Backtothebricks.org

September 20th, 2024

Back to the Bricks Night Out®

Executive Director Taylor Invites You ALL!

Congratulations to Coner of Flint on Winning the 1991 Cadillac Allante, which was a part of the fundraiser we did this past year to raise much-needed funds for our newest statue in the Automotive Heritage Collection, ABC Hardy. We raised just over $18,000 of our $65,000 goal.

Learn more about the Statues and ABC Hardy HERE

In Photo: Andy Suski, Board Member and Owner of Suski Chevrolet with

Al Jones, Chairman of the Board with Back to the Bricks with Allante.

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP to bring A.B.C Hardy to life.

Click the form below and print off the PDF. All donations will receive a Tax Donation Letter. If you have any questions please contact Amber Taylor at ambertaylor@backtothebricks.org or 810-877-8383

Back to the Bricks held its Annual Meeting today at the historic General Motors Factory One off Water Street In Flint. There was a Chairman's Coffee leading up to the meeting and a general recap of Spring/Summer Events with the Board.

During the Annual Meeting, the bylaws require that they elect Directors and Officers of the Board of Directors. We are delighted to welcome 3 new members of the board, who will join the first meeting of the official Back to the Bricks year in November. Keith Damon, Rebecca Pettengill, and Scott LaForest.

All 3 bring experience, passion for community and engagement, and a love of automobiles. Congratulations and WELCOME!!!!

Keith Damon - Retired, National Quality Manager for Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Mazda

Rebecca Pettengill - Manager of Foundation and Corporate Relations with Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF)

Scott LaForest - Director with Kettering University GM Mobility Research Center

Fred and Charlie

By: Gary Fisher

President - Genesee County Historical Society



Two of the most underappreciated giants of the American auto industry got their start in Flint under the tutelage of William C. “Billy” Durant. Fred Aldrich and Charles Nash were both involved in the early years of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company and were not only instrumental to the success of that enterprise, but also the later success stories of Buick, Chevrolet, and General Motors.

Aldrich, the son of Almon L. Aldrich, a Flint newspaper editor who had been Durant’s predecessor as the secretary of the Flint Waterworks company knew both Durant and Dort well. However, he wanted Fred to stay in the newspaper business. Fred’s mom felt otherwise and encouraged him to “take the cash” and join Durant and Dort. He took her advice and started a lifelong involvement with the two men and their various enterprises.

He became secretary of Durant Dort and by 1895 was the only person outside of Durant and Dort to own stock in the firm. Later, when others owned stock as well, Aldrich remained the third largest shareholder. That’s important to know because the company would be instrumental in funding the big three auto start-ups of Buick, GM, and Chevrolet, and Aldrich would play a major role in all of it.

Charles ‘Charlie’ Nash would start as a cushion stuffer at the Durant-Dort carriage factory and progressed up the ladder to ultimately become Vice President of the firm. A tireless worker, he had been hired out as what amounted to an indentured servant to a local farmer as a child owing to either being orphaned or as the result of a divorce (conflicting stories exist). He ran away from the farm at 12 years old and took various farming and carpentry jobs as the years went by. Later he married, and when his wife took ill he moved into inner city Flint to seek better medical care for her, which led to his encounters with both Durant and Dort. Both took credit for ‘discovering’ him, and he became a key player in the firm’s explosive growth.

When Durant delved into the automotive world he dragged his partners Dort, Nash, and Aldrich along. When Durant was ousted from GM leadership in 1910, he suggested Nash as his replacement as leader of Buick, and eventually as President of GM. By all accounts, Nash proved a capable and strong leader but when Durant invented Chevrolet to reclaim his rightful position at “his baby” GM (with the help of both Aldrich and Dort), Nash had to choose sides. He wound up siding with the bankers who had kicked Durant out initially. But Durant prevailed, and Chevrolet acquired GM in what we’d today call a hostile takeover. When Durant learned of Nash’s attempts to play both ends against the middle, he fired him. Before that, he had been prepared to make a significant cash offer to retain Nash’s services.

Nash went on to form his own auto company and its company became #4  in America’s ‘Big Four’ of automakers alongside Ford, GM, and Chrysler. That gave Flint roots to 3 of the big four.

Meanwhile, Dort and Durant parted company professionally during Durant and Chevrolet's takeover of GM. They remained good friends, but Dort took Aldrich with him, and they went on to form the Dort Motor Company. That firm started in the old Durant-Dort carriage operations and then started construction on a brand-new modern plant on what is now Dort Highway.

Sadly, Dort died on the 19th fairway at the Flint Golf Club in 1925, and ultimately so did the Dort Motor Company. The new factory plans were taken over by the A.C. Spark Plug company and the main road it was built on was named after Dort. Aldrich remained active in the auto business until retirement and although he is far less recognized than most of the auto pioneers, his importance and influence should not be forgotten.

Luckily, both Charles Nash’s house and Fred Aldrich’s homes are still standing in Carriage Town in downtown Flint near the Durant-Dort Headquarters. Both homes are privately owned, and while Aldrich’s home is seemingly holding its own, the Nash House is in the process of being completely revitalized by Genesee County Historical Society Board member Derek Dohrman. History lives on in Flint, and it’s among the most important stories in America, one whose legacy we are proud to preserve and tell!

Charles "Charlie" Nash

Front Two (left to right): ABC Hardy, W.C. Orwell

Middle row: William C. "Billy" Durant, J. Dallas Dort, Fred Aldrich

Al’s Garage

Vol. 5, Issue #9

"Twenty Years and Counting"

Never did I ever think that twenty years ago we would be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Back to the Bricks®. Back in 2004 my wife and I drove our 1967 427 SS Chevelle down to the Woodward Dream Cruise. The car had a 4-speed transmission with a heavy-duty clutch and getting caught up in the gridlock of the cruise wasn’t easy on my left leg. After a couple of miles of stop and go we began looking for a place to park. Most of the businesses on Woodward were charging hefty prices to park and that did not sit well with my wife and me.

After returning home I started talking to a few of my car friends and I suggested we should put on a car show in downtown Flint. Initially, the idea was not received well but eventually, most of them came around to the idea. The idea was to have our show on the same day as the WDC. Let me tell you; that was meant with a lot of skepticism. It was like telling a bad joke in church! But the question that came up was ‘Why not’? Why do Wendy’s, McDonald’s, and Burger King all build a couple of blocks from one another? Does mass marketing ring a bell? The decision was made to put on a show on the same day as the WDC.

Location was important and we decided on downtown Flint right on the red bricks on Saginaw Street. At that time downtown Flint was referred to as ‘plywood city’ as most of the storefronts were boarded up and painted with human figures to give the appearance of human foot traffic. I can’t say it was received well but we did not get much pushback. As for the majority of people most thought that having a car show in downtown Flint was not a good idea but our fledging committee began to take hold and embraced the idea. We needed an umbrella organization to operate under and we approached the Flint Convention and Visitors Bureau.

At that time, we met with the President of the FCVB, Jerry Preston and he told us he thought it sounded like a good idea. “What day are you looking to hold the show on?” Our reply was ‘on the same day as the WDC.’ Jerry’s response was “That is the dumbest idea I have ever heard!” To this day, we still get a good laugh about Jerry’s response, but Jerry is still active on the BTTB Board of Directors and still volunteers his services for many of the BTTB events. 

The next challenge was to come up with a name for our show. Most of us remember going downtown to the drive-ins like the A&W, the Varsity, Colonel’s, Walli’s, and the Royal Drive-In on Friday and Saturday nights. The best route between most of the drive-ins was on the red bricks of Saginaw Street and the name of the event was decided upon: Back to the Bricks® was born. The next challenge was we needed something that would attract car owners to downtown Flint. One of our original committee members, John Olay, suggested ‘Let’s give away tee shirts.’ 500 hundred of them! How do we pay for them? We did not have one-red-cent in the bank but another committee member, John Chapin (now deceased) suggested contacting Doc Watson of Hurst Shifter fame and see if he would sponsor the tee shirt giveaway. Lo and behold Doc agreed to the sponsorship. The result was that we managed to give away all 500 shirts to those who brought the collector car to our inaugural event. From that meager start, the BTTB event began to take hold and has continued to grow year after year.

Now twenty years later, the BTTB has morphed into one of the nation’s largest car events. I believe that in terms of the length of our annual events, which is two continuous weeks of daily car events, it is the longest show in the country and it happens in the second and third weeks of August. It is great to know that the BTTB has remained true to its initial mission statement that we would produce a show that honors Flint’s Automotive heritage, would be a free event with no admission charges for spectators or car owners and our event would have a positive economic impact on our county and for that matter the entire state of Michigan.

Congratulations to all the volunteers, committee members, and the Board of Directors of the Back to the Bricks®. To be very clear, without your dedication, there would not be a show. That’s the bottom line and we are already looking forward to seeing you in 2025.

Keep on rollin'

Al Hatch

Chairman Emeritus & Founder

Back to the Bricks® 

This week, with the full support of our Board, our Executive Director got to get behind the Grill at BD's Mongolian Grill in Flint in support of Whaley Children's Center. All tips from the grill went directly to support their center which hosts an average of 42 kids a month.

They have been Transforming Lives and Creating Futures for the kids at Whaley Children's Center since 1926.

You Can Make a Difference - Whaley Children’s Center is 80% State-funded, which puts food in the kids' bellies and provides a roof over their heads. The 20% difference is made up of amazing, generous donors like you. One hundred percent of your gift gives their littles the experiences and memories every child deserves. Your help transforms their kiddos' lives and creates brighter futures for them.

They accept donations by mail:

Whaley Children's Center

1201 N Grand Traverse

Flint, MI 48503

Or donate online!