Monthly Archives: January 2015

1926 Merry-Ann: A UD Light Opera

“Merry-Ann” was the first musical production by the UD Student Union. The book and lyrics were by Seniors James Pooler Silas and P. Ralph Miller. The story, told in two scenes and ten acts, is a love triangle with Merry-Ann the center of attention between an old childhood friend and the son of a wealthy philanthropist who decided to give the girl a higher education. Of course, complications arise (as well as a secondary romance about another couple), but who...

Documentary on pantomime-on the radio?

I happen to be browsing through the Varsity News, April 25, 1958 and saw a short article about “The Sound of Silence”, a special documentary program with Marcel Marceau, famous French mime, that was to be presented on U-D radio. It just struck me as very odd-to do a radio show about something that you need to see, but would not necessarily hear. OK, so they can interview with Marcel and talk about the art of pantomime and they can...

Past Homecoming Pics

  GO TITANS! Past homecoming activities usually took place during football season, but now UDMercy celebrates homecoming during the basketball season. As part of the homecoming celebrations there were parades down Livernois Ave. with as many as thirty floats and the UD marching band, huge bonfires, and a homecoming queen elected. Homecoming still gets a lot of attention, it just changed with the times with different activities and as much enthusiasm as it generated more than fifty years ago....

UD vs WSU in Cigar Bowl 1965

You have heard of the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Super Bowl-but did you know there was a Cigar Bowl? Yep, there was the first (and only?) Cigar Bowl between the University of Detroit and Wayne State University held March 18 & 19, 1965 (Thursday at WSU and Friday at UD). It was sponsored by the R.G. Dun Cigar Co. with a $200 prize awarded to the winning university’s student loan or scholarship fund. Co-sponsors were the UD...

U of D Football Scoreboards

I just happen to be filing away some football pictures and just realized that there must have been a change in the scoreboards that were used back when UD had a football team. Don’t know when the change was made, but this first one has written on the back: “new electrical scoreboard donated by Chevrolet” and has a date stamp “Sept 26 1934″ The second scoreboard just has the date stamp” Oct 18, 1953″ The second one would have been...