Thursday, March 20, 2008

More Flint Memories


Here are some more memories of Flint from readers:

Anonymous: My other Flint memories are of the Montgomery Ward restaurant facing Second Street in downtown. I remember they had the best cheesburgers. What about pop from The Soda Pop Shoppe? Eastside memories are those of the Hamady store at Frankiln and Davison before their expansion in 1986. At one time the building housed four tenents simultaneously:
Detroit and Northern Savings Bank, Irvin Hersch Jewelers, Eastside Pharmacy, and finally the grocery store. I also remember when Broadway Coney Island at Broadway and Franklin, and the Nite Owl Coney Island at Davison and Dort were competeing with Angelo's (when it was worth going to), and lastly shopping with my folks at the A&P on Dort Highway near Delaware. I always remember the smell of fresh ground coffee as soon as we'd enter the building.

Susank: You remember taking class field trips to the
Sloan Museum to see the anatomically correct Tammy. You remember shopping at Comber's Market.

UPDATE: redgirl has a few more items:

You remember ice-skating in the winter at Ballenger Park.

You remember the animals and rides at Flint Park (or Dewey Woods, later called Forest Park).

You remember the stories about the sunken lumberyard and quicksand that would suck you in and suffocate you at "Devil's Lake," by Stewart Ave. and Dupont St., not far from Forest Park.

You remember George & Emily Solomon's lunches at "Harrison House" on Harrison St. downtown.

You remember the cafeteria you took the escalator to at Smith Bridgeman's where you had grilled cheese and hot chocolate after your mother was done shopping.

You remember the Balkan Bakery over on Dayton St.

You remember Herriman's ice cream parlor out on Clio Rd.

UPDATE: I can also remember visiting
Kearsley Park, driving in the small cars at Safetyville while taking the trip across the "Little Mac" bridge, and afterwards attempting the daring walk through the wooded area around the park, the area known as Bumwoods. I remember my parents saving S&H Green Stamps from buying groceries at the Kroger store on Robert T. Longway and Dort, and visiting the Top Value Stamp store directly next to Kroger, redeeming the stamps to buy a lamp set. I remember when gas was 39 cents a gallon at either the Bay or Valvoline gas stations on Dort Highway between Woodrow and Delaware Avenues. I remember shopping at the stores on Davison and Dort, which included Wrigley's grocery store, Arlan's department store, and Kilbourn's pharmacy I remember Thompson's Shopping Center on Richfield Rd. and Averill Avenue. I remember Gil-Roy's Hardware when it was named Glen-Roy's. I also remember Feke and Yott Supermarkets before they sold out to Hickory Meat Block. We shopped at the store on Franklin and Thom for the fresh meat from the huge counter and homemade pies. Does anyone remember the fire which destroyed the Feke and Yott at Covert and Richfield in the mid 1970's? I could go on, but will give someone else a chance to share their memories...Thank you.



6 comments:

  1. As a Flintoid, I...

    ...ate nutty donuts from Supreme's on Flushing Rd.
    ...know that a pasty is a meat pie, not a nipple ornament.
    ...looked for the deformed Deer at the BOC plant.
    ...went 'up north' for vacation.
    ...I drank POP, not SODA.
    ...had friends that loved either Michigan or Michigan State, and hated the other, but all hated Ohio State

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  2. I just love this! Yes we shopped at Thompson's and rode bikes to Ben Franklin's all the time to buy the top WTAC songs on 45's with our allowance dollars, and Barbie's! And penny, nickel, and Quarter candy; there was a ton of choices! Silly Sand was my favorite and yes we had the little coke machine out in our blanket made tents on the clothelines. Mini bikes! Bands playing in garages, babysitters on friday nights with Brady bunch, Partridge family, Room 222, Love American Style. Boy did we have fun back in the day in Flint!

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    1. We loved going to Ben Franklin. I would buy embroidery squares and made a baby quilt. I started embroidering when I was 6/7. We would buy Christmas gifts for my grandparents there. Old spice gift sets for my dad. It was affordable.

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  3. Everyone calls a paper bag a Hamady sack .. .I will always be from Flint Michigan and proud of it

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  4. Dawn Donuts on the corner of Clio Rd and Pasadena St

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  5. The big treat “ The Tall Texas “ at Smith- Bridgemens’ mezzanine restaurant

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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.