75th anniversary The Detroit Memorial Park family wishes to
extend congratulations to the Michigan Chron- icle for its service to the people for 75 years. Detroit Memorial Park (DPM) is also celebrat- ing a long-time anniversary – its 85th year.
Detroit Memorial Park Association owns
three Michigan cemeteries and an office build- ing located in Detroit. The East cemetery is lo- cated on 85 acres at 4280 East Thirteen Mile Road in Warren. The West cemetery, a 62 acre site, is located at 25200 Plymouth Road in Red- ford. Gracelawn, a 50-acre cemetery, is located at 5710 North Saginaw in Flint. The company owns an office building located at 2658/60 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.
Prior to 1925, Blacks in Detroit suffered
unspeakable indignities because of the White- operated cemeteries. A few of these cemeteries allowed burials of Blacks but only on certain designated days and at inconvenient burial hours. Added to this were the exorbitant fees that were charged for the burial of a Black person.
This embarrassment and degradation in-
spired a small group of business and profes- sional men, under the leadership of funeral director Charles C. Diggs Sr., to purchase land for a cemetery of their own. The Detroit Me- morial Park Association was incorporated in July 1925, with 13 persons selected as the first board of directors.
Among the 50 initial investors who pur-
chased shares in 1925 and 1926 were Charles C. Diggs Sr.; Robert I. Greenidge, M.D.; Rev. Robert L. Bradby; Haley Bell, DDS; Aaron Toodle; Henry S. Dunbar; Walter O. Allen, M.D.; Cornelius L. Henderson; and Walton A. Lewis.
The cemetery grounds are divided into sec-
tions and in some areas, into gardens, each with its distinctive feature or marker, bearing names such as “Gardens of the Cross,” “Garden of Love” and “Garden of Prayer.” There are also sections for burials of children and a veterans section.
After some years, the Detroit Memorial Park
board began to give serious consideration to the purchase of National Memorial Gardens, a 62-acre cemetery located at 25200 Plymouth Road, Redford, Michigan. On July 8, 1987, the board met to inspect the grounds and soon after voted to purchase the property. The clos- ing of the sale to the now-named Detroit Memo- rial Park West took place on June 25, 1988.
Immediate changes and improvements to
buildings, signs, fences, and the grounds were made. The West cemetery had a steady and consistent growth. The company simultane- ously beautified the grounds, improved the roads, constructed two mausoleums and late in the year 2000 broke ground for a new office building on the grounds.
In 1996, Detroit Memorial Park directors and
stockholders agreed to purchase Gracelawn Cemetery, a 50-acre property in Flint, Michigan. This once beautiful cemetery had met with hard times and many Flint citizens were greatly dis- turbed by the appearance and neglect. After the purchase, the company made changes and im- provements to the office building and grounds. The city now views the cemetery with pride.
In 2001 Detroit Memorial Park purchased 2658/60 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. It is
located in a historic area, surrounded by sev- eral long established African-American owned businesses. The building was completely re- modeled and renovated by the cemetery asso- ciation and is used for auxiliary businesses.
In 2004 a beautiful new mausoleum and
chapel were built at the East cemetery. The ad- ditional mausoleum is adjacent to the mauso- leum that was completed in 2001 and attached to a beautiful new “chapel of the old rugged cross” that serves as a place to hold services and allows ease of visitation 365 days a year.
In 2009, a beautiful new “Hope Mausoleum/
Chapel” was constructed. It has 840 crypts and 400 cremation niches.
As mentioned, Detroit Memorial park was a
child of necessity created by the city’s Black community in its pursuit of racial pride and human dignity. As a result of the efforts of founders, shareholders and supporters, the cemetery has been able to provide dignified buri- als for all. In addition, the cemetery association has returned significant portions of its earn- ings to the community through wages, dona- tions to numerous organizations and, during a period of economic depression, extended loans to residents. This attention to the needs of the community has produced one of the oldest and mmost profitable African-American businesses in the state. The book “Detroit Memorial Park: The Evolution of an African American Corpo- ration” by Roberta Wright relates the complete story of the cemetery, from its inception in 1925 to the present time. The story’s interest
lies not only in its description of the cemetery, but also as a chronicle of an African-American corporation n the United States.
In the days when so many corporations are
experiencing difficulties, Detroit Memorial Park has maintained profitability. Throughout the years the company has always paid dividends and has exceeded requirements for perpetual care payments and obligations to the State of Michigan.
The Detroit area has a rich heritage of Black-
owned funeral homes. They are distinctive in setting, but universal in maintaining high stan- dards and good business practices. On Memo- rial Day, May 31, 1976, the State of Michigan, designating Detroit Memorial as an official his- toric site, installed a historic marker on the
BOARD MEMBERS are (from left) Dr. Robert Bass, Winona Rawls, Wilbur Hughes III, George Dunbar Jr., Allen Rawls, Robert Bell Bass, Dr. Roberta Wright and Bill Andrews Jr.
“Among those interred at this historic burial ground is Elijah
McCoy. Born in Canada, McCoy studied in Scotland and moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan, after the Civil War.”
cemetery ground. Among those interred at this historic burial
ground is Elijah McCoy. Born in Canada, McCoy studied in Scotland and moved to Ypsi- lanti, Michigan, after the Civil War. Interested in science, McCoy acquired some 57 patents for his inventions, devices primarily connected with the automatic fabricator he designed for moving machinery. One of McCoy’s most im- portant and valuable efforts was the “drip cup,” a small container filled with oil that flowed to the moving parts of heavy-duty machinery. This device for perfecting overall lubrication systems continues to be used in large industry today. McCoy was buried in Detroit Memorial Park in 1929.
Current board members, all related to the
1925 investors, are Dr. C. Robert Bass DDS, president; Wilbur B. Hughes III, general man- ager; William Andrews Jr.; Robert Bell Bass; George Dunbar Jr.; Allen Rawls; Winona Allen Rawls and Roberta Hughes Wright. Tibebu W. Tsadik is the company’s controller.
Dr. Bass is only the fourth company presi-
dent in the company’s 85 years. Previous presi- dents were Aaron C. Toodle, Dr. Haley Bell and the Honorable Richard Austin.
GO-GIRL program piques girls’ interest in math, science, engineering, technology
Wayne State University’s GO-GIRL (Gaining
Options-Girls Investigate Real Life) program, designed to promote interest in STEM (Sci- ence, Technology, Engineering and Mathemat- ics) related careers and to boost mathematics skills and confidence in seventh-grade girls, is accepting applications for the winter 2011 se- mester.
The 10-week Saturday program, hosted by Wayne State’s College of Education, will launch
Jan. 22, 2011 and culminate with graduation ceremonies in April. GO-GIRL, which is held on Wayne State’s main campus, is free and open to a limited number of seventh-grade female stu- dents.
Parents and students interested in the pro-
gram should visit http://www.gogirls.wayne. edu/ and download the application forms. The application deadline is Dec. 15.
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
November 10-16, 2010
Page C-3 Detroit Memorial Park Association, Inc. celebrates 85 years
KEITH
Radio One welcomes Detroit native, R&B Artist Keith Washington to WDMK 105.9 KISS fm. He delivers an exciting, sexy, mentally stimulating show, “Kisses After Dark”.
MONDAY - FRIDAY
7pm -12 MIDNIGHT “KISSES AFTER DARK”
Keith hosts “Kisses After Dark” Monday through Friday from 7pm -12 midnight. The native Detroiter is already known as a stellar Artist/Songwriter/ Producer to his colleagues and fans. Now the Grammy Award Nominee and Soul Train Music Award winner will be behind the microphone at the Radio-One Franklin Street studios nightly.
The show caters to the listeners who want to slow it down after a long hard day, and smooth it our with “Detroit’s Best R&B”. Keith brings a wealth of musical knowledge and mass appeal to those who want to hear honest and true music and conversation.
If you can’t get to the dial, listen to ‘Kisses After Dark” on-line at
www.kissdetroit.com.
WASHINGTON
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