Ann Arbor Stories | Ann Arbor District Library
by Ann Arbor District Library
Ann Arbor Stories features sometimes well known and sometimes obscure short tales from Ann Arbor's past. Everything from music, money, and murder, to the extraordinary people and events that have shaped Ann Arbor since 1824.Ann Arbor Stories is presented by Richard Retyi and Brian Peters, in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library.
Episodes
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#47 Ann Arbor Stories: The Billboard Bandits
The shrill, biting staccato whine of a chain saw pierces the cold, night air. Thud. Another billboard falls to the ground along a highway in southern Michigan. An estimated 167 billboards in all—cut, chopped, and chainsawed, along highways throughout Michigan, mostly in the vicinity of Ann Arbor....
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#46 Ann Arbor Stories: The Battle of Ann Arbor
Four nights of rioting, dozens of injuries to cops and citizens, and more than 70 arrests—it was an event The Detroit Free Press dubbed “The Battle of Ann Arbor”. What sparked this violence and how did the insane scene play out in the summer of 1969? Music by FAWNN and ZShipps
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#45 Ann Arbor Stories: Highway Snipers
There wasn't a lot of traffic on M-14 on that last day of August 1981. It was 3am. Semi trucks bound for points in Michigan and throughout the Midwest, cars carrying people headed to work, cars taking people home after long nights. It was at this time on this day on this stretch of highway that...
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#44 Ann Arbor Stories: Professor Foxy Truesport
This is the story of Thomas Clarkson Trueblood—the first golf coach at the University of Michigan, one of the most respected orators in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and noted professor --- of lovemaking. Get to know Professor Foxy Truesport. Music by Tunde Olaniran
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#43 Ann Arbor Stories: How the Hippies Almost Killed Football
In 1970, one man tried to stop the University of Michigan and Michigan State from playing their annual football game. And he kind of had an argument. A story of rock music, drugs, sex, love-ins, college football and judicial precedent - fun for the whole family! Music by Hollow & Akimbo Listener...
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#42 Ann Arbor Stories: The Chameleon
You're going to hear a story about a man. It may seem too good and too weird to be true, but trust me—what you are about to hear is 100% real. This is the story of William Douglas Street, better known as The Chameleon. Music by Shout Out Out Out Out
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#41 Ann Arbor Stories: Skyscrapers
Skyscraper is such an elegant word. Two decades after it was first used in print to describe Chicago's tall-building craze, Ann Arbor had its first skyscraper—the seven-story Glazier Building. Twenty years later, the 10-story First National Building went up. This is the story of some of Ann…
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#40 Ann Arbor Stories: Train Crashes
Ann Arbor has a rich history of railroads and trains. So so much rich history. This is not that story. This is a story of the most spectacular train crashes in Ann Arbor's history. Listener Warning: Contain references to train crashes, more train crashes and a canary named Bobby. Music by Diego…
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#39 Ann Arbor Stories: We Had a Zoo
Bears. Bobcats. Badgers. Red foxes. Raccoons. And a wolverine. Once upon a time they watched from campus with their predatory eyes as students at the University of Michigan, townies, and delicious delicious children walked past. Their territory on the corner near Geddes and Washtenaw - that's…
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#38 Ann Arbor Stories: Top 10 Astronauts
There are enough amazing Ann Arbor astronauts to create a top 10 list, so that's what we did. Men with righter than right stuff, pilots and scientists and world record holders who broke the outer limits of the atmosphere, touched the stars and zoomed around the surface of the moon on a frickin'...
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#37 Ann Arbor Stories: MAILBAG #1
Each episode of Ann Arbor Stories ends with our email address: [email protected] and an ask to you, our great listeners, for feedback, story ideas or shockingly personal questions. We personally answer each email, but some of these questions are too good to keep to ourselves. Behold, our...
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#36 Ann Arbor Stories: Housewife Flies Around the World
The woman the papers called "the pretty Michigan housewife" had never left the United States before planning her 1967 flight around the world. Not in a modern jet, but in a 30-year-old plane that had 14 previous owners, one crash landing, and most recently was set ablaze for firefighting…
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#35 Ann Arbor Stories: Walking Tour #1
This first Ann Arbor Stories walking tour is intended to be listened to while actually exploring a few city blocks in downtown Ann Arbor. It takes listeners from the corner of Huron and Fourth, outside the Embassy Hotel all the way to the corner of Liberty and Ashley and the C. Walker Building....
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#34 Ann Arbor Stories: The Music Mobile
You can’t talk about the amazing life of Geraldine Seeback without talking about the Music Mobile, but you better not talk about the Music Mobile and gloss over the amazing life of Geraldine Seeback. Two stories in one! The story of Ann Arbor's First Lady of the Symphony along with her rolling...
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#33 Ann Arbor Stories: Dirty Rotten Founders
Rugged pioneers John Allen and Elisha Rumsey founded Ann Arbor in 1824 and named their new town Ann Arbor because, 1.) Both of their wives had "Ann" in their names and, 2.) The wives frequently relaxed and chatted under a grape arbor the men had planted for their beloved spouses. That's the story...
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#32 Ann Arbor Stories: Dam Arbor
The Huron River travels 130 miles from White Lake Township in Oakland County all the way down to Lake Erie - meandering through Dexter, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Belleville, Flat Rock, and Rockwood. Since Ann Arbor's founding, the river has been used as a method of transportation and source of power,...
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#31 Ann Arbor Stories: The Dictator Comes to Town
Ann Arbor loves hosting dignitaries, celebrities and heads of state like any other Midwestern city. In 1966, Ann Arbor had the pleasure of hosting newly-elected Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and his lovely wife Imelda. He wasn't a dictator yet. Hadn't murdered 3,257 of his own people....
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#30 Ann Arbor Stories: The Embassy Hotel
If you've seen the Embassy Hotel since 1951, you'll know it doesn't look like anything special. It's wrapped in dull grey siding and the signs on the side of the building are old, and its clientele probably wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms at too many other Ann Arbor hotels. But the Embassy is...
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#29 Ann Arbor Stories: Public Animal No. 1
Dozens of cities tried - hundreds of lawmen failed. Ann Arbor was the only place in the world that could cage punk rock’s most anarchic, violent and revolting personality. Think Iggy Pop crossed with Charles Manson - the crossed with Charles Manson - the voice of Randy Macho Man Savage with…
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#28 Ann Arbor Stories: The Blind Pig
On February 23, 2017, Swisher Commercial listed the Blind Pig and 8-Ball Saloon for sale. 6,970 square feet, two stories, two half baths, no bedrooms, and no list price. Best offer only. Liquor license included. The origins of the building, the Blind Pig and how this isn't the first time Ann…
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#27 Ann Arbor Stories: The Torch Murders
In the pre-dawn hours in August 1931, a farmer in Ypsilanti reported a car on fire at the edge of his property. When police and firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames, they found a grisly scene that shocked the state. Four bodies, burned nearly beyond recognition, were found inside the...
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#26 Ann Arbor Stories: Henry Ford's Enforcer
The most powerful person ever to live in Ann Arbor was Harry Bennett—Henry Ford's right hand man, union buster and general enforcer. Bennett lived behind the walls of Bennett's Castle at 5668 Geddes Road, where he ran the Ford Motor Company security division by fear and intimidation. He employed...
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#25 Ann Arbor Stories: The Red Light District
There was a time in Ann Arbor’s not-so-distant past when a part of town was widely known as the red light district. Adult bookstores, topless massage parlors, prostitutes, hoodlums, and bums—all just blocks from City Hall and Ann Arbor police headquarters. Cops were raiding massage parlors every...
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#24 Ann Arbor Stories: Proud History of Punching Nazis in the Face
Police spotted the Nazis in their rented U-Haul at the edge of the city around 11 am— two hours before anyone expected them to arrive. Fifteen members of the S.S. Action Group out of Westland—sitting three in the front and 12 in the back, riot shields and jackboots bouncing over every pothole. It...
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#23 Ann Arbor Stories: The Clairvoyant Physician
In a time of spirits, specters, and the people who could contact them - Daniel B. Kellogg fit right in. The good doctor could diagnose you in person or halfway across the country—see inside you and prescribe the perfect cure—despite having no formal medical training. He needed only his keen sense...
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#22 Ann Arbor Stories: For All the Marbles
That spring in 1936, seven years into the Great Depression, the entire city of Ann Arbor, age 14 and under, lost their marbles over the biggest sporting event the city had ever known. Hundreds of kids battled for 26 coveted spots in a tournament that could determine their futures. It was the 1936...
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#21 Ann Arbor Stories: Our Own Santa's Helper
Most of Santa’s helpers are great people - guys and gals - and, as it turns out, Ann Arbor used to have one of the best. Our Santa’s helper was so good that four U.S. presidents praised his work. As did governors, senators, congressmen - essentially any elected official looking to shake hands and...
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#20 Ann Arbor Stories: JFK Slept Here: The Presidential Special
George Washington never slept here. Neither did Abraham Lincoln or Andrew Jackson or George W. Bush. Of the 43 men who have served as President of the United States since 2016, we’re confident 17 Commanders in Chief have set foot in the Ann Arbor area … 18 if you count young Army officer Ulysses…
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#19 Ann Arbor Stories: A Very Dixboro Ghost Story
Listener discretion advised. When Martha Crawford stepped out of her carriage and set foot in the Village of Dixboro in 1835, no one could have predicted her eventual fate, or that she'd be the origin of Dixboro's first creepy ghost story. Music by Michna and Ben Benjamin, made possible by...
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#18 Ann Arbor Stories: Riot at the Star Theater
On St. Patrick’s Day, 1908, The Star was the site of the largest riot in Ann Arbor’s history. Why did an isolated beatdown incite 3,000 students and townies to destroy one of Ann Arbor's few theaters at the time? Music by Frontier Ruckus
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#17 Ann Arbor Stories: Ann Arbor Mallet Murders
Listener discretion advised. This episode contains content that might not be suitable for all listeners. It does have the word murder in the title. Why did three teenagers from good homes bash nurse Pauline Campbell's brains out of her head one cool fall evening in 1951? Music by Alexander…
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#16 Ann Arbor Stories: The Girls in the Band
Being a member of the University of Michigan Marching Band is hard work. Not only do you need to be a great musician, but you need to be able to march in tight formation, high-step and run around a football field in front of 100,000 people without missing a note. Attributes only men were…
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#15 Ann Arbor Stories: The Pig Bowl
1969 was a rough year in Ann Arbor. So the city cops and the county cops decided to play a full-contact game of football to raise money for Christmas presents for needy kids. They called it The Pig Bowl. Music by All Star Collegians and Park St Trio. AADL Links 1st Annual Pig Bowl Newspaper...
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#14 Ann Arbor Stories: The Naked Mile
What began as a fun way to celebrate the last day of classes transformed into an internationally live-streamed event. Crowds of 10,000 or more shouting, cheering, pushing and watching 1,000 coed runners in the buff take part in the University of Michigan's famous Naked Mile. Where did it start?…
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#13 Ann Arbor Stories: A Brief History of Poop
Ann Arborites haven't always pooped in their pristine flush toilets and private privvys, no sir m'am. Things were gross and disgusting for a long time. Learn about the arrival of the earth closet, the sealing of the privvy vaults, and the story of the very first flush toilet in Ann Arbor. And…
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#12 Ann Arbor Stories: The Ballad of Shakey Jake
Legendary streetsman, bluesman and raconteur, Shakey Jake told so many tales to so many people that sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. We do our best in this episode of Ann Arbor Stories. Music by Ben Benjamin, made possible by Gholicense. AADL Links See articles...
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#11 Ann Arbor Stories: The Great Meteorite Heist
It's a story 50,000 years old. Sort of. A 60-pound meteorite is stolen from the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. There are no signs of a break-in. No clues to follow. No video cameras to catch the robbers in the act. How did Detective Kevin McNulty of the University of Michigan...
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#10 Ann Arbor Stories: Ann Arbor Invents the Cubicle
The cubicle. The three-walled cliche, surface to which so many Hang In There kitty cat posters are affixed, was invented in Ann Arbor. That’s right - the yoke around the neck of white collar workers everywhere was conceived and birthed in Ann Arbor. On State Street, no less. Here's the story of…
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#9 Ann Arbor Stories: It's Lovely to Die Together
(This episode is for mature audiences only) The two girls were peculiar, even for Ann Arbor in 1971. They looked college aged, maybe they were hippies. Nothing outwardly weird, but something definitely strange. They stood a few feet apart, face to face on the corner of State and Liberty. Some…
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#8 Ann Arbor Stories: The Suicide Sub Comes to Ann Arbor
See 38 and a half tons ... 81 feet of fanatical fiendishness. See one of the ships in which two of our enemies volunteer to accept death in order to blow up their objectives. See this Japanese suicide submarine and realize what a vicious, tricky, desperate enemy our boys are fighting in the...
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#7 Ann Arbor Stories: The Legendary Weed Contest of 1975
The Legendary Weed Contest of 1975 wasn’t just any contest. It was more than just a sweepstakes where the grand prize winner received one full-scale pound of Columbian smoking marijuana. It was a statement. A call to revolution. A brilliant marketing plan hatched during a smoke-filled discussion...
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#6 Ann Arbor Stories: Ghost in the Attic
For a town as old as Ann Arbor, it has surprisingly few ghost stories. But in the late 1950s, the congregation of the First Methodist Church in Ann Arbor was pretty convinced they had a spirit on their hands. Caretakers sometimes heard footsteps late at night, but never spotted anyone in the...
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#5 Ann Arbor Stories: Ann Arbor's Oldest Gay Bar
It started on April 30, 1949, when Cupid Bar rebranded itself as The Flame Bar, turning a popular downtown student watering hole into a slightly more popular downtown student watering hole. Almost 50 years later, The Flame would close, shuttering an Ann Arbor institution. It wasn’t Ann Arbor’s...
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#4 Ann Arbor Stories: The Birth of Iggy Pop
Muskegon claims him because he was born there. Ypsi claims him because, for most of his childhood, he lived in a trailer park on the outskirts of town. But it’s Ann Arbor - along with cocaine, meth, acid, booze, pills, AND ambition - that deserve the credit for turning James Newell Osterberg into...
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#3 Ann Arbor Stories: Martian Madness
On the night of March 20,1966, Frank Mannor’s six dogs started barking like they’d never done before. He went outside to shut them up and that’s when he saw what he saw. Something flying through the night sky. At first it looked like a shooting star, then it slowed. It changed color. And it…
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#2 Ann Arbor Stories: Death of a Policeman
Crime was never a big problem in Ann Arbor in 1935. There were occasional break-ins, robberies, stolen vehicles, assaults, a riot or protest or two, but Prohibition was over and the gangsters and bootleggers had moved on. An Ann Arbor police officer had never been killed in the line of duty, nor...
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#1 Ann Arbor Stories: A Buck Twenty-Five
In 1824, John Allen of New York and Elisha Rumsey of Connecticut bought up 640 acres of prime Michigan land, paying $1.25 per acre. Those 640 acres, purchased in a tiny federal land office in Detroit, would become known as Ann Arbor. This is the story of the founding of Ann Arbor and how the town...
About this show
Ann Arbor Stories features sometimes well known and sometimes obscure short tales from Ann Arbor's past. Everything from music, money, and murder, to the extraordinary people and events that have shaped Ann Arbor since 1824.Ann Arbor Stories is presented by Richard Retyi and Brian Peters, in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library.
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