My City July 2022

Charles Stewart Mott 1912-14, 1918-19

After running as an independent and defeating Flint’s only socialist mayor, John A. C.Menton, C. S. Mott took the reins of the city in 1912 for the rst of two consecutive terms. In 1918, he was elected to a third term as mayor. C.S.Mott was born in 1875 in Newark, NJ, the son of John Mott, owner of the Mott Beverage Company.Mott attended and graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1897 and after learning the beverage trade overseas, took the job of superintendent for his uncle Frederick’s business, Weston-Mott Wheel Works (much to his father’s chagrin). Under Mott’s supervision, the company joined the automobile craze and transitioned from bicycle accessories to the manufacture of automobile wheels and axles. He moved the company to Flint in 1905 after an invitation from Billy Durant.Mott embraced and ad opted his new home immediately upon arrival and never looked back. After selling Weston-Mott to General Motors, he became the largest individual stockholder of GM, served as its vice president from 1916-1937, and served on its board of directors for 60-years, right up until his death in 1973. Politically,Mott also served as the Michigan delegate to the Republican National Convention and was selected Republican Presidential Elector Candidate in 1964. In 1926,Mott cemented his legacy in Flint and around the world when he established the C. S.Mott Foundation – a charitable organization with a purpose to support and enrich communities at home and abroad.›rough the foundation and personal gifts,Mott helped establish the community school program with Frank Manley and the Mott Children’s Health Centers in Flint and Ann Arbor. In 1950,Mott donated $1 million worth of land to turn Flint Junior College into a four-year institution; the school honored his donation by changing its name to Mott Community College. (›ese are just a few of the many things Mott spearheaded and funded in his quest for a better Flint.) As mayor,Mott built a modern sewer system, a separate stormwater system, and expanded the network of paved roads and sidewalks.During his time in o¡ce,Chevrolet began production in Flint, theWhat Cheer Coal mine went into operation, Baker College opened its doors, the YMCA was organized (with Mott as chairman) and the Flint Institute of Technology (later General Motors Institute) was founded.C. S.Mott was buried in Glenwood Cemetery. MacDonald was born in Moretown,VT in 1857. After coming to Flint, he was very involved in the social groups and orders of the day including the Knights of the Loyal Guard, Freemasons, Shriners, and Knights of Pythias.Much of Mac Donald’s life in Flint has fallen into obscurity; however, in his speech given to the Michigan State Dairymen’s Association during their convention in Flint, he provided an accurate snapshot of the city during his time.He said,“I am sure that you will pardon us for taking pride in the fact that Genesee County has more miles of improved roads than any other county in the state.›e city of Flint, with a population of 13,000 in 1900 has grown to 50,000 inhabitants at the present time.We are in the midst of a great street construction, carrying with it as a matter of course pavements, sewers and water extensions. During the past year, we constructed upwards of 13 miles of pavement, 10 miles of concrete sidewalks, and 18 miles of sewers. We have ve automobile plants here in the city, the Buick, Chevrolet, Paterson,Monroe, and Dort.›e Buick has more §oor space than any other automobile plant on the face of the globe.We have 27 school buildings employing upwards of 200 teachers, besides two parochial schools, two business colleges, and the Michigan School for the Deaf.We have 27 churches and over 30 church societies; a fully equipped YoungWomen’s Christian Association, a new Young Men’s Christian Association building, which has just been completed, one of the nest in the country.”After taking a fall at his home in 1946,MacDonald passed away at Hurley Hospital.He was buried in Avondale Cemetery.  John R. MacDonald 1914-15

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