Varney Street and Foster Street-What Happened?

[Juano Jonno]

Hey,

My ninety-two-years-old father is slipping away. He grew up at the corner of Varney Street and Foster. Can anyone tell me what the history is of this particular neighborhood? I can see the corner on Google Maps [[I don't live in Michigan) and the home is gone. He told me stories about how the home was right at the intersection of a white neighborhood and black neighborhood. His mother was a bootlegger and the home housed all kinds of tenants [[black and white). He and his friends used to steal from the neighborhood plants. When he was 12 years old, his best friend was killed by the Detroit Police [[1930) in the attic of the home [[the "crime" was stealing from a plant). Any information about this area would be most appreciated. My father is a wonderful man who loved all [[except for the cops who killed his friend). There were no racial issues in this particular killing [[white cops killing a white kid who pissed them off)

Thanks

Juano Jonno

[mikefmich]

My mother grew up but a few blocks from there on the other side of Harper and was 2 yrs older than your father.

Just a working class neighborhood, my grandfather worked at Packards which was a very short walk from their house.

I know my grandfather bootlegged, and was probably close to anyone else like that in the neighborhood.
His drinking is what probably cost him his job at Packards.

I am doubting the veracity of black and white tenants in the same house, and I don't think any black neighborhoods were in that vicinity at the time. I could be wrong but.....

[EastSider]

Poletown and that surrounding area had several black 'neighborhoods' scattered here and there that were really just two or three blocks of homes.

[Retroit]

According to a map [[p.35) in Sugrue's Origin of an Urban Crisis showing black neighborhoods in 1940, there were a few "dots" around that area.

[LEOQUEEN]

My grandparents lived at 6364 Varney, as evidenced by their enumeration on the 1930 US Census. It is very fascinating to view this listing, and see the neighbors and where they lived.

I recently saw Varney Street online with a website that allows the viewer to plug in the address and then you get a ground eye view of the area. There are very few houses left...my grandparents house is a vacant lot.

[RickBeall]

Fascinating story about your father, Juano.

[DetroitZack]

Juano Jonno and Leoqueen, if you guys would like me to take some pictures of the area I could.

[kathy2trips]

Here is a link to the R.L. Polk Detroit City Directory 1928-29 of: Foster Ave.: "http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=genpub;cc=genpub;idno=acs8107.1928.001;q1=Me at;size=l;frm=frameset;seq=2335" ..and one to Varney Ave.: "http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=genpub;cc=genpub;idno=acs8107.1928.001;q1=E. %20Seven%20Mile;frm=frameset;view=image;seq=2601;s ize=200;page=root"

This would put the directory right about at your dad's timeframe. Note, that the listings are homeowners, not renters. So if your dad's parents didn't own the home, their name wouldn't be listed. However, he may recognize the names of some of his old neighbors.

My dad was born in 1921 and I can relate to stories like that. He told me that in Detroit, you didn't steal ANYTHING. You'd suffer the ire of the neighborhood [[who would flip coins for the privilege of turning you in..AFTER your parents beat you raw) and the police had no mercy for thieves..they threw the book at you if anyway possible. Your dad's friend shouldn't have died, but there wasn't the uproar like there would have been now, I'm sure. The attitude then was, "get a job, lazy, good-for-nothing bum!". Guess this was back when there were lots of jobs! [[Sigh)