05/23/2018
It was 1949, Flint Michigan. I get to be born next year. The “motel” was a new accommodation format, spawned by America’s love of the automobile and travel. My father had a leg up on the concept in that he had already built some cabins to rent with his father, the infamous Frank Ehrnst (stories later)....
The concept was already in existence on Route 66, and other known highways. But, now, it was to about enter urban America. An entirely new concept, “The No Tell Motel” ....
I don’t believe my father, Harry Ehrnst, and especially, my mother, Mary Grace Christy Ehrnst, had any idea of what was about to happen in their life, and for their sons’, Jimbo and Stevo. Our lives were to be permanently altered!! Lol
The Ehrnst Motel began innocently enough, a simple accommodation option along the Dort Highway, on the north end of Flint. My father envisioned weary travelers searching for pure outdoor recreation on the bountiful lakes and rivers of the aptly named, the Water Wonderland.
Starting with only two rooms (we lived in the other), he built his dream while working shifts at the Flint automobile plants. As time and money would accrue, rooms were added until a total of 12 was constructed over about 2 years. By now, I am rolling up and down the new, concrete sidewalk in my pedal car or on my tricycle. Two vehicles that would shape my life forever.
1953. The Ehrnst Motel is barely surviving. Other motels are being built on the Dort Highway along with some ugly, F. Scott Fitzgerald, waste land industry, mostly metal and tire scrapyards, with a medical supply dump thrown in. A bright spot, in the otherwise grey landscape, the Stables bar, grille, and nighttime live music club, goes up a mile away. Meanwhile, the burgeoning auto industry of Flint, engulfs the Dort Highway, transforming it overnight, from a travelers rest area, to “The Strip.” Performance cars are here to stay, the 1953 Corvette, makes it’s debut.
Remember those cabins I mentioned earlier? They were on the property of Frank Ehrnst, Harry’s father. Frank was a carpenter by trade, part time farmer, entrepreneur, full time pool hustler, and nightlife lover. Seeing the development of Harry’s “motel” idea, he took a bulldozer and pushed all of Harrys old, pre-WWII war cabins together in a row. Then, connected them with that brick-look siding material that was made of tar, shingle material. Voila! The Flint Motel was born! And what a place! Nothing level anywhere. If you weren’t drunk when you entered your room, you felt like it, trying to navigate the floor plan. This was not an issue because the patrons were all gonna be drunk anyway. The Flint Motel was directly across Dort Hwy. from the Stables Bar. The transition to “No-Tell” motel was afoot.
Frank was my grandfather, and I have several fond memories. But, he was, without a doubt, a scoundrel at heart. As my father was slowly adding one or two rooms per year, Frank had 6 right off the bat. When he got his neon sign, a copy of the Ehrnst Motel sign, he opened with a $.25 lower per night rate than Harry. This trend of underpricing the Ehrnst Motel would carry on for the next 30 years. A family bone of contention as long as I can remember.
Motel rooms of the 1950’s were pretty much the same as they are now. The appeal over a hotel being that you could park in front of your room. Since they were mostly on open highways, instead in the city like old fashioned hotels, they were easier access for car travelers. They were always cheaper, in the beginning, but that would change dramatically in the future. An early 1950’s motel room was about $4 per night. The earliest price I can remember at the Ehrnst Motel, was $6.24. That would be $6 if you went 1 mile further to the Flint Motel. I have a vague memory of maybe $4 when my dad had only one room to rent. As I said, we lived in the other one.
Motels today, all over $100 a night, are a mystery,to me, on how the pricing got there. Think about it. The motel owner is selling something, for a short period of time, that he gets back in the morning! A weekend in a Michigan resort town like Petoskey, could easily run $500-$1000 by today’s prices. But, those places are not selling the same travelers experience, by any definition. Swimming pools, proximity to golf courses, lakefront locations, nearby Ski Areas, were much different than the Dort Hwy. and Stables Bar. We were selling anonymity and getting lucky for one night! And, all for only 6 bucks!
