It seemed like the weirdest place in the world to me. When he invited us inside, I was stunned when she said yes. My grandma struck up a conversation, complimenting him on the house. One day grandma and I were walking past the house after a visit to the Homedale playground, and one of the hippie dudes was out in the yard, near the covered wagon they'd installed. Now were they actually hippies? All I know is that they had huge beards and long hair, which was not a look my Grandmother McFarlane - who grew up on a 40-acre farm in Maple Leaf, Iowa, during the depression - would take a liking to. I remember there was a big house near the school - perhaps on Olive Avenue near Davison Road - that had been transformed into a sort of Wild West museum by two hippies who owned the place. I went to pre-kindergarten at Homedale for a few months when we were all living at my grandparents' place before moving to a house near Bassett Park. My mom attended Homedale before moving on to Whittier and then Central. My grandparents lived nearby on Illinois Avenue. I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore when I hear about another place that means something to me in Flint getting shut down and left to rot, but I was still depressed to learn that Homedale Elementary School is closed.

There's more information in the Comment section for this post, including some memories on the East Side's infamous Adolf Moses. Sadly, his house appears to have been abandoned and picked over by looters. Gypsy Jack reportedly died on September 8, 2003. NBC's 'Real People' show may have profiled him as well. He inspired a song by The Travelin' Bluesman, 'a track in which the Bluesman describes his relationship with Flint legend Gypsy Jack, a person he credits talking him out of doing something that would have ruined his life forever.' (And it's not about taking a job at GM.) The album cover just might be a photo of Gypsy Jack's house, but I'm not sure. He clearly was not a hippie, but when I met him as a kid I was prone to throw anyone with a beard into that category. It was owned by Roy 'Gypsy Jack' Steffenson Jr., a local legend who lived in the cowboy shrine on Davison Road near Olive Avenue for more than two decades. UPDATE: Readers have written in to the comment section with more information on the Wild West house.

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