 
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 60
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 2:22 pm: |    |
I was goofing around on Classmates.com last night and found a great batch of Mackenzie photos on Jerome Addison's photo album there. Start at the back of his album, it's easier. He is listed as a Cooley grad, but I found the stuff while looking at Mack grads.
I think the woman leading a group of girls singing is/was Clare Weimer. She had been there for decades when I attended.
Also Gerald Blight Mackenzie 69 has some wonderful pictures of Parker Elementary, and a shot of the outside of the Grande. Made me smile. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1413
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 4:03 pm: | |
Mackenzie68...Thanks - I will check it out.
I am still hoping to launch an antiquities & keepsake salvaging expedition at Mackenzie.
My primary concern being athletic trophies and war memorials.
Similar items were recently stolen/disposed of, at Cooley.
Thing is...I fear it could end up being the "last" thing I ever do - if you know what I mean. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3779
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 4:23 pm: | |
Hey, keep me in this loop, will ya? |
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 61
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 4:39 pm: | |
Sorry Ray, but I figured you would peek in. I loved the black and white photo of the showers, can't tell if it's the boys or girls.
I was thinking that Chuck could put these in the Mack hall of fame thread, if that is kosher.
Hey, anyone have connections at Cass? Dad made some swimming records there in the 1930's, I wonder if there is any proof. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1414
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 5:44 pm: | |
Mackenzie68 & Ray....Hello Fellow Mackites!
Those are some nice photographs at classmates.com
Looks like the photographer (Jerome) gained access into the building at some point after it was prepped for - but prior to - shuttering.
From the photographs it is clear that the WWII & Korean War plaques were removed.
Mack68....the old Cass Tech Swim Record Board was located on the east wall of the natatorium; I attended one semester at CT (fall '72) - before transferring to Mackenzie.
Ray....How are you; do you have dates for summer visit to Detroit? |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3782
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 10:04 pm: | |
No dates set yet, Chuck, but it'll be June, July, or August. Maybe September. Sorry I can't narrow it down just yet but a get-together would be a must this trip.
We usually spend two weeks in MI, but the first week is up on the Traverse City area.
There is an outside possibility of a four or five day trip to DTW in March. Depends on whether an expectant windfall comes through....or takes a shit. We shall see. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1419
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 10:19 pm: | |
Ray1936....That's sounds Good; I haven't checked tonight's LOTTO numbers yet - I might be in for a windfall too. |
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 63
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:06 pm: | |
Chuck was asking where I grew up. Cheyenne, between Plymouth and Elmira, under the beautiful arching elms. I walked to Parker and then to Mackenzie.
My best friend through school moved out of state for her senior year and when her family came back in 1969, they moved to that block of Littlefield between Foley and, I think Fullerton. They were on the west side of the street in the white house with the hipped roof across from the Craftsman, which was either green or gold. Her mom was in that house until she died, about 2000. Gumolas lived next door, I don't know if or when they moved.
Ray36, remember the big Mackenzie picnic the last Sunday in June. Or, we could hold a mini-reunion and talk about how it used to be. Chuck too, of course!
(Message edited by mackenzie68 on January 11, 2009) |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3785
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:33 pm: | |
Ah, I'll keep that in mind, 68. I used to go with a girl who lived on Cheyenne south of Plymouth. Brings back memories. Her name was Judy Bauer, brother was John Bauer, and the mother's name was Mae, a widow. Don't suppose that rings a bell. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1422
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2009 - 11:59 pm: | |
Mack68 & Ray36, we are representative of the 1930s through the 1970s - in our neighborhood and at Mackenzie High; we need to write a book.
We really should make it a point to get together in the spring and/or summer.
Mack68, do you still live in Detroit?
ATTENTION: All Parker, Monnier, Noble, Drew, Ford & Mackenzie Folk - Jump In!
(Message edited by chuckjav on January 11, 2009) |
Reddog289
Member
Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 849
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 3:19 am: | |
Hey Chuck, At least you don,t think you need a "Sherman Tank" to go back to your old neighborhood.Love hearing yours, Rays, and Mac68,s stories. From being a little kid to now I still hear of the Mackenzie Stags eventhough my family went to Lutheran High and Lutheran West.My godfather went to Mac.Love his stories best of all,allthough not alot about Mackenzie.Heck at 3:15 am I feel like getting someone to drive me and my Uncle to Hammerberg to play ball. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1426
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 9:45 am: | |
Reddog289...Thanks, and please keep me in mind if/when you head over to Hammerberg.
Also, we should think about putting together a DYES track and field team - we can set establish records at Mackenzie's magnificent outdoor facility; those records will last forever.
The DYES swimming & diving team will have a tougher go; the pool will need filling (unless the leaky roof has already mastered the task).
Man....there is something about Detroit Public Schools that stays with a person FOREVER; good times, bad times & everything in-between.
Hopefully there are a few modern day Detroit school kids that know what I mean.
Speaking of Lutheran West; one of my best friends from college (Marc Quince) attended LWHS; MQ was an excellent baseball player for WMU.
Reddog289....what was the name of LWHS's "sister school" - that all the pretty ladies attended? |
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 64
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 10:17 am: | |
I don't remember any Bauer families, but we did have a Detroit cop on the block, sort of. The family lived on Foley but Grandma Campbell lived across the street from me. The last name was Bohy, the son is a journalist. We had a world champion bowler, too. Helen Shablis.
Chuck, I moved out of Detroit in 69, and moved back in 76. I tried to buy a house, Standard Federal wouldn't loan on any of the bungalows I was interested in because there were one or two vacant houses on the blocks. Typical Detroit shortsightedness, IMO.
I bailed for California in 81, came back in 2005 and am settled in a western 'burb. Dad is in Redford Township. I hope to move back to central California some day. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3787
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 12:38 pm: | |
Y'know, my roots to Mackenzie go back even further than my '54 graduation. Mom was a Mackenzie grad, class of '35. Only she had to go to Cooley for the commencement exercise because Mack's auditorium wasn't built until '39.
Uncle Harold was a '34 grad. Alas, both are gone. |
Alfie1a
Member
Username: Alfie1a
Post Number: 139
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 1:25 pm: | |
Hey Mackenzie68.
I looked at Gerald Blight's pics of Parker. Good stuff, thanks. He even mentions one of the few teachers i can remember, Mr. Levine. |
Alfie1a
Member
Username: Alfie1a
Post Number: 140
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 1:32 pm: | |
Chuckjav,
If and when you go on your quest to salvage any of the history of Mackenzie, I would be happy to join you. I'm still in the Detroit area. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1428
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 8:05 pm: | |
Alfie1a, Ray1936, Mack1968 & Reddog289: Part of the Legacy That is.....DETROIT-MACKENZIE HIGH SCHOOL - You, Me & All Like-minded Folk. WE ARE THE MIGHTY, MIGHTY STAGS! |
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 65
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 8:09 pm: | |
Parker School Content:
Ahh, Mr. Levine. My parents bought a World Book Encyclopedia from him one summer.
Mrs. Studt used to read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books to us.
Miss McGee held a Great Books class after school.
Miss Jefferies was very short and very scary when she tried to get math through our heads. She yelled really loud!
Mr. Stein and Mrs. Peschel were both science teachers, but with different approaches.
Mrs. Post and Mrs. Auten taught "Auditorium."
Mrs Caulkins taught gym, unless I have her confused with a Mack teacher. Mr. Chapman was the very bored gym teacher who sometimes had us read backwards from our hygiene books. We had epic dodge-ball games in the little gym.
Mrs Finkleman and Miss Tuohey (sp) kindergarten. Mrs. Bay taught me in first grade, Mrs. Vartanian social studies, Mrs. Campbell music.
Miss Willis (?) library. She took a carload of us to Gary, Indiana to watch her nephew play basketball. She drove an Oldmobile with a fancy speedometer. We took back some cheese from a little place called County Line before they started shipping to the major stores.
When were you there, Alfie1a? Who was the other science teacher, the man upstairs with the volcano? |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3790
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 8:19 pm: | |
Hey, my souvenirs from our 50th year reunion party in '04.
|
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 66
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 8:28 pm: | |
Very cool! I never made it to a real reunion, maybe we can do one for 50.
Remember the tiles by the display case in the lobby? Were they Pewabic, do you think? I know I liked them, and that they had at leastthirty years of wax on them. |
Alfie1a
Member
Username: Alfie1a
Post Number: 143
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 9:26 pm: | |
Mackenzie68,
I was at Parker for kindergarten through 3rd grade, '63-67. I had Mrs. Bay for 1st grade too. I don't know how you can remember the names of all those teachers. Reading your list, I can recall a couple of them. Mr. Chapman and Mrs. Campbell.
Any time my older sisters and I talk about those days, we always get a laugh about Mr. Levine. If ever you were the object of his displeasure, he would point at you and say "you, come here", stretching out every syllable for effect. Then he would point to the floor in front of his feet. Maybe I remember that so vividly because many times, it was me he was pointing at.
Remember open house night at Parker? I think it was once a year. Every room was set up for different activities. Some had games to play, some had food and refreshments. Some for parents.
There was also Stockade meetings at the school. Stockade was kinda like Boy Scouts I suppose. I was too young to join but I went there a few times with my older cousin, who lived with us at the time. He became the tetherball champion.
I never went to Mackenzie. Henry Ford and Redford. |
9936sussex
Member
Username: 9936sussex
Post Number: 207
Registered: 10-2007
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 11:34 am: | |
Jumping in here, because I wanted to thank Mackenzie68 for the heads-up regarding the photos on the Classmates.com website. One look at those stairs, and I remembered all the quick class changes, running up and down those stairs trying to get from one end of the building to the other. And those lockers!!!! There were 3 of us sharing a locker for a year or two. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3795
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 1:06 pm: | |
I did go to Parker for Kindergarten. Jeez, that was 1941. Then we moved to Dearborn for four years, but returned to the old neighborhood after the war and went to Monnier for grades 5 - 8.
All I remember about Parker was that it seemed like the little girl sitting next to me always threw up. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1432
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 2:37 pm: | |
Ray1936....Oh yes, visions of the retching & resultant steaming heap; janitor arriving thereafter with broom and pink sawdust.
School Dazed. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1433
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 2:41 pm: | |
9936sussex...Oh yes, I had a third floor/south stairwell locker (third from the door) - shared with two fellow swimmers. |
Chuckjav
Member
Username: Chuckjav
Post Number: 1435
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 10:09 pm: | |
From the Mackenzie HOF Thread:
Alfie1a...thanks, glad you like the MHS article.
Your story reminds me of my family's adventures through Detroit.
We moved from Mt. Pleasant, to Detroit - June, 1965. Needless to say, white folks (like us) were few & far between at Duffield Elementary, on the lower east side (1965-1967).
Not long after the Riot, in October of '67, we rented a house in Oak Park - stayed there until March of 1969; my mom got a job with the City of Detroit - necessitating our return to the Motor City.
This time, we moved to the Meyers & Grand River area; not a good time to be living there. I will never forget - as white folks were leaving by the hundreds & black families were moving into the formerly segregated neighborhood - there I was at Parker....about to be beaten up by a gang of kids.
One of them shouted "wait...hold up, hold up"; that's Charley Greene - I went to Duffield with him, leave his ass alone".
Yep....I was spared - just that once. |
Mackenzie68
Member
Username: Mackenzie68
Post Number: 68
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 12:33 am: | |
Hey Sussex, glad you found the pictures too. Talk about memory lane. I had forgotten the beauty of that library, now I know why I like Arts and Craft architecture and furniture so much.
I was sad that Mack was closed, until I saw the class sizes in its later years. I can't imagine what it was like with only a thousand kids in the whole building. I don't have my yearbooks anymore but I know Jan and June of 68 classes were over 600 students each and it was a four year school then.
Chuck talks about saving the relics, maybe our memories are the best things to save. But I would like to have some of those tiles, if the building is ripped down.
Chuck, There were at least two other white guys at Parker unless they figured out how to skip every day. Roy and Roger, they lived on Littlefield and Foley then. They both had hard times too, both dropped out before finishing but did alright in life.
Ray36, That little girl was still there in 1957 but they made her sit in the cloakroom and wouldn't let her eat paste anymore. |
Reddog289
Member
Username: Reddog289
Post Number: 853
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 2:57 am: | |
Chuckjav, First off I,m a godson of a Stag, If my two youngest Uncles and my Mom had their way they woulda been Stags.I belive LWHS sister school was Lutheran East which I belive is now closed. When I was going to High School,Catholic Central was in Redford they had dibs on the Ladywood girls, Sure I,D GO play ball at Hammerberg maybe not at 3:15 am, but I,m not afraid of Detroit.Also I wish they still had the pink sawdust for the vomit, I could stand that better then the smell of some of the stuff that comes outta them kids. |
Ray1936
Member
Username: Ray1936
Post Number: 3805
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 12:59 pm: | |
Mack68, that paste was good stuff. Never bothered me. But at home the LePage's glue just wasn't the same.
I guess it was better for us than the leaded paint chips off'n the windowsill. |