No portion of this Newsletter is to be copied, reproduced or reprinted
without the express permission of Detroit Memories LLC.
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eMAIL inBOX
Occasionally I receive emails I feel would be of interest
to Detroit Memories Newsletter subscribers.
With permission from the authors, I'll publish them.
Hi Eileen --
Came across this photo of Dave Shafer, myself, Father John Bryson (Notre Dame) and Dave Prince and thought you might like to have it.
Best wishes,
Tom Shannon
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Carl Thom, founder of Harmony House, in front of the original store at 22818 John R.
Hi Eileen,
My memories of the 70's with Harmony House...wow...there are so many.
In 1975, I started the Detroit Music League, a fun softball game with teams from various music entities. At our peak we had teams from Motown Records, WABX,
W-4, Birmingham Bullets (Bob Seger's team and, yes, he played occasionally), DMA (the big booking agency at the time) and, of course, Harmony House. We always had a big rivalry between the Bullets and Harmony, and there was always a bet between Punch Andrews and myself. One year while we were getting ready to play, I told Punch that I had a few secret weapons. Onto the field trotted Milt Wilcox, Champ Summers and Alan Trammell. They were on strike at the time, and Milt was a friend, so I asked him to bring a few of his buddies to the game. We won...fair and square, of course. Everyone had a great time. The league ran for over 10 years.
Also during the 70's, I started a monthly Harmony House Magazine, doing reviews on new products, concert appearances, and a gossip column. We even created musical crossword puzzles, passed out free of charge to our customers.
We had a lot of celebrity appearances and autograph sessions at our stores, especially when we opened a new store. Over the years we had Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, John Cougar Mellencamp, Vince Gill, Roger Whittaker, Tiny Tim, Rick Springfield, Michael Crawford, and Hall & Oates,to name a few.
Prior to coming to Harmony House, I worked for Handleman Company in Troy, the world's largest distributor of pre-recorded music and sole supplier of music to Kmart, WalMart, Meijer etc.
When I left Harmony in 1989, I got a call from Handleman asking me to come back, which I did until 1998, then I returned to Harmony. It was a "musical merry-go-round"!
It was definitely a great time in the music business!
Jerry Adams
Former President, Harmony House
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Eileen:
I am involved with the Pershing High School Alumni Association and frequently come in contact with former students of Mason, Van Zile, Farwell, Nolan, Marshall, Greenfield Park and Union, and Cass Tech as well as Pershing.
I grew up on Mackay street behind the Belmont Shopping Center, the longest running strip mall in Detroit still in operation and fully occupied. My father just passed and we still own the house.
I remember Federal's, Kresge's and the Big Boy restaurant on 8 Mile Road and Dequindre, and I worked at Gene's Supermarket and at the K-Mart on Outer Drive
and Sherwood. The bowling alleys were Mt. Elliott, Van Dyke, Mound, Falcon, Woods, Klees, Ramona, Nortown, Denby, Motor Lanes, St. Fair, Palmer Park,
Log Cabin, North End, Playdium, Chene and Trombly, Harper, Motor City, Linden and Great Lakes. Everyone bowled when I was a kid. I believe the Garden Bowl on Woodward Ave is still in operation and is one of the oldest establishments in the country.
Just took an inventory of some vintage photos I would like to sell. I have Woodward 1916, Fox Theater 1929, Bob-lo Boat approx 1950, Sanders circa 1940, Michigan Central Depot 1913, GM Building 1930, Woodward 1918, Ambassador Bridge under construction 1928, Detroit Family Theater 1934. These are all in black and white and are available for $40.00. I have Tiger Stadium in full color for $75.00. Also, panoramic view of last pitch at Tiger Stadium for $75.00. They're pretty neat. I also have Pershing High sweatshirts available.
Interested parties can call me at 586-978-9630.
Harry Radtke, egi SOLUTIONS
Sterling Heights MI
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Eileen:
I was really pleased (as always) to read your latest newsletter. And WOW...the Detroit Jazz History website (June 2010) was worth a few hours in itself!
My family had a music store/shopon the east side that started as Detroit Music Shop behind our first house in the very early 1950s and eventually grew into a large store on Jefferson Ave. called Wayne U. Music Shop.
Many of the musicians on that website were familiar to me from my early childhood. Some of them, like Bob Barnes, actually worked for us, so I got to hear him play regularly.
Every summer in the shop was a bacchanalia of jazz, both from Detroit musicians and others (many very famous) who would stop by whenever they were in town. Just awesome! You name them, they were there.
If I remember correctly, at one time here was some kind of jazz place on Dexter Ave
on the west side. When I heard that Wes Montgomery, who I worshipped, was going to appear, I actually rode my bicycle all the way there. I sneaked in, even though I was underage, and ordered a glass of club soda on ice. Listening to Wes that night and was heaven. The guy who let me in knew my family and watched over me, but I remember him saying that if the Detroit P.D. showed up, he wouldn't know me and I'd better be the first out of the door! I got in a lot of trouble when my dad found out I was out late on my bicycle on such a long journey (he wasn't quite sure where), but it was worth it!
Anyway, a great link and a few minutes turned into hours!
Lee 'Leon' Dixon
Davis CA
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Eileen:
Thanks for remembering Joey's Stables (June 2010) where I ate countless times along with my dad whose business was on Dearborn Avenue.
I'm looking for any memories of Szabo's Hungarian market or Al's Restaurant across the street (west end.) How about the fancy pastry shop (that moved to Allen Park long ago.) I remember going to the little bottling plant on West Jefferson and buying
all the different flavors of Oso pop ("It's Oso good!"). I remember Fox Furniture (and hardware store) on West Jefferson. There was Major's Restaurant just down the street from Giovanni's on Oakwood Boulevard. There was a little post office (48217) on Dearborn Avenue.
Does anyone have any pictures of downtown where the train tracks coming from the west were elevated and you drove under them to get to West Jefferson?
Christopher Beck
Detroit, Michigan
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EILEEN: If you have photos of the above to share, please email them to me at info@detroitmemories.com.
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Eileen --
I watched the news clip today in which two elderly gentlemen were interviewed by Chris Hansen about Detroit and how the city has suffered. One of the men said he would move out of Detroit, but his wife wanted to stay. The other was asked what he thought was the best "good thing" remaining in the city. His response (given with a faint smile) "Mister, there isn't any good left here."
Back when I was a boy, it was a hot summer day and my brother and I were at Memorial Park with my grandfather. He and his friends were fishing along the shore of the Detroit River. My brother was standing at the edge of the river on a concrete walll, throwing minnows out to the sea gulls who caught them in mid air. My brother lost his balance and fell into the river. I screamed for someone to save him as I watched him sink several times below the surface of the water. An elderly African-American gentleman bent over the wall and held a cloth shopping bag downward. My brother grabbed the bag and was pulled from the water. The man who saved my brother never said a word. He just smiled and walked away. To this day...almost sixty-seven years later...I can still see the gentle smile on his face.
So, now they say "Mister, there isn't any good left here." I don't believe that. There will always be good people in my home town.
James Haile
Born in 1931 an upstairs flat at 1583 Hilliger
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EILEEN: I don't usually print letters that reference 'current' Detroit, but this one was an exception because it's postive. I think a good number of people feel as James does.
LIVES REMEMBERED
KEN MUSE
August 28, 1925 - June 19, 2010
Gee Whiz the Clown on WXYZ-TV's "Wixie's Wonderland,"
animator of the classic Roy O'Brien Ford TV commercial
Held every three years for all classes of grads, friends and neighbors of the area. 500-700 attendees each time. Classes from 1935-1970 represented -- the span
of the school and parish. Each class is asked to bring memorabilia. Great fun!
QUESTION: In the early stages of Detroit TV there used to be a show where the male host who had a black mustache sat on a set that looked like a bar with a revolving fan and had a pistol on the table to introduce the movie he was showing.
He always had a white t-shirt on to give the impression he was in a very hot climate. Do you remember this host and what the show was called?
Sam Pizzo
Warren Michigan
ED: WXYZ-TV's The Black Spider hosted old mystery movies and serials in the mid 1950s. Dressed in a sweat stained t-shirt topped off with a wrinkled Hawaiian shirt, greasy black hair and pencil-thin moustache, he was introduced on every show as "Honest Eddie Palermo, The Black Spider, at his secret Caribbean hideout." The set consisted of an old wooden chair that sat next to a round table topped with a lit candle shoved inside of an old whiskey bottle. The character commented on the movies while chain smoking and fondling a revolver.
Throughout the '50s, The Black Spider was portrayed by three different actors:
Leonard Jaslove, Irv Immerman and Rube Weiss. Since the show was done live,
before the advent of video tape, there is no video footage.
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Discover who your 'Detroiter' neighbors are.
Share your memories of Detroit.
Get together for Tigers, Lions, Pistons or Wings games...whatever!
Detroit broadcasting history is rich with character and characters.
It began atop the Penobscot Building on October 23, 1946, when WWDT shot a signal to the convention center, part of a "New Postwar Products Exposition."
WWJ-TV offered scheduled programming in June 1947, and WXYZ-TV and WJBK-TV jumped in a year later. The medium has influenced the city's personality and social agenda ever since.
Soupy Sales turned getting a pie in the face into an art form. Mort Neff celebrated the state's outdoor charms. George Pierrot showed Detroiters the world.
Other beloved personalities include: Milky the Clown, Ed McKenzie, Sonny Eliot, John Kelly, Marilyn Turner, Robin Seymour, Bill Bonds, Dick Westerkamp, Jingles, Bill Kennedy,
Lou Gordon, Captain Jolly, Johnny Ginger, Auntie Dee, and many more.
Sunday, June 20th at the Upper Deck Sports Grill in Scottsdale
watching the Detroit Tigers win over the Arizona Diamondbacks!
Just after this photo was taken, at least a dozen more folks showed up.
Great day, great people...and great chili dogs!
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JOEY RYAN
July 12, 1947 - June 23, 2010
Popular Michigan DJ had prolific career
'Mr. Boogie' worked at many Michigan
radio, TV stations
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
Joseph "Joey Ryan" Pietruska was a fixture on
Detroit airwaves for nearly 30 years, spinning records at radio stations, earning the nickname "Mr. Boogie" and working as a TV announcer.
The popular disc jockey, whose career spanned from the 1970s to 2000 at metro Detroit stations, died of renal failure at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. He was 62.
