Challenges of the 1960s and 1970s
In the Grosse Pointes, political conflict permeated even nonpartisan local elections. Debates over racial injustice, the Vietnam War, illegal drugs and family values brought forth new organizations such as The Northeast Guidance Center (1963), Family Life Education Council (FLEC 1966) and Grosse Pointe Interfaith Center for Racial Justice (1967). In March 1968, three weeks before his assassination, the Human Rights Council sponsored a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Grosse Pointe High School. From 1970 to 1979, the interdepartmental Youth Services Bureau, organized by the communities' police departments, served community youth with problems.
During the 1970s, several Grosse Pointe organizations and businesses expanded even as population declined for the first time in thirty years. Community hospitals, Cottage in 1971 and Bon Secours in 1975, completed major additions. In 1973, Grosse Pointe South High School, so named since 1969, added its Grosse Pointe Boulevard wing. The next year, Jacobson's in The Village remodeled its store to encompass a full block.
Residents during the same time had to adapt to a variety of changes, both manmade and natural. In 1971, the Lake Shore Coach Line was replaced by the regional SEMTA (South Eastern Michigan Transportation Authority) bus line. Extensive flooding occurred in 1973 when the highest lake levels in over one hundred years combined with two major spring storms. By 1977, energy conservation took on new importance as fuel prices skyrocketed. An extensive restoration following the June 9, 1978, fire at St. Paul Catholic Church meant parishioners had to worship elsewhere for several months.
New housing continued to be in demand. Large estates such as the Schlotman family's "Stonehurst" in 1974 and the Dodges' "Rose Terrace" in 1978 were torn down to provide multiple building sites. Only the Edsel Ford House was spared; Mrs. Ford in her 1978 will provided an endowment for its preservation and public use.
Changes Through the '80s. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Grosse Pointe saw many changes even in difficult economic times. Home values soared, and subdivisions continued to replace estates such as the Chapin/Ford in 1983. Commercial districts, especially in Grosse Pointe Park, were upgraded. As family businesses, including Hamlin's Grocery in 1990, closed, major chains and specialty shops, such as Arbor Drugs (1987) and Laura Ashley (1988) in The Village, multiplied. The Hill saw the 1986/87 construction of the Kercheval Center and renovation of the Punch and Judy Building, while the 1991 completion of Pointe Plaza, a St. John Hospital development, provided a new focus along Mack Ave.
For local governments, the environment, both physical and social, was of increasing concern. New construction, including the Shores' prize-winning Village Hall renovation (1984) and the Woods' Community Center wing (1991), enhanced service to the community, as did computerization of records and 1988 implementation of 911 Emergency Service. Newly formed municipal foundations funded Lake Shore Road beautification (begun in 1986), improvements at Farms Pier (1983; 1990) and Windmill Pointe Park (I 99 1). EPA violations shut down the regional incinerator in 1988/89, focusing attention on refuse disposal. The Pointes, using findings of Grosse Pointe Citizens for Recycling, by 1991 had initiated curbside collection of recyclables. While the City, in 1984, approved its first liquor sale by the glass since Prohibition, the Farms, in a 1985 ordinance, made parents responsible for teen drinking, and in 1989 rejected a new Grosse Pointe War Memorial liquor license request.
Though population decreased by more than 3,000 between 1980 and 1990, local cultural groups continued to increase while social services became more regional in focus. The emphasis on preservation by the Grosse Pointe Historical Society (reest. 1980), the development of community programming by Grosse Pointe Cable (est. 1980), and the acquisition of new quarters at 315 Fisher Rd. by the Grosse Pointe Theater (1981) reflected increased local cultural involvement. Conversely, the affiliation of Cottage Hospital with Henry Ford Health Care System (1986) and the Grosse Pointe/Harper Woods programs of Services for Older Citizens (est. as Seniors Onward for Change 1978; renamed 1982) suggested a need for regional cooperation. When FLEC closed in 1990, the Children's Home of Detroit assumed its Youth Services. The Home celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1986, one year before the State of Michigan.
Citizens of this era were often issue-oriented. They organized to successfully counter the 1984 school board recall launched by opponents of school closings. In 1987 and 1991, voters, citing costs and location, rejected a planned expansion of the Grosse Pointe Public Library. Concern about local effects of a Detroit airport proposal caused the 1990 formation of Citizens Against Airport Expansion. The War Memorial dedicated a plaque in 1985 to residents who served in the Viet Nam War and organized community support for Desert Storm troops in 1990/91, symbolized by a proliferation of yellow bows.
As it approaches the 21st Century, Grosse Pointe will face new challenges. Unfamiliar technologies, changing residential patterns and developing regional imperatives will have to be assimilated into a traditional life style. Yet, having made the community what it is today, citizen participation is capable of making Grosse Pointe what is should be in the future.
