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Volume 1, Issue 2 April - June 2008

Roaring 20's Are Back! New Exhibit Now Open

R oar of the Small Town, Clawson in the 1920's" is now

open in the community room.

The exhibit features photos, artifacts, film and music of popular life and culture during the prosperous decade following the Great War. Visitors will enjoy listening to dance tunes, including "Charleston" "Black Bottom" and "Varsity Rag", as well as watching a short video featuring footage of 20's dance contests that are sure to bring a smile.

Many photographs provide a look at what people wore and how they spent their work and leisure hours around town. Be sure to stop by the museum Wednesdays or Sundays and check out the new exhibit.

In This Issue...

Teachers - earn CEU's..........page 2

At the Crossroads ................page 2

From the Archives ..............page 4

New Exhibit Now On the WebA new online only exhibit featuring wedding gowns from 1893 to 1974 is now viewable on the website. Visit www.cityofclawson.com/museum.htm and click online exhibits to view a dozen beautiful gowns worn by Clawson women through the years.

Clawson Historical Museum41 Fisher Court

Clawson, Michigan 48017248-588-9169

historicalmuseum@cityofclawson.com

www.cityofclawson.com/museum.htm

At The Crossroads

With all the recent road construction around

Clawson, our roads have once again become smooth and safe to drive. It hasn't always been that way. Paving was done slowly and over several years, with many roads remaining dirt or gravel until recently. Take a look back through the years at some of the highways and biways around town.

Milk delivery on Lincoln about 1920, looking west. Mr. Shepard drives the wagon, while the Edwards and Upton children tag along with Prince the dog.

.......More Photos on page 6

Bringing Local History to the Classroom

An exiciting new program designed to partner local

historians with educators is in the works. The Oakland County Historical Commission and the Oakland County Intermediate School District are sponsoring the program designed to increase awareness and appreciation of local history resources.

Local historical societies are creating "treasure chests" of primary documents, photographs and artifacts that will be used in the classroom to aid educators in meeting the state-mandated social studies curriculum objectives. A one day program is being offered to partner these historical resources with local educators, and offers breakout sessions on implementing these resources into the classroom.

The program will be held at Royal Oak Middle School (Dondero) Saturday, April 12, from a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The costs for educators is $40, and lunch will be provided. SB-CEU's are available to educators. If you would like more information about this program, please contact Melodie at 248-588-9169, or Jim Craft at 248-425-9817, or james.craft@lhh.com.

Below: 14 Mile Road near Bywood, looking east, in 1927. The paving project started about that time, and this road was soon paved between Crooks and Rochester Roads. The first water and sewer lines in Clawson were also put in along 14 Mile Road.

Above: The Intersection in 1910, looking west. The post office and store are on the southwest corner. This was the location of the first post office. Andrew Bean was the first Postmaster. While not visible in the photo, the DUR train tracks run past this store down Main Street, offering electric train service south to Royal Oak and Detroit, or North to Troy and Rochester.

Late last year, the museum was fortunate to have some of our

newspapers transferrred to a computerized format. This process provides for easier reading of the aging documents, without handling them. So far we have transferred the 1924 Clawson Tribune, issues from the 1925 and 1928 Clawson Journal and an issue of the 1936 Clawson-Troy News. We hope to continue with later editions as funds allow. Here are a few interesting tid-bits from the 1924 issues:

Above: The building at the southeast corner of the intersection was the first bank in Clawson. The Clawson State Savings bank struggled to stay open during the Depression, but finally closed in 1932.

Below: Widening of 14 Mile Road, 1928. The building on the corner is currently the Black Lotus Brewery. In 1928 it was a drug store. The A&P market was on the far end of the building.