Where were you during the 1967 Detroit Riot?

[Zacha341]

Interesting details... Union Lake is now called?

I was 8 years old, at my parent's home in NW Detroit [[7 mile/Lahser) and we could not leave our little postage stamp yard without permission, and then our parents would watch us cross the street to go to the neighbor's house to play. I remember the curfews, and how my dad would drive the family car to a lot on Grand River and take the bus to work instead of driving downtown. The most serious affect the riots had on us was the interruption in beer sales. The old man was going crazy after the stock of Strohs long necks were exhausted. The neighbor two doors down found out and told my Dad "I have a case of beer left over from new year's eve, I've been on the wagon and don't need it, you want it"? the old man leapt at the chance, carried home a case of very hot Pabst Blue Ribbon, cracked one open right there and drank it.
we had just gotten our first color television, a Zenith console. I remember my parents saying that if the riots spread to our area we would load the six kids and the Zenith and some clothes into the Chevy wagon and go live in Union Lake with my uncle. That never came to pass, of course.

[Hermod]

I was out of town, half a world away from the riots. Just read about them in Time Magazine.

[econ expat]

Returning to Detroit from vacation, we heard radio reports of rioting in Detroit. Apparently filtered stories to avoid panic, did not sound like "the city was on fire".

Our NW neighborhood was not affected. Grand River used to be so heavily traveled it was impossible for a pedestrian to cross anywhere but at a light.[[ I-96 from Lansing ended nearby in Farmington Twp, at Grand River, west of Middlebelt).
Every DSR bus coming up Grand River had broken windows, some had bullet holes. The drivers abandoned them at the end of the line- 7/Grand in Redford- they weren't about to go back!
Aside from the occasional bus, there was no traffic on Grand River. Everyone was hiding out, and could not buy gas if they wanted to drive anywhere.

[EastSider]

Interesting details... Union Lake is now called?

Union Lake is still called Union Lake. If you point your intertubes machine to the google, you might even be able to find a map to this most hidden of treasures.

[Zacha341]

OK, it was just a casual question; indeed I am adept at google and bing.com as needed.

And just 'WHAT' precisely are you describing/ defining in your use of the word "intertubes"?

Union Lake is still called Union Lake. If you point your intertubes machine to the google, you might even be able to find a map to this most hidden of treasures.

[Downriver Gal]

And just 'WHAT' precisely are you describing/ defining in your use of the word "intertubes"?

The internet is a series of tubes. Everybody knows that.

[jackie5275]

Union Lake is still called Union Lake. If you point your intertubes machine to the google, you might even be able to find a map to this most hidden of treasures.

The lake itself is stilled called Union Lake, but the surrounding community has been changed into Commerce, White Lake, West Bloomfield, & Waterford Townships depending on where you are. This was done when the Union Lake post office was closed by USPS in the early 1990s. Some businesses were able to keep their Union Lake name & address for identity purposes, but for the most part Union Lake is gone.

[Zacha341]

Thank you, I knew there had been some change.

The lake itself is stilled called Union Lake, but the surrounding community has been changed into Commerce, White Lake, West Bloomfield, & Waterford Townships depending on where you are. This was done when the Union Lake post office was closed by USPS in the early 1990s. Some businesses were able to keep their Union Lake name & address for identity purposes, but for the most part Union Lake is gone.

[fanniemae]

Where do I begin. I was 13, up north. We were waiting for my grandparents to come up from Maryland. My dad asked them to leave a day early because of the tension in the city. The day early was to be used so they could drive up 23 instead of I-75. Extra day of travel time. I was waiting all day in the driveway of our cabin, expecting them to pull up any minute. Instead the State Police pull up. They asked to talk to my parents. They informed us that my grandparents had an accident outside of Bethesda . No one could reach us. No phones by our lake yet. We were asked to go into town and call the hospital. My aunt said we should come down ASAP. My grandma in critical condition. We went back to our home, packed and flew [[ my first plane ride) to D.C [[ Dulles). Only plane available on short notice. My grandma died August 1, 1967 from the injuries. In a strange and tragic way, I was deeply affected by the Detroit Riots. My family never got over it.

[carlscomputers]

Fannie, I'm so sorry to hear about your family loss as a indirect result of the Riots, these are the statistics that don't make the papers or the news, but are no less tragic to those involved...
Thank You for sharing...

[fanniemae]

Fannie, I'm so sorry to hear about your family loss as a indirect result of the Riots, these are the statistics that don't make the papers or the news, but are no less tragic to those involved...
Thank You for sharing...

Thank you for your kind words. My dad went to his grave with the guilt. My grandparents got their car out of the car dealer where they had it to be checked over before the trip. The dealer claimed it was ready for the trip, even though they got it a day early. When they went down a hill on the interstate, about 20 minutes from their home, the car's steering did not work. The front wheels off the ground, they went off the road, about 50 feet down. Testing was done on the tires. They had less than 15 pounds of pressure. The car was impounded, then disappeared. My family had no way of going after the dealer. Another thing, my cousin was the attorney for the car dealer. That was his aunt, my grandma that died. One uncle never spoke to him again. One lesson I learned, I am very careful in life about a lot of things. Many of my dear relatives have passed on. Our family reunions after that tragedy, we appreciated each other even more. They never liked coming up here again from Maryland either.

[George Cassidy]

Gee, I am just not following that at all. Sorry for your loss, but a MD traffic accident and a MI riot dont't even have six degrees of separation

[Zacha341]

I was 7 living in an apartment building on Longfellow street off Dexter [[mostly urban prairie land now)... my parents where terrified. We could not go out and play. I recall being pulled back from attempting to peeking out of windows. I remember the smell of it - buildings burning. I recall vaguely an apartment on Chicago street burning. Fire engines blaring day and night. The TV going night and day too. Later my parents talked about eating can goods and bare essentials because we could not get out to the grocery store. And a dry cleaners my parents went to burned to the ground...

[gnome]

Hermod, a M-3A1? .45 30 round clip ... unusual choice in weapons. Must be a story there

[Hermod]

Hermod, a M-3A1? .45 30 round clip ... unusual choice in weapons. Must be a story there

No, basic M3 with the charging crank.

Loaded it with one round tracer to two rounds ball and could aim it like a garden hose.

It was better than the pistol and didn't get in the way in the jeep like an M16 would have.

With the flash hider, it was so quiet from the back, you could hear the recoil springs squeaking when it was firing.

I traded a Vietnamese unit about two yards of gravel for the weapon. When I left, I gave it to my replacement.

[luckycar]

1st night,West Side Drive-In with my folks.Helicopter traffic from near by armoury was a sign that things were happening.Dad said they training to go to Viet Nam.Then they read a statement over the speakers about a curfew for all Detroit residents.We lived in Oak Park,but left anyway.We were met at the door by my hippie older brother,and told us what was going on.The next two days we just hung around the house and listened to the radio reports and watched the news at 6:00pm.It was on the second or third day that my full of crap older cousin Morty came over to inform us that Northland was in flames!I road my bike up tp 9 Mile Rd. and to the west was zero smoke.I reutned home to tell Dad that Morty was a liar.At this point we packed up the car and drove,past the un-burnt Northland ,to my uncle's house in Farmington.
After all this,the teachers went on strike,extending summer break.Then the Tigers lost the pennant on the last day.What a crazy time to be 10 years young.

[Cass1966]

I’m still waiting for an apology from the black community for the damage they did to the city

[stasu1213]

I’m still waiting for an apology from the black community for the damage they did to the city

The black community wasn't the only one burning and looting.

[Buy American]

The black community wasn't the only one burning and looting.

Really? What other group rioted?

[Hermod]

Really? What other group rioted?

Must have been all of them Lithuanian and Ukranian DPs who came to Detroit in late forties.

[SCS_Scooter]

I was about 10 years old at the time. We lived on Faust and I remember my Dad, Mom and little brother driving over to my Grandma's house on Ferguson to stay with her. My Grandpa was a DPD Reserve Officer that went out to "Protect and Serve" and that would have left Grandma all alone. Papa was all dressed in his uniform with his gun and I remember my Grandma begging him not to go. Not something a kid should have to witness. I do remember it like it was yesterday. My other Grandma was living in Alden Park at the time. 7th floor, city side. She could have worked for CNN with that view! The stories she told...geeze.

[Bobl]

Really? What other group rioted?

There were many "white" people looting stores. Nobody stopped them to find where their parents and grandparents were from...

[Ravine]

The following spring, the nuns warned us to be alert during summer vacation, because the word was that "they" might come out to the 'burbs, this time.
I'm not sure who they meant. The nuns, themselves, were the ones what scared me.

[Buy American]

There were many "white" people looting stores. Nobody stopped them to find where their parents and grandparents were from...

Did you witness this? I remember the riots very well since I worked for the Detroit Fire Department at that time. I don't remember seeing or hearing of whites looting and burning.

[oladub]

Really? What other group rioted?

I ran into a despicable white guy who claimed to have participated in the looting with other whites. His rationalization was that the stores were already in the process of being looted and "we weren't going to let the ------s get it all".

In some situations, the theme was anarchy and looting rather than race although the stores marked 'soul' weren't usually looted until after the white owned stores.