St. Jude Church/School Nostalgia

**Tsomyak** · July-28-09, 01:58 PM

I have many find memories of Lum's as well. They sponsored my brother's softball team in the 70's, and it was the preferred post game watering hole.

**kellyroad** · July-28-09, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by 7andkelly

Great. Ours were likely bundled and taken over to the blacktop.

Hopefully, you used enough twine and tied the papers tight enough so as not to scatter all over the place. Those poor volunteers, as I recall, had enough mess to take care of.

**kellyroad** · July-28-09, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by EMG

I don't remember the motorcycle place and didn't remember the name of the barber shop but I definitely remember the barber shop itself because my grandfather would get his hair cut there and also took me there for my own when I was VERY young [[in fact I may well have had my FIRST haircut there). Pretty shortly thereafter though, my mother more often took me to the barber shop next to Geneva's on Harper and my hair was cut by Peter Parr and/or Ray Basilco, both of whom opened separate different barber shops in the area - Peter Parr at Hair Force One across from Frank's Nursery on Seven Mile near Hayes, and Ray Basilco at the Gaslight on the east side of Harper near Morang. I went to Pete's new place a couple of times and to Ray's many times during the 80's.
Re Lerners - as a reminder to readers, when we change the subject to Lerner's we're no longer talking about the Seven/Gratiot/Lappin area but the 7/Mack center east of St. John's Hospital. Learner's was actually the southwesternmost store in that whole strip mall. Penney's was north of the strip mall and actually separated from the whole strip by a driveway that probably went all the way to the back of the St. John's parking lot. So you had Penney's, and then down in the strip mall, starting at the north end and moving on south, I believe there was Kresge's, then Sanders, then maybe another store or two [[can't remember what they were) and then the Lerner Shops at the very end. Then you'd have to walk off the strip mall and through a part of the parking lot to get to Woolworth's which was east of Lerner's. You could say Penney's was "right across" from Woolworth's if you mean they faced each other - but they were on opposite sides of the whole parking lot that contained the strip mall on its western border!

By the way for a while there was a Lum's restaurant there in the strip mall just south of Kresge's. I'm not sure if it replaced Sanders or actually co-existed next to Sanders for a while. Lum's was a chain and there was another one of them on 8 mile between probably Rex and Redmond east of the KFC which if I remember correctly was/is on the southwest corner of Rex and 8 Mile. I used to love to go to either of the Lum's locations for fried shrimp....it would always have been my pick as a place to go to celebrate a good report card!

The motorcyles metioned were acutally 50cc "Riverside" [[Montgomery Ward's brand of motor bikes probably not as powerful as the then new Honda motor scooters that came out in the late 60s. They were located in the back on the Lappin side near the parking lot where the garden center was located.
Our family, for some reason didn't frequent the 7-Mack Shopping Center probably because Mack was 2 miles away and 7/G or Eastland were only one mile. A trip to the Woods theater or Blazo's might be the only reason, It wasn't until my sister got a job at Penny's that we even became familiar with that area. We then started to do some of our grocery shopping there. [[Was it Wrigley's). Shortly after St. John started expanded and eventually took over the whole area.

**7andkelly** · July-28-09, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by kellyroad

Hopefully, you used enough twine and tied the papers tight enough so as not to scatter all over the place. Those poor volunteers, as I recall, had enough mess to take care of.

Of course, KR. No sense in wasting a good Chatham's bag.

Twine tying wasn't so fun when your holddown thumb was the one getting "accidentally" tied.

**EMG** · July-28-09, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by kellyroad

EMG: The name of the barber shop on Lappin just east of Gratiot was "GEMS". It was a non-union shop [[Remember the barber shop wars between the union and non-union shop) Anyway, they charged only a dollar for a haircut at that time while the union shops like JBs on Kelly and Moross were charging $2.50. Guess where a young kid getting a buzz cut got sent. Gems was always packed. There were 3 barbers and at least a 45 minute wait. But it was worth it.....felt like a real man after that hair cut...got the neck shaved and even a little butch wax to keep the hair straight in front of the brush cut.

EMG and Z: remember LUMs on 8 mile very well.....In additon to great food, Lums was one of the few places to offer Stroh's dark beer in a frosted mug.The drinking age was 18 at the time and the Stroh's seemed like a real treat.

Never knew there were union and non-union barber shops. If I had known I would DEFINITELY have made it a point to go nowhere but Gem's even after I got older! I don't really remember there being a wait when my grandfather took me there, but then again I was very very young. But I did get the brush cut with the butch wax. My grandfather was all for that hairstyle but my mother and grandmother liked my hair longer so I was only allowed the brush cut at the beginning of summer vacation. Of course now that I'm an adult and can do whatever I want despite their misgivings, guess how I wear my hair all the time now!!! LOVE that clean airy feeling of the breeze blowing against my scalp - reminds me exactly of the freedom of that first day of summer vacation.

In my LUM-going days I was still at least a decade away from being old enough to drink beer - but hot dogs cooked in beer sounds reasonable [[even though I never had them) as I believe the shrimp I liked so much was cooked in beer.

The only place that had shrimp I liked better in those days was the Lido's over at the marina on Jefferson. They had beer batter shrimp and beer batter onion rings which they combined in a selection called the "Boatswain's Mate." I think at the age of 9 that was my favorite meal in the whole wide world. Good thing the place closed and my tastes changed or I'd be a quadruple bypass patient by now.

**EMG** · July-28-09, 03:07 PM

Originally Posted by kellyroad

Our family, for some reason didn't frequent the 7-Mack Shopping Center probably because Mack was 2 miles away and 7/G or Eastland were only one mile. A trip to the Woods theater or Blazo's might be the only reason, It wasn't until my sister got a job at Penny's that we even became familiar with that area. We then started to do some of our grocery shopping there. [[Was it Wrigley's). Shortly after St. John started expanded and eventually took over the whole area.

I remember my mom taking me out for meals at Blazo's once in a while. Now there is a blast from the past. I actually don't remember a Wrigley's drugstore OR grocery store in that area but I believe there was a KROGER's south of the Sears that was on the southeast corner of 7 and Mack. South of that was Hughes & Hatchers where I also often shopped with my mom for school clothes.

I lived on Nottingham near Morang and we did get all our prescriptions from the Wrigley Drugs northeast of Cadieux and Harper - which, I believe, is now a Perry's or Rite-Aid or CVS or something.

**EMG** · July-28-09, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

..... Flaming Embers which I always thought was so ironic when the place burned down.

I vaguely remember that but never ate there.

Wouldn't it have been good if they had opened another one near Blazo's??!

**12468_laing** · July-28-09, 03:16 PM

I believe there was a Kroger and Sears on the southeast corner of Moross and Mack. Both were taken down when they did the "city beautification" there in the late 80's I believe. Blazo's was great - I remember inside the restaurant they had this tall kind of tree/decoration I thought was amazing back then.

**zitro** · July-28-09, 03:31 PM

Scripts filled here

**12468_laing** · July-28-09, 03:42 PM

we used to go to Ross Drugs on Morang and Whitehill, back when Angelo Franco owned it. Used to go to Merit Drugs to check out our TV tubes - remember those? Also got my first National Lampoon there.

**jcole** · July-28-09, 03:45 PM

Blazo's was a favorite of my family too. They had great pies. What took over the Blazo's locations? Did Big Boy buy them out?
My sister worked at a Cunningham's at 7 and Mack and my brother met his ex-wife when they both worked at the A&P on 7 at Mack. I think it's under the east wing of St. John's now.

**12468_laing** · July-28-09, 03:54 PM

I forgot those pies - used to eat either breakfast or lunch there. Wasn't there a record store over there? Was it Peaches?

**jcole** · July-28-09, 04:15 PM

I just did a web search for Blazo's and a Blazo's Pie Shop comes up in Livonia. I wonder if it's the same owners?

**zitro** · July-28-09, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

I just did a web search for Blazo's and a Blazo's Pie Shop comes up in Livonia. I wonder if it's the same owners?

Between Blazo's pies and reading about all the Polish food on the No Reservations thread I'm dying here. It's a Communist plot.

**jcole** · July-28-09, 04:42 PM

Not a communist plot. Just a plot to make you want to visit your old hometown

**7andkelly** · July-28-09, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

Between Blazo's pies and reading about all the Polish food on the No Reservations thread I'm dying here. It's a Communist plot.

No plot here ... other than, as EMG suggests, the one you'd be in if you were here and eating some of the afformented food every day.

Speaking of which, we ate at Polonia's Polish Restaurant in Hamtranck yesterday. It was either there, or Polish Village Cafe across the parking lot ... next time!

Also, I was surprised to see what looks like an original Clock Restaurant on Jos Campeau open for business. Thought those were long gone.

**7andkelly** · July-28-09, 06:49 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

Scripts filled here

Carried many cartons of milk home from Merits over the years. Felt like I was lugging the whole cow by the time I got home.

**7andkelly** · July-28-09, 07:03 PM

Originally Posted by EMG

South of that was Hughes & Hatchers where I also often shopped with my mom for school clothes.

Speakin of suffrin', I always hated shopping for clothes ... still do ... but Mom always made it special. Big Boy's at Eastland was a favorite stop for us.

**EMG** · July-28-09, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by 7andkelly

Speakin of suffrin', I always hated shopping for clothes ... still do ... but Mom always made it special. Big Boy's at Eastland was a favorite stop for us.

Shopping for clothes was never something I considered "special" but my mother has always done so much to make everything else in my life special, I won't complain!

**EMG** · July-28-09, 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by jcole

Blazo's was a favorite of my family too. They had great pies. What took over the Blazo's locations? Did Big Boy buy them out?
My sister worked at a Cunningham's at 7 and Mack and my brother met his ex-wife when they both worked at the A&P on 7 at Mack. I think it's under the east wing of St. John's now.

I remember the Cunningham's on 7 and Mack. No National Lampoon for me but I remember browsing their book display and once finding one called "Lecherous Limericks" - what it lacked in illustrations it made up for in verbiage....hee hee...[[ever hear the one about the young couple named Kelly who honeymooned belly to belly....?) Wow what I was able to memorize in the time it took Grandma to finish shopping.....

**EMG** · July-28-09, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by 7andkelly

Speaking of which, we ate at Polonia's Polish Restaurant in Hamtranck yesterday. It was either there, or Polish Village Cafe across the parking lot ... next time!.

I've eaten at Polonia's - and other Polish restaurants - but honestly I have NEVER had a meal at a Polish restaurant that I've been happy with.

[[But let me explain. No bias against Polish cooking - I just grew up eating the home cooking of my Polish grandmother, and compared to her dishes there was absolutely nothing in any Polish restaurant anywhere that could ever even come close to measuring up).

**zitro** · July-28-09, 09:31 PM

Here's my last Lums glass from a set of four. Barely can read the Lums

**kellyroad** · July-28-09, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by zitro

Here's my last Lums glass from a set of four. Barely can read the Lums

You forgot to frost it.

Thanks for the great memory jog.

**kellyroad** · July-28-09, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by EMG

I've eaten at Polonia's - and other Polish restaurants - but honestly I have NEVER had a meal at a Polish restaurant that I've been happy with.

[[But let me explain. No bias against Polish cooking - I just grew up eating the home cooking of my Polish grandmother, and compared to her dishes there was absolutely nothing in any Polish restaurant anywhere that could ever even come close to measuring up).

No one can beat grandma's Polish cooking. Polonia's comes close. IMHO, It's the best in the area and the wait staff is tops too....I'm sure you and 7K can vouch for that.