It all began with an advertisement on the front page of the Ann Arbor News. It was Saturday, January 8, 1938, and readers were encouraged to visit page 5 of the newspaper to meet Bobby and the Old Professor "(who knows almost everything)" for an adventure in science. "The feature, written by R. Ray Baker, is intended especially for children but grownups will like it, too."

R. Ray Baker was a known quantity to readers of local newspapers. In 1923 he became managing editor of the Ann Arbor News, then known as the Ann Arbor Times-News, and served in that capacity until 1934 when he became Associate Editor. Baker was also a feature and science writer for affiliated Booth Newspapers, Inc. (Saginaw News, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen-Patriot, Muskegon Chronicle, Bay City Times, Kalamazoo Gazette, & Ann Arbor News). He published articles nearly every day, and tried to keep the public informed on new developments in the fields of science and medicine. Much of his information came from interviewing University of Michigan staff members, and professors regularly cooperated with him on major stories.

Bobby, The Old Professor, And (Sometimes) Julia

The launch of R. Ray Baker's new Bobby and the Old Professor series was geared toward a young audience, but aimed to educate adults as well. The premise was simple: "Bobby" was a boy of roughly 10 years old who was curious about the world around him and had lots of questions. The "Old Professor" had all of the answers. With each article, a photograph depicting their weekly adventure would be published as well. Ann Arbor News photographer Eck Stanger shot all of the staged images for the series. "Bobby" was portrayed by R. Ray Baker's son Russell, and the "Old Professor" was retired University of Michigan Mathematics Professor William H. Butts. Baker thought of the "Old Professor" as a composite of all of the U of M faculty men he had interviewed over the years, and felt that Professor Butts had an appearance to fit this role. Later in the series the character of "Julia" was added, the female counterpart to "Bobby," and Jackie Carl portrayed that role in the photographs.

Scientific Adventures In Newspapers

R. Ray Baker's very first Bobby and the Old Professor article was titled "What's A Leaf?". Each week Baker would consult with experts at the University of Michigan to ensure the accuracy of his writing. Scientific mysteries would be explained in simplified language. Topics varied throughout the first year of the series from radios to turkeys, ancient pottery, the northern lights, quicksand, linotype machines, fire, sabre-toothed tigers, the four seasons, and volcanos.

The scientific adventures of Bobby and the Old Professor (and sometimes Julia) appeared originally in Booth Newspapers, Inc. publications. The Flint Journal, for example, ran the series as part of their "Children's Corner," which eventually grew into the "Wide Awake Club" page in Sunday issues. By March 1938, R. Ray Baker was encouraging children to participate in the series. "WRITE TO THE OLD PROFESSOR," the headline declared. "Boys and girls are invited to write to the Old Professor, in care of this newspaper, for explanation of anything that puzzles them." Soon the Old Professor was directly answering children's science questions in the series, increasing readership of the already popular articles.

Scientific Adventures In Books

In 1939 the first Bobby and the Old Professor book was released. "So That's The Reason!" published by Reilly and Lee, Chicago, was a collection of selected (and sometimes revised) articles from the newspaper series. Topics included spiders and webs, Saturn's rings, thunder & lightning, glaciers, why ducks swim, and snowflakes. The book contained a foreword by Dr. Alexander G. Ruthven, president of the University of Michigan, and was dedicated to "The curiosity of American youngsters - may it never grow less!". Illustrations were included, along with the photos that Eck Stanger had contributed to the newspaper series. Reilly and Lee, Chicago, would eventually publish five more of R. Ray Baker's Bobby and the Old Professor books: So That's Chemistry! (1940), So That's Astronomy! (1941), So That's Geology! (1942), So That's Life! (1943), & So That's Man! (1949).

The Adventure's End

The Bobby and the Old Professor series ran weekly from January 1938 until May 1949. At the end of June 1941, Professor William H. Butts aka "The Old Professor" died at the age of 84. The photos featured in the series after his death would be of Bobby & Julia, with no replacement for the professor's character. The series continued to run steadily through the 1940s, and remained a popular feature in Booth newspapers around Michigan. As Russell Baker ("Bobby") and Jackie Carl ("Julia") grew into young adults and moved on with their lives, the series eventually stopped featuring photos of them and turned towards the use of illustrations instead.

On May 2, 1949, R. Ray Baker experienced some chest pain. He collapsed on East Washington Street while walking to his doctor's office, and died before reaching the hospital by ambulance. His untimely passing at the age of 58 was mourned throughout the Booth Newspaper affiliates, especially in Ann Arbor by those who worked closely with him on a daily basis. He had just finished work on his book "So That's Man!" and it was published shortly after his death, along with his final installment of Bobby and the Old Professor. Baker was praised for his wide-reaching career in journalism that successfully made science education accessible to countless numbers of adult and children alike. 

When Dr. Adam A. Christman died at the age of 97, he was known to many Ann Arbor residents simply as "the man who grows roses". Beyond the confines of his incredible gardens, he had also trained thousands of University of Michigan medical students, and hundreds of graduate students, in biochemistry, bacteriology, physiology, pharmacology, pharmacy, botany, and zoology. His pioneering medical research had assisted in solving multiple criminal cases, including uncovering the truth behind a young woman's murder. He was also a devoted historian of Ann Arbor, who humorously documented city life in a collection of short stories that grew into a novel. Christman wore many different hats throughout his time in Ann Arbor, and his contributions spanned literature, science, and the arts.

Early Life

Adam Arthur Christman was born December 11, 1895 at his family's farm home near Shannon, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Grinnell College in 1917, just as World War I was escalating. Based on his education, the U. S. War Department assigned him a position at the Hercules Powder Company in Kenvil, New Jersey, where he worked as a chemist preparing high explosives (nitroglycerine, dynamite, & TNT). When the war ended, Adam attended the University of Illinois and completed a Ph.D in Chemistry. In September 1922, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Medical School. The following year he married Mary Josephine Stevens, who also hailed from Shannon, Illinois. The young couple moved into a small attic apartment on Ann Street in Ann Arbor.

Biochemistry Solves A Murder

Dr. Adam Christman's career at the University of Michigan spanned 42 years, from 1922 to his retirement in 1964. He moved up through the ranks of the physiological/biological chemistry/biochemistry department in the Medical School, and served as chairman of the department from 1953 to 1955. In research he worked on allantoin and purine metabolism, calcium metabolism, antimalarials, and muscle metabolism. He served as chairman of the U-M Russell Award Committee, chairman of the Medical School curriculum committee, and on the National Science Foundation selection committee. He also served as a consultant to Oak Ridge Nuclear Institute and in other similar capacities.

Known as a gifted teacher and scientist, Dr. Christman was particularly well known for a quantitative method he developed early in his career for the rapid determination of carbon monoxide in the blood. In 1932 he presented this work before the American Society of Biological Chemists in Philadelphia. Four years later, in 1936, his method was used to help solve a murder.

On January 5, 1936, 24-year-old expectant mother Bernice Blank died after a fire in her home in Maple Rapids, a small farm town north of Lansing. Her husband George had reportedly not been around when a stove exploded, and her death was ruled accidental asphyxiation. Just days after her burial, suspicious family members requested that her body be exhumed for an autopsy. The Michigan State Police reached out to the University of Michigan Pathology Department, bringing Dr. John C. Bugher and Dr. Herbert W. Emerson onto the case. Bugher found evidence that Mrs. Blank had been struck in the head multiple times. Familiar with Dr. Christman's work with carbon monoxide, Bugher called on him for assistance.

Organs and tissue samples were brought to Dr. Christman, who used his method of detecting carbon monoxide in blood and determined that the level was less than the smoke from a single cigarette. According to Christman's work, Mrs. Blank was dead before the fire began. Once Christman's method ruled out asphyxiation from smoke, Dr. Emerson examined the body and found chloroform in the brain, kidneys, liver and stomach. Together the three scientists determined that Mrs. Blank had received physical blows to her head and was killed with chloroform. The fire was likely intended to cover the crime.

Faced with the autopsy results, George Blank confessed to the murder of his wife over a financial argument. Dr. Christman would go on to share detection of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream with law enforcement officials and forensic scientists, and his method would be used to solve many more investigations. In future interviews, Dr. Christman often mentioned that the Blank murder case was memorable for him because a brother of Bernice Blank was a medical student in his laboratory. The brother had expressed his appreciation for Christman's work in solving the murder. George Blank was sentenced to life in prison.

Life Consulting Rosarian

When he wasn't working as a biochemist, Dr. Adam Christman could often be found in his rose garden. In 1928 the Christmans moved into a newly built home at 1613 Shadford Road, in the Burns Park neighborhood. In their backyard they grew vegetables, a few flowers, and had space reserved for playing croquet. According to Dr. Christman, “By 1933, probably because of articles in garden magazines, such as Better Homes and Gardens, we were persuaded that the help of a landscape architect was needed to design a beautiful garden.” On a whim, the Christmans had a dozen rose bushes included in the plan for their updated yard. Years later, when Christman's garden contained over 200 rose plants and he was an avid member of multiple rose-related organizations, he would look back at these first dozen rose bushes as his gateway into a lifelong hobby and passion.

In 1936, the Ann Arbor Garden Club held a flower show, and Dr. Christman entered several of his roses for competition. One of them won a blue ribbon, and his interest in rose culture deepened. In 1937, Dr. Christman joined the National Rose Society (American Rose Society or A.R.S.) and the Detroit Rose Society. In 1945 he left the Detroit group in favor of the Greater Lansing Rose Society, which he belonged to until 1964. In 1964, he and eleven other local rose enthusiasts organized the Huron Valley Rose Society as part of the Great Lakes Division of the American Rose Society. By 1982 their group had grown to over one hundred members. Immersed in all aspects of rose growing and appreciation, Christman had become a true rosarian. On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1985, friends presented him with a new rose cultivar, a dark red Grandiflora known as the "Adam Christman". Through the years he won numerous awards for roses he grew, as well as for his judging skills. In 1988 the American Rose Society made him a Life Consulting Rosarian, one of their highest honors. 

The Changing Scene

In 1978 Dr. Adam Christman was approached about writing an article on growing roses for the Neighbors Page of the Ann Arbor News. He agreed to the task and wondered if readers would be interested in his observations of Ann Arbor from when he first arrived in 1922. This was the start of a regular series of articles known as "Ann Arbor Diary" that Christman would write from 1978 to March 1981, covering the history of the city and the University. Ann Arbor Diary covered topics like streetcars, victory gardens, notable residents, neighborhoods, and education, and all of the articles are laced together with humor and quirky observations. The stories were entertaining, and popular with readers of the newspaper, and serve as a record of many people and places that no longer exist in our city. When the series ended, after 45 installments, Dr. Christman self-published a book called "Ann Arbor: The Changing Scene", which included much of his Ann Arbor Diary writing as well as a few additional pieces. Although he never actually wrote about growing roses in his newspaper series, a rose article is included in his published book.

On the occasion of his 94th birthday, in 1989, it was announced that Dr. Christman had established the Adam A. and Mary J. Christman Graduate Student Fellowship in Biological Chemistry at the University of Michigan. The university's current description for the award, which still exists to this day, reads as follows: The Adam A. and Mary J. Christman Award is presented to an outstanding Ph.D student in the Biological Chemistry Department who has demonstrated excellence in her/his academic scholarship and research contributions. The recipient receives a cash award of $1,000. Dr. Christman died in Ann Arbor on September 23, 1993 at the age of 97. He currently rests in the Washtenong Memorial Park Mausoleum, where his location is easy to find because of the roses it is decorated with.

Read the entire text of Ann Arbor: The Changing Scene.