[Netz]

I was very small when we left in 1965 but I do remember having a great childhood there. My mom is 92 and she grew up in Chicago but moved there with my dad in 1954 when the city was a powerhouse. My memories are good but 1967 killed it all...then came the infamous Mayor Coleman (Marbles in his mouth) Young and that was it, finito.

[stayathomemom]

My mom grew up on the east side and moved to NW Detroit when she and my dad married. She would talk fondly about shopping and working downtown. We lived near Grand River and Evergreen. My sisters and I would ride bikes all over the place. I think we got a great education at our grade school and our high school was top notch for the city. My high school has been torn down and is now a Meijer’s. The neighborhood near my grade school, which has been badly vandalized, has many vacant lots. It is sad. Besides the riots, and the hateful Colman Young, the process of destroying neighborhoods through the threat of forced busing really hurt the city. My mom moved to Plymouth in ‘83. She died a couple of years ago at the age of 97.

I have an acquaintance from church who is an architect and involved in projects in Detroit. He is very optimistic about the trend things are taking there. I am hoping that there are enough Detroiters who saw the tragedy of the '67 riots and what they did to Detroit and it's citizens and have vowed, "Never again!"

[freepertoo]

I left in 1965, too. We lived on West Fort, though...now you know why we left! I remember being very young, lying in bed at night and hearing boats on the river.