Monday, December 28, 2009

Flint Postcards: Smith/Sill Building



9 comments:

  1. My father in-law washed windows in and out at that building for probably thirtyfive years.He and his company did most of the high work in Flint. Rain or shine summer and winter. I took my midget league shirt there to have it monogramed by Rose Chabanion(sp)in 1949. From then on she did all the lettering on our uniforms for many years - softball, basketball, baseball and bowling. She was a perfectionist.

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  2. What is the address of this building?

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  3. Google Maps or Bing - it would be cool to add a current street view screenshot with the postcards.

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  4. On the fifth floor of the Sill Building was a little old lady named Rosy and she had a monogram business. Back in 72 our gang, which was nothing like the gangs of today, would pay $5.00 her to monogram our gold color jersey's with black stitching. We were the' Black Liar's' from Flushing, It was all about having fun and staying out of trouble most of the time.

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  5. Nice thought HJ - but this building was razed to make room for "Water Street Pavilion", now University Pavilion. Many of the postcards pictured are of structures long gone. Are we so enamored with these buildings because 1) they are gone now or 2) they remind us of simpler days? I wonder.....

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  6. Rose Chobanian passed away March 26, 2012 at the age of 100.

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  7. RIP, Rose. Yay for embroidery.

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  8. Rose was my grandmother, and I have many fond memories of the Sill Building and the wonderful people she introduced me to there.

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  9. We passed Rose's shop every time we went down the hallway to our father's office (Planning Associates). She always gave a smile and wave. I remember years later (while living in Petoskey and Lansing) going to Flint and Rose when I needed lettering for clothing because she did quality work. A good Flint memory............

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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.