Comments on: Column: A Voice from the Past Calls Out

By: Al Burdi

Al Burdi — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:26:01 +0000

Bob:
An absolutely wonderful article! What you portray in your writing brings back many, many memories of A2 and, especially South U. When I cam to A2 in 1959 alone and without friends, I soon was “taken” in by the Paron Family at the Brown Jug. And, they will always be remembered. How about Chester Roberts; Miller Ice Cream shop where the tall monstrosity in located on South U; the Village Apothecary where we drank wine in Fred Kreyes cellar the night before getting married; and remember Ollie McLaughlin who had a radio show [Ollie's Caravan] broadcasted from the back booth at the Jug. I was there for the very first ART Fair and helped the Fillecias, Milt Moore and others assemble the framework for the booths for more than ten years.
Ah…those were the days are indelibly etched.in my memory. And, Bob you hit it right on the head in describing Fred Ulrich. He was indeed the “concert master” on South to make sure [as you so nicely point out] to make sure the right “mix” of businesses were on South U.
Robert…you have done an absolutely wonderful job in bringing me back to the halcyon years of South U. My hat off to you! Your article should be in the Ann Arbor News before it dies in July.

Regards,

Al.

By: Kathleen Ransom

Kathleen Ransom — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:12:41 +0000

Oh, the wonderful memories! Thank you, Bob for sharing the realities of the former South U. I too, grew up as a member of this wonderful community. I have very fond memories of all the people you mentioned, and many more. There was a time when it felt like we were one big family, but I have to agree with JJF’s comment: “times have changed and we’ll never recapture yesteryear”. We are very fortunate to have been a part of that generation and I will always cherish the memories of all of our family, friends, and neighbors.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:57:38 +0000

Bob asks who will be the next Fred Ulrich of downtown. I’ll scale that back to the South U business district and rephrase it in terms of the role of community pillar or leader, rather than a more limited person/personality. Today that role might be filled by the South U merchants association. It might have a partner in the DDA and a group like Think Local First. Of course, there may also be some long-term individual business owners whose experience is very valuable.

The value of knowing who is the go-to entity may still be one of the more important pieces of information for a prospective business owner. Bob’s account doesn’t quite argue that, but it is an interesting first-hand examination in search of clues from the past for the key(s) to future success. I enjoyed it.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:45:51 +0000

Mitch’s comments make sense. He loves going to bars and Bob doesn’t.

By: jjf

jjf — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:34:01 +0000

Bottom line, times have changed and we’ll never recapture yesteryear, nor should we strive to. What worked in the 50′s and 60′s won’t work today because we are dealing with an entirely different era in time. Peoples wants and needs have changed. Values and priorites have changed. How people spent their time has changed. We simply don’t live in the same world as we did 40 or 50 years ago. Why set goals and agendas as if we did? Doesn’t it make more sense to redefine what makes a sucessful downtown by todays standards? The memories are nice, but that’s all they are……memories.

By: susan wineberg

susan wineberg — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:29:17 +0000

One of the amazing things about the South University area is that it is still almost totally devoid of chains and has a high percentage of locally owned shops. Think of Middle Earth, China Gate, or Footprints among the many shops that are still there. I walked down South U everyday when I was a student in the 60s and shopped at many of the stores. They seemed to appeal to both townie and student alike. Today it seems that most of the shops are for students only, and the percentage of bars has increased dramatically. Students are the ‘captive audience’ but they would probably benefit from having stores that appealed to townies as well. A shop like Middle Earth does that, but it seems to be an exception. The surprising number of chains on State and Liberty haven’t hurt their bottom lines. Seems like if you want to shop local you should shop on South U! What this points up is that a study should be made of shopping habits that would allow us to make more informed decisions about what to encourage and where. Then maybe we could cut out the nasty personal comments.

By: jcp2

jcp2 — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:01:48 +0000

I see Mitch’s point. There has to be a compelling social reason to “Think Local”, as many of the goods and services formerly available in the South U district are easily available in bog box stores or on the internet at very competitive prices. South U may have been a shopping area for local residents in the past, but I think of the surrounding area as being either student residences or wealthy households in the Angell and Burns Park neighborhoods, so Mitch’s view may be closer to the truth than we would like.

By: my two cents

my two cents — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:43:45 +0000

The reason why these stores no longer exist on South U. is because people did not actually shop there. Many non-students like to stroll down the streets but they did not spend money. Like it or not the students like to spend their money on different things than young families or middle-aged residents. The students spend money locally that is why the retail reflects their interests.

The next time you are traveling to the mall, target, homedepot etc. turn around and try and buy that item at a downtown establishment. Shopping downtown whenever possible will help bring in more diverse businesses to the area if the shop owners can see a potential customer base.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:05:27 +0000

I think Mitch’s comments are revelatory about some of the stereotypes that students (not, I hope, all of them) hold about the established residents of Ann Arbor. If often middle-aged or older (but I know of many young families), we are not all wealthy. His comments invite quite a few “back at ya” comments involving stereotypes of students and the high cost of sponsoring the UM in our town. And Mitch, South U is not part of the campus, yet. It is the only shopping area near much of the east side, so might also serve those (non-student) households. I’m now on the west side so this is less personal than it would have been, but I still remember the feeling of isolation.

Wonder how easy it is to take the bus or a bike from the South U neighborhood to Busch’s? I assume that we are talking about the South Main store rather than the Plymouth store?

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:46:39 +0000

“If I need groceries I’ll go to the White Market, Produce Station, or god forbid take the bus to Busch’s.”

I’m glad that this perspective was represented in the comments. It highlights the fact that one of the stated strategies for helping the commercial/retail mix in the area is incomplete. That strategy is this: If high concentrations of residents (here, students) live nearby, they will be a captive audience for retail there.

As Mitch points out, it’s not THAT onerous a trip to just go to Busch’s. It’s not like one needs to mount a 3-hour expedition to go there. And Busch’s has batteries, blank CDs, donuts, frozen broccoli, pork chops, fresh flowers, potato chips, and a wide selection of candy.

So we don’t have a situation where the audience is captive — downtown in general or South U. specifically. We have a situation where the audience is really close — which is certainly an advantage to retailers who would like to sell something to that audience. To complete the strategy, those retailers offer something that the nearby audience wants to buy, or offer an experience that the nearby audience wants to enjoy.

I see Mitch’s comments as reflecting the view that Bob’s recollection doesn’t necessarily square up with a scenario where Mitch will be spending dollars in the South. U. area. Which is fair enough.