Christmas in Flint and Genesee County through the years tells a layered story — one of industrial prosperity and later economic challenge; of community tradition in a city shaped by the auto industry; of holidays celebrated against a backdrop of changing social and economic tides.
There was just one television receiver in Flint in October 1947. It was built by two employees of the Sheldon Radio and Appliance Shop.
Inside the warm and welcoming, mahogany-paneled confines of the Flint Industrial Savings Bank, the dapper bank executives gathered around an impressive mahogany table. Outside, the autumn winds were blowing through that October of 1929, and soon a seismic change across America—and the world—would arrive. But inside the conference room, the executives’ designer leather shoes remained as dry as their afternoon martinis, while the smiling visage of Chairman of the Board Charles Stewart Mott looked down from a portrait hung with care.
The “big idea” started in 1923 with physical education instructor Wilbur P. Bowen. In his class was a young man named Frank Manley, who absorbed every single word and philosophy that Bowen put forth. Chiefly among those ideas was the notion that athletics was such an enormous social good, that it was a key to living a quality life and paramount to the good of the community. Bowen even laid out the plan that would have to be in place to properly implement that in a community. He said that the cornerstone was the notion that all community facilities be made available for recreational activities and sports.
Over the last century, there have been great high school teams in Flint and Genesee County – starting with the great Flint Central football teams of 1923 and ’24, led by the incomparable Lloyd Brazil and Herm Young, who took back-to-back state titles. In truth, by the time he got to college at the University of Detroit, Brazil was comparable only to the legendary Red Grange according to sports writers of the time.
The storied history of Flint’s famed athletic tradition is missing a complete chapter about one of the best to ever play the game of baseball. It’s the story of Dave “Wahoo” Hoskins – without question one of the greatest baseball players and athletes that no one has ever heard of. Sure, he’s enshrined in the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame, as he should be; but even that drew little interest beyond the normal chatter surrounding his induction in 1983.
For over 150 years, historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has stood at the intersection of S. Saginaw and E. Third Streets in Downtown Flint. Ground was first broken on May 9, 1872, the cornerstone set 20 days later and construction took 15 months to complete, ready for the first service held in the new church on August 24, 1873.
So many of the Flint area’s most venerable venues share common ancestors. From the old churches to the early factories, parks, schools, street names and even city streets, you see many of the same names again and again. Some may not even be familiar, but they usually have some local significance: Raskob, Dupont, Chevrolet, Buick, Durant, Mott, Longway and of course, Dort.
It’s a world class and legendary place; but it started out as the Atwood Lumber Mill on Moon Island, situated along the Flint River. When the mill was shut down, it was leased to Flint as the city dump site. As the city grew exponentially with the advent of the auto industry, the city fathers thought it might be the perfect location for a city park. So, on one day in 1917, a cavalcade of community volunteers turned out to clear the dump and make way for the anticipated park. But nothing more came of the park plan and eventually, Moon Island reverted to a dump.
On a warm summer night, one of the most fun things for children to do outside is to lie on their backs in the cool grass, gaze at the night sky and wonder what it would be like to someday fly high and reach for the stars.
Lance Johnson grew up around the mystique of Flint. A self-described history buff, the 23-year-old was enthralled with Genesee County’s past, especially Vehicle City. “I went to Atherton High School, which sits in an area with a rich history all its own,” he says. “I appreciated it for that, but that’s a different story.” The story he’s telling today is about Flint – it’s history and its contribution to the world. It’s about an institution. “It’s about Flint Central High School,” he says. “It was a jewel and one of the leading institutions in the state for a long time, just as all the Flint schools were at one time in the past.”
