Aerial view of Flynn Park Don Flynn
Ball fields under construction Entrance to Flynn Park today
Monday, March 9, 2015
Donald Flynn grew up in Flint and Birmingham before serving in World War II as an airplane gunner. He moved to Troy with his wife Eugenia in 1950. Mr. Flynn was a milkman until the mid-60s, and donated dairy products for the Girl Scout Day Camp as well as Goodfellows Christmas baskets.
Don Flynn also convinced Dutch Boulan to donate and sell land that became Boulan Park, and he spent years buying trees to plant in the park and around the city. Mr. Flynn was influential in the development of Boulan Park. He used his own tractor to grade and drag Boulan Park’s ball fields, and hired Boyd Larson, the principal of Poppleton School, to develop Troy’s Little League program.
Flynn Park, which abuts the Sanctuary Lake Golf Course, opened in 1986 with the name Section 1 Park. Numerous letters had been written to the Park Board recommending Donald Flynn for a name, but the lack of formal City park naming criteria stalled the honor. Then- Mayor Richard Doyle cited the significance of having information compiled on those they were honoring, saying it was important for “future citizens [to] understand the significance of naming the park”.
Haldane, Neal. 1986. Council delays naming park. Eccentric (Troy MI), April 24.
httpss://www.troymi.gov/Portals/0/Files/ParksRec/Parks/PolicyforNamingPublicPlaces082009.pdf (current park naming policy)
Doll, Lesa. 1986 Group urges honor for Troy volunteer. Daily Tribune (Royal Oak MI), April 23.
Biographical portrait of Donald Flynn prepared by Park Board, Troy Historic Village Archives.
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
