Ann Arbor Stories | Ann Arbor District Library

The shrill, biting staccato whine of a chain saw pierces the cold, night air. Thud. Another billboard falls to the ground along a highway in southern Michigan. An estimated 167 billboards in all—cut, chopped, and chainsawed, along highways throughout Michigan, mostly in the vicinity of Ann Arbor. The papers called this group The Billboard Bandits. But they weren't the only ones terrorizing good old fashioned marketers in town. Music by Hollow & Akimbo

Four nights of rioting, dozens of injuries to cops and citizens, and more than 70 arrests—it was an event TheDetroit Free Press dubbed “The Battle of Ann Arbor”. What sparked this violence and how did the insane scene play out in the summer of 1969? Music by FAWNN and ZShipps

There wasn't a lot of traffic on M-14 on that last day of August1981. It was 3am. Semi trucks bound for points in Michigan and throughout the Midwest, cars carrying people headed to work, cars taking people home after long nights. It was at this time on this day on this stretch of highway that more than 200 bullets rained down on speeding cars, trucks and semis, causing mass panic and chaos. This is the story of the 1981 highway snipers. Music by Michna and Ben Benjamin, courtesy of GhoLicense.

This is the story of Thomas Clarkson Trueblood—the first golf coach at the University of Michigan, one of the most respected orators in the world during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and noted professor --- of lovemaking. Get to know Professor Foxy Truesport. Music by Tunde Olaniran

In 1970, one man tried to stop the University of Michigan and Michigan State from playing their annual football game. And he kind of had an argument. A story of rock music, drugs, sex, love-ins, college football and judicial precedent - fun for the whole family! Music by Hollow & Akimbo Listener Warning: Episode contains references to sex, drugs, and the Ann Arbor band The Seventh Seal which played music so mind bending that it drove people to riot.

You're going to hear a story about a man. It may seem too good and too weird to be true, but trust me—what you are about to hear is 100% real. This is the story of William Douglas Street, better known as The Chameleon. Music by Shout Out Out Out Out

Skyscraper is such an elegant word. Two decades after it was first used in print to describe Chicago's tall-building craze, Ann Arbor had its first skyscraper—the seven-story Glazier Building. Twenty years later, the 10-story First National Building went up. This is the story of some of Ann Arbor's first skyscrapers, it's tallest building and the 30-story behemoth that never was. Music by Chris Bathgate.

Ann Arbor has a rich history of railroads and trains. So so much rich history. This is not that story. This is a story of the most spectacular train crashes in Ann Arbor's history. Listener Warning: Contain references to train crashes, more train crashes and a canary named Bobby. Music by Diego and the Dissidents

Bears. Bobcats. Badgers. Red foxes. Raccoons. And a wolverine. Once upon a time they watched from campus with their predatory eyes as students at the University of Michigan, townies, and delicious delicious children walked past. Their territory on the corner near Geddes and Washtenaw - that's where these wild beasts stalked for more than 30 years. Stalked is a little hyperbolic. Watched. They watched. But with slavering mouths and sharp curved teeth. We didn’t mention the cages. There were cages. And some fences. And zookeepers. Wait, we didn’t mention. Um, everyone … we had a zoo! Parental Listener Warning: This episode contains references to a few animals that die, wild animals at sporting events and otter water slides. Music by: Shout Out Out Out Out

There are enough amazing Ann Arbor astronauts to create a top 10 list, so that's what we did. Men with righter than right stuff, pilots and scientists and world record holders who broke the outer limits of the atmosphere, touched the stars and zoomed around the surface of the moon on a frickin' lunar rover. Who's your favorite? Parental advisory: This episode contains references to death, more death (we're not psyched about this) and the film Apollo 13. Music by FAWNN.