EastsideAl's quote:

"...The Belgains lived all across the southern wast side for many decades. One of the earliest areas they were concentrated in was around St. Charles Borromeo church on Baldwin near Lafayette, which was built to serve the Flemish Belgian Catholic community. My grandfather, who was Irish-American, grew up in that area with a lot of Belgian kids, and even when I was a kid in the 60s there were still a few Flemish Belgians in that area..."

Reminds me of my aunt, one of three sisters who joined the convent, who chose Charles Borromeo as her nun name. Grandfather was Irish American, and his daughters taught in Detroit parochial schools for generations. Do any of the older forum members recall her as an elementary school teacher?

Detroit was a "checkerboard" of ethnic enclaves back then, defined by the neighborhood church and small neighborhood bars and markets.