You are an old Detroiter if you can remember:

The 12th floor of Hudson's downtown at Christmas time?
Christmas Carol with her patent leather hair?

Mort Neff, George Perot, Sir Graves Ghastly, Shock Theater? Swingin' Time with Robin Seymour?

Playing in the "Big Ditch" as I-94 or I-696 was being built.

Taking a "moonlight cruise" to Bob-Lo with Captain Bob-Lo or the bus to Edgewater Amusement Park.

Cheering from one end of the tunnel to the other end under
East Jefferson while going to Belle Isle.

The big stove was on Jefferson Ave. at the entrance to Belle Isle.

Renting bikes or riding horses or the horse-drawn carriages on Belle Isle.

Golfing after dark at the lighted Belle Isle par-three course. Canoeing or ice skating on the canals.

Shopping at Frank & Sedar, Hughes and Hatcher, B. Siegel,
Peck and Peck, Crowley's, Sam's Cut-Rate, Himelhoch's, Federal's, or Berlin's.

The "Street Cars" that ran on tracks down the center of Gratiot, Woodward, Michigan and Grand River Avenues. The "car barns" were at Gratiot and Harper and the turntable was called the "Ca-ga-looop". Eastwood park had a roller coaster at Gratiot and 8-mile where the street car line ended.

Playing on the escalator at J. L. Hudson's downtown, and riding the elevator, which was "run" by an elevator operator.

When Eastland and Northland were NEW and not enclosed malls.

Mayors other than Coleman Young and Dennis Archer, and you know who Cobo was.

What you were doing when you got word there was a "riot" going on.

When Washington Boulevard (with the Book Cadillac Hotel) was
the classiest street in town, with exclusive shops on both sides of the street.

A Winkleman's store or a Federal Department Store in your
neighborhood.

Driving to Southfield, and thinking you were going "out to the country."

The mineral bath smell of Mt. Clemens.

The "Big Snow," Buffalo Bob, Howdy Doody, Clarabell, Phineas
T. Bluster, Princess Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring and Plunk your magic twanger froggy.

That Twin Pines Dairy delivered milk and juice to the chute on the side of your house, and Milky the Clown performed magic with the magic words "Twin Pines."

The Good Humor man in a white uniform, ringing the bells and
riding down your street.
The iceman delivering bricks of ice to your house if you displayed a card in your front window that read: 25, 50, 75, 100.

You saw Marvin Gaye or The Beatles sing at the Olympia
Stadium or the Twenty Grand Lounge.

Sock Hops at Notre Dame High School with Stevie Wonder and
Father "Hollywood" Bryson.

The Olympia Stadium, Navin Field, Briggs Stadium.

The Fox, Palms, State, Michigan, United Artists, Madison movie theaters downtown. Or the Family Theatre and the Avenue and National burlesque theaters. Or the Cass and the Schubert-Lafayette Theatres, which were playhouses.

Waterford was where your neighbors cottage was.

The Vernor's Ginger Ale plant at the foot of Woodward Avenue
and the bearded troll that was on the bottle.

You drank Towne Club pop (or Grilli's or Oh-So or Atlas).

You bought groceries at A& P, C. F. Smith, Kroger's, Big Bear,Great Scott, Lipson's, Dixfield's, Wrigley's, National, Food Fair or Chatham's.

Your Mom saved Holden Red Stamps, S & H Green Stamps, or
Gold Bell Stamps.

S.S. Kresge's and Woolworth's were "DIME STORES"

Your school took a bus trip to "the cider mill" and had donuts and cider after the tour.

Your school took a bus trip to Kellogg's in Battle Creek.

Your school took a bus trip to Orchestra Hall to hear the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra perform.

You had an Uncle in the furniture business (Joshua Doore).

You know who Bill Kennedy is.

You shopped at Arlans, Shopper's Fair, Federals, Korvettes.

This telephone number: Tyler 8-7100 (Belvedere Construction)
and the slogan "We do good work."

Your phone number may have started with Tyler, Kenwood,
Diamond, Trinity, Twinbrook, Melrose, Madison, Townsend,
Plaza, Olive,Tuxedo, Lafayette, Lakeview or Cadillac.

You saw the Detroit Lions play football in U. of D. Stadium.

You saw the Detroit Lions play football in Tiger Stadium.

The phrase "sugar is sugar and salt is salt, if you didn't get off it's not my fault."

Black Bart, and the Faygo pop song being sung on the Bob-Lo boat.
Or how about, "Which way did he go? Which way did he go? He
went for Faygo."

You watched Rita Bell's Prize Movie.

You know who Sonny Elliot is and remember him using the chalk on a map of Michigan? (Enga, dinga, dengadine?)

Or holding snakes at the Children's zoo on Belle Isle?
Jac LeGoff, Van Patrick, Jay Roberts, J.P. McCarthy, Bob Reynolds, Soupy Sales, Johnny Ginger, The Friendly Giant, Poopdeck Paul, Uncle Bob, Captain Jolly, and George Young.

You visited the Wonder Bread Bakery or the C. F. Smith bakery and got to take home a mini-loaf of bread.

You have a picture of yourself sitting on the pony that seemed to make it down everyone's street.

Your zip code was only one or two digits (i.e., Detroit 19, Michigan).

You had a (Shaffer's) breadman and a (Brickley's) milkman.

You got "on the right track...at 9 Mile and Mack, for the best deal in town (or was it "around"?). At Roy O' Brian..."

The ZIP, PURE and GULF gas stations. The "Gas Wars".

Your house had a laundry chute and a milk chute and a coal chute.

Ty Tyson and Harry Heilmann broadcasting the Tigers games.

Primo's Pizza, The Red Barn, Powers, Henry's, Top Hat, Herc's Beef Buffet, Big Boy's Drive-in, and Tom's Tavern, Sander's, Awrey's, White Tower, Bowles Cafeteria.

When everyone listened to radio station WJR (the only station in town that had great programming, live music in the morning, and so many wonderful voices.

You attended a wedding reception or a banquet at Roma Hall.
The Hollywood Theatre on Fort Street, the Senate Theater on
Michigan Avenue, the Granada and the Grande Ball Room.

Driving out to the Ford Rouge Plant to see the hot coals of the coke ovens being dumped into railroad cars in the evening.

The automobile track at Wyoming and Michigan Avenues, which
had rolling hills that made your stomach contract when you drove up and down at 30 m.p.h.

The first and largest drive-in movie at Michigan & Wyoming on the border of Detroit and Dearborn.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) spoke at Labor Day rallies at the city hall in Detroit on Woodward & Michigan Avenues.

How old do you think we are?

Some of this is REALLY old, like 40 - 50 years.

JamesMarshallHendrix said:

I think you're REALLY REALLY old...

I remember:

• I-696 being built
• Riding horses at Belle Isle and going to the Belle Isle Zoo
• Getting to Belle Isle at 6am to see the boat races
• Going to Boblo by boat from Detroit (not Canada)
• When Eastland was not enclosed, and Lakeside was BRAND new
• Going to both the Wonder/Hostess plant and also the Better Maid plant on Gratiot (and getting free stuff)
• Remember getting Towne Club pop, by the case? (You'd mix-and-match)
• The Bart Faygo commercials!
• The Renaissance Center being built (or at least being finished)
• When there was no Palace of Auburn Hills
• The Grande Ballroom
• Swimming at Heilman's sports center
• The "ethnic" festivals downtown
• The short-lived residence of the Guardian Angels in Detroit (met them too!)

Most of my fondest childhood memories are from going to Belle Isle or Boblo. Aside from that, it was just playin' in the streets!

BTW, I grew up at Houston-Whittier and Gratiot until 12, and now live in St. Clair Shores.



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[This message was edited Thu Feb 20 16:21:53 PST 2003 by Se7en]

applekisses said:

You THINK I'm really old, I KNOW you are really old!

Oh wait, one is not to mention a womens age...

JamesMarshallHendrix said:

It's in my profile, silly! Everyone can see that I'm two years younger than you

I'm too young to remember a lot of this, but it made me very nostalgic about my hometown.

I realize some of this stuff happened before a lot of us were born, but it's a good range of memories for different ages. My cousin sent it to me.

I remember about 1/4 of it.

Thanks for being so polite, Ian I'm glad you enjoyed it.

applekisses said:

It was wonderful. Thanks for posting it! It's always nice to get in touch with my roots.

I remember the bablo boat, I was scared 2 death to ride it though... every time I would get on I would get sick

It's a real tragedy what happened to downtown
Detroit shopping...my wife and her aunt used to
go down there and spend all day shopping and eating.
Then, they would hop on the bus back to their home.

I'm not a native Detroiter, i moved here in '87...
I do remember the Boblo boat 'midnight' cruises...
lots of fun.

The Tigers 'baseball' on the left-hand side just as you're
entering Detroit, off of I-75, always struck me as cool, a real Detroit landmark.

I remember my little brother, he was about 10 yrs old, getting mad at me while i took everyone to the Belle Isle
beach. He stormed away, i thought he was just gonna
stay in the car. He ended up walking home from
the Park to our house in southwest Detroit!
We scoured that park for hours looking for him...
finally, i called the house to let someone know he was
missing...HE picked up the phone!!
[This message was edited Thu Feb 20 13:31:06 PST 2003 by Revolution]

Being a Detroiter also means remembering The Electifying Mojo on 107.5, then 98, then 92.3.

And remembering Rosetta Hines on 105.9...the REAL JAZZ station.

And remembering waking up to Mason in the Morning playing "Hello Detroit" by Sammy Davis, Jr.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I LOVED the Boblo Boat and Belle Isle. Thanks for those memories, applekisses.

I also remember Wonderland Mall in Livonia being opened as well.

What about skating at Northland Roller Skating Rink?


Tina (~!~)

By the way...THE SCENE was the show back in the day , circa 80's! Prince look alikes were EVERYWHERE on that show and in my high school!


Tina (~!~)

applekisses said:

how about "future Detroiters"? but then, i guess a future Detroiter wouldn't remember those things...

AaronUnlimited said:

Not unless it's Miss Cleo that you're talking about. I've heard that Jamacian accent was fake.

Revolution said:

That's hilarious!

NettieSmiles said:

NettieSmiles said:

Remember 'The Count'? And the great commericals like Singleton Cleaners (which I work by now) and Watts Club Mozambique?

applekisses said:

applekisses said:

What would an innocent girl like yourself know about
'Mozambique'???

My sis used to there, she even got to know some of
the stippers. I remember seeing the commercials on
TV for the strip club!! WTF??!!

"Black Stallion" and "Goldfinger" were 2 of the dancers.