Robert E. Hicks (1892-1986), and his father, Stephen H. Hicks (1855-1952), were instrumental in the development of the "Flowerpot" subdivision of East Lansing, Michigan. In 1912, Stephen Hicks bought a 160 acre farm in Ingham County, starting a dairy business and family-run farm called "Lilac Farm Dairy." The property was located on the west side of Harrison Road, extending south to Trowbridge Road.

In 1919, the Hicks family decided to sell some of their land to the Michigan State Police to use for housing for new recruits. This venture proved to be profitable, and since the family was finding the dairy business too demanding they dissolved the "Lilac Farm Dairy" and formed "S. H. Hicks and Sons Inc." Eighty acres of the farm were divided into building lots, and Robert Hicks built houses on a majority of the lots. Soon roads, sidewalks, and street names appeared. The subdivision became known as the "Flowerpot" neighborhood because all of the streets were named from flowering plants. The back eighty acres remained farmland.

In 1948, Michigan State University wanted to buy twenty acres of the Hicks farm for a new disposal plant for the university and for the City of East Lansing. Robert Hicks refused to sell only twenty acres. He agreed to sell to MSU only if the entire eighty acres were purchased at a price of $75,000 to which MSU agreed. That same year, the state Highway Department took over these eighty acres which eventually became part of U.S. 127 and I-496.

The life of Robert Hicks spanned nearly a century, and Hicks remained active his entire life. He built roads, swimming pools, a boat, and more than twenty-five houses. Hicks was also skilled in floriculture and landscaping.

Robert Hicks was born in St. Johns, Michigan and married Zoe Thurber of Lansing in 1916 and had seven children. Married fifty-six years, they lived in the "Flowerpot" area until they died. Zoe died in 1972 at the age of 77, and Robert was 93 when he died in 1986. During East Lansing's 75th birthday in 1982 Hicks was honored as the city's oldest resident.