Birth of The War Memorial

The War Memorial officially turned 75 yesterday! In celebration of this momentous occasion, we are telling the story of how The War Memorial came about.

On October 14, 1942, The Alger’s went through the horror many other American families also experienced, including many in Grosse Pointe, when 2nd Lt. Henry F. Chaney, Jr. was killed in Guadalcanal, after arriving just three short weeks prior. Chaney was the only person born in the Alger house, and was Josephine Alger Chaney’s first child. His body was not located and returned home until March of 1948. Nobody knew it at the time, but this event, occurring half a world away, would be integral in the formation of The War Memorial.

When WWII officially ended on September 2, 1945 with Japan’s surrender, the remaining troops began their return back home. Grosse Pointe alone welcomed back 3,500 veterans - and faced the terrible realization we had lost 126 residents. Sentiment was running very high for some sort of tribute or memorial to be erected honoring our heroic service personnel.

Then came October 16, 1945. The Grosse Pointe Honor Roll Association authorized various community groups to gather and discuss the idea of a permanent memorial. With an enormous response of approximately 85 organizations, the group convened on November 30, 1945 at Grosse Pointe High School to form a committee to examine the idea further, becoming the Permanent War Memorial Study Group of Grosse Pointe. They decided to hold a contest to garner the public’s genuine interest in a War Memorial, and glean some concrete ideas as to what the memorial should be, how it should function and be maintained, etc. The Honor Roll Association provided three $100 Victory Bonds that were to be used as prizes given to the Veteran, Student, and Resident category winners.

The July 15 contest deadline was to determine best answers to these questions:

1. Is or is not a Grosse Pointe Permanent War Memorial desirable?

2. What would it probably cost to build your suggested Memorial?

3. After it has been built, what is your plan to maintain it and the maintenance cost?

4. How practical is your plan and how can it be made to work?

5. How fitting and appropriate will your plan be for honoring our veterans and would it be a credit to our community?

6. How well written, readable, and presentable is your plan?

October 1946, the winners – presumably representing a cross-section of the Grosse Pointe public’s views – were announced and their essays printed in the Grosse Pointe News. All three had advocated for a veterans’ memorial as a library. The winner from the Veterans category, Samuel P. Shepard, eloquently wrote: “As a veteran, I personally feel that a memorial of the sort which would prove to the coming generations that the ideals of being able to write and say what you thought were important enough to fight for and is the best tribute a community could pay to those who made the supreme sacrifice, and a Memorial Library, open to all, and available to all, the opportunity to read and study what one wishes is the most satisfactory and complete solution to the problem of a memorial to our service man and service women.”

By January of 1948, fundraising was underway for a Grosse Pointe War Memorial Library, with a yet to be determined location. On a converging front, after years of threats, the mayor of Detroit was finally able to close the popular Alger House Museum (which had been being used as an annex of the DIA), by withholding operating funds from the Detroit Institute of Arts budget. Upon the DIA’s exit on June 30,1948, the beautiful Alger estate reverted to Marion Alger. She had moved out in 1930 after Russell’s death and lived in a house on Provencal.

While Marion waited for the “right fit” for her former home, her nephew, Alger Shelden, suggested she donate the estate to the “memorial library” effort. Alger was an authority on the topic since he had headed the Grosse Pointe Honor Roll Society, Grosse Pointe War Memorial Fund, a member of the board of directors for the Grosse Pointe Council of Veterans Affairs, sponsored the War Memorial Contest, and had raised, or contributed himself, most of the money toward the Memorial. Marion agreed that a memorial library would be a good community use of her lovely home and gardens.

The Alger’s offered their estate, free and clear, to be used as a war memorial library on November 16, 1948. Just 4 days later, on November 20, their attorney was notified the deed offer was rejected. The offer was formally withdrawn by Marion the first week of December, shortly before she left on vacation. The Algers, Alger Shelden, the various groups working for a memorial, and many Grosse Pointers were crushed. The new library issue, for the time being, faded.

While Marion spent the winter away, Shelden and his group pressed on with fundraising, eliminating the “library” portion from the equation and feeling re-invigorated. They were now looking foremost at a War Memorial which also had other appropriate educational, patriotic, and cultural events that would benefit the community – Marion’s exact desire. Once she returned from warmer climates in early March, a confident Shelden sent to her their updated fundraising numbers along with the community and veterans components built into their War Memorial plan. As expected, the family was very enthusiastic and agreed to it immediately.

On March 18, 1949, the Alger estate was deeded over to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association. Grosse Pointers, and especially veterans, finally had their War Memorial and a place where the community could gather in a beautiful, serene setting. The next step was to get the memorial portion up and running.

The new Board of Directors had its first meeting, held at the Neighborhood Club on May 3, 1949. The Executive Committee was comprised of the first six officers of the Association: Alger Shelden (president); John L. Kenower (vice president); Paul I. Moreland (treasurer); Richard Huegli (assistant treasurer); Mrs. Herbert Goebel (secretary); and Remington Purdy (assistant secretary). A 35-member Senior Advisory Council was also created, along with a Junior Advisory Council to represent the younger set’s ideas for the Memorial’s programming and use.

Furthermore, it was determined at this first meeting to temporarily relocate the Honor Roll kiosk from its grassy location at Fisher and Kercheval to the lakefront in time for their first Memorial Day service. The intention was to eliminate the kiosk altogether and “bring the names of the veterans into the building for permanent display in gold and bronze.”

At the July 13,1949 meeting, a motion passed to give WWII veterans their own room in the house to be known as the Veterans Room. As expected, a veterans’ committee selected Russell Alger’s former Billiard Room as their desired space. It was envisioned as a place where veterans could meet “for companionship and for discussion of matters of common interest.” It was also seen as a “repository of war memorabilia and relics and manuscripts relating to the war, and to the individual part played in it, by Grosse Pointe veterans.”

As the years passed, Alger Shelden stayed as the head of the organization for many years. Without his influence, and continual prodding, there would be no War Memorial. Marion stayed active with the organization until her death in 1962. She was always involved with things behind the scenes, particularly anything to do with her beloved gardens or furnishings. She continued to finance most of the plantings, relandscaping, and upkeep of the gardens, and donated financially (via blue chip stocks) throughout her life. Likewise, her daughters Josephine and Fay also quietly donated stock. Additionally, upon Marion’s death, the daughters donated both her house furnishings and elements of her personal garden to The War Memorial.

You too can contribute to the legacy and longevity of The War Memorial by visiting our Support page.