Memorial Day in the Rosedale Park Area

By John Berry

As I think about Memorial Day, I wanted to call out a veteran who lost their life in the service of our country who came from Rosedale Park and the surrounding Detroit/Redford area.  There are so many who served and died in the service of our country, so please feel free to post your memories here of all that served our country and died in the service of our country for this Memorial Day:

John Alger MacDonald

Private First Class John Alger MacDonald.  John Alger MacDonald was born on December 30, 1924 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Anderson MacDonald, a Sales Manager for the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) and Irene Alger MacDonald. He had two sisters, Janet and Mary MacDonald. The family apparently moved to the Detroit area by the time of the 1940 census for business reasons.

John attended Redford High School, Detroit, Michigan, around 1939-1943. From my research, it appears that he was born in Massachusetts, but moved to 17361 Snowden Street, near Outer Drive and the Lodge Freeway in 1940. He was accepted and began as a student at Columbia University in New York City as an aspiring writer and sent numerous articles to NBC.

On February 18, 1943, John MacDonald enlisted in the U.S. Army and began basic training in Fort Hood, Texas and then began training with a tank destroyer battalion. He was in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) program at the University of Mississippi at Oxford. Subsequently, he was sent overseas and served in the 1st Platoon, Company K, 376th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, 9th Army. He would later become involved in the ongoing D-Day operations.

John MacDonald’s division landed at Utah Beach on September 8, 1944. He was later killed while on a foot patrol near Bouvron, France on November 11, 1944. John had been sent on combat patrol to assess German Army strength. His objective was to engage the Germans, and attempt to get the Germans to follow them. After a pretty intense firefight the patrol withdrew with only one casualty, John MacDonald, who was killed. At the time of his death, MacDonald was 19 years old.

He is buried in the Pine Hill Cemetery in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  He is also listed in the Columbia Roll of Honor. John was a true American and we remember his dedication to this country. It is important that we not forget the sacrifices of those like John that protected our freedoms and gave up their lives to do so. They sacrificed their future for ours.

Olde Redford Police Station

This is a post about the Olde Redford Police Station, otherwise known as the 8th or 16th District of the Detroit Police Department. The station, which sat at the apex of McNichols and Grand River Avenue served much of Olde Redford and the Rosedale Park Area. I remember having a picnic lunch on the tables in front of the police station many years ago.  It was an interesting place to have a police district.

The population of the Rosedale Park area, along with Olde Redford increased to the point that it needed its own police station, so one was planned in the mid-1950s and dedicated as the 16th District in November 1, 1955 by former Detroit Mayor Louis C. Miriani. The station would ultimately serve the public for 50 years before it was closed.

2000 Photo - 8th District

Of note, the police station had a processing center for prisoners through the garage, a lobby, garage outdoor parking, locker rooms, jail cells and a shooting range in the basement.  I found two other websites with some historical photos of the station that can be found here and here.  One of the fascinating, or most fascinating aspects of the police station was the huge 8-ball with a horn sculpture that I always noticed. I always wondered who designed it, and where it went when the police station closed.  I looked around a bit and it appears to have been made in the early to mid-1970s as it was part of an Alex Pollack (Detroit City Planner) project completed with federal funding.  If anyone knows where the sculpture went please leave a comment.

The 8-ball (apparently a reference to the 8th District) was made to look like a rubber bulbed car horn that existed in early automobiles.  The number "8" was apparently painted on the sculpture after it was built. It must have built prior to 1984, because it was still the 16th District until that time.  I wonder if somebody still has the sculpture today. The 8th District was ultimately transformed into the 16th District in 1984 after a restructuring and a large layoff of police officers.  

The Police Cruiser 70s 80s at the District

I also remember this version of the Detroit police cruiser, in large numbers, always packed around the station on the Grand River Avenue side. Definitely a 1970s crustier.  Maybe I am misremembering, but it seemed like there were always scores of these types of cruisers parked at the station and all over the nearby streets during the late 1970s and early 1980s.  

Below is what the area where the station stood looks like today.  The 8th District was ultimately closed in 2005, cleaned up in May of 2013 by blight busters and eventually demolished in October of 2014.  Unfortunately, the City left just about everything in the station without cleaning it out, from criminal records to computers and all other types of equipment.  Apparently, many of the iron bars in the cells were taken by scrappers.  

The location is now occupied by a Metro PCS store, across from the Meijer Superstore that took over the Redford High School location.  It looks like the area has cleaned up a bit.  

Same Location - 2018

The 8th or 16th District station is no longer there, but I remember it well.  The new buildings are an improvement.

Knudsen's Danish Bakery

Knudsen's Danish Bakery

Knudsen's Danish Bakery of North Rosedale Park has closed just shy of 100 years in business (1923 - 2018). It was located most recently at 18601 W. McNichols Road. What a span of time! First opened just after the end of World War I until last month in late April of 2018. I thought I might put together an article on the business given it's long run. I invite anyone with information to comment. For as popular a place as this bakery was, there was not all that much on the internet, Lexis or other paid databases. 

I personally remember Knudsens Danish Bakery well as a kid in the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s. My uncles and aunts would take turns taking me there for the chocolate glazed donuts or to pick up a cake.  My aunt's house on Westmoreland was very close to the bakery on Westmoreland. Our family birthday cakes would often come from Knudsen's Danish Bakery as well. It is too bad that the institution is no longer with us, but it really had a good run. Not many businesses ever last this long. 

Knudsen's Bakery Front

Knudsen's Danish Bakery was established in 1923 by Danish immigrants. Some articles cite the business as starting in Livonia, but I have had a hard time tracking this down. According to property reports, the Knudsen's building was built in 1954 and held approximately 2,785 square feet. It appears that the business moved to the 18601 McNichols location shortly after 1954. It was probably located in Livonia before then. I believe that the original owner, or one of the original owners was a Louis Knudsen from Denmark. 

Until 1977, the bakery was owned by Elizabeth Knudsen, until she passed away that year. From what I can tell, Elizabeth Knudsen was from North Dakota originally, born the same year as Knudsen's opened, in 1923 in Hannah, North Dakota as Elizabeth Pladsen, who moved to the Detroit area by the 1940 census. 

Eventually, the business was sold to the Dimitrieski family that kept it until they retired in April of 2018.  They decided to retire and the business shut down. The current asking price is $150,000.  I hope that somebody buys the business and keeps a bakery there.  Here are some photos to help remember the Bakery. 

Window View - Knudsens

Parking Lot View - Knudsens

How I remember Knudsen's Cakes - Roses