 
Buyamerican
Member
Username: Buyamerican
Post Number: 181
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:08 pm: |    |
You Know You're From Detroit If . .
You used a pillowcase to go "begging" on Halloween, and you yelled, "Help the Poor!" at every door. ("Help the poor, my pants are tore, I need some money to buy some more.").
You remember what Devil's Night used to be.
You remember the huge elm trees forming lush green tunnels over many Detroit streets in the summertime. Or when they'd come around to spray and tell you to stay in the house. And, the autumn smell of burning leaves, after you'd rake huge piles to the curb for burning.
You remember honking your horn as you went through the tunnel to Belle Isle at the end of East Grand Blvd. Where it went under Jefferson Avenue, even though the sign at the entrance read "Don't Sound Horn." And you remember the submarine that was tied up at the Brodhead Naval Armory alongside the Belle Isle Bridge.
You took a class trip or a moonlight cruise to Bob-Lo with Captain Bob-Lo.
You remember running home from school so you could have lunch with Soupy Sales.
You rode a bus to Edgewater Amusement Park to ride the wooden roller coaster (again and again) or the Salt & Pepper Shaker.
You remember "A fantabulous day for the family, at fantabulous Edgewater Park." P. O. P. Meant pay one price.
Your Mom packed the car with kids, swimsuits, towels, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to spend the day at Metropolitan Beach.
You played in the "Big Ditch" as I-94 was being built.
You played tennis on Belle Isle's courts, or golfed at their par 3 course, both lit after dark. Or went ice-skating, or for a horseback or canoe ride, rode in a pony-drawn carriage, hand-fed the animals at the zoo, visited the aquarium (remember the teepee), or attended an event at the Casino.
You rode the big white roller coaster or found your way out of the Fun House at Jefferson Beach Amusement Park.
Took a day trip and drove way out to Walled Lake Amusement Park where they had lots of rides, a roller coaster, and to the Walled Lake Casino for dancing.
When ice-skating was outdoors and Palmer Park or Belle Isle was the place to do it. You also remember its tennis courts, wading pool, golf, ice-skating, and horse and buggy rides.
Or how about the Detroit Firefighters working the crowds at the fireworks, selling tickets to their Field Day, and giving out firecrackers to the kids.
You rode a streetcar that ran on tracks down the center of Gratiot, Woodward, Jefferson or Michigan Avenue. Or the electric buses on Warren and Grand River.
You remember how all of the lights from the auto dealerships lit up Gratiot and Livernois -- and that they only sold American-made cars.
You remember when Eastland, Wonderland and Northland Malls were open, not enclosed. And when Wonderland had animals in circular cages.
You know how to pronounce Gratiot and Schoenherr and Cadieux.
If someone told you it's on Outer Drive, you knew to consult a map first.
You thought driving to Southfield was going "out to the country."
You checked out books for two weeks from the Bookmobile that came to your elementary school once a week.
You vividly recall the mineral bath smell (rotten eggs) when you drove through Mt. Clemens.
You bought candy and nuts from window-lined, walk-around counters and wooden floors at S. S. Kresge or Woolworth's ("dime" stores).
You went to Sock Hops at Notre Dame high school on a Friday night where you heard Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger and the Last Herd, or the Rationals.
You drank Faygo, Towne Club, Grilli's, Oso, or Atlas pop (we never heard it called "soda").
Your Mom saved Top Value, Holden Red, S&H Green or Gold Bell stamps.
Cunningham Drug Stores soda fountain and their raspberry phosphate.
Your school took a bus trip to the cider mill (with donuts and cider after the tour), or to Kellogg's in Battle Creek.
Silverstein's was the candy store of Army and Navy surplus stuff.
You had a subscription to the three Detroit newspapers, including The Detroit Times.
You remember news anchor Jac LeGoff who eventually worked at every TV station around Detroit.
You visited the Wonder Bread Bakery and got to take home a mini-loaf of bread (but you weren't cool unless you ate Silvercup bread).
You had a Shaffer's or Awrey's breadman and a Brickley's milkman. Or a Twin Pines milkman, a Jewel Coffee man, and a Fuller Brush man (and they were always men).
You remember Pure, Penzoil, Speedway 79, Monkey, Dance, Purple Martin, Sinclair, Danny's Dino, Kayo and Gulf gas stations, and when "gas wars" meant 17 cents a gallon.
You remember Primo's Pizza, Carbone's Pizza, Red Barn, Powers, Henry's, Herc's Beef Buffet, Cupid's, Tom's Tavern, Ted's 5x5, Totem Pole, Red Devil, Marcus, or Richard's drive-in. (car-feteria).
You attended a wedding reception or a banquet at Roma Hall.
You attended "Wendy Ward's Charm School " at Montgomery Ward.
You remember when Ben's Hi-Chaperelle and Watt's Club Mozambique were the places to go to catch Motown acts.
Every year when the Blue Angels came to Willow Run Airport.
Or always wished you could be one of the Hudson's Teen Panel girls whose pictures hung on the wall in the Juniors Department.
You had friends or relatives who could get you into Camp Dearborn for the canteen dances in the summer and to go swimming. Or the pond at Belle Isle near the Conservatory where the sign warned you not to touch the water.
You had a reverb unit installed in your car at Mickey Shorr's or Crazy Jack's (a. k. a Michigan Mobile Radio or MMR) on Livernois.
You remember the riots of 1967.
When the bleacher seats at Briggs Stadium were only $2.00 to watch the Detroit Lions play. And when they won the National Football Championship (before there were Super Bowls) in 1957 against the Cleveland Browns, 59-14.
And when the Red Wings won all those Stanley Cups in the 1950s, and balcony seats at Olympia Stadium were only $1.25!
You remember Detroit wrestlers Dick the Bruiser, Bobo Brazil, Leaping Larry Chene, Wild Bull Curry, Ernie "The Cat" Ladd, Lord Athol Layton, Edward "The Sheik" Farhat, Fritz Von Erich, George "The Animal" Steele and Johnny Valentine.
You remember bowling for a quarter a game at Chandler Park Lanes, Falcon Lanes (next to The Ginos/Falcon Showbar), Parkside, Woods, Ritter's or Ritz bowling alleys.
You worked at Detroit Bank & Trust, Manufacturers National Bank, Bank of the Commonwealth, City National Bank, or National Bank of Detroit.
You "parked" at Belle Isle, either to watch the color-changing waterfall or the submarine races -- depending on how old you were and who you were with! You were in awe of the Big Stove on East Jefferson at the entrance to Belle Isle (before it was moved to State Fairgrounds entrance).
You remember your Mom taking your burned-out lightbulbs to Detroit Edison to exchange for new ones.
You remember the J. L. Hudson Co. (known to us as just "Hudson's") building on Woodward Ave that occupied an entire city block.
And you remember the white-gloved elevator attendants operating the expandable gate and lever- locked door, and just before letting you out, she would call out the names of the various departments on that floor.
You ate a Maurice Salad at a J. L. Hudson's cafeteria.
You went shopping during Downtown Detroit Days.
You remember Women's Hospital before it became Hutzel Hospital.
You remember that Hudson's hung a HUGE American flag on the front of the building every 4th of July.
You would ride the bus downtown at Christmas and stand in line at Hudson's amid a fabulous winding, animated Toyland just to see Santa.
Or you remember going to see Santa Claus at the Northland Mall igloos because it was televised and you hoped your friends would see you.
Thanksgiving was not complete unless first you went to the Hudson's Parade, then to watch the Detroit Lions play the Green Bay Packers (always the Packers back then) at Briggs (later Tiger) Stadium.
You know guys who put up big antennas so they could pull in the Lions home games on channel 6 out of Lansing.
You watched the 'old guys' play bocce ball at Buddy's Rendezvous Pizza or sang the Schnitzelbank song at the Dakota Inn.
You remember when Mayor Cavanaugh would give Santa and Christmas Carole (who always looked like she should be freezing in her short red velvet outfit trimmed with white fur) the keys to the city at the end of every parade.
You remember the Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych.
You remember watching the Detroit Pistons and the WHA Michigan Stags hockey games at Cobo Arena.
How about Al Ackerman ringing Big Al's bell for the Sports Hero of the Day.
And watching Cadillacs being made on Clark Street.
Or the giant, three-dimensional "Elsie" the Borden Cow (head) located on the side of the Ira Wilson Dairy off the I-94 service drive. (Now, it only says "ILSON" -- much of the stack has been taken down).
Going to the Better Made potato chip factory and getting small bags of brown chips or shoe strings before going to the Jewel movie theater.
You remember hearing the air raid sirens on Saturday at 1 p. m.
You remember the RAF bomber flying from England in 1962 that exploded over the Detroit River near Grosse Pointe Park.
Your neighborhood had a man who came down the alley on his horse-drawn carriage honking his horn and collecting the stuff no one wanted, like bicycle parts, wheel rims, etc., and he was called the "sheeny man."
Or the guy who came through your neighborhood on a bike to sharpen your scissors, etc.
You remember the ice man delivering ice to be placed in your ice box (we didn't have refrigerators then) after you placed a card in your front window indicating whether you wanted 25-, 50-, 75-, or 100-pound blocks.
You remember the milkman delivering milk and cream in glass bottles from a horse-drawn vehicle.
You remember going to the drive-in and getting blasted by mosquito spray from the back of a pickup truck that drove up and down the lanes.
You ordered Cold Duck at the Ponchartrain Wine Cellars (the restaurant/bar where it was invented) and enjoyed a frog leg dinner.
You sat on a pony in your front yard and had your picture taken by an itinerant (pony-owning) photographer.
You laughed at Sonny Elliot combining weather names when he did this report/forecast: "Engadingadingadine will be 'willy' wet and chilly."
You remember driving by a giant "cast iron" stove. |
Mayor_sekou
Member
Username: Mayor_sekou
Post Number: 1558
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:16 pm: | |
These threads are cool but there is already one with the exact same title in the HOF threads. |
Buttholesurfer
Member
Username: Buttholesurfer
Post Number: 6
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:24 pm: | |
We can all only be so old.
But I loved the thread. Being 39 yrs old I do remember some of thoes thing even though I did grow up out in the wild country of Brighton. Im so glad my Mother brought us to Hudsons the last year it was open. And to the Fischer theater for a show, to the Ren Cen for a kiddie cocktail on the spinning restaurant.
Again, nice thread. |
Jelk
Member
Username: Jelk
Post Number: 4616
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:25 pm: | |
Dear Sir,
FAMILY ASSISTANCE/FUND TRANSFER
------------------------------ -------------------------
With due respect,trust and humanity,I write this letterto you seeking your
help and assistance,though its difficult since we have not met before.I got
your address from the SOUTH AFRICA INFORMATION EXCHANGE (S.A.I.E)regarding
your business profile and sincerity.I believe that you are capable and
reliable in handling this urgent international transaction of this sort.
I am MR.RUFUS MUKHENZE,the first and only son of COMRADE.BORDER
D.MUKHENZE,the Zimbabwean former Minister for Youth & Gender Equality who is
also a businessman and politician,in the Zimbabwean political arena.My
father was the famous politician who stood firm against President Mugabes
idea of continuous fight in Democratic Republic of Congo and my father also
stood against the seizure of white owned farms and the distribution of it to
the blacks without Compesiation to the white owners.Before my father's
death, in his "WILL"he specifically drew my attention to this sum of
US$21,320Million,(TWENTY ONE MILLION,THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND
UNITED STATE DOLLAR)which he deposited in a safe box of a private security
company in south Africa,INFACT MY FATHER SAID IN HIS WILL AND QUOTE:-
"MY beloved son,I wish to draw your attention to the sum of
US$21,320,000.00(TWENTY ONE MILLION,THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND UNITED
STATE DOLLAR),which I deposited in a box with a security company in
Johannesburg,South Africa. Incase of my absence on earth caused by
death,only you should solicit for reliable foreign partner to assist you to
transfer this money out of south Africa for investment purpose.I deposited
the money in your name and it can be claimed by you alone with the deposit
code.Your mother has all the document.Take good care of your mother and
sister
]From the above,you will understand that the lives and future of my family
depends on this money,I will be very grateful if you can assist us,we are
now living in South Africa as political asylum seekers and the financial
laws of south Africa does not allow asylum seeker certain financial rights
to such huge amount of money.In view of this,I cannot invest this money
here in south africa,hence I am asking you to assist me transfer this money
out of south africa for investment purpose.
For your efforts,am prepared to offer you 25%of the total fund, while 5%will
be set aside for local and international expenses and 70%will be kept by my
family and me.All I want you to do is to furnish me with your entire
personal phone and fax numbers for easy communication.
Note that this transaction is 100% Risk free and absolutely confidential.
Looking forward hearing from you.
Yours Faithfully
MR. RUFUS MUKHENZE |
Kid_dynamite
Member
Username: Kid_dynamite
Post Number: 240
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:28 pm: | |
Jelk, I think it really is legit. That is a lot of money. Let me know if you need to borrow some money, and we'll split the reward. |
Django
Member
Username: Django
Post Number: 133
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:31 pm: | |
looks like my ships come in, whats his # ? |
Oakmangirl
Member
Username: Oakmangirl
Post Number: 422
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:33 pm: | |
Count me in. This seems like a much more winning cause than Streetwise. |
Detroitej72
Member
Username: Detroitej72
Post Number: 638
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 - 10:41 pm: | |
We can all only be so old.
But I loved the thread. Being 39 yrs old I do remember some of "things spoken",...
______________________________ __________________
Buttholesurfer, as a young lad of a mear 35, I Give thee a hearty Welcome!•••
Welcome to DY, site of the hearty, and home of the brave... |
Buttholesurfer
Member
Username: Buttholesurfer
Post Number: 7
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 12:27 am: | |
Detroite72
Ive been on this site since 03. I love it. I was gone for a while, but its great to be back on. Lowell has done such a service for us all. Does he get a party or something, he should. Nothing wrong with another excuse to get loaded with friends, even though most of us dont know what eachother looks like.
But thanks for the welcome kid, LOL. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 10313
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 3:55 am: | |
Lowell IS the party. |
Mallory
Member
Username: Mallory
Post Number: 195
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 8:35 am: | |
You know you're from Detroit if...
...you and another fellow Detroiter talk about a street named "Grass shit" (Gratiot) and keep a straight face.
(I got the strangest look from someone one time) |
56packman
Member
Username: 56packman
Post Number: 1775
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 8:50 am: | |
they forgot this one:
You know you're from Detroit if you keep your licence plate INSIDE the car, taped to the back window |
Margaret
Member
Username: Margaret
Post Number: 179
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 2:30 pm: | |
LMAO, love this thread! didn't they forget about the big freighters on the river with their window-rattling whistles? |
Gistok
Member
Username: Gistok
Post Number: 5396
Registered: 08-2004
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 2:45 pm: | |
You know you're from Detroit.... when as a kid before going up to the 12th floor Toyland at Hudson's, you pressed your nose up against the Woodward Ave. display windows...
|
Kathinozarks
Member
Username: Kathinozarks
Post Number: 893
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 4:25 pm: | |
Buyamerican,
Thanks for taking the time to compile all these memories for me. Nice reading. Totally enjoyed it. |
Margaret
Member
Username: Margaret
Post Number: 180
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 5:24 pm: | |
thanks, Buyamerican! |
56packman
Member
Username: 56packman
Post Number: 1780
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 5:39 pm: | |
Not to burst your bubble re: Buyamerican and this list, but that list has been one of those things forwarded (on and on and on and on....) about every six months for the last six years.
If it were back in the days when things like this were made up and photo copied (endlessly) and passed around by hand the text would be at a 15 degree angle, hard to read and the margins would be full of black dots |
Fredgarvin
Member
Username: Fredgarvin
Post Number: 64
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 1:55 pm: | |
You know you're from Detroit if you set your clocks by the 3:00 PM blast from the salt mines. |
Yaktown
Member
Username: Yaktown
Post Number: 234
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 8:50 pm: | |
...if you have $3000 rims on a $500 car. |
Detroitrise
Member
Username: Detroitrise
Post Number: 42
Registered: 09-2007
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 9:39 pm: | |
...If you're still a Lions Fan.
...If you think Coney Islands Have The Best Fast Food.
...If you prefer Pepsi over Coke. |
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