The City of Detroit is my birthplace and is a place of legacy for my family since just after WWI where my father’s parents moved from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and they settled on Cardoni where it intersects the northbound I-75 service drive. My grandfather worked as a machinist for the Detroit Street Railroad and retired in 1954, about a year after my his wife my grandmother passed away from the mumps.
My mother’s family moved from Chicago to Detroit (6 Mile – Woodward) in 1938 where my Grandfather partnered with Jam Handy at the infamous Jam Handy Corporation located on Beaubien and East Grand Blvd. That first movie production studio they built was the first in Michigan and is now a Historic Landmark in the City. Part of that organization became General Motor’s infamous Photographic Center. Handy Corporation has its archives available on-line, 1,000’s of them many my Grand Father had a part in. A fun fact is that they produced the Children’s Christmas Cartoon, Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Out of High School my father worked for Jam Handy and it is at a Summer Picnic that my parents met, so it is safe to say if Mr. Handy did not have a summer picnic I would not be alive today!!
From there my father went to work for Reardon Parshall Financial Printing located at 1st and Larned only a couple blocks from the Detroit River. This was well before Cobo Hall was built and rail was everywhere for the Detroit Street Railway to include the Wabash Train Station to the west towards the Ambassador Bridge, the Bob-lo Boat at the foot of Wooward, and the Grand Trunk Railroad Train Station where the tracks rode up through the John R – Woodward Corridor, thru Royal Oak, Birmingham, Pontiac, Holly, Flint, and Saginaw, and off to the east along Gratiot and Groesbeck to Port Huron, the same line Thomas Edison work on as a young lad. My father spent a lot of time for lunch in the summer sitting on the river’s edge watching the large freighters pass by taking photos and learning about the details of the ships, their owners, where and what cargo they would pick up and deliver and soon understood their schedules and what he could expect to see on any given day. A fun fact, when Cobo Hall was being built along with the original John Lodge Freeway when they were digging the foundation for Cobo Hall along Larned they dug up the original dock pilings built in 1735 in 1959.
For myself the Ren Cen was built in the mid-‘70’s after decades of planning at the site of Grand Trunk Railway Station and it opened the spring of ’77 in time for my family to treat me to my High School Graduation Dinner on top of the Ren-Cen then 71 stories up in rotating restaurant that rotated around about once an hour. A fun fact is that after 30 days after opening up the elevator to the Restaurant an express elevator to the top they had to slow it down because people were getting sick after eating dinner and in free flight down could not take the G-Force the ride had to offer!! It wasn’t until 1999 when I worked for General Motors in the Ren Cen, before the renovations that are currently in place today with the glass ring that connects all the towers. GM spent about $70M to purchase it as their new Headquarters in 1998 and spent over $250M in improvements and did a great job with the Wintergarden section built on the River Side over looking Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I had a chance to work there during the construction and after it was completed with offices in Tower 3. A fun fact about the Ren Cen is that when there is fog, you can go up over 25 floors and you are above the fog in the sunshine like you are in a plane flying high above the clouds, sort of like having an office in Mount Olympus!!
Belle Island – Jewel of Detroit
The Belle Island Fountain is the largest most opulent fountain in the City of Detroit. B The James Scott Memorial Fountain is a monument located in Belle Isle Park, in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert and sculptor Herbert Adams, the fountain was completed in 1925 at a cost of $500,000. The lower bowl has a diameter of 510 ft and the central spray reaches 125 ft. This landmark with the backdrop across the river, the RenCen is one of truly beautiful sites in what is a working mans city known as the Motor City Capital. Along with other sites like the Belle Isle Gardens, the waterfront, and vast parks is one of the few jewels of the city sheltered from those who don’t appreciate sharing nice things with others
My parents moved to a new small orange brick home on 11 ½ Mile, three Blocks west of John R in Madison Heights, Michigan in 1956, where all but my youngest brother graduated Madison High School aka an elder sister and two younger brothers. My father worked part-time with the City as a Probation Officer, and I worked part-time from Sept – May with the Parks and Recreation from ‘74-‘81 Running and Teaching bowling for the Youth Bowling Program, and full time in the summers of ’77 and ’78 for the Summer Day Camp as the Director and Bus Driver.
Growing up at that time ’59-’81 was a great experience where all the neighbors knew each other, most families had 3-6 children, there were only a few retired families, no one lived alone, there were very few rental homes, most moms worked at home raising those 3 to 6 kids, most all families were active in the PTA at school with about a 95% participation rate, and most 80%+ attended church on a weekly basis. Organized sports was big with so many who could play even to include band and choir at school. A Fun Fact, George the Animal Steel in Big Time Wrestling was the Athletic Director and Gym Teacher. From his coaching we had several that became professional NFL Football Players, and while in school a World Cup Wrestler his Senior my freshman year. In ‘76-‘77 as the Student Assistant to the Math Department and Student Assistant for the Superintendent of Schools I led the effort to bring Calculus to the High School Math Program and wrote the curriculum for 4 math classes that supplemented the requirement for Algebra II for Business Accounting, Electronics, Science, and Home Economics thus filling up those classes and later over filling the Algebra II classes. Later worked my last two years as a Substitute Teacher in the High School knowing almost 50% of the school body having worked in the office and library for the six years prior attending there myself as a student. In the end I became a sports professional, a paid professional artist, a vocalist (soloist, 3 choirs, barber shop quartet, southern gospel quartet, and a trio), a mathematician and scientist, an award winning writer, education developer, teacher, coach, mentor, and college graduate all while living in Madison Heights during that time. In June of ’81 I moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, later Melbourne and Palm Bay to go work on the Space Shuttle after College Graduation.
Returned to Madison Heights in November of ’96 on 11 ½ mile east of John R on the Lamphere side just down the street from the Madison High Football field. Stayed there to October 2002 where we moved to Clinton Township near where my mom was living at Charter Oaks off Metro Parkway and the Railroad Tracks (Groesbeck).
In 1965 we changed churches to 1st Baptist of John R in Troy just south of Big Beaver (16 Mile Road) in Troy. Michigan, at the time at 14 Mile and John R where Oakland Mall is today it was the site of wheat farm and over the years the City changed from more of a rural area to a well to do City with two malls to include the Upper Scale Somerset Collection that has a mall section on either side of Metro Parkway connected by an enclosed walkway over Metro Parkway – the place where the above photo was taken. Prior to Kmart acquiring Sears and Roebuck their sprawling headquarters was immediately west of Somerset Mall now left vacant for almost 20 years. The City of Troy is where my father’s parents had a Victory Garden during WWII to grow fruits and vegetables. Early days they had a hot springs pool to swim in with a 12’ diving board where I discovered high diving was not for me.
In January of ’76 I moved from 1st Baptist to Troy Baptist located just north of Big Beaver on Rochester Road which in early 2005 moved north just over 3 miles and renamed the church Woodside Bible Church – Troy Campus where I have been part of the Choir and worship arts even to this day. During this time from 2005 leadership from the Church, and the City of Troy to include the Mayor, Councilmen and women, the Chief of Police, Troy School District Leadership, School Principals and Teachers, even to include State and US Representatives, CIA, FBI, Coast Guard, Board Agents, and a corporate IRS Agent all who were or are members of the church and people I have seen every week, some several times a week. Other than the Choir was a leader in my High School and College Youth Group, Taught 4 and 5 year music theory, was in the Bowling League, Played in the High School and Mens Softball Teams, sang 1st Tenor in a southern gospel quartet for 13 years, produced six southern gospel concerts at the Warren Campus, served as in the Visitation Program from ’76-’81 to help grow the church, and was a camp counselor Camp Shalom for 4 years for 5th grader boys, and led music for 2 years. Many of the missionaries who have worked around the world I grew up with in High School and College, and several I have worked with as a technologist gave me the capability to meet long time friends in 43 countries around the world and be escorted in those countries as their guest. Today Woodside has 15 campuses across metro Detroit with Troy as their headquarters.
City of Sterling Heights
City of Rochester and Rochester Hills
New York City – Times Square – Flash Mob – Singing from the Toes
Fraser High School
City of Allen High School Football – Texas
