Romeo has always been a community, in which people willingly come together for a good cause. A great example of this is when the Memorial Stadium was being built in the late 1940s.
The idea of Memorial Stadium was conceived shortly after the death of Robert N. Mellen in 1944. The stadium was to honor the men and women who served during wars like World War II, and it also was supposed to have football and baseball fields, a track, and tennis and horseshoe pitching courts.
The Romeo Lions Club sponsored the stadium. Because people wanted to honor not only those who fought and lived, but also those who lost their lives like Robert, residents were more than willing to pitch in. Donors included several businesses like Church & Church Inc., Pontiac Nursery, Bradley & Chubb, Detroit Edison Company, Garrison Chevrolet, Posey Brothers, and the Romeo Observer Press; individuals like Jewel West, Jay Eldred Sr., Dan Barnabo, and Robert Plumb; the Romeo High School (RHS) Varsity "R" Club; and the Senior Class of 1945.
In July 1945, the Memorial Stadium Committee were able to purchase 10 acres on the east side of Morton Street for the field.
With the land bought, it was time to built the stadium proper, but more money was needed. It would take another two years of donations before the work officially began in the summer of 1947. This included bake sales, fish fry dinners, auto races, basketball games between the Lions and Rotary Clubs, and a Masquerade Ball sponsored by the RHS student council.
While the Memorial Stadium was being constructed, people did their parts to help. Students came by to seed the ground, and other citizens got to together to put up the 60-foot poles for the lights.
The latter leads us to our photo above. It was taken for the front page of the August 5, 1948 issue of The Romeo Observer, and it shows a bunch of local men lending a hand while putting up the said pole for the stadium lights. The good news is that we know all the people in it. They are the following: Voyle Robertson, Harold Gray, Leo Shovan, Bud Verellen, Coach Dan Barnabo, Frank Murphy, Ralph Garrison, Louis Verellen, P. A. Berthiaume, Reverend C. Earl Page, Superintendent E. W. Van Aken, and Lloyd Campbell.
The lights themselves were provided by Louis Verellen - the local electric contractor and man who is at the right of the pole. In the article, Louis said that he had the all the material on hand and "work will continue until the project is completed."
All of the citizens in the picture wanted the stadium completed before the football season started in September. Luckily, this did happen as the Memorial Stadium was dedicated on Friday, September 17, 1948 as a living memorial to the war dead.
It still resides across the street from the Romeo-Washington-Bruce Parks and Recreation building as the Memorial Field.
To learn more about the Memorial Stadium, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer Press, July 20, 1945, p.6; July 27, 1945, p.1; July 31, 1947, p.1; August 5, 1948, p.1; and September 23, 1948, p.1
