Cherry Hill Bar murders 1969

[CassTechGrad]

Some of you old-timers like me from the 6 Mile & Davison area might remember that 50 years ago this month, on January 11, 1969, in the Cherry Hill Bar at 4870 Davison Ave. just west of Six Mile between Fenlon & Healy Street, two robbers shot and killed the owner Cass Czerwinski and Police Officer Stan Rapaski. The Czerwinski family lived at 13496 Hasse and I was good friends with Cass Jr. and his sister Carol. Officer Rapaski lived at 13206 Moenart, just down the street from my house. Things like this didn’t happen in that neighborhood when I was growing up, everyone was shocked. With the 1967 riots still fresh in everyone’s mind and then this terrible crime the neighborhood emptied out to the safety of the suburbs real quick. My parents moved to Sterling Hts the next year. Here are some newspaper clippings.