AADL Talks To: Francis Blouin
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As part of Ann Arbor 200, the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio (7CS) have produced a documentary film about the closing of Ann Arbor's Jones School. In 1965, the Board of Education closed the majority-Black school. Ann Arbor joined a nationwide trend of school desegregation during the Civil Rights Era. But for these young students, the loss of a neighborhood school foreshadowed changes to their close-knit community. Gentrification came to Ann Arbor on the heels of desegregation.
In this episode, Karen Jania, president of the Washtenaw County Historical Society (WCHS), discusses her career in archives and museums. In addition to discussing her work at the WCHS, Karen talks about her long career as head of reference at the Bentley Historical Library, including the many changes in archives work that she witnessed during her tenure, the colleagues who nurtured her through her career, and some of the Bentley's unique collections.
In this episode, AADL Talks To The Chenille Sisters, Ann Arbor's favorite harmonizing trio. They are (left to right, below) Cheryl Dawdy, Grace Morand, and Connie Huber. The Chenille Sisters began singing together at Ann Arbor's Old Town Tavern in 1985. Within a year, they made their first of several appearances on Garrison Keillor’s popular “A Prairie Home Companion” radio program. The trio wrote and toured constantly through the early 2000s, appeared in numerous regional and national venues, and recorded 12 records.
In this episode of AADL Talks To, we interview Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter. Bill and Ruth discuss their history running the Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and the Crazy Wisdom Journal. They also talk about their time in Ann Arbor, including some of the city’s changes over the years. They discuss their experience as a unique “new age” bookstore in a town known for its book shops.
Video extra from the feature-length documentary Welcome to Commie High from 7 Cylinders Studio.
Guy Stern escaped Nazi Germany in 1937 and subsequently joined the U.S. army where he served as an interrogator of captured German soldiers. Guy and his life story are amazing. This might be our last best chance to hear what life was like in pre war Germany and WWII from someone who was there.