Clarkston isn’t the small town it used to be ? Bob Waid helped make it that way.
Over the years, he worked on the Dairy Queen on M-15, First Baptist Church on Main Street, now Clarkston Union restaurant, and several commercial buildings and houses.
‘My houses are still standing,? said Waid, 83, who lives in Clarkston with his wife, Violet Waid. ‘They have a good reputation ? that’s the main thing.?
As a young builder in the 1930s-1940s, he remembers constructing houses by hand.
‘People call them the good ole days, but they were a lot of work,? Bob said.
Downtown Clarkston had two barbershops, four grocery stores, hardware stores, car dealerships, church, and a fire station with one pumper truck.
‘Bill Stamp was a country lawyer. He ran the paper (The Clarkston News). I did work for Bill in his house on M-15,? he said. ‘Morgans (auto service) has been there since the beginning of time ? downtown Clarkston was an ideal town, to my way of thinking.?
He remembers when 5 S. Main Street, the Walter Building, home of The Clarkston News, was a dry goods store. Attorney Ron Walter, who practiced upstairs in offices now used by the paper’s editorial department, owned it.
‘He was quite a guy ? a good guy,? he said.
Bob helped modernize the two-story brick building in the 1950s.
?(Walter) asked me, how much trouble would it be to put a toilet in here. I said it would be quite a bit of trouble and a little money,? Bob said.
They dug up Main Street so they could connect to the sewer, he said.
‘It was the first time the building had running water,? he said.
While working in the building’s basement, he found a settee-type sofa, stored there since the 1800s.
‘It was black when it was in the basement,? Bob said.
Violet refinished the wood and, using fabric she found at a church rummage sale, restored it about seven years ago.
‘If it hadn’t been for her, it would have ended up in a junk pile,? he said. ‘She has a vision for old stuff.?
‘We come from a poor background. We see the value in things,? Violet said.
Bob worked for Henry Ford in the 1940s, when the car builder experimented with water power in Clarkston.
‘He was a great man. He did a lot for the country and for Clarkston,? Violet said.
‘He revitalized Clarkston,? Bob said. ‘It was a one-horse town when he came in. He built a factory, hired men, dredged Mill Pond and cleaned it out.?
When Ford took over the former Clarkston High School on Main Street, Bob helped remodel it.
‘I worked for Ford in 1945 in that building (now used as Independence Township Hall). He came in once and I shook his hand,? Bob said. ‘Next door was a little house owned by Fanny Irish. One day one of his truck drivers backed over her coupe, so he built her a new one.?
Depot Road, the one-way road connecting N. Main Street and White Lake Road past Depot Park, was known as Livery Hill
‘That was where the livery stable and feed store were ? we were at the end of the horse days,? Bob said. ‘I remember a team of horses coming up the hill and they got winded. The drivers had to rush out and block the wheels until they got their breath back.?
Growing up, his family lived at the end of Waldon Road next to the Ronks.
‘My dad worked for GM, but you can’t take the farm out of an old farmboy,? he said. ‘He bought an old sow and she had 13 little pigs right out on Main Street ? Dr. Hill had a cow on Washington Street. Mr. Holcomb won a horse and he kept it. He rode that horse and his daughter rode the horse.?
Bob and Violet were married in 1950. He built their first house in 1952 on Walters Road.
‘I drew the plans for the house on a peck sack (the size of a paper grocery bag),? he said. ‘It’s still standing.?
They also lived in Davisburg and Holly before moving back to the Clarkston area.