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Timeline [Ford School of Public Policy]

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Project Overview

Creator

Ford School

Format

Timeline

Publication year

2014

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Stay Connected to U-M History

#historyofum

Open post by umichbentley with ID 18095406659396174
When Mercedes de Goenaga was a student over 100 years ago, U-M didn't have dormitories yet! 

Instead, most students lived in boarding houses, sororities, or fraternities. 

Mercedes was a student from Puerto Rico who lived in the Alpha Phi house in Ann Arbor in 1912, according to the U-M yearbook at the time! 

She took a very active part in campus life, and was the president of U-M's French club, the president of the Women's Glee Club, a member of the Comedy Club, and more. 

She also organized events for women at U-M, as one of the students helping to run the U-M Women's League in the early 1910s! 

Mercedes graduated in 1913, the same year that Hill Auditorium opened. She earned her Bachelor's degree from what is now the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts!

You can learn more about Mercedes, and the history of other U-M students, through the U-M yearbooks at the Bentley, which anyone is welcome to explore!

#UMich #HispanicHeritageMonth #StudentLife #Alumni #1910s
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18040492400826485
Throwback to this bird's eye view of Ann Arbor over 100 years ago!

You can spot Ann Arbor's old Fire Station on the left side of this photo; today, you might know that building better as part of the Hands-On Museum!

This photo also includes the Allenel Hotel, which was one of the most popular hotels in Ann Arbor for many years. Student clubs often held banquets there! 

Newlywed former president Gerald Ford even stayed at the Allenel in the 1940s, according to historian Grace Shackman in the 1996 Ann Arbor Observer. 

By then, the hotel was on the decline. (Ford chose it because he wanted to catch the Michigan game the following day!) 

The Allenel Hotel no longer exists today, except in photos like this one!

This picture was taken looking east down Huron Street circa 1910-1920. You can find early photos of Ann Arbor like this one in the Sam Sturgis photograph collection at the Bentley, which anyone is welcome to visit and explore!

#AnnArbor #Throwback #HuronStreet #1910s #Over100YearsAgo
Open post by umichbentley with ID 17981911323116549
Today we remember all those who lost their lives during 9/11, 25 years ago. This photo from 2001 shows the flag flying at half mast on the Diag in honor of those whose lives were lost. 

In the wake of the attacks, thousands of people from the Ann Arbor community gathered on the Diag for a candlelight vigil that evening. 

The following day, the Michigan Daily reported that so many people volunteered to donate blood to help the wounded that hospitals had to turn some of those volunteers away. 

A memorial plaque listing the names of the 18 U-M alumni known to have died during 9/11 was installed in the U-M Alumni Center in 2002. 

Their names were David D. Alger, Yeneneh Betru, Brian P. Dale, Paul Friedman, James M. Gartenberg, Steven Goldstein, Darya Lin, Todd Ouida, Manish Patel, Laurence Polatsch, Stephen Poulos, Gregory Richards, Joshua Rosenthal, Christina S. Ryook, Meta Fuller Waller, Scott Weingard, Meredith L. Whalen, and Marc Scott Zeplin. 

We remember their lives, and the lives of so many others, today.
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18067209359589129
The wild turkeys are back again! 

We snapped this photo when they stopped by our library garden for a visit today. We're assuming the turkeys were drawn here by their love of Michigan history! 

While we don't allow wild turkeys inside the library, we DO welcome human beings! So, if you're a human being who is interested in exploring historical photos, maps, scrapbooks and more from across both the State and University of Michigan, feel free to stop by and visit us at the Bentley. 

Visiting is free and open to the public! 

If you see our wild turkey friends while you're here, please make sure to keep a safe distance, as always. ❤️🦃

#Wildlife #AnnArbor #NorthCampus #WildTurkeys
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18090114101789458
These are some of the people who built Michigan Stadium in the 1920s! 

Their work, and the work of many others like them, helped create the stadium you know and love today.

Happy Labor Day! 🎉

Interested in exploring early photos of Michigan Stadium being built? You can find these photos, and more, in the Athletic Department records and the Michigan Alumnus archives at the Bentley. 

Visiting is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, during our open hours! 

#UMich #MichiganStadium #LaborDay #1920s
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18193757206345576
Football season kicks off today! In honor of U-M’s first game of the season, here are some football photos from 100 years ago! 🏈

⭐ U-M left end Bennie Oosterbaan in three point stance 

⭐ U-M vs. Ohio State rivalry game & the season opener game against Oklahoma

⭐ Michigan football games against Minnesota, Michigan State, and Illinois

⭐ Football Captain Benny Friedman in 1926 & Ferry Field 

At the time, U-M's home football games were played on Ferry Field. Michigan Stadium was in the process of being built when these early photos were taken!

You can find hundreds of early U-M football photos like these, as well as football programs, digitized football films, and more, in U-M’s athletic archives at the Bentley! 

Interested in exploring more of U-M's football history from these archives? Be sure to check out today's free screening of historical football films before the game, from 12 - 5 p.m. at U-M’s Frankel Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor! 

Have fun, and Go Blue! 💙

#UMich #Wolverines #FootballHistory #100YearsAgo #GoBlue
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18038754290824745
Join us for a free U-M football history event before the game on Saturday!

This weekend, you're invited to watch early U-M football films at the historic Frankel Detroit Observatory in Ann Arbor! 🏈

From 12 - 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 5, we'll be sharing early films of the Wolverines from the Bentley Historical Library at U-M's Observatory, for everyone to enjoy. 

You'll also have the chance to check out our special Observatory pop-up exhibit of Michigan's football history, featuring historical photos and more! 

Anyone is welcome to attend; this event is open to the public. We'd love to see you there! 

#FootballHistory #AnnArborEvents #UMich #GoBlue
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18111669659099226
#TBT to these medical students performing at the 1965 Galens Smoker! 😎 Did you know that U-M's first "All-Medic Smoker" was held by the Galens Medical Society over 100 years ago?

This event evolved over the years into a parody play about medical student life, featuring titles like "The Sound of Mucus" and "My Fair Malady." This photo shows a Smoker themed after James Bond (hence the sunglasses!)

Galens began as an all-male organization, but has since opened its doors to anyone studying medicine at U-M. These days, all medical students are welcome and encouraged to join the fun!

You can find this photo, and others like it, in the Galens Medical Society records at U-M's Bentley Historical Library, which anyone is welcome to visit!
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18060507683716552
Meet Berkley and Jaxson, our amazing student fellows! They spent the summer getting hands-on experience with U-M's athletic history! 🏈

As part of the Peikert Fellowship program, Jaxson and Berkley had the chance to spend eight weeks learning about U-M athletics history and gaining new skills in the archives, thanks to a generous donation from Michael Peikert (LSA ’70) and Frances Peikert. 

“Before I worked here, I imagined people in delicate gloves preserving ancient papers. It's really cool to see how we work to make things easier for researchers and the public as well,” Jaxson says.

This year, Jaxson cataloged U-M football programs, and Berkley processed the papers of U-M’s first women’s volleyball coach Sandy Vong (@umichvball). They also helped get images from U-M women’s athletics off of old CDs so that they can be made available to the public!

Berkley is starting her second year as a School of Information student pursuing a Master’s in Information Science. In the future, she would love to work in an academic library or archive. She also hopes to travel the globe!

Jaxson is an undergraduate English Major who loves storytelling. He plans to apply to become either a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major, or to join the Ford School! 

Swipe through to see the advice they'd give to future students! 

#GoBlue #UMich #StudentFellowship #Archives #AthleticHistory #OurStudentsAreAwesome
Open post by umichbentley with ID 18331652380260268
Did you know that U-M's historic Observatory is over 170 years old? 

Today, this Observatory is a museum that hosts free history & astronomy events in Ann Arbor, and it's part of the Bentley Historical Library!

We're excited to share that the Observatory now has new open hours available every Saturday, for anyone to visit! ⭐

Stop by and see this historic building: 

Thursdays: 12-5 p.m.
Fridays: 12-11 p.m.
Saturdays: 12-5 p.m. 

Admission is always free!

Click through to get the details about some upcoming events that you can enjoy from U-M's Judy & Stanley Frankel Detroit Observatory in September. These events are free and open to the public! 

#DidYouKnow #UMich #AnnArborEvents
Open post by umichbentley with ID 17968145058142898
TBT to students moving into U-M in 1994! Happy Move-In week, Wolverines!

As you can see, one of these students was using the classic "pass things through the window" method. Another student's family opted to carry their bags on a bench!

These days, we recommend the much easier option of using our classic big blue bins. 💙

We’re so excited to welcome you to Ann Arbor! After you get settled, be sure to stop by the A-Maized and Moved In Resource Fair at The Connector and Bursley from 2–4 p.m. You’ll find ice cream and helpful information to start the year. 

If you'd like to see more photos like these, you can find them at U-M's Bentley Historical Library, which is free to visit and open to the public!

#UMich #AnnArbor #StudentLife #WelcomeBack
Open post by umichbentley with ID 17963006118158091
Happy Birthday to the University of Michigan! 🥳

On this day in 1817, the school that you know today as U-M was first founded! 

This is what U-M’s very first building looked like in Detroit, before the university moved to Ann Arbor. 

U-M was first approved by the Michigan Territorial Legislature many years before Michigan even became a state. The school was originally named the "Catholepistemiad," a word coined by one of its founders to mean "School of Universal Science." 

It was also known as the "University of Michigania," which was later changed to the "University of Michigan." You can tell which name people liked better! 

We're so excited to be welcoming students back to campus once more, more than 200 years after U-M was first founded! 

You can find this early image of U-M's first building in the University of Michigan Vertical Files at the Bentley Historical Library. Visiting is free, and open to the public!

#UMich #GoBlue #HappyBirthday

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