Keith & Martin/Martin & Keith: Elegy for the \aut\BAR

“From 1995 to 2020, Ann Arbor’s Aut/Bar was the mecca for the LGBTQ+ community. Its founders, Martin Contreras and Keith Orr, created a cultural and political hub that bridged the AIDS era with assimilation of the queer community and urban gentrification. This film is both tribute and elegy to a moment of significant hope when Ann Arbor lived up to its reputation for harboring a tolerant and liberal-minded population. It is dedicated to the two men who were at its heart and whose proud determination to make it happen was both fierce and tender.” - Peter Sparling

AADL Talks To: Robin and Jamie Agnew

In this episode, AADL Talks To Robin and Jamie Agnew, owners of Aunt Agatha’s, their specialty mystery bookstore. The business began in Ann Arbor in 1992, and operated as a brick and mortar for 26 years before moving online in August 2018. Robin and Jamie talk about their experiences working in the store, their favorite memories here in town, and discuss some of the changes in the mystery book genre and bookselling business over the years.

Find more about Aunt Agatha's in our archival collections.

AADL Talks To: Hollanders

In this episode AADL Talks To Tom and Cindy Hollander, owners of Hollander’s. The specialty paper business formerly resided in Kerrytown from 1991-2020. The business began in Ann Arbor in 1986, when the Hollanders started by running the business out of their home. After many renovations and expansions, the store eventually became a 14,000 square foot site and must-see destination in Kerrytown’s historic Godfrey Building. 

Martin Bandyke Under Covers for December 2020: Martin interviews Graydon M. Meints, author of Pere Marquette: A Michigan Railroad System Before 1900.

The Pere Marquette Railroad has not one but two histories—one for the twentieth century and one for the nineteenth. While the twentieth-century record of the Pere Marquette Railroad has been well studied and preserved, the nineteenth century has not been so well served. Pere Marquette: A Michigan Railroad System Before 1900 is the latest book by railroad aficionado Graydon M.

Legacies Project Oral History: Herb David

Herb David was an Ann Arbor luthier.  Originally a research psychologist, David was taught how to make and repair stringed instruments by his mentor, Sarkis "Sam" Varjebedian.  At the age of 30, David started Herb David Guitar Studio, a shop where he produced, repaired, and sold guitars, dulcimers, harps, banjos, and many other types of stringed instruments.  He passed away on July 25, 2020.