PHOTOS BY ALEX LUMELSKY
PHOTOS BY ALEX LUMELSKY into woods the Church has big plans for Camp Brighton BY STEVE STEIN Left: The property includes a scenic lake. Above: Fr. Manuel Boji gives a tour to excited kids. It wasn’t easy, and it got uncomfortable at times. But in the end, there was success. A team effort of Chaldean community and religious leaders convinced five of the nine Detroit City Council members that the city should sell Camp Brighton to the Chaldean Catholic Church for .5 million. After rejecting the sale three times after the church made its first offer in November, City Council finally approved the deal by a 5-4 vote on June 27. The sale closed on August 31. Now that the final legal hurdle to buy Camp Brighton has been cleared, the church can focus on turning the dormant property near Interstate 96 and Grand River Avenue in Livingston County’s Genoa Township into a Mecca for social and religious gatherings and recreational activities. There’s talk of building an assisted living facility or nursing home on the land, and holding a Chaldean festival there. While many ideas of new uses for Camp Brighton have been put on the table, one thing is certain — a shrine dedicated to St. Gorgis will be built there. Money to construct the shrine will come from the Shammaya Kassab Fund of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. The .5 million purchase price for Camp Brighton includes .5 million from the fund. The late Kassab’s wish was to use the .5 million to help the Chaldean Catholic Church acquire land and build a shrine. The church bought 160 acres of the 199- acre property, an area that includes a 40-acre lake and several buildings. A 39-acre parcel is separated from the other 160 acres. Camp Brighton, officially called the Detroit Recreational Camp, was donated to Detroit in the 1920s and for many years, it was a destination for city kids. But it hasn’t been used extensively for seven years, even though Detroit spent 0,000 annually to maintain it. Now it will come alive again, beginning with an open house October 6-7. “This is a great achievement for our community,” said Fr. Manuel Boji, rector of Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield. “This is a beginning. Now everyone in 28 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2007
our community needs to get involved — all seven churches in our parish,” said Eddie Bacall, one of the many whose work behind the scenes helped secure the deal. “Selling Camp Brighton was a tough decision for the City Council, but it was the right decision,” said Randy Oram, another key member of the Chaldean negotiating team. “It was difficult for the City Council to let go of an asset like Camp Brighton, but the city needs the money to make sure it can provide core services for its residents — kudos to the mayor’s office and the five City Council members who supported the sale. They showed a lot of good will towards the Chaldean community.” Oram said his role in the sale was to put a “face behind the church’s offer.” “City Council members needed to know that Camp Brighton would be put to good use by good people,” said Oram, who estimated he devoted at least 150 hours to the cause. City Council members Kenneth Cockrel Jr., Sheila Cockrel, Barbara Rose Collins, Martha Reeves and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi voted to sell Camp Brighton. Monica Conyers, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson cast the dissenting votes. Kenyatta was the most vocal opponent of the sale, saying Camp Brighton should remain one of the city’s jewels. He also said the camp would only be used by Chaldean children, but that’s not the case. “There is no intention to make Camp Brighton exclusive for Chaldeans,” Fr. Boji said. “It will be open to other groups at a fair price.” The effort to buy Camp Brighton goes back to January 2006. That’s when Basil Bacall, Eddie Bacall’s brother, heard a radio news report that said the City of Detroit was selling an estimated million in surplus properties, including Camp Brighton, to help offset an million budget deficit. Eddie Bacall, who owns Bacall Development in Farmington Hills along with his brother Jacob, heard the news from Basil, took a look at Camp Brighton, and considered purchasing it for a development. But Dave Nona, chair of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, suggested to Eddie Bacall that the property would instead be a great gathering place for the Chaldean community. The church was informed about Camp Brighton, and the .5 million offer was put together. “Dave’s idea was a wonderful idea,” Eddie Bacall said. OCTOBER 2007 CHALDEAN NEWS 29
