Clinic Blog: 2011 Detroit Clinic Blog
May 1, 2011
The Weekend Off From Clinic
By jpotanko
Finally the weekend arrived with some much needed rest and relaxation! The majority of our team decided to take a tour of Detroit, which was organized by one of our doctors, Dr. Spalter. One of our local volunteers, James, was able to get his mother in law to bring us on the bus to take us around Detroit.
One if the first stops along our tour was at the Motown Museum. We were greeted by our tour guide Antonio, who took us around the museum. We learned about how Motown was founded, with an $800 loan from Berry Gordy Jr family. Berry Gordy Jr had created up to 13 different labels for his artists under the Motown name in hopes of creating as much airtime as possible. Radio stations back then only played a maximum of 3 artists from a label, so this was Motown's way of maximumizing as much exposure as they could. Antonio also taught us how the Motown sound was created, which was a hole cut into the ceiling leading into an attic that was stripped of material inside. The noise reverberated off the walls inside the attic which is what gave Motown its own unique sound. Inside the museum, there were various furnishings inside as the building was Berry Gordy's apartment and studio when he first created Motown. He also bought all the houses on the block in hopes of creating a close knit family atmosphere within his own company. All of his artists, ranging from Stevie Wonder to The Tempetations to The Four Tops and everyone else were under the age of 21, with Stevie Wonder being the youngest, age 11 when he was brought on board. Gordy helped refine his artists, teaching them how to be professionals, mannerisms, how to properly exit and enter a car, etc. Gordy wanted his artists to be able to perform around the world, in front of kings and queens and world leaders. Ultimately, Gordy's $800 initial loan would turn into a multi million dollar business, eventually selling Motown for over $60,000,000
The second major stop on our tour was at St Anne's Church. It was founded and built in 1701, making it the second oldest church in the United States. It was founded 2 days after Antonie de la Mothe Cadillac landed in Detroit and began construction of Fort Ponchartrain. The original church was destroyed by fire in 1703. The church would be again be destroyed by fire in 1714, however this time it was destroyed by the citizens themselves as a means of a way to prevent the Native Americans from using it a cover during the conflict between them and the Fort Soldiers. Church services were held in a make-shift church for many years afterwards. The current church was built in 1886 and has stood there ever since, with many of the parish records from the previous locations of the church still intact from over the years.
The final major stop was the Heidelberg Project. Heidelberg, one of the suburbs of Detroit, is one of the most economically depressed areas in the country. A number of people have turned their streets, lawns and homes into a giant art exhibit. Many of homes and properties are ran down and in poor condition, however they were able to turn something negative into something positive. Many of the exhibits are more abstract in nature while others offer a clear message of what they are trying to say.
On Sunday, a small part of our team went out with two of our local team members, Krista and Wendy to various parts of Detroit, including Lafayette Coney Island, Joe Louis Arena and 8 Mile. Lafayette Coney Island is a small hot dog shop in downtown Detroit that comes with high praise from locals and tourists alike. We were greeted by a very friendly and helpful staff who took our orders for hot dogs and fries and Cokes. One the waiters kept us entertained by doing simple tricks, such as balancing two forks on two tooth picks stuck in a salt shaker and balancing 10 smaller nails on top of a larger nail. The food was very delicious and served very quickly. The cost was also very reasonable, with a Chili Cheese Coney Dog with Chili Cheese fries costing you roughly 6 bucks.
The next stop was Joe Louis Arena, named after the famous boxer Joe Louis who hails from Detroit and is the home of the NHL Detroit Red Wings, or Hockeytown as its fans refer to it. We got to see the giant squid outside of the arena, homage to Red Wings fans throwing squids on the ice inside the arena during Red Wings games. It was particularly interesting for two of the team members, Jens and Joshua. Jens is a supporter of the San Jose Sharks who are currently playing the Red Wings in the playoffs while Joshua supports the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have faced the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals merely a few years ago.
The final stop was along 8 Mile. We were not exactly looking for any particular landmark along 8 Mile, just a chance to have a photo taken along 8 mile just to say we were there. For those who do not know, 8 Mile became somewhat famous when Eminem made a movie and soundtrack called 8 Mile, loosely based off of his own experiences from living there. So we went into two teams, with one team standing under a 8 Mile road sign with the other team taking the photos and vice versa.
The weekend is almost over and soon it will be back to the clinic site for the start of our second week of the clinic mission. Thanks for reading!
Detroit Team 2011
