Royal Oak Historical Society
1411 W Webster Road
Royal Oak, MI 48073
248.439.1501
info@royaloakhistoricalsociety.org

Two historical groups make a day of it
The Royal Oak Woman's Club's clubhouse, perhaps the oldest structure in the city, was once a church and once the city hall. The Royal Oak Historical Society Museum recently opened in a former fire station built in 1927. A couple of weeks ago, the club and the society arranged for the museum to be one of the stops on the club's successful House Tour. Over 400 women and men bought tickets for the tour. Of  them, 210 signed in at  the museum, many of whom realized, "I'll have to come back when I don't have other houses to visit."

Because the lines at the south side homes quickly became long, some ticket-holders chose to begin in the north and appeared at the Webster & Crooks fire station within minutes of the 10 a.m. kickoff of the tour. They were still walking through the door at closing time, 4 p.m. As had happened at  the museum's grand opening in April, the visitors gravitated individually or in clusters toward their primary interest: photographs, maps, things, or documents. "I'll be back when I can stay a while" was a frequent comment.

The museum's volunteers, in shifts, were kept busy answering questions and guiding the many who wanted to "see where the firemen slept" upstairs, where the museum office and shelves filled with artifacts now occupy the former dormitory. Interest in the structure itself was strong. Many were interested in where the two poles had been located before OSHA banned them. Surprise was frequently the response when visitors learned that modern firefighting vehicles are too large to fit in the station.

One of several highlights of the day was the young man who, seeing a display of milk bottles from Twin Pines and Royal Oak Dairy, drove home and returned to donate a bottle from Brown's Creamery. -- June 2010