Remembering Ernie Harwell

Ernie Harwell, the long-time voice of the Detroit Tigers, passed away yesterday. He was a legendary sports figure and a great among those who were privileged enough to have the opportunity to describe baseball on the radio. He was 92 years old.

As a kid, I loved to follow the Detroit Tigers. In those days they were mediocre at best, but I was a loyal fan nonetheless. I remember listening to Ernie and his broadcast partner, Paul Carey, describe the games with the various transistor radios I had over the years. When they played evening games on the West Coast, I'd often fall asleep listening to the games in the top bunk of my bedroom with an ear plug.

Even after I left Detroit to join the Army I would often be able to catch his voice on WJR, the clear channel station in Detroit. There were a couple occasions I was even able to hear the station in Texas - though that didn't happen but two or three times.

My favorite memory of Ernie happened in 1987. I'd just been assigned to a unit in Augsburg, Germany. I was feeling kind of homesick one day when I turned on the radio and there, on Armed Forces Network, was the voice of Ernie Harwell working his verbal magic over the air waves. I wrote him a letter that day, thanking him for his wonderful work on behalf of the Tigers and for making me feel a little less far away.

Last year, the Tigers paid tribute to the man who for so long was their voice. Reading his speech brought tears to my eyes as I recalled those memories of his voice coming through the radio.

Thank you, Ernie.

Someone's Detroit Memory

We had dinner this evening with friends at the local Cracker Barrel. Just above my seat on the wall was this poster:

On the corner of Van Dyke and Republic 3 blocks north of Nine Mile Road. That can only be in the Detroit area. Here's where it is on Google Maps:


View Larger Map

That particular chapter of the Disabled American Veterans is now known as the Biebuyck-Romano Chapter 127 and still meets in Warren.

If anyone attended this dance or remembers it, I'd love to hear about it. Leave your story in the comments.

Anyone Remember Sir Graves Ghastly?

I'm really "digging" up some stuff up from my childhood in the Detroit area.

A few days ago I was thinking about a Saturday afternoon show where a "vampire" host named Sir Graves Ghastly would show old '50s and '60s horror movies. I remember spending many a cold winter Saturday afternoon watching Sir Graves and his cast of characters (all played by Lawson Deming). I think I saw the original "The Mummy" at least a dozen times in those years. I also remember thinking Boris Carloff was in every horror movie ever made.

The man who played Sir Graves, Lawson Deming, passed away just last month. Other than Bozo or Oopsy the Clown, I don't think there is another celebrity who was more popular amongst kids who grew up in the Detroit area in the '70s.

http://www.sirgravesghastly.com

Detroit - Rock City

I love it here in Texas, but sometimes I get a little homesick for all the favorites I had as a kid. Anyone out there who grew up in the Detroit Area in the late '70s and '80s remember:

• "WRIF, The home of rock and roll, BABY!"
• The "Live at Hart Plaza" local music concert series
• JJ and the Morning Crew
• "It's me, Arthur P" Penhollow "The Grand Poobah of Rock and Roll"
• The Dick the Bruiser Band
• D.R.E.A.D - Detroit Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco
• WABX and the Steve Dahl show
• WWWW - W4 changing from Album-Oriented Rock to Country and Western with no warning on a Monday morning
• Marshall Crenshaw
• Muggsy
  
• The Romantics before they made it big
• Bob Seger selling out 5 shows at Cobo in one day
• The Numerous Ted Nugent Tours - except the one at the Acoustically Imperfect Pontiac Silverdome where The Cars were the opening band and they both sounded terrible in the nose-bleed seats
• Ted Nugent's campaign to make "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" the Michigan state song? (I still have a letter from Gov. William Milliken's office outline why that would not be an appropriate song)
• I could go on for a while on this list ...
  

My friend Ron, who still lives near where we grew up, sent me a link which caused me to remember those days. Motor City Rock 1980-1990 is a site dedicated to "Preserving Detroit's Local Music Scene." They've done a great job of cataloging information about the bands of the Detroit area of that era with pictures, discographies, club dates and even some MP3s. There are a lot of cities which claim to have the "greatest live music scene" but I doubt any city can compare to Detroit back in those days and this site gives a lot of proof to how vibrant the Detroit music scene was.

It seems to me that every club had live music at least once a week, and there were plenty of concert venues both large and small. The site boasts it has 860 bands cataloged, and I would not doubt that in the least. I am even a former member of a few long-haired rock and roll garage bands - which unfortunately never got past the garage stage of development.

Another site sent to me by an old Army friend who grew up in the Detroit Area is Detroit Memories. This site is a collection of lists of things Detroit from the '50s through the '70s. There is even a link to an on-line store where you can order goodies only available from Detroit (Faygo Rock and Rye, anyone?). I have to admit, I have to have a Vernor's fix everyone once in a while, so I hop down to my local HEB and get a 6-pack from time to time. HEB is the only store I know in Central Texas which sells Vernor's, a long-time Detroit favorite still only available on a limited basis outside Michigan.