Recall is coming

The Sharon Township recall election is just around the corner. August 2 will be here before we know it. I'd like to say I've personally polled all the residents and can give you an accurate prediction of the outcome, but I haven't. I have, however, been to every Sharon Township board meeting for the last four months, where I've listened to residents' thoughts on the issue. Unfortunately, this is of little help to me as well.
At the board meetings, the residents who usually make reference to the recall tend to be in favor of it. While this may point to a successful recall, it's the voices of the majority of residents, who do not attend board meetings to voice their concerns, who will truly impact the outcome.
I'm anxious to see the results when they come in. I think I'll be surprised either way.

The Manchester Bur Oak tree: A reminder of home

Dave Bishop of Dave's Tree Service uses a chainsaw to cut rings from the Manchester Bur Oak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived at the site of the Manchester Bur Oak tree on Austin Road in Manchester Township Sunday, I was shocked. I could've believe how big the tree was.

I hadn't seen a tree with a trunk that big since I visited the redwoods in California, and that was in 2004. Its size was incredible, and each ring cut by some township residents for preservation and historical purposes, weighed in at several hundred pounds. It was an amazing sight.

These rings were heavy, each weighing several hundred pounds.

Manchester Township resident and trustee Sybil Kolon told me before the tree was cut down, it hadn't been in a single accident, despite being inches from the road, until last year. Of course, it's important to note, the tree was more than 270 years old, dating it to before the American Revolution, and nearly 100 years before Michigan was granted statehood. But it looked like that car crash did the tree in, as burn marks on the bark were visible. Kolon said it was cut down probably sometime in May.

Hearing the story of the Manchester Bur Oak and its demise reminded me of home, which is Royal Oak, north of Detroit. The actual "Royal Oak" was in England, and used by King Charles II in the 1600s to hide from the Scots. Lewis Cass, who became governor of Michigan and made a run at the presidency only to lose, saw a similar tree at what is now the intersection of Main Street, Crooks and Rochester roads, and proclaimed it a "royal oak." Clearly, the name stuck.

But its demise was similar to that of the Manchester Bur Oak. It was hit by a car in the 1980s (I believe) and was damaged and had to be removed. Now, only a plague remains at the site.

It makes me beg the question: What memory will the Manchester Bur Oak have in area residents minds? I know the oak meant a lot to many people, otherwise they wouldn't have fought so hard in the 1980s to keep it standing when the Washtenaw County Road Commission wanted to cut it down.

What memories do you have of the Bur Oak? Leave a comment below, we would love to hear some stories of the majestic tree.

Manchester Community Fair

The Manchester Community Fair kicked off Tuesday night at Alumni Memorial Field. I've put together an interactive slideshow of some of the highlights.

More photos from the Manchester Community Fair parade Tuesday night

Parades around the Fourth of July are a special occasion.

Manchester's parade Tuesday night was no different, as several hundred people lined Main Street to watch the local fire trucks, service organizations, Cub Scouts and local leaders, drive on by.

It also made some of the local dentists happy, since the streets were lined with more candy than Gumdrop Lane in Candyland.

Weren't able to make it down to the parade? We've got some photos from the event last night here:

A call for some Chicken Broil help

I still remember the first thing I noticed about Manchester when I first came here, looking for a place to live.

It was the sign to the village limits on Austin Road, saying "Home of the Famous Chicken Broil." It was one I found slightly ironic, since I hadn't heard of this Chicken Broil before.

It didn't take me long to realize what a big deal the event was, and I've been excited to see it come alive since January.

However, since I am still a Chicken Broil newbie, I need a little help. I'm looking for some Manchester (and non-Manchester) folk to help me understand how important this event is. That being said, I have a few questions I'd like to pose:

• What makes the Chicken Broil such a special event for Manchester, and why? 
• What are some of your favorite memories of the Chicken Broil?
• What are you looking forward to the most?
• And last one (and I need a complete honest answer here): How good is the chicken served at the broil??

If you know anyone else that comes out of town for the broil, be sure to send this link along, I'd love to gain some perspective, as well as include some info for a story for next week.

Way to go Sharon Township

In my last blog I wrote about the lack of public participation during Cherie Vannatter's interview for Manchester Community Schools superintendent. Today, I'm happy to report Sharon Township residents come out in floods during Thursday's special board meeting regarding noise complaints on Peckins Lane.
Over 50 residents packed the township hall and had their voices heard regarding the noise complaint and whether or not a noise ordinance was needed to strengthen the current nuisance ordinance. There was standing room only when the meeting started. To top it off, the meeting was a hot topic with many strong emotions on both sides, however, both sides of the fence remained civil throughout the majority of the discussion. Way to go Sharon Township for making sure your voices were heard, but doing it in a way that was respectful to all involved.

Google finally got it right

This was supposed to be a post on how Google just keeps wrong information about Manchester live and doesn't do anything about it. And then I checked, and found they had fixed themselves, saving a scolding from this blogger.

For the longest time, Google has listed Manchester High School as being at 410 City Road, and not at it's current location on Dutch Drive. Because I'm still relatively new to the village, I would assume this is where the high school was before the current one was built.

Being the map nerd I can be, I submitted an edit to Google to show them where the school is actually located. While it won't do too much during the summer, I venture it could be useful come this fall, say, when football season starts.

Sometime in the last week or two, someone finally made the changes, and Manchester High School's address and location are correct, although two listings appear: the first shows the school simply on Dutch Drive, and the second gives the correct location:

I'm not sure if it was my edits that did this, since I didn't receive an email telling me the edit had been reviewed and corrected, as has happened to some previous edits I've made. But it's now corrected, and Manchester is slightly better represented on the world's biggest search engine.

Is there someone wrong listed on Google in Manchester or the surrounding areas you'd like to see corrected, but don't know how to fix it? Email me at dveselenak@heritage.com and I'll submit a problem ticket for it! (And FYI, C&C Pizza owners: I've already submitted one to have your business replace Classic Pizza on the map.)