Jim Holbel's recent visit to Flint brought back a lot of memories of the old neighborhood. I wondered if I had any photos of my house at 2402 Bassett Place. I did a little digging and found this shot from June 1972, taken the day my older brother, Matt, graduated from Powers.
Whose idea was the orange graduation gown? Rumor has it there was a rigged election at the high school that led to the color selection. Can you say "voter fraud"? My brother asked me not to name any names. The good news is that the gowns could also be worn for deer hunting, highway construction work or Denver Broncos games.
That's me in the left corner, acting up in the looming shadow of my 6' 5" brother, and sporting a classic seventies outfit — red pants and a purple shirt. My grandpa, Verne McFarlane, is in one of the suits he wore every day except Saturday. My mom is in front with my grandma, Leone, in one of her many stylish sweater ensembles. And the house itself features the green aluminum siding that I've heard it still has today.
You might also notice the lawn chair in the lower left corner. This was back in the days when you could sit on the front lawn in the shade and watch the baseball games across the street.
