Ann Arbor Stories | Ann Arbor District Library

Ann Arbor District Library
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  • Arts

Ann Arbor Stories features sometimes well known and sometimes obscure short tales from Ann Arbor's past. Everything from music, money, and murder, to the extraordinary people and events that have shaped Ann Arbor since 1824. Ann Arbor Stories is presented by Richard Retyi and Brian Peters, in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library.

  1. 04/12/2018

    #47 Ann Arbor Stories: The Billboard Bandits

    The shrill, biting staccato whine of a chain saw pierces the cold, night air. Thud. Another billboard falls to the ground along a highway in southern Michigan. An estimated 167 billboards in all—cut, chopped, and chainsawed, along highways throughout Michigan, mostly in the vicinity of Ann Arbor. The papers called this group The Billboard Bandits. But they weren't the only ones terrorizing good old fashioned marketers in town. Music by Hollow & Akimbo

    #47 Ann Arbor Stories: The Billboard Bandits

  2. 03/01/2018

    #46 Ann Arbor Stories: The Battle of Ann Arbor

    Four nights of rioting, dozens of injuries to cops and citizens, and more than 70 arrests—it was an event The Detroit Free Press dubbed “The Battle of Ann Arbor”. What sparked this violence and how did the insane scene play out in the summer of 1969? Music by FAWNN and ZShipps

    #46 Ann Arbor Stories: The Battle of Ann Arbor

  3. 02/08/2018

    #45 Ann Arbor Stories: Highway Snipers

    There wasn't a lot of traffic on M-14 on that last day of August 1981. It was 3am. Semi trucks bound for points in Michigan and throughout the Midwest, cars carrying people headed to work, cars taking people home after long nights. It was at this time on this day on this stretch of highway that more than 200 bullets rained down on speeding cars, trucks and semis, causing mass panic and chaos. This is the story of the 1981 highway snipers. Music by Michna and Ben Benjamin, courtesy of GhoLicense.

    #45 Ann Arbor Stories: Highway Snipers

  4. 10/12/2017

    #44 Ann Arbor Stories: Professor Foxy Truesport

    This is the story of Thomas Clarkson Trueblood—the first golf coach at the University of Michigan, one of the most respected orators in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and noted professor --- of lovemaking. Get to know Professor Foxy Truesport. Music by Tunde Olaniran

    #44 Ann Arbor Stories: Professor Foxy Truesport

  5. 09/28/2017

    #43 Ann Arbor Stories: How the Hippies Almost Killed Football

    In 1970, one man tried to stop the University of Michigan and Michigan State from playing their annual football game. And he kind of had an argument. A story of rock music, drugs, sex, love-ins, college football and judicial precedent - fun for the whole family! Music by Hollow & Akimbo Listener Warning: Episode contains references to sex, drugs, and the Ann Arbor band The Seventh Seal which played music so mind bending that it drove people to riot.

    #43 Ann Arbor Stories: How the Hippies Almost Killed Football

  6. 09/14/2017

    #42 Ann Arbor Stories: The Chameleon

    You're going to hear a story about a man. It may seem too good and too weird to be true, but trust me—what you are about to hear is 100% real. This is the story of William Douglas Street, better known as The Chameleon. Music by Shout Out Out Out Out

    #42 Ann Arbor Stories: The Chameleon

  7. 08/31/2017

    #41 Ann Arbor Stories: Skyscrapers

    Skyscraper is such an elegant word. Two decades after it was first used in print to describe Chicago's tall-building craze, Ann Arbor had its first skyscraper—the seven-story Glazier Building. Twenty years later, the 10-story First National Building went up. This is the story of some of Ann Arbor's first skyscrapers, it's tallest building and the 30-story behemoth that never was. Music by Chris Bathgate.

    #41 Ann Arbor Stories: Skyscrapers

  8. 08/17/2017

    #40 Ann Arbor Stories: Train Crashes

    Ann Arbor has a rich history of railroads and trains. So so much rich history. This is not that story. This is a story of the most spectacular train crashes in Ann Arbor's history. Listener Warning: Contain references to train crashes, more train crashes and a canary named Bobby. Music by Diego and the Dissidents

    #40 Ann Arbor Stories: Train Crashes
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About

Ann Arbor Stories features sometimes well known and sometimes obscure short tales from Ann Arbor's past. Everything from music, money, and murder, to the extraordinary people and events that have shaped Ann Arbor since 1824. Ann Arbor Stories is presented by Richard Retyi and Brian Peters, in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library.

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