Margaret Dunning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Margaret Isabel Dunning

Margaret Dunning stands next to the Plymouth Historical Museum exhibit named for her. The mannequin represents Margaret when she was 30.
Born 1910
Redford, Wayne County, Michigan, United States

Margaret Isabel Dunning (born in 1910 in Redford, Wayne County, Michigan) is a philanthropist and benefactor of the Plymouth (Michigan) Historical Museum.

Contents

[edit] Personal Life

Margaret Isabel Dunning is the daughter of Charles Dunning and Elizabeth (Bessie) Rattenbury. Margaret spent her first 13 years on a dairy and potato farm owned by her father, located at the corner of Plymouth and Telegraph Roads in Redford Township, Wayne County, Michigan. The 156-acre farm had been purchased by her grandparents, who were original settlers in the area. When Charles died in 1923, Margaret and her mother, Bessie, moved into Redford and later to the village of Plymouth, Michigan. Bessie purchased property in the village and built the home where Margaret still resides. Margaret attended the country school where her father was a student, and was then sent to Dana Hall, a private school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She returned to Plymouth in 1927 and graduated from Plymouth High School in 1929.[1] She attended the University of Michigan for two years and then studied at the Hamilton Business School in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

While growing up on the farm, Margaret developed a life-long love of tinkering with old cars. She has lovingly restored several old cars that she still owns. In 1985, she donated a restored 1906 Model N Ford to the Gilmore Classic Car Club Museum at Hickory Corners, Michigan.[2] She also donated a 1930 Cadillac convertible to the Museum.[3] She still drives one of her cars in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit each August.[4]

[edit] Professional career

Margaret worked as a bank teller and assistant cashier for the First National Bank of Plymouth between 1935 and 1940. During that time, she was among the victims of a bank robbery.[5] The bank robber, Willard Long, was eventually caught in East St. Louis, Illinois, and extradited back to Michigan.[6] After the First National Bank, she went to work at the Plymouth United Savings Bank for several years.

In 1947, Margaret purchased Goldstein's Apparel on Main Street in Plymouth and renamed the store Dunning's. In 1950, she moved Dunning's Department Store to Forest Avenue in downtown Plymouth, about two blocks away. [7] She sold Dunning's in 1968 to Minerva Chaiken and the store became known as Minerva-Dunning's.[8]

[edit] Volunteer and Philanthropic Activities

Margaret Dunning's largest impact on the Plymouth community has been in her volunteer and charitable endeavors that began in 1942. From 1942-1945, Margaret served as a volunteer in the local American Red Cross motor pool, driving a truck.

Margaret Dunning in Red Cross uniform, 1943.
Margaret Dunning in Red Cross uniform, 1943.

In 1947, Margaret and her mother, Bessie, purchased a property and building to house the Plymouth branch of the Wayne County Library System.[9] Because of their generosity, the city renamed the branch the "Dunning Branch."[10] Today, the Plymouth District Library (no longer part of the Wayne County System), is housed in the "Dunning-Hough Library."[11]

Margaret served on the board of Community Federal Credit Union in Plymouth from 1962 to 1984, and was president of the board for 19 of those years.[12] The assets of the Credit Union increased from $1 million and one office to $40 million and six offices during Margaret's tenure on the board.[13] The Credit Union established the Margaret Dunning Scholarship Fund in 1989 in her honor for her contributions to the Plymouth community.[14] She has served on other local boards, including the Board of Directors of the Dunning Branch of the Wayne County Library.

In 1971, when the Plymouth Historical Society was looking for money to build a new museum building, Margaret Dunning stepped forward and donated in excess of $100,000.[15] That donation allowed for the construction of a 15,000 square foot building to house the historical artifacts of the community. In 1998, the Plymouth Historical Society purchased a sizeable collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia from Dr. Weldon Petz. By this time, the Museum was at capacity and there was nowhere to store or exhibit the new collection. Again Margaret stepped forward, this time with a $1 million donation to add an additional 9,800 square feet to the Museum building on two floors.[16] Margaret is a permanent member of the Plymouth Historical Society's Board of Directors.[17]

In 1997, Margaret established the Margaret Dunning Foundation as a private grantmaking foundation, which also gives occasional grants to the Plymouth Historical Museum.[18]

Margaret Dunning was in the first group of 16 individuals inducted into the Plymouth Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Plymouth Kiwanis Club, on August 11, 1980. Others inducted were some of Plymouth's founders and benefactors, including Ebenezer J. Penniman and George Anson Starkweather.[19]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The Plythean, 17th edition, yearbook of Plymouth High School, 1929
  2. ^ Elinor Graham, "True classic goes to Gilmore Museum," Plymouth Observer, October 31, 1985
  3. ^ Richard A. Wright, "Gilmore museums ease disappointment of rain-soaked show," DetNews.com, June 11, 2001
  4. ^ "Still Cruising at 96," Detroit Free Press, August 13, 2006
  5. ^ "Bandits Enter First National Bank to Grab $6,658.28 of Plymouth Cash Early Wednesday Morning," Plymouth Mail, May 7, 1937, page 1
  6. ^ "Plymouth Bank Official Identifies Former Convict As Member of Gang Which Looted Bank of $4,428 May 5," Plymouth Mail, May 21, 1937, page 1
  7. ^ "Break Ground For City's Newest Department Store," The Plymouth Mail, October 26, 1950, page 1
  8. ^ "Business Scene Shifts for Margaret Dunning," Plymouth Observer, May 6, 1968, page 6A
  9. ^ "Mrs. Bessie Dunning to Buy Library for City," Plymouth Mail, February 7, 1947
  10. ^ "To Dedicate New Library This Sunday," unknown publication and date; article refers to the 1958 addition to the library
  11. ^ Dunning Hough Library
  12. ^ Community Federal Credit Union Newsletter, January 1984, page 1
  13. ^ "Dunning quits Credit Union," The Crier, January 11, 1984
  14. ^ Community Financial Scholarship Fund
  15. ^ W. W. Edgar, "Gift From Margaret Dunning Speeds Plans for Museum," Plymouth Mail & Observer, September 18-19, 1971, page 1
  16. ^ Jennifer Chambers, "History cramps museums," The Detroit News, January 28, 2001, page 3B
  17. ^ About the Plymouth Historical Museum
  18. ^ Margaret Dunning Foundation
  19. ^ "Hall of Fame-ous Plymouthites," The Community Crier, August 27, 1980, page 15

[edit] References

  1. Portrait of Margaret Dunning, President of Credit Union, 1965
  2. "Plymouth Family's Fortune Will Preserve Town's Past," Detroit Free Press, March 10, 1972.
  3. Diane Aretz, "Margaret Dunning: At heart a hometown girl," Your Community Crier, March 2, 2001, page 10.
  4. Chris Barnett, "Ever-ready Investing," Merrill Lynch Advisor, Premier Issue 2002, page 13.

[edit] External links