Blog Post
Paul is dead: old evidence brought to light
by amy
If you're a Beatles fan old enough to have owned the 'White' album and fondly recall playing it backwards listening to "Turn me on, dead man" -- as well as other clues that Paul McCartney was dead -- you have Fred LaBour to thank, and you can do so at The Ark on Monday, December 5. LaBour, bassist for the fun retro-cowboy band Riders in the Sky, was a U-M student back in October of 1969 when he wrote a satirical review of the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album for the Michigan Daily that began with the headline, "McCartney dead; new evidence brought to light." In his review, LaBour invented several clues that McCartney had died and was replaced by a double named William Campbell, thereby fueling an urban legend that quickly swept America. The Ann Arbor News covered the hoax a week later in October 1969, and Alan Glenn, chronicler of Ann Arbor in the 1960s, wrote about the story in 2009.
Riders in the Sky will appear at the Ark on Monday, December 5, in which LaBour (as his stage alter ego, "Too Slim") plays a mean double bass.
Blog Post
"Freeing John Sinclair" website and events coming in December
by amy
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, which took place in Ann Arbor on December 10, 1971, the Library will launch a website documenting the history of the White Panther Party and Rainbow People's Party in Ann Arbor circa 1968-1975. The site will include the full run of both parties' underground newspaper, the Ann Arbor Sun; a series of original essays; audio files from the Bentley Historical Library's John and Leni Sinclair Papers; and dozens of hours of interviews with people central to this period in Ann Arbor history. For all of this and more, check out freeingjohnsinclair.org on December 9!
To launch the site, the Library is sponsoring a series of events and an exhibit titled "Rock and Revolution", on display at the Downtown Library from December 2 - January 15.
Related events in December are:
December 2, 7:00 pm: "Rock and Revolution" exhibit opening with appearances by Gary Grimshaw, Leni Sinclair and an illustrated talk on Michigan rock poster art by . (Downtown Library)
December 9, 8:00 pm: a free concert with the Commander Cody Band and special guest John Sinclair & Beatnik Youth (The Ark, 316, S. Main St, Ann Arbor) ( map)
December 10, 1:00 pm: "Culture Jamming: A Long View Back", a panel discussion featuring John Sinclair, Leni Sinclair, Pun Plamondon, David Fenton and Genie Parker. With host and moderator, U-M professor (Pendleton Room, Michigan Union, 530 S. State St, Ann Arbor) ( map)
Blog Post
AADL Talks To Heritage Business Owners Charles Schlanderer Jr. and Charles Schlanderer Sr.
by muffy
Schlanderer & Sons, Jewelers and Silversmiths has occupied the same prime location on Main Street for over seven decades. It is one of the few local businesses that survived and thrived continuously in the hands of the same family through cycles of boom-and-bust. Recently we sat down with Charles Schlanderer, Sr. (Charlie) and Charles Schlanderer, Jr. (Chuck) – the third and fourth generation of store owners, for a conversation about history of the family business.
In 1933 C. Henry Schlanderer and his two sons Paul and Arthur opened the store in a historic building at 208 South Main. We learned why, at the height of the Depression, Henry chose to open a store for “luxury goods”; how each successive generation came into the business and the improvements they have made; their decision to stay “downtown” against the gradual exodus of others to the malls; and more importantly, their vision of the retail landscape in the near future.
The Schlanderers also reminisced with us about their most memorable sales over the years, the friendships formed; and loyalty of their clients.
Apart from the discussion about the business, we talked about families; growing up in Ann Arbor, Hillsdale College and Michigan Hockey (Want to know why? Listen to the podcast). You can read articles about Schlanderer & Sons in Old News.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| AADL_Talks_To-Charles_Schlanderer_Jr_and_Sr.mp3 | 10.7 MB |
Blog Post
Ann Arbor in the Sixties: Were you there?
by amy
Students for a Democratic Society. White Panthers. Student Riots. Sit-ins. The Great UFO Chase. Concerts in West Park. Sheriff Doug Harvey.
Were you in Ann Arbor during the Sixties? Do you have a story to tell? Award-winning author and archivist of popular culture Michael Erlewine, founder of the All-Music Guide (and related All-Movie Guide and All-Game Guide), ClassicPosters.com, and lead singer for the Prime Movers Blues Band (Iggy Pop was his drummer), will share some of his personal memories of the cultural shifts that took place in Ann Arbor during the Sixties and early Seventies. If you were there, we'd like to hear from you as well.
We'll also let you know about a related series of events the Library is planning in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in December to mark the 40th anniversary of the John Sinclair Freedom Rally that took place on December 10, 1971.
Ann Arbor in the Sixties -- 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 12, 2011 -- Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Blog Post
Crime & Punishment in Washtenaw County: A Women's History
by Debbie G.
A more infamous side of Washtenaw County history will come to life in Fallen Women & Female Felons, a presentation by Susan Nenadic that covers everything from pickpocketing to murder by the fairer sex. The program will be held at the Bentley Historical Library on Sunday, Sept. 18th, 2:00 p.m. ~ 4:00 p.m. The WCHS program is free and open to the public. For more information, call 734.662.9092 or email wchs-500@ameritech.net.
Blog Post
AADL Talks to Ed Surovell
by amy
The Michigan Library Association recently announced that long-time Trustee of the Ann Arbor District Library, Ed Surovell, will receive this year's MLA Trustee Citation of Merit, the highest award bestowed by the Association for a Library Board Trustee. In this episode, Ed talks with us about the origins of his successful real estate company, Edward Surovell Realtors; his long history with libraries and the book industry; and his personal collections and interests. He also discusses the responsibilities of an elected Trustee and recollects some of the challenges he faced while serving on the inaugural AADL Board of 1996.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| AADL_Talks_To-Ed_Surovell.mp3 | 20.5 MB |
Blog Post
Heritage Quest: Benjamin Franklin as a Genealogist by John W. Jordan
by Stewart
In 1899, John Woolf Jordan (historian and genealogy writer of the late 1800's and early 1900's) wrote an article for the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography titled, “Franklin as a Genealogist”. Mr. Jordan obtained original letters and records and wrote about Benjamin Franklin’s genealogical quest. Benjamin Franklin investigated his family line and created what Mr. Jordan referred to as a pedigree (a family tree, a portion of Benjamin Franklin's pedigree is displayed in the blog photo). You too can see the original documents (some in Benjamin Franklin’s own hand) using the Heritage Quest research database.
The Heritage Quest database (available @ AADL) has documents imaged from the 1790 - 1930 U.S. federal censuses and images from over 20,000 book titles, including family and local histories. To access the Heritage Quest database from home, simply login to your online library account. You can search census data, books and local histories, revolutionary war pension and bounty-land-warrant application files, Freedman's Bank documents, and Serial Set documents. I searched for books about Ann Arbor and found several, including: Polk's Ann Arbor City Directory,1915 and the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County Directory, 1888-9.
Blog Post
African American Downtown Festival & the history of African Americans in Ann Arbor
by KristinL
This Saturday, June 4th, will be the annual African American Downtown Festival in Ann Arbor! The festival will be a multicultural and multi-generational celebration of African American history in Ann Arbor. The location of the festival (4th and Ann) is significant due to it being the historical epicenter in Ann Arbor of African American owned businesses, culture and family life. Fun times to be had by all!
If you're interested in doing some research into the history of African Americans in Washtenaw County, the AADL has several resources for you:
- A pictorial history titled, "Another Ann Arbor" by Carol Gibson & Lola M. Jones.
- "Unconquered Souls: The History of the African American in Ypsilanti by Albert P. Marshall.
- The documentary "A Woman's Town" (1991) chronicling the history of African American women in Ann Arbor from the mid-nineteenth century to the late nineteenth century.
- Abolitionist history in Ann Arbor with the Signal of Liberty newspaper database
- An AADL Productions Podcast with Lola Jones and Carol Gibson, the founders of the website "Another Ann Arbor" & authors of the book of the same name.
Additional local resources include:
- The African American Cultural and Historical Museum, dedicated to preserving the history and culture of African Americans in Washtenaw County.
- The website and organization, "Another Ann Arbor", created by Lola Jones and Carol Gibson to chronicle African American life in Ann Arbor.
- The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan has a number of collections dedicated to African American history in Ann Arbor.
Blog Post
The Dexter-Ann Arbor Run: From 195 to a Cast of Thousands
by Debbie G.
They were a hale and hearty group in 1974 despite being temporarily delayed by a passing train at the first Dexter-Ann Arbor Run. We've gathered together a few articles and pictures from the Ann Arbor News Archives about the a href="http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/">Dexter-Ann Arbor Run to jog your memory and get you motivated for this year's race on Sunday, June 5th.
Check out a few items from the archives:
-Photo of runners pack in the 1979 Dexter-Ann Arbor Run
Blog Post
Celebrities love The Making of Ann Arbor
by KristinL
The Local History databases aren't just for Ann Arborites, international celebrities like them too! The AADL's resources got some national attention this weekend when Russell Crowe retweeted a link to our The Making of Ann Arbor database!
Ann Arbor has been a used as a film location for many years, which means we've had our fair share of celebrity visitors to our fair city. This weekend, actor Russell Crowe tweeted about enjoying a visit to Ann Arbor and asked his followers if they knew the origin of the name. Local History Databases to the rescue! Woo hoo!
As Russell and his followers soon found out, the origin of the name "Ann Arbor" is still hotly debated. Ann's Arbor? Annarbour? Depending on which tome you consult, the name has a different origin. There are a litany of possible Ann's from history that could hold the honor of having the city named after them but which one? The world may never know! But if you want to do your own research beyond The Making of Ann Arbor be sure and check out: