This is the first in a series of short stories, remembering what life was like in Flint when we were in high school.  We'll be adding new ones every now and then....

Flint Michigan in the 1950's ... A unique place during a watershed time in the history of our country.

I know, I know, this sounds a little over the top so let's see if I can make the case.

Flint was the headquarters of General Motors when it was a new company back in the old days and when we came along, Flint was still a vital part of the organization.  GM at the time was the largest, most profitable, corporation in the world.  Charles "Charlie" Wilson, president of GM, was Secretary of Defense for the Eisenhower administration, and was quoted as saying ... "What is good for General Motors is good for the country."  That's pretty heady stuff; suffice it to say, Flint was a big deal in the 1950s, our time at Northern.

The timing was perfect.  Because of WWII there was a pent-up demand for cars.  All production had shifted to war-time vehicles, and now all of the returning GI's needed wheels.  Right now!  Not only the men, but by this time women were driving too (can you imagine?) and they needed transportation; thus the entirely new concept of the two-car family was born.  The American auto industry could not make cars fast enough, and America produced about 95% of automobiles world wide.  I remember hearing a man talk about working "seven twelves," and I did not have a clue what that was.

The boom was on.  It was a seller's market and we lived through that boom and did not even know it.  Looking back now it is easy to see, but at the time we were too close to the action.