experience

Despite the snowpocalypse that hit on Monday bringing 8″ of heavy, wet snow to the area, our Veteran’s Day Open House carried on!  Guests lined up at 10:00 am to enter the collection and were guided to a table where veterans name badges containing their name, branch, and years of service were made.  Patriotic music filled the building while Bob Hope entertained on the big screen.  Our ceremony began at 11:00 with speeches from John Lind of the Arsenal of Democracy museum, Dan Stahl of GroupeSTAHL, Mary Lamparter of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc., and Sheldon Ewers and his service dog Roy closing.  A very talented 5-year-old named Nina brought tears to all while she sang the National Anthem and America The Beautiful. You can see a clip of her singing here.  After the ceremony, guests strolled through the collection admiring the beautiful rows of cars, memorabilia, signs, and gas pumps.  Guest organist Justin LaVoie played the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, delighting all our guests.  This year we added a “Thank You” wall that held notes from local schools, JROTC programs, scout groups, and Stahl’s visitors thanking veterans for their service.  The notes were available for veterans to take home and the leftover notes will be sent to local veterans groups.  Military items were on display and tshirts were available for a donation to Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc.

On Saturday, a charity hockey game was held between Team Stahls and Detroit Red Wings Alumni at the St. Clair Shores Civic Arena.  The Wings roster included Darren McCarty, Drew Miller, Joe Kocer, and Dino Ciccarelli to name a few.  The Ted Lindsay trophy was on hand and a moment of silence was held to honor the passing of Mr. Lindsay in March of 2019.  The game was a real nail-biter but as we all know, the real winners are the veterans.

We thank you, we honor you.  Thank you for your service.