Author Archives: mjwayblog

…I looked at the number on my beeper and I could tell it was from our receiving dock. With the new construction, our receiving dock was even smaller than before and I knew something must have come in for the Brush Building renovation project on the fourth floor. When I arrived I was greeted byContinue reading “Expansion”

…After the old hospital debris was removed completely, the site was secured with fencing, the exposed facade of the Hudson building, and exposed entrances were secured as well. The site was now being prepared for what would be a new parking structure. That structure would have employee entrances to the center corridors of the HudsonContinue reading “Projects”

…Once the old hospital was vacated and the clinics, offices relocated, the demolition was scheduled. I had to make sure to be there. I wanted to see it and be part of the history. I got to watch with other team members from the parking lot across the street. The crane was in place andContinue reading “An Emerging Career”

…The meeting was everything I thought it would be. I was going to start with one of the hospitals first major projects and that was the removal of the old civil war hospital. I would be part of a team of both skilled trades personnel, managers, and administrators over seeing this endeavor. I would reportContinue reading “The Way Forward”

… It wasn’t long before I was called to a meeting with the Director of Hospital Facilities, the Hospital Project Administrator, and the General Manager who worked for a private contractor responsible for all medical center renovation and new construction. Gwen was not kidding. After they formally introduced themselves, the Director of Hospital Facilities openedContinue reading “My New Home”

…The summer celebrations were over and I was able to finish my Liberal Arts Degree from Macomb Community College in the Fall semester of 1976. I was accepted and enrolled at Walsh College of Business in 1977. I did well at the College taking classes in Marketing, Communications, Statistics, and Economics, but after a yearContinue reading “An Offer”

… I like to fish. I began as a very young boy with my father, through my teen years with friends, their families, my college days, right up until the present. You can say fishing is an obsession for me. A real addiction. The tug on my fishing line the narcotic. My adrenalin rushes whenContinue reading “The Captain”

… I truly enjoyed coming down town to the J.L. Hudson Department store. I was a five foot- six inch tall, 120 lb. speck, in what could only be best described as America’s melting pot. This was the place to be if getting lost in the crowd was your cup of tea. It definitely wasContinue reading “Downtown Detroit”

I could go from one end of the Detroit Medical Center, starting at MacLaughlin Hall, walking through the Old Civil War Harper Hospital, all the way to the the front door of the old Grace Hospital in a matter of minutes. I was becoming very familiar with all of the medical centers ancillary clinics andContinue reading “Light Speed”

…The Council of Three Fires were an alliance of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi (Anishinaabe) nations. They traded with the French explorers, intermarried, and found shelter at Fort Pontchartrain. They fought along side of the French Military battling the Sioux Indians who were both their enemies. I would see the same camaraderie some 275 yearsContinue reading “Mbwakawen”