  Gene Member Username: Gene Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2006 |
Does anyone know what became of Emily Gail? As I recall in the 1970s Emily ran a store (Emily's?) in the downtown area selling Detroit merchandise. She was quite the champion of Detroit. Her brother I think was Max Gail of Barney Miller TV fame. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 4645 Registered: 10-2003 |
http://emilys.org/ | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1374 Registered: 04-2005 |
Guess she went tropical. | ||
Vas Member Username: Vas Post Number: 657 Registered: 01-2004 |
Bye | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4414 Registered: 11-2004 |
I always remembered her around marathon time. She was always such a huge supporter of Detroit. Somewhere in my sea of trinkets, I know I have one of her "Say Nice Things About Detroit" buttons floating about. | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 972 Registered: 11-2005 |
quote: Is there a need for that? I didn't know there were a lot of Hawaii haters around. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8077 Registered: 12-2003 |
I've been in touch with her and her brother Max over the last few years. I started a thread on her then, but unfortunately it was lost. They seem to be terrific people, from the correspondence we've had. Got to know a bit of Max, enough to realize that we're at least harmonizing the same wavelength...and he very sincerely calls his sister his personal hero. She remembers her time here fondly, and took her completely beautiful, energetic self to Hawaii...probably the only place on the earth where her positivity wouldn't stick out so much. I would like to revive her Quixotic quest...indeed I HAVE, just not with bumper stickers yet. Won't do any publishing of HER phrase without proper compensation! I do my pro-Detroit 'work' verbally, like last night in line at Meijer in Northville...chatting up this gorgeous German lady in line, boldly announcing after she said she hadn't even BEEN in the city since she moved here a year or so ago that she really didn't know what she was missing and that she shouldn't listen to the soul-less people who don't have a grasp on the Spirit of Detroit. Hey, someone's got to be recruiting...I know I'm not the ONLY one on this board that knows there is something OTHER going on here that draws people DESPITE the obvious problems that linger...some even through generations. Emily Gail might've been seen as PollyAnna, but she was more in tune with this deep spiritual magnetism of this city than most...and KNEW that something had to be done at that time to help cure the divide that helped exacerbate the riots. God Bless Emily Gail, may she shoot her BEST golf score EVER today. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 888 Registered: 04-2006 |
Ice cream and video games! | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 585 Registered: 01-2006 |
Yeah, O.K., she may be a princess among women, but I couldn't help noticing that the website seemed to pimp for Hawaii in exactly the same manner as she demonstrated here in Detroit... Almost as though "Detroit" had been scratched out, and "Hawaii" pasted over the spot where "Detroit" had been. | ||
Tiorted Member Username: Tiorted Post Number: 45 Registered: 02-2006 |
the last thing I remember about Emily Gail was her whining about how she couldn't get any downtown businesses to buy wholesale office supplies from her. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 689 Registered: 11-2003 |
Tiorted, you've got Emily mixed up with another family member. The issues behind the demise of Gail's Office Supply are complex and would take up a pretty long thread. | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 587 Registered: 01-2006 |
Well, you're the Resident Stapler Person, so I guess you would know. | ||
Bob_cosgrove Member Username: Bob_cosgrove Post Number: 455 Registered: 03-2005 |
The Gail Office Supply in the Penobscot Building was not owned or run by Emily Gail, it and their Birmingham and downriver stores were owned and operated by her sister Ann Gail. I believe it was Ann's father, the late senior Max Gail, who founded the company. I doubt if Ann ever whinned about the fact many of the small independent office supply companies have been Wal-marted out of the business. She put in a valiant fight and has too much character to whine. The sad fact is whether it's hardware, book stores, office supplies, groceries or whatever, the big footprint stores have socked it to the small independents with their volume buying power and lrge footprint stores. What's been lost is the broad line of products available in the small independent stores. If corporate says we don't carry it unless we sell x hundred thousands, you won't see it in their stores. And, often service suffers to, although I was into Office Depot in Eastpointe yesterday and received excellent personalized service. I wish the same were true of Staples in Grosse Pointe Park. Bob Cosgrove | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8105 Registered: 12-2003 |
quote: Funniest retort of January, JUST in before the close! | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 588 Registered: 01-2006 |
Thanks, Gannon. The door was just hanging open, and I couldn't resist the urge to walk through it. | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 589 Registered: 01-2006 |
Of course, I didn't actually, physically pass through the door itself. | ||
Tiorted Member Username: Tiorted Post Number: 46 Registered: 02-2006 |
I guess I mixed up Ann and Emily. As for the demise of Gail's Office Supply I do miss the B'ham location. They had a nice selection of fountain pens. Swingline - tell us the rest of the story | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1523 Registered: 11-2003 |
I miss the Penobscot Gail's Office Supply store. The law firm had a charge account there for many years. We had excellent service and courteous personnel took good care of us. They had a nice collection of everything you needed for the office as well as a small but nice "gift shop" across the hall on the main floor. We were saddened to see it close. Emily was a tad controversial, depending who you talked to, but she was a big-time promoter of Detroit when many were not in the mood to be promotional. I ran in a lot of her downtown fun-runs, and have one of her "Say Nice Things About Detroit" tee shirt in my collection. And her shop was fun to visit during the noon hour.She had a collection of anything and everything. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8113 Registered: 12-2003 |
Tell me any who've stirred the pot that HAVEN'T been controversial, Rock! She was right where we needed her at just the right time. We will never know what might've happened if her positive energy was NOT publicly expended here then. The simple fact that she still pops up in our dialogue proves how important she was in our history. | ||
The_rock Member Username: The_rock Post Number: 1524 Registered: 11-2003 |
And I will second that, Gannon. | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 207 Registered: 11-2006 |
Her Hawaii page does have links back to Detroit. Can't really blame her for moving to Hawaii, though I could never live there hah | ||
Michmeister Member Username: Michmeister Post Number: 78 Registered: 10-2006 |
The shop was called Emily`s across the street, wasn`t it? Weirdest collection of knick-knacks I ever saw, really cool stuff. I guess all good things must really end at sometime. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 8225 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Why not give the Detroit Staples near you a try? | ||
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity Post Number: 430 Registered: 01-2005 |
Emily and Ann are very nice people and both were cheerleaders for the city. Ann put up a valiant effort to save the office supply stores. Hope she's doing well. Emily originally went to Hawaii to participate in Ironman contests; she was a physical fitness fanatic and I recall she did pretty well in those contests. Ann and Emily's dad was the founder of Gail and Rice, a very successful (for many years) talent booking agency; they handled all the local radio/tv/commercial and industrial movie talent in town and many big acts passing through. I think the office supply store was a sideline. (Message edited by 3rdworldcity on January 30, 2007) |
