 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
| |
 
 
|
United Oaks elementary school is planning a Farewell celebration
on May 6th
tentatively.
The Commission attended the 40th anniversary reunion of the
HPHS Class of
1963 and did a slide show for the alumni and their guests, it
was well
received.
Hazel
Park Trivia Game
PHOTO GALLERIES:
Businesses
Churches
City
Bldgs & Parks
Clubs
& Organizations
Fire
Department
Harmony
House
Plat
Maps
Schools
Street
Scenes
1928, Life in Hazel Park by Howard Beecher
Life In An Unincorporated Area Adjacent To The City Of Detroit
Howard H. Beecher for Community Problems
Summer Session 1928
General Information
The area I am going to describe is located in the southeast
corner of
Oakland County, known as the Hazel Park School District. The
name was given
to the area by a real estate company at the time it was bought
and
subdivided. When it was taken over by sub-dividers 12 years
ago it was
covered with woods and brush, and was considered a fine hunting
ground. It
covers four square miles in area and is square in shape. It
is bounded on
the west by Campbell Road and the City of Ferndale, on the north
by Ten Mile
Road and school district number nine, an unincorporated area
on the east by
Dequindre Road and Macomb County, the adjacent area being unincorporated,
and on the south by Eight mile Road and the City of Detroit.
In June 1923, the population of the area was 1,776. A phenomenal
increase
has taken place since that time.1 According to the estimate
of the Hazel
Park Public School‚s census list the population was about
14,000 in May
1928. Thirty five hundred are of school age and about 3,100
will enroll in
school in September. These people belong to the working class
and are not
wealthy. Their success depends on the industrial and labor conditions
in the
City of Detroit as there are no industries in Hazel Park. At
one time it
was estimated that 75% of the laborers worked at Ford Motor
Company. During
the time that the Fords factories were closed, some got work
elsewhere, but
many of them were out of work for several months and conditions
were very
bad. Some had to give up their homes, which they were buying
on the
installment plan, and many had to have help from charitable
organizations.
Fifteen percent of the adults are foreign born, and about 10
percent of the
children of school age were born in other countries. Americanization
classes
are offered each year in night school to help foreign adults
prepare for
their citizenship examinations. Literature, information and
help are given
out from the school superintendent‚s office. He is a member
of the
Americanization Committee of Detroit.
Approximately 20% of the population is continually drifting
so it makes the
community unsettled and hard to organize. The general feeling
is everybody
for himself and let the other fellow go.
The housing conditions are bad in some parts of Hazel Park.
There are many
modern well-kept homes with five or six rooms and quite a large
number of
modern two family income bungalows. On the other hand there
are many garage
homes that have only two or three rooms. I have no data so I
cannot compute
the house congestion but I do know that in many of these small
houses,
father, mother, and five or six children have to live. It is
hard to
conceive of the conditions that the school nurses tell about
in their
report. Running water is not present in all parts of the district
so
unsanitary conditions do exist. Many houses do not have basements
because
of inadequate sewers. The land is low and many parts are swampy.
Water often
stands around or under the houses for several days. There are
times each
year when it is impossible for people to get in and out of their
houses
because of water. Often, they have to leave and go live with
relatives or
friends until the water subsides.
The majority of the people who buy lots and build in this section
do it
because they want to get out of the city and away from high
rents. They buy
their lots and a little lumber on the installment plan. Along
with the help
of friends they build their houses nights and Sundays. Contractors
build a
few houses from time to time and sell them on the installment
plan. It is
not an attractive place for contractors to build houses because
it is
difficult to get building or mortgage loans and also because
of so many
small houses in most of the neighborhoods and the lack of ample
fire
protection.
There are about 15 miles of open ditches in or surrounding Hazel
Park. These
ditches are from eight to 10 feet wide at the top, narrowing
to two to three
feet at the bottom and four to six feet in depth. They have
been dug because
it was thought they would help drain the land and act as outlets
for sewers.
There is very little fall to them and in the spring, or after
a heavy rain,
they are full of water. Some of the water gradually goes away
but never all
of it, and what remains becomes stagnant and full of disease
germs and are a
menace to health. In the summer, the smell of these ditches
can be detected
from two or three blocks away. Think of living near such a ditch
and having
your children playing in or near the polluted water.
The City of Highland Park, not having a satisfactory place within
its
boundaries where garbage could be disposed of, went outside
its city limits
and even beyond the city limits of Detroit one and one half
miles to secure
the place. Seven years ago the City purchased several acres
of land that is
located in the northeast quarter of the four square miles of
Hazel Park.
They keep from 400-600 hogs at this location where they squeal,
sleep, stink
and eat. The hogs are fed the garbage that is transported from
Highland
Park in large trucks. The unpleasant aroma that comes from these
yards
often penetrates the air many blocks away. It has been declared
a menace to
public health and a hindrance to building developments, but
because of the
lack of local incorporation, it seems impossible to compel the
owners to
move it.
Within the last two years Hazel Park has voted on incorporation
as a village
three times without success. The negative votes won by a small
majority at
the last vote. One and a half years ago the section voted on
annexation to
the City of Detroit. It voted itself in, but was turned down
by the Detroit
voters. At present, there is a petition filed that has been
accepted by the
Township Board of Supervisors for the area to vote on annexation
to the City
of Royal Oak on September 4th.
Partisan and sectional strife have divided the district into
many opposing
factions. Some favor annexation to Ferndale and other favor
annexation to
Royal Oak. Some oppose annexation to any other community, but
favor
incorporation as a village or as a city; others are content
to remain as
they are, while others have no opinion on the matter.
About 125 stores do the business that is carried on in Hazel
Park. Some of
the owners are prospering while others are not. Some are like
the
population in that they come and go. The chain grocery stores
do most of
the grocery business.
As in all new communities there is a real estate office on nearly
every
other corner along the main streets. Some of the salesmen are
making a
living and others are not. It is easy to see that the standard
of living in
this section depends on the labor conditions in Detroit.
The assessed evaluation of Hazel Park as of July 1, 1927, was
$11,762,575.00. This made per capita evaluation of $927.00 at
that time.
The school tax rate for 1927-28 was $25.75 for each $1,000.00
evaluation,
while the total rate was $35.25. The school budget for 1927-28
called for
$343,000.00. There are two banks in the section that take care
of the
ordinary banking needs, but they can only make small loans because
of
limited resources.
Civic Factors.
There is no form of local government. The governing power is
vested in the
township and county authorities. The township offices are four
miles away
at Royal Oak, and the county offices are at Pontiac, 16 miles
distant.
There are many things that could be done under local government
that cannot
be done under the present form. It is nearly impossible to get
improvements. It is a real job to make progress in a community
where there
are 14,000 people with no local government, and next to a large
city where
the community feels the effect of crime as it exists in the
city. There
are cases that need immediate attention, but by the time they
get to the
county authorities, they put the offenders on probation and
allow them to go
free. Stolen automobiles are often found harbored in the district.
Blind
pigs and all the forms of vice that go with them carry on in
various part.
There is an endless number of petty robbery causes and very
few of the
offenders can be caught.
There are four deputy sheriffs appointed by the County Sheriff
of Pontiac,
who has headquarters in a police booth at the main corner of
the district.
The booth was bought, paid for and moved to the corner by the
local Exchange
Club. The deputies wore citizen‚s clothes until two months
ago when they
bought new blue uniforms. They are good officers but are subject
to calls
to other pats of the Township at all times. Sometimes when they
are needed
very badly in Hazel Park they cannot be found.
Fire protection is very inadequate. The Township has a fire
hall near the
center of the district where it maintains one fire engine, chemical
fire
extinguishers and the Township‚s ambulance. The Fire Department
could give
better service that it does if there were more hydrants. There
are only 15
in the four square miles. If a fire gets a little start, the
building
usually burns to the ground because of the lack of fire fighting
apparatus
or the lack of hydrants near the fire‚s location. The fire
engine is
subject to calls outside the four square miles and into other
parts of the
Township. The lack of fire protection makes the rate of fire
insurance very
high.
The three main highways are paved and there is pavement on the
north, west
and south boundaries. Some of the cross streets are cindered
but in the
spring there are many, many streets that cannot be traveled.
People have to
leave their cars along the main highways and walk to their homes.
Two bus lines on John R and Nine Mile Road cover four miles
in the district
and run over different routes to the Ford factory, where transfer
is made to
Detroit downtown bus, car and jitney lines. Bus service over
these two
lines runs every 10 minutes. A streetcar line with 30 minutes
service
passes diagonally through Hazel Park. The Detroit City bus line
runs over
Eight Mile Road, the south boundary of the district, where five
minute
service is maintained. These means of transportation do not
serve the
district adequately.
There are sidewalks along many of the streets, but in most cases
they are
the ones placed by the smooth-tongued sub-dividers. They were
built cheaply
and usually are placed lower than the streets, so much of the
time they are
covered with water.
There is no garbage collection. The usual method of disposal
is by burying
or burning. However, there are many who throw it on the ground,
where it
creates an ideal place for the development of disease germs
that are gladly
carried by the files and mosquitoes.
There are no parks or recreational centers in Hazel Park except
the school
grounds that are made available throughout the summer, as well
as during the
school year. Gymnasium classes for men and women are held with
the high
school gymnasium during the winter.
Through the strenuous and untiring efforts of the local Exchange
Club a post
office has been located near the main corner. The office has
been open
about a year. Before that time the people had to go to Ferndale,
two miles
distant, to mail parcel post packages and there was only one
delivery of
mail a day. Near the main corner it was delivered to the stores
and homes,
but for the most part, it was left in rural delivery mail- boxes
on the
corners. Now we have two home deliveries a day in all parts
of the
district.
The sewer system is inadequate to take care of the needs. Where
there are
sewers they are small and cannot take care of the regular sewage
without the
surface water. In many parts there are no sewers and the unsanitary
out
door toilets have to be used.
Many parts of the area do not have running water so the people
have to carry
it. They often get it two or three blocks away from a well that
has not
been inspected by health authorities and perhaps it is a menace
to health.
The running water is obtained from the Detroit Water Department.
The Detroit Edison Company furnishes the electric current that
is available
in all parts of the section.
The Consumer‚s Power Company supplies Hazel Park with gas
for domestic
purposes. It is available throughout the section at present.
Until two
years ago when the company piped the entire district, people
had to use oil
or wood stoves for their cooking.
The first telephone was installed in Hazel Park during the summer
of 1924.
The service has been gradually increased since that time, but
it was less
than six months ago that it was possible for everyone who wanted
it, to get
a telephone.
The school system of Hazel Park is the only thing that makes
one think that
there is enough common organization so you can call it a community.
If it
were not for state legislation regarding schools there would
not be any
cooperation. In fact, a cooperative spirit is not very marked
even in
school matters. The people support them because the State says
they have
to. The school controls the center of the stage for both comment
and
criticism. The latter seems to be most prevalent and the employees
of the
school sometimes wish there was a city government other than
school that the
knockers could cuss and discuss.
Of course we all make mistakes, even the School Board does,
at times. Las
fall we were known as the mecca of the dimpled knee school teachers
just
because the School Board attempted to cloth the lady teachers
in smocks that
were to be exactly 10‰ from the floor. It gave the school
and the community
nation-wide publicity, but I am wondering if it is just that
we should have
received such publicity because of a mistake of four people.
It has caused
much ill feeling and disorganization within the four square
miles.
There are four grade school buildings and one high school building
in Hazel
Park. The highs school building is located at the center of
the district
and the grade school buildings are placed at approximately the
center of
each square mile.2
In June 1924, schools closed with 425 students and had 10 teachers.
At the
close of school in June 1928, five years later there were 2800
children in
school and 112 teachers on the payroll.3 Because of the rapid
rate of
growth it has been a big task for the School Board and the school
administrative employees to keep the children housed and the
plans for
operating in working condition. Schools closed in June 1928
with 600 pupils
in the lower grades on half-day sessions. Is this fair to the
boys and
girls who are going to be our future citizens? On may 26, the
district
voted a $500,000.00 bond issue for a new high school, but this
will not
relieve the congested conditions in the schools next September
when there
will be at least 400 more enrolled than we closed with in June.
Despite all
of the problems that we meet and try to solve in the best possible
way, the
University of Michigan‚s and North Central‚s accredited
lists.
The health of the school children is entrusted to the care of
three full
time nurses and one part time doctor. They examine the children
twice each
year and recommend the correction that should be made. The school
doctor is
called for consultation in cases where the nurses need a doctor‚s
advice.
He has the final authority on all cases of importance. The nurses
administrate service from the school offices and go into the
homes to help
in many cases. Because of confidence in the nurses and because
of economy,
the majority of parents call a physician only in cases of severe
sickness.
The district maintains a room for physically handicapped children
under the
direction of a teacher with special training for the work. Corrections
are
made for these children by some of the best specialists in Detroit.
The
work that is being done for and by these children is cited with
great pride
by the State Director of Physically Handicapped Children as
one of the best
run projects in the state of Michigan. A special school bus
is used to
transport the children to and from school.
During the month of March 1928 about 1,100 school children were
treated with
toxin antitoxin in the school by the township‚s Health
Officer, the school
doctor and the nurse so that they would be immune from the dreaded
disease
of diphtheria. Approximately the same number treated for the
disease the
previous year.
The Township's Health Officer does little in the community except
in urgent
cases and putting up and taking down house placards. The Royal
Oak Township
Community Council nurse and doctor hold clinics for preschool
children in
the high school building every other Saturday during the year.
Last spring
the Parent Teacher Association canvassed the district to secure
the names of
children who would enter the school for the first time in September.
Special
clinics are held during the summer for these children and recommendations
for correction are made.
A dentist comes to the school two days each week to take care
of the dental
needs of the children at minimum cost.
We are proud to inform the public that in spite of all of the
unhealthy
conditions that exist, we have never had an epidemic of any
disease. Nearly
every spring there are several cases of measles and mumps, but
the schools
have never been closed on account of disease.
Two dentists, three physicians and an eye, ear, nose and throat
specialist
compose the group of men who take care of the health needs in
Hazel Park.
One doctor maintains a small local hospital with 15 beds.
The death rate is high. This is due to the house congestion,
unsanitary
conditions and poverty.
Social and Fraternal Life.
There are several social and fraternal organizations in Hazel
Park. Some of
these are: The Odd Fellows, the Exchange Club, The Eastern Star,
the United
Oaks Commerce Club, The Ladies Round Table Club, North End Civic
Association, Women‚s Benefit Association, Rebeccas, The
Ladies Community
Club and several church organizations. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts,
Girl
Reserves, Y.M.C.A. Campfire Girls and many other social and
hobby clubs are
carried on as part of the school program. Their specific aim
is to take
care of the social and recreational needs of the boys and girls
so they will
be under good influence and off the streets as much as possible.
There are
two moving picture theaters that show a few good pictures, but
for the most
part they are not a kind that should not be seen by the youth
of today. 4
Miscellaneous
The Detroit Community Fund extends its work into Royal Oak Township
where it
is called the Royal Oak Township Branch. The Fund receives donations
in the
territory, but uses approximately twice as much in Royal Oak
Township as is
collected within its boundaries. One reason for this is because
many of the
men live in Royal Oak Township and contribute in Detroit where
they work.
Another reason is because of the big brother feeling; Visiting
Nurses are
furnished, clinics are held, charity cases are helped and many
other forms
of service are maintained by the Council. The Township‚s
Poor Commission
helps in some very extreme cases of poverty but the help from
this source is
limited.
At the Christmas season when everybody would like to be happy
and have the
spirit of giving, there are always many families who scarcely
have enough to
eat and clothes to wear. Each year The Goodfellows help bring
a little
Christmas cheer to the needy families by giving large baskets
of food topped
with toys for the children. The money to pay for this is obtained
by
selling newspapers that are donated by the newspaper companies.
Firemen,
policemen, high school seniors and others help in the campaign.
The papers
are sold for whatever one wishes to donate to the cause. The
clubs,
churches and lodges cooperate each year in furnishing a community
Christmas
tree. The local Exchange Club helps by each member taking a
needy family to
provide a Christmas for. The club also gives a picnic to the
crippled
children of the community during the month of August.
When work is scarce there are many needy people in the community.
Charity
organizations do what they can, but do not reach all of the
worthy cases.
In midwinter you often see boys and girls with only worn out
tennis shoes to
protect their feet from the snow and ice. Many notes are received
at the
office from parents who say that their children cannot come
to school
because of insufficient clothing or shoes to wear and probably
they should
go further and say because of lack of food.
Last year one of the school nurses reported the following incident
that she
witnessed while visiting a home. It was suppertime and the five,
should be,
healthy children, were asking for something to eat. Supper was
soon ready,
the Mother poured part of a box of corn flakes into a wood-bottomed
chair
and the five children ate. The nurse said that the cupboard
doors were open
and the shelves were base, as well as on the table. The mother,
with tears
in her eyes, said there was not another thing in the house to
eat, and no
money to buy more.
A library has been installed in one of the schools and is open
to the public
five hours each day.
The three main churches in Hazel Park are Community, Baptist
and Methodist.
Other denominations are represented with Sunday schools and
church services
from time to time.
There is one weekly newspaper published in the district called
„ The Hazel
Park News‰. Various other publications edited in Detroit,
Royal Oak and
Pontiac adequately serve the population..
I have described the conditions as they exist in Hazel Park,
having taken
all material from facts and figures.
I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading this description
and that I
have described conditions well enough so that you can comprehend
them as
they really exist.
|
|
City
of Hazel Park, 111 E. Nine Mile Rd., Hazel Park, MI 48030 Disclaimer |
|
|
