Charles Walters' Retirement Party - January 1962  
(Double-click on the individual thumbnails to see the full-size photos)
(These photos are best viewed with the monitor set to 1,280x1024)*
Well, this is one of my more interesting internet stories. I received an email from Lyn Trombley on November 29, 2002. She is a 1968 graduate of Mt. Clemens High School and is now living outside of San Antonio, Texas. Her grandfather was Charles R. Walters. He was the president of First National Bank in Mt. Clemens for many years. Lyn says that he was very proud that the bank was never closed for even a day during the depression. Here are photos from his retirement party in 1962. It is a who's who of the Mt. Clemens merchant class. (Certainly nobody I ever hung out with.) (Most of the photos are from the 1962 retirement party. A few of the photos are from the Walters' 50th wedding anniversary in 1966.) The names below the photos are as they appear handwritten on the back of each print. I have to wonder if Mr. Walters did not know these photos would be appearing on the internet over 40 years later. (Truly one of the coolest things I have done since learning how to put a web page together.)

(Update January 28, 2003: Many thanks to Hank Miller for color correcting the photographs.) Here is a link to Hank's website:  http://www.mtclemens.org

Hit this link to see what the photos looked like before Hank did his magic.  http://www.douglasfejer.com/mtclemens/12-04-02/indexold.html

Please send me an email to correct spelling or to tell me anything about the people in these photos. doug@dougfejer.com  You can also internet chat with me. My aol screenname is fejerdoug.  My yahoo screenname is dougfejer. I am online virtually all of the time using the AOL chat software.

Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Sharlan Mr. and Mrs. Sam Malbin	Lulu Winslow, Elvia Bobcock, Nellie Kidd	Precious Herzenstiel, Charles Walters, Jr., Mrs. M.R. Little
Bert Watman, daughter and husband, George & Clara Kruse. (I had a classmate named Bill Kruse.)	Mr. & Mrs. Henry Fretz, 50th Anniversary 9-12-66 (9-10-66)	Mrs. George Folkman, Mrs. Alger Syme, Mr.  & Mrs. John Lehner
Roselears, Pearl & Mort Rosso, Jan 1962.	At home living room, 9-12-66, Henry Fretz, Betty Fretz, Hazel Smith and sister, Lillian Sebolt.	Mr. & Mrs. Frank Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Deuel.
Mr. & Mrs. Edward O. Meyer, Mr. & Mrs. Lee Kittredge.	Mr. & Mrs. Don Gerkey, Jr. Mr. and Mrs Isaac Hartung.	Mrs. & Mrs. Chas. Pagett, Mr. And Mrs. L.A. Kettenring, Mr. and Mrs. David Mercier
"WCSC Refreshment Committee" Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Fowler, Mrs. Chas. Walton (Guess women did not have names in those days.) From Philip Groh: WCSC = Women's Christian Service Committee	Miss Frances Stubbs, Dr. & Mrs. Clayton Stubbs.	Mr. & Mrs. Theodore De Groot.
Mrs. Stanley Peltier (Mamie), Mr. & Mrs. Milton Penzien (My 7th grade math teacher???) Mr. & Mrs. Richard Williams.	9-10-67: Mr. & Mrs. Merle St. Aubin (He died Nov. 1967) Mr. & Mrs. Pete Rosso. (Just love the gloves.)	Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Barck, Mr. & Mrs. Franz Rooney, Mr. & Mrs. Gerry Sans.
Mr. & Mrs. Otto Nickel, Mars Sydney Tinkler.	Back Row: Nelly Longstaff, Mrs. & Mrs. Chris Matthews, Mrs. Marty Malbin, Mrs. Thomas Longstaff	Mr. & Mrs. James Slaughter, Paul Sonnenberg.
Mr. & Mrs. John Kurz, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Groesbeck, Jr.	Mr. & Mrs. George McCollough, Mr. & Mrs. George Priehs.	Mr. & Mrs. Giles Hubbard, Mr. And Mrs. Alfred Henk (sp?)
Mr. & Mrs. Carl Graul, Mr. & Mrs. John Vice, Mr. & Mrs. Harold Charbeneau.	Mr. & Mrs. William Berkhof  (Mr. Berkhof was superintendent of the Mt. Clemens Schools. He retired in the early 70'.) Mr. & Mrs. Eldon Valentine.	Mr. & Mrs. Harold Green, Mr. & Mrs. Monte McFarlane.
Mr. & Mrs. Hunter Judd (Mr. & Mrs. Judd were teachers at MCHS.)  Mr. & Mrs. Guy Verkler.	Mrs. merle Watkins, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Nickelson.	Mr. & Mrs. Arie Guldemond, Dr. & Mrs. Campbell Ward. (Dr Ward was one of the founding doctors of Mt. Clemens General Hospital.)
Mr. Fred Wiess, Mr. & Mrs. Dewitt Brewer	Florence (Green) Richardson, Martha Clark, Pearl Rosso (50th Wedding anniversary.)	Mort, Pearl Rosso, Janette Ullrich, Anna & Charles Walters. (Retirement Party - Jan 1962.) (This print was 3"x4.5", i.e. the same proportion as a 35mm negative, i.e. 24mm x 36mm - so why do they continue to call it 35mm film? This is what all of the prints would look like if they were redone today on 4x6 photo paper.)
Mr. & Mrs. Jake Ullrich. Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Levine (Neighbor)  (The Ullrich's lived down the street from me. They are the parents of Thelma Ullrich, long-time principal of Wilson School. 1976 Classmate Lisa Ullrich is the niece of Thelma Ullrich. The house we lived in on Lodewyck (23) was previously owned by Anthony Ullrich, another relative.)	Judge & Mrs. Malcolm Trombley.	Hazel Smith and Anna (50 Anniversary.)
Mr. & Mrs. Adolph Magnes & Peter Vladeff.	Ah, youngsters. chuck Walton, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Johnson (bank)	Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Sanborn, Robert Walters, Mary ellen and Vance Frederick (Nappanee, Indiana.
Mr. & Mrs. Allan Frazher, Sr., (Mr. Frazher was a VP at the bank.) Mrs. Francis McVay, Ed Stadler, Wanda Stadler, Mr. Frances McVay (bank)	Mr. & Mrs. Don Grunewald, Mr. & Mrs. Gary McNabb (bank)	Diane Donaldson, Mrs. Edna Kruse, Miss. Rita Stockdale, Mar. & Mrs. Chas. Donaldson.
Dr. & Mrs. Rufus Reitzel, Mr. & Mrs. Hugh  "Philip" Whiting.	Mr. & Mrs. Harry Diehl, Ellen Schwan, Rita Stockdale (background) The Diehl's lived across the street from us on Lodewyck. Mr. Diehl was the mayor of Mt. Clemens at the time of this photo. (Me thinks.) Their son Harry is the current mayor of Mt. Clemens. (2002)	Blanch & Ed Sherwin.
Judge Trombley, Mrs. Lucile McKenzie, Edward Sherwin.	Marjorie (Babcock) Peters, Mr. & Mrs Frank Munt (sp?)
Mrs. Lucile McKee, Mr. & Mrs. Bob Schnaufer.	Mr. & Mrs. Arigo Baldini.	Mr. & Mrs. Tom  "Bill" Nunneley, Mrs. George Pingle, Mrs. Howard Fenton, Mrs. Austin Heine.  (Rye Donaldson Heine is the grandmother of my childhood friend Mike Arbisi and his cousins James and the late Robert Brown.) Here is a little Donaldson History.

As a photo type person I am amazed by the quality of these photos. It appears from the back of one of the prints that the original photos were actually taken with Kodachrome slide film and then prints were made from the slides. The prints are 3.5" by 3.5" (i.e. they are square) However, 35mm film is rectangular and not square. As a result you can see in many of the photos that the persons on the extreme sides of the photos were cut out when the rectangular slide image was cut to fit on a square print. I also wonder if these were not done by a professional photographer or if Mr. Walters himself was not an extreme photobuff. I wonder if professional lighting was set up near an entrance to get a shot of everyone when they walked in. In those days indoor shots were taken using flash bulbs. I have tons of slides that my dad took at this time, but they are all outdoor shots.

50th Wedding Anniversary 9/66, First Methodist Church, Mt. Clemens. Hazel Smith (You don't see many "Hazel's" these days.) Gladys Anderson) Lillian Sebolt.

So, where was Doug in 1962? I may not have attended Mr. Walters' retirement party, but I did attend a party of another mover and shaker in Mt. Clemens. This is the 4th birthday party of Mike Arbisi, grandson of Rye Donaldson Heine. Standing left to right Keith A. Brown, then one of the Brown twins - either Robert or Jim, next to him wearing the bow tie is Peter Kessler, next to him is a dashing 4 year-old Doug Fejer, next in front of the cake is Mike Arbisi, standing behind with only his face showing is Paul Arbisi, the taller boy is Kerry Crumb, the blond girl is Nancy Brown, standing by the table next to Mike is Shelly Kessler holding the drink at the end of the table is the other Brown twins. (The Browns are Mike's cousins.) Standing by the window is Mike's mother Cynthia Arbisi and she is holding Mike's sister Sarah.  (Of course, it is pretty tragic for me to view this photo knowing that Nancy Brown would be killed in a freak accident walking to school in 1972 and that Robert Brown would be killed by a drunk driver in an accident in 1999.)

I could not help but post another photo of me in 1962. This photo demonstrates that it was my destiny to grow up and leave Mt. Clemens for Texas.

*Also, if using Microsoft Internet Explorer. Go to "tools: internet options: Advanced: Multimedia" -
 Check the box "enable automatic image resizing."

Comments from Internet Land

Gary Herzenstiel
2012-03-14

Edith "Precious" Herzenstiel was my step-grandmother, marrying my grandfather in 1949, I believe.  She passed away in 1984.  I'm sure that her and her husband, Frank, were good friends with the Stubbs as he had a key to the back gate at the Mt. Clemens Race Track, which Dr. Stubbs owned.  Grandpa, his dog and I would walk there sometimes on the dirt track.  Dr. Stubbs lived on Grandview, next door to Mr. Judd, who lived at the corner of Grandview and Riverbank in Harrison Township.  Mr. Judd was a very kind man.  He repaired my bicycle on a few occasions as a neighborhood kid in the '70s.

Linda Jordan Mowatt
Being that I worked for First National Bank......how nice to see pics of Valentine, Kurz, Johnson, Mercier, Sans back in the day.....Thanks Doug for posting

Matt Walters
10/7/2008

I was looking at the web and happened upon the Charles Walters retirement party!  My name is Matt Walters and my sister Lyn who sent the pictures didn’t let me know about the site for whatever reason.  I do remember many of the people in the photos from the Club Rotary grandpa Walters used to take us to each Christmas and many of the people pictures there had kids and grand kids I chummed around with way back when.  As you said Grand Dad’s bank was open through the depression but I might add Grand dad Walters also printed US paper money right in the bank basement as authorized by the treasury! His signature is found on the money since he personally endorsed it!    I am told Lyn has obtained one of those bills.   Lyn may not have told you this but the First National Bank was in our blood pretty deep.   Charles was president and his vice president was George Bedard.   President Charles’ son “Robert” (my father), fell in love with vice president George’s daughter “Carol” (my mother) and the rest as they say is history! There were quite a few Walters in town as I was one of seven children.  So a generation of Mt. Clemens life, from the 50s into the mid seventies, had our clan in the area.   Fred and Sally are the only ones still living in the city.   Carol is in Clinton Township, Pete is in Imlay City, Lyn is in Texas as you know, and I am in Sterling Heights.  Tragically we lost Doug and Ted in a freak accident along with Dad (Robert) in 1968.   The incident was front page news for a while as the story unfolded.   I have the archives from the papers from that week.  The short version is this:   Dad, Fred, Myself, Doug, Ted, and our friend Mike Herron (also of Mt Clemens) were on vacation in Yellowstone Park and beginning to make the long drive home.  Our Volkswagen Bus veered off a cliff and tumbled into the rapids of the glacier fed Shoshone River.  The bus was smashed and tattered as rolled over and over and then entered the water, but several of us escaped alive!  My dad, after pushing me to shore (since I couldn’t swim), returned to the rapids to save our brother Ted!  The last time I saw Dad he was methodically swimming down river searching the white water ahead for Ted.  He made no attempt to save himself from the river and was ultimately engulfed by the near freezing waters.   Fred and Mike Herron made it to the safe side of the river and alerted a ranger who was camped there.   Mike had to physically restrain and hold Fred down to stop him from reentering the waters until help arrived or we would have lost him too.  I was stranded across the river taking refuge in a cave and covering myself with loose dirt to stop the freezing chills. Ted’s body (5) was netted two miles down river, Doug’s body (7) was brought out from the vehicle by a diver. I was rescued from the far side of the river with the help of a huge horse that was trained for crossing the raging torrents. Dad was lost and presumed drowned after a time and the search for him ended about a month later when a fisherman happened upon him. According to locals that spot on the river was a place where quite a few lost their lives including a man and his wife crossing on horseback the previous summer. Fred, myself, and Mike Herron spent several days on a Billings Montana chicken farm awaiting return to Mt. Clemens. 

It was nice to see Dad, Grandpa and friends on your site thank you for that.  

Matt Walters

Stanley Hirt
12/17/03 
Doug:
I was tipped off to the CWRPrty by my good friend, Robert C. Ward, D.O., now of East Lansing MI, son of the late Campbell A. Ward, D.O. and Iyla Ward. CAWard was a founder of MCGH. He and my father, Paul S. Hirt, were great friends, fellow Masons and founders of the Hi-12 Club in MC. I'm sure that Bob, or his brother Doug, will write you about the Ward family involvement in MC and with MCGH and the AOA.

Having been born in MC (1934) and raised there, I knew many of the folks in the pictures of the CWRParty. I'll only comment on a few. My longtime law partner, Bill Nunneley is mis-identified as "Tom" Nunneley. He and his wife, Edwynna, now both deceased, appear in one of the pictures.

In 1903, Bill Nunneley's father, Bert V. Nunneley, graduated from UofM Law School and returned to MC, his hometown, to practice law and coach the high school football team. Bert and his wife, Mildred (known to the family as "Dowie") had two sons, both of whom became lawyers. John H. Nunneley went on to be Michigan's pre-eminent municipal bond attorney with Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone in Detroit. Bill returned to MC in 1933 and practiced with his Dad, except for a four year army stint during WW II. John and his wife Marjorie had three children: Jean MacArthur, Mary Garberson and Bert V. Nunneley II. Jean, who died in 1992, married Don MacArthur, a local Dentist, and they had three children, the oldest of whom is John F. MacArthur, now a Mount Clemens attorney. Mary now lives in Florida. Bert is retired from Comerica and lives in MC.

My father, Paul S. Hirt, came from Richmond, married a coed from UofM (my mother, Gladys Hinmon of Dayton OH), and came to Mount Clemens in 1927 after UofM Law School, to practice law with the Lungershausen Weeks law firm. In 1937 or so, he and Hugh H. Neale split off and formed the firm of Neale & Hirt. My dad died in 1954, when I was a sophomore in college. In 1955, Marjorie Nunneley died and in 1956, my mother, Gladys Hinmon Hirt, married John H. Nunneley. In 1959, after completing my studies at UofM Law School and passing the bar exam, I joined the firm of Neale & Steeh for a brief stint. In September of 1961, Bert and Bill Nunneley took me into their firm. I became a partner in 1964. Since then, the firm has gone through a number of metamorphoses and is now known as HIRT, MacARTHUR, RUGGIRELLO, VELARDO, NOVARA & VER BEEK, P.C. I am semi-retired and "of counsel" to the firm. John MacArthur, who joined me in the practice of law in 1990, is a principal in the firm. He is my step-nephew.

Thus, in 2003, the firm celebrates 100 years of legal practice. Bert V. Nunneley was the first generation. John and Bill Nunneley and Paul S. Hirt, the second generation. I represent the third generation and John MacArthur the 4th.

I lived in MC for 58 years, almost all of them on Belleview Avenue. My folks rented #30 for 4 or 5 years in the late 30s. Then they bought #52, where my brother John ("Jake") and I grew up. In 1956, when Mom married John Nunneley, we moved to his home at #26. Mom kept #52 and let Don and Jean MacArthur rent it. In 1959, when I returned to MC with my pregnant wife, Ardis, we moved back into #52 and lived there until, after three kids, we outgrew it. (Dave Bonior bought that house a few years ago when there was some heat about his residence.) In 1973, we purchased #61 from Sam and Florence Malbin (who are in the CWRParty pix) where we lived until 1993, when we moved to St. Clair.

Sometime this winter, I will review the pix again and perhaps offer some more comments about the folks I knew--Bill Berkhof was my next door neighbor at #48 Belleview. Otto and Ruth Nickel were longtime friends of my folks and purchased #26 from John Nunneley when he and Mom moved to Detroit in the 60's.Many of the folks pictured were clients, fellow Methodists or Presbyterians, Kiwanians, or friends.

Thanks to you and whoever else is responsible for the CWRParty!

Stanley Hirt, Attorney at Law. 65 SBD Gratiot, MC 48043

586-469-8660

Hank Miller
Have looked over your site and even downloaded a couple of pictures. You've done a grand job on it. My wife (Phyllis Flaga) worked for United Bulb Company back in the early 60's so I copied the ones with Mr. DeGroot and Arie. I also live in the home which Frank McVay once lived in on Chippewa. Plenty of others that I know/knew as well. Nelly Longstaff, The Judds, Diane Donaldson, The Diehl's, Mrs. McKee, Marjorie (Babcock) Peters, Mr. & Mrs. Frazher, Mr. & Mrs. Stadler, Judge. & Mrs. Kenneth Sanborn, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Nickelson, Mr. & Mrs. William Berkhof (His daughter Carole was in my class.), Mr. & Mrs. Eldon Valentine (I believe that their daughter Carole was a year ahead of me in school), George Priehs, Otto Nickel, Paul Sonnenberg, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Barck, Gerry Sans (was a good friend), Doc. Stubbs and my father were good friends and Nellie Kidd. I have been collecting Mt. Clemens goodies for over 30 years. Have a ton of cards, I believe about 1000 different, from this great city. Lots of bottles, and a good amount of post card views painted on ceramics, Cutter Guides, City Directories, etc.

My family owned the Miller's Shoe Store, at 49 N. Walnut, across the street from Harry Diehl Sr. had his shoe store. Miller's was founded in 1909. When you were in school it was Rosso's Sporting Goods, right next to Mayfair Camera. When we closed the store in 1958 do to my Uncle Donald's death we sold the remaining stock to Harry and the building to The Rosso's. The Ullrichs which owned the Medea and the Krausenecks are 2nd cousins. Both families married Gundert Girls.

You show a Mrs. Harrison in one of the photos. I believe that she was Mrs. Fred (Sue) Harrison of the Moravian Hardware Store. If so, her daughter Mary Alice and I were very good friends for sometime. They as did my father owned a cottage in Fair Haven so Mary Alice and I spent a ton of time together.

We seem to have some, very, similar interests! Photography but I'm into Digital since I work with computers and computer equipment for my living. I am the Sr. Hardware Specialist for Campbell Ewald Advertising in Warren. (Van Dyke across from the Tech Center) Great Job! This lead me to wanting to take one of your photo's from your site and do what I can to color-correct it with the tools available to me and then return it to you. I played with one but did not keep it so I shall do it again and e-mail it to you. I also love "Nose Art" and early aircraft. My Uncle Henry was killed in WW II flying fuel over "The Hump." I also spent two years living on Selfridge so I have a large collection of Selfridge goodies as well. Spent 5 years in the Air Force in the 60's. Well, hope I have not bored you to death with this life history but wanted to answer your e-mail. I wish I could say that I was sorry for bidding on the Cutter Guide :-) but as I mentioned, over 30 years collecting has turned me into a real gluten for the Mt. Clemens items. I hope you understand.<?/bigger>

Paul Williams
Doug I am glad that you sent these photos, particularly since my parents are in this group.  My parents are pictured on page 4. Richard and Margaret Williams along with the Penzien's.  My father was the Sr. Pastor at the First Presbyterian Church at 168 Cass Avenue ( across from the High School ) for 23 years. He now lives in New Baltimore, Mi at Presbyterian Village. He turned 88 in October. My mother passed away in January of 2000 and is buried in Clinton Grove Cemetery in Mt. Clemens. I have a brother Richard who lives in Phoenix and is a radiologist there. I recognize a number of people in these photos. The Malbin's owned Malbin's Furniture Store in downtown Mt. Clemens and were very active in the Mt. Clemens Jewish community. Otto Nickel owned an insurance company in Mt. Clemens and his wife was a substitute teacher. Mr.. Berkohf is 97 and lives in a retirement home near Holland, Mi. his wife is deceased. Mr.. Judd was in charge of the stage crew at the High School and I believe that he taught woodshop.  Dr. Reitzel is a relative of a Dr. Parnegian from Mt. Clemens. I will show the photos to my dad I am sure that he can provide information on just about everyone shown. He will be excited to see the pictures

Mary Francis Ullrich Terzino
Thank you very much for the 1962 pix of MC folks -- I know most of them quite well, of course.  It was a special treat to see a picture of my aunt, Ruth Stubbs, and Uncle Clayton.  they gave me my graduation party at Whitehall, their home on Gratiot, which I think burned to the ground around 1964 or 5.  Rye Heine was my mother's cousin, and  there are many more relations here.  Rev. Richard Williams confirmed  me in the Presbyterian Church -- I remember when he came to town, and I remember him speaking at my parents' funerals. 

George Kalligeros
Lee Kittredge was a social studies teacher (I think) in the 60’s and early 70’s. He died in the 70’s. Mr. Berkhof is at a retirement facility up north. Not sure where. Hunter Judd was a woodshop teacher and Norma was a study hall supervisor before retiring. Tom and Nelly Longstaff were pillars of Grace Episcopal Church. Nelly, our church historian died recently. Otto Nickel  had an insurance agency downtown MC  for years. Ruth was an attendance teacher. Chris and Mrs. Mathews were the parents of Dr. Mathews and grandparents of Chris and his brother (name?). Merle  St. Aubin was a GM executive. He and Helen were members of  Grace Episcopal Church. Mr. and Mrs. Penzien were long time teachers in Mount Clemens.

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