Last year, we acquired four collections. Romeo Community Archives volunteer Jim Tyler donated one of them - a set of digital copies of photographs that he and his family took between the 1930 and the 1970s in Romeo.
Jim was born in 1938 and grew up in the village with his parents, brother Dean, and half-brother Bob. His mother Irene owned a beauty shop in downtown Romeo, while his father Raymond was a photographer. Jim graduated from Romeo High School in 1956. Soon after, he joined the military and later the missionary.
Even when he was away, Jim visited Romeo from time to time. He also took up photography as a hobby because he caught the camera bug from his dad. He snapped pictures of the Romeo and Washington areas, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.
This photo seen above was one that he shot in 1963. It shows downtown Romeo facing south on Main Street. While we were working on the digital collection, Jim talked about the origins of the pictures. With this one, he mentioned that he took it while he was in his car, and the light was still red. Said light turned green by the time he was done. Don't worry, he was still being a safe driver.
What's fascinating about this photo is the businesses that occupied South Main Street in 1963. We identified five of them in the picture alone. These include the Community National Bank and the Romeo Texaco Service Gas Station (with the star logo) on the right side. The PNC Bank and the Peaches Brunch House occupy those spaces currently. On the left side, there's Schaaf's Pharmacy near the front, the Gamble Store (a hardware store with the green logo background), and the Detroit Edison Company in the back. Today, Paramount Roofing, Two Friends Dog & Cat Grooming, and Tech City Electronics are in those buildings as of now.
It's always interesting to see how downtown Romeo looked like in the past.
Are there any other businesses that you can identify in this photo? Let us know.
To see more photos from the Jim Tyler Photograph Collection, check out our online Archives Catalog. For other inquiries, 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; Jim Tyler Photograph Collection, 1963 and Romeo Telephone Directory, January 1964