Victoria Devulder
Title
Victoria Devulder
Description
Victoria Devulder shares her parents' recollections of events during July 1967.
Publisher
Detroit Historical Society
Date
07/10/2015
Rights
Detroit Historical Society, Detroit, MI
Format
Text
Language
en-US
Type
Written Story
Coverage
Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan
Text
My mom and dad are both from Macomb before part of it became Sterling Heights. They were farmers out there in Macomb County before the riots; taking their loads to Eastern Market in Detroit to sell. They were teenagers at the time: my mom was 17 and my dad was 19. They have very vivid memories of the riots.
Growing up, they talked of going into Detroit during the riots and seeing the fires, destruction, and the military. My dad said it was scary but they had to get the load to market, they had no choice. They said that they would go into Detroit during the riots even though it was dangerous and buy liquor because the store owners didn't care they were under age; they just wanted to make the sale!
We sold our farm in Macomb County due to “white flight” around 1969 or 1970 and moved out to farm in Washtenaw County; still selling vegetables at Eastern Market until around 1981. Our old farms became subdivisions in Sterling Heights.
Also, a side note: Lakeside Mall was built on the farm of my dad's best friend. And my dad remembers Detroit before the highways were put in. To this day, he calls the sheds at Eastern Market their original names, for example, "the apple barn". My family sold vegetables there from 1914 to 1981.
Growing up, they talked of going into Detroit during the riots and seeing the fires, destruction, and the military. My dad said it was scary but they had to get the load to market, they had no choice. They said that they would go into Detroit during the riots even though it was dangerous and buy liquor because the store owners didn't care they were under age; they just wanted to make the sale!
We sold our farm in Macomb County due to “white flight” around 1969 or 1970 and moved out to farm in Washtenaw County; still selling vegetables at Eastern Market until around 1981. Our old farms became subdivisions in Sterling Heights.
Also, a side note: Lakeside Mall was built on the farm of my dad's best friend. And my dad remembers Detroit before the highways were put in. To this day, he calls the sheds at Eastern Market their original names, for example, "the apple barn". My family sold vegetables there from 1914 to 1981.
Original Format
email message
Submitter's Name
Victoria Devulder
Submission Date
06/22/2015
Search Terms
Sterling Heights, farming, Macomb, Lakeside Mall, Eastern Market
Files
Collection
Citation
“Victoria Devulder,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed October 4, 2024, https://detroit1967.detroithistorical.org/items/show/21.