The First Congregational Church Time Capsules and the Fourth of July

America's 250th birthday is coming up very soon. There are many ways to celebrate this special occasion, and the Romeo Community Archives took the historical route. The display we have now at the Romeo District Library Kezar Branch shows off items from time capsules that were once buried in the cornerstone of the First Congregational Church (now the Abbey on Main). This includes the copper box seen above.

Now, you're probably wondering, "How does that relate to the Fourth of July?"

Buckle in, reader. Before the building most associated with the church came to be, there were two other edifices. Both stood on the corner of Main and Church Streets in Romeo. The first iteration lasted from 1833 to 1842. It would later serve as the Romeo Branch of the University of Michigan from 1841 to 1852.

The second building lasted a little longer from the 1840s to June 1875. The picture below is of the church in 1874. By the mid-1870s, the need for a new structure grew, so the last service was held on June 13, 1875, and it was demolished soon after. On July 4, 1876, the church installed a cornerstone with a copper box - the same one from above - filled with items that told the church's history while the edifice was being constructed. This was fitting because that year marked the country's 100th birthday. Hugh Gray of the Gray House on Chandler Street formally laid the cornerstone. He was the chairman of the board of trustrees at the time and the largest donor to the new church.

R.F. Odion was the builder behind the project, and it was completed in 1877. This photo shows what the building would've looked like at the time. Ben Cuyler - well-known Romeo photographer at the turn of the century - took the picture because on the bottom, it mentions Cuyler's Gallery.

One hundred years later on July 4, 1976, the First Congregational Church removed the cornerstone, so the items could be displayed for the building's anniversary. The Romeo Obsever snapped the same picture of the 1876 copper box seen at the very top for an article about the event. That story appeared on the front page of their July 8th edition. Along with the box, some of the items included the following:

• A copy of the Holy Bible
• Histories of the church written by Reverend Horatio O. Ladd and Reverend Dr. Philo R. Hurd
• A record of names of all who attended the church from its organization in 1828 to July 4, 1876
• A copy of the church manual adopted on December 1, 1872
• An 1876 membership directory by families
• A copy of the June 28, 1876 issue of The Romeo Observer
• A copy of the Detroit Daily Post
• Photographs of various buildings and people related to the church
• Samples of coins and stamps of 1876

The Romeo Observer mentioned that a special anniversary service took place at 10am on Sunday, July 4th, in the church. The centennial committee planned the event, and it was "almost an exact duplication of the 50th anniversary of the church, just one year after the completion of the construction of the church building."

O.B. Gould made a new copper box, so it could go into the cornerstone along with "current items" like coins, the July 8th Romeo Observer issue, and the program for the service. It was not meant to be opened until July 4, 2076. However, when the church closed its doors in 2021, both boxes resurfaced. These capsules and their contents were donated to the Romeo Community Archives as part of the First Congregational Church Collection.

Even thougth these items were not meant to be unearthed again until 2076, we wanted to show them off this year because of the First Congregational Church's connection with the United States's birthday.

The display exhibits many of the items mentioned, including the original 1876 and 1976 copper boxes and newspapers, coins from both years, the 1872 church manual, the 1876 membership directory, and the 1976 program for the anniversary service.

Come and check it out when you have the chance!

Happy Fourth of July!

To learn more about First Congregational Church time capsules, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers like The Romeo Observer on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.

Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, July 8, 1976, p.1-A; The Romeo Observer Centennial Supplement, August 4, 1966, p.4; and First Congregational Church Collection, 1874, 1876, 1877, and 1976

The Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection Part 9 - 2018 Peach Queen Runner-Up Michelle Klein

The Romeo Peach Festival is less than three months away, and the Romeo Community Archives will be there this year to conduct oral histories about the cherished event.

Each participant will be given a sticker for sharing their memories of the festival. The 2018 Peach Queen Runner-Up Michelle Klein wore said sticker after we interviewed her at last year's Peach Festival.

All interviews will be apart of the digital Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection. Each will contain the audio and transcript. We recently added Michelle's interview to said digital collection. In our conversation, she shared her memories of participating in the Peach Queen pageant and being the runner-up.

Michelle is the not the first Peach Queen Runner-Up that we have interviewed. The 2024 Peach Queen Joanna Cowells was the runner-up in 2023, and she spoke about her experiences with both in our previous installment.

Going back to Michelle, she grew up in Romeo, went to Romeo High School, and attended the Romeo Peach Festival several times throughout her life. She has always loved Romeo and the community and wanted "to be part of a representation of it."

These experiences prompted her to try out for the Peach Queen pageant in 2016 under her maiden name Michelle Pantalena. Sadly, she didn't get it. She spoke to 2005 Peach Queen and pageant director Jesi Foltz-Goike afterwards, and she remembered that Jesi said, "You know, this wasn't your year, but we want you to come back."

This motivated Michelle to try out again in 2018. This time, she succeeded in becoming the runner-up with Samantha Bartolotta securing the Peach Queen title. Michelle recalled that it was great to hear her name called because there were seven girls that were running. It meant so much to her with becoming one of two to hold that special responsibility. She was also suprised since she thought all of them were great.

On her relationship with Samantha, Michelle mentioned that they didn't know each other prior to the pageant. Ironically, they had crossed paths in the past, for both went to Romeo High School and the same college. They bonded pretty quickly, and they had a great year together. They remain close to this very day.

Her highlights as Runner-Up were the parades and volunteer events. Michelle recalled that it was about 90 degrees for the Floral Parade that year, but she and Samantha managed to make it through. In addition, they organized an event at Buffalo Wild Wings and a bingo breakfast fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation - Samantha's charity of choice.

When asked about how being a Peach Queen runner-up influenced her life, Michelle said, "It really teaches you just to be confident, be able to talk to a lot of different people, [and] know how you're representing yourself."

She futhered explained that as Peach Queen, people look up to you. Having that responsbility is huge, and she carries that over into her work in human resources (HR).

We also discussed the Peach Queens' sisterhood. Along with her friendship with Samantha, Michelle remains connected to other past Queens through social media. She added that it's bigger than a pageant, bigger than the Peach Festival. It's a community of very strong women.

Although Michelle no longer lives in Romeo, she continues to be active in the community. For example, she has judged some of the Peach Queen Pageants in the last few years. She remembered sitting in the lobby with the contestants, calming their nerves, and keeping them distracted while the Peach Queen sat in on the interviews in 2019. Michelle loved doing that so much that she joined the panel. She enjoys getting know the contestants, hearing their experiences, and spending time with past Queens. In addition, Michelle was one of the chaperones for the 2025 Peach Queen Olivia Lynn.

Since her time as Peach Queen Runner-Up, Michelle has worked in HR as a recruiter and in learning and development. She's currently a junior HR business partner. Additionally, she got married in May 2025.

Before we ended our interview, I asked Michelle about her advice for anybody looking to compete in future Peach Queen pagaents. She answered it with the following, "Oh, man, just do it. I mean, like I said, I tried once, didn’t get it, but I tried again. So even if it doesn’t work out, try again. And, it’s really a great opportunity to meet people and represent the community and just be yourself too. I know people get so nervous, but it’s like, it’s worth it to take that jump, that ten, fifteen minutes of uncomfort for a whole year of experiences and memories. So, yeah, I encourage everyone to go for it.

That's beautiful advice!

Michelle and I had a great time talking about the Romeo Peach Festival and her experiences as Peach Queen Runner-Up. The Romeo Community Archives looks forward to talking to more people about their memories of the Peach Festival and what it means to them at this year's festivities.

It doesn't matter if you're young or old. We want to hear all of the stories about the festival.

To check out the 2018 Peach Queen Runner-Up Michelle Klein interview, you can go to the Romeo Community Archives online catalog. More will be uploaded in the near future.

If you're a former Peach Queen, member of the Peach Queen court, or a festival attendee and want to participate in the Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. We can also conduct interivews outside of Romeo Peach Festival weekend if you feel more comfortable that way.

Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection, 2025