The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm will induct three new members into the Community Hall of Fame at the Founder’s Day Celebration at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 11.
The annual Founder’s Day program, sponsored by the Rochester Historical Commission, recognizes the founding of Rochester on March 17, 1817, by James Graham.
Admission is free but advance registration is required. Guests may register at www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms or by phone: 248.656.4663. The event will take place at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm.
The Hall of Fame selection committee chose candidates who have had a positive and long-term impact on the community, served as a role model for higher achievement, provided inspiration and elevated others in the community and in their profession.
The 2018 selected members include:
Dr. Max Mallon (1906-1998)
After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, Mallon taught science in Rochester Community Schools, served on the Rochester Community Schools school board for 10 years and administered the fluoride program for elementary students in the 1970s. Mallon was selected as Citizen of the Year in 1982. He created an arboretum at Rochester High School and donated and planed many trees throughout the Rochester area. Mallon also wrote “One Hundred Years of Rochester Schools, 1865-1965” and led the restoration and preservation of Stoney Creek Schoolhouse.
Eva Woodward Parker (1855-1933)
Born in Avon Township, Parker attended the University of Michigan and taught primary school in Avon Township until her marriage to Arthur Parker in 1883. Parker directed that her estate be donated to Avon Township to establish a permanent library. In 1949, funds from her estate helped to build Rochester’s first public library at the northeast corner of Fifth and Pine Streets, the Woodward Memorial Library. The Rochester Hills Public Library developed from that first library and an endowment fund in Eva Woodward Parker’s name still exists.
Roy Rewold (1929-2013)
Rewold began his career in construction in 1945 and worked his way up at Frank Rewold and Son, beginning as a laborer and reaching CEO and chairman of the board. His work with Frank Rewold and Son is evident in over 70 community projects, including Meadow Broom Farms, Sunset Terrace, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Rochester College, Western Knitting Mills, Stoney Creek High School, Onyx Ice Arena, the Older Person’s Commission and the Royal Park Hotel. Rewold served as a volunteer firefighter, rose to assistant chief and was elected the youngest village president after being elected to the Rochester City Council at the age of 29. He was the first mayor for the city of Rochester and Citizen of the Year in 1965. Boards on which he served included First American Bank, the Silverdome, the Lions Club, the Elks Club, the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Oakland University Presidents Club, the Oakland County Parks Commission, the Oakland County Drain Commission, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and the Crittenton Hospital Foundation.
The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm is a local history Museum listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Museum has two farmhouses, several barns and a schoolhouse, and is surrounded by 16 acres of gardens and grounds bordered by Stoney Creek. It is located at 1005 Van Hoosen Road, off Tienken Road between Rochester and Dequindre Roads. It is open for public drop-in hours every Friday and Saturday from 12 -3 p.m. beginning March 4. For more information on the Museum visit the website at www.rochesterhills.org/museum or call 248.656.4663.