Woodward Avenue Nostalgia

 

Michigan highway 1 (M-1), commonly known as Woodward Avenue, is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Detroit Metro area. The highway, called "Detroit's Main Street", runs from Detroit north-northwesterly to Pontiac. Woodward Avenue was created after the Detroit Fire of 1805. The thoroughfare followed the route of the Saginaw Trail, an Indian trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw. The Saginaw Trail connected to the Mackinaw Trail, which extended north to the Straits of Mackinac at the tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Today, Woodward Avenue is most famous for its "Woodward Dream Cruise" held each August. Founded in 1995 as a fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale, it takes place on Woodward Avenue between Pontiac and Ferndale. But there is a long history of crusing Woodward Avenue. In 1848, young carriage drivers raced one another along the avenue after the roadway was converted from logs to planks. By 1958, the roadway was used for unofficial street racing with cars. The wide width, median and sections lacking a large commercial presence attracted a reputation for the competition. 

The above photos compare the intersections of Woodward and Farnsworth in 1901 and today.

Not The Arthur Toy Company

 

Buddy L is an American toy brand and company founded in 1920 by Fred Lundahl as the Buddy L Toy Company in East Moline, Illinois. The all-steel products were pressed into toy cars, dump trucks, delivery vans, fire engines, construction equipment, and trains. The Lundahl's first and only child, Arthur, was nicknamed "Buddy L" to differentiate him from another neighborhood boy named Buddy. I imagine Arthur was the envy of the neighborhood as his doting father constructed numerous toy vehicles for him, some of which were large enough to sit upon and propel with his feet. Lundahl persuaded Marshall Field and FAO Schwarz to carry his line, which did very well until the Depression. He then sold the company and it has bounced around between different owners ever since, distancing itself from its original realism with each venture. 

Note: The 1960 steel Buddy L pickup truck/camper pictured is identical to one I had. The active front spring suspension was mighty impressive. The hard plastic camper could be removed if one chose to do so. Eventually, I did so.