NEWSPAPERS n o i t i d E l a i c e p S
DECEMBER 13, 2023 candgnews.com Oakland County papers
Royal Oak ice rink returns through February BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com
The Rink at Royal Oak opened once again in the downtown on Nov. 17. It will stay open until Feb. 19, 2024.
ROYAL OAK — It’s time for skaters in Royal Oak and neighboring cities to lace up their skates and hit the ice, as The Rink at Royal Oak is back for a second year. The Rink at Royal Oak opened for the season on Nov. 17 and will run through Feb. 19, 2024. Jon Witz, who brought the rink idea to the city last year, is excited to have The Rink at Royal Oak back for a second time. “There’s tremendous excitement for coming back this year,” he said. “I definitely think the rink should be an annual tradition or experience, so to speak. It’s been very well received by local residents and folks from around the region. It draws people from outside of Royal Oak to the downtown in colder months, you know, when some of those businesses would love that traffic and impact, and it’s just a great way to invade a park space that would be otherwise inhabited.” According to Witz, the rink brought in 17,000 skaters and drew 35,000 people to the park over three months last winter. To improve upon the rink this year, Witz said they’ve added heated kiosks to provide more heat and areas for skaters to change. He also stated they leveled the deck space to the rink, as that was a complaint they heard last year. “There were some ups and downs with the terrain and getting from the deck area to the rink,” he said. “I would say just the access is easier. And then we opened up the area by moving the skate house and the concessions to the northwest of the area, which opened up the rink to Third Street and Lockhart’s and The Rock on 3rd, and just visually we’ve opened it up to more street space than we did last year.” See ICE RINK on page 9A
Photo provided by the city of Royal Oak
SOUTHFIELD RESIDENT AIMS TO TELL THE ‘GOOD’ BLACK HISTORY BY KATHRYN PENTIUK
kpentiuk@candgnews.com
SOUTHFIELD — Southfield resident Anthony Brogdon is sharing what he calls “good” Black history on his YouTube channel, Strong Inspirations, where he interviews guests from around the world who share their connections to Black history. Since Brogdon launched his channel in 2020, he has spoken with over 500 guests from Africa, Australia, the UK, Canada and the Caribbean, and he has amassed over 2,000 subscribers.
Some of his noteworthy guests include Kenneth B. Morris, the great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass; A’Lelia Bundles, the great-great-granddaughter of Madam CJ Walker; Dan Duster, great-great-grandson of Ida B. Wells; Kevin Lloyd, the son of National Basketball Association first Black player Earl Lloyd; and William Anderson, who was jailed with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Brogdon hopes to shed light on Black history through these inspirational stories and change the narrative, especially since he said that shock is the most common reaction he gets when he shares positive stories during public appearances. See BROGDON on page 9A
Southfield resident Anthony Brogdon is a businessman turned historian, filmmaker, author and podcast host. Photo provided by Anthony Brodgon