Loss of Bart Clark still reverberates

Dear Editor,
That he came “home” would have been enough; a kind of symmetry for our community to have a tie back to the core root of its history.
There was so much more he gave and meant to us individually and to our community. We are better off for his return and worse for a void of what more there would have, should have, been.
For me it started just as this note does, hearing about the return of a great, great, great grandson of the founder of Clarkston who had moved “back” and was living here among us.
Then I met Bart Clark at a community service meeting and then another one, and another, and it seemed like all of a sudden he was everywhere, lending a hand, his energy, his common sense and his leadership.
Other letters and articles have detailed Bart’s many involvements in our community, but even all combined that long list misses. More importantly, a list cannot begin to describe the impact he had in what now was obviously much too short a time.
It was been two months now since he died, yet it seems like an eternity and yesterday all at once.
I will miss him, we all will, even those who didn’t know him. More important than being a great, great, great grandson, he was a good man.
Sincerely,
Neil Wallace
Clarkston

Barn Dance support appreciated

Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Clarkston Community Historical Society, thanks to all who purchased tickets and attended the recent Barn Dance at the historic Ellis Barn. I also want to thank our partners at Oakland County Parks and Recreation for everything they did to make the event a success.
And on behalf of our board, I especially want to thank the Union Woodshop for its extraordinary generosity in providing the delicious dinner for our patrons. We are fortunate to be part of a community where our business leaders value and support our mission of celebrating our rich local history.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Smith, president, Clarkston Community Historical Society