Professor: Seek to get Apple Island on historic registry

The West Bloomfield Schools Board of Education on Monday, Nov. 19 listened to a presentation on seeking a nomination for Apple Island to be added to the Michigan and National Register of Historic Places.

The effort is being proposed by the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society (GWBHS) in a partnership with archaeologist Dr. David Brose of Kalamazoo.

As part of the proposal, Dr. Brose and Dr. LouAnn Wurst, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Western Michigan University, would conduct an advanced archaeology course on the island in May 2013.

As part of the course, 15 Western Michigan students would spend 16 days conducting a thorough archaeological survey of the island while also doing lab field work.

The Western students would also demonstrate their field work to visitors on the annual public tours of the island on May 18 and May 19.

Apple Island is a 35-acre island in Orchard Lake that was given to the West Bloomfield School District in 1970.

Annual public tours of the island have been offered for the last 35 years through a partnership between the district and the GWBHS.

In 1995, society volunteers began providing tours of not only the island, but also the Orchard Lake Museum, to second-grade students in the district.

Dr. Brose was also part of a group that in 2008 conducted a formal dig on the island through a course curriculum for teachers called “Teaching Inquiry Based Learning.”

Benefits of the island being placed on the state and national registries would include opportunities to apply for grants for public interpretation and preservation, according to Gina Gregory, GWBHS project coordinator.

No motion was made regarding the presentation, and the next school board meeting is scheduled for Dec. 17.