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Grosse Pointe
Historical Society
established 1945
FALL 2007
Vol. 24, No.3
LaBelle General Store
Grand Opening
Concert and Book Signing Part of Celebration
The community is invited to enjoy the Grosse Pointe Historical
Society’s new gift store, LaBelle General Store, as it celebrates its
grand opening on Saturday, September 22, from 1:00-4:00 p.m.
The store is located in the Provencal-Weir House, 376 Kercheval
Ave., Grosse Pointe Farms, where a general store originally operat-
ed in the 1910s.
The entire Provencal-Weir House got a makeover this summer
with new displays of clothing and artifacts to enjoy. The center-
piece is the recreation of a turn-of-the-century store with details
like an old-fashioned brass cash register and vintage clothing dis-
plays. Customers can buy period goods like jacks, needlepointe samplers, puzzles, and outdoor games like hop scotch
as well as Society items including books and video tapes.
Enjoy cider and donuts at the grand opening and meet the proprietors (re-enacted) of the original store. Local acoustic
band Rosetta Pebble will perform.
Authors of the new book
Then and Now: Grosse Pointe
, Suzy Berschback and Ann Marie Aliotta, will be on hand to
sign copies. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Society.
“May I help you?” Nancy Pacitto as the
proprietress of the LaBelle General Store
Soirée Française C’est Magnifique
A beautiful evening, delicious food, and delightful
company combined to make the Soirée Francaise a
wonderful success for the Grosse Pointe Historical
Society. More than $26,000 was raised at the event,
which took place on June 15 at the lakefront home
of Mireille and Warren Wilkinson.
The funds will support the Society’s education proj-
ects including the development of a historic period
curriculum for grades 6-12 to be used with the
Grosse Pointe schools. Another project is expand-
ing the on-line educational materials and archives
to make the historic resources easily accessible.
Over 200 people attended the fourth annual fund
raiser held at the historic home, designed c. 1928
by Robert O. Derrick.
“Because of the tremendous generosity of our
members and friends and our gracious hosts, the
Wilkinsons, we will be able to bring our treasured
history alive for generations of schoolchildren,” said
Board President Stuart Grigg. “What a gift to the
community!”
Curator,
Moorings
Editor
Pen Book on Grosse Pointe
History
A new book about Grosse Pointe
history is about to hit the shelves,
thanks in big part to the Grosse
Pointe Historical Society.
Then
and Now: Grosse Pointe
, written
by GPHS curator Suzy
Berschback and
the Moorings
edi-
tor and public relations coordina-
tor Ann Marie Aliotta, comes out
September 17. It contains 200
images of our fair community,
many of which came from the GPHS archives.
The book is part of Arcadia Publishing’s series on
American life which compares historical images with
contemporary photographs.
Then and Now: Grosse
Pointe
will be available in bookstores around town, at
Jerry’s Party Store, and at the GPHS Resource Center
and Provencal-Weir House.
Several book signings are scheduled this fall. See the
back page for more information.