Ralph Chambers of Independence Township remembers former Clarkston News publisher William Stamp.
Stamp also served as Clarkston’s justice of the peace in the late 1950s and ’60s, and Chambers appeared in his courtroom on M-15 near Dixie Highway to deal with two traffic tickets.
“I don’t remember how I got them,” said Chambers, who has lived in Clarkston for the past 53 years. “He was very matter of fact. I knew I was wrong and had been caught.”
At the time, Chambers was a member of Clarkston’s Jaycees with other young men including Frank “Tink” Ronk, Lew Wint, Mel Mason, and Mel Vaara, meeting at the village cafe on Main Street.
Downtown was bustling, with Dr. Jim O’Neill just starting his practice on Main Street, Rudy Schwartz running Rudy’s Market, and Ronk calling out to friends and neighbors from his barbershop.
“It was the center, the focus of downtown,” Chambers said. “This is a great town.”
The current Clarkston News building at 5 S. Main Street was a furniture store,
“We still have a couch we bought here,” he said.
Judge Stamp, Jaycees, and the rest of the Main Street crowd continue to live on in the Clarskton News archive, dating back to the 1930s.
Care to take a look? Call us at 248-625-3370 and we’ll set it up.
? Phil Custodio