AADL Talks To: Bob and Patty Creal, Lifelong Ann Arborites and Washtenaw County History Society Board Members

Fri, 04/04/2025 - 12:42pm

Robert and Patty Creal, married 63 years this summer, are both board members for the Washtenaw County Historical Society with deep family roots in the Ann Arbor area. In this wide-ranging interview, Bob, a retired lawyer, and Patty, a former teacher, talk about their parents' and grandparents' Ann Arbor. They also paint a vivid portrait of Ann Arbor during the 1940s and 1950s with stories of growing up on opposite sides of town during the World War II era of rationing and Victory Gardens to a courtship involving no less than two iconic Ann Arbor institutions. Bob also discusses the signal achievements of his father, Cecil O. Creal, who served as mayor of Ann Arbor from 1959-1965.

AACHM Oral History: Patricia Manley

Wed, 08/24/2022 - 8:47am

Patricia Ashford Manley was born in 1945 in Ann Arbor, and she was raised by her mother. She remembers attending Jones Elementary School and trying out for cheerleading at Ann Arbor High School. Manley graduated from Western Michigan University in 1970 and later earned her master’s in counseling from Eastern Michigan University. She worked as a teacher, cheerleading coach, and guidance counselor at Huron High School for thirty-one years, and was principal of Thurston Elementary School for ten years. She and her husband Lamont Manley enjoy traveling and going to concerts together. They have been married for 43 years.

View historical materials.