During the 1960s and 1970s, Connie Lektzian-Scafe began wrote a history column for The Clarkston News entitled, ‘Another Day.?
Those columns, along with a wealth of photographs and other historical items, are neatly filed in the Independence Township resident’s home, providing a wealth of information about the area’s founding families.
‘I’m sorry I ever gave it up,? said the former member of the Clarkston Area Historical Society and current member of the Oakland County Historical Society.
She speaks with authority about some of the early days of Clarkston, showing photos of horse and buggyitravel on a muddy Depot Road, the historic Davisburgh House (spelled differentlyithan the settlement in which it is located) and members of local prominent families from years gone by.
Although she will look up some of her columns for details, she easily speaks from memory concerning families with names such as Maybee, Vliet, Walters, Scrase, Holcomb and Ellis.
‘There are so many names to remember,? she said, noting the difficulty of getting to know neighbors in today’s busy society.
‘I’ve never counted them,? the 82-year-old said of her photo collection. ‘I just love to go through them.?
Lektzian-Scafe did a lot of her research from library records, but also obtained many photos and diaries from family descendants and friends.
‘People have been very nice giving me things,? she said. ‘I’d ask if they wanted the photos back and they said, ‘No, you keep them.??
Her columns in The Clarkston News included reports on early Clarkston area school, an 1892 flu epidemic, gradual improvements in service through the Clarkston Post Office and life in the Sashabaw Plains area which, years ago, was a separate community with difficult road access to Clarkston.
Is there anyone Lektzian-Scafe doesn’t know?
‘The newcomers,? she said. ‘They came in and squatted on these huge tracts of land. There’s no farms left. It’s not a quiet little town anymore.?
She has a dream of having someone treat her entire collection of newspaper clippings with a special acid bath to preserve them for posterity. She also misses writing, but she still finds herself busy.
‘I’d like to write a book on the things I’ve put together, but if I want any time to myself I’m going to have to give up some of this other stuff.?
She would love to see an old-fashioned quilting guild organized in the area, and she also has a desire to see a new generation of historians arise to document today’s families and events.
‘What we have now will be history someday,? she said.