By Malissa Martin
Sometime being a teacher can take one away from your family, but in return teachers gain new family members with heir students and co-workers. After retiring, many teachers wonder what’s become of their students and counterparts.
Ron Schultz wondered exactly this when he retired from the Ferndale School District in 2003, so he founded the Ferndale Association of Retired Teachers (F.A.R.T.). The retired science specialist said the acronym F.A.R.T. came to him in the middle of the night.
When the group first began, it was four to five individuals meeting on a regular basis. After a few gatherings, Schultz took control and started inviting other Ferndale retired teachers to the meetings.
F.A.R.T. has since grown to 25 members and meets for breakfast on the first Friday of every month
at Apovini’s in Clawson. “The purpose of the group was really to create a time and a place where we could meet, stay in touch with each other, and preserve our professional friendships.” Schultz
says. “We also get to know each other in a personal way, outside of the work environment. We share
news with each other such as trips we’ve been on, something about our grandchildren. We might share things about book and movie recommendations that we’ve seen or read and just good conversation laced with a little gossip.”
The group also discusses past students and feeds off their success stories. “We always share any news we have about students and their families.” Schultz admits. “Students we may have had and the success of some kids. Somebody will always come in and say ‘Did you hear about so and so? Well, he graduated from such and such and he’s going to be a doctor.’ And it really makes you feel good.”
In some cases, Schultz himself runs into past students while running errands. “They pop up all over the place and you’re just so pleased to see they’re doing well and you bring that back and share it with everybody.” Schultz says.
Almost 80% of F.A.R.T. members are retired elementary and middle school teachers from the Ferndale School District. A lot of members have taught 25 to 35-plus years. Most retirees began teaching in Ferndale or taught the majority of their years in Ferndale. A few members taught the same families through three or more generations.
Several F.A.R.T. members know one another from working in the same building, district meetings, and school related events. New member Christine Sorowka said she heard stories about some members from students. “It has been wonderful for me because some of these teachers I didn’t know personally, or even professionally, but I would hear about them because the elementary schools fed into the middle schools. I would hear about Mr. Burke or Mrs. Grady and now I actually get to know the person and it’s just so nice and it’s a nice thing to do on Friday. You find out things about people you never knew.” Sorowka says.
Sorowka taught middle school and high school math in the Ferndale School District for 37 years.
Shultz and Sorowka confess they miss teaching, and say teaching has drastically changed from when they started. “I’m thankful that I’m out of it now because I can’t teach the way they would want me to teach now. I don’t think they are teaching. They’ve lost the idea that you need to inspire kids, motivate them, bring them to education, and make it something that they want to do. And that means you don’t start off with facts and figures. Education is really about motivating kids, inspiring them to want to learn, and then teaching them how to learn.” Schultz says.
F.A.R.T. members still go by the school schedule and take off summers. They even cancel breakfast if school is closed due to bad weather. In addition to professional networking, Schultz said the group provides encouragement and support to members when needed. They even pay their respects when retirees pass away by raising their glass for a toast in their honor.
When Schultz isn’t busy with F.A.R.T., he enjoys oil painting, nature photography and playing in his garden.
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Navarre opened the first Boston Tea Room in Wyandotte and a second store in Ferndale in 2009. She outgrew the space after five years and moved across the street to a bigger store two years ago. “We opened up a second location on this side of town because we had a lot of clients who, honestly, didn’t want to have to drive all the way downriver. So they kept really encouraging and asking for a shop on this side of town,” Navarre said. She says Ferndale’s downtown atmosphere is a good fit and attracts a lot of business. “We have a lot of people who walk in the shop just because they see all the beautiful crystals, jewelry, or candles in the window, and they may not have any idea that we’re doing tarot card readings or psalm readings behind the curtain, but they’re really intrigued by what they see. So we have a lot of clients that just come in to shop or to browse,” Navarre said.
The Boston Tea Room aims to provide spiritual support and items such as cards, crystals, books, CDs and DVDs to help nurture people on their spiritual journey, no matter their chosen religion. “So if you come from a Catholic upbringing, we have The Boston Tea Room: Helping Guide People on their Spiritual Journey jewelry with the saints on it or little pocket saints that you can carry with you. If you’re exploring the Buddhist path or Buddhist philosophy we have Buddhist mala beads and statues and that kind of thing. If you’re interested in investigating earthcentered, pagan traditions we have books and items for that,” Navarre explained.
Rufus Bartell has been instrumental in recruiting businesses to the historic district. Bartell opened Simply Casual, a boutique that sells both women’s and men’s clothing, in 1996. He says Simply Casual is a lifestyle store “for people who work hard and play hard.” He believes Detroit’s fashion has a unique style, and though he sells Detroit style clothing, he pushes the limits to bring new ideas to the city. “We have a style very unique on its own, with very different kinds of pockets. Weather influences how a lot of Detroiters dress and their simple style and taste,” Bartell explained. He collaborates with local designers and international designers from all over the world, including London, Italy, and Turkey, to name a few. Bartell says Detroit fashion is all over the place, and considers it a dress-up town. “We’ve always had a very stylish caché, dating back to our late, great Mayor Coleman Young, who was always dressed to the nines anytime you saw him,” Bartell said. In addition to clothing, Simply Casual sells bath and body products and candles made by Detroit companies.
Other boutique owners on the Avenue of Fashion have also been influenced by Detroit’s creative style. Jackie Terry, owner of The Style Gallery, also pushes to the bar on what she considers Detroit fashion. “I don’t conform to what is expected from an inner city boutique. I pride myself on doing cutting edge designs, not the norm.” Terry said. She opened The Style Gallery in 2002, shortly before graduating from Wayne State University with a B.A. in fashion design and merchandising. The posh boutique’s first location was in the New Center One Building. Terry decided to relocate to Avenue of Fashion in 2011 after friends who own salons there convinced her to move. Terry says she’s happy with the area and feels there’s a good camaraderie amongst business owners. She’s also seen an increase in sales and is excited about growing her clientele. Terry creates outfits with two other designers, and works with manufactures from all over the U.S., including New York and California. The Style Gallery predominately sells women’s clothing, but also offers custom ordered men’s pieces such as shirts, suits, blazers, and hats.
There are also stores on the Avenue of Fashion that exclusively sell men’s clothing, for example Flagship Boutique, owned by Tarik Haygood and Joseph Lawton. The pair opened the boutique almost four years ago, and make all their t-shirts on location. Haygood owns the brand District 81 and Lawton owns the brand Joe’s Coney Island, both of which are sold at the boutique. In addition to selling t-shirts, sweatshirts, blue jeans, and jackets, the store also sells CDs by Detroit artists.
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