Monday, July 22, 2013

Flintoids Gather at Charles Chocolates in San Francisco


Traci and I were lucky enough to spend Sunday at a Flint-themed party at Charles Chocolates in San Francisco. Chocolatier and Flint Expatriate Chuck Siegel supplied Faygo, Vernor's, Coney's with Angelo's sauce, a deluxe with olives, and PX-style boneless ribs, not to mention chocolate cake reminiscent of Bill Knapp's. It was amazing. It brought out a great crowd of Flintoids on Florida Street, just around the corner from the office where I wrote "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City." As with most Flint gatherings, we all had a lot in common and quickly discovered that everyone had about a dozen mutual friends from the Vehicle City. A great day with great people with a Flint connection.
 
Erica Firment (a.k.a. The Librarian Avenger), Gordon Young, and Chuck Siegel.
 
 This is a lunch any Flintoid could appreciate.
 


Two-fisted drinkers: Vernor's and Faygo.
 

The various Siegels of Flint and beyond in San Francisco. From left to right, Hannah, Gloria, Chuck, Milt, Susie, Jake, Leah, Shabana, and Ed.


5 comments:

  1. We had so much fun chatting about life in the old country! It was great finally meeting you Gordon. I'm glad you didn't pick the photo where I was throwing gang signs.

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    1. Traci knew it was time to drag me away when Milt Siegel and I started going over Clio Road businesses block by block. We probably would have circumnavigated the city in our minds if someone hadn't stepped in and stopped us. Great to finally meet in person. And I turned over the gang photos to the FBI.

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  2. Does Dennis Letbetter ever show up at the San Francisco Flint reunions? Does Jane Koegel bring the hot dogs and brats?

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  3. The Soda of my youth was M&S (Mellow and Smooth or Michigan and Superior). Can remeber which one it was. The cream soda was not to bad either. Look's liek you had a great time.

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  4. Where did they find Faygo in the glass bottles? I would love to get those! I also drank M&S (Mellow and Smooth). When I was a kid in the mid-80s, I would get a dollar from my parents and walk over to the Davison Road Pharmacy (across from Angelos) and buy an M&S for a quarter plus deposit and get a handful of nickel and dime candy. If I could get an extra dollar, I'd buy a comic book to go with it. Man, I loved that place!

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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.