Flint Artifacts: UAW Ring

Flint Expatriate Joe Steve tells the story of a UAW ring:

"I had a great upbringing in our old neighborhood and looking back on it I really had it good. My father was a sports writer for the Flint Journal, John Steve, who died in 1962. My mother married John Misko in 1969 when I was 10 years old. We moved to John Misko's house on the south end because his house was smaller. It was also a really cool neighborhood as we lived 5 houses away from Lincoln Park. Mom couldn't get what she wanted for the house on Welch Blvd so after only 6 months we moved back to Welch and my stepfather had an offer on his house within four hours of listing it. I stayed there until I graduated from Powers in 1977 and my folks moved to Florida after I graduated from Aquinas College in 1981.

"My mother will be 95 years old this year. She gave me my stepfather's ring when she moved into a nursing home here in Grand Rapids 9 years ago. I have grown to understand what a great stepfather I had. He had no children of his own, as his first wife got sick and was not able to have children before she died. He worked 2nd shift at Fisher Body as a Tool and Die man for more than 30 years.

"And one more cool fact. My stepfather live next door to Angelo Braniff , one of the three Angelos who founded Angelo's Coney Island."

Flint Photos: 1501 Detroit Street

This is a shot my mom recently unearthed of the building my grandparents owned at 1501 Detroit Street in 1945. It was few blocks from Welch Blvd. on what is now Martin Luther King Ave.

The building was just a few blocks north of the intersection in this postcard.

View Larger Map

This is the general area today on Google Maps.

Welch Blvd. Fire

Photo courtesy of Oscar Durand/The Flint Journal

Arson is suspected as the cause of a fire at the Discount Dollar store on Welch Blvd. The store is located near the spot of the old Della Theater and across the parking lot and drive-thru lanes of the old Genesee Bank branch.

A 1950s photograph of the Della and other Welch Blvd. stores by Mary Fisher.

View Larger Map

Citizens Bank stock tanks

The stock performance of Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) over the past five years reflects the troubled state of the overall banking system.

Flint's Citizens Bank is struggling.

Its stock, which was trading at more than $25/share at the beginning of the year, is barely north of $2, a victim of the the "deterioration in commercial real estate collateral values and continued challenges to the Midwest economy," according to a company statement.

Earlier this month, Dan Meisler of the Ann Arbor Business Review reported:

"Flint-based Citizens Republic Bancorp announced [June 5] a public offering of $200 million in securities to boost its capital position.

"That comes as the bank reports a $180 million "goodwill impairment" charge related to falling commercial real estate values, and a $47.1 million write-down on nonperforming commercial real estate and residential loans and repossessed assets.

"The bank said in its announcement that the additional capital from the stock offerings will help it 'remain focused on executing its strategic objectives and delivering long-term shareholder value as current economic and credit conditions improve.'"

Hidden Park

View Larger Map

UPDATE: Here's the satellite map of Hidden Park, which unbeknownst to me is officially known as Dougherty Park. It's bordered by West Patterson, Milbourne, North Chevrolet and Welch Blvd. It's still listed on the city's official park list, but that doesn't mean much these days in terms of upkeep. Readers confirm there was an entrance on Patterson and another on Chevrolet, which was just a short walk to Welch Blvd. Pharmacy and Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor.

I'll offer up a free, very lightly used, Semi-Pro souvenir headband to anyone foolish, I mean, brave enough to head on over and get some current photos of the park.


ORIGINAL POST: Can anyone provide an exact location on Hidden Park, located somewhere near Welch, Dupont and Patterson? The two entrances were hard to find, and the park itself was small and abutted the back yards of the surrounding houses, pretty much invisible from the street. Better yet, anyone been there lately? I had my first illicit beer there with my pal, Mark Rudolph, who lived on Delmar Street.