Happy 60th Anniversary, Indian Hills Elementary School!

On September 12, 1966, Indian Hills Elementary School opened its doors for the very first time with 230 pupils attending. Its name was derived from the fact that the school was built on the site of an old Indian campground. According to Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, author of A History of the Romeo Community School District 1824-1976, during excavation for the school in that year, "many Indian artifacts were unearthed, and are still found in the area."

There is plenty of documentation of the Native Americans' presence in Romeo. For starters, the first name of the village was Indian Village due to the amount of Ojibwe tribe members in the region. They would come down from the north and use the Romeo area as their winter grounds. Additionally, Dr. John H. Hollister (Hollister Street is named after his father Colonel John B.) remembered them while he was growing up in what would become Romeo in the 1820s and 1830s. In the 1870s, he recalled that the Ojibwe planted corn in the hills, hunted in various locations during the summer, were hard-working individuals, and loved to feast. Naming the elementary school after the Native Americans in the area was a lovely way to pay tribute to them.

The name became official at an April 18, 1966 Romeo school board meeting. The Romeo Observer featured an article about the occasion on the front page of their April 21, 1966 edition. It can be seen here.

The school's opening was supposed to be during the first week of September, but it didn't happen because of the construction delays.

The September 8th issue of The Romeo Observer highlighted the first faculty at the school prior to its opening with the photo above. They are Mrs. Barbara Tincknell, sixth grade teacher; Mrs. Francis (or Frances) Greene, fifth grade teacher; Mrs. Julia Vandervelde, third grade teacher; Mrs. Betty Peters, second grade teacher; Mrs. Jeanne Sanborn, fourth grade teacher; and Mrs. Mary Jane Johnson, first grade teacher.

In the week after, the newspaper highlighted the staff again in an article entitled, "Meet Romeo's New Teachers." The section devoted to Indian Hills can be seen below.

Note how most of them have children of their own.

The only faculty member absent from the picture above was Principal Myron D. Grabske. He had been involved in the Romeo educational system for a decade prior to his role at Indian Hills. His first teaching position was at Washington Elementary School, where he taught eighth grade from 1956 to 1958. He then taught at Disco Elementary School in Utica from 1958 to 1962 and at Plumbrook Elementary School in Sterling Heights from 1962 to 1964. Grabske was principal of North Elementary School in Romeo from 1964 to 1966. During the 1966-1967 school year, he was the principal of both North and Indian Hills! It can't imagine how difficult it was for him to manage two elementary schools at the same time.

Luckily, after that school year, Grabske was responsibile for one elementary school, and that was Indian Hills. In 1976, he reflected on the inherent rewards in a career in education. He said, "My greatest joy in education is watching the gradual development of each child throughout his school years, and noting the over-all, and continuing improvements of the education system through the years."

I'm glad he got to do that as the first principal of Indian Hills Elementary School.

For anyone who attended or worked at Indian Hills in 1966, feel free share your stories about your time there to the Romeo Community Archives.

Happy 60th Anniversary! Eat some corn in its honor.

To learn more about the Indian Hills Elementary School, 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; A History of the Romeo Community School District 1824-1976 by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, p.235; History of Macomb County, Michigan by M.A. Leeson & Co., 1882, p.618-619; and Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, April 21, 1966, p.1-A, September 8, 1966, p.1-A and 6-A, September 15, 1966, p.2-A

Preserving the Memory of Suzanne Kondratenko

2026 marks the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks - one of the most tragic events in U.S. history. No matter where you were, you remember that day. Romeo was no different as the disaster deeply affected its citizens. They did everything they could to help out the emergency workers. In addition, one of the victims of the terrorist attack came from this village.

Her name was Suzanne Kondratenko. She was the daughter of Eric and Patricia Kondratenko and one of eight daughters. I received permission from the family to tell her story.

Suzanne lived in Romeo for several years. She went to Croswell Elementary School from kindergarten to third grade until the school shut down for a number of years. Suzanne also attended Amanda Moore Elementary School as a fourth grader. Then, she went to the Holy Family School at St. Andrew's Parish in Rochester from fifth to eighth grade. Suzanne graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills in 1992 and received a degree in humanistic studies and English literature summa cum laude from St. Mary's College at Notre Dame University in 1996.

In 2001, Suzanne was working for "Keane Consulting Group in Chicago but was on a consulting assignment for AON [Corporation] which was a company located near the top floors of the World Trade Center."

She landed a position there when one of her sisters, Aimee, told her about an opening for a junior consultant. Within two and a half years, she became a senior consultant and shared an office with her sister at the firm. Suzanne handled prestigious accounts such as the "Aon Corporation in New York and traveled frequently outside her office in Chicago."

AON Corporation had offices in the South Tower, and Suzanne began consulting there in May of that year.

According to Romeo Observer staff writer Larry Sobczak in his article, "Attack impacts local home," Suzanne was on the 92nd floor of said tower - the second building hit by a plane on that day. It was reported that she was evacuating the building at the time of the attacks.

The article appeared on the front page of the September 19, 2001 edition along with the photo seen above of Suzanne and father Eric. It also described the efforts from her family to locate her. Eric and Aimee searched for Suzanne in New York for about two weeks. However, next week's issue reported that she was still missing. Eric continued to look for her in that city although he returned to Romeo soon after.

Still, the family held out hope that Suzanne was alive. Her mother, Patricia, said, "We're still hopeful. We are not giving up hope."

It was also during this time that Romeo gave the love and support the Kondratenko family needed. On September 19, the Bruce Township Board of Trustees "held a moment of silence for the victims of the attack before its regular meeting."

In addition, Bruce Township Supervisor Gary Schocke asked people at the meeting to keep Suzanne and her family in their prayers.

Patricia also recalled, "I've heard from quite a few people. We received tons of cards. People we don't even know have left us notes."

Eric added that neighbors would offer to "help them with mundane tasks while the family dealt with the crisis."

People also often showed up with home-cooked meals, particularly the owners of PJ's Bagels & Brews on Main Street for months and months.

Sadly, Suzanne was not found alive. Her obituary appeared in the January 16, 2002 issue of The Romeo Observer. Two memorial services were held for her with the second being on Saturday, January 26 at the St. Clement Catholic Church in Romeo.

Even though Suzanne wasn't in the Romeo area all that often growing up, she still felt connected to Romeo. For the one year anniversary of the disaster, Eric shared the story of the time she tried to get into the Romeo Peach Festival Floral Parade. While she was in the sixth grade, Suzanne was determined to be a part of the parade. Eric said, "She made a costume and painted her face up as a clown...She made me drive her to the head of the parade north of town."

Even though they didn't know how to enter the parade, they searched for a parade official who would permit her to walk the parade route and pass out candy. Eric concluded, "She was determined in whatever she did and would not take no for an answer."

Sister Bridget Bearss - Head of Schools at the Academy of the Sacred Heart at the time - remembered Suzanne talking about the Peach Festival. It didn't surprise her that Suzanne would march in front of the parade. Sister Bearss added, "“She was very proud of her town and she could convince anybody of anything.”

Suzanne may be gone, but her memory in Romeo will carry on.

To learn more about Suzanne Kondratenko, 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, September 19, 2001, p.1-A and p.3-A, September 26, 2001, p.1-A and p.12-A, January 16, 2002, p.2-A, and September 11, 2002, p.1-A and p.13-A