Granny’s Attic Sale in Milford

July 10, 2018

The much anticipated and always fun Granny’s Attic Sale is this weekend in Milford, Michigan at the Milford Historical Museum. This annual sale date at the Historical Museum is now used by local merchants to host the annual Milford sidewalk sale. I’m not sure which sale came first, but both have been going on for  along time.

Granny’s Attic is much more than just a rummage sale. One of our members does estate garage salesales during the year and almost always returns with things that didn’t sell then but which give the Granny’s Attic sale a unique flavor and content. There’s furniture and unique items, as well as the expected glass and china items. You’ll find things in this sale that you’d normally only see in antique stores. The sale runs Friday and Saturday fro 9 AM until 4 PM both days.

I’ve posted a few pictures of some of the items that will be available at the Milford Historical Society web site.  Get there early for \the best selection. Avid antique hunters always come to this sale.


Listen to the stories of our own Main Street Brat – Mary Lou Gharrity

April 13, 2015

The Milford Historical Society presents Mary Lou and Main Street – Our Thursday April 16th General Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Milford Methodist Church at 1200 Atlantic St and it will be a Potluck. Pot Luck assignments are as follows: A—F– Salad or Side Dish G—Q Main Dish R—Z— Desserts.

The Guest Speaker that night will be our own Mary Lou Gharrity (shown below on the left with Marlene Gomez, our recently Mary Lou and MArleneretired Museum Director). This is a Meeting you will want to attend for sure. Come listen to the stories of the Main Street Brat! Mary Lou grew up in Yea Olde Hotel on Main street and has decades of Milford stories to share.

The Milford Historical Society holds general membership meeting every other month, with guest speakers talking about topics of historical interest from the area and from Michigan. Past speakers have talked about topics like the founding of Detroit and the early settlers who migrated out to found Towns and Villages like Milford, about the impact of the railroads on the small towns that they passed through, about the work of the CCC during the Great Depressing and the CCC camps that were set up in Michigan, about the Vernors soft drink company and about being in the Nazi concentration camps (from a concentration camp survivor).

This months speaker is lifelong Milford resident Mary Lou Gharrity, who spent at least a part of her childhood living in Yea Olde Hotel, Milford’s downtown hotel, which her parents ran. Later she and her husband owned and ran the Milford Times. Mary Lou, as much as anyone can represents a living history of Milford, and her stories of the old days are fascinating. we hope that you will join us.

The Milford Historical Society was founded in 1973 by a group of citizens who recognized the importance of the heritage of their community and wished to share it with their contemporaries and preserve it for those who will follow. To these ends, the members have established a museum, a research and archives room, and have sponsored, in conjunction with the Milford Township Library and the State of Michigan Library, the microfilming of the Milford Times newspaper beginning with the first issue in 1871. The Society is currently involved with a project in conjunction with Central Michigan University’s Clarke History Library to convert that microfilm library into a searchable, on-line database.

The Milford Historical Society is chartered as a 501c3 Non-Profit organization and as such is eligible to accept tax-deductible contributions. The Society supports the Milford Historical Museum at 124 E. Commerce St (one block east of Main St) and all of its projects from membership donations and fund raising efforts and received no outside support. The Society’s continuing projects include an annual home tour, various research projects and an effort toward local architectural preservation. Through it’s own Sesquicentennial Committee, the Society published a book titled TEN MINUTES AHEAD OF THE REST OF THE WORLD – A History of Milford as another step towards preserving and disseminating the history of Milford, Michigan. For more on the Milford Historical Society, visit our Web site – www.milfordhisoty.org.


Help the Milford Historical Society when you shop at Kroger

January 23, 2014

Kroger_logo

Shop at Kroger and help the Milford Historical Society

Did you know that you can sign up your Kroger Rewards card for the Kroger Community Rewards program and the Milford Historical Society will receive quarterly donations from the Kroger program, based upon how much you spend at Kroger on groceries, gas and at the Pharmacy?

This program is part of Kroger’s give-backs to the communities that they serve and does not impact at all the points that you get for gas discounts. It is an additional donation that Kroger makes to support local non-profit organizations in the communities that they are located in.

Click here to read a Frequently Asked Questions article about the program. The Historical Society will be registered, but each person who wishes to contribute will have to re-register annually.

Click here or on the Kroger graphic to go to the Kroger Community Rewards site and sign up.

A new rewards year starts MAY 1st and you must sign up each year, so there’s still plenty of time to sign up for the current year and get the donations rolling before the May 1 renewal date.

The Non-Profit Organization (NPO) number for the Milford Historical Society under this program is 91661. Write that down, because you’ll need to enter it at the Kroger Community rewards site. You do not have to live in Milford in order to support this effort, just shop at your local Kroger store and register your Kroger Rewards card to this worthy charity.

If you don’t have a computer or feel comfortable using one, bring your Kroger card to the next Milford Historical Society General Membership meeting and we’ll help you sign up. You can find out when and where those meetigns are taking place by going to our Web site – www.milfordhistory.org.  You can also come into the Museum when it reopens on a Wednesday or Saturday between 1 & 4 PM and we’ll help you register your card to help the Milford Historical Society. While you’re there, if you aren’t a member, you can join the society, if you’d like. Remember our motto – you don’t have to be a relic to be a member.

Even if you aren’t a member of the Milford Historical Society, you can register your card to help support the MHS and the Milford Historical Museum. Having a group dedicated to preserving and sharing our area history and a museum right in town is not something that many local communities have, so we hope that you will help out in this painless way to help keep Milford the great place that it is to live and work.


MIlford Historical Society Meeting

September 18, 2013

The Sebicycleptember General Membership Meeting of the Milford Historical Society will take place this Thursday, September 19th.  Our Speaker will be Don Wilson and will be speaking on the Evolution of the Bicycle.   Our speaker collected vintage bikes in the past but now only has three vintage bikes (pre 1910) in his collection.  Presently he just collects photos and postcards, which he had done for several years.  Don will be focusing on bicycles from 1800 – 1930.  He will share the most interesting ones with us.  Also we will see pictures on what was the “in” thing to wear for bicycle riders of the time.

Our meeting will begin at 6:30 with a Potluck dinner.  We will meet at the Milford Methodist Church located at 1200 Atlantic St.

Our evening will begin with a scrumptious potluck dinner at 6:30 pm at the MilfordMethodistChurch located at 1200 Atlantic Street.  A brief business meeting will begin at 7:30 pm followed immediately by our program.  Please feel free to invite a guest.  Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.  All are welcome.  You do not have to be a member to enjoy this Thursday evening with people who like history.  Bring your own table service and a dish to pass based on the first letter of your last name as shown below.

A – F = Salad      G – O = Deserts    Q – Z = Main Dish

So, come out and see what the Milford Historical Society is all about. Remember that “you don’t have to be a relic to be a member.” Visit us on the web at www.milfordhistory.org.


Come meet The Purple Gang

March 20, 2013

The March General Membership Meeting of the Milford Historical Society is this Thursday, March 21st. Our guest speaker for the March General Membership meeting is Paul Kavieff author of three Purple Gang books, who will tell the gruesome tale of this juvenile Jewish organized crime gang reigning from 1910 – 1945. Long time Milford residents can probably recite stories about the time when some members of the Purple Gang used to like to hang out in Milford. So come hear about purple gang bookMilford’s gangster time. It’s certainly more interesting than digging up farms around Milford, looking for Jimmy Hoffa.

Paul Kavieff holds degrees from Oakland and Wayne State Universities. He is a nationally recognized organized crime Historian. Using rare police photos, mug shots and group photographs the book takes you back to the days of hijacking and bootlegging. Something the Purple Gang were experts at. But they could not play nice together so power and jealously eventually lead to their own destruction.

The Meeting kicks off with a pot luck dinner at 6:30, followed by the meeting and Paul’s presentation. The meetings are held in the Milford United Methodist Church at 1200 Atlantic St in Milford (near the post office). Remember to ware something purple or make a mobster dish to pass – like Gangster Goulash or Machinegun Meatballs or even better a cake with a file in it. You should also bring your own dinner serving set-up and a drink for yourself. The pot luck dinner is considered one of Milford’s best. I’ll see you there.


Breaking news – Change of venue for meeting

May 16, 2012

There’s a change in venue for the Milford Historical Society meeting this Thursday, May 17th. The General Membership meeting of the Milford Historical Society will take place this time at the Christ Lutheran Church ay 720 General Motors Rd in Milford. The meeting klicks off with a pot luck dinner at 6:30 followed by a short meeting and a program.

Our May 17th Speaker Ron Rademacher will be here to get us in the “Pure Michigan” mood.  Ron is a author of three books about out of the way places and small towns in our Great Lakes States.  He manages two sites about Michigan and produces a free monthly web magazine.  He does know his Michigan.  His presentation includes color photos, both educational and entertaining (Q & A and chat time will follow).

Come and hear about our lesser-known towns, festivals, unique shops, great food and the people who call Michigan their home sweet home.  Do I hear Road Trip anyone?  Websites to explore on your own without leaving your comfy chair:  www.michiganbackroads.com, www.upnorthmichigan.com and his web magazine:  www.travelinmichigan.com.

Pack your Pot Luck with your favorite Michigan recipes bring your questions to ask Ron and we will see you on Thursday May 17th, 6:30 p.m. Michigan time.