Your Detroit Memories! (Livonia, Dearborn, Pontiac: lawyers, neighborhoods, buying)

[Blue Grass Fever]

-Moviemakers did a scene in the produce warehouse off/around of Fort and Green St.-It was the movie about Jimmy Hoffa starring Jack Nicolson and Danny DeVito.

(another one)

[Blue Grass Fever]

-Another movie they shot in Detroit was the one with George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez-they had a particular scene in/around the Kronk Gym off of Junction and McGraw! (even though the boxing scene was shot in the State Theatre)

(can't remember the name of the movie though)

[Blue Grass Fever]

-Oh, how can i ever forget this one...The Ford/Wyoming Drive-In!

(another one)

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by Blue Grass Fever

-Bill Bonds-Detroit's famous anchorman..you'd could tell he was sippin' on "happy juice" when he'd go into a diabolical rant on t.v.!

I loved Bill! I thought he was the greatest news caster ever. He makes the commercials he does interesting now. He's got a great voice. And yes, he was always big on the juice!

[Blue Grass Fever]

-The Dream Cruise on Woodward!

This one only happened a few years ago...but does anyone remember when Sharon McPhail (a councilwoman) yelled at another councilwoman? She yelled-"....don't make me go East-Side up on yo' a$$"..."

[Steve-o]

Im not from there, but have visited several times, does that count? My memories of Detroit include the bridge (Ambassador, is that what its called?), it was the first big bridge I was ever on, it was something Ill never forget. I remember looking back at Detroit's skyline very vividly. I also remember seeing old Tiger Stadium, reminded me of Chicago's Comiskey Park (old White Sox stadium).

I also cant believe noone has mentioned a Red Wings Stanley Cup victory?

[Detroit4Life]

Originally Posted by Blue Grass Fever

What are your memories (good or bad) of Detroit for those who grew up in the city or have lived there for quite some time? It can be a memory of the city per se or any random memory within the city.

Here's mine:

All the house fires on devil's night-(especially 1987)..i could look out my back porch to see all the fires through-out the city and all the news-reporters from far-flung areas of the globe coming here to report this.

Going into the salt-mine and grabbing a big chunk of salt for some kind of odd souvenir.(as a kid, of course) Yes, there is a salt mine in Detroit.

Going to Belle Isle as a kid to go on the wavy-slide.

Having a family-picnic with my "mexican" family at Patton Park. It was quite a "fiesta".

Seeing the sky turn orange at night. It was a smelting plant(Ford Rouge Complex) that would dump slag and that would turn the sky orange.

Remembering when the Pistons won the championship back in '89, my friend and i asked my uncle to drop us off downtown so we could see the parade going down Woodward.(I was 12 at the time) That was awesome.

Remembering watching a Tigers game in '87, it was one of those 1 o'clock games and i had stayed home from school. Sittin' there watching it, the camera does a pan-shot of the crowd only to have these two ladies flash their mysterious mounds of flesh on national television.

There was a local bread bakery in my old neighborhood which smelled so dang good compared to all the pollution in the area. One day, my friend and i were walking back home only to see this bakery with its back garage door open with many,many racks of bread sittin' there cooling off. So we snuck underneath the garage door and grabbed a box of bread each only within a few steps, we were chased by the bread-man down the street. Sadly, we ended up with a loaf each but there was a trail of bread in the street a block long.

Tiger Stadium. I was quite sad when they built the new stadium.

Being able to see the fireworks quite well without ever having to go downtown to see them up close and personal.We'd climb buildings as to where ever we were at.

Climbing the old Ford Tower by the Ford Rouge Complex/Rouge River! Dang, that thing is high but doesn't look like it from the ground!

Coleman Young!

(to mention a few)

That's one thing i miss about Detroit is Devils night.

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by Detroit4Life

That's one thing i miss about Detroit is Devils night.

Yeah, they need time to burn the other half of the homes on their own block down....

[reconmark]

Originally Posted by RedWingsFan

Yeah, they need time to burn the other half of the homes on their own block down....

I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that's tired of your self serving rants about "them" or how they ruined everything about Detroit.

The thread was titled "your Detroit Memories" not let's get back on them and how they destroyed everything and race hate thread.

Now it's been said that you have given certain members of this board web sites specific to white supremacy, KKK, and Ayran Nation, and other hate groups. You can hate anyone you want including myself, even though you have never met me I'm black.

I can't help that you would refuse to admit any complicity in the state of affairs in the se mi area and that more than likely you have close family and friends who lived here in previous generations who helped create and maintain the hatred and segregation that has come to be se mi's greatest infamous legacy.

If a white person says they are moving to or have questions about detroit, you are the first one to start immediately bashing, stereotyping, and blaming blacks for every historical fault with the city, are you afraid that a white person who dosen't have your hatred and ignorance would come here and live w/o incident and thus start to erode just a little of the hysteria you throw around?

If you are a white supremist then just admit it and give everyone who reads your posts a chance to see where your real motivations and views stem from.

Again, if you choose to hate me because I'm black, I can live with that; because unfortunately some people choose to hate no matter what.

The truly sad part is that I have to tell my children who are all under 6yoa that sometimes people aren't going to like them because their skin is dark, I've also taught them that no one else is inheritly more intelligent, moral, or valuable than the are, and to accept and judge all people based on how they treat you and if they mistreat you be a better person and don't return hate with hate. I have to tell them these things because there are still people like you who would think and have everyone else around you think the worse of them simply because of their complections.

Mixed and bi-racial couples have to ask is it safe for their children in certain cities and areas not because of crime but because people like you live in the community, and would spew your toxic verbaige to anyone misguided enough to lend you an ear.

My question to you is this, is your racism going to die with you when you pass from this life, or are you already teaching some other generation to hate as you do? Whose mind have you corrupted and whose love and spirit for humanity have you killed.

[reconmark]

One of the best memories for me were Sander's caramel cakes and if those were sold out, which they frequently were, I'd "settle" for the colonial buttercream cakes. To this day I have never had a caramel cake that even comes close to Sander's.

When leaving Hudson's on the woodward side, you could always smell the Kresge's across the street cooking their waffles in the basement cafeteria, they used these waffles to make ice cream sandwichs, the waffles would make still warm enough to make the ice cream soft, the Kresge's was on the southern corner across woodward and on the northern corner around the block you had Quickie doughnuts wich were also very good. I have a huge sweet tooth.

I also remember the firemen's field day, to help widows and orphans of firefighters killed on the job.


The swim mobile and book mobile, block club parties were the city put a barricade at both ends of the street and you could party untill about 10p.m.

When I was growing up Halloween was only second to christmas, schools would put up the halloween decorations in the halls and everyone couldn't wait for halloween, back then we didn't carry paper bags, those were too small. We carried pillowcases and every house and business gave candy. We ate candy for a week or two after that night. This was back in the 70's and it wasen't called devil's night in my neighborhood.

I remember christmas seemed special and magical, a time for relatives you haden't seen all year to come and spend a special day or two with you.

We were poor during my childhood but my sisters and I never knew it, family and friends were much more important than gifts but we always received 4 or 5 toys or games.

Lastly, I have many good memories, around the age of 12 to 15 my friends and I could ride around most of the city and be safe, the only threat were the "east side" kids who might try to take our bikes. Many times we would ride our bikes from dexter and boston all the way to Belle Isle, we we got home our legs would litterally give out but we had so much fun growing up, and you had to have a schwinn singray with a bananna seat and sissy bars if you wanted to be cool.

Yeah, a lot of good memories.