Thomas E. Dewey Visits His Alma Mater

Tue, 09/06/2016 - 2:24pm by oldnews

Crusading district attorney, governor of New York and two-time Republican nominee for president Thomas E. Dewey was a 1923 graduate of the University of Michigan with a soft spot in his heart for his alma mater. In July 1947, Dewey came with his wife Frances Hutt Dewey, and their two sons, Tom Jr. and John, to visit the campus and town. It was the year before his second run the presidency in 1948. Dewey suggested that the trip was to show his school to his 14-year-old Tom Jr., "a prospective student." He and his family met with UM President Alexander Ruthven, received a tour of the campus, including the Student Union, the office of the Michigan Daily and marveled at the growth of the school and town since he was an undergraduate.

At Michigan, Dewey was active on campus. He was editor of the Michigan Daily and performed in the campus choir. A photo from 1921 shows Dewey dressed as leprechaun for campus production of "Top of the Mornin'". He gave up a career in music for the law, attending Columbia University Law School. In 1956, Dewey returned again to UM campus to attend a meeting of Ann Arbor Republicans, meet with campus Young Republicans and promote the campaign of incumbent GOP President Dwight Eisenhower. Dewey was the first UM graduate to run for president of the United States. He was nominated in 1944 to run against incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt and in 1948 to run against incumbent Harry Truman. In 1958 the UM Board of Regents gave Dewey an award for Outstanding Achievement. Dewey was a native of Owosso, Mich.

Football Fan Craft Zone!

Saturday November 12, 2016: 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Program Room
Grade 1 - Adult

The University of Michigan Zoo

Fri, 06/10/2016 - 5:46pm by oldnews

If you were in Ann Arbor between 1929 and 1962, you had the opportunity to visit the University of Michigan Zoo. On October 11, 1929, an article in the Michigan Daily said the zoo would open “in about three weeks” and would boast a weather vane by famed UM sculptor Carleton Angell. A December 11, 1929 Michigan Daily article reports animals moved in "last week". The tiny zoo enclosure was constructed behind the Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building, what most of us think of as U of M's Natural History Museum. (The giant pumas that guard the front doors of the Natural History Museum were sculpted by Carleton Angell too!)

Inside today's museum is a memorial to the zoo which explains "...In 1929, a University of Michigan alumnus anonymously offered a collection of live native Michigan animals. It was the donor's hope that the animals could be enjoyed by children staying in the hospital then located across the street. A circular animal house and pond known as the "Museum Zoological Park" were constructed behind the Museums Building." Old news articles and photos show zoo residents like badgers, a bobcat, red foxes, skunks, otters, raccoons, several pairs of black bears throughout the years, and a wolverine named Biff. At some point a "reptile pit" was added, which included snakes and turtles.

In 1938, elaborate plans surfaced for a forty acre zoological garden to be located near the University of Michigan hospital. A WPA grant was "expected to provide the finances" for a wildlife utopia, where animals of the tiny U of M Zoo would be turned loose to live with no cages. The location of this dream zoo, which never came to fruition, seems to be the edge of what is now Nichols Arboretum.

Despite the popularity of the U of M Zoo, it was torn down in 1962 to make room for an addition to the Ruthven Museums Building. A few Ann Arbor City Council members, as well as many Ann Arbor townspeople, appealed to the University Board of Regents to save and/or relocate the beloved 30something year old zoo, but eventually the animals were relocated and the zoo became a memory. By today's zoological standards, the animals of Ann Arbor lived in fairly terrible, tiny, cramped quarters. The "Animal House", as it came to be called, never grew to be a wildlife utopia, but certainly provided countless Ann Arbor children and their families the opportunity to appreciate Michigan wildlife up close.

Anything Goes in A2

Saturday June 18, 2016: 9:00am to Thursday July 28, 2016
Malletts Creek Branch: Exhibits

Can Food Be Addictive? A Look At What We Eat And Why

Thursday December 15, 2016: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Improving Cognitive Functioning

Thursday November 17, 2016: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

Living Competently in a Global World

Thursday October 20, 2016: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

UMjobs.org

Thursday June 16, 2016: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
Malletts Creek Branch: Training Center

AADL in the Michigan Daily

Wed, 03/23/2016 - 4:47pm by valerieclaires

This week in the Michigan Daily, columnist Susan LaMoreaux shares her fondness for the Ann Arbor District Library. She highlights AADL programs, services, and community partnerships, including our ever-popular Tools Collections and PALMA: Proyecto Avance: Latino Mentoring Association, run through the University’s Residential College.

She interviews our own Laura Raynor, who explains how AADL looks at the community when developing new services and collections.

What sticks out most throughout the piece, though, is Susan LaMoreaux’s love of the library. She writes:

“In many ways, I did much of my growing up between the old brick walls and metal shelves, and among the thousands of pages and stories contained in just the downtown branch alone. I don’t intend to stop using this collection, even with all the resources on campus that are made available to me because of my student status. That may be partly because, even for those with no library card, it’s always free to walk down William Street and step through those doors.”

You can see her full column on the Michigan Daily website.

The Michigan History Project and Author Mike Rosenbaum Present a Slideshow from Their New Book, “WOLVERINE: A Photographic History of Michigan Football”

Tuesday December 1, 2015: 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room