2014 July Ann Arbor

 

We took a very interesting tour of the Jiffy plant in Ann Arbor.  The silos above hold the wheat used in their mixes.  This company has a very stringent quality control and it starts with their wheat mostly grown in Michigan.  They try to buy most of their ingredients from farms around Michigan. 

 

Harmon Holmes was the founder of Chelsea Roller Mills (now Jiffy).  It is still family-owned and Harmon's great grandson now manages the company.  Harmon's wife was the one who came up with the original corn muffin mix.

Below is the transition from Court House labeling to the current Jiffy Mix Corn muffin label.  The company even has very strict quality testing for the blue color of their boxes.

 

In the theatre after viewing a really informative movie about the Jiffy plant, we had to put on hair nets before the tour of the plant.  When they told us how many boxes they produced in one day, it blew my mind.  Over 1.5 million boxes are produced each day. No photos were allowed inside the plant, so I have none to share.  Take my word, it's very busy in the plant.  Conveyor belts everywhere.

Chelsea Teddy Bear Company was the first company to make bears in the USA.  They started production in 1904. 

Flag made with miniature teddy bears.

Teddy bears got their name from Teddy Roosevelt.  During a hunting trip in 1902 when he was president, the hunting party was unable to shoot a bear.  Teddy's staff member went and caught a cub bear and tied it to a tree so that the President could brag about a successful hunt.  Teddy refused to shoot the bear.  Thus the name started.  He used a teddy bear pin during his Presidential campaign in 1904.

We ended our Ann Arbor visit with a tour of "The Big House" (University of Michigan's football stadium).  It's the largest football stadium in the US,  110,000 seats.  The halls are full of pictures of past great players and memorable games.  This is a view from the press box which has 138 seats.

Our group enjoying the tour guide's enthusiastic stories of one of the greatest traditions in football.

Of course there are lots of pictures of Bo Schembechler, the most famous coach MU has ever had. He coached 20 years from 1969 to 1989.  He died at 77 in 2006. 

 

For just $60,000  a year (and a 3 year commitment), you can lease one of these suites.  Comes with a stocked bar, and catered food. 

"The Big House" is a very profitable operation.  They are open for tours during off-football season.  Many weddings are performed on the field.  They recently hosted a high school prom.

Inside the locker room.  The "M" on the floor is sectioned off.  No one is allowed to walk on it. It's very  bad luck especially on game days.  They have a plaque above one of the uniforms with Gerald Ford's name on it. 

What a neat experience to walk down on the field.  I can't imagine what the players are feeling looking up at 110,000 people.