Ann Arbor Observed: Selections from Then and Now

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Iowe thanks to so many, those who helped during the more than twenty years that I was writing these articles for the Ann Arbor Observer , plus the people who assisted as this book was being prepared, that there is no way I can list them all here. But by making an attempt, I can at least show how much backup there was in the community for this project. To begin, I have to thank Mary and Don Hunt, not just for publishing my early articles, but for starting the Observer, a publication that looks at the big picture implications of life in Ann Arbor, an approach that I felt a great affinity to from the first. I am also eternally grateful that they sold the magazine to John Hilton and Patricia Garcia, who are continuing that philosophy. Much of my writing style has been guided by John Hilton, who taught me to look at the larger meanings of what I was writing rather than get bogged down in endless recitals of facts. On the other end, I’ve been blessed with a core of appreciative readers, many of whom have suggested topics and helped me find relevant information. The first person to thank for this book is Peter Heydon, who was not the first to suggest I compile my articles into a book but was the first to offer to help. I am accordingly grateful for the underwriting of THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION (of Rita and Peter Heydon) based in Ann Arbor. Since the Observer only in recent years began keeping digital records, I had to come up with copies of the pictures I originally used. Some I needed to re-borrow. Others I had kept copies of or the Observer had, but in all cases I had to contact the owner of the photos to get permission to reprint them. This meant calling up people, many of whom I hadn’t seen in years, but they were all very helpful and encouraging, rummaging around if necessary to find the pictures and promptly signing permission slips. These wonderful folks are listed in the picture credits. MembersoftheObserverstaff,includingJohnHilton,PennySchreiber, Caron Valentine-Marsh, and Sally Wright Day, let me mine their photo archives and provided electronic copies of back issues that were available. The staff at the Bentley Historical Library, particularly Karen Jania and Malgosia Myc, helped me track down some of the photos I’d once used or find reasonable substitutes. The people at the University of Michigan Press, led by my editor Mary Erwin, were all a joy to work with as they strove for the best possible product within the bounds of reality. Of course no acknowledgment is complete without thanking family members. I have to salute my two children, Josh and Leah, for putting up with my writing all these years. Not only was I often spacey when I was in the middle of thinking about an article, but back when all the bedrooms were being slept in, they had to live with a messy dining room with my work spread out all over. And saving the best for last, my husband, Stan Shackman, would almost qualify as a coauthor because he was so much help with the photographs , scanning borrowed pictures and taking “now” pictures when needed. He also served as in-house technical support on a 24/7 basis. vi Acknowledgments ...