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Humans of Oak Park: 100-year-old Arty Hackett

  Arthea (Arty)Hackett began her journey with Oak Park when she was ten years old. She and her family moved here from the Beulah area in the early 1930s. Her father worked at the Traverse City State Hospital as an engineer. She enjoyed growing up in Oak Park with her siblings and attending school right here in the Oak Park neighborhood located in the current employee parking lot of family fare. To say Arty has made lifelong connections to Oak Park is an understatement considering she turned 100 years old this October and she continues to call Oak Park home.   As a child Arty often enjoyed swimming in the bay and sledding in the winter and playing music in all forms.   She grew up in a family that appreciated music and they often spent evenings playing music together and singing on the porch. She remembers a general store on the corner of Washington and Rose. Many churches also called Oak Park home during this time and you can still find them along our streets on both Washington and
Recent posts

MDOT 2024 Detours Involve Oak Park

Project Overview “MDOT plans to rebuild a 2-mile section of Grandview Parkway/Front Street in 2024 between Garfield Avenue and Division Street. This project will result in operational enhancements at the intersections of Division Street, Hall Street, Front Street, and Peninsula Drive, drainage improvements, Americans with Disabilities Act review and upgrades, repairs to the Murchie Bridge over the Boardman River, and new signs and pavement markings. The major project is anticipated to begin in March 2024 and will be divided into two segments. The first segment, Garfield Avenue to Front Streets is expected to take place from March 2024 to July 2024. The second segment, Front Street to Division Street is expected to take place from July 2024 to November 2024. I n addition, the City is planning utility infrastructure improvements to coincide with the project...$3.5 million to replace underground water and wastewater utilities as part of the project.” (Source: https://www.traversecitym

Fun with TADL in the neighborhood!

 Thank you Merilyn and Johanna for supervising bookend painting. Bookends will be used in the Youth room at the Woodmere branch. That's me (Carol) with Monty, the Pit Spitter's mascot. For more photos, go to our Facebook page .

Neighborhood Event, F&M Park, Sat, June 3

Here are the details:  

TCPD—POLICING THE ‘HOOD: An Interview with Officer Mikki Hecko

Hi, I'm Carol Danly on Webster. I'm working behind the scenes in support of Ty Schmidt, Mary Van Valin and our Oak Park Neighborhood association. Our website needed some new posts. No one came forward with any suggestions or articles. So, I thought, “What would be of general interest to all 370+ households?” I was ma’am. She was Officer Hecko. To be honest, the formalities felt like a barrier to me. The formalities are, Traverse City Police Officer Hecko explained, a sign of respect. I would be ma’am until she was told by me to do otherwise. Ditto as regards Officer Hecko. We are on a first name basis now. Mikki (pronounced Mickey) Hecko is a relative newcomer to the TCPD, taking the oath of office June 22, 2022. Originally from Muskegan, she graduated from Lake Superior State University with two criminal justice degrees and police academy certification. She has seven years experience, the last five in Ludington where she was a patrol officer, then, detective/evidence techn

Happy February, OP!

1. TC’s neighborhood association presidents are meeting soon. I will be attending, but I’d like to hear “what’s important to you” from more Oak Park neighbors. 2. Gatherings? Is it time we get together? Maybe a skate at F&M? Sledding party at the Civic Center? Winter walk down to the Little Fleet? Or something else? If you’re interested in coordinating, please let me know. 3. The City Commission is seeking an outside legal opinion on the 1947 agreement re: the Parkway redesign tonight. If you’d like to stay in the loop,  complete this form . That’s it for now. Keep awesome, Oak Park. ~ Ty “When my babies were in school, I went back to teaching and got a job at Oak Park Elementary School.  My students lived in this neighborhood, and many of their wonderful families still do today. In 2010, this tiny, run-down house came up for sale, I coordinated the purchase of the ¼ lot adjoining, so I could have a big garden.  The old building on that ¼ lot was a creamery in the early 1900’s. My

Happy New Year, Oak Park!

M ary and Pete Mantei and I met with Colleen Paveglio from the City in December. Our agenda included: Neighborhood Priorities: What are the top priorities in relation to the City within your neighborhood? Increased Communications: Where do you suggest communication can be increased to benefit the residents in your neighborhood/City? Where do you view communication “blind spots” between the City and the residents? Future Endeavors: Website Overhaul, Digital Newsletter and Text Alerts Very productive meeting. If you’d like to weigh in on the above, please add your ideas/comments/suggestions  HERE . We’ll have another meeting with Coleen this spring. ~~~ Should we plan a winter get-together for the neighborhood in February? If you would like to help plan it, email me at  oakpark.tcmi@gmail.com . ~~~ In case you missed it, Colleen and the City just published their 2021 annual report. It’s impressive. Check it out  HERE. ~~~ Mary and Pete also helped kick off our Humans of Oak Park storyte