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Mark Madonna @awesomark.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

2005

“Broat has been coming to the Fleetwood since she was a kid growing up in Pinckney. She says she hatched the idea of paying tribute to the gritty little Fleetwood out of concern that the Fleet could disappear someday. ‘The face of Ann Arbor has really changed during the last 10 years,’ she says.”

Mark Madonna @awesomark.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

2002

“Ann Arbor has changed for the worse, Menefee says. As a kid he used to ride his bike downtown and would know the names of most of the shop owners. He grew up near Mack Elementary and is sad to drive by there now and see so few children playing.
‘All the neighborhoods were great when I was a kid,’ he said. ‘You could go anywhere and get into a baseball game. Go to a park, run into something and get a football game up. You go through these neighborhoods now and you don’t see any children anywhere.’”

Mark Madonna @awesomark.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

1996

“‘Fred (Ulrich) let me have summers off, but I was always available to work fulltime at book rush, Christmas and later the Art Fair.’
Westerman worked as a cashier, checking out people back when the supply counter was in the front of the store. Now she stays pretty much on the floor, assisting where needed.
She doesn’t think the college book business has changed all that much, although prices have. The notebook she once sold to students at ‘19 cents, or maybe a quarter,’ goes for a dollar today.
Ann Arbor has changed a lot, too.
‘There’s more traffic,’ she says, ‘and this corner has completely changed,’ citing the closure of East University and the addition of streetside benches for people to sit on.
The original Street Art Fair had its genesis near Ulrich’s, and Westerman remembers how ‘we got to know the artists back in the old days. Now there’s too much people traffic.’
For relaxation, Westerman enjoys going to U-M basketball and football games. Hoops is her favorite, though, because it’s ‘faster and has more movement.’”
The article continues with Westerman discussing former employees returning to visit and her enjoyment of working at Ulrich’s.
A sidebar titled “HELEN WESTERMAN” lists her age as 84, residence as Ann Arbor, occupation as store clerk at Ulrich’s Book Store, personal status as single with two sons, and community involvement as First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor.