AACHM Oral History: Jennifer and Hershal Brown

Mon, 09/12/2022 - 10:41am

Hershal Brown was born in 1946. He lived off and on with his parents in Gary, Indiana, but he was raised primarily by his grandparents in Ann Arbor. He remembers having many role models at Bethel AME Church. After graduating from Ann Arbor High School, Brown served in the military in Spain. He worked at Ford Motor Company in pre-prototype coordination for 31 years. He also worked and volunteered for the Ann Arbor Public Schools and the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s department. He married his longtime sweetheart Jennifer Benton in 1968 and they have two daughters, Charisse and Heather. 

View historical materials for Hershal Brown.

Jennifer Brown was born in 1948 in Ann Arbor to Charles and Laurel Benton. She recalls learning to fish with her father and attending Jones School. Her mother encouraged her to take advanced classes in high school. Brown worked in banking and bank management for the first half of her career while her children were young. Later in life she got her master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan and became a social worker. She has been married to her husband Hershal Brown for 53 years. They have two daughters, Charisse and Heather, and three grandchildren.

View historical materials for Jennifer Brown.

AADL Talks To: Rich Magner of Blimpy Burger

Wed, 01/15/2014 - 5:13pm

In 1953 an Ann Arbor institution opened, Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger. When Jim Shafer was ready to sell the business in 1992, a Blimpy’s grill team veteran, Rich Magner, took over the most famous burger joint in Tree Town.

Rich sat down with AADL to talk about the history of Krazy Jim’s, the famous order line, what makes a great burger and the origin of the Snow Bears.

Rich gave a progress report on the future of Blimpy Burgers and the crowd-funding campaign currently underway to assure it’s future.