NORTHVILLIANS,

Happy Pre-New Year! As we ready for 2023, I wish you all THE BEST in what the New Year will bring. I encourage you to continue to share your time & talents with those in need in our community. In this week’s letter, I’ll highlight some of the New Year’s activities from yesteryear. These bring to mind a well-known but very appropriate saying - “it’s not the destination that’s important in life but the journey itself.  And we will continue that journey in 2023 in Northville, the town we call our “Hamlet in the Hills” and “Switzerland of Wayne County”.
 
Before we look at New Year’s Celebrations of the past let’s see what’s happening today:

• Mill Race Historical Village – Stroll around the Mill Race Village over this next week and get a feel for the New Years of yesteryear.
   
• Snowmen Invasion – As you walk around town, look for various Snowmen sculptures greeting you in our Social District through the winter season… just like the skeletons welcomed you in October.
   
• First Day Hike at Maybury State Park. Sunday, January 1^st – Kick off your New Year resolutions by participating in the national First Day of the Year “hike program” hosted locally by Friends of Maybury volunteers, who will lead family-friendly hikes 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM from the Trailhead building (Eight Mile Road entrance). Light refreshments will be provided. LINK

• Fiesta Bowl – Tune into see fellow Northvillian Jake Moody, All-American placekicker represent our city in the Fiesta Bowl (December 31^st, New Year’s Eve, 4:00 PM, where No. 2 Michigan & No. 3 TCU face off in the College Playoff Semifinal).

Now let's transition to some yesteryear New Year's Eve celebrations that have been highlighted in The Northville Record:

• 1869 – Northville historically had New Year’s Eve dances with orchestras, including some documented as early as 1869. That year, the gathering was at the Ambler House (Center/Main). Over time, locations included community parties at estates, the Princess Rink (across from CVS), the Opera House, the Ambler House/Hotel (soon to become the Great White Buffalo Brewing Company) and other gathering places around the Ville. Sponsors included the merchants, Henry Ford himself, Rotary, VFW, Eastern Star & other local groups.
   
• 1869 (cont.) – According to The Record as mentioned last week, traditionally all the bells in town (churches, fire department, businesses, private residences) would ring in the New Year at midnight.
   
• 1894 – The Seth Thomas clock expert came to town during the holiday season to install the largest Clock ever to adorn Northville in the tower of the old Methodist Church (Stamp Peddler today). The clock chimed for the first time on New Year’s Day, 1895.
   
• 1909 – There was a festive community “North Pole Dancing Party” on New Year’s Eve at the Princess Rink. It featured colored flashing lights thanks to that new invention called electricity, confetti and free sleigh rides for all attendees.
   
• 1959 – During the start of the New Year’s Eve celebrations, a freezing rainstorm covered the town with a thick layer of ice which transitioned to a massive snowstorm. Vehicles were literally frozen to the ground, along with police units. Officers instructed stranded party goers to stay put and wait for the City to salt the streets. Notably, City workers poured 80 tons of salt on local streets in a 12-hour stretch that night.
   
• 1967 – A wild and exciting Rock & Roll New Year’s Eve dance took place at THE CAVERN (Lower Level of Old Village School on Main). A young local rocker from Ann Arbor, Bob Seger, played that night & was a staple at THE CAVERN before he went on to fame.