AUGUST 25, 2023 LOCAL LEGENDS GROUNDCOVER NEWS 5 GET TO KNOW YDL! WHERE TO FIND US: Online at ypsilibrary.org Call us at 734-482-4110. Shakey Jake playing on the streets of A2 in 1976. Photo credit: Ann Arbor District Library Archive from the Ann Arbor News. Old 'I brake for Jake' Ann Arbor T-shirts can be found on Ebay. Street legend Shakey Jake Shakey Jake Woods was allowed on stage at the Ann Arbor Jazz and Blues festival in 1973 by one of the main acts and performed live. Shakey Jake claimed the people of Ann Arbor would not let him leave town, so he decided to make Ann Arbor his home. Shakey Jake was born on August 14,1925, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was once proclaimed to be born on Halloween October 31 — one of the many myths of our old friend, legend and storyteller. Historical fun fact: Shakey Jake was born the same year as Malcolm X. He arrived in Ann Arbor in the summer of 1973, from Saginaw, Michigan. This summer of 2023 marks 50 years since Shakey Jake came to live and perform in our beloved city Ann Arbor, Michigan. “On the move” was Mr. Woods’ favorite and famous saying. People of Ann Arbor, including myself, would holla “Shakey!” His normal response was "I'm on the move.” I would say he was about 5 feet 8 inches tall, dark skinned guy wearing a suit, bow-tie, a big top hat and scarf; you would never ever see Shakey Jake a youtube referral — yeah, check out Shakey Jake Woods on youtube! From those who answered “yes” I MIKE JONES Groundcover vendor No. 113 without his guitar in hand. Jake and his omnipresent threestring guitar were seen daily on Main St. most often in front of Peaceable Kingdom, as well as Main and Liberty St., and State near Nichols Arcade. Among locals, he was the best known person in Ann Arbor. Everybody loved “We Brake for Jake” T-shirts. After he passed away in 2007, Peaceable Kingdom kept his guitar in their window as a tribute to him. Last week, I asked over a hundred people in downtown Ann Arbor if they had heard of Shakey Jake. Around 50% never heard of the Ann Arbor legend. Those who answered “no” got a brief A2 history lesson and got to hear Shakey Jake stories. One guy who is a townie said Shakey danced with his wife and daughter in the 1980s. One lady was so happy to learn that I was writing about Shakey Jake because it reminds her of the old Ann Arbor. Another townie, Dan who used to be a cook at Del Rio Restaurant, said Shaky Jake used to come to the restaurant everyday and order a bowl of chili and a hamburger on the house and as a result they never had tip money stolen from the tip jar because everybody knew, including the street people, that Shakey Jake ate there regularly. Overall, I enjoyed having conversations about our old friend, educating new Ann Arborites and those just visiting. When Shakey Jake passed away, in honor of him, Ann Arborites gave him a going home parade through downtown Ann Arbor. Ann Arborites deserve a statue or a painted mural to remember Shakey Jake Woods 1925-2007. TO GET YOUR LIBRARY CARD: 1) Fill out the easy online form at ypsilibrary.org/library-cards. 2) Call 734-482-4110 3) Or stop by any YDL location! DON’T HAVE A DRIVER’S LICENSE? We can work with a variety of IDs to get you your card. FEATURED RESOURCE Get YDL info in your inbox! Want emails about all of YDL’s great resources and events? You can choose the categories you’re most interested in to make sure you don’t miss anything! Scan below to get started or visit ypsilibrary.org. FEATURED EVENT “A Colorful Dream” Exhibit September 1 - October 20 YDL-Whittaker Regular hours WELCOME from page 2 Real wisdom and creativity come from the streets, not trickling down from expensive but hollow institutions. Grounded ideas and healthier imaginations thrive among people most often passed by, excluded and ignored or silenced. We can also debunk false “myths” as false notions people go on believing: for example, that money, a big house, an office job or a fancy degree alone will make you happy. Or the myth that people experience homelessness because of choice or laziness, drugs or addiction, or lack education or culture. Or the myth of the “American Dream” that we all can fairly attain, like a heaven we can earn our way into, if we only work hard enough to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. For years, Groundcover writers have been debunking myths like these in creative work through essays, art and poetry. People have always narrated our journeys through life as heroes or victims in relation to other beings, whether animals, gods or monsters. Now in the 2020s, we are imagining ourselves in relation to tech and power, intelligence and AI, environment and migration, housing and work. What do we do with the old stories, and where do we go from here? Like an ancient mirror, mythology bends with reflections of living faces in a single fire-light of human experience. Imagine if we all stopped on the street just for a moment to gaze in and see what looks back at us. A family-friendly exhibition by contemporary fine art photographer Adrien Broom. Designed to evoke and capture a sense of childhood fantasy, Broom’s work is deeply rooted in fairy tales and mythology, taking the viewer on a journey through the entire spectrum of the rainbow. Visit ypsilibrary.org/exhibits to learn more.
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