Tag Archives: Bentley Historical Library

Documenting Ypsilanti in the time of COVID-19

By Mark | March 25, 2020

Back in 2017, I got the idea that we should designate a weekend to collectively documenting our lives in Ypsilanti. I called the initiative #DocumentYpsi, and the results were pretty awesome. In fact, I was 100% committed, given the response, to make sure that it became an annual thing. But, like so many other things, […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Health, History, Ypsilanti | Also tagged #DocumentYpsi, 1918, 1918 flu, 1925, Alfred Wilkinson Wilson, Ann Arbor, archives, automobiles, Bill Nickels, coronavirus, COVID-19, Depot Town, desolation, Enchanted Florist, Enrico Caruso, going out of business, Gretchen Whitmer, Kim Clarke, lockdown, masks, photography, public health, ROTC, scrapbook, shelter in place, social distancing, Student Army Training Corps, Unicorn Supply and Feed, University of Michigan, Ypsi history, Ypsilanti Historical Society | 5 Comments

Mysterious Ypsi, scaring the fuck out of Ann Arbor since 1906

By Mark | October 31, 2014

The above image has been making its way around the Ypsisphere today. According to the story that I was told, it was taken during a 1906 Halloween parade in Downtown Ann Arbor. While it’s a little difficult to make out the words on the side of the wagon, they would appear to read “Mysterious Ypsi.” […]

Posted in Architecture, History, Uncategorized | Also tagged Barbour Gyms, carnival, county fair, Halloween, Michigan Union, Mysterious Ypsi, skeletons, terror, Waterman Gym, Wystan Stevens | 8 Comments

Iggy Pop on the happiest days of his life, spent discovering music and working at Discount Records

By Mark | April 4, 2012

Iggy Pop, as some of you may know, is the honorary ambassador of Record Store Day this year. And, as such, he’s been pontificating these past few days on the importance of recorded music, visionary artists and independent retailers, in the run-up to the April 21 event. In a recent videotaped address to the nation, […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, History, Local Business | Also tagged Blues, consumerism, corporate co-opting, Discount Records, Elvis, Elvis impersonator, Iggy Pop, independent record stores, independent retail, Jeep Holland, music history, music industry, Record Store Day, soulless music | 27 Comments

The Ann Arbor Film Festival to celebrate 50 years with ambitious agenda

By Mark | March 1, 2012

In a few short weeks, the Ann Arbor Film Festival will begin celebrating its 50th anniversary. It’s a huge milestone that, to my knowledge, no other North American independent film festival has reached, and, as you might expect, organizers are pulling out all the stops. As luck would have it, I had the opportunity to […]