AADL Talks To: Dianne Baker, Songwriter and Co-Author of "This Is The Town That Was," an Original Musical Written for Ann Arbor's Sesquicentennial in 1974

Mon, 08/05/2024 - 8:21am

In this episode, AADL Talks To Dianne Baker. Dianne is a prolific songwriter who began writing children’s songs in the 1960s after coming to the University of Michigan to attend nursing school. She has collaborated with teachers, educators, and health professionals and has been recognized nationally for her commitment to the therapeutic effects of music. Baker has performed at Hill Auditorium, the Power Center, the Art Fair, the Ark, and in countless public school classrooms, both solo and in tandem with other notable musicians such as Percy “Mr. Bones” Danforth. She is known for her songs about Michigan history and, in particular, for “This Is The Town That Was,” an original musical written with collaborator Carol Duffy Sheldon for Ann Arbor’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1974. Check out some of Dianne's sheet music and lyrics in the Dianne Baker Collection. 

AACHM Oral History: Carol Allen

Mon, 07/31/2023 - 11:07am

Carol Allen was born in Alton, Illinois in 1945. Her parents Janie and Thomas Ross moved to Ann Arbor in 1951 and purchased a home on Fifth Avenue. Her father was a cook and her mother was a nurse’s aid and custodian. Carol recalls raising her son Carl Jr. with her husband while living on the second floor of her family’s home. She got her associate’s degree in practical nursing and worked in that field for most of her career. In January 2023 she and her husband Carl celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They have two sons and several grandchildren.

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AACHM Oral History: Janie Lee Ross

Thu, 07/20/2023 - 3:59pm

Janie Lee Ross was born in 1921 in Jackson, Tennessee. Her father was a church deacon, and she remembers attending choir rehearsals. In the 1940s she and her husband Thomas moved to Chicago, and she went to practical nursing school. They moved to Ann Arbor in 1951 and purchased a home on Fifth Avenue. They opened their home to many friends and relatives who needed a place to stay. Ross was a nurse’s aid at St. Joe’s Hospital and a custodian in Ann Arbor Public Schools. She has four children–Charlotte, Thomas, Carol, and Eugene (Bobby)–and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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