Story By :  Jeff Milo
Photo By : Bernie Laframboise

FERNDALE HAS HAD ITS SHARE OF FAMOUS FOLKS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT. BUT FEW ARE AS OUTGOING AS AUTHOR JOSH MALERMAN; HE’LL TELL YOU HIS STORY IF YOU BUMP INTO HIM. More likely, he’ll probably want to hear your story. As a writer, he’s naturally fascinated by people. He has a knack for getting familiar very fast. That’s expected, not just as an author who’s naturally fascinated by people, but also from years of touring with and performing at countless local rock venues with the band The High Strung.

Next year, Malerman’s breakout horror novel, Bird Box, is being adapted into a major motion-picture production, with a cast that includes Hollywood icons like Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich. His third novel on a major publishing house came out on Halloween, and his fourth will be out by Spring of next year. Oh, and you can hear his lead vocals over the rock music of The High Strung’s song “Luck You Got” during the opening credits of Showtime’s Shameless. Life begins at 40, they say, but for Malmeran, so does fame…, but that “fame” only comes after writing more than a dozen novels before his first publication, and after almo
st 20 years in his band during which they released seven LPs and logged about 2,000 days of touring.

“I knew from the moment Universal (Pictures) optioned Bird Box that I’d have no say in the script, the music, the process; I’m fine with that. Not just because that’s the natural process for an unknown author selling a book to the movies, but because I’m a true fan of collaborative art! I’m interested as hell to see what they do with it! Have fun with it, I say! The book will always be there.”

Bird Box made a big splash in the genres of horror and dystopic thrillers: a near future world (set in Michigan) where an uncanny new species has infiltrated civilization, the mere sight of these supernatural entities can spiral any observer off into destructive mania. “So, I just hope three things for the movie: that it’s scary as hell; that the music is phenomenal, and that everyone involved has a really good time making it. That’s where I’m at with it.” He said he feels the same way about next year’s Unbury Carol, another horror novel, which will be out on Del Rey, and has its own potential to be adapted some day.

His most recent, Goblin, came out on Halloween. It’s a novel told in six short, interconnected stories; effectively presented as “What if The Twilight Zone were an actual city?” And the citizens of this fictitious municipality known as Goblin seem to be aware that their town is naturally supernatural, and that an intangible entity of danger resides in its recesses.

“And that can easily be said about America as a whole, right now,” Malerman mused. “Things are crazy. We all know it. And yet, aren’t we all still proud to be from the USA? Aren’t we still glad to call this place home? Now, Goblin doesn’t have the same political madness, but it certainly has that pride. Everyone in Goblin is a bit obsessed…Behind every closed door and draped window, there’s a person fixated on something in their life that would sound crazy to the rest of us who are, really, in turn, fixated on our own infinitesimal things.” It being a horror novel, though, you can expect that Goblin residents often flirt with near or certain doom due to the malevolent magnetisms of their fixations.

Malerman says that Goblin shares very few similarities with Ferndale. Nevertheless, our city’s unique charms still influence Malerman’s imagination in other ways. “Ferndale is exactly the right-sized city in which, when you go out, you have a good chance of running into someone you know—but you still might not.

So when you do run into someone: it’s a spark! Ferndale is a great mix of
“small town” and “city,” so it definitely plays into the landscape of whatever book I’m writing. There are enough bookstores here (Library Bookstore, John King North) and in Oak Park and Berkley, where I can hope to find an old horror novel I’ve been searching for. Couple that with the coffee shops, here!Trip that with the bars! Then, let’s quadruple that with the folks inside those bars; yeah, Ferndale plays a major part in my life, which in turn plays a major part in the books.”

As Malerman tells it, he finds inspiration here in more eclectic forms. (And that, as you’ll read, is notably due to his partner, in life and in art, Allison Laako.) “Ferndale is the kind of smaller town that has completely adopted the big city freedom of expression,” Malerman says.

One weekend night, Laako enthused Malerman to head out to Zeke’s to see a band; that she’d catch up later. Only thing was, his driving ahead on this frigid winter night meant she’d have to walk there. “The band has already started and I suddenly see someone in a penguin suit outside walking up to the door. I think, ‘Hmm, we have a penguin suit…! I wonder…?’ And sure enough, brilliant Allison found the warmest thing in our house to wear, penguin-head and all. Everyone in the bar, they laughed, they got into it! You can be a freak in Ferndale! But…the locals are also hungry enough to ask a little something more of your freakishness—be clever about it, use it in a powerful or fun way. If you’re gonna let your freak flag fly, let us all hear it flapping in the wind. We like that sound in Ferndale!”

Laako is a hybrid, visual artist, improvisatory thespian, singer, and makeup visionary. Her creativity and vibrant imagination have certifiably inspired Malerman during their six years together—intimate scenes of which are captured in Quilt of Delirium, a recently released documentary streaming online, directed by Scott Allen. That film can continue telling the story of Malerman, beyond this page. It’s a story that includes his band, The High Strung, as well as unpacks the source of his deep love for telling stories.

Goblin is out now; Unbury Carol is on the way, and a movie version of Bird Box will be out after that. Oh, and then there’s that new High Strung album…All this creative output, surging right out of Ferndale.

Story By : Sara E. Teller
Photos By : Bernie Laframbiose

THE NEW TO YOU SHOP, located inside of St. John’s Episcopal Church off of Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, offers low-cost donations and consignment items with the purpose of raising money to support community outreach and various charities within the church as well as in the community at large. The shop has been in business for 37 years, originally opening its doors back in 1980.

“The New To You Shop went into business after a recommendation was made by a church member,” explained the shop’s manager, Kathy Williams. In the fall of 1980, the store was established by the Vestry at the recommendation of Ruth Ewing. The original purpose was to supply low-cost clothing and articles, offer an opportunity for profitable recycling of usable clothing, and to use the profits to aid other ministries all while welcoming people in the community.

“We sell clothing for infants, children, ladies and men, jewelry, accessories, collectibles, books, household items and more,” Williams explained, adding that “proceeds from the shop help to support the Open Hands Food Pantry located within the church (which is the largest emergency food bank for Oakland County), the Open Hands Garden, support groups that meet at the church, and a variety of organizations in the community such as Mariners Inn, Haven, SOS, Furniture Bank of Southeast Michigan, Common Ground and many more.” In addition to the items above, bedding, linen, DVDs and CDs and other goods are also accepted.

St. John’s established a Corporate Mission Committee to provide assistance for various types of outreach programs, and funds for the Committee come directly from profits of the New to You Shop. In 2015 alone, the store generated a total of $7,050 for this effort.

Although there are currently no volunteer opportunities available within New To You according to Williams, donations are always welcome and consignment is available on an ongoing basis. “We accept donations any time the shop is open, which is Monday through Friday 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Saturday 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M., and Monday evenings 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.,” she said. “We do not place limits on donations, but those interested in consignment should call the store to discuss as this is by appointment only.”

A consignment contract which outlines the terms of sale is available at the church’s website. These types of sales are slightly different from those made from donated items. Dropoff appointments are offered Monday through Friday only, and made by the manager. The maximum accepted per appointment is six manageable boxes with closed lids, or a two-foot span of hanging clothing. The shop sets all pricing.

New To You is located inside of St. John’s, with parking behind the church off of 11 Mile Rd. It is closed on snow days for Royal Oak School students, as well as throughout the summer from mid-June through Labor Day and major holidays throughout the year. All items are reduced once they have been on the floor for more than two months.

For more information, interested parties may visit the church’s web site at www.stjohnro.org, call 248.546.1722, or email newtoyou@stjohnro.org.

OPEN HANDS FOOD PANTRY, housed in the lower level of St. John’s Episcopal Church, provides emergency food and toiletries to residents of Oakland County. Completely staffed by a dedicated group of Volunteers, the pantry is open every Saturday from 9:30 A.M. to 11:45 A.M. and every Monday from 12:30 P.M. to 2:45 P.M.

Open Hands Food Pantry volunteers place a premium on treating people with dignity and respect, so each household is met with individually to create a food or supply package that helps them most,” said Reverend Elizabeth Bingham.

Open Hands was founded in 1982 by a small group of parishioners from St. John’s Episcopal Church who saw a need to provide a few cans of food whenever families came by who needed some assistance. “The groceries were kept on a small bookshelf in a Sunday School room,” Elizabeth explained. “After a few years, the whole room was taken over as a space to store and distribute food. Over time, more and more space was required, more volunteers were added, and now an entire floor of the church is dedicated for food storage and distribution.”

She added, “Hunger is real in Oakland County” and the specified 2017 goal of the pantry was to feed 14,000 people. Of this goal, Elizabeth said, “14,000 is about the capacity that we can reach with our current hours of operation and current volunteer and funding base. If we were open more often or had more resources, we would serve more people. We don’t despair about that. We do what we can, with dignity and respect for our neighbors.”

Recently, some members of the parish invited students from the Oakland University’s engineering department to develop an irrigation system on a volunteer basis as part of their capstone project. “They got real-life experience in solving a problem for a ‘client’ using industrial engineering concepts and tools,” Elizabeth said of the endeavor and Open Hands Garden was the recipient of an automated irrigation system.” As a result, she added, “Open Hands Garden plants are always well-watered and producing – no matter what the weather!”

The Open Hands Garden is fairly new to the church, having been established only three years ago as part of an initiative to be able to provide both perishable and nonperishable food items. “We now have eight raised beds, and hope to expand the garden next year to lengthen our growing season and provide more vegetables. This is a volunteer-intensive project, and people come all over the region to help us plant, weed, and harvest. We always need more volunteers!” she explained.

The food pantry has been supported mostly by individual donations and a few local grants, such as The Village Club in Bloomfield Hills. “The ‘GM Men’s Club’ and ‘Corvettes on Woodward’ are very generous with us, as they use the St. John’s Parking Lot during the annual Dream Cruise and have become very supportive of our program,” Elizabeth explained, adding that donations also come in regularly from many of the local businesses, schools and organizations.

“Cash gifts are the best way to support us,” she said. These donations are tax deductible. “Also consider organizing a toiletry or non-perishable food drive for Open Hands in your faith communities, schools or businesses. It’s always best for us if you collect ‘just one thing’ – toothbrushes, canned soup, or tuna fish, etc.” Donating one specific item rather than mixing and matching makes it easier to shelve the product and distribute it from one place without having to sort lots of items. Some of the goods most needed are personal hygiene products, laundry and dish soap, soup and other canned goods, dried beans, peanut butter, socks, mittens, gloves, hats, and scarves and backpacks.

Small donations are accepted during the food pantry’s open hours. For larger donations, the church should be contacted first via phone or email: (248) 546-1255, option 2, or pantry@openhandspantry.org.

The goal of Open Hands is to keep extending its reach. “Our goal is to expand our volunteer base and our pool of funders,” Elizabeth said. “We could do so much more if we had consistent funding. We are in the process of seeking gifts and long-term commitments from individual donors, as well as corporations, foundations, and other entities.”

Story By Jon Szerlag

VANDALISM IS MORE THAN JUST A CRIME OF DESTRUCTION of property, especially when it is personal property. for one oak park family, a pumpkin thrown at their window after Halloween had them rethinking their ongoing efforts to transform their home into a local extravaganza and holiday landmark
for the community.

For some, Halloween may be just a day for a quick scare and for children to get candy. For others, it is something more. It is a tradition that seems to be faltering, moving underground as the popularity of Trunk-or-Treat and other similar events take the stage for a safe alternative to going door-to-door shouting “Trick or Treat!”

For the Schaller family, October — especially the night of Halloween — is something to be proud of. Their house, both outside and in, has become a traditional holiday landmark known for elaborate decorations and costumes. “It’s part of an atmosphere,” said Chris Schaller. “It’s a family event, and other families are involved in it as well. We all remember when we were little kids. Trick-or-treating was different back then. It was fun. We want the kids to feel that and keep that tradition alive. [Halloween] is a time for the community to get together, and we are a part of that. We offer a sense of community and a sense of nostalgia and a little part of tradition, hoping that this torch will be carried on with some little kid saying I want to do that.”

All of that almost came to a halt when their son was woken in the middle of the night to a crash which shook the house and knocked numerous items off a wall, including a collectable cuckoo clock. Their son thought someone was trying to break into their house, then noticed the items on the floor and thought they just fell. When he left for work the next day, he noticed that some of the decorations were damaged, and someone had thrown a pumpkin at a window with such force it knocked all of the items off the wall inside. The Schaller family has been decorating their house for four years, and never had any concerns or problems.

“This is the first time someone has messed with our decorations,” said Linda Schaller. “People come by…and they respect it. This year was the first year someone did something. It was my fears being realized for the first time. I am hesitant on how much we will do because I don’t want it to happen again.” Although this act of vandalism, of personal disrespect, shook more than just their walls of their home, the Schallers’ will not let this stop them from continuing their tradition.

“We are not going to let one bad seed spoil all we give to the community, and what the community gives to us,” said Chris Schaller. But he did add that they will take some more precautions moving forward, like moving the pumpkins to the backyard and taking larger, expensive items in at night.

“Growing up, getting a candy bar was such a great treat. It was the highlight of the year: the costume mom made for you, becoming the superhero of the moment. It’s good for parents and the community. And people and kids remember us from the year before and look forward to coming here. We are not going to let one person, or group of kids spoil it for the roughly 200 kids we had this year. We are going to keep it going.”