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By Dee Ryan – Father Francisco Radecki really gave me the cook’s tour.  He’s the Pastor of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and has been for 21 years.  You know St. Joseph’s— that’s the beautiful little church at 4th St. and Michigan Ave. In 1990 the church, rectory and...

By Darlene Hawley – In 1824, when George M. Johnson bought 80 acres of land from the U.S. government for $100 and built his log tavern on land near the Rouge River and the old Sauk Trail, the landscape of the wilderness was changed forever.  Travelers from Detroit and the...

By Buddy Shuh – About two years ago, I received a pin from the City of Wayne. It had our city motto on it: People, Pride, Progress. Prior to receiving that pin, I didn’t know we had a motto, and I also didn’t know the sense of community that was here all along. “PEOPLE”...

By Dee Ryan – The Wayne Historical Museum will observe National Peace Officers Day, which is May 15, 2014.  The Museum will host a display honoring the Wayne Police Department in the month of May, 2014. In the year 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation that...

By Buddy Shuh – I have heard it said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The only thing is, the journey is not over after one step. And if you’re like me, you’ve made that first step countless times and sometimes it seems like it’s a backwards...

By Darlene Hawley – Growing up in Wayne in the 1940’s and 50’s, our family of seven (later to grow to nine) very seldom ate out.  Money was tight with a large family and just getting everyone dressed up and ready to go to a restaurant was challenging.  But, it was always a...

By Dee Ryan – If you remember Master Photo, then you’ll remember Bob Pugh.  He owned the photo shop, with his brother Andy for 27 years.  Bob is now part of the great sales staff at Jack Demmer Ford.  He met Mr. Demmer when he was in high school and worked at the Wayne...

By Buddy Shuh – Recently I was at a meeting that the Wayne Ripple Effect was leading. What an incredible group of people! They are volunteering and serving to make Wayne a better place to live, shop, and relax in! One phrase that they said stuck out to me. It was: “Be the...

Life was difficult in the early years of our community.  Our cemetery tombstones and grave markers display the great number of deaths of men, women and children at very young ages.   While modern medicine and better diets have increased the life expectancy for people today, there...

By Dee Ryan – After 40 years in Wayne, I finally met “Mr. Northside Hardware,” Mr. Phil Kaplan.  He’s owned the store for 58 years.  Built in 1930 and at one time owned by Harley Smith, Mr. Kaplan bought Northside from John Valance.  In 1983 the store underwent a major...