An Honor
What a lovely article in Hour Detroit. I am very humbled as well as honored to have been designated as the 2008 Detroiter of the Year [July 2008].
It’s very gratifying to be recognized for your work, and the exposure for our efforts on Belle Isle is so appreciated.
— Sarah Earley, Bloomfield Hills
A Tangled ‘Web’
Regarding your article, “A Web of Intrigue,” in the June 2008 issue, I find it extremely distasteful to have such a story in Hour Detroit. I have recently started buying Hour for information on good eats, things to do, and fun and inspiring local stories. “The Band on the Run,” about the musical group Tally Hall, is a great example of what I mean. However, if I want to learn about a horrendous crime such as this poor family’s demise [the Robison family murders in 1968], I would watch the news or one of the many disturbingly gruesome shows on TV.
— Samantha Strayer, Belleville
A ‘Web’ Well Spun
I really enjoyed Richard Bak’s story, “A Web of Intrigue.” It is some very fine writing. The old photos really perfected the story. I am not able to stop thinking about it. Well done.
— Marilyn Trumper-Samra, Plymouth
Where Credit Is Due
In the restaurant review, “French Evolution” [July 2008], Christopher Cook writes that, “The Retenbachs gave La Bécasse its character.”
That distinction belongs to Mary Ann O’ Neill, from whom the Rentenbachs purchased La Bécasse. She transformed La Bécasse from The Woodcock Dining Room into the French Provençal restaurant that it is today. She changed the menu from deep-fried family fare to French-country cooking, put linen tablecloths on the tables, brought in the ladder-back chairs, and put original art on the walls. She also secured a liquor license, created the outdoor dining, painted La Bécasse blue and white, and commissioned the signage and landscaping. And, in spite of what Cook writes, that the profiteroles were “Peachy Rentenbach’s signature item,” it was O’Neill who first put them on the menu. I know because I prepared them from scratch every single day I worked there under my mother’s tutelage. [Today], Guillaume and Brooke have done much to restore La Bécasse to what it was when my mother owned it. My family and I wish them all the best.
— Mary O’Neill, Highland Township
> Write us at editorial@hourdetroit.com or “Letters to the Editor,” 117 W. Third St., Royal Oak, MI 48067.
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