The War Memorial: A ‘House’ hold name

For JD and Barbara House, The War Memorial was the site of their second date.
“In 1992, a very handsome young man from my chemistry class at Wayne State invited me to watch him perform in the musical Annie at the War Memorial,” Barbara said.
That performance marked the first time that she had been to The War Memorial. The two had met at Wayne State in the fall of 1991.
This year, as part of our 75th anniversary, The War Memorial will share stories from the public about the impact and experiences they have had at the nonprofit organization.
“One day at school he asked me to play pool with him in the student center and told me he was going to be in ‘Annie’ and wanted to know if I’d like to attend to see him perform,” Barbara explained.
She added that once at The War Memorial, a single seat opened up closer to the front, so her ticket was exchanged for a better seat.
“When the gentleman next to me asked why I came to see Annie, I told him I was invited to watch JD House play Rooster Hannigan in the musical,” Barbara said. “The gentleman said it looked like I was quite enamored with Mr. House, to which I replied it was technically only our second ‘date.’”
JD was part of other Grosse Pointe Theatre productions at The War Memorial like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Death of a Salesman.”
Aside from JD’s performing days at the local nonprofit, the House’s have seen a few shows at the former theater, one of their sons took an art class here, and another son did some studying on the historic Alger House.
“My oldest son was an Eagle Scout and for one of the merit badges, he had to visit a historical building and study, so we went to The War Memorial as one of the places to check out,” Barbara said.
The House’s live in Harper Woods, bordering Grosse Pointe Woods, and have been married 28 years.
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