These Moms are Winners to Their Families Every Day

Proud kids, husbands and friends nominate the special women in their lives. Share your photos and stories of mom today, too.

We asked you to tell us why your mom (or grandma or mother figure) is so special in anticipation of Mother's Day and you shared stories and photos that made us laugh and cry. Congratulations to our three winners (chosen at random): Maureen Krasner of Grosse Pointe Farms: Kranser was nominated by her husband, Charles, who said: "Whether we're hiking, biking, picking blueberries, playing in the sand or relaxing at home, Maureen (Mo, Mom) is happy wherever we are as a family. A phenomenal mother, wife and friend, she's always ready to dig in for fun and adventure." Krasner wins dinner at The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake. The Rev. Dona Gilsdorf of Birmingham: Gilsdorf, pastor at Unity Church of Rochester, was nominated by Danielle Boes…

• Photos (3)

Past Tense

Northville Historical Society Begins Riverbank Restoration

Volunteers sought for Rouge Rescue '12 at Mill Race Historical Village on June 2

Northville’s beginnings can be traced to one of its greatest natural resources: water. It was the millrace, a tributary of the Rouge River, which provided the water source needed for early settler John Miller to open this area’s first gristmill sometime between 1825 and 1825 on the site now occupied by Mill Race Historical Village. The gristmill was the catalyst for much of the community’s growth in its early years. David Clarkson, an early settler who worked at the mill and later wrote a series of “Pioneer Sketches” in The Northville Record, stated that the gristmill was  “the beginning of Northville, and John Miller was the pioneer.” The mill was among the first in the territory, providing area farmers with a more convenient location to …

• Photos (5)

Got Something to Say? Blog About It on Patch!

Hey Northville: We're looking for people to blog for us. If you have something to share—ideas, opinions, expertise, witticisms—let us know.

Northville Patch is looking for bloggers, and strong community voices are needed. Are you passionate about something in Northville? Contact us. Whether it's food, family, education, government or politics, business, social issues, shopping, running or hamster training techniques— if it's your thing, we'd like you to consider blogging for Patch. Anyone may apply. Moms, dads, grandparents, favorite aunties, shopkeepers, baristas, dog trainers, business owners, nonprofit organizers, and government officials—here’s a chance to share your expertise and your voice. Don't be shy! Get in touch with us about your idea. Patch bloggers may republish their posts elsewhere. So, if you are already blogging and want to share with our readers, too, let …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Nancy Kelsey

8:50 pm on Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Thanks for the input, Jeannee. We'll have a brief up tonight and a full story up tomorrow.   more ›

Enter to Win a Ticket to the Coney Bus Tour Saturday

We have some seats on the tour of Metro Detroit Coney Island Restaurants to give away. The contest closes at noon Friday, May 11, so enter now!

What's your favorite coney island restaurant? Tell us below in comments and you could win a ticket to a coney island bus tour Saturday, May 12. You can join authors of the new book Coney Detroit — Joe Grimm of Bloomfield Township and Katherine Yung of Brighton — on a bus tour by D:Hive Detroit of Metro Detroit for a tasting of their favorite coney island hot dogs. Patch is also sponsoring the tour. The tour runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and includes samplings of coneys at the restaurants where the bus stops. The tour will visit some coney local treasures – including a stop at Dearborn restaurant Joe's Top Dog Coney Island – home of the Jim Padilla Special, named for the former Ford Motor Co. president. Also included is a stop at a Greek …

•  42 Comments
• Photos (1)

Screen-Free Week: Tips for Cutting Back on Screentime

This week is Screen-Free Week – an opportunity for families to cut back on their screen time on TV and computers. Metro Parent magazine offers these tips.

Experts have been cautioning parents for decades to limit the time children  spend in front of a screen. Yet here we are, in the middle of Screen-Free Week (April 30-May 6), and screentime is higher than ever. Children ages 6 to 11 watch an average of 28 hours a week of TV, according to a Metro Parent Magazine special report, "The Great Screen Debate." And according to a 2009 study by The Nielsen Company, children ages 2-5 are consuming an average of more than 32 hours weekly "boob tube" time. Every year since 1996, Screen-Free Week – organized by The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood – helps families cut back on the amount of time they spend in front of the various screens that captivate us. Here are three tips from metroparent.com…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Tea Party Tax Day Rally Draws 400 to Kellogg Park

Rattle With Us T.E.A. Party members rally over discontent with the federal government.

As the storm clouds passed, and the sun peeked out over Plymouth, intrepid conservatives from all over the state gathered once again in our hometown to voice their discontent for current fiscal policy, and a federal government whom they claim has reached far beyond the limitations placed on it by the Constitution. The organizers of the Rattle With Us T.E.A. Party (Taxed Enough Already) decided to hold this year's Tax Day Tea Party rally at Kellogg Park, where, in 2009, the organization's first event drew almost two thousand people. This year's event drew about 400 brave souls, who risked the early afternoon thunderstorms to hear a lineup of speakers including conservative author James Keena (Insurrection Resurrection & We've Been Had), …

• Photos (3)

Past Tense

Cobblers and Clock Makers Make History

Northville still maintains some of its earliest trades.

Two downtown businesses that always make me feel as though I have stepped back in time are the Northville Watch & Clock Shop at the corner of North Wing and West Dunlap, and the Cobbler’s Corner on West Main Street. Both businesses have been in operation in Northville for more than 40 years and exemplify skilled craftsmanship sorely waning today. I have worn a watch since elementary school when my parents bought me my first Timex. Though my iPhone, now an omnipresent accessory, provides precision timing, my wristwatch is my go-to timepiece. I do not feel dressed without it. I am grateful that I can walk down the street to replace my watch battery, or have an antique schoolhouse clocked overhauled. The same holds true for shoe and other …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Earth Hour: Will You Turn Off Your Lights?

At 8:30 p.m. local time in more than 80 countries, an estimated 1 billion people will turn off their lights. Will you be one of them?

Earth hour is almost upon us. Will you be going dark at 8:30 p.m.? Earth Hour is a global World Wildlife Fund initiative that began in Sydney, Aulstralia in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people all over the world took part in the action, according to Earth Hour's website. In 2009 almost 1 billion people worldwide switched off their lights. By 2011, Earth Hour involved 135 countries with more than 1.8 billion people participating. In countries and on continents where the hour has already occurred, hundreds of world landmarks from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the Great Wall of China went dark earlier today. Earth Hour is held on the last Saturday of March every year, and began as a …

•  61 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

UPDATE: $640 Million! Do You Have Your Mega Millions Ticket Yet?

You're more likely to get pregnant from a fling than win the lottery. Where does Michigan fall on the "suckers index"? Take the Patch poll.

The Mega Millions jackpot has leaped to more than half a billion dollars. It's estimated at $640 million for Friday night's drawing — $462 million if a sole winner takes the cash payout. The lottery is a suckers bet. Always has been. But the dream of winning the lottery and leaving behind the daily grind is hard to shake. More than $50 billion was spent on lottery tickets in 2010, and prizes totaled $32.8 billion, according to a Bloomberg ranking of state lotteries. Michigan adults spend an average $312.91 per year on the lottery - the seventh most in the country. (In Massachussetts, it's a whopping $860 per year.) Where does Michigan fall on Bloomberg's Suckers Index? "The Sucker Score is calculated by subtracting the total dollar amount …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

Dale Murrish

8:47 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lotteries are an immoral way for governments to raise money. They take advantage of people's desire to get rich quick, and are generally a regressive tax on those who can least afford it. The only good thing about them is they are a voluntary tax. The worst false advertising is done by government: it's for education. No it's not, it's for the general fund; it's all one big pot. Spending is …   more ›