as one of the Baldwin sisters in the TV show Walton's Mountain. As many may recall, the Baldwin sisters were the keepers of "Papa's Receipt - moonshine whiskey that they served to visitors and partook of themselves "for medicinal purposes."

Anyway, Mary never forgot here roots in Milford and returned almost every year to re-establish contacts with childhood friends and to just unwind from the Hollywood scene by getting back to her small town America roots. She eventually bought back the childhood home that she grew up in and restored it. When she passed away in 2006 she willed the home to the Milford Historical Society, which is working to preserve the home and open it to the public several times a year for events or special occasions. You can read all about Mary and her love for Milford at the MHS Web site.

The Historical society is holding the Mary Jackson house open on December 1, with all ticket proceeds going to the fund that supports the house. The house will be decorated in Victorian Christmas style and there will be musicians playing period music while you get a guided tour of the house. For more information go to the MHS site and click on the picture of the house on the left hand side of the opening page.

While you're visiting the Web site, check out the rest of the information about Milford's history and the Milford Historical Society. Milford's history also includes being a part of Henry Ford's Village Industries program and the MHS has worked to preserve the last vestige of that program in the Village - the Pettibone Creek Powerhouse, which was built to generate power for a Ford Motor Company carburetor plant in Milford. The powerhouse has been restored and is also open to the public on special occasions and during major events in the Village. Plans are underway to try to restore the ability to generate power from the water flowing through the Lower Mill Pond that the powerhouse is located upon.

Every little town and village across America likely has some history that would be interesting to share, The Milford Historical Society has made it it's mission to try to collect, preserve and share the history of Milford, Michigan. In addition to the Mary Jackson house and the Pettibone Creek Powerhouse, the MHS runs the Milford Historical Society Museum in downtown Milford, at the corner of Commerce and Union Streets. For more on that and all of the programs of the MHS, go to our Web site.