Your Detroit Memories! (Sterling Heights, Wayne, Plymouth: dangerous, deposit, cars)

[scolls]

Originally Posted by teejuris

I grew up near the Michigan State Fairgrounds. It was a very diverse, family-oriented and warm area. I had a great childhood growing up there: Walking to the Michigan State Fair; playing double-dutch, jump rope, teatherball, Red Rover, hop-scotch, Barbie/baby dolls and other games with friends; bike-riding to and through and playing at Palmer Park; having Bible study at Palmer Park; collecting and catching matis', grasshoppers, butterflies and other insects with friends; going to a great elementary school with an array of extra-curricular and in-school activities, which I participated, such as choir, violin, gymastics, theater/drama, sports, academic games, etc; walking to the corner store with friends; sitting on the front porch with my family sharing memories, laughing, etc.

It was a great area in which to grow up. Unfortunately, sooo much has changed in the negative...I pray for the revitalization and rehabilitation of the area, even if I'm no longer living in Michigan, and the renewing of the minds of the people.

I notice you have 48205 as your location. When I lived in Detroit I lived in the 48205 zip code but I was way down by Schoenherr.

Used to ride my bike down 8 Mile and stop at Piccadilly's to get 35 cent Faygo Cola. Than we'd hit the Kmart at 8 and Gratiot to pick up some baseball cards. Than if I was lucky enough to score some lunch money, we'd stop at Little Italy. Finally, we'd make it to Eastland and hang out and then ride back home.

[Renee205]

[quote=Blue Grass Fever;271134]Funny thing as a kid, i didn't know how bad Detroit was until i started to travel the country! Well, i sorta knew from going down into Kentucky every summer and when i came back, i'd wondered why everyone was so pissed off!

Other memories:

Gonella's-love getting subs from them.

Shopper's World-ghetto version of K-Mart

Going into Delray by the traintracks asking for water from the rail-road guys. They'd always give you bottled water. Don't know why though.

Roaches-you couldn't escape 'em!

Pollution-nothing beats waking up in the summer to the nice smell of rotten egss. (sulfur)

Taking a bus downtown with friends and hanging out in the Renaissance Center. There is a bar at the very top which has an all-glass rotating circular floor which was neat!

The restaruant Giovanni's-it looked like a place where the mob would hang out! Try to envision a very high-scale restaruant in a very run-down neighborhood.

Oakwood Blue Jackets-neighborhood bowling alley-had a bocchi ball court in back which i didn't know what the heck it was for the longest time!

(a few more)[Wow, you know alot about Oakwood, do you know my family? The D'Alfonsos and Sabatini's?? Good friends of ours are the Gonella's]

[Wingnatic]

Anyone remember Alinosi's Ice Cream on E. Six mile between Hoover & Gratiot ? I was at a Hollywood Market in Royal Oak and found some Italian Ice from there , I should have looked for the spumoni lol

[Maxine3]

I love spumoni.
I used to get my fix on the westside, at Marino's Pizzaria on W. Chicago near Schaffer, in the early 1950's.

[scolls]

Is the custard place still open on 7 Mile between Kelly and Hayes? I live in Harper Woods and haven't even gone that way in years. There also used to be a good Coney Island place on 7 and Hayes.

[Sage Love]

Good times
I remember some good times as a child. In 1961, when I was 9 y/o, my aunt taught how to catch the bus downtown. My landmark to get off the bus was Crowleys Dept. store. I went to 2nd Baptist Church in Greektown. I remember the 5 and dime store downtown, where my aunt bought me a dress for a dollar and then told me not to tell anybody(LOL). There use to be several resturants that had cooked food displayed in the windows. The food looked and smelled good. John Kennedy visit downtown Detroit and I remember their were a lot of people. I was just a kid when he came, I had no clue who he really was. The Fox theatre had motown reviews downtown for one dollar. I remember when the Beatles came to the Olympia theatre and everybody I seen was going Crazzzzzzy.
I remember when Halloween was fun and happy times. There was a "doorbell night and a trashcan night". The people who didnt give a treat got there doors saturated with white soap and or raw eggs spreaded all over their windows. I use to have huge pillow cases full of candy. Paper bags were the only source used to hold groceries, plastic bags didnt exist.
Bad, sort of
Pricipals and teachers would paddle kids and students would get jacked up and pulled up by their collars or even knocked to the ground for being disrupted. The kids knew not to tell their parents because kids would have got more discipline at home. When teenage girls got pregnant they would be sent out of town and when they came back home, all of a sudden they had a little bro or sis.

[MaryleeII]

The Good Ol' Summertime at Hudson's downtown, they opened up the storefront windows and made them into shops, restaurants, etc, ala 1890's. I went with my grandparents, they actually remembered stuff like that! It was from their era!

Also, Hudsons' christmas displays in the store windows, the displays were so beautiful. My mother would take me on the bus, 10 cents, so RT for mom, Grandma and me was 60 cents! Then we would eat at Green's cafeteria, I thought that was great, a basement level cafeteria you could get a great lunch for 25 cents! Then off to see the displays, lights, Santa, all that for less than $2 total! Memories--priceless!

[MaryleeII]

Memories, hmmmm....memories?

In looking back at my memories, I realize one common thread---I have memoires because my parents took the time, money and effort to create them for me. We went many places and did many things, hardly a thing went by we didn't participate in. Its all different now, run down, a total ruin of a city.

But the main thing was we took the time to be together as a family, that's the memory I want my children to have, that we spent time together when we could, you can do that anywhere, its not where but what you make of it!

[rid0617]

Many strange memories. Watching the Ford Rotunda burn. Boblo Island boat ride. Met first girl friend on it. Greenfield Village. The Vernors plant.

[Wingnatic]

I bet one of these would satisfy the palate

Detroit Woman Hopes Vernors Cake Takes Off (http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/mornings/detroit-woman-hopes-vernors-cake-takes-off - broken link)