Flint Expatriates (via Mowser)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

G.M.'s Record Profits

With only 7,000 G.M. employees left in the Flint area, this news doesn't have the same impact it would have once had, but it's still good to see a glimmer of hope for Michigan's economy.

Nick Bunkley of The New York Times reports:

General Motors reported the largest annual profit in its history on Thursday, even as losses in Europe dragged down fourth-quarter earnings.

G.M. said it earned a quarterly profit of $472 million, or 28 cents a share, down from $510 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago. It was the eighth-consecutive quarterly profit for the carmaker, which cleansed much of its debt in bankruptcy years ago, but also the smallest during that stretch.

For all of 2011, G.M. earned $7.6 billion, nearly all of it from North America. That was 62 percent higher than the $4.7 billion it earned a year ago and more than G.M.’s previous record of $6.7 billion in 1997.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Flint Postcards: Flint from the Air

An aerial shot of Flint before I.M.A. disappeared and the bland brick buildings of UM-Flint arrived. It's tough to see, but note the photo credit on the postcard: Flint Police Dept.

Flint Postcards: Long Lake

Friday, February 10, 2012

Chevy in the Hole

So, um, why was it called Chevy in the Hole?

Is it simply because the factory complex was located in the valley formed by the Flint River?

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Slim Chiply Lives: You Know You're From Flint if...

This happens to be the most popular post in the history of Flint Expatriates, originally published March 19, 2008. I got the list via email from a friend after it had been passed on by more than a dozen people. I later found out that Flint Expatriate Rich Frost, who has contributed mightily to this blog, originally penned #1-#40. He mailed the list to about fifteen friends and before long it was all over the internet. So it's about time that Rich got some credit. Be sure to check out Rich's rapidly expanding list, as well as numerous posts about Flint, on his What the Hell blog. And take a look at the comment section for this post, where there are dozens of additions to the list.

Here's the original post:

There are tons of “You’re from Flint if…” lists floating around the internet, but this one seemed remarkably well-researched. Feel free to add to the list in the Comment section.

You remember attending a “Battle of the Bands” at 60-Second Pizza on Clio Road. You remember that the jocks on WTAC were “The Good Guys” and WTRX was “The Home of the Jones Boys.” You can remember those Sunday afternoon free concerts at Wilson Park — where not only could you enjoy the music — but there was the smell of baking bread at the Taystee bakery not too far away from the park. You can remember when Channel 12 was the home for “Rae Dean and Friends” and “Mr.Magic” for the kids and “Michigan Polka Party” and “The Connie Dycus Show” for adults. You can remember seeing “Viva Las Vegas” at the Capital Theater, “A Hard Day’s Night” at the Palace Theater and “Deep Throat” at the Royal Theater. You can remember getting your first license at Safetyville . You can remember going to Kearsley Park to go swimming and for the 4th of July fireworks. Your first savings account was at Citizens Bank and you started that account with the booklet that Citizens Bank gave kids to save their dimes in. You can remember going to Cook’s Drug Store for a ten cent Chocolate Coke or Cherry Phosphate. You signed petitions against the antiballistic missile and the Vietnam War at Peace Watch on Kearsley Street. You can remember the cement Indian at the Trading Post on Franklin Street and Utah. You can remember the sign on the Miller Road Dairy on Corunna Road that read: “You can’t beat our milk, but you can whip our cream.” You can remember going to the Friday night movies at U of M and having to tolerate Michael Moore’s speeches before the flicks. You can remember “The Freedom Reader” (the alternative newspaper before Michael Moores Flint Voice). You remember that man who worked the cash register at Halo Burger on Harrison Street shouting out your change as “one hundred and one dollars” when it was only $1.01. You remember such places as “The Beaver Trap” and “Titty City,” but never knew anyone who went in those places. Everyone knew someone who said that Bob Seger owned that big house in Grand Blanc and that they saw him there. You can remember as a kid playing with the white light electric eye that opened the doors at the A&P store on Dort Hwy. You knew that if you couldn”t find what you were looking for at Yankee”s then you could find what you wanted at Arlen’s. You remember watching “Sesame Street” on Channel 12 because Flint didn’t have a public television station. You picked up the latest paperback, magazine or newspaper at Readmore on Saginaw Street. You remember getting your hair cut at the Barber College when it was near the tracks in downtown Flint. Or at Johnny’s Barber Shop on Lewis Street. One of the ways that you knew it was January was when the Shrine Circus came to IMA Auditorium (not the sports arena). The only bologna and hot dogs in your house had the Koegel label on them. You didn”t associate “The Colonel’s” with Kentucky Fried Chicken or “The Varsity” with any school. Your family didn”t eat Thanksgiving dinner until everyone got back from the Northern/Central game at Atwood Stadium. There was nothing that could compare to a King Arthur pasty. You can remember one or two items that you purchased at the Touch Boutique. The Juvenile home was known as “The Pasadena Playhouse”. The only place to go for ribs and sweet potato pie was Bob and Ethel’s Rib Crib. Weekend television on Channel 12 meant watching monster movies on “Creature Features” and scary movies with “Christopher Coffin.” Your generation’s “Krispy Kreme” went by the name of “Dawn Donuts.” You avoided driving during certain hours of the day because of “shop traffic.” If you lived on the Eastside, you went to Aunt Nina’s for a hamburger and a shake. You remember Wild Bill’s before it became L-L-T. Halo Burger is and was the only place where you could order a cream ale with your burger and fries. The best fish n’ chips in town were at Third Avenue Fish n’ Chips. The two most trusted sources for weather were either the Citizens Bank weather ball or Channel 12’s John McMurray. You can remember a Hire’s Root Beer Float (bottled by Buckler Beverage on Lapeer Road) or a ice cold bottle of M&S Red Pop or Orange Soda. You remember the Paramount Potato Chip Slim Chiply jingle. ("I'm Slim Chiply, the guy you see on the Paramount Potato Chips bright red pack. I'm the flavor deputy, protecting crispness in every pack. They're delicious, and so nutritious, yes sir'ee, they're pips, Paramount Potato chips.") You remember late night trips to Freddie’s Donuts. You remember Dan, Dan the Vegetable Man.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Collecting the Cars that Flint Would Love to Forget

A 1974 Honda Civic. (Photo courtesy of Subcompact Culture.)

Here's a car trend that's not likely to be embraced by your average Flintoid anytime soon. Richard S. Chang of The New York Times reports:

When Japanese cars and trucks began arriving in the United States in earnest during the 1970s, they were widely seen as disposable.

Reliable, maybe. Future classics? Not likely.

But in the past decade, those bargain-price models from the ’70s and ’80s have been revisited by a generation of enthusiasts who grew up riding in the back seats.

“For many like myself, it’s nostalgic,” said Jun Imai, a 36-year-old designer at the Hot Wheels division of Mattel, where he directed the styling for die-cast models of two 1970s-vintage Nissans released last year.

Flint Expatriates T-Shirts Still Available

UPDATE: There are limited sizes available, but there are still some Official Flint Expatriates t-shirts left.

HERE'S THE ORIGINAL POST:

At long last, Flint Expatriates has official t-shirts, thanks to artist extraordinaire Jessica Lynch at Slow Loris Designs. They feature the infamous Genesee Towers, the Mott Foundation Building, the historic Vehicle City arch, the Citizens Bank Weather Ball, and my Grandma McFarlane's Buick Electra 225 all lovingly rendered on a slate gray American Apparel shirt in deep blue ink. The original art for the shirt is hand drawn by Jessica.

Click here to order your shirt now. Just click on the "For the Love of Flint" shirt.

Please note that I don't make a dime off these shirts. Jessica generously waived all her usual fees to create them, and she covered all the costs for materials and labor herself. That means she needs Flintoids to buy shirts to make her costs back and turn a small profit.

Umm, I sort of implied that she had absolutely nothing to worry about, proclaiming that Flint types were a proud and generous lot who would certainly reward an artist who took such a strong interest in the Vehicle City. I also mentioned that people who log a lot of time in bars tend to be free spenders. So don't let me down.

I first noticed Jessica's work when I was visiting my girlfriend's hometown of Anacortes in Washington state's San Juan Islands. Her drawings immediately reminded me of Flint, and I've bought several of her shirts over the years. I was even wearing one in a photo of me at Angelos that ended up The Flint Journal. (Very slow news day.)

Then I just happened to meet Jeanne Lynch, Jessica's sister, in San Francisco. We got to talking about Flint, and she suggested I contact Jessica about making a shirt. And, well, here we are.

How about a little more info on Slow Loris.

Slow Loris came to life in Oakland California in the spring of 1997. Inside a very small storage room (located in the back of a parking garage) of an old cannery building, the very first shirts were printed.

After graduating from CCA(C) in 1998, Slow Loris founder Jessica Lynch left Oakland and returned home to Washington state. Re-locating to Guemes island, Slow Loris continued to thrive, screen printing drawings onto shirts, paper and clothing for people around the world, and for touring bands like "Tv on the Radio" and " my Brightest Diamond." While keeping true to the hand made quality (no computers are ever used for design making)

Jessica had her "hands" full and in 2007 teamed up with good friend Arlo Rumpff. Arlo had been a fisherman in the Bering sea, and brought his hard working enthusiasm to Slow Loris just in time. He learned how to screen print, (he's better than Jessica now) models most of the shirts on the web site, and deals with a lot of the business side of Slow Loris, a part of the job Jessica was NEVER good at. Team Slow was now complete.

Any average workday in the studio consists of drawing, singing, printing, and beach walks with a bunch of dogs. There's also a pig named Marnie-biddles who likes to observe through the windows and get into things, (this makes Jessica somewhat crazy, but she still loves him). The adopted motto "feeling strong and not in a hurry" reflects the pride Team Slow feels standing behind a quality hand made product .

We screen print on Alternative apparel organic cotton clothing and American Apparel sweatshop free clothing, as well as various FLA (fair labor association) brands.