The Flint That I Remember....

Flint.  You can kick…you can beat it….and you can even call it names….but there’s always going to be a place in my heart for the city where I was born.  A lot has changed in the old town – but there’s plenty to remember.

The Flint that I remember was when you sat  in the stands at Whaley Park to enjoy one of the many teams that played in summer softball league and then meeting everyone at Lugi’s for pizza and beer.

The Flint that I remember was to Whiting for a Flint Symphony Orchestra concert and hearing the music of Beethoven come to life on the stage.

The Flint that I remember was sitting under the stars for the 4^th of July fireworks at Kearsley Park or getting into the holiday spirit and lifting your voice in song at the Citizens Bank Christmas Carol Sing-Along.

The Flint that I remember was having to wait for Thanksgiving dinner until everyone got home from the Northern/Central game at Atwood Stadium.

The Flint that I remember was receiving a gift box that the Flint Old Newsboys on  Christmas Day when I was a kid and appreciating how much the Old Newsboys  helped Santa to make my Christmas bright.

The Flint that I remember was grabbing a couple of coneys and a side fries with gravy at Angelo’s, a  doughnut from Supreme or Dawn’s Donuts, a pasty from King Arthur’s, a fish n’ chips dinner from 3^rd Avenue Fish n’ Chips and a burger and crème ale at Bill Thomas Halo Burger.

The Flint that I remember was driving downtown to Herrlich’s Drug Store on a Saturday Night/Sunday morning at around 1 to pick a copy of the Detroit Free Press or picking up the latest magazine and paperback books at Readmore.

The Flint that I remember was going to church on Sunday’s at Sacred Heart and then going to the Balkan Bakery to pick up loaves of fresh bread to enjoy with my parents homemade chicken dinners.

The Flint that I remember was being able to go to the main branch of the Flint Public Library and being entertained by looking at back copies of the Flint Journal on microfilm or asking the librarian on the second floor for a set of those clunky black headphones so you could listen to a comedy album by Nichols and May or Allan Sherman..

The Flint that I remember was the Flint Institute of Art’s summer Art Fair or a laser light show at the Planetarium.

The Flint that I remember was seeing and hearing Flint’s rock n’ roll finest come to life in the practice rooms in the Bronson-Fisher building long before they ever took to the stage.

The Flint that I remember was taking a driver’s education class at Flint Northwestern and getting that blue driver’s permit at the completion of the course.

The Flint that I remember had people like Rich Fisher and Roseanne Serra doing the news and weather on Channel 12 news.

The Flint that I remember was getting all of the latest Tiger baseball news and interviews with the players by listening to Pete Sark’s Tiger baseball reports on WFDF.

The Flint that I remember was signing up for the Citizens Bank Christmas club at Lewis Elementary School and making sure that I had my quarter every week to give to my teacher to put in my account.

The Flint that I remember was being excited about having enough money saved up ($49) to purchase by first FM stereo (table top) radio at Montgomery Ward.

The Flint that I remember was going to donkey basketball games at Lowell Jr. High and ice cream socials at Potter Elementary.

The Flint that I remember had Al Kessel throwing the grocery specials of the week to someone off screen in his television commercials.

The Flint that I remember had a guy name Zip doing sports on Channel 5 newscasts.

The Flint that I remember was going with a school group to the Shrine Circus at the IMA Auditorium every January.

The Flint that I remember was going to Uncle Bob’s Diner for a piece of pie and ice cream or a Slim Jim at Big Boy after a movie at the Capital Theater. 

The Flint that I remember had the local owner of the Ponderosa Steak House always being surrounded by kids in his television commercials.

The Flint that I remember had people like Diana Ross and The Supremes making a personal appearance at Maa’s in Downtown Flint before their concert at the IMA or Terry Knight and the Pack performing a concert at the Fair store in the South Flint Plaza.

The Flint that I remember was shopping for a television or an appliance at Greenley’s, a mattress for your bed at Pearless and or living room and dining room furniture from one of the many companies owned by Ron Ralston.

Names like “Blain”, “Knickerblocker”, “Al Bennett”, “Superior”, “Vern Parsell” and “Al Serra” were the name plates on the cars in the Flint that I remember….

The Flint that I remember was filled with community pride every summer for events like the Canusa games and the running of the Bob Crim 10k road race.

The Flint that I remember as a kid was getting excited whenever when we heard the clanging sounds of the bells signaling that “the ice cream boy” was nearby and how we were always warned not to touch the hot ice when grabbing our ice cream novelties from his cart.

The Flint that I remember was going downtown to the barber college to get one of those “high priced” twenty-five cent hair cuts.

Going to a grocery store in the Flint that I remember was having such places to shop as A& P,  Mansour’s, Feke and Yott, Hickory Meat Block, Thompson’s, and everybody’s favorite “Hamady’s”.

So, every time that I hear about drive-by shooting, another house that someone set on fire or all of the budget cuts seem to take place every other day in Flint today – I look back at the Flint that I remember and I hope that some day soon – it can reclaim some of things that made the city great.