Vettraino Family Celebrates Cranbrook Connection

On July 20th, over 50 members of the Vettraino family and the Cranbrook community gathered in honor of the Vettraino Family's 105 year commitment to Cranbrook.  The family's legacy at Cranbrook began in 1905 when George Booth hired a recent immigrant, Michael Vettraino, to work on the grounds.  Vettraino ultimately supervised a team of Italian laborers who were responsible for grading the landscape, developing the roads and pathways, and building the stone walls around the campus with rocks from the grounds. 

Vettraino settled at Cranbrook, married Michela Angelosanto and raised six children (Dominick, John, Sam, Annette, Connie and Rose), all but one of whom were born at Cranbrook.  The family ultimately settled in the "green house" on Valley Way.  Sons Dominick and John followed in their father's footsteps enjoying long careers at Cranbrook.  Both began as groundskeepers - eventually Dominick became the Fire and Police (security) Chief while John was Assistant Fire Chief and Head of Transportation.  Together, they built the Cranbrook Fire Truck which not only serviced the Cranbrook community, but also assisted the Bloomfield Hills fire departemnt.  A third son, Samuel, also worked at Cranbrook from 1936-1942.  Daughters Rose and Connie also worked on the grounds and Connie was employed as a receptionist at the Fire Hall.

The family connection extended to a third generation in 1973 when John's daughter, Cecilia, was hired as a teacher at Brookside where she remains today. In addition, Mike and Michela's daughter Connie continues to volunteer at the Institute of Science. Three years before his death in 1958, Vettraino was recognized for his contributions to Cranbrook when the Piazza Vettraino between  Brookside and Thornlea was named in his honor.

Second only to the Booths, the Vettraino family legacy is the longest at Cranbrook.  The family called Cranbrook home, both physically as well as spiritually/emotionally. Their dedication to their individual jobs/roles transcended beyond the scope of a "routine" workday. To acknowledge the family's contributions, the Vettraino Family Fund was established for the purpose of sustaining the Vettraino Family memory and to honor their history of involvement with Cranbrook.  Contributions to the fund will assist with various landscape projects around the campus.

William Morris Society Conference

In October of this year, the William Morris Society is hosting a a conference and related exhibitions, “Useful & Beautiful: The Transatlantic Arts of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites”.  Archives Director Leslie S. Edwards will be presenting a conference paper on the role that George Booth played in bringing Arts and Crafts to Detroit, as well as the tireless work of three women (Helen Plumb and sisters Katherine and Alexandrine McEwen) whose collective artistic endeavors and organizational efforts nurtured Detroit’s arts and crafts movement.