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The National
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- The National
Ford determined to tap into Livingston's Detroit mentality
'Detroit vs Everybody' is more than a slogan on a billboard. More than a mural painted on the wall of a locker room to psyche out nervous quarter-backs. On the streets of the Motor City defiance has become a state of mind. Tommey Walker, a local designer, launched a 'Detroit vs Everybody' fashion brand in 2012. Two years later rapper Eminem produced a song by the same name on his Slim Shady XV album. The phrase is a symbol of the underdog spirit which helped Michigan's industrial capital survive a government bail out of an ailing automobile industry in 2008. Located 15 miles west of Edinburgh, Livingston has no history of producing cars. Outwith a bewildering number of roundabouts, there is no real history of building anything at all. Yet, when the great great grandson of Henry Ford began casting around for a football club to buy, he looked at the east of Scotland and found a scaled-down version of Detroit. Livingston FC were punching above their weight. Their support base was low, their artificial pitch was unpopular, their style of football was unloved, they'd been embroiled in expensive legal disputes with shareholders, cash was short and their only government bail-out came during Covid. Calvin Ford studied all of this and, the more he looked, the more he liked it. Here was a club which could have slotted straight in to his native city and fitted in perfectly. (Image: SNS Group)'We have taken a lot of heat in Detroit for being this nasty place,' Ford tells Herald Sport in his first lengthy interview since taking charge. 'The reality is that Detroit is an incredible place. A phoenix continuing the rise from the ashes and I am an incredibly proud Detroiter. 'I love this city and when I look at Livingston I see the exact same mentality. 'I see it as Livingston vs Scottish football. It kind of all plugs into us being the bad-boy team. 'This gritty, hard-working blue collar club led by a team like Davie Martindale and, you know what? That's what attracts me most. I love it.' The Livingston vs Everybody spirit helped Martindale's team to fight back from two goals down and overcome Ross County to secure promotion to the SPFL Premiership via the play-offs. After a season in the Scottish Championship there were no flags or banners or fireworks to celebrate their return to the top flight. When other teams speak of Livingston they do so through gritted teeth and Ford, for one, hopes they never change. 'We are gonna come in and we are going to have this blue-collar mentality and I think we are going to surprise a lot of people back in the Premiership,' predicts the new owner. 'I love the grit, I love the hard nose. We are going to be that team that's going to come and track some mud on your nice white carpet and leave some nasty stains.' His great great grandfather Henry introduced the first Ford assembly line in 1914, revolutionising automotive production and paving the way to mass production. While Detroit never claimed to be part of the wild west, Calvin – son of Edsel Ford II, Henry's great grandson – paints a picture of Lee Van Cleef chewing on a cigar to extend his vision of the New Livingston. 'It's like when you find yourself in this old western saloon. 'Somebody comes through the swing doors and makes everybody stop and look and think. 'And they're going, 'who the hell is that?' 'I kind of see Livingston being that guy at the doors and I like that. 'I like being the disruptor and whether it's social media or wherever there is this phrase that goes around saying that Livingston are not liked, not wanted, not bothered. 'I love that. That's what we represent and I want us to embrace that.' Calvin Ford with Livingston CEO Dave Black (Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) When fans of Celtic, Rangers, Hearts or Hibs think of Livi it tends to be in unflattering terms. An awkward, hard-working, physical nuisance with a worn-out pitch, bigger clubs with more money and trophies walk through the doors of the Set Fare Arena and hold their nose. Snapping up a majority shareholding from Baycup Ltd – some shareholders still contend that it wasn't Baycup's to sell in the first place – Ford has agreed to replace the old, outdated artificial surface in time for the new season. This time next year he could be forced to rip that out as well, rendering this summer's outlay an expensive waste of money. Premiership clubs have voted to ban plastic pitches and show no sign of relenting, despite talk of a challenge. Undeterred, brimming with enthusiasm, Ford could really use more hours in the day. A father of three – the youngest is just 20 months – his day job is heading up Pentastar Aviation, the aircraft charter and maintenance operation purchased by his father from Daimler-Chrysler. He also serves on the board of the CATCH charity, working with two local children's hospitals and is a director of Henry Ford Health, a notfor-profit healthcare organisation in Michigan. With all this going on it comes as a surprise to learn that he ever found the time to watch Succession, HBO's saga revolving around Scots expat media magnate Logan Roy and his squabbling offspring. 'I loved that scene in season two,' he laughs. 'Logan's son Roman buys Hearts and of course Logan Roy was a Hibs fan, so that was a terrible mistake by Roman. 'But, you know, I don't think I'm another American making a terrible mistake at all. 'One of the things that was most attractive to me about Livingston is that you have this club west of Edinburgh sandwiched in between behemoths like Hearts and Hibernian and Celtic and Rangers. 'Livingston are right there kind of in the middle and all I ask myself is, 'what can this become? 'How do we disrupt Scottish football in a really cool way? 'What do we need to do to stay in the Premier League and really be a disruptor? 'Historically speaking that's challenging because you have these traditional classic big Scottish clubs on either side. 'But why can't we disrupt? Why can't we be a club that does something and I think there is a real opportunity there for us to do that.' Consolidation in the top division is the first target, Europe the next. He texts David Martindale day and night and Livi have been busier than any other Premiership club in the opening days of the transfer market, snapping up Stevie May, Graham Carey, Cammy Kerr, Connor McLennan, Zak Rudden and Shane Blaney. 'I think the Europa Conference League is something that we can do and I think becoming a top-five team is something that we can do. 'I have said that to Davie and he understands that and believes it too. 'Year one I want to be competitive in the Premiership. I want to make sure that we are back there next year and I think we are putting together a team right now that can absolutely do that.' Read more: He has a vision of a sust ainable club, standing on its own two feet and that's easier said than done when the average attendance can be less than 4000. Plans to draw sell out crowds to a small town where fans leave for Edinburgh and Glasgow on a fleet of buses every week pose the kind of challenge his great great grandfather might have baulked at. 'There is this enclosed stadium and I immediately thought, 'what's this going to look like when we fill this place with 9000 Livingston supporters?' 'I think we can get there. I really do. 'It's about giving the Livingston community a football club that they can be a proud of. 'A team that can combat the Hearts and Hibs bits of Edinburgh and Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow. 'I'm a realist. I understand that it's going to take a while to build that back but we have the foundations in place.' The battle for hearts and minds is already underway. His father Edsel is close friends with a legendary Formula One champion who is now the proud owner of a Livingston home shirt. 'Sir Jackie Stewart is obviously a very famous Scot and I think he has a history of being a Rangers fan. I want to convert him into being a Livingston fan. 'I don't think it will ever happen. But I did send him a Livingston jersey as a birthday present...' The family firm's blue oval is one of the most readily recognisable corporate emblems on the planet and, as a younger man Ford admits to taking his background for granted. His 11-year-old son has woken up to the fact that being a Ford in Detroit is a little like being a royal in Windsor. The name comes with expectations and responsibilities and scrutiny he once wore with a casual indifference. Older and wiser, he now cares too much about the family reputation to start throwing silly money at Livingston. 'Back in the day I thought my surname was neat and said, 'that's wonderful.' And probably didn't give it much of a second thought. We all grow up, we all mature, we all evolve. 'I understand now that when you grow up in Detroit and you are a Ford that does that comes with some subjective expectations. I guess it does. 'I was an employee of the motor company for a while but now I find myself an advocate of the company and the family and I am very proud of what Ford does and what we stand for. 'And, when I look at what we want to do at Livingston, I keep Ford Motor Company in mind. 'This is an evolution. I'm not going to come in and pump billions of dollars into it, but I do think that we can create and build and sustain something at Livingston much like Ford has done for the 123 years it has been around.'
The Herald Scotland
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald Scotland
Ford determined to tap into Livingston's Detroit mentality
On the streets of the Motor City defiance has become a state of mind. Tommey Walker, a local designer, launched a 'Detroit vs Everybody' fashion brand in 2012. Two years later rapper Eminem produced a song by the same name on his Slim Shady XV album. The phrase is a symbol of the underdog spirit which helped Michigan's industrial capital survive a government bail out of an ailing automobile industry in 2008. Located 15 miles west of Edinburgh, Livingston has no history of producing cars. Outwith a bewildering number of roundabouts, there is no real history of building anything at all. Yet, when the great great grandson of Henry Ford began casting around for a football club to buy, he looked at the east of Scotland and found a scaled-down version of Detroit. Livingston FC were punching above their weight. Their support base was low, their artificial pitch was unpopular, their style of football was unloved, they'd been embroiled in expensive legal disputes with shareholders, cash was short and their only government bail-out came during Covid. Calvin Ford studied all of this and, the more he looked, the more he liked it. Here was a club which could have slotted straight in to his native city and fitted in perfectly. (Image: SNS Group)'We have taken a lot of heat in Detroit for being this nasty place,' Ford tells Herald Sport in his first lengthy interview since taking charge. 'The reality is that Detroit is an incredible place. A phoenix continuing the rise from the ashes and I am an incredibly proud Detroiter. 'I love this city and when I look at Livingston I see the exact same mentality. 'I see it as Livingston vs Scottish football. It kind of all plugs into us being the bad-boy team. 'This gritty, hard-working blue collar club led by a team like Davie Martindale and, you know what? That's what attracts me most. I love it.' The Livingston vs Everybody spirit helped Martindale's team to fight back from two goals down and overcome Ross County to secure promotion to the SPFL Premiership via the play-offs. After a season in the Scottish Championship there were no flags or banners or fireworks to celebrate their return to the top flight. When other teams speak of Livingston they do so through gritted teeth and Ford, for one, hopes they never change. 'We are gonna come in and we are going to have this blue-collar mentality and I think we are going to surprise a lot of people back in the Premiership,' predicts the new owner. 'I love the grit, I love the hard nose. We are going to be that team that's going to come and track some mud on your nice white carpet and leave some nasty stains.' His great great grandfather Henry introduced the first Ford assembly line in 1914, revolutionising automotive production and paving the way to mass production. While Detroit never claimed to be part of the wild west, Calvin – son of Edsel Ford II, Henry's great grandson – paints a picture of Lee Van Cleef chewing on a cigar to extend his vision of the New Livingston. 'It's like when you find yourself in this old western saloon. 'Somebody comes through the swing doors and makes everybody stop and look and think. 'And they're going, 'who the hell is that?' 'I kind of see Livingston being that guy at the doors and I like that. 'I like being the disruptor and whether it's social media or wherever there is this phrase that goes around saying that Livingston are not liked, not wanted, not bothered. 'I love that. That's what we represent and I want us to embrace that.' Calvin Ford with Livingston CEO Dave Black (Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) When fans of Celtic, Rangers, Hearts or Hibs think of Livi it tends to be in unflattering terms. An awkward, hard-working, physical nuisance with a worn-out pitch, bigger clubs with more money and trophies walk through the doors of the Set Fare Arena and hold their nose. Snapping up a majority shareholding from Baycup Ltd – some shareholders still contend that it wasn't Baycup's to sell in the first place – Ford has agreed to replace the old, outdated artificial surface in time for the new season. This time next year he could be forced to rip that out as well, rendering this summer's outlay an expensive waste of money. Premiership clubs have voted to ban plastic pitches and show no sign of relenting, despite talk of a challenge. Undeterred, brimming with enthusiasm, Ford could really use more hours in the day. A father of three – the youngest is just 20 months – his day job is heading up Pentastar Aviation, the aircraft charter and maintenance operation purchased by his father from Daimler-Chrysler. He also serves on the board of the CATCH charity, working with two local children's hospitals and is a director of Henry Ford Health, a notfor-profit healthcare organisation in Michigan. With all this going on it comes as a surprise to learn that he ever found the time to watch Succession, HBO's saga revolving around Scots expat media magnate Logan Roy and his squabbling offspring. 'I loved that scene in season two,' he laughs. 'Logan's son Roman buys Hearts and of course Logan Roy was a Hibs fan, so that was a terrible mistake by Roman. 'But, you know, I don't think I'm another American making a terrible mistake at all. 'One of the things that was most attractive to me about Livingston is that you have this club west of Edinburgh sandwiched in between behemoths like Hearts and Hibernian and Celtic and Rangers. 'Livingston are right there kind of in the middle and all I ask myself is, 'what can this become? 'How do we disrupt Scottish football in a really cool way? 'What do we need to do to stay in the Premier League and really be a disruptor? 'Historically speaking that's challenging because you have these traditional classic big Scottish clubs on either side. 'But why can't we disrupt? Why can't we be a club that does something and I think there is a real opportunity there for us to do that.' Consolidation in the top division is the first target, Europe the next. He texts David Martindale day and night and Livi have been busier than any other Premiership club in the opening days of the transfer market, snapping up Stevie May, Graham Carey, Cammy Kerr, Connor McLennan, Zak Rudden and Shane Blaney. 'I think the Europa Conference League is something that we can do and I think becoming a top-five team is something that we can do. 'I have said that to Davie and he understands that and believes it too. 'Year one I want to be competitive in the Premiership. I want to make sure that we are back there next year and I think we are putting together a team right now that can absolutely do that.' Read more: He has a vision of a sust ainable club, standing on its own two feet and that's easier said than done when the average attendance can be less than 4000. Plans to draw sell out crowds to a small town where fans leave for Edinburgh and Glasgow on a fleet of buses every week pose the kind of challenge his great great grandfather might have baulked at. 'There is this enclosed stadium and I immediately thought, 'what's this going to look like when we fill this place with 9000 Livingston supporters?' 'I think we can get there. I really do. 'It's about giving the Livingston community a football club that they can be a proud of. 'A team that can combat the Hearts and Hibs bits of Edinburgh and Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow. 'I'm a realist. I understand that it's going to take a while to build that back but we have the foundations in place.' The battle for hearts and minds is already underway. His father Edsel is close friends with a legendary Formula One champion who is now the proud owner of a Livingston home shirt. 'Sir Jackie Stewart is obviously a very famous Scot and I think he has a history of being a Rangers fan. I want to convert him into being a Livingston fan. 'I don't think it will ever happen. But I did send him a Livingston jersey as a birthday present...' The family firm's blue oval is one of the most readily recognisable corporate emblems on the planet and, as a younger man Ford admits to taking his background for granted. His 11-year-old son has woken up to the fact that being a Ford in Detroit is a little like being a royal in Windsor. The name comes with expectations and responsibilities and scrutiny he once wore with a casual indifference. Older and wiser, he now cares too much about the family reputation to start throwing silly money at Livingston. 'Back in the day I thought my surname was neat and said, 'that's wonderful.' And probably didn't give it much of a second thought. We all grow up, we all mature, we all evolve. 'I understand now that when you grow up in Detroit and you are a Ford that does that comes with some subjective expectations. I guess it does. 'I was an employee of the motor company for a while but now I find myself an advocate of the company and the family and I am very proud of what Ford does and what we stand for. 'And, when I look at what we want to do at Livingston, I keep Ford Motor Company in mind. 'This is an evolution. I'm not going to come in and pump billions of dollars into it, but I do think that we can create and build and sustain something at Livingston much like Ford has done for the 123 years it has been around.'
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'It shouldn't be this hard': How Michigan parents are piecing together summer childcare
The school year is over, but summer break isn't necessarily a welcome reprieve for parents. It's a notoriously difficult time for families to cobble together childcare for out-of-school kids and their younger siblings. 'No one makes summer work,' said Detroiter Markeisha Chapman, a 41-year-old mother of six. "Everyone doesn't have a support system," Chapman said. Parents across Michigan echo Chapman's frustration. Planning needs to start months ahead because summer care options often fill up within minutes of opening. Places that serve the youngest kids are few and far between. So are sites with full-day hours for working families. Summer camps and daycares can be expensive, and a private nanny is typically prohibitive. Summer, too, brings chaos and inconsistency that can wreak havoc on little ones used to routine. The list goes on. Lauren Dake sees the summertime dread in her work as a family liaison for the Great Start Collaborative in Northern Michigan (Great Start Collaboratives exist in each county to coordinate early childhood resources). 'I see stress — this worry of what am I supposed to do?' Dake said. Jennifer Beuthin, a leadership consultant and mother of 6-year-old twins in Traverse City, said summer care stress is another example of how the world 'is not set up for moms and families.' Beuthin's family figured out the majority of their summer childcare plans before Christmas. 'I just know it shouldn't be this hard,' she said. Parents highlight a number of possible solutions including more state-funded summer school programs and more options, particularly for kids under five-years-old, for full-day summer care to make the landscape less competitive and more tenable, especially for families where parents work outside the home. Many also said they wished for more community-based options where neighbors pool their kids and switch off care. Seven Michigan parents from across the state share how they've figured out — or are still figuring out — summer care for their kids. Ashley Morrow, Chippewa CountyChild welfare project specialist for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians17-year-old Kadence, 15-year-old Mackenzie, 11-year-old Carter, 8-year-old Lincoln, 3-year-old Reagan Ashley Morrow, 38, has five kids, so she's used to the overwhelm of trying to figure out summer childcare. Still, it stresses her out. Her two eldest daughters, Kadence and Mackenzie, have paid summer jobs lined up at a youth job program through the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Morrow said they'll both have to balance their work schedules with staying home to watch their two little brothers. Morrow wishes she could put her sons in a summer program — she'd like for them to have more structure, not just gaming and staying up late. Her boys could attend day camp at the Sault which would be free because her kids are members of the Sault Tribe. But the camp is a 25-minute drive each way from their home in the Upper Peninsula's Kincheloe. It's just too far for Morrow or her husband to drive there and back on a daily basis, morning and night. 'I wish we had more options locally,' she said. During the year, Morrow's three-year-old daughter goes to a daycare that's around $1,000 dollars per month — also covered by the Sault Tribe — which she'll stay at for the summer. Though even that care isn't totally consistent. Because the daycare follows a school schedule, it will close for 11 days from June 30 to July 11 and Morrow will have to piece together care for her daughter those days. Morrow said she'll likely take time off work during that time and will lean on her teenagers, too. She's grateful to have their help. 'Otherwise, I don't know what we would do,' Morrow said. Morrow was at a loss when trying to consider what would help her as a parent during the summer, aside from more summer program options near her home. She said she sometimes feels she and her husband are on their own. 'I mean, I always hear people talk about their 'villages' and it's like, where's my village?' she said. Nakia Middleton, Wayne CountyEntrepreneur 12-year-old Skylur, 10-year-old Sebastian, 4-year-old Syre, 3-year-old Saryah Nakia Middleton, 31, is a single mom of four kids living in South Redford. She's an entrepreneur, specializing in finance. But since she had her two youngest kids — a 4-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter — Middleton said she's sacrificed making money to take care of her family. 'Before, I made over $100,000 dollars working at Rocket, Charles Schawb, great companies,' Middleton said. 'You think I would have a job, but as a single parent, I can't do both." Middleton is focused on finding 'character building' summer programs that will help her kids avoid what she calls 'the summer learning lag,' but not break the bank. She's secured a full-ride scholarship for her 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son at Keys 2 Life, a life skills and music-focused camp held at Wayne State University from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from June through early August. As for finding summer options for her two younger kids, Middleton's anxious. She said she hasn't seen many affordable local camps catering to three and four year olds and said she'd like providers to create more options for this age group. Especially for her 4-year-old who recently finished state funded pre-K, known as GSRP, Middleton is worried about being able to find care that continues the education he's been getting all year. 'My son got his first year of experience of school, so I don't want it to abruptly end and he's back in the house,' she said. 'I want him to have exposure to summer school.' More: Baby in back? Ways to remind yourself that your child is buckled in the back seat At the moment, she's planning to look into options at Detroit nonprofit Focus: HOPE and New St. Paul, a Head Start provider, but feels she's running up against the clock: 'I feel like I'm running a race before the other parents!" Middleton has her fingers in many pots — she's earning a certificate in journalism and taking a certification exam for life and health insurance administration. She's hoping to find summer care for her youngest so she can focus on her studies. 'If I can get the kids away, even if for half a day, I could get about 10 steps ahead,' Middleton said. Nikki Sprague, Midland CountyPart-time family liaison for the Great Start Collaborative 21-year-old Andrew, 18-year-old CJ, 6-year-old Wade, 4-year-old Everett Up until the beginning of June, Nikki Sprague's summer childcare plans were going to be 'on the fly.' The 43-year-old mother of four boys and her husband planned to cobble together care for their two youngest between her husband's days off and her own flexible work schedule part-time at her county's Great Start Collaborative program. Sprague's husband recently got a full-time job at the Corning Solar chip factory in Hemlock, which requires him to work 12-hour shifts, sometimes nights, with days off varying weekly. Her two eldest are out of the home and can't be relied on to help out, she said. Plus, Sprague's father, the couple's only living parent who lives close by, is in fragile health. More: What does Supreme Court's ruling on Tennessee law mean for Michigan's trans youth? The situation was not ideal because it likely meant they'd sacrifice time with the whole family. 'I don't want us to be on opposite shifts all the time where we don't get to see each other, or my boys don't get the whole family together,' Sprague said. She'd been researching summer programs for her boys and the options she found were too expensive. Then, Sprague's luck changed. Recently, she drove by the Salvation Army, which was advertising its summer camp. 'I had heard about it but figured they would already be full, or it would cost a lot, or Everett would be too young,' Sprague said. When she went in to inquire, she was elated to find the camp was for ages four to 12, was just $10 dollars a day for each kid, and offered full-time care from Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with the option for before care beginning at 7:30 a.m. and after care ending at 5:30 p.m. But there was one roadblock: kids have to be potty-trained to attend and her son Everett is not yet. It looked like she'd be back to square one until Sprague decided to reach out to the program to find a workaround. She agreed to set up a deal wherein she'll come change her youngest daily so that he can attend, something she's able to do given that her schedule is flexible and the camp is a block away from her office. Sprague said she remembers her own summers growing up. 'It seems like people had more family members able to help out,' Sprague said. 'With having my younger two a little older, the grandparents are older and not as able to help out as they would if it would have been 10 years ago or something.' Sprague's two eldest boys are foster children who came into the couple's care when they were older. Having just re-entered the workforce last August, this is Sprague's first summer needing to navigate care with younger ones. 'I'm just going with the flow and trying to be resilient,' she said. FREE PRE-K IN MICHIGAN: Why Michigan families are struggling to find summer child care for their 4-year-olds Joann Arpino, Oakland CountyProgram director at NeuroRestorative4-year-old daughter Eden, 2-year-old daughter Elle Joann Arpino, 36, isn't normally an anxious person but said she feels anxiety when it comes time to figure out summer care for her two young daughters. 'It's something I have to do every year, it's an unknown,' she said. Arpino is from Canada and her husband is from Australia, two countries, she said, that offer more robust social support to families than the United States. Arpino lists year-long paid leave for new parents and government-funded daycare as examples. Childcare, Arpino said, 'has been very hard to navigate because we're both working professionals.' Figuring care out during the summer is even more chaotic given the lacking options for young kids. Most camps Arpino saw were for 6-year-olds and above. Even in Troy, which Arpino calls 'family-friendly and well-resourced,' many summer camp options she came across wouldn't work. She recalled a community center with a 9 a.m.-11 a.m. schedule. 'What is 9 to 11 going to do for a working parent? Nothing,' Arpino said. Other camps only accepted kids who were potty trained, which her youngest is not. 'I'm not doing two separate drops every day,' she said. In the end, Arpino said she ended up touring around five options, all of which she took time off of work to see in person. For Arpino, summer just throws things out of whack. 'This year is the first time since becoming a mom I feel I'm in a good routine, I was just getting back to really working,' she said. 'And then you gotta disrupt it all in the summer.' This summer, Arpino said her family will cherry pick options that provide their daughters a balance of structure and fun. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the girls will go to Learning Grove Academy, a new summer camp that didn't have a wait-list like many of the options Arpino found. On Wednesdays, the girls will both go to the home daycare that the youngest, Elle, attends during the year. And on Mondays and Fridays, the couple will rely on Arpino's mom to help. As the mother of a child with autism, Arpino said summer school would be ideal because her daughter, Eden, has an especially hard time with a changing schedule each summer. 'It'd be a way of easing the transition because it's an extension of what they're already doing,' she said. Linnea Delahanty, Leelanau CountyStay at home mom2-year-old daughter Spencer, 4-year-old daughter Rhyan Leelanau County is a great place to raise young kids, Linnea Delahanty, 30, said. Even so, the stay-at-home mother of two faced a number of barriers to figuring out summer care including high costs and few available options for those in her kids' age range. 'It's hard to find anyone willing to take kids that young,' she said. Potty training can be a big barrier for getting a little one into a summer program. But even with a potty-trained daughter, she couldn't find an option. Programs that would have served both kids either filled up immediately (Delahanty was ready and waiting at her laptop when registration opened, to snag a spot at the Boardman Lake Nature Center camp for the last two years, to no avail) or were too expensive at an average of around $200 a week. The only other free program available was a vacation bible school run through a nearby church. But because her family isn't religious, Delahanty didn't feel that was the best choice for her kids. After researching for a week, Delahanty and her two mom friends took summer plans into their own hands. The group — two stay-at-home moms, one mom who works outside the home — sat down for eight hours to plan their own 'DIY nature summer camp,' Delahanty said. The summer camp they've created will run once a week for eight weeks, and will focus on a different theme each week. The six kids in the camp will do activities, complete worksheets and eat food all made by the three moms. 'We tried our best to make sure everything we did was free or affordable so if we wanted to share with other people, it was accessible,' Delahanty said. On the days that their summer camp isn't running, Delahanty plans to take advantage of library story time and parenting playgroups funded by a Leelanau County millage, that run for an hour each day and include snack, story time and a book kids bring home. As a stay-at-home mom, she'll also provide summer care for a friend on Wednesdays. Delahanty said she's excited about the summer camp they've cooked up, but acknowledges the option is time consuming. 'I'm giving up a lot of my personal time to make this program work,' Delahanty said. 'It's time also they would get to spend with my parents or my husband's parents. Now they might just be with me.' Delahanty said she feels lucky to be able to spend this summer with her daughter before she starts kindergarten, but wishes her husband, who works as a carpenter seven days a week to support the family, could have the same opportunity. 'He does miss out on quite a bit,' she said. 'I know it does affect him and it affects them.' FREE PRE-K: What Michigan families don't know. Ashley Fetters, Grand Traverse CountySpeech therapist7-year-old Evelyn, 3-year-old Lucas When Ashley Fetters, 39, moved to Traverse City from Cincinnati, Ohio, she didn't know she'd have to start finding summer care options for her kids in February. This was her first summer needing to find care. In early 2024, she opened her own therapy practice and had previously been a stay-at-home mom. "I was still very much in winter mode,' Fetters said. 'And then a lot of my mom friends were stressed for me, because they were like 'you need to do this now.'' When registration opened in February for summer camp at her daughter's public school, it filled up within five minutes. 'If you don't click refresh quick enough, you won't have a spot.' That's what happened to Fetters. The YMCA, the other public summer camp that would take both of her children, was also booked within minutes of registration opening. Her options kept narrowing. 'I was feeling a little desperate,' Fetters said. She considered stringing together a different camp each week for her 7-year-old which felt overwhelming. Plus, the camps that were available didn't also take 3-year-olds, which means her son couldn't attend. 'It was really hard to find a place for them to be happy, safe, entertained, and both together,' Fetters said. Hiring a nanny, she said, would've been easily triple the cost of summer camps. In March, through a mom friend, Fetters found a summer camp hosted by a private school through a community church that offers 12 weeks of summer care where both her children could attend. 'I felt relieved and grateful.' Because she wasn't able to sign her kids up for the larger summer camps in her area, she said this one felt like a hidden gem. Fetters also wanted to make sure there was an educational element to 7-year-old Evelyn's summer. Fetters found two week-long programs, one a climbing camp and the other a chemistry camp, for her daughter. After four months of figuring out plans, Fetters recently finalized paperwork and payments for her kids' camps. Andrew Rubinstein, Chippewa CountySenior director of advancement at Lake Superior State University6-year-old Allaire, 4-year-old Jack, 1-year-old Salem Andrew Rubinstein, 36, and his wife plan ahead. They planned summer care for their three kids last fall and finalized it by January, Rubinstein said. They also planned their careers around their kids. Both became licensed real estate agents to gain the flexibility they felt would be necessary for life with kids, though Rubinstein works currently in athletic fundraising at Lake Superior State University. 'There's that gymnastics of you either have one parent who's not working or has a really flexible schedule or you have to have parents or grandparents that aren't working that can help,' he said. Even though much of Rubinstein's wife's family lives near their home in Sault Ste. Marie, they all work full time. 'They can help us if we need someone to drop a kid off at practice, or pick them up, but like middle of the day, if a kid is sick, or we don't have childcare in the summertime, we've got to kind of figure it out on our own,' Rubinstein said. This summer, Rubinstein's oldest, Allaire, will attend an eight-week summer day camp that starts in June and costs $1,500. Because the camp doesn't cover the full summer, there will be three weeks when Rubinstein's wife will take care of Allaire. But if her real estate job gets too hectic during that time and she needs more support, Rubinstein has ample vacation time at Lake Superior State which he can take to help cover. His prior employer in Pennsylvania offered only five personal days. Rubinstein's middle child, Jack, will stay at the preschool where he just finished GSRP. Since GSRP only runs through the school year, the couple will pay $550 a month for summer tuition — that's up from the $190 a month they pay for wraparound care during the school year. "It is too bad GSRP doesn't run in the summer," he said. One-year-old Salem will continue at the in-home licensed daycare a block from their house, which will cost $750 per month. At Lake Superior State, Rubinstein is also able to take $5,000 dollars out of his annual paycheck before taxes for dependent care, a benefit that saves the couple around $80 dollars in taxes monthly, he estimated. The couple has also already begun planning for summer 2026. Because of a family vacation they'll be taking in June 2026, they're opting out of summer care that they'd usually lock in ahead of time. 'So now we're kind of rolling the dice,' Rubinstein said. But he's not too worried, he said, given his family has the luxury of driving across the bridge to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a city of around 70,000, where they've enrolled their kids in gymnastics and swimming programs in the past and where they've seen day camps offered at places like the YMCA. Beki San Martin is a fellow at the Detroit Free Press who covers child care, early childhood education and other issues that affect the lives of children ages 5 and under and their families in metro Detroit and across Michigan. Contact her at rsanmartin@ This fellowship is supported by the Bainum Family Foundation. The Free Press retains editorial control of this work. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 7 Michigan families describe the summer childcare gamble, struggles
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Before Henry Ford: The forgotten Detroit pioneer who drove the first gas-powered car
Before Henry Ford: The forgotten Detroit pioneer who drove the first gas-powered car Show Caption Hide Caption The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City Here are some facts about Detroit's auto industry. Charles Brady King was a "mechanical genius" inspired by what he'd seen at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. King caused a stir when he drove his own car on the streets of Detroit on March 6, 1896. For most people, the name Henry Ford probably springs to mind when they consider Motor City automotive pioneers. But Ford, who certainly stands out among those pioneers, wasn't the first person to drive a gas-powered car "of his own making," as it's been described, on the streets of Detroit. Ford's trip almost three months later in his Quadricycle was certainly notable, but Charles Brady King is the man recognized by the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Detroit Historical Society and other sources as the man who took that first drive in Detroit. In fact, the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, according to a Hall of Fame article, described 'the first horseless carriage seen in this city' as 'the invention of Charles B. King, a Detroiter.' King, a 'mechanical genius and one of the most technically knowledgeable of the early automotive pioneers,' had caused quite a stir on the night of March 6, 1896, driving from his machine shop on St. Antoine onto Jefferson Avenue before heading up Woodward Avenue, according to the article. The Henry Ford Museum seeks rare talent: Antique vehicle mechanic wanted. Is it the right job for you? 'A crowd soon gathered, and became large enough that it halted King's progress in front of the Russell House Hotel at Cadillac Square [in Downtown Detroit]. King eventually drove his vehicle back to the machine shop, only to be greeted by a policeman who threatened to ticket him for disturbing the peace,' the article said. King, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, was inspired to design his car by what he'd seen at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, although there seems to be disagreement in a couple of sources about which vehicle or engine gave him the nudge. King, who died in 1957, gets credit, too, from several sources for helping Ford with his Quadricycle. "Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State" called King "one of the most interesting and likable of all the automotive pioneers." Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@ Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ex-Detroit Lions RB Joique Bell brings portable phone chargers to Ford Field
Ford Field visitors no longer have to worry about a dead phone battery or leaving their devices behind to charge — and they have a former Detroit Lion to thank for it. Six new portable phone charging kiosks debuted at the stadium on Tuesday, June 10, replacing the older locker-style stations. Attendees can now rent chargers and carry them throughout the stadium during football games, concerts and other events. The service is powered by the Detroit-based startup U Charge Up, co-founded by former Lions running back Joique Bell, alongside Daryl Graham, Larry Watson Jr. and Aaron Higginbottom. "As a former Lion and lifelong Detroiter, it's rewarding to introduce a solution that enhances the fan experience at Ford Field,' Bell said. 'With our U Charge Up kiosks, fans can capture memories, stay connected and fully enjoy every moment without worrying about their battery life." More: Za'Darius Smith, an NFL free agent, reveals where he wants to play in 2025 Through the U Charge Up app — available on iOS and Android — users can find the nearest kiosk, rent a high-performance portable charger for $2.50 per half hour, and return it to any of the six kiosks when finished. The service will be available during all Ford Field events. The phone charger kiosks in Ford Field are located at Gates A, B, C, E and G, as well as on the third-floor suites level. The company's technology is already in use at other Michigan locations, including the Hudson Café and Four Winds Casino. Since launching in November 2023, it has expanded to Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, California and Alabama. "We want you to stay connected and stay in the moment," Bell told the Free Press. "We want you to be able to take videos of moments that you may not ever capture again. … Our batteries are small enough to where they can fit in your pocket." U Charge Up says it focuses on sustainability by using eco-friendly, reusable chargers and a rental model that reduces electronic waste. The company also partners with local businesses to promote community engagement and energy-efficient charging solutions. More information is available at The app can be found here for iOS and here for Android. Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@ Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Lions RB Joique Bell brings portable phone chargers to Ford Field
