Chesterfield Breaks Ground On Historical Path

Chesterfield Historical Society members and township officials broke ground Wednesday on a brick path in the Chesterfield Historical Village.

The brick path will connect the circular trail inside the  to the memorial marker that commemorates the 13 lives lost when a tornado struck Chesterfield Township on May 8, 1964.

Words of remembrance were spoken before the groundbreaking ceremony and words of hope afterward.

“It’s a powerful history, but also a reminder of how neighbors will come together to help each other out during times of trouble,” said Chesterfield Township Supervisor Michael Lovelock. “Chesterfield Township is a family. We’ll stick together then and we’ll stick together now.”

Eileen Rivard, Chesterfield Historical Society president, said the groundbreaking ceremony is also the kickoff for the historical society’s brick-paver fundraising effort.

“The Chesterfield Township Historical Society does not receive funds from Chesterfield Township government or Macomb County government,” said Rivard. “The historical society survives on volunteer efforts, memberships, donations and fundraisers to preserve local history.”

She said the brick path will consist of regular bricks, but for a donation, people may buy a personalized brick paver that will replace one of the standard bricks on the path.

The bricks are four-by-eight inches, cost $50 and will hold up to three lines and 13 characters per line.

Order forms are available at the at 47275 Sugarbush Road. The Chesterfield Historical Village is on municipal grounds.

Anyone interested in buying a brick may contact Eileen Rivard or her husband, Roy, who is the vice president of the Chesterfield Historical Society, at 586-749-3713.

Roy Rivard said the historical society hopes to raise enough money for a barn in the Chesterfield Historical Village. For more information or to join the society, visit http://chesterfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

Tornado Survivors Relive Tragedy in Township

Survivors of the deadly 1964 tornado attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

Chesterfield residents Leo Furton, 79, and Virginia Furton, 77, still live on the same property on Cotton Road, just in a different house since the tornado destroyed their first home.

“The thing I remember most was coming home, seeing the sidewalk leading up to my house and my house being gone,” said Leo Furton.

Even more terrifying, yet miraculous, was the fact that his wife, Virginia, was at home with their three young children, Guy, 6, Teri, 7, and Elizabeth, 1, when the tornado struck. As they hunkered down in their home, the tornado lifted the house and tossed the mother and her children into a nearby field.

“It was a miracle there were only minor injuries,” said Leo Furton.

The destructive tornado reportedly hit the Cotton Road area, Mallard, Forbes and went out to Lake St. Clair.