My City September 2022

Donald W. Riegle, Sr. 1952-54

George M. Algoe 1954-58

Born in 1917, Donald W. Riegle, Sr. was raised, from the age of 11, in Davison Township having been adopted after his mother’s marriage to John L. Riegle. (His biological father, Roy Tenny Smith was an AC Spark Plug worker from the thumb area of Michigan.) Riegle’s father opened and established the Riegle Press of which Donald dedicated his life to as sales representative and officer. Backed by General Motors, Reigle, Sr. served as a pro-business city commissioner from 1950-52 and was subsequently chosen mayor. Politics in Flint were hot-blooded and, being thought of as a GM pawn, Riegle was serving as commissioner when an unknown assailant took out the front window of Riegle’s house with a shotgun. Riegle’s term as mayor was loaded with excitement and tragedy. He welcomed Harry S. Truman on his second visit and in 1953, the first Corvette rolled off the assembly line. In perhaps Flint’s biggest celebration, Riegle and the city saluted GM’s 50-millionth car with a grandiose parade. Tragedy struck on June 8, when the Beecher Tornado touched down killing 116 people, injuring more than 900 and destroying more than 300 homes.The response from the city government and its people was nothing short of heroic, however.The effort earned the city the “All-American City Award.” Donald W. Riegle’s son, Donald Riegle, Jr., would go on to become a United States Representative from 1966-1976 and senator from 1976-95. Donald W. Riegle, Sr. died in 1992.

George M. Algoe was born in Flint in 1898, the son of tinner J. Frank Algoe. He worked as secretary, treasurer and partner of the Algoe-Gundry Company Funeral Directors – the county’s oldest such establishment (located at 703 Beach St., now demolished). As mayor, Algoe was industrious. His tenure began with the launch of the Flint Cultural Center Project, which established the Flint Institute of Arts, planetarium,Whiting Auditorium and more. In 1955, Flint Junior College (Mott Community College) went into operation and the city’s centennial celebration, dubbed the Golden Carnival, attracted more than 200,000 spectators including Vice President Richard Nixon who dedicated Flint’s new Municipal Center. At the time, Algoe stated, “the dedication of this magnificent Municipal Center is a time of triumph” and, the “structures will remain as a testament to those that follow us that we build well the foundations for the future.” He then bragged that Flint was the “envy of all other industrial cities.”The next year, the University of Michigan-Flint opened its campus. As soon as he took office, Algoe began working on a new municipal center and found engineers Robert Moses, William S. Chapin and Gilmore D. Clarke to choose its location and initial design. A citizen committee selected the firm of H. E. Brewster and Associates to finalize. Algoe was able to get the new city hall finished and opened in April of 1958. After his death in 1968, it was proposed to name the I-475 expressway in his honor. 

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