Flint Michigan 1962 - The Great Community

To Touch A Child is a fascinating short film from 1962 created by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Flint Michigan was a national leader and innovator in many ways even outside of the automobile industry, the school system being no exception. I grew up in Flint's East Side in the 70's & 80's and can tell you that a positive "can do" attitude permeated the city. I attended Williams Elementary School (built in 1968), which had an Olympic swimming pool with a retractable roof, hockey & ice skating rink, wood shop, tennis court, gymnasium, auditorium, nature preserve, park, football & baseball fields... There was always something to do at the school for anyone who wanted to attend, and I personally benefited from the programs instituted by the great philanthropists of Flint Names like Whaley, Sloan, Longway, Kearsley, Whiting, Mott and Manley among others. Flint has one of the most interesting history's of any city in the United States. While some outsiders today say the city is dead, the people who lived there and knew what a great city looked like long to see that great community system return. A system that has never existed since Flint.
The legacy Frank J. Manley and Charles S. Mott created by funding after school programs using existing Flint public school buildings was the first of its kind and adopted nation wide soon after. Anyone who ever attended an event after school can thank Frank J Manley, who came up with the idea, and Mott, who paid for it.
For those not from the Flint area, it might sound crazy, but you could get an almost free education in just about anything you could imagine. Technical, vocational, academic, or just plain recreational, you could sign up for classes that took place after school and better yourself. Today, you'd have to pay thousands for University quality classes at an "extended campus" program.
Directed by Herk Harvey, an industrial/educational film director, the film focuses on Cook School in Flint, Michigan. The film was instrumental in the spread of the community school idea throughout the nation.
The film begins with children playing in the street, down by the river, while vacant school buildings lie dormant (in the film the newly built Southwestern High School is shown along with Cook and Potter Elementary schools).
At almost 50 years old, To Touch A Child is a dated film but a remarkable window into Flint culture and American culture at the time. There are hilarious references to the classic housewife dieting and cake decorating of the period. There are highly melodramatic elements and unnecessary camera movement. However the film, thankfully, isn't totally dismissible. And so very pertinent today as the United States struggles to raise its next generation of kids. The US should look at the history of Flint to see it's own future.
To Touch A Child - 1962

[@davidgraves3959]

The "custodian" sweeping the floors in the seen at the beginning is my dad! He was a boiler fireman at Flint Southwestern High School. He remembered them filming him for this but until an hour ago, has never seen it! He said it had to be 1963, since that was when he first started working for the Flint Board of Education. 30 years after this fil, he retired from the B of E as a bus & truck mechanic.

[@oldvet2639]

Graduated from SouthWestern in 1966, it was brand new in 1963 .

[@historyadventureswithcandi3497]

Oh wow. I'm learning about the before and after since I briefly saw Flint Central High remains and Detroit Schools loosing the grandmother behemoths one by one left to rotvthen later demoed Cooley High definitely is a sad story like Flint Central, @davidgraves what happened to Flint Southwestern long gone or left abandoned Like Flint Central High?

[@davidgraves3959]

They are still using Southwestern.

[@historyadventureswithcandi3497]

@@davidgraves3959 whew! Great to hear. Thank you.

[@MrCtsSteve]

That's very cool

[@oldandornery]

Ah, sweet memories! That little boy with the peach colored shirt at 3:33 is me, Jimmy! I lived down the street from this school, Cook Elementary, on Stockdale street. That little girl at 3:11 is a girl that I had a childhood crush on. Her name was Susan. That boy at 2:41 is a kid named Freddie, and he lived near Detroit (now MLK) and Stockdale streets. That little girl at 3:45 was one of the smartest kids in the class (along with your's truly), and her name was Grace. We were all happy kids, although the film makes us seem disturbed somehow. I used to watch a lot of war shows as a kid (Combat, with Vick Morrow; The Bridge Over the River Kwai, etc.), and that's why I drew a WWII battle scene. The show's director told us to draw anything that came to mind, and so I did. Cook Elementary school was a neat school back then. I remember being paraded down the hall that led to the gymnasium, so that we children could shake hands with Charles Stewart Mott as we passed by him. He was a nice man, and shook each of our hands and smiled & asked what our name was. I had some great friends in that neighborhood. There was Russ Mierda, Allen Robb, Greg Walters, Robby Persail, Ken Humsinger, Cindy Cunningham, Amos Goodwill, and a whole host of other friends. We children felt very safe in that neighborhood, and even rode our bicycles down the streets & sidewalks after dark. Just a few short years after this film was made (1962), during the summer of 1967, that all changed. An angry element of society began to move into this neighborhood. Crime shot up, and property values plummeted. Anyone who had the wherewithal to do so, got out. Our family moved out to the suburbs. Stockdale street and that area were transformed into a rotting ghetto, seemingly overnight. What a shame.

[@maytons]

+Jimbo Jim Awesome memories! I grew up on the east side (Oklahoma Ave) which fared a little better than some areas until the late 70s, early 80s. Visited my old neighborhood recently and if I could only use one word to describe it, that word would be Hiroshima.

[@2233golf2]

Hey Jimmy...,great story about your childhood.....and you seemed to have good taste ,too.......pretty young lady you got a crush on..... :-) I am sure your wife is a pretty lassie,too.Do you have children and did you show them these videos...? And a little teaser.......is your hair still this dark.......or even still present...? :-) Take care.

[@keithsage7258]

Adams st..I went to Cook in the mid 50s.

[@TENZEHN]

Hi Jim, Mike pointed you out in this film. Very interesting. You haven't changed a bit. Greg

[@miawalter1]

It's a long shot, but if you see this comment, could you message me? I'm part of a team at the Center For Children's Books, the National Park Service, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Birmingham National Civil Rights Monument, and we're building a public educational website about The Watson's Go to Birmingham-1963. We are hoping to hear what it was really like being a kid in Flint in the early 1960s.

[@Nate-ln1qk]

I Cry every time I go back to Flint, my soul weep

[@lyannamillen8095]

I went to Johnson elementary in the 70s. Those were good times. Rollerskating in the gym on Friday afternoons were the best. And popcorn sales!

[@FLINTx810xTBM]

I went to johnson in the 90s

[@myronglenn1816]

Flint was Great

[@YBRCTY]

It was fuckt up , made me sick , the teachers were awful, I was beat up and peed on , it was sick what I went through

[@yvonnewilliams8800]

I don’t know how this was on my news feed but I grow up in Flint in the 70’s and Flint was a wonderful place to live and we had the best schools and athletes.

[@TheRumble65]

Thank you for the memories. I attended Cook school and lived not to far away. The building still stands in 2024

[@Krazede]

I was born in Flint we lived on Jane Ave on the east Side...It was a beautiful neighborhood then with manicured yards and gorgeous trees covering the streets. The old original East Side is from Franklin to Lewis Streets and from Davison to Richfield Roads.

[@lyannamillen8095]

Do you remember angelo's on Franklin and Davison?

[@stevepotroast7825]

Mable and minnesotta here

[@johnjarou2357]

@@lyannamillen8095 i think angelos is still there. i might be wrong though. have not been over that side of town in a while.

[@maytons]

Oddly enough I too moved to Ohio (Canton) from Flint. Breaks my heart every time I go back and visit.

[@ladiefare]

I grew up on the Eastside of Flint from '67 to'86. It's amazing to look back at what we considered normal and realize just how progressive it was.It makes what has happened to Flint all the more saddening. It was such a great community... once upon a time.I'd like to think it could be again but that would take a monumental effort by the community itself.We were so lucky.There needs to be more of this mentality today in school systems and communities everywhere.

[@SteveC810]

Same but i went to Homedale and Whittier.

[@SteveC810]

Back when our national, state, and local communities put its own people first. 🇺🇸

[@missl6646]

I went to Cook school in the 90s. I remember we had skate nights, movie nights etc. on Fridays.

[@keithsage7258]

I was there back in the mid 50s

[@kevalicious611]

I was there in the 90's too

[@rscottenglish]

I grew up in Flint during this time. It was a wonderful, prosperous city for both white and black folks who worked in the auto industry. Flint went downhill when the auto plants started closing. The good middle-class jobs were gone for black and white folks. On a happy note I remember meeting C.S. Mott at Stedman's Cafeteria when I was a kid; he ate there often.

[@oldandornery]

There should be a law against corporate community abandonment, just like there is against child abandonment by parents.

[@CelticPatrick]

I grew up in Flint, my family was in this movie. At the time my dad was a Regional Coordinator under Frank Manley. This concept can work again, if the politicians get out of the way and let the people control it.

[@tannerchopp2107]

They did an experimental test on flint to see on a small scale level how they could turn a perfect community into the complete opposite, like they are doing to the whole country...

[@johnjarou2357]

my dad was a community school director in Flint back then. Dick Daly, is in this film. he and his family were neighbors of our family.

[@conniekramer6855]

George Patrick Barley I remember your dad and your family. My dad, Joe Wargo, is briefly in this film at 22:25. I saw Dick Daly at 20:35 and I think that's Doug Walker at the very far left at 7:23. It was a great time for Flint. Connie :)

[@ghostmanscores1666]

This won't work again. It will be a quagmire.

[@mobetta2092]

These narrators' voices in videos like this are as classic as the footage itself

[@gregday7496]

I am IN this film towards the end playing piano-HO COOL!!! I CLEARLY remember when this wa filmed at Cook School, my Alma Mater!!!

[@kennethcrane9848]

SWIMMING??!! IN THE........flint river?? insane.

[@keithsage7258]

NUTS!

[@TheNeonRabbit]

I've seen that river catch on fire

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Doesn't surprise me kids were doing it that late in the 20th century.

[@cyndiet4960]

It was actually done in the 80s too

[@tylanway5450]

Hell no. might as well eat a carp outta there and....

[@danfli3669]

20:02 I remember skating at Selby elementary school in the mid 70"s

[@valerieherron1717]

I went to Selby too! Manly Village was a great place then.

[@tkojames01]

I was born in Flint at the time this film was made. It was like the twilight zone. With Vietnam slowly ramping up and the Soviet threat it was a very confusing time for children. The schools became the indirect enemy for some reason, the kids were confused. I too launched a rock through a school window…jeez this video was too reminiscent to be true. Yes, I grew up in Mott Park area…jeez. Mott Park, 1962

[@AdamBiggers81]

This is the Flint my grandparents told me about. Today, there is one high school and the city's population has plummeted.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Well it's not too late to save Flint! If we can tell the greedy Illuminati followers go away (Get thee behind Flint, Satan!) then Flint can become a thriving city once again. Albeit with a smaller population for one thing.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Sad to hear there's only one high school left.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Thank you very much Flint! You've taken me back to my school days as a boy in the 70s in my hometown Carpentersville in Illinois. When you were virtually unstoppable as a thriving city in Michigan.

[@mcintyrer48]

I miss old Flint😢

[@Steveandrew321]

Blame it all on GM

[@johnhatchel9681]

Yeah don't think about the corrupt, bloated, greedy UAW that helped run GM out of town.

[@kingjoeytheape1657]

Yeah ok. 🙄 You must never lived in Flint. Gangs,dope dealers,prostitutes,crackheads and junkies just to name a few guy. It wasn't just General Motors. That's everyone's excuse who's from Flint says. Back then that crap wasn't going on or being tolerated back then. 😒

[@danwebb5118]

Sadly, what would C.S. Mott have to say about Flint now?

[@postal105]

C.S Mott would be disappointed in what has come of his city.

[@popsneye]

Growing up on the eastside in the 80s. I went to Sobey (which now is a boys and girls club).. I remember programs like this at night... and little by little..as the 90s rolled in.. those programs started to fade away. :(

[@dhaskell5]

Guess I really grew up in a GREAT place at a GREAT time!!! Most of these traditional things that got started then were still in place when I grew up..... wow I love the video.... long as hell.... but I love it!! Been back home a few times and Flint really looks horrible. NOTHING like when I grew up in the 70's and 80's... #FlintStoneForLife

[@thomasmoore2695]

I went to Lincoln elementary, we had Friday skating...it was two blocks down the road.

[@longdays3349]

I played kick ball at Lincoln. I went to Eisenhower.

[@johnhatchel9681]

I went to Lincoln for a little while but can't remember what part of Flint it was jn.

[@thomasmoore2695]

I remember playing kickball,I was there when the playground got new swings and monkey bars and such.early 80s?

[@johnhatchel9681]

@@thomasmoore2695 Do you remember what part of Flint Lincoln was in?

[@Johnny_Pballs]

Wish people still thought this way....maybe we would stand a chance if we put more resources into keeping families together instead of monetizing single motherhood! Still live on court st and still have hope for this city!

[@keithsage7258]

First frame was Adams av 17.08..that's the back side of Freeman School. I went to Cook School. 1950 1955.. I live in western Ontario Canada..1970

[@kalm5076]

I wish the Flint I grew up in looked like this :(

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I'm sure plenty do.

[@keithsage7258]

That's why I moved to Canada.

[@maytons]

I left Flint in 1990. I still go back every year and visit, though it's rougher every time.

[@tt.confusion9980]

I like the school in the beginning ❤️

[@maytons]

I'm going with early Grand Funk. lol

[@tacobellalugosi2527]

mr mott cared about flint mi . sadly flint mi has become a set from the tv show the walking dead . it will break your heart to see a once great city become that . im sure were ever mr mott is in the after life . he is sad and crying .

[@maytons]

@60odeeman I miss it too. Even as a child of the 70's things were much better!

[@soothingreign245]

This is the year I was born ✨

[@maytons]

@Krazede You pegged it!! The East side is exactly as you described, then there was east side proper, which expanded towards Burton, Rollingwood and included Kearsley Park. I grew up on the East side in the 70's and had a babysitter on Jane (The Kellog's lived between Lewis & 475).

[@DocLogic123]

Neithercut, McKinley, and Central. Class of 04. Grew up in westgate terrace apartments, anybody remember?

[@kekem8754]

McKinley and Central High school Class of 04, too

[@napoleondemps291]

Wow !

[@joerockhead3665]

graduated from Southwestern it was brand new in 62

[@zonejm]

The great community..

[@MrMrMoto]

Anyone know where I can watch or purchase old footage of the factories

[@jameshamilton8974]

I suggest you all read "Demolition Means Progress"...that will REALLY open up you eyes to the flat out discriminatory policies promulgated by both local and federal officials that led Flint to be called the most segregated city in the country. And C.S. Mott was at the top of the list promoting segregated neighborhoods -- and schools -- that relegated Flint's African American population to sub standard housing and educational opportunities. One excellent thing about Flint's education system was that I did have the opportunity of being selected for the Academically Talented Program while attending Garfield Elementary School in 60's. While the opportunity was fantastic and opened my eyes to all types of literary and art in order to participate I had to walk or bike (through snow in the winter) more than two miles from my house (mind you I was 11-12 years old) to attend classes at Civic Park Elementary school -- which was in a neighborhood created for GM's white workers who were bound by deed to not sell to black families. Good ol' days? Yeah, sure!

[@danieljahn2439]

Flint was better then. Things are looking up, though!

[@woaken]

Wow, people actually realized their rights and knew that they helped pay for everything around them and that it is there right to use everything, and they taught financial education in school. Man they’re destroying our world….

[@woaken]

A time when healthcare wasn’t all about making money and depopulation…. Look at how healthy each child looks, even the ones they said had health defects! No overweight children whatsoever, and bullying looks to be not so much of a thing, at least not like now. Seems like healthy children in a healthy environment have healthy interactions with each other and grow up to be healthy well rounded individuals… Wish this was more “common” sense…

[@exeterd9]

You can thank china and israel for how we are now

[@Krazede]

@Maytons We later moved just East of Center Road in a small subdivision south of Richfield Rd., kind of behind Jesters Lounge. It was a circle off of Layman Drive, which is the first right east of Center Rd. on Richfield. Our home was on Welcome Dr. Our home on Jane is now gone, so sad for me but then again the whole Eastside is a sad site for me.

[@retiredjedi6178]

Covert Rd in the 60-70s

[@deborahharp1756]

I lived in Flint until I was 11yo. We lived in a small area in the corner of Pierson and Clio Rds. My dad saw the future of Flint and moved us out to my grandparents farm in Mayville. That would have been in 1965.

[@johnjarou2357]

manley village?

[@maytons]

@AlleyCatAngels Thanks for your encouraging words AlleycatAngels! I also have a similar tale... If you're on Facebook look for the group Rollingwood Old Skool Hood. A whole neighborhood of prior residents is having a reunion and cleaning up the parks.

[@vbrigham]

I never seen cook school, but I swear that school in the video was Flint Central.

[@maytons]

Good call. Most of the film centered around Cook, but they also showed snaps of Central and the (then new) Flint Southwestern.

[@vbrigham]

@@maytons That was a great school! Cared about the kids. Worked with the Mott foundation. Now it's closed and it's been trashed out. It makes me sad.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@vbrigham A shame.

[@dhaskell5]

I used to live down the street from the white horse tavern in the late 80's, had a best friend named Dawn. I would love to know how she is these days....... really miss my childhood.

[@Da_Fonz]

What a beautiful town. What happened?

[@hunsadersrockinranch]

Liberals happened. They ruined it.

[@georgfriedrichhandel4390]

Wrong. It was the closing of the Buick plant.

[@hunsadersrockinranch]

You're right, the Liberals closed the plant. DOH!

[@bigstuff52]

Peter..No Pete,the jobs left...nothing to do with liberal or conservative you moron..

[@barbarabee3834]

Greed and corruption happened.

[@mquirk00]

Is that the inside of the Ballenger Field house @ 0:08 ?

[@maytons]

I believe that was the old Northern/Emerson gymnasium.

[@gm7995]

Hi. My grandfather is in this video. Do you know how I can get a couple of this video?

[@patrickbarley535]

Who’s your grandfather?

[@evoljones]

Cook school is right down the street...is sad they closed it rather than fix it and they even tore up the basketball hoop

[@keithsage7258]

I lived on Adams as a little kid 55..

[@dreamwarrior2008]

@Maytons Thank you for answering my question. Being from the west side, is that good or bad?

[@JSKF02]

Oh WOW it's actually nice to see that closed School building (Cook School) I've seen when riding down I-69 since I was a kid (I'm almost 30) actually have some activity in it, I've always wondered why this boarded up "thing" was still standing...

[@keithsage7258]

That's Flint South Western. HS...on the south side of 69 and Michigan School for the deaf is on the north side of 69.

[@sunjourney3723]

That's the old Clark School! My mom went there in the 50's..

[@maytons]

@AmaoNoBolso Agreed my friend, very much so!! =)

[@Mr105246]

flint shore was it was one of the safest richest town to live in

[@dreamwarrior2008]

For ppl who are familiar with Flint, I have a question. I moved to flint 2 months ago. I live on Becker Street, just off Curona in one direction and Ida in the other. Which side of flint am I on? This sin't a riddle, I'm just curious and would love to know the history of this part of flint

[@waltwhite5801]

You are on the West Side.

[@dettigs]

i've lived in flint my whole life; clio and pierson (manley village) until 1970 then my parents moved to burton. i hate to bring up the black/white issue, but to say it doesn't exist is foolish. i use to walk a block and a half to kindergarden around 1968. if i tried to make that same trip now as an adult i'd probably get robbed or shot at. once that area became all black it became a a war zone. just cause the job situation sucks doesn't mean you gotta rob your neighbors and trash the area!

[@LegacyMicro]

Remember when blacks and whites lived integrated in the city of Flint with relatively no problems. There was always a little racial tension but when shit hit the fan people tended to put differences aside and look out for each other. Every neighborhood was a little different , but the inner city was like a melting pot. Hell' poor people always had money in their pocket. I think anyone who lived "poor" in Flint during 60s 70s or 80s could say that things are far worse now than it was then. And people have food stamps and cell phone entitlements or whatever now, those were scarce privileges back then. And the City council always claims to be making progress. Who in the "F" are they kidding. It want the 70s back damnit!

[@terrenceallen4325]

The area didn't become all black until jobs took flight. Poverty didn't take place till whites who had all the power economically took flight. Black people had pride about purchasing power alowed to them by GM but when the after school programs, and a lack of understanding of ourselves at the time lead to all this poverty. We thought as black people it was alright to go from slavery, Jim Crow, without a cultural identity, a last name of our own, a prideful foundation of unbroken spirituality that once the foot was taken off our neck we could compete with a unbroken lineage of whites. Please try to understand that Flint didn't get here by mistake and don't think of blacks as automatic crime bearers. There will always be a cause and effect, blacks have to go back to move forward. Find our true heritage, don't let other nationalities define us or our history because we built this nation off free labor, fought and won wars for a country that didn't love us back. Its unfortunate but we can at least start there as a people. Yes our history, true history was destroyed by other nationalities but I wont let anyone forget our contributions, our Iron Will, and our true patriotism no matter if our country loved us back.

[@johnjarou2357]

where did you go to school? I grew up very close to manley village. Lillian drive, north of pierson , between fleming rd. and sally court. if you lived in manley village, you probably went to selby, then holmes jr. high . sounds like i am a little older than you though. i was 16 in 1970.

[@danfli3669]

Me too, went to Selby in the early 70's

[@liljgoneman]

No need to lay a color on the problem. Call it urban culture, and there are more than enough causes to go around. blame too....

[@DanDan-zk6mt]

My Dad was Born in 1962, Danny Ranaldi. He knows a lot of names. But Funny seeing the kids moods. There was something about The East Side all Families were DYSFUNCTIONAL. Down to Earth People. But all Have mental issues.

[@AlexanderWaylon]

I think this film is from 1966 I see numerous 1965 model year GM cars.

[@maytons]

Hi Gabe. The best way to get a copy of this video is to download it. If you have Realplayer (free) it's very easy. =D

[@phuturephunk]

Changing economic opportunities. Once auto manufacturing went elsewhere there was really not much left drawing people to Flint or keeping them living there. Its tragic, but this story is repeated across the Rust Belt all over. Its the relentless grind of capitalism. Full stop.

[@historyadventureswithcandi3497]

This hurts. Everything this man states about community so long ago now sits in shambles. Going through Flint briefly after going to Longway Planetarium one weekend even the Flint Central High now in shambles looks like a ghost town. These towns gave up and life left. Just unbelievable. Money talks and not many anymore think about the whole piece of pie Like In 1962.

[@maytons]

Hi Mary. I'm actually a different Dave Mayton than the one you are thinking of. I was told there was another person with the same name and roughly my age long ago. I never met him though I know he exists. BTW, I went to Williams and The Flint Academy. =)

[@lyannamillen8095]

I graduated flint academy too. Small world.

[@Tomern121]

@Maytons yea its sad that some people ruined what could of been the greatest city in the U.S.

[@Tomern121]

@Maytons this city is marked the most dangerous city in America

[@1313jerry1313]

That would definitely be an inappropriate film title for modern times.

[@maytons]

Agreed. That's why I didn't use it as the title for KZbin. LOL

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@maytons Just how it is. (sigh)

[@thebeausoleilXO]

interesting

[@MooPotPie]

Cook School @ 1:33 Cook School today: detroit-ish.com/photos/cook-elementary-school/

[@dreamwarrior2008]

@Krazede yes i am

[@maytons]

@dreamwarrior2008 No problem bud. The west side is better than the north or east. =)

[@ToddB987]

I lived in Flint in the 70's and 80's. It was a pit!!!! I left in the early 80's, I saw the writing on the wall, what was going to happen with auto industry. It wasn't going to last for ever. It's a company with company interest, that's to make a profit. Those poor f__ks that have a red ass for company loyalty should of known better to put all their eggs in one basket.

[@gregday7496]

Unfortunately my dear friend, You weren't BORN/RAISED here- so SHUT THE F UP!!!

[@ToddB987]

Greg Day What..? You still waiting on the automotive to return? Thats a waste of time. Get out while you still can. Oh BTW.. I was 5 when we chased the pipe dream like you. Moved on graduation knowing it was a sinking ship.

[@georgfriedrichhandel4390]

It's my understanding that GM, including its Buick division, was already making a profit when the company decided to shut down the Flint plant. So what was the "writing" on the wall that you saw? Let's not forget that the economy was in a deep recession in the late 70s-early 80s and many businesses were not making a profit during that time so it would not be fair to judge the industry on its performance during that time period. To be honest, I don't think anyone could have predicted the closing of the Buick plant, especially since Buick remains one of GM's top models.

[@madtv719]

I Was Born at General Hospital 😁 Also Went To Northgate Elementry lol

[@TRIPP98]

i live in that area, looks exactly the same.

[@dreamwarrior2008]

Does anyone know the history of the west side?

[@johnjarou2357]

what do want to know? I know pretty much all sides of the city. and per this video, my dad was a community school director.

[@stevepotroast7825]

Old barber on corunna rd named Dick will tell you everything you need to know about the west side.

[@rontezwilliams8852]

Have someone went to dolan?

[@naturalobserver6130]

Lets blame Trump.

[@maytons]

I see nothing politicized here, but since you mention it... Personally I'm an Anarchist and don't believe in the fairy tale of government or politicians. It's like Santa Claus to me.

[@tab6496]

lets blame democrats better

[@swingmanic]

It looks like it was once a great and prospering city, but sadly at a price!..Years of industry making hay while the sun was shining with jobs for everyone!...Nobody cared or they chose to turn a blind eye whilst these companies, namely GM continued to dump their contaminants such as heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and lead, toxic solvents, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polynuclear aromatics (PNAs) including petroleum compounds!...Now the Flint residents are paying the price by drinking and bathing in toxic drinking water!..GM walked away laughing all the way to the bank having sold the site to the city of Flint for $1..Meanwhile, the terms of GM’s federally assisted bankruptcy and subsequent settlements with the EPA mean that neither GM, the city of Flint, nor the federal government are responsible for health problems associated with any of the former factory sites...In the words of Louis Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World"

[@maytons]

Flint's water problems were caused by lead leaching from pipes, which was government's fault for not putting anti corrosion material into water as the pipes were not designed for river water (yes, all river water is more corrosive than lake water). As for the river itself, the EPA and DEP both rate Flint River water at 9.2 of 10 for water quality. Trout and egrets now populate the waters which means the water quality is good. P.S. All of the GM factories in Flint are DOWN stream from the water plant and the river has never flowed backwards.

[@alwells91]

Dave, look at a EPA Brownsfield map. GM dumped drums of all kinds of things all over Flint. To remove contaminants and purify the water chemicals had to be added. Those same purification chemicals eroded the lead in the pipes. So yes, they should have added anti corrosion chemicals into the water, but they also needed to do a better job of neutralizing the purification chemicals. The ironic thing is back in the 2000's we used to joke about the effluent coming from the Poop plant being cleaner then the drinking water.

[@dexasor]

The golden age is over

[@tommyallenhixsonjr5470]

Like

[@hoodbilly5893]

0:35 ?

[@maytons]

To Touch A Child is a fascinating short film from 1962 created by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@maytons At least the foundation believed in what they did.

[@apersonyoudontknow3346]

😬 man

[@mossyhornhunter7022]

So what happened because it's a crime and blight filled dump now ?

[@maytons]

In the 1980's all of the GM jobs left.

[@Krazede]

@dreamwarrior2008 You a westsider

[@sharona8737]

Flint was great; too bad democrats ruined it.

[@b_erliner]

FLINT LIVES MATTER water has like led or something

[@DTD110865]

I always thought this sounded like the title of a kiddie porn film. I wouldn't doubt that it might have been used as one.

[@Gravyballs2011]

17:35 Just an educated guess, but I'd say the location of that bus dropping off the kids is at a 15 acre residence (a mansion) built in the early 1900s on Branch Rd behind Hampstead Dr in Rollingwood. It was known for hosting the Stepping Stones children in the summer for a few years. I used to play there as a kid from time to time .We in the neighborhood called it "Hamady House" since it was at one time owned by someone associated with the grocery store until the death of his wife caused him to abruptly sell the place and abandon nearly everything in it.

[@maytons]

I think you're right! I lived in Rollingwood from 79-87.

[@pistongreg]

I left my hometown in 1988 at the age of 29 and a half when I came back 32 years later it have completely changed at one time you can leave your door unlocked but not anymore.

[@maytons]

I left in December of 1989 at age 22. I go back home every year and every year a little more is gone. I wrote a song about Flint that you might appreciate. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5q9eqqsfpWHedU

[@flintstone9873]

Wow Amazing so sad all the school elementary,middle school and high schools are all close it's sad here in Flint and dangerous with the north side and east side being the very worst ..

[@maytons]

I hear you man. I grew up on the east side and every year when I go back home more of it is crumbling or gone altogether. =(

[@judedadude3475]

Dave Mayton have you seen Central and Whittier lately

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@maytons Growing up in Toledo, OH, we didn't have quite as crushing a problem as Flint did with schools (our city is split between two separate districts, an outcome of an annexation of a township that didn't want to be eliminated entirely), but the feeling is quite mutual. I miss the Adult Ed. courses my high school used to have back when I was taking them. It's become less friendly to me the way public education has been going.

[@sarahm.1632]

This is a nice look back to a better time and a better Flint. I grew up on Sloan St. And Forest Hill. I went to Summerfield Elementary until the last day of 6th grade. That was the early 90’s and my parents seen things were starting to take a turn, so our family moved to Burton. I had a lot of friends on my street back then, the neighborhood was still pretty nice. My parents moved back there in the early 00’s and only stayed a few years, before moving back to Burton, because Flint was nothing like they remembered. Such a sad thing to happen to such a beautiful city. ❤️

[@johnjarou2357]

My dad was a community school director in Flint for many years. he worked at many of the buildings over those years also, in this video is Dick Daly, who was also a community school director for many years, and our family and his were close neighbors on the northwest part of town.

[@patrickbarley535]

Ed Jarou? Great guy.

[@swully-ol4lx]

I remember in the 70s skate night every Friday and we had open gym on Saturday's and everyday during the week after school was out they had something going on for parents and kids this all took place at my school Potter elementary in Flint Michigan.

[@maytons]

I had a very similar experience growing up in Flint in the 70's. I went to Williams and we had swim days.

[@letricekone1154]

Hello everyone I lived 3 houses down, my granny used to clean for my kindergarten. We played there everyday, all day Cook school. Both principals one live across the street from me the other lived around the corner from me. Have a great day to all watching and comments 😊

[@TheRumble65]

I lived down the street and attended Cook elementary. My great grandma lived in the same neighborhood. Different times

[@woaken]

So much care put into this, people who made this and participated truly cared about their message. So hard to find now…

[@loaisthe11]

People in the community were talking about what a mess Flint's children were in the heyday of GM and Flint in 1962? Oh, my god! Here we are 50 years later, and.. Oh my my freakin god! What the hell went wrong?

[@scoobycarr5558]

People started to vote for public officials that later turned their backs on them - and literally turned their friggin backs on Flint and its biggest employer GM. People should pay more heed on anyone who's running for office - city council, mayor, governor, Congress, president - and get a glimpse on what these people are trying to do.

[@catdubh4787]

It wasn't the politicians. That's an urban myth. GM didn't want to pay the union wages and benefits which supported Flint's prosperity. So they, along with other manufacturers, pushed NAFTA through Congress. Then they shipped all the jobs out of the country. First to Mexico, then farther abroad. Flint's economic base crashed, with nothing to replace it. I was there, during the '80s, when they closed Fisher #1 and Fisher #2. Tens of thousands of people out of work. And when GM closed a factory, they tore it down, so that there was no way they could be pressured to bring jobs back to Flint.

[@SteveC810]

Democrats

[@christineschmidutz5057]

People have rose colored glasses for the past. Things were not perfect then, and this video talks about the issues- kids without a strong parental relationship, kids dropping out & getting in trouble, lack of funding.... then we got 50 years of flight to the burbs, under investment and the result is ruin