LogCabinDay Express 7 , M Sunday,June 24,2012 M peopleforpalmerpark.org 6 PALMER PARK: From Family Farm to Community Park

omas in 1874. omas expanded the family’s hold - ings in this area, eventually owning and farming some 640 acres, where he kept an orchard and raised herds of cattle and Percheron horses. In 1855, Palmer married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Pitts Merrill, daughter of Charles Merrill, a noted businessman with large holdings in lumber. omas W. Palmer is considered to be one of the most significant figures in Detroit history. In 1883 he was elected to the U.S. Senate; in 1889, he was appointed the American ambassa - dor to Spain. e Palmers returned from Spain with a young boy, whom they adopted. ree other chil - dren later joined their family. ere is a story that the Palmers often came out to the farm to picnic. After a Fourth of July lthough it is thought to be party there, Mrs. the only authentic log Palmer is reputed to Acabin in Detroit, the have said: “I’ve lived in a Palmer Park’s Log Cabin is brick house, a stone shrouded in mystery. house and a wooden house. Closed for more than 30 years But never in a log cabin.” (except for a rare opening about According to history blogger a decade ago), it has been the Amy Elliott Bragg in HistoricDetroit.org: hideout for raccoons, mice, “Lizzie Merrill Palmer was growing weary of spiders, and other park critters in the traffic, noise and crowds of the city. She Above: An old interior photo of the Log Cabin, recent years. And its walls, roof, and other longed for a retreat, a place where she could and early 1900s vintage postcards display features have been dangerously deteriorat - live as people had in the early days: simply, more prosperous times for the Log Cabin and ing and rotting, although camouflaged by the Pavillion (now torn down) by Lake Francis. peacefully and on plenty of land. overgrown weeds and foliage … until now! “It just so happened that her husband, People for Palmer Park (PFPP), a new Our log cabin story begins in 1832 when Sen. omas W. Palmer, had plenty of land nonprofit organization of Palmer Park Judge James Witherell, a Supreme Court — a few hundred acres of it along Wood - lovers, has been working with the City of judge of the Michigan Territory, purchased ward Avenue in what was then considered Detroit to revitalize and beautify the Park. 80 acres of land between what are now the country. One important PFPP campaign is to fix Hamilton Avenue, Fairway Drive, Six Mile “In 1885, omas Palmer gave his wife a and reinvent the cabin (see pages 2-3). We and Seven Mile. is area had been present: plans for a rustic log cabin, just like have cleaned and winterized the cabin to historically used as an Native American they used to see in the old days, built to her prevent further deterioration, however, the camping site. With Witherell’s death in specifications, suitable for summering and roof must be replaced immediately — 1838, the acreage was left to his daughter entertaining. e Cabin, designed by up - $20,000 must be raised to do so. Mary Palmer. It passed to Mary’s son, Continued on the back page People for Palmer Park Board of Directors A Vision for the Log Cabin Rochelle Lento, President e vision for the restoring the log Alicia Biggers-Gaddies, Vice President cabin is to preserve this historical gem Brooke Ellis, Secretary while creating a space that practices Helen Broughton, Treasurer Senator Palmer’s wish that the park and Barbara Barefield, Events Co-Chair Erik Eide, Detroit Mounted Police Liaison the cabin be available “for the good of Jason Fligger, Cabin Preservation Chair everyone.” Kim Fracassa, Marketing & We think the best way to honor and Communications Chair implement Senator Palmer and his wife Omega Headen, Community Liaison Lori Heinz, Recreation Chair Lizzie Merrill Palmer’s vision for the Sarah James, Fundraising & cabin is not treat the cabin as a herald to Membership Chair the past, but to engage the cabin as a Leonora King, Fundraising & Membership Liaison community center to be enjoyed by Dan Scarsella, Beautification & everyone. Preservation Chair We envision activities in the cabin Trina Tucker, General Services Liaison such as yoga and tai chi classes, Boy and Girl Scouts sleepovers, story time for ank you to our families, arts and crafts for kids, chess sponsors! games, and weddings —the possibilities Log Cabin Day would are endless. e cabin often served as a not be possible without the generous beautiful meeting place away from the hustle and ate of the Master of Architecture Program at support of our sponsors! ank you for investing in Detroit’s future. bustle of city life, as Senator Palmer and his wife Lawrence Technological University) have volun - Lizzie Merrill Palmer held many social gatherings teered much of their time measuring and assess - Compuware , the tech - nology performance at the cabin and its grounds. e cabin can once ing the log cabin and have designed plans company, is rooted again be a beautiful respite and place of learning, repurposing the cabin into a community arts deeply in the heart of Detroit and sharing and growing within the community. center for all of us to enjoy. proudly joins the revitalization of historic Palmer Park. People for Palmer Park members and design - ese plans are displayed here today for Log ers Miro Popov (formerly worked with the Cabin Day, and are also available on our website Today’s old-fashioned ice-cream social is cour - Yamasaki firm) and Jason Fligger (recent gradu - at www.peopleforpalmerpark.org. tesy of Guernsey Dairy Farm in Northville, family-owned and operated 2 pm: Free ice since 1940, with an ancestor who Revitalizing Detroit’s cream donated by helped build our Log Cabin. YUM! Guernsey Dairy! Detroit Repertory eatre and costume designer Bernadine Vida Historic Palmer Park provided period clothes for this event. WSU eatre Dept . students are our Palmer Park is comprised of 296 acres of Palmers, inviting guests into lawns and historic woodlands, a public golf their celebrated log cabin. course, tennis courts, hiking and biking trails, Face painting courtesy of Lake Frances, a historic log cabin, and more. Lo - Sandysland.com, Renee, and Marlee. cated between 6 and 7 Mile Roads and west of Our partners in revitaliz - ing Palmer Park are the Woodward Avenue in Detroit, it has been a City of Detroit General treasured nature park and recreation site for Services Dept. and City more than 100 years. of Detroit Recreation Dept. People for Palmer Park (PFPP) is an organiza - Log Cabin Society tion committed to the preservation, reinvention, of Michigan was founded by Virginia and revitalization of Palmer Park, for the good Handy with the help of all. Our vision is to create an urban oasis, re - of the Bad Axe Historical Society. ey gional destination, and daily recreation site that sponsor the annual Log Cabin Day fes - tival and other log cabin preservations will promote an active and healthy community. Our guiding values projects. Visit their table today to join! include preservation of park resources; restoration and preser - Graphic Design donated by vation of the park’s history; equal benefit and access to the park; Barefield DesignWorks Detroit creation of a safe park environment; responsiveness to park Portrait photography donated by users and the public; timeliness in our actions; and collaboration Kyla Dorsey , [email protected] and cooperation with the city, community, and stakeholders. Historical Courtyards and Gardens specializes in landscape design and After being closed for five years due to budget cuts, the Detroit build firm focusing on the restoration Mounted Police Unit was reopened in 2009 with the help of the of classical formal and modern estate Detroit Police Foundation and Mayor Bing. In the spring of 2010 the gardens. www.historicalcourtyards.com unit moved to Palmer Park and is led by Sargent Erik Eide, also a mem - e Wheelmen is a national, non- ber of the PFPP Board. e Mounted Police patrol parks, downtown, and many profit dedicated the heritage of Ameri - neighborhoods on a daily basis, and patrol every major city and sporting event. can cycling, and restoring and riding pre-1918 cycles. www.thewheelmen.org Please give generously to allow Entertainment Donate $100 or more by July 15, and you 1 - 1:45 pm: Restrung Fiddlers will be invited to a cool, private catered 2 - 2:30 pm: Project Daydream party at the Log Cabin in late summer! (Willie Wonka & the Chocolate 7 Factory preview) 2:30 - 3 pm : Amy Elliott Bragg talk 7Donors of $10 or more will be given a copy of our 3 - 3:45 pm: TC Square Dancing historic tour booklet on Palmer Park and the historic For duration of event: coloring apartment district. book area, face painting, old-timey photo area, oral history gathering, tours of the Log Cabin, Wheelman Let’s Raise (and fix) the Roof! antique bicyclists Creating a community arts center in the 1 - 1:45 PM cabin is a long-term plan, however, the Fiddlers ReStrung , student cabin has immediate needs to preserve it. musicians from Saline High Last fall People for Palmer Park held its first School, are top scholars and ath - letes, and share a passion for architecture tour, beginning in the park and performing. ReStrung is one of including the historic Palmer Park apart - the best high school fiddle en - ments. Funds from that event were used for sembles in the nation, promis - the very first stages of cabin preservation, ing a diverse repertoire that which included removing raccoon remnants engages the audience with en - ergy and witty charm. Visit and weatherizing the cabin to prevent fur - www.fiddlersrestrung.com. ther interior damage from the elements. 2 - 2:30 PM e cabin is in great need of a new roof Project DayDream was estimated at $20,000, which is the next stage in founded by Tiffany Victoria preserving the cabin. Funds donated at Log Cabin Sims, artistic director in 2002, Day will go toward the roof. A donation table is set to provide unique performing arts opportunities to families up at the exit of the cabin after the tour. Please give and communities. Victoria’s generously to allow us to save this cabin! work encourages the growth of If you are not able to give today, please consider imagination in order to dream, mailing in a check to People for Palmer Park and think, and achieve! Enjoy a pre - write “log cabin” in the memo section to: PO Box view of Project DayDream’s per - formance of Roald Dahl’s Willy 02545, Detroit, MI 48202-2545. All donations are Wonka here at Log Cabin Day. tax deductible. For tickets for the full produc - tion on July 19-20 at Birming - ham Seaholm High School, visit projectdaydreaminc.blogspot.com. 2:30 - 3 pm Second Annual Tour of Palmer Park & Amy Elliott Bragg writes the blog e Night Train: Detroit (nighttrain todetroit.com), an intelligent, fun Historic Palmer Park Apartment District blog about early Detroit history. She is also the author of A Hidden His - and artistry of the adjacent National Historic tory of Detroit and is the founder of Register apartment district. Once the epitome of the Detroit Drunken Historical grandeur, the district includes the work of some Society, a group that drinks, talks, listens to a presentation, and then of Detroit’s best architects. Built between 1924 and the 1950s, the apartments reflect exotic ar - drinks and talks more. Visit www.meetup.com/Detroit-Drunken- chitecture in the Egyptian, Spanish, Venetian, Historical-Society/. Amy’s Hidden Moorish, Tudor and Mediterranean styles, as History is for sale at this event, or go well as Art Moderne and Georgian. Tour atten - to nighttraintodetroit.com/hidden- dees will have the opportunity to view the inside history-of-detroit-what-it-is-and- where-to-buy-it/. of beautifully newly-renovated La Vogue, as well as tour some of the other apartment buildings 3 - 3:45 pm Caller TC Richardson and the being renovated by Malino Contruction. In addi - Cross Trailers Square Dance Club Join People for Palmer Park on Satur - tion, one of the luxurious apartments in Albert It’s not widely known that many day, October 6 , 11 am - 3 pm, for a historic Kahn’s 1001 Covington is expected to be on tour. African Americans, particularly in architecture tour of the park and adjacent We expect to have a trolley available for those Detroit, are very active square dancers. Numerous Detroit Public historic apartment district. Proceeds will who need assistance with transportation. Watch Schools taught the dance as far back benefit the restoration of Palmer Park. is the resurgence of the historic Palmer Park Apart - as the 1930s, and some schools until guided walking tour will explore the history of ment District by attending this tour annually! the late 1990s. e Cross Trailers are Palmer Park, including the Log Cabin, Spanish Stay tuned at peopleforpalmerpark.org for more an African-American square dance group led by caller TC Richardson Bell and Merrill Palmer Fountain, and the history details. ank you, PFPP Beautification that meets weekly. For more info: Committee for planting flowers 313-719-0728 or [email protected]. and Telly’s Greenhouse for w us to save this cabin! donating some of the flowers! EVENTS Palmer Park CLEANUPS@ FREE Summer YOGA We love a beautiful park and Saturdays, 9-10 am need to encourage all who use Outdoor free yoga classes for all the park to keep it clean. Email skill levels is held on Saturday [email protected] mornings through August 18 (no to join our team. We will let you class on June 30, Independence know when cleanups are sched - Day weekend, and July 28, when uled and where to meet. Bags, Hotter than July takes place in the gloves and water will be pro - park). Rain-day makeup classes on vided. Dress in old clothes! Tuesdays, 6-7 pm. STORY TIME Park in the pool parking lot; class will take place in the large clear - ing next to the lot. Bring your own mat or towel and wear comfort - Times TBA able clothing that you can move around in. Families are invited for story Yoga in the Park is made possible through the Active Living Detroit time. Bring blankets or chairs to Mini Grants program, supported by the Detroit Food and Fitness Col - sit on in front of the log cabin laborative and Healthy Environments Partnership. and pond. Enjoy nature and interactive stories read and per - Architecture Tour formed. Park at 910 Merrill Plai - sance, the mounted police lot. Palmer Park Apartment District BIKE RIDES Sat. Oct. 6, 11am-3pm Mondays @ 7:30 pm A guided walking tour through Enjoy riding (weather permit - the historic Palmer Park Apart - ting) with a fun group of cyclists ment District. For more details through the trails in the historic visit peopleforpalmerpark.org, forest, around the periphery of call our hotline at 313-757-2751 the park, through the Palmer or send us an email: Park Apartment District, the [email protected]. Golf Club neighborhood, and other beautiful neighborhoods HARVEST FESTIVAL with great architecture. & HAYRIDES From now through September, we ride about 10 to 12 Date & time TBA miles at a fairly leisurely pace. Join for part or all of the ride. Celebrate the fall harvest this Meet at the pool parking lot off Merrill Plaisance. To join year with People for Palmer Park! the bike ride email list: [email protected] We expect to have cider making demonstrations, an apple pie making contest, fall recipe exchange, and other fun fall festivi - ties. Enjoy free tractor hayrides through the wooded trails again

PLANTING & GARDENING D e

this year, and warm yourself at a bonfire gathering in the woods. s

Join the committee and beautify the park; projects TBA. i g n :

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These are just a few of our planned events. To keep informed about all programs & events or to volunteer or donate, e s i g n W

Join our email list! Visit www.peopleforpalmerpark.org o r k s

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It was built from trees harvested in the cart from downtown Detroit for picnics and Palmer Park History area and furnished with Palmer heirlooms, fireworks displays. All his events were open Continued from the front page including a large canoe suspended from the to the public. start architecture partners George D. Mason sitting room ceiling. At the cabin’s feet sits In 1894 the Senator donated the first 120 and Zachariah Rice [designers of Detroit’s the spring-fed Lake Frances named for Mrs. acres that would become Palmer Park. e Masonic Temple], was completed in 1887.” Palmer’s mother. ere was a rustic bridge Palmers wanted it named Log Cabin Park, Senator Palmer considered his celebrated and a lighthouse (which still stands) on one but the City called it Palmer Park. By 1897 log cabin to be “more beautiful than any cas - of the islands. Palmer enjoyed taking digni - Palmer had donated the majority of the land tle in Spain.” taries and politicians to the farm by horse we now know as Palmer Park.