Flint Photos: Main Post Office in the Sixties

Flint's main post office near the Farmer's Market in the sixties. Photo by Mary Fisher.

Sufjan Stevens Ode to Flint

What's the Word?

Just curious, in your household do you call them "Replacement Referees" or do you call them scabs?

Buick Graffiti

Two friends recently bought a house on the south slope of Bernal Heights in San Francisco and we spotted these oil change records scrawled on the basement wall last weekend. The previous owner was clearly a Buick Man (or Woman). Let's just ignore the Olds reference.

Flint Artifacts: Elks Street Carnival 1902

The Policing Power of the Federal Reserve

Flint's struggles with crime are well documented. In fact, according to F.B.I. statistics, it's the most dangerous city in America. Despite the dire statistics, Flint's police force continues to shrink as the city attempts to erase a budget deficit in an era of declining tax revenues and economic stagnation. Police headquarters isn't even open to the public on weekends.

If only Flint could borrow some protection from the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Each one is a private corporation owned by commercial banks in its region. And yet, in 2001, the USA Patriot Act granted the private banks domestic policing powers.

Pam Martens of AlterNet reports: 

Section 364 of the Act, “Uniform Protection Authority for Federal Reserve,” reads: “Law enforcement officers designated or authorized by the Board or a reserve bank under paragraph (1) or (2) are authorized while on duty to carry firearms and make arrests without warrants for any offense against the United States committed in their presence…Such officers shall have access to law enforcement information that may be necessary for the protection of the property or personnel of the Board or a reserve bank.” 

The police officers are technically known as FRLEO, short for Federal Reserve Law Enforcement Officer. The system has its own police academies for training, their own patch and badges, uniforms, pistols, rifles, police cars and the power to arrest coast to coast without a warrant. They have ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and a recruitment ad campaign with the slogan: “It’s about respect and recognition from your peers. It’s you.”

The Legend of Captain Bubblegum

Longtime reader and frequent commenter Smurf's Inc, also known as Wurstside Warrrior, raised the specter of the notorious Captain Bubblegum way back in 2008. Yet we never really got the full story on this Flint legend. There was talk of attacks via mopeds and horror films, but no real information. Here's some background from Smurf's Inc:

I first became aware of Capt. Bubblegum sometime during the early 80s while attending Walker School (or was it Walker Learning Center?) One morning as the buses arrived from all over the city, the kids who arrived on bus #212 from the northwest side were terrified. Scared silly. Hysterical. They reported that a man wearing a superhero outfit had chased them. If memory serves me he struck at both Pierson and Selby. After our teacher interrogated the students it turned out that others had experienced run-ins with this character before. 

Fast forward 8 or 9 years. An outlandishly dressed street person appears on the corner of Ann Arbor and Court St. He doesn't move for weeks. Sitting on a milk crate he is christened Capt. Bubblegumhead... or was he. I assumed this was just some stupid name my friends came up with until...
1994 finds me working at Al Kessel's Al E. Oops Soul Food Cafe. Yeah, I know, that is a story in and of itself. Anyway, one of my fellow dishwashers is a Black Muslim kid by the name of Termikius. 

Termikius was a fixture for years at Pierson and Clio hawking copies of Farrakhan's Final Call newspaper. Uhhhh so, one day he regaled me with a story, the confirmation of the existence of Capt. Bubblegum. A few years previous he and two buddies were pursued by a guy on a moped screaming "I'm gonna kill you". Termikius wasn't ashamed to say that he and his pals were in a state of total horror. After all, they were being hunted down by Capt. Bubblegum!!! WTF?!? I implored him to tell me more. Another co-worker chimed in as well. This superhero gone bad was a well-known freakazoid on the north side. Allegedly he never actually caught his prey, but if he did would we ever really know?

So let's solve this mystery. Anyone have some reliable info on Captain Bubblegum?

More Industrial Gothic

More Industrial Gothic images from the flood of 1960 in Flint.

Industrial Gothic

I got a package in the mail today from artist and author Tom Pohrt that included a collection of Kodachrome Stereo Transparencies labeled "Spring '60 Flood." I scanned a few to get a better look and discovered these eerie, hauntingly beautiful images of Flint when water ruled the Vehicle City.

My Daddy Strikes for Us Little Tykes

Brett Herron, a Flint Expatriate who lived on Stevenson Street and graduated from Northern High School in 1990, reports from the front lines of the Chicago teachers' strike:

Months ago I vowed if we went on strike, my son Ian would march with a reproduction of the famous "little tyke" sign. Ian picketed, marched, and participated in rallies every day of the Chicago Teachers Strike. Actually, he first began protesting back in December at 6 months old. Anyway, during the strike many people asked about the sign and the original image included on it. I really enjoyed educating Chicagoans on the Sit-Down Strike and connecting good ol' Flint to the Windy City.