St. Jude Church/School Nostalgia

[Eastburn]

I think you're only 2 yrs older than a handful of us, and younger than a few others

You guys were class of '70, right? I was '58.

[7andkelly]

Thanks, brock7 for this very interesting contribution.

As for Silversteins, all I remember getting there for myself was a paddle ball set, and maybe a compass. I think my Dad picked up an ammo case or two ... kept an electric drill in one of them [[we also used a manual drill for some wood projects; that, and a coping saw came in very handy).

[Eastburn]

Welcome aboard, Brock7 & thanks for the pix & memories.

[jcole]

You guys were class of '70, right? I was '58.

Yep, the 3 of us were '70

[Eastburn]

Wow, anti-aircraft guns at Heilmann--I didn't know. THAT must have been a chilling sight during the Cold War...not exactly your standard playground equipment!
I always wondered about those undeveloped grassy fields south of the swimming pool...a kind of a no man's land. Is this where the Army had gun placements? Speaking of the military, did anyone else shop at Silverstein's for Army/Navy surplus gear--my old man did. What a place that was!

quote=Eastburn;142241]Heilmann wasn't a Nike base but it did have any Army base with anti-aircraft guns pointed skyward during the Korean war.

Old Danny sure did cover some territory. He was an old dude when I was a kid & I'm a lot older than the rest of you. Surprised he was still going strong in your day.

[/quote]

Yep, the "Army base", as I recall, ran north from Maddelein. The whole thing was fenced in. We used to talk to the soldiers through the fence.

[Campfire Girl]

What years was the army base at Heilman?

[Eastburn]

What years was the army base at Heilman?

During the Korean war. I can't find the exact years. I'm sure our super sleuth, JC, will come up with something.

[Eastburn]

Yep, the 3 of us were '70

Punk kids!

I was married with 2 kids in '70.

[jcole]

But you were a child groom, weren't you?

[jcole]

During the Korean war. I can't find the exact years. I'm sure our super sleuth, JC, will come up with something.

I've searched but can't find anything on it. Sorry.

[Eastburn]

But you were a child groom, weren't you?

But, of course. As you were a child bride.

[jcole]

I had to have my braces shined so they'd look good in the wedding pics.

[kellyroad]

My parents built their house near the south end of Heilman between Brock and Hayes in '51. My sister who was born in '54 has a memory of getting under the fence and nearly getting run over by a tank. My mother remembered soldiers trying to pick her up when she shopped Gratiot & 7. When my mother petitioned to get a street light put on our block, she worried that the neighbors across the street would be mad at her as their bedroom window was at the front of their house directly below the street light and it might disturb their sleep. After it was installed, she was relieved to learn from the man of the house that he was happy about the street light as it eliminated the annoyance of having the push mower snap used rubbers up at him when he mowed the lawn.

Here is an aerial photo of the AAA site from April 1956[[reduced by half from original):
Attachment 5954

It's from this site which has other Detroit Edison aerial surveys of the Detroit area from 1949 to 1997:
http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/ap_index.htm

To save having to search the indexes, here's a list of direct links to the photos for the area including Heilman and St. Jude for each available year:
1949 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...49/ha-3-34.pdf
1952 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par.../de-19-107.pdf
1956 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...56/ga-1-38.pdf
1961 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...1/fm-25-14.pdf
1967 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par.../4583-2083.pdf Heilman [[there's none for St. Jude in '67)
1981 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...562-19-476.pdf Heilman
1981 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...562-20-492.pdf St.Jude
1997 http://www.clas.wayne.edu/photos/par...5739-20-59.pdf
My mother got the fabric for her wedding gown at Silverstein's. It was surplus parachute nylon.

I remember Danny at Heilman in the summers, sometimes with his daughter.

B7, Thanks for posting those aerial pics. Heilmann Park, as you know, was the hub of community and recreational activity for most of St. Jude Parish back in the 50s thru the 80s. My dad would take my sister and I to Heilmann or St. Jude Play field in the mid to late 50s to play on the swings, slides, monkey bars. etc.. I don't recall the military base that was there. I must have just missed it. From the 1956 pic the ice rink is detected but it looks like the pool hadn't been constructed yet. The military base on the south side must have been very short lived. [[I find the history of military bases and/or Nike missile sites in the Detroit area an interesting local history during the Cold War...My town just south of Detroit has an actual missile erected next to its library to commemorate the time when it had a Nike missile base)

Question: Since you lived near Brock and 7, hopefully you can give a little insight to a inquiry I've had but never fully got an answer to.......
There was lone house on the northeast corner of Brock and 7 that stood on the southwest corner of St. Jude Play field for years. It was the only home on that block and it was fenced off from the rest of the play field. Do you know the history of that home, who lived there?
As far as Silversteins, like 7 and Kelly, I do remember the that place fondly. They did indeed have a clown on Saturdays that would give away trinkets like paddle balls. During the 70s it was a great place to pick up a Navy P coat or Army fatigue jacket that were very popular with the high school or college crowd set.
I still have a couple of ammo boxes from Silversteins in my garage today......just a little memento of Detroit's northeast history.

[jcole]

During the Korean war. I can't find the exact years. I'm sure our super sleuth, JC, will come up with something.

Korean War ran from 1950 to 1953.
Using the links to the satellite pictures that 7Brock posted, in 1949 it looks like Heilmann was being set up for something.
In 1952 it was a full blown Army camp and by 1961 it was the park we all knew and loved with ball diamonds, pool and rec center.
So my guess is that they started setting it up when it looked like we'd be getting into the war. I'm assuming that they were concerned about the auto companies being targets.
What's the latest you remember seeing troops there, EB?

Edit: totally missed 1956 pic. In that pic, it looks like the barracks are still on the southern half of the park, but as KR says, the rink and play equipment are there, so I can't imagine it being a full blown encampment anymore at that point.

[Brock7]

What years was the army base at Heilman?

I found a link to a site that lists the AAA sites for Detroit in another thread in this forum - I don't remember now which thread it was. I emailed the site-owner to correct the spelling of Novara and he said he got the information from an Army report he found. I included the link in my last post [[#4450) with links to aerial photos of Heilmann which I also found through a thread here - maybe even earlier in this one. It says the Parkgrove site existed from '52 to '57, but it's not there in the April '52 photo. Here's the entire list found 3/4 down the page:

http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/mi.html
Cold War AAA Defenses of Detroit
[[1952 - 1959), Detroit area
Several permanent sites were established for the Army's Anti-Aircraft Artillery [[AAA) Gun Site Program, the precursor to the NIKE missile defense program. Four 90mm AA guns were positioned at each site, with troop barracks and other support buildings. Known sites include:
Algonac [[1952 - 1958): undetermined.
Warren [[1952 - 1958): at Ryan and 10 Mile Roads [[?).
Hazel Park [[1952 - 1956): undetermined.
Ferndale [[1954 - 1956): undetermined.
Detroit [[1952 - 1955): at Mark Twain and Belton.
Detroit [[1953 - 1955): at 6301 West Jefferson Ave..
Fort Wayne [[1955): on post.
Park Grove [[1952 - 1957): at Crusade and Novara Road.
Algonquin [[1955): undetermined.
Dearborn [[1953 - 1955): at Greenfield Road and Dearborn Street.
Newport [[1955): undetermined.

NIKE missile defense sites are at this time beyond the scope of this website.

EDIT: I think the Army site only ever occupied the southern half of Heilman. You can see all four 90mm AA guns at the northeast corner of the site in the April '56 photo so it seems complete. There does seem to be something going on there in the April '52 photo, but it doesn't seem to match up to anything in the one from '56.

I would like to know what those lines at Heilman are on the '49 photo. Snow fencing? Anyone know?

[jcole]

I found a link to a site that lists the AAA sites for Detroit in another thread in this forum - I don't remember now which thread it was. I emailed the site-owner to correct the spelling of Novara and he said he got the information from an Army report he found. I included the link in my last post [[#4450) with links to aerial photos of Heilmann which I also found through a thread here - maybe even earlier in this one. It says the Parkgrove site existed from '52 to '57, but it's not there in the April '52 photo. Here's the entire list found 3/4 down the page:
I would like to know what those lines at Heilman are on the '49 photo. Snow fencing? Anyone know?

So it was Cold War, not necessarily Korean War.
It IS there in the 1952 aerial photo, but it seems to be somewhat obscured by clouds or something. You can see the barracks buildings through the haze.
Attachment 5959

[Campfire Girl]

Great research! My dad was in the Korean War before Mom and Dad were married, so that was in the early 50s.
Still curious about the house at Brock and 7 mile.

[Brock7]

Question: Since you lived near Brock and 7, hopefully you can give a little insight to a inquiry I've had but never fully got an answer to.......
There was lone house on the northeast corner of Brock and 7 that stood on the southwest corner of St. Jude Play field for years. It was the only home on that block and it was fenced off from the rest of the play field. Do you know the history of that home, who lived there?

I don't know the history of the house. I sometimes saw an stout old man in short sleeves and suspenders with white hair, wire rim glasses and a fedora gardening in the backyard. A stout old woman in a print dress with an apron at times too I think. I never spoke with either of them.

There was a shallow gully in St. Jude field just to the east of the house that I often laid on the slope of watching the clouds roll by either by myself or with friends who lived on Maddelin.

[jcole]

Did you go to St. Jude or were you a Burbank student?

[Mkap]

I think it was Mkap that ultimately saved us that day - and did we get to go home after all that trauma???? - see guidance counselors to have us talk through the "sky falling in"????..................noooooooooooooo.......... ...we finished the school day in the gym.

Here he comes to save the day!!! ... Oh, sorry, wrong cartoon

[Mkap]

I remember Danny at Heilman in the summers, sometimes with his daughter.

That was his daughter? We always used to call her Natasha, as in Boris', because of the obvious resemblance .
Sky Blue for me, thanks.

[Tsomyak]

That was his daughter? We always used to call her Natasha, as in Boris', because of the obvious resemblance .
Sky Blue for me, thanks.

I devoured many a Sky Blue after Wish Egan baseball games!

[zitro]

I devoured many a Sky Blue after Wish Egan baseball games!

My friend Ron Duveyoung's [[MGRHDS) dad used to deliever baked goods for Farm Crest [[I think that was the name) and he would always have some day old stuff for us after our games. It was the salve the helped heal the wounds after a devistating loss Ron was a hell of a ballplayer

[kellyroad]

There was a posting on the old Heilmann site that stated the land that Heilmann Park was on was named "Ford Garden". I'm wondering how long before that 1949 aerial shot that the garden was there.

[Mkap]

I would like to know what those lines at Heilman are on the '49 photo. Snow fencing? Anyone know?

Could the line, in what appears to be on the East side of the field, actually be Crusade Street?

The other lines to the South end seem to suggest proposed streets. It just seems these are too 'thick' to be actual streets. I don't really know, just guessing. Anyone know when the area started to sprout hoods?