The lakes and landscapes of Oakland County weren’t ready for the automobile in the early 1900s. Weekend visitors, in noisy “self-propelled” vehicles, churned up dust on unpaved roads and trespassed on private property. To address these difficulties, women from Pine and Orchard Lakes formed the Countryside Improvement Association in 1911. Their early fundraising paid to settle the dust by spraying oil on roads. Further efforts improved the region’s roads and signs, and defined road rules and property rights. Countryside fundraising continues to support charities and scholarships.
Wayside Sign – Settling the Dust: The Countryside Improvement Association
Object ID: 2013-070-003
Date: 2013
Collection: Transportation, West BloomfieldSubjects: Wayside Sign
Wayside Sign – New Life for Children at the Detroit Free Press Fresh Air Camp
Object ID: 2013-020-002
Date: 2013
Collection: Camps, Sylvan Lake, TransportationSubjects: Wayside Sign
They needed and got a good dose of being wanted. The Detroit Free Press began the Fresh Air Camp in 1906 to give underprivileged Detroit children the experience of two weeks of recreation in the countryside. Most were on their first trips away from home, their first rides in new modes of transportation – interurban trolleys, automobiles, buses – which brought them to a whole new world in only an hour. Until 1962 the camp gave children sunshine, fresh air, fun and good food. Generations of village residents shared in play and entertainment with the visiting children.
Traffic on the Corner of Orchard
Object ID: 2003-001-013
Collection: Businesses, Orchard Lake, TransportationSubjects: Photo
Traffic on the corner of Orchard Lake Road and Walled Lake Road (1927). Winfred Hamlin writes in his autobiography, In the spring I worked for an old fellow, who was a boss for the Country Road Commission. He was a hard boiled old gold miner. He was the kind that dug for gold by hand. We were working on the Walled Lake Road. They were making a state road out of it.