Community

Andrew Brix

Andrew Brix is sick of living in a poorly insulated house. It’s not just the Midwestern chill; there’s the principle of not wasting heat and money. Although Brix, twenty-eight, and his two housemates offered to...

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A Walk in the Park

We received 123 entries correctly identifying the December Fake Ad for A Walk in the Park.The entries came from far. “Finding the Fake ad is one of the traditions my wife and I have when coming out here for the...

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Begob Sculpture

“‘I Spy Red to the North’ at 1221 Beal by the Robert H. Lurie Engineering Center,” emails Vivian Loh, identifying December’s feature. Duane Keahl adds the sculpture’s name and creator:...

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The Plot Thickens

On the night of August 21, according to police, Lisa Reardon appeared at the door of her parents’ house in Dexter Township carrying a 20-gauge shotgun. She opened fire on her father, George Hicks, from a distance of...

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Ann Arbor on the Couch

Betty Draper lies on a couch in a dimly lit room, wringing her hands. A middle-aged man sits in a leather chair behind her head, silently holding a pencil and notebook. “I don’t know why I’m here,” Betty...

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Circuit Rider Elijah Pilcher

Slimy logs shifting along the swollen Grand River trapped the horse’s hock. But the rider didn’t curse–that would be unseemly for an itinerant Methodist preacher on the Michigan frontier. Elijah Pilcher freed...

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Online Rhubarb

We received 174 responses correctly identifying the Fake Ad on p. 11 of the November Observer. The ad was for a book, Can You Have an Online Rhubarb?, self-published by Ed Nimby, a character who’s appeared in several...

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Ann Pearlman

Time for an unlisted number? That’s what friends are asking Ann Pearlman. The question throws the therapist, author, and longtime Ann Arborite for a loop. Yes, she’s living out every writer’s fantasy: Simon...

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Let ‘er rip

Straight-arrow former U-M baseball coach Don Lund, who guided the Wolverines to a national championship in 1962, was once a skilled sign stealer. That’s one revelation from Playing Ball with Legends, a new biography of...

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Sea Nymph

“I believe the photo is of the fountain ‘Sea Nymph’…east of the Michigan League,” writes Kristen Schleick–the only entrant to correctly identify November’s feature. The turquoise-glazed...

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Community Center Comeback

When the Rev. Yolanda Whiten was appointed to head the Ann Arbor Community Center in May 2007, it was unclear if the historically black nonprofit would survive. A couple months after Whiten started, the center’s previous...

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Punk Paradise Lost

A hard rain fell as city inspectors Tony Savoni and Milt Andrews arrived at 715 Miller on Thursday, August 20. A pair of cops came with them, because Savoni and Andrews weren’t there just to inspect the battered Victorian...

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Working It Out

When I moved to Ann Arbor, I set out to find the perfect gym. Since most gyms, recreation buildings, fitness studios, and athletic centers offer a free trial period to anyone willing to take a tour with a sales representative, I...

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Rampant Unicorn

“I know this regal unicorn well,” writes Laura Schieb, who enjoys photographing it. Aileen Schultz also knows it well—she volunteers as a docent at the League, where she lived and worked sixty-two years ago as a student. She adds, “tours of the League are available!”

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October Fake Ad

We received 100 entries to our little contest in October. Of those, ninety-nine correctly identified the Fake Ad for the Biergarten on p. 89. It’s been awhile since middle school math class, but that sounds like 99 percent...

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West Towne Condos

Q. What is the status of the West Towne condos at the northwest corner of Maple and Liberty?A. The plans approved by City Council in July 2005 called for eighty-seven units in eight buildings. Construction began the following...

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Basketball Revival

When Michigan beat then-undefeated Duke last December at Crisler Arena, excited fans spilled onto the court. U-M men’s basketball, after lurching around for more than ten years in a largely self-induced coma, had rejoined...

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Busting Sod

I killed zucchini. And it was my backup plant. It’s so easy to grow that it’s literally a joke: someone who buys a zuke in the summer has no friends. As a first-time community gardener with Project Grow, not to...

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No More Shushing

“I want to blow up people’s perceptions of libraries.”Chelsea District Library director Bill Harmer–and others like him–are doing just that. At what once were quiet, staid, small-town libraries, a...

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Wenk’s Wines

Obscured by the greeting cards, candy, and convenience items at Wenk’s Prescription Shop is a little known but carefully selected collection of wine. The space is tight. Bottles are displayed upright in deep shelves,...

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