Patti F. Smith

Tonight, Ken & I went to a very cool, very Ann Arbor thing: the Brillig Dry Bar. It is what you think it is–a bar without alcohol. Yet it had the exact same atmosphere as a bar–nice lighting, snacks, live music, and fun!

The pop-up event was held in the same space as Mighty Good Coffee, which is located at 217 N. Main Street. Part of the coffee shop is in one of the buildings that made up the Pardon Block, which spanned 219 N. Main-223 N. Main. I’m not sure when this picture was taken, but the buildings look pretty much the same today:

Right now, the Broken Egg restaurant occupies the two buildings on the right. It is one of my personal favorite breakfast spots; they decorate the interior every month to coincide with the holiday or season, and their omelettes are very good. Mighty Good/Brillig are just to the left of the Broken Egg (in the Pardon building on the left [with the tree in front of it], and the building next to that). I haven’t yet discovered what was in the 217 building…does anyone know?

The picture below is of Brillig’s drink board; Ken had the rosemary soda and I had the Brooklyn Egg Cream.

The building still has a lovely tin pressed ceiling, which I (of course) didn’t think to take a picture of. Thanks to the internet though, I do have some information about the Pardon block!

Charles Pardon built his block in three separate stages, starting with the northernmost part (223 N. Main Street) in 1894. It is unclear if the other two addresses were built at the same time–the portion at 219 N. Main Street has a stone that says “1899” while the 221 N. Main portion simply says Pardon Block. Charles Pardon operated a butcher’s and “provisions” store in the corner space. After adding a line of groceries to his store, he expanded to the second storefront. Meantime, his brother Frank had a bakery at 219 N. Main. This is part of the coffee house/Brillig space today!

Even after 100+ years, good food and drink can still be found at the corner of Miller and Main. Charles Pardon would be proud!

The December 19, 1888 issue of the Ann Arbor Courier reported very little about the upcoming Christmas holiday. The front page is its usual mix of classified ads and short essays. This week, however, the titles of the little ditties are rather melancholy: A Memory of My Mother, There Is No Death, and Separation are three of the titles. I’m in a relatively good mood today, and so I didn’t read them lest I ruin the Happy!

The only real mentions of Christmas are in the classified ads, mostly to tell us of the sales they are having. The big news!!!!!! revolved around changing the city charter. The Friday before publication, Mayor Beakes attended the Business Men’s Association to discuss the proposed changes. Those present were favorably impressed, reported the Courier. Apparently, the old charter just had to go. Some of the changes are as follows:

Mayor ~

• The office would be “raised in dignity and importance and relieved of drudgery”.(Fun fact: drudgery can be defined as “donkey work”)
• The mayor would be the presiding officer of the council, but only vote in the case of a tie.
• He would appoint all city officers except street commissioner (for reasons noted below) but council would have to confirm all appointments.
• He would appoint the city marshal, the city treasurer, policemen (all of them?!?!) and all persons to boards and commissions.

The pay for the mayor was suggested at $200, an idea with which the Courier vehemently disagreed. The paper opined that the honor of serving as mayor was enough, and offering a $200 salary was an “inducement for a class of men not desired as mayors“.

City Clerk ~

• The officer of “Recorder” would be abolished and the new title for the job would be “City Clerk”. He would be the chief officer of the city, given an office in city hall and would be required to be there during business hours.
• He would be the clerk of all city committees and boards, the Sealer of Weights and Measures, and “general utility man in all city affairs.”
• Further, the clerk must “know all of the city’s business and be ready to show it upon a moment’s notice”.

The job would take about 10-12 hours per day, 7 days per week. The salary would be $800 but could go up to $900.

The Courier immediately realized the problem with this–who the hell would work that hard for so little money (even by 1888’s standards?!) The county clerk did “no more work” than what was proposed for the city clerk job; however, the county clerk made between $2,000-$2,500 per year. The paper invited readers to look at their friends and wonder who among them would take such a job for the pay proposed.

Aldermen ~

• Alderman jobs would pretty much stay the same, except that the “drudgery is taken from them” and given to other officials.
• Thus, it will be more of an honor to be an alderman and they will have “fewer kickers to contend with”.

Other interesting things ~

• The city attorney would continue to earn $300 per year, which was “cheap enough”, per the Courier.
• New commissions and offices were the Street Commissioner, who would be appointed by the Board of Public Works and, speaking of the Board of Public Works, they were created too! A Board of Fire Commissioners was also created. They were responsible for issuing building permits and inspecting buildings.

The Common Council met two days before the paper was published and approved most of the changes plus one noted addition: the title of “marshal” was changed to “chief of police”.

There are lots of other shenanigans going on at the meeting, to wit:

• J.H. Nickels (yes, the meat market owner and relative of Tom Nickels who built Nickels Arcade) showed up to explain “in reference to the barn in the rear of his premises” (that’s all it says, folks)
• The mayor and city attorney were instructed to meet with the prosecuting attorney regarding criminal charges against Albert Sorg, the former city treasurer. (What the hell?!?! What’s up with this???)
• Z.P. King “made an extended speech” and then resigned as city attorney (Whaaaaaaat????)
• Alderman Allmendinger moved that the case against the students who were arrested during a democratic club meeting either be dismissed or else charges should be brought against ALL the people who were throwing stones or otherwise engaging in disorderly conduct. His motion was shot down, 6-3.
• The next night, the council got together again to elect a new city attorney. On the fourth ballot, they elected Thomas Kearney.

I can’t imagine what 1888 Common Council Live Tweeters would have had to say about all of this!! Our laptops would have been on fire!

Check out these awesome pictures from the Ann Arbor District Library’s Old News website. Not long ago, they released a bunch of new pictures from their Ann Arbor News photograph collection. I am already waving bye-bye to the hours of my life that will be spent (but very WELL spent) looking through them 🙂

The above picture was taken on the courthouse lawn. The tree is lovely, but the courthouse was lovelier. I often say that if I ever invent a time machine, I will first go back kill Hitler (cuz we all would) and take out Goebbles and Mengele and those f*faces but THEN I will go to Ann Arbor and beg the city planners to please not demolish our courthouse.

Isn’t that wonderful? It was from Wilkinson’s Luggage store circa 1940. I love window shopping, but it seems to be getting harder and harder to do.

This picture shows the corner of Main & Miller. You will see the Pardon block, which now houses the most delicious Broken Egg restaurant. To the right is Dr. Chase’s Steam Printing House, which now houses a law firm (I think it’s a law firm…it has a bunch of names on the door).

From 1948, we see our friends walking up the street and a little kid giving to the Salvation Army kettle bucket. I absolutely love the one lady’s checkered pants! And, there is a furrier in what is now a bank. I know I will get the hate for this, but I love real furs.

Rehearsal for the 1943 Christmas Sing, which was held at Hill. I want one of those hats with the veil hanging down.

As a kid, one of my favorite places was the library. I was lucky in that I had two to choose from–the huge Troy Public Library and the much smaller Arthur Miller branch of the Warren Public Library. The Troy library was my home during my high school years, when I had to do extra research or look something up (no internet, kids!). But I grew up in the Warren library…a small, cozy branch that had a bunch of windows to let in sunlight, places to sit, and loads of books. I graduated from “kids books” to “chapter books” in that library. I discovered Nancy Drew books at that library. I photocopied a bunch of pictures of “women’s libbers” for a project in the second grade. It was a magic place for me.

Ann Arbor is extremely lucky to have an outstanding library system. I am beyond thrilled to be doing a speaking engagement at our downtown branch this Wednesday, December 17th at 7:00pm. I will be selling books and telling some fun (I hope!) history stories.

The day I got my first library card, I thought I was grown. My current library card occupies a spot of pride in my Pulp Fiction “Bad Motherfucker” wallet: it lives in front of my union card and above my debit card.  And while I like the easy check out systems that we have, I do miss writing my name on the little index card and being able to see who had read the book before me. I miss the card catalogs, but I have to admit that the computerized systems are faster. I also love that our library lends out telescopes, artwork, CDs and musical instruments along with the usual books.

Libraries welcome everyone. You can go in and learn about just about anything you want. There are Polk’s Directories from before 1900. There are local history books (that really helped me write my book) and local maps that are fun to look at.If the bombs start falling, I am grabbing as much alcohol as I can get my hands on and heading south (for me) to 323 S. Fifth Avenue. If I have to go out, I might as well go out with a book in my hands. (And yes, I have extra pairs of contacts and glasses, just in case).

One of the stories I will tell on Wednesday will definitely include our friend, Junius Beal. Until 1857, his lovely house was located on the site of our library. (I guess I should say that our library is located on his homestead, shouldn’t I?!?!)

Take a look:

Junius loved him some

bicycles, I read. I must confess that I am barely able to ride a modern bicycle, let alone one like that!

Here is a picture of our library, a few years after it was built:

If you are coming in from out of town…don’t drive in that direction these days! The traffic goes the other way now!

Here is a picture of the library today:

I hope to see you on Wednesday evening!

Did anyone else go to the Tuba concert at the farmers’ market today? I just got back and have to say that it was a fantastic time! According to the Observer, they just sort of all get together on the day of the concert and then make awesome music happen just a few hours later. Given that I have zero musical ability, this is like an out and out miracle to me. The audience got to sing along and I love sing-a-longs!

There were, probably not surprisingly, many bands back in the day in Ann Arbor. One that I particularly like is Otto’s Band. Look at these guys! They seem cool as hell!

Word on the street was that they were the first band to play the Hail to the Victors song! I think that picture was taken at what is now the courthouse annex on Fourth Avenue, but I’m not sure. At any rate, I think it is great that live bands continue to play on our fine streets.

It is pretty much universally agreed upon that I suck as a photographer, but I did my best to get a few pictures.

New steamer! There’s a new steamer in Ann Arbor! It was built to carry cars from Toledo and North Michigan Railroads across Lake Michigan BUT could be converted in a war machine if necessary. That’s an interesting way of thinking….

Art Exhibit! The Ladies’ Library is holding one of its best exhibits ever given here. There are beautiful water colors, yellow roses (fresh? painting? It doesn’t say), “perfect” picture of old homes.

Business Men’s Meeting! J.F. Schuh called for this meeting, but then didn’t show up. WTF, J.F.!?? They want E.S. Hoyt’s specialties. Why weren’t you there, J.F.?!?!

Heavy Tax Payers! A list of “heavy” tax payers (over $300) were listed. I am glad my taxes are not listed. I pay a lot and my dad doesn’t need to know how much we pay because he would just yell at me (in a loving way) 🙂

The Hobart Guild is meeting! This is open to anyone–ladies or gentlemen–who are affiliated with St. Andrew’s Church. That beautiful church is still standing…the block looks much today as it did back when this was written (minus some cars and people walking around with Smart Phones). Yes, there’s a picture in my book!

The November 18, 1898 Argus-Democrat reported that in 1897, the Charitable Union organization had tried something new! Instead of serving a dinner for the poor, they asked for “pound” donations of groceries (e.g. canned vegetables). It was such a success that they were doing it again in 1898! Folks were asked to leave their donations with Mrs. Parker, at the corner of E. Ann and S. Fifth. I’m presuming that she lived in the house there? And everyone knew it? For donating clothes, folks were asked to donate according to their wards, and various women’s names were listed alongside their respective wards. No addresses were given, so maybe everyone just knew where they lived or at least how to find them. That is sort of sweet, but a little scary when viewed through modern paranoia.

Happy Thanksgiving from 2014!

For some reason, this piece of good news was buried on about the sixth page of the paper! Taxes were 85 cents less, despite a higher school tax than last year. Come on guys! Be proud of this 🙂

Right above this little article was an advertisement for Ann Arbor’s Brewing Company. They offered a lager that, the ad said, was so amazing that it you gave it a trial, you would use no other. That language tickled me…it sounds like something you would say about shampoo or a carpet cleaner, not a beer!

Other advertisers were not playing around–winter was coming, and you’d best be ready! My friend, Bruno St. James (I feel like B and I bonded during the writing of my book. I really hope to meet him in some other dimension/afterlife/plane of existence one day and say hey in person) was selling ladies’ fleece lined underwear, men’s all wool natural grey underwear, children’s heavy bicycle hose and ladies’ wool hose. Each pair was for sale for $1.00 or less because my man B offered reasonable prices. He was awesome.

Wadhams, Ryan & Reule were another store that I came across during my research. Their ad featured huge letters that said THE COLD WEATHER IS RIGHT AT OUR DOOR. Underneath this, they said “with a full realization of what the word cold means we print it here in big bold type”. They were selling overcoats and winter suits (I think they were a men’s only store) for around $10.00. Later in the ad, they intimated that “other” places were making pieces of crap and then acting like it was a big deal to “mark them down” to $10; however, Wadhams was so sure about their goods that they would “make you a present” of their merchandise if you found it was not as good or better than the other guys’ stuff.

A cure for stomach upset, or “dyspepsia” was announced! Some guy named Dr. Drake invented a cure, and local druggists were selling it.

I have said before that sharing personal information and humble bragging are not new things…our friends in 1888 did it too, but it just took a little bit longer.

Lists like “Personals” and “Brevities” give us a glimpse into what was going on back then (and, sadly, no mentions of what they ate for lunch….)

From the Personals ~

Mrs. James R. Bach from Howell visited our fine city
A.L. Noble was in New York, but came back on Tuesday
Clare Durand paid Chelsea a visit
Mrs. Carrie Stone attended the Woman’s Congress in Detroit
Rev. Gelston and the Fam moved into their new home on Fourth Street
Miss Libbie Alexander, a graduate of Ann Arbor High School, visited a2, on break from her teaching gig in the Sandwich Islands in Hawaii
Rev. and Mrs. Steele moved to San Francisco, and people were sad to see them go

From Brevities ~

Barney Morrison is up again for drunkenness; he is thinking of moving to Australia
A cannon, used by the Fifth Ward republicans, exploded but no one was injured
The J.L. Hudson band from Detroit gave a great concert at Germania Hall
Blitz & Langsdorf placed the electric light in their new store
Patrick Kirk was arrested for being drunk in the streets; he is serving 20 days in jail after he failed to pay his fine
William Frey went to jail for being disorderly and a vagrant
Mrs. Julia Ward Howe was speaking at the Unitarian Church
Chas. Woodward, formerly of Cook’s House, is now managing Polhemus’ livery (both of these businesses are featured in my book!)
The Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroads announced that they will be building a new depot in Ann Arbor!!

My fiance got his jury duty summons in the mail a few weeks ago; he reports December 1st. I’ve always wanted to be on a jury, but being a former lawyer pretty much guarantees that I will never be picked.

Imagine, however, my delight to see that the Argus printed the names of its jurors for December! They included Chas. Braun and Adam Frey from Ann Arbor, Thomas Dolan of Dexter, Charles Morgan of Saline, Dallas Pierce from Ypsilanti Town and Benjamin Dimmick from Ypsilanti City.

Two points, one–they differentiated between Ypsilanti City and Town, but I don’t know what the difference was…township, maybe? Two, and more important, NO WOMEN! It’s like the he man woman’s hater club up in there! Oh yeah, I realize that we couldn’t vote back then, but I guess I never thought about us not being allowed on juries. Well, a big ol’ 21st century HARUMPH!

It appears, however, that my fellow vagina owning citizens could file lawsuits, so at least we had that going for us. Specifically, Mrs. A. Terry was suing Thomas F. Hill for “trespass understood to be assault”. The Argus reported that Mrs. Terry was having trouble with her neighbors, and where exactly her lot line was. Mrs. Terry was for some time “endeavoring by various acts to show ownership in land owned by Mrs. Hill”. Plucky Mrs. Terry drove stakes into the land, and even built a small embankment made of gravel. Meantime, Mr. Hill saw the gravel, grabbed himself a shovel, and removed it.

Here is where the story gets dark…Mrs. Terry told Mr. Hill to stop removing the gravel and attempted to throw the gravel that was in the shovel pan into his face. Mr. Hill warded off the blow, but Mrs. Terry didn’t let go quite soon enough and almost fell down. Undaunted, she went and got her own shovel and for a minute, she was shoveling gravel onto his property while he shoved the same gravel back onto her property. (Sorry, but I have to say that I wish Smart Phones had been around because this would have been EPIC and instantly went viral). The mound of gravel built up, and Mrs. Terry filed suit.

The Argus said that when the case comes up for trial, “there will be fun in the court”.

Indeed, Argus, indeed!