RCA Photo of the Week - May 28, 2026

People of certain generations in the Romeo-Washington area will remember when Whistle Stop, located on the corner of 29 Mile and Van Dyke Roads, was a railroad museum with an 1869-labelled locomotive. That version of Whistle Stop came to be 60 years ago this week.

The Romeo Observer published this picture of what would become Whistle Stop in their June 2, 1966 issue. It explained that Bob Owen - a local sign man - purchased the building and moved it to its present site "for use as an office shop and also to house some of his historical items."

Constructed around 1916, the building was a railroad station that originally stood kitty corner from the Washington Elevator on West Road. The Grank Trunk Railroad ceased using the depot in 1960, offering to sell it for $200 ($2,250.14 in today's money). The catch was that the company wanted it off the right-of-way. It took six years to locate a buyer, and they did so with Bob, who was a streetcar and railroad buff. It would cost him $700 ($7,194.88 in today's money) to move it and several thousand dollars to restore it.

The location was perfect since railroad tracks crossed the intersection at the time.

Herschel P. Fink from The Detroit News stated that the depot was a combination station, meaning it handled both passengers and freight. It was divided into three compartments - a passenger waiting room, an office, and a freight room. Bob transformed the latter space into his sign shop and the other rooms into a museum that housed "his personal collection of antique railroad items, including bells, steam whistles, lanterns, and models."

Overtime, he bought a engine and two cars for the museum. According to Bob White, author of the article, "Whistle Stop comes to the end of the line," from the Macomb Community College newspaper The Ultimatum, Bob purchased the former in 1963 from a "steel mill in Hamilton, Ontario and was built around 1920."

He also acquired a 1916 caboose from the Chesapeake and Ohio line in 1967. Finally, he bought a 1930 interurban car "that was on the old North Shore Line, running from Chicago to Milwaukee" in 1968.

Now, one might be thinking, "Why did Bob Owen do all of this?"

As mentioned earlier, he loved streetcars and railroads. His father Hibbard Owen was the interurban stationmaster in Romeo during the time, in which the village was part of the Detroit, Rochester, Romeo, & Lake Orion Railway. That railway ran from 1899 to 1931. Hibbard operated as a station agent for 20 years until the station closed. Fun fact: the interurban depot in Romeo was located at what would become The Romeo Observer building on West St. Clair Street.

For about 10 years, Bob ran the museum. The Boy Scouts and school groups came in for guided tours. Then in 1977, he decided to close up the sign shop and the museum because "his taxes [had] tripled in one year and he also [had] reached retirement age."

In June, the locomotive, tender (the rail car connected to the locomotive that carries the fuel needed to power the engine), and caboose moved to the park behind Shelby Township Hall and next to the Anderson School house at 24 Mile and Van Dyke Roads in Shelby Township. The trolley was slated to go to Selfridge Base.

Several businesses have occupied the building since, with the latest being a liquor store.

Despite its brief existence, the Whistle Stop railroad museum made a big impression on those who went there. And, it was all because of one man whose love for streetcars and railroads motivated him to buy an old railroad station in 1966.

To learn more about Whistle Stop, 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, June 2, 1966, p.3-A and June 8, 1977, p.12-A; Detroit News, January 19, 1969; Country Shopper Journal, February 2, 1977; and The Ultamatium, March 21, 1977, p.12

RCA Photo of the Week - May 21, 2026

With Memorial Day coming up, the Romeo Community Archives wants to honor those whose lives were taken by war. One of those was Master Sergeant James A. McVicar, who is seen in this newspaper photograph. This name might be recognizable because he is one of the six Romeo High School (RHS) athletes who were killed during the Second World War. All of them are honored by a plaque that was located near where the old Romeo Middle School was on Prospect Street. James was the eldest of those athletes, and his photograph was printed on the front page of the October 29, 1943 issue of The Romeo Observer Press.

James was born on June 19, 1914 in Illinois to parents Malcolm and Grace McVicar. By 1930, his family, which also included three siblings, moved to Bruce Township. He went to Romeo High School until 1932, and he enlisted in the army the following year.

James received training at Chanute Field in Illinois. When that was completed, he was stationed on the Philippine Islands, where he remained for four years. In 1935, he became a member of the Army Air Corps. When the war broke out in 1939, he came back to the states and was assigned to the Bomber Ferry command. While on tours of duty, he visited countries in South America, Africa, and Asia. When the United States officially entered the war in 1941, James was in a battle zone in Egypt.

By May 1942, he was in Australia after seeing battle in Burma (now Myanmar), Sumatra, Java, and the Philippines. At the time, he wrote to his sister Grace, mentioning that he was the "navigator on the personal plane of Lieut. General Greoge Brett, and, the activites of his squandron included the transporting of General Douglas MacArthur and other higher officials."

When March 1943 rolled around, James was promoted to Master Sergeant. In that month, James recevied the Distinguished Flying Cross - the highest honor awarded to an air man. He "was cited for 'exceptional professional skill, courage and endurance' in more than 50 flights from December 5, 1941, to March 10, 1942, including transport of high ranking officials, delivery of arms to combat zones and evacuation of civilian in a plane which did not carry combat armament."

Sadly, James wouldn't live to see the rest of the year. In late September 1943, he was reported missing in action since September 10. By the end of October, the war department officially declared him dead. James died in an airplane crash in the Asiatic Sector around September 10. He was later buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

There was no obituary for James in the The Romeo Observer Press although there was a memorial service held at the First Methodist Church (now the Romeo United Methodist Church) on Sunday, January 9, 1944. He received a posthumous citation of honor by the end of 1943. The Romeo Observer Press printed it in on the front page of their December 17, 1943 issue along with a letter detailing his honor.

In addition, Corporal Lee R. Buzzell of Armada wrote a letter remembering James as a person. The Romeo Observer Press printed it in on the front page of their January 7, 1944 edition.

Little else is known about him, but the letters show how James was a great and friendly man who was willing to do so much for his country. In 1945, the common council changed the name of Elm Road in Romeo to McVicar Road. One year later, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars altered its name to became the Striber-McVicar No. 2052 Post to honor his legacy.

James was survived by his father, sister, and brothers John and Donald.

If you know someone who served, feel free to share their story.

To learn more about James A. McVicar and other fallen soldiers, 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 Press, May 15, 1942, p.1; March 26, 1943, p.1; September 24, 1943, p.1; October 29, 1943, p.1; December 17, 1943, p.1; January 7, 1944, p.1; and June 6, 1946, p.1; and Ancestry.com