RCA Photo of the Week - April 16, 2026

Tonight, the Romeo Theatre Company will perform the musical Anything Goes at Romeo High School (RHS) at 7pm. They will have performances throughout this weekend on Friday, April 17 at 7pm; Saturday, April 18 at 7pm; and Sunday, April 19 at 2pm.

This isn't the first time that the Romeo Theatre Company has put on this show. They did it back in 1978 and 1992. In the latter year, Karen Hamilton took this picture for the April 8th issue of The Romeo Observer. It was to promote the production, which played that weekend. This photo of the week depicts five of the cast members on the stage. Pictured clockwise are Scott MacDonald (kneeling) as Billy, Raeshelle Steinmetz as Hope, Sandi Lupien as Reno, Jim Stoner as Moonface, and Jill Ritchie as Bonnie.

Jill Ritchie is Kid Rock's younger sister who graduated from RHS the same year she did Anything Goes. She was well known for her singing voice. Jill sang the National Anthem for the school before various sporting events. In addition, she had a part in The Wiz, the musical RHS did the year prior. It's easy to see why she got a role in their 1992 spring musical.

Years ago, I heard a story about Jill in this very production of Anything Goes. Allegedly, during one performance, she was backstage, but someone forgot to turn off her microphone. At one point, audiences could hear her shouting a bunch of expletives. I can only imagine how embarassing that for both her and the attendees.

However, that didn't stop Jill from pursing an acting career. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre. Furthermore, Jill appeared in movies like D.E.B.S. and Herbie: Fully Loaded as well as television shows like Beverly Hills, 90210, Arrested Development, and I Hate My 30's in the 1990s and 2000s.

Everyone has their mishaps in life, and if it's true, Jill's just happened to be more public. Regardless, she didn't let it get in the way of her pursuing her dreams.

To learn more about Jill Ritchie and various RHS theatre productions, 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, April 8, 1992, p.9-A; 1978 and 1992 Romeo High School Yearbooks; and Wikipedia

The Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection Part 7 - Lori Weber

The Romeo Peach Festival is about five 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. Lori Weber, the woman seen above, 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 Lori's interview to said digital collection. In our conversation, she shared plenty of fond memories, including bringing family members from out of town to the festival and checking out the many things it offers.

When asked what the festival meant to her, Lori replied that it brings many people to the community and lets them know what Romeo is all about. While there, people have the oppportunity to visit many businesses, including shops that are open year-round, and eat the famous peaches.

Lori moved to Romeo in 2010 and has gone to the event for about 10 years. She took relatives to the festivities, including those from out of state. She recalled that when her sister-in-law came to Romeo in 2024, the first thing she asked was, "When's the Peach Festival?"

Lori even walked her first dachshund on the streets before the parade began. According to her, the dog "was a little overwhelmed with everybody, but she still...got along."

Since she's from Detroit, Lori and her husband love to check out the classic car show. They also make sure to attend the car parade on Labor Day. To her, it feels like a mini-Woodward Dream Cruise. She mentioned, "It was fun to see everybody so excited to see the different kinds of cars and wave and yell your name when they recognize you and stuff."

While it's not clear when the Classic Car Parade began, we do know that the Peach Festival Classic Car Show has been around since 1987. The front page of the September 2nd issue of The Romeo Observer had a quick blurb about it that year.

The Burger King in question was located on 66021 Van Dyke Road. It's where Arby's currently stands in Washinton Township.

Another favorite thing that Lori does is to check out the craft shows. She loves seeing the local artists and "filling her yard with different whimsical things."

Lori has a plan for when she goes to the craft shows. She looks at different sections to find lawn ornaments or statuary posts to hang up. At the festivities in 2024, she purchased a cement sloth and two dresses. Her goal for 2025 was to get a giraffe for her menagerie. I hope she got it. If not, there's always this year.

The craft show at the Peach Festival have been around in some form since 1982. On the front page of the September 1, 1982 edition of The Romeo Observer, it quickly mentioned that there will be a Country Fair at the Croswell School field on the Saturday of the festival, featuring arts, crafts, and flea and farmers' markets. This article can be seen below.

Lori and I had a great time talking about the Romeo Peach Festival. 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.

All interviews will be apart of the digital Romeo Peach Festival Oral History Collection. Each will contain the audio and transcript.

To check out the Lori Weber interview, you can go to the Romeo Community Archives online catalog. More will be uploaded in the near future.

If you 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; Romeo Peach Festival Collection, 1982 and 1987; and 1987 Romeo High School Yearbook