A little piece of Flint history is gone forever. Last March, the original St. Michael’s Catholic School in Downtown Flint was demolished, leaving Catholic Charities to operate in the remaining wing. The building housed the K-12 parochial school for 40 years, and when that closed, became the School of Choice until it closed in 1970. The building was deemed too costly to renovate and needed to be razed. Dick Knight, who graduated from St. Mike’s in 1958, was one of many people who watched as the structure was destroyed, mourning the loss of a place that held many fond memories for him and helped shape him into the person he is today.
Thanks to the hard work of Court Administrator Barbara Menear and Janet Patsy, Deputy Court Administrator, the historic Genesee County Courthouse has become a “living museum.” Courthouse murals were restored and artwork is displayed throughout the building. Menear and Patsy devoted hours of painstaking work and research to the project.
A few years ago, Katniss Everdeen, with her expert use of a bow and arrow in the “Hunger Games” film series, raised the popularity of archery to a new level. Moviegoers clearly remember the scene in which Katniss’ archery skills were being tested by the game-makers, and she missed the mark. As they laugh and turn their attention to the buffet table – particularly the roasted pig in the center – the game-makers don’t even notice when Katniss hits the target dead-center on her second attempt. Infuriated, she turns her bow toward the buffet table and skewers the apple held in the roasted pig’s mouth. Who wouldn’t want to have such skill?
In June, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation reached a major milestone, when it surpassed the $1 billion mark in grantmaking for the Flint area since 1926. According to Kimberly S. Roberson, the Foundation’s Flint Area Program Director, the funding that put them over the mark was a $3.2 million grant to The Crim Fitness Foundation for ongoing support of a local community education initiative. “It is very fitting that the Crim Fitness Foundation grant is what put us at that milestone,” Roberson says, adding that the Foundation has always had a strong commitment to education in Flint.
He travels the world playing music, but Jonathan Diener got his start in Downtown Flint. He remembers, “When I was 14, my parents drove my brother and me to our first show at Flint Local 432, and Saginaw Street was all boarded-up windows. It was like a ghost town – and now, there is this progress happening in Flint.” Diener wants to see more progress and makes it his mission to give back to the community where he got his start, the place he still calls home.
IN late June, the University of Michigan-Flint held its first ever GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math and Science) day camp for middle school students. My City Magazine sat down with Dr. Chris Pearson, Professor of Physics and Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, who organized this exciting event on the Downtown Flint campus.
Guy Adamec started out at Knox College in Illinois as a pre-med/chemistry major. When he was invited by a fellow musician and dormmate to watch him throw clay pots, Adamec tried working with clay – and never looked back. His parents might have worried a bit about his decision not to pursue medicine and become an artist, “but, when they saw that you can be successful in any field, and when I got into Cranbrook Academy of Art for my master’s, they weren’t as concerned,” he recalls.
Summer is bursting with vibrant colors, smiling faces and an array of fruits and veggies at the Davison Farmers Market, located at the corner of Irish Road and Court Street in Davison. There are tempting displays of rich desserts, baked goods, cheese and farm fresh eggs, and so much more. The air is filled with the wonderful aromas of food offered by four different eateries. My City Magazine spent a day at the Market wandering around and tasting the delicious food at Mama’s Tacos And More, The Green Olive Tree, Egyptian Koshery and Chatterbox Cafe.
On an ideal evening for high school football in September of 2011, Woodberry Forest School junior quarterback, Jacob Rainey, took a snap during a pre-season scrimmage in Oakton, Virginia and as he scrambled for yardage, suffered a horrific injury.
Tom Sumner, voted Flint’s Favorite Radio Talk Show Host in MCM’s 2017 City’s Choice Awards, has been producer and host of The Tom Sumner Program for ten years. What began on the Kettering University Campus as the show “Off the Kuf,” has been broadcasting live every weekday from 9am-noon from its studio through Flint Podcasting Company for the past year. The Tom Sumner Show can be heard on 92.1 FM and streaming live on their website at tomsumnerprogram.com.
Did you know the Flint Junior Golf Association (FJGA) is the oldest such organization in the nation? Since its inception in 1939, the FJGA has not only provided an opportunity for young golfers to learn, play and enjoy the game, but it also teaches them discipline, respect, integrity and character.
