Just when you thought you were all caught up on your day and ready to relax with a cold one, we hit you up with a quick 5 question pop quiz. To take the pressure off, it's multiple choice and 2 out of 5 is passing. 5 out of 5 will get you a free dinner and drinks for you and 5 of your friends at the....what? Oh, OK. Nevermind.
1. The second floor above Frenchie's was:
a) A billiards parlour in the 1930's
b) A wig shop in the 1960's
c) Ma Bush's Girls of Ill Repute in the early 1900's
Answer: C. The first floor of Frenchie's was an off track horse betting room, and upstairs were Ma Bush's girls. A packed train full of men from Detroit would arrive every morning, and return home in the evening after a hard day's work.
2. Famous people who have spent time in Depot Town include:
a) Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, President Bill Clinton
b) Dolly Parton, Dolly Madison, Salvador Dali, the Dalai Lama
c) Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp
Answer: A. Henry Ford came to Depot Town by train with his friend Thomas Edison to scout the Ypsilanti area for manufacturing locations in the 1930's. Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley were here for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show in 1900, and President Bill Clinton ate dinner in Depot Town after his E.M.U. Commencement address in 2000 - his second visit to Ypsilanti.
3. The Depot Town building that once stood on the north side of the block between Apple Annie - Jim MacDonald Antiques and the Depot Town Tattoo Parlor is now an open space and walkway to the Farmer's Market Plaza. What happened to the building?
a) A fire due to an overloaded electrical system
b) Dynamite explosion
c) The first standing room only Depot Town Chili Eating Challenge
Answer: B. In the early 1960's, the building was home to the God's Children Motorcycle Club. A rival club dropped a stick of dynamite down their chimney.\
4. The Ypsilanti Railroad Depot was known nation wide for:
a) Hiring senior citizens as greeters
b) The one dollar all you can eat breakfast buffet
c) Award winning floral gardens
Answer: C. John Laidlaw, considered a genius with plants, created the multiple award winning Depot Gardens in 1897. Featured were huge floral arrangements including Niagra Falls, the Battleship Maine, the Liberty Bell and others. People traveled from all over the midwest to admire the Ypsilanti Depot Gardens.
5. Two unrelated things invented in Depot Town were:
a) Bubble wrap and the oven mitt
b) The unicycle and S & H Green Stamps
c) The Selfie Stick and the double entendre'
Answer: B. Fremont Patterson owned a Depot Town bakery and candy store. He was also an inventor. He invented a unicycle where the driver was suspended in the center of a single large wheel. Patterson crashed the bike on it's initial test run and that was the last that anybody saw of that design.
The prototype of what became S & H Green Stamps was created at the Ypsilanti Depot. Thomas sperry and Shelley Hutchinson (S & H) made a fortune through their trading stamps before their partnership dissolved. Hutchinson's mansion still stands on the corner of N. River and Forest St., a short walk from the Sidetrack.
