We are celebrating completion of our 30th year of publication by printing stories from our earliest issues to show what was happening in Belleville, Van Buren, and Sumpter.
In our Feb. 16, 1995 issue, we reported:
• Burglars stole cartons of cigarettes worth $4,000 during an early morning breakin at Andrew’s Pharmacy, 444 Main St. There were no suspects. Also, Livonia Police alerted Van Buren Township Police that they were raiding an apartment at Parkwood. They had a warrant in hand and officers confiscated a pound of marijuana, half an ounce of cocaine, three handguns and two assault weapons. Three adult males were arrested.
• The Community Quilt Block of the week (sixth of the 30 being published) depicts the Sumpter Tavern that was built in 1935 by Joseph Milosch at the northeast corner of Sumpter and Willow roads. It initially was known as the Biergarten where it was a local hub for social gatherings in the community. Quilter was Cynthia Owens Enzenauer, whose parents owned the building for a while.
• Van Buren Township announced that police officers would get more than a 20% raise over a four-year period. “This may seem excessive,” Township Supervisor David Jacokes said at the Feb. 7 board meeting where the contract was unanimously approved, “but it’s necessary to achieve some kind of reasonable parity to get our officers close to surrounding communities with equal responsibilities.” There were no figures presented on how much this would cost taxpayers because as the wages go up, it would affect benefits and retirement.
Feb. 23, 1995 issue:
• Sumpter Township public servant Louis Banotai, 74, was honored with a big party at the PNA Hall on Feb. 19, 1995. Twelve people “roasted” him before Anthony Soave got up to speak and give Banotai a City Management jacket. Soave was the man who succeeded in putting two landfills in Sumpter Township, although Banotai persisted in fighting the landfills. The jacket with the City Management logo will show, “You’re on our side now,” Soave said.
In our Feb. 23, 1995 issue, we also reported that the Belleville DDA unanimously approved an agreement with Thomas and Kathy Plachetzi at 505 E. Columbia Ave to have a drainage pipe go through their property. That storm water pipe will empty into Belleville Lake on Potter Drive and come from the new subdivision to be built across the street from them [now Victoria Commons]. The DDA agreed to pay them $2,000 for the easement and replace their shed. If their deck is damaged, it will be replaced. Councilman Tony Talaga said he vaguely remembers another route that was paid for years earlier throught the Baker property and Robbe St. Attorney John Day said he would research that.
• Three teenagers who admit they are presently involved with gangs, or were involved in violent gang activity, were interviewed on cable television’s channel 40 on Feb. 24, 25, and 26. Their names are not being given and their faces were not shown. The program was aired to promote the gang-prevention program Elementary School principal Joseph Monte is piloting at Elwell Elementary School.
• Stephen J. Kuchta of Van Buren Township presented a CD ROM containing all of Will Rogers’ published writing, 1,400 photographs, four hours his voice from radio talks, and 10 minutes of excerpts from movies and news reels to the Fred C. Fischer Library. Kuchta said he made the presentation in the “spirit of sharing the wisdom, the wit, and the role model inspiration of Will Rogers in a new state-of-the-art medium.”
• Belleville history buffs Park E. Gregory and Robert Doane are working together to reprint 250 copies of the “History of Van Buren Township,” first published in 1930 by Dr. Samuel H. Robbe. Dr Robbe published the book to mark the occasion of his family living in Michigan for 100 years, 1830 to 1930. Of the 200 or so copies he had printed, only 10 or 12 can be located today. Strangely, one is in the San Francisco Library in California.
We will publish more history from 30 years ago as space allows.