Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Erin Drallos, founder of The American Child Photographers Charity Guild, works to give families images of hope.
Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 11, 2012. This is just one example of the many people making a difference in the Hartland area. Read more about those people here, and leave a comment below to tell us about other people are making a difference every day. Watching a slideshow of photographs filled with parents holding their children, some kissing their sick infant's head or sharing a look of devastation with their partner as they clutch their dying child, you may wonder what type of person is strong enough to be able to capture these last moments of an innocent child’s life. “I remember the kids,” said Hartland photographer Erin Drallos who says her ability to see the world differently gives her the strength to help…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
We're looking for people who impact the community in all ways-- big or small.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
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Thursday, January 31
Hartland Patch is commited to helping keep the community informed and up to date on many topics. However, we are also committed to telling the whole story about our town and the people in it. But to be able to tell that story we need your help. Today, we are asking Hartland Patch readers to nominate people who make the community a better place -- even if it’s in a small way-- for our Greatest Person feature. Some of our past stories have included community members such as Don Thompson, Jan Doke, Alice Andrews and Lori Murphy. So, who do you know around town that does great and important things? Who you consider to the embodiment of what it means to be community-minded? Do you have a friend who is always doing for others and is always the …
Friday, January 18, 2013
Lori Murphy, owner of My Stronger Self, has been helping others maintain a healthy lifestyle in Livingston County for more than 15 years.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
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Friday, January 18
Healthy living and fitness have always been a passion for Lori Murphy who says she remembers growing up in the 80's and begging her mom to take her to aerobics classes held in the basement of her church. By simply following her path, the 48-year-old personal trainer and owner of My Stronger Self was able to transform her passion into a career of helping others achieve their fitness goals. "I'm just very happy to be doing what I love," she said. Surrounded by photos of client success stories in her recently opened new fitness location, the 48-year-old mother of two is very animated when it comes to talking about fitness and healthy living but humbly avoids talking about herself directly and the impact she has had on so many lives. Former …
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tom Dunaj is a local grandfather known for his random act of kindness: he passes out pennies to children wanting pony rides at Meijer.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
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Friday, October 26, 2012
He’s become known as the "penny man," the older gentleman most often seen at the Hartland Meijer handing out pennies to parents with young children wanting a penny pony ride. Tom Dunaj, 74, of Hartland has become a familiar and welcoming sight for many of the young children who visit the store with their parents, some even running to greet the local grandfather and receive their free penny. “It’s wonderful,” Hartland mom Jennifer Ancheta said. “You have a crabby toddler who’s throwing a fit and the moms are frazzled and then in walks this angel with a penny.” The Meijer pony rides began many years ago for Dunaj who says he used to enjoy taking his young granddaughter there and letting her ride. Now that she is older however, and too big …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Director of Hartland's senior center is focused on bringing "healthy, active and happy aging" to the community.
- LOCAL CONNECTIONS
- Tatum Ryan
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Tuesday, October 16, 2012
The Hartland Senior Center has come a long way from its small, humble beginnings and much of that success is owed to its longtime director, Alice Andrews. Started in 1976 by the group Hartland’s Important People, or HIP, the center was originally located in the lower level of the former administration building in the village of Hartland. Squeezed into a tiny basement space, Andrews, who took over the center in 1992, remembers having to use fold-up tables as walls creating different “rooms” for multiple programs going on at the same time. “We would be really creative,” Andrews said. “And it got real busy, which to me is the key to how you get a bigger space - the one that you have has to be bursting at the seams.” Twenty years later, the …
Thursday, August 9, 2012
For more than 20 years, Jan Doke has worked to keep kids moving in Hartland.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
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Thursday, August 9, 2012
Dodging the bright yellow balls aimed in her direction with an easy going laugh, Jan Doke stood on the other side of a tennis court, facing eight kids armed with tennis rackets. "Extra point for whoever can hit me," she yelled out to the young tennis players. Laughing, coaching and listening intently as one of her young students tells her the story about her missing tooth during a lesson on how to hold a racket, the long-time instructor for Hartland Community Education shows her years of experience and endless patience. A popular instructor for more than 20 years at Hartland Community Education, Doke has been teaching kids in the community one very important lesson – stay active and have fun while doing it. “If you want your child to be …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
We're looking for people who impact the community in all ways-- big or small.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
-
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Hartland Patch is commited to helping keep the community informed and up to date on many topics. However, we are also committed to telling the whole story about our town and the people in it. But to be able to tell that story we need your help. Today, we are asking Hartland Patch readers to nominate people who make the community a better place -- even if it’s in a small way-- for our Greatest Person feature. Last month, Hartland Patch wrote about Don Thompson and his 26-year commitment to helping restore and maintain the Hartland Music Hall. So, who do you know around town that does great and important things? Who you consider to the embodiment of what it means to be community-minded? Do you have a friend who is always doing for others and…
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
For 26 years, it was a "labor of love" for Don Thompson who restored and maintains the Hartland Music Hall.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tatum Ryan
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Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The complete restoration of the Hartland Music Hall by its caretaker, Don Thompson, 68, has been a labor of love for 26 years. Walking through the music hall today, many people would have no idea the amount of time and effort one man put in to help return the historic location back to its former glory. In the late 1980's, after seeing the rundown condition of the building that was once the social epi-center of Hartland, Thompson devoted decades to helping restore an important piece of Hartland's history for future generations to use and enjoy. Renovated in the 1930’s by J. Robert Crouse, the Hartland Music Hall was envisioned to be the cultural center of the Hartland Area Project. Sparing no expense, Crouse invested $50,000 dollars into …
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
They are our mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmas, husbands, uncles, friends and neighbors — and they all fought breast cancer. These brave Michigan men and women shared their stories with Patch.
We went looking for faces of survival. We found inspiration. Patch asked Michigan women and men who have fought breast cancer to share their struggles, tears and triumphs with us during October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer survivor Cynde Lebert, 59, of Canton, tells newly diagnosed women: “You'll be fine. You're alive and that's the most important thing.” Farmington Hills resident Dick Jaeger, 70, is one of the approximately 2,140 men diagnosed each year with breast cancer. "The answer is know your body and don't take anything for granted," Jaeger said. "Every day, I'm a cancer survivor," said Jean Bean, a 58-year-old mom, wife and interior designer from Rochester. "I don't obsess about it, but it's always there." Nancy …
Jana Warford
12:45 pm on Monday, December 24, 2012
You are a blessing to us all. Thanks for the wonderful work you do Erin. more ›