Published In:
Ypsilanti Gleanings, Winter 2012,
Winter 2012

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Original Images:

Author: Michael E. Van Wasshnova

On Saturday, September 22, 2012, at 10 a.m., several area residents witnessed the dedication of Ypsilanti’s latest historical marker. The marker was installed in front of the Thompson building that, during the Civil War, was used as barracks for soldiers on their way to the front. Members of the 17th Michigan Re-enactment Unit had worked hard to have the marker installed. These men and women re-enact many of the battles that the original 17th Michigan fought during the war. Members of the 17th in attendance were; Capt. Doug Nosbisch, Gary Pritchard, Gerald Turlo and John Delcamp. The women of the 17th were represented by Lynn Kalil, Sofia Malynowskiyj, Sally Nosbisch and Sandi Pritchard. The men were dressed in their period uniforms, the women in period dresses.

Also in attendance were three Camps of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW). The Camps involved were Gilluly-Kingsley Camp 120 from Howell, Carpenter/Welch Camp 180 of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti and Sergeant John Cosbey Camp 427 from Dearborn. Members of the SUVCW promote the motto: “Keeping green the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic.” The one member of Camp 120 in attendance was Commander Bill Dixon. Members of Camp 180 were; Commander William Eaton, Dan Benfield, Dave Speer and Michael Van Wasshnova. Members of Camp 427 were; Commander Rick Danes, Jack Underwood, Ed Binkley, Dave Curtis, Rick Bower, John Reed, Jerry Jacobs, Allen Treppa and Gary Pritchard.

The ceremonies were held under partly cloudy skies with a stiff wind blowing. Introductions of the principal participants were given by Captain Doug Nosbisch. Gary Pritchard told of his work in getting the marker installed and the history of the 17th Michigan Company E., also known as the Normal Company. It was named the Normal Company due to the large number of Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) graduates and students of the college. The company fought in many of the major battles of the war.

Ypsilanti’s newest marker has the following inscription:

The Barracks
When the Civil War began in 1861, this corner site housed a commercial building called the Norris Block. Its location across the street from the railroad station made it an ideal place for short-term lodging for enlistees waiting to be sent off to battle, and locals soon dubbed it “The Barracks.” The Ypsilanti Light Guard, a local militia company that became Company H, First Michigan Infantry, stayed here in the spring of 1861. They mustered in Detroit on May 1 and arrived in Washington, D.C., on May 16. Recruits for the Fourteenth Michigan Infantry, including 129 men from Washtenaw County, spent six months here from September 1861 to February 1862 while the regiment’s ranks were filled. The Fourteenth first saw action as part of the siege of Corinth, Mississippi.

Ypsilanti in the Civil War
More than 4,000 soldiers from Washtenaw County served during the Civil War. Hundreds bivouacked here, in the Norris Block, before mustering into service. More than thirty men who were students or graduates of the Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University) joined Company E of the Seventeenth Michigan Infantry in 1862. Their first action was at South Mountain in Maryland. In December 1863, the First Michigan Colored Infantry stopped here as part of its state-wide recruiting drive. In 1902 veterans of the Twenty-Seventh Michigan Infantry held their reunion here. Since the 1880s this site has been known as the Thompson Block and has had a variety of commercial uses.

Pritchard also described some of the people and organizations who helped the 17th in their dream of having a historical marker realized in Ypsilanti commemorating the veterans of the Civil War. These people were William Christen, Ted J. Ligibel PhD., Eastern Michigan University; Connie Locker, city history contact for the city of Ypsilanti; The Beal Group for doing the work of installing the marker; Matt Van Acker of the State of Michigan; the City of Ypsilanti; Jack Dempsey of the Civil War 150th Commission and Glen Anderson, State Representative.

Commander Eaton of SUVCW Camp 180 was asked to speak a few words for the dedication. John Delcamp, a Son of Ypsilanti and member of the 17th, spoke about the portraits that had been painted on the wall of the building by art students from Ypsilanti High School. There are three portraits of citizens of Ypsilanti on the murals that were instrumental in the war effort. John also read a poem that was written at the war’s end that was very emotional.

The unveiling of the marker was performed by Gary Pritchard and John Dempsey. Following the unveiling, a prayer was read by Capt. Nosbisch, and then a wreath was laid at the marker by Lynn Kalil representing the Ladies of the 17th.

Many folks in the area were not prepared for the next event––a rifle salute followed by taps. The rifle salute was performed by members of Company E of the 17th Michigan Re-enactors. Taps was performed by another of their members.

A pot-luck dinner was offered to the participants at John Delcamp’s house after the ceremonies.

[Michael E. Van Wasshnova participated in the marker dedication ceremonies as a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) Camp 180 of Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti.]

SIDEBAR

Over 3500 State Historical Sites in Michigan
20 in Ypsilanti:

Ballard House
125 N. Huron
Brinkerhoff-Becker House
601 W. Forest
Civil War Barracks
River @ Cross
Cleary College (info site)
2170 Washtenaw
William M. Davis House
(Ladies’ Lit)
218 N. Washington info site)
Eastern Michigan College
College Place @ Forest
First Baptist Church
1110 W. Cross
First Methodist Episcopal Church
209 Washtenaw
First Presbyterian Church
300 N. Washington
Hutchinson House
600 N. River
Elijah McCoy
(commemorative site)
229 W. Michigan
MCRR Freighthouse
435 Market Place
Michigan Interurbans (info site)
E. Michigan & N. Park
Prospect Park
Prospect @ E. Cross
Science & Manual Training Bldg.
(Scherzer Hall)
Putnam @ W. Forest
Starkweather Hall
901 W. Forest
Willow Run Bomber Plant
Tyler/Hudson @ US 12
Ypsilanti Area
(Ypsilanti Historical Society
Museum) 220 N. Huron
Ypsilanti Historic District
Approximately 200 properties
Ypsilanti Water Works Stand Pipe
(water tower) Cross @ Summit

Photo Captions:

1. Ladies and gentlemen of the 17th Michigan Re-enactment unit

2. Camp 427 of Dearborn in front of the Ypsilanti High School paintings

3. Camp 180 from Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti in front of the marker

4. Rifle salute by 17th Michigan Re-enactment members

5. Commander William Eaton reading dedication speech

Published In:
Ypsilanti Gleanings, Winter 2012,
Winter 2012

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Original Images:

Author: Robert and Eric Anschuetz

One of the advantages of growing up in an old house is that there are lots of mature trees on the property––trees over 100 years of age. The Anschuetz property on the corner of Forest Avenue and River Street had several large sugar maples once evenly spaced down both streets that framed the property. These trees were tapped for maple syrup in the 1980s, and produced buckets full of sap that boiled down to a few gallons of syrup. The Anschuetz family was also fortunate to have backyard “woods” lining the driveway leading back to their garage that had formerly been a school house and a malt house. In these woods, there are mostly more sugar maples, but also box elders, elms, mulberries, and walnut trees, plus a very old and large apple tree. In the front of the house, they had two very interesting and prominent trees––a Camperdown Elm which no longer survives, and a Japanese Maple which still exists to this day.

These trees played an important role for the five Anschuetz children who grew up in the Swaine-Anschuetz house. Twins Robert and Eric Anschuetz moved to the house when they were four years old and lived there all the way through college. In the years before computer games and VCR tapes, the twins spent a lot of time playing outside and constructed several tree houses in the maples and box elders near the back driveway. The tree houses weren’t elaborate––nor were they too high off the ground––but they were fun places to spend time after school and on the weekends. These tree houses would be torn down after only a couple weeks––or often they just fell apart.

The Anschuetz children got bird’s eye views of their yard by climbing high up in the many trees in the yard. The sugar maples that lined the street had branches that were too high and out of reach, so they rarely climbed them. Their favorite tree to climb was the Camperdown Elm in the front yard, which regrettably died of old age and had to be cut down around the year 2000. The Camperdown Elm is a grafted tree where the branches of a Camperdown Elm are grafted to the severed trunk of a Wych Elm at a very young age. The leaves grow from the grafted branches and form a gnarled canopy distinctive of this variety of tree. The Anschuetz’ Camperdown Elm had a distinct ring near the top where it had been grafted. Above this ring were three primary branches. These three branches became designated sitting spots for Eric, Robert, and their friends. Each one of the children took command of one of the three primary branches and sat in the “saddle” bend of them. They would sit up there for hours on end. It was easy to climb the tree, because there was a big knot that could be grabbed like a saddle-horn that was just within reach of their hands. They would then pull themselves up and each would shimmy over to their designated positions in the tree. Sometimes, they would climb far out on the branches to where it would almost be at the snapping point.

In the backyard woods, their favorite tree to climb was the heritage variety apple tree. The apple tree was very old, and several of its branches were rotten and had to be sawed off periodically. This was a very tall apple tree, reaching a height of 50 feet or so. Every other year or so, the apple tree produced lots of apples. In the fall, the apples were all over the ground by the garage, and the Anschuetz children would often throw them over the house or hit them with baseball bats and watch them splatter. During the autumn, there used to be a great smell of apples in the backyard when they dropped from the tree. The Anschuetz family never really ate many of the apples because they had little worm holes in most of them. On the apple tree in their backyard, there was one horizontal branch that stuck out from the tree that several neighborhood children all climbed on. When they got a little older, the children would climb higher vertically into the tree. The Anschuetz children nailed “steps” into the apple tree to make it up to that lowest horizontal branch, because it was too high to reach by hand.

One very large elm tree that once dominated these backyard woods succumbed to Dutch Elm disease in the early 1970s, but several of its sapling relatives grew to large trees and survive to this day. Meeting the same fate as the large elm and the Camperdown Elm, several other trees on the Anschuetz property are no longer around. The apple tree succumbed to old age and had to be cut down around 1990. Several 100-year-old sugar maples declined over the years and in 2011 had to be removed. Several small fruit trees planted by the Anschuetz family were removed over the years as well. Fortunately, several sugar maples along Forest Avenue and River Street are still standing, along with several maples, elms, and walnut trees which are still thriving in the backyard woods. The very beautiful Japanese Maple still frames the front entrance of the house.

[Robert and Eric Anschuetz grew up on the northeast corner of North River Street and Forest Avenue.]

Photo Caption:

1. The Camperdown Elm at the Anschuetz home died a slow death and had to be reduced to stumps

Published In:
Ypsilanti Gleanings, Winter 2011,
Winter 2011

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Original Images:

Author: Tom Dodd

One year after filming Anatomy of a Murder in Michigan’s upper peninsula in 1959, Hollywood came back here for more. They followed with Where the Boys Are in 1960, The Betsy in 1978, and Chris- topher Reeve and Jane Seymour’s romantic Somewhere in Time at the Serpentine Pool in front of Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel in 1980.

There’s a lot more movie action here to- day and, with recent offers of tax credits, there’s a renewal of interest in shooting films in Michigan. In 2010, Michelle Beg- noche, of the Michigan Film Office, said, “Conviction, Stone, Trust, Vanishing on 7th Street, and What’s Wrong With Virgin- ia represent 1,005 jobs and $39.8 million in investment in Michigan.”

Some of that largess has come to Ypsilanti in recent filming. Evil Genius Entertainment discovered our camera-ready profiles for their low-budget flics as early as 1997 with Deadeye. In 2002 EGE featured Witchunter with downtown developer Eric Maurer in a starring role. In 2004, EGE brought out Living Dead World, “a drunken redneck zombie” type of flic, said Christine Laughren in the Ypsilanti Citizen. In 2009, EGE featured shots made in Park Street and, in some scenes, Depot Town’s clock can be seen in their production of The 6th Extinction.

Following these early efforts, more film companies began to take over Ypsilanti’s streets. 2008 saw Drew Barrymore and her Texas roller derby buds bellying up to the bar at the Elbow Room as they filmed Whip It, pretending to be indie-rock-loving misfits in Bodeen, Texas.

Movie-goers love to watch location shots at the Sidetrack, Freeman & Bunting, and Roy’s Drive-In in the 2009 Hillary Swank/ Sam Rockwell/Minnie Driver production of Conviction. The working title of Betty Ann Waters was dropped after work was completed here. Thomas Basinger’s old green pick-up truck, usually seen parked in front of his home on River Street, got almost as much camera-time as Swank and Driver.

Filming of Stone was interrupted in 2010 when an intoxicated woman accosted Robert DeNiro saying she was a fan of his. Who would have thought they would see DeNiro coming down the steps from his office above Congdon’s ACE Hardware?

Parallel Media knocked out High School in 2010, where Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, and Colin Hanks tell of a vale- dictorian who gets baked with the local stoner and finds himself the subject of a drug test. How did they ever come up with a far-fetched plot like that?

Locals marveled at Emily Blunt jumping over snow banks on Washington Street in June of 2011 for the filming of Five-Year Engagement that follows the tribulations of a couple’s long engagement.

Also in 2011, we saw Teresa Palmer and Liam Hemsworth enjoying the great food tradition of the Wolverine Restaurant in the 1970s-themed film AWOL. Ypsilanti’s City Hall was a stand-in for the Ann Ar- bor Police Department in this story of the U-M campus during the anti-Vietnam War movement.

Local movie-goers agree that it is difficult to follow the plot while keeping an eye out for well-known local attractions. “Oh, look! There’s the lamp in Auntie Jane’s window. Now she’s a movie star!”

[Tom Dodd does design and layouts for GLEANINGS where his job is to make all the stories come down to the bottom of the page]