My City June 2022

MYHISTORY

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The Mayors of Flint PART 6: THE FASTEST GROWiNG CiTY iN THE NATiON

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BY PETER HINTERMAN

e time period between 1901 and 1912 was characterized by an explosion of population and industry in Flint – the fastest growing city in the nation. Buggy, road cart and car production dominated business. In 1908, Billy Durant and friends started the General Motors Corporation and propelled the city’s economy into the stratosphere. Flint was overrun with migrant workers from all over the United States, each arriving with the hope of gaining and maintain ing steady employment. In 1905, the Golden Jubilee Celebration marked the city’s 50th anniversary which brought out every major player in the city including mayors – past, present and future. is series of proŠles chronicles Flint’s mayors throughout history, providing short accounts of their professions, lives and decisions made in o‹ce (if known). Some were men/women of great deeds or of great controversy; some were simply placeholders in time. Each of them, however, chaired a city important to its country and its citizens on its path through triumph and troubles, and toward future revitalization. For Part 1, see the 2022 January issue of MCM!

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