Wednesday Mystery Photo: The Trysting Tree

Dusty D hoped to stump readers with a close-up of Highland Cemetery's famous "trysting tree," the enormous copper beech covered with decades of lovers' inscriptions. Nope. A gentleman in Dearborn (formerly of Ypsi) nailed it. The tree is just a bit north of Starkweather Chapel. Turn right and walk till you hear yourself saying "Holy ******* ****!" That's the one.










Here's a background tale of the Trysting Tree, Ypsilanti's only named tree (click for readable size).


It's written by Eileen Harrison, my favorite former local history writer. She's good.


This week we move away from the natural world to a man-made structure.


The only clue you'll get is that it's not terribly far from the Trysting Tree. Take your best guess, and good luck!

Wednesday Mystery Photo: Wood You Know?

Dusty D hoped to mystify readers last week with a photo of a Michigan Ave. Desoto business that doesn't even exist anymore. It was no problem for no fewer than multiple readers: BF and Mickey Ichesco nailed it, and Ed V. contributed the tidbit that the building, like so many others in the area, was designed by architect Ralph Gerganoff.







So now Dusty D is kicking it up a notch. No more recognizable buildings, dangit! I'm branching out and will axe you to leaf all those buildings behind and go out on a limb here! Answer and new Mystery Photo next Wednesday!

Wednesday Mystery Photo: Try DeSoto No-Shift Driving

Dusty D confidently thought she stumped readers with the last mystery photo, of a scrap of real estate so obscure that DD didn't think anyone would know it. Ha!

Naturally, two people guessed it right away: Building Place and B. F. It's the old baseball field in Gilbert Park, seen as the "bald patch" in the center of the map below.

So. DD is adopting a new and diabolical tack this Mystery Photo Wednesday. I'm offering here a photo of something that doesn't even exist anymore--Ypsilanti's old DeSoto dealership. (evil little chuckle) There you go, my pretties...see if you can deduce THAT li'l gem! (rubs hands together in anticipation). Stay tuned for the answer, and the next Mystery Photo, next Wednesday.

Reader-Submitted Mystery Photo: What's Next to Gaudy's Chocolate Shop?

Our last Mystery Photo was correctly guessed by Building Place, who said, "I'm going with a view looking south from the Congress St./Michigan Ave. bridge just east of downtown." That's right--this is the old Huron Mill, run by the Deubel brothers.

Here's a description of Huron Mill, from the May 23, 1874 Ypsilanti Commercial. "This in earlier days was the model mill of Michigan." You may recall that Huron Mill was still one of the 25 big industries in Ypsi in 1901.

Our next Mystery Photo promises to be a stumper (even though none of the others have, darn it!) This is a photo from a kind reader. You may remember Gaudy's Chocolate shop as the onetime employer of ice cream maker Frank C. Smith, one of the only 270 African Americans in Ypsilanti in 1910.

Today's picture (below) is from some time later--1946, and the subject is not Gaudy's but the hardware store just to the left.

For extra trickiness for you Google- Book- miners out there (like me), the first letter of the name of the hardware store is cut off.

(whispers: "Ha!")

So, see if you can drill into this puzzle, hit the nail on the head, and hammer out the identity of the modern-day business located in this postwar hardware store.

Mystery Photo: Can You Identify This Location?

The most recent Mystery Photo was smacked down in a trice by an alert reader who identified not only the location, but the altitude!



This photo, however, may prove to be just a bit trickier. I won't give any hints since there are many within the photo itself. Can you identify this mystery location and the perspective?

Mystery Photo: Can You Identify This Old Beauty?

It's undergone a LOT of changes over the years, but this onetime 19th-century flour mill (hint!) is still standing in Ypsi.

Where is it? Can you identify it? It's a bit tricky since its facade looks different today (another hint!)

Give it a shot. You've likely driven right past it a zillion times (yet another hint!)

To be featured in an upcoming "Spot the Differences: Then and Now."

Mystery Photo: Can You Help Identify?

Deep within the highly organized and accessible Archives are a few back-room boxes of forgotten history. Several boxes of unlabeled photos featuring beloved aunts, cherished sisters, and memorable outings are shelved in a back storage room. With each passing day, the chance of identifying these photos grows incrementally smaller. These photos, and the stories of the Ypsilanti lives they depict, are falling through the sieve of collective memory into obscurity. Can you help save this photo from that fate?

You can see the original scanned, faded version and a version I sharpened a bit. The photo depicts a woman holding up a dog treat for her eager dog. The photo has no label, number, name, or any other identifying inscription on the back.

But we are not without resources. The photo shows many clues that could help us pin it down.

1. The photo shows what appear to be the fronts of 2 neighboring houses. The closer house has a distinctive porch lattice.

2. The woman's dress likely dates from a particular time period. Is there a kind reader who is knowlegable about the history of fashion?

3. Similarly, from what period is the rather ornate wooden chair?

4. The woman is wearing a necklace. Is it a rosary? Does the necklace signify she was rather well-off, or was it more common in her time period for women to wear somewhat large-ish necklaces in general?

5. The structure at the left middle distance has a roof with two distinctive chimneys. What is this structure?

What other clues am I missing? Do you have some ideas to contribute in "comments"?