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January 8, 2015
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Charter Township of Canton will provide necessary, reasonable auxiliary aids and services to individuals with disabilities at
the meeting/hearing upon a two week notice to the Charter Township of Canton. These services include signers for the hearing
impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary
aids or services should contact the Charter Township of Canton by writing or calling the following:
Gwyn Belcher, ADA Coordinator
Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road
Canton, MI 48188
(734) 394-5260
Published: January 8, 2015
EC010815-1045 2.5 x 1.557
N
ORTHVILLE
Joel Stone, senior curator for the Detroit
Historical Society which oversees the
Detroit Historical Museum, the Dossin
Great LakesMuseum, and a quartermillion
artifacts in the City of Detroit collection,
will speak on Detroit: Boom Town of the
Roaring 20s at the next meeting of the
NorthvilleGenealogical Society.
Fromthe dust and smoke of the 19th cen-
tury, Detroit burst into the national spotlight
in the early 20th century. The automobile
business was at full throttle, resulting in a
city that grew faster than any other on the
continent. Adding to the excitement, nation-
al Prohibition created a demand for alcohol
that Canadian neighbors gladly addressed.
Rum running became the region's second
largest industry. Conventions loved Detroit,
and so did organized crime. Boom town
meets theWildWest.
The public is invited to attend, free of
charge, the meeting of the Northville
Genealogical Society which will begin at
1:15 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, at the
NorthvilleDistrict Library, 212West Cady in
Northville. Stonewill speak at 3 p.m.
Individual help on genealogy is offered
in the Local History Roomat the Northville
District Library from 1-3 p.m. on Mondays
and also by appointment. For more infor-
mation, contact Mary Hazlett at (734) 459-
5493.
invention.
Don't know how to operate a
table saw, quilting machine,
machine hoist or welding torch?
They've got you covered. There
will be experts available to demon-
strate every piece of machinery
and explain the proper use to get
the desired result. For those who
know what they want done, but
aren't too sure about doing it them-
selves, there will be a job board
where the task can be listed so
another Village Workshop user,
more skilled in the necessary
machinery, can offer to help or
complete the project.
“These are called 'Makers'
Spaces' and they are springing up
across the country,” explained
Donovan, 50. “When we saw this
building, we knew it was a perfect
site. Most of these in other states
are located in industrial complex-
es, but people often don't feel wel-
come in industrial parks. This is a
great spot for a workshop like this.
It's far more accessible and wel-
coming,” he said.
“Every child is an inventor. Life
beats that out of you by high
school, people forget about creat-
ing,” he said. “This is a place
where those inventions can
become real.
“If you can conceptualize it, you
canbuild it here.”
McDonald, 41, has extensive
experience in setting up equip-
ment and workspaces and has
been overseeing equipment instal-
lations in the woodworking, metal-
working, paint shop and other
areas of the renovated building.
The three have come upwithwhat
they refer to as a COW, or cubicle
onwheels, which can house a com-
puter, printer and other office
machines along with paperwork,
files and supplies.
“It's a business office onwheels,
and you can rent one or buy one,”
McDonald said.
The Village Workshop will also
offer classes for business start-ups,
including advice and lessons from
patent attorneys and business
experts.
“We can provide an address
andmailbox and you can operate a
business right fromhere,” Engerer,
63, the owner of Northville
Physical Rehabilitation, said.
“This is an emerging move-
ment,” Donovan said. “Schools are
getting rid of shop classes and
young people no longer know how
to build things. At the same time,
manufacturing is starting to come
back to the U.S. By next year, ana-
lysts claim it will be as financially
sound tomanufacture in this coun-
try as inChina. To do that, we need
vocational skills.”
The three agreed that during
the more than $2 million (and
counting) renovation of the his-
toric building, the subcontractors
they hiredwereworking seven-day
weeks, because there simply were
not enough woodworkers and
other skilled craftsman for hire.
“We are going to offer job
retraining classes, classes in
Computer Aided Design and
entrepreneurship,” McDonald
said.
Every piece of equipment at
The Village Workshop is the latest
in technology and safety. The new
SawStop table saws will drop the
saw blade in a nano-second to pre-
vent the possibility of injury to the
operator.
“Those were invented by three
lawyers, and there is no way you
can get cut,” McDonald said. “It's
an amazing piece of technology.”
Insurance premiums were a
huge expense, but the three philo-
sophically agreed that there are
businesses that provide clients the
opportunity to jump out of air-
planes, too. “Insurance is all part
of the cost of the business,”
McDonald said.
The three have experimented
with the 3-D printer, which will
soon be enhancedwith a computer
program that will eliminate the
need for hand-entered specifica-
tions into the machine. The Star-
Trek-like machine currently pro-
duces hard plastic replicas of
whatever the user might enter into
the program, like the new blade
McDonald made for a weed-
whacker, “just as a test,” he said
with a smile.
The Village Workshop will
include a market where supplies
for projects can be purchased on-
site and a coffee shop where the
new owners hope people will
come to simply spend some time
and share ideas with others work-
ing onprojects.
Corporate scholarships to The
Village Workshop are something
the three owners are hoping to
offer in the future so that students
can come for retaining or trades
groups can utilize for training
members in the large conference
rooms.
Engerer stressed that the facili-
ty is open to everyone, men,
women and teens.
“This is a place for everybody,”
he said. “Inventors, artists,
builders or hobbyists. We've got the
equipment to help you complete
your project. Get in here andmake
something,”Engerer said.
Costs for utilizing The Village
Workshop are based on annual or
monthly fees on a sliding scale.
There are grand opening special
membership prices available
along with per-visit prices.
Members receive discounts on
classes and full, unlimited access,
depending on the membership
level chosen. The Village
Workshop is expected to open this
month and be fully operational
within a fewweeks.
“The possibilities here are end-
less,”Donovan said.
Complete membership pricing
and hours are available at
www.TheVillageWorkshop.com.
More information is also avail-
able at (855) 777-3836. The facility
is located at 455 E. Cady St. in
Northville, next to The Tipping
Point Theater.
Genealogy club to meet
Workshop
FROM PAGE 1
Brian Donovan displays a part completed in the 3-D printer at The
Village Workshop.
A futuristic table saw that drops the blade in a nano-second upon
contact with skin is among the $1 million in equipment at The Village
Workshop.
Crafters will appreciate the long-arm automatic quilting machine
available for use at The Village Workshop.