He brings car enthusiasts to Detroit park that he loves like his mother

When the Mumford Alumni Association presents its All Alumni Weekend from July 19-21, Michael Williams will have an opportunity to tell a host of old friends about some of the high points in his life since his graduation from Mumford in 1979.

One of the shining moments that Williams may humbly choose to bring up occurred recently, at a location about 8 miles southwest from where he and other proud Mustangs attended high school at Wyoming and Thatcher.

“With the sun shining, with the grass cut, and with all of the beautiful cars and beautiful people, I feel like I’m experiencing a slice of heaven,” Williams said on May 18 during day one of Friends with Classic Cars, a free event he hosted for the eighth time that brought approximately 100 retroactive, restored and vintage motor vehicles and their owners — along with other community members — to Etheldra Mae Williams Park in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. “Detroit is my hometown and I will always love my city. Being able to put this together gives me a sense of pride and something to honor my mother (Etheldra Mae Williams: Aug. 9, 1925-July 7, 2006) with.”

For two consecutive afternoons that went into the early evening, Williams’ love for his city was demonstrated through his ongoing devotion to a neighborhood park. It's a very special place for the community. This park, located at 14300 Burgess St., between Lyndon and Acacia streets off west Outer Drive, has proven to be worthy of Williams’ time, resources and even his late mother’s name.

“I had never heard of Brightmoor until 2017, when, by happenstance, while looking for a building to create what I was doing at the time called the Museum for High School Preservation, I went to a Wayne County auction,” said Williams, who today manages Williams Park Alliance Inc., which presented Friends with Classic Cars with support from community partners. “I saw property being sold and I bought a couple of houses over here (in Brightmoor). And then I fell in love with the neighborhood.”

If “love” can be expressed through laughter, smiles and warm embraces, there was a whole lot of it on display during the car show, bouncing off the polished paint jobs. Like from Leon Callaway, the owner of a green 1966 Chevy Truck, a model that has been credited for helping to popularize pickups in America.

“I’ve been a car person for a long, long time,” explained the 83-year-old Callaway, who came to Detroit from Macon, Georgia, by train in 1956 to start a new life. “And this is beautiful! I can’t think of anything any better. It’s an easy place to make yourself feel comfortable around all the good people.”

On May 10, Callaway didn't have to look far for a good person because seated right next to him, in a lawn chair similar to Callaway’s, was 94-year-old Horace Rogers, who has met up with Callaway at area car events for the past 10 years. Seated with an ever-present bright smile, Rogers looked as unbothered as a person can be. But throughout his life’s journey, Rogers’ responsibilities have been many. Between military service and his 33 years of dedication to the U.S. Postal Service, Rogers helped Ford and Cadillac build cars at Detroit auto plants. He's the owner of a 1955 two-tone — turquoise and white — Chevy Bel Air with an LT engine. And he says Williams' Friends with Classic Cars series and other community events at Etheldra Mae Williams Park also have special significance.

“This means a lot,” Rogers, an Alabama native who came to Detroit because “jobs were plentiful” in 1952, said. “We also look forward to coming out every Tuesday evening for music in the park from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., when the concert series begins. And if you have a classic car, you can just pull right up and the band is right there. They have blues night, rock and roll and jazz — there’s a different band every Tuesday.

"So this park is important to the people that come here, and to the community and city.”

Like Rogers, who confided that he did not become a full fledged “car guy” until after his retirement from the post office 40 years ago, 60-year-old William Stuart explained why he was an early arrival on May 18 and to other area car events by describing a profound moment he experienced as an adult.

“I used to go to the Dream Cruise during the early 2000s and I would see all of these cars, and then I got mad one time and I said: ‘I don’t want to be just the guy looking at them, I want to be in them — I want to own one of these cars,’ ” said Stuart, who spoke not far from where his white — with a black stripe — 1970 Chevy EL Camino SS that he has owned since 2005 was on display. “So now, if there is a car show in the area, I can be a part of it. I’ve parked a couple of times at 7 Mile and Telegraph; at Bakers in Milford on Sundays, and the downtown Farmington shows on Mondays. This is my first time here (at Etheldra Mae Williams Park), but it’s a nice event and I’m glad I came.”

While Stuart was speaking, a woman seated about 50 yards away could be seen periodically pointing to circular items that were not steering wheels, tires or anything else normally associated with motor vehicles. That woman, who appeared to effortlessly engage anyone who stopped by her table, was native Detroiter Dakima Jackson. And the unique items that she displayed and sometimes happily demonstrated were the hula hoops she made. And as Jackson told it, in a soft voice that could still be heard clearly away from the conversations near the cars, she felt in total harmony with everything that was taking place at the park.

“This event is about the cars, but it’s also about community,” Jackson, a graduate of Cooley High School (Class of 1993) and the University of Detroit Mercy, whose resume includes being a certified fitness coach and a certified hula hoop fitness coach, said. “We have vintage cars here. And the hula hoop is a vintage form of fitness for kids and adults that I would like to bring to our community, in hopes of getting folks more active. But, overall, it just makes me feel good and I’m excited to be with folks that are engaging in a community activity in an area that isn’t Livernois and Seven Mile.

"Brightmoor used to be thriving. And now it’s coming back as a thriving, small community within the bigger community and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

The person most responsible for Jackson being at the park that day, Michael Williams, displayed a talent for creating a community within a community as early as his days at Mumford High School in the 1970s when he viewed an abandoned darkroom as an opportunity to launch a photography club.

However, Williams says that upon being introduced to the Brightmoor neighborhood in 2017, he discovered that the negative activity taking place at a corner lot — activity that he defined as illegal dumping, arson, prostitution and more — posed a far more daunting challenge than anything he faced when starting a club. But, just as he had been as a Mumford student, Williams was up to the test, with help from multiple city of Detroit departments and others that also were committed to the neighborhood.

“My first thought when I saw what had taken place in that space was, 'How could anyone act so dastardly? And how could anyone show such little compassion for a neighborhood and the people that lived there?' ” recalled Williams, who named the neighborhood park that rose from that space after a woman who he watched “selflessly” raise and nurture eight children, 22 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. “But I also saw the possibility of transforming something into greatness within the same space. I saw it being a regal, stellar and lively place for the community. And I thought it would be the perfect way to honor my mother.”

And while the need to honor his mother drives Williams, on the evening of May 22, after having an opportunity to reflect on the outcome of his most recent park event, Williams pushed back hard on any type of talk that “honors” him as a community hero — even among his Mumford classmates that have supported his events for years.

“What I have done has never been about trying to be relevant or for any recognition,” said Williams, who most likely will be able to make only a cameo appearance at Mumford's All Alumni Weekend in July because a concert series at Etheldra Mae Williams Park will be kicking off around the same time. “I saw a need and I tried to address it. And we must have done something right because the people keep coming out.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.

A 'lively place for the community'

What: Etheldra Mae Williams Park, a neighborhood park located at 14300 Burgess St., between Lyndon and Acacia streets off west Outer Drive, which also presents a host of free community events showcasing classic cars, multiple musical genres, unique Detroit cuisine and more.

Upcoming event: Brightmoor Music Series: A weekly music event that will take place across seven Tuesdays beginning Tuesday, July 23.

Learn more: Contact michael@williamspark.org, call 313-272-4379, or visit williamspark.org.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michael Williams devoted to Etheldra Mae Williams Park in Detroit