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West Bloomfield and the Tri-Cities by Ron Gay This Arcadia Images of America book celebrates local community using black and white photos with captions. 126 pages, $20

“Keep Your Eye on Keego Harbor.” This 1912 real-estate narrative booklet recounts in 14 pages the developer’s work, plans, and hopes for the town of Keego Harbor. Included are 11 photographs and a Keego Harbor Subdivision map by J.E. Sawyer, proprietor. 6”x8.5”. $5.

Michigan Military Academy: Them Was the Days! by Brian Bohnett In 1877, an idea formed in the mind of 33-year-old Army Major J. Sumner Rogers—an idea that became the Michigan Military Academy. This book covers the brief 30-year life of a school once deemed the “West Point of the West.” It also contains anecdotes and accounts from the cadets, faculty, and others who played a part in the school’s history, giving the reader a taste of what life was like at Orchard Lake’s 19th-century military institute. Available at Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society and Orchard Lake Schools. Softbound, 151 pages, over 100 images. $15.

Ceramic Tile This deep blue glazed tile of Orchard Lake and Apple Island accurately depicts water depth. Designed and hand crafted for GWBHS by Little Traverse Tile Works of Petoskey, MI. Available at Orchard Lake City Hall. Able to hang on a wall. 3.5″ x 3.5″ x .5″. $25.

Ornament This Apple Island ornament is made from cedar found on Apple Island. Designed and hand crafted for
GWBHS. Available at Orchard Lake City Hall. 2″x2″x0.3″. $5.

“Orchard Lake Polka” Sheet Music A local treasure! J. Henry Whittemore composed this catchy piano piece in 1871, before becoming a student at the Michigan Military Academy (MMA). Infusing local flavor into an internationally famous dance, Whittemore dedicated his toe-tapping composition to the “stockholders and patrons of the Orchard Lake Hotel”—which would become the MMA in 1877. Reproduced in its original size, 11”x14”, on three sheets. $10.

Baseball Cap This adjustable beige baseball cap, features a 2″ colored embroidered GWBHS logo. $15.

1872 fractional school districts map This color map indicates the 13 West Bloomfield area school districts students attended and reveals lots, buildings, and owners’ names of the time. 11″x17″ reprint. Available at West Bloomfield Town Hall. $10.

1917 & 1930 West Bloomfield maps The maps reveal lots, buildings, and owners’ names of the time. Available at West Bloomfield Town Hall. Reproduced on 18”x24” paper, and map image is 14.5×15.5”. $10.

1950s area map. The four-color map was hand-drawn in the 1950s by General Frederick Strong, Jr., husband of Marjorie Ward Strong, the last private owner of Apple Island. A surveyor by trade, General Strong was contracted by the Ward real estate group to create a map identifying areas of Orchard Lake and West Bloomfield to show development and areas to be left natural. 4’x4’. $10.

Sylvan Lakefront & Detroit Free Press Fresh Air Camp reproduced photograph 8″ x 40″, sepia color. This unique panorama includes the Detroit Free Press Fresh Air Camp, the bridge on Pontiac Drive with canal-dredging in progress, homes and cottages on Lakeview Street, circa 1920s. $50.

Grand Trunk Railroad, Orchard Lake Station Map This 1917 Michigan Air Line Railway, operated by the Grand Trunk Ry. Co. of Canada, two-mile section map centers the Orchard Lake Station (located on St. Mary’s campus) and includes the Detroit Urban Railroad light rail system. This gold-toned reproduction of the original hand-drawn map is 12”x24”. $50.

This mechanical toy (gee-haw whammy diddle) consists of two wooden sticks. One has a series of notches cut transversely along its side and a smaller wooden stick with a propeller attached to the end. The notched stick is held stationary in one hand with the notches up, and the other stick is rubbed rapidly back and forth across the notches, causing the propeller to rotate. Hand crafted for GWBHS. $5.

Cedar pencils These colonial- style pencils recall an earlier time when pencils had no eraser or paint. Pack of 5. $5.

Button whirligigs, also known as button spinners and buzzers, are the oldest known whirligigs. Native American cultures had their own version of this toy in 500 BC. Button whirligigs are simple spinning toys whereby two looped ends of twisting thread are pulled with both arms, causing the button to spin. Hand crafted for GWBHS. $5.

“Apple Island – the Marjorie Ward Strong Woodland Sanctuary.” Still the definitive ecological work of Apple Island, this 1972 study covers topography, soils, vegetation, flora and forests—complete with maps. Also included is a possible land-use plan with recommendations to West Bloomfield Schools, which was never fully implemented. 28-page booklet, $10.

Eight Note Cards featuring sketches of four local landmarks: the Orchard Lake Community Church, circa 1900; the inter-urban railcar; the David Ward home; and the “Castle” at the Michigan Military Academy. Each set contains eight cards, two of each drawing. Designed for GWBHS. $5.

Five Note Cards featuring prints of Walter E. Flanders, an early automotive leader in Detroit and Pontiac. Images of his summer estate on Green Lake in West Bloomfield and one of his automobiles. Notecards created by the Green Lake Association. $5.

A pen with commemorative Apple Island National Register of Historic Places wording. Soft touch, retractable with black ink and stylus. $2.

Orchard Lake & Apple Island reproduced aerial photograph A lovely view of the homes dotting the land in and around Orchard Lake, as seen from the air, circa 1920s. 16″ x 20″, black and white. $50

10 Michigan Military Academy photographs Located on the current Orchard Lake St. Mary’s campus, this academy from 1878-1908 was known as “the West Point of the West.” Images include 1882 and 1898 baseball team, 1895 graduating class, 1888 cadets, cadets with guests, three images of the cadets’ staged dueling, cadets in front of the Castle, Cadet Harry Dravo Parkin, MMA cavalry, and Cyrus Carpenter Yawkey. 8″ x 10″, sepia tones. $25.

1957 Aerial Photographs of each 1-mile section of greater West Bloomfield View what your area looked like over fifty years ago. Aerial views of the rolling topography and open spaces of Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake, Sylvan Lake, and West Bloomfield have a unique look. 11″ x 14″, sepia tones. $25.