4.04.2013

42ND ANN ARBOR HASH BASH 1971-2013 SATURDAY APRIL 6

Ann Arbor Hash Bash

Back in April of 1971...Springtime broke and all of us 9th graders at West Jr High in Ypsilanti, MI were chomping at the bit to go play...no one felt like sitting in class on that warm, beautiful, and sunny day.  Just before school...we all happened to meet outside and accidentally... we organized a group of us to skip school then go to U of M's Campus in Ann Arbor.

We always migrated to University of Michigan's Diag...


At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Diag is a large open space in the middle of the university's Central Campus. Originally known as the Diagonal Green, the Diag derives its name from the many sidewalks running near or through it in diagonal directions. It is one of the busiest sites on the university campus, hosting a variety of events including outdoor concerts, fundraisers, demonstrations, and sun bathing.

A brass block "M", a symbol of the university, is embedded at the center of the Diag. Local legend has it that if a UM student steps on the M before taking his or her first blue book exam at the university, the student will fail his or her first blue book exam. The only way to reverse this "curse" was to run naked from the campus belltower during the strokes of midnight to two statues of pumas at the Natural Science Museum, then back to the tower before it stopped ringing. This has been made considerably more difficult in recent years as the belltower no longer rings at midnight....and so it goes...


Anyway back to my story..

The photo above is what the Diag looks like...it is a shortcut between South University St and State St. For some reason we thought this was the coolest place to hang out when we were little kids. Who knows.. maybe we thought we'd run into some rock guys... being that Discount Records was right there.



Jeep Holland (manager of Scott Morgan and The Rationals) was manager of Discount Records in the late 1960s, and Iggy Pop worked there as a stock boy...

Also it was so easy to catch the city bus from school and ride it downtown for like 25 cents! The Ann Arbor Transit made a bit of money that day!



This photo is exactly what the first Hash Bash looked like...We had about 40 long haired kids .all congregated in one place on the first warm day of Spring.  Coincidentally, a good batch of Hash was going around school too...

Shortly after we arrived the police (with riot helmets) came out and so did the Ann Arbor News! Right behind the newspaper was channel 7's ABC Action News Team too!

The next thing that happened was the media found Ricky King (big Hash fan) and asked him what we (a hoard of under-aged kids) were doing there at the Diag instead sitting in class. Ricky King said, and I quote...."MAN WE ARE HAVING A HASH BASH" Yes Ricky King coined that phrase and that Hash Bash has been going on ever since in one form or another.

What a huge story! The next day everyone knew what we had done...OH NO my Mom was going to see this!!! Man were we busted for skipping school. We did get in trouble with the school.. but there were too many of us to suspend...so we got off easy...

I only went that one time as politicians and hippies took it over when they saw the opportunity to organize their legalize Pot campaigns. It has been 42 years and it is almost legal now...


Retro Kimmer

12th Annual Ann Arbor Monroe Street Fair Hash Bash Festival. Live music and vending at 800 Block of Monroe Street, two blocks south of the U of M Drum circle at 11am, music starts at noon.

Event Details
When: April 6, noon-6 p.m.
Venue: Downtown Ann Arbor

Tags: party, fun for all, live music
Price: FREE
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2 comments:

In The Silence... said...

Hello, enjoyed the history of this event. My husband and I have been married 37 years, have four adult children, and 5 grandchildren. We voted for the approval of Medical Marijuana in the State of Michigan.

Due to our ignorance, as we have never used or smoked marijuana in the 37 years of our marriage, my husband warehouse was raided by the DEA in November of 2010.

One of your sons is being sentenced to prison this Friday, April 12th at 1:30 in Gerald Ford Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mi. My husband, 59 years old is also being sentenced, because as a businessman he drew up legal papers to rent space to caregivers/growers and the DEA are making it seem is some Drug Leader because of Legal papers. It is surreal that two members of my family are going to be in Federal Prison by the beginning of May.

So, please all of you who use medical Marijuana and grow as caregivers please be careful, for the DEA truly will bust law-abiding citizens.

Our life has been destroyed for a time and we are so clean-cut the thought of any family member in prison is to bizarre to comprehended.

Anyway everyone know there are still people going to prison to be representatives of your right to smoke. Which you do have the legal right in Michigan, but DEA does not accept that.

Say a little prayer for my men as part of the sacrificial offering being done for others to have rights.

Bless you all! Names withheld on purpose.

In The Silence... said...

Please inform all your followers to contact their Senator. There is a bill before congress right now called: Safety Valve Bill. This bill will STOP mandatory-miniums on first time offenders after they have been indicted. It forces the DEA to give those arrested a safety-valve, which in turn puts the power back into the Judges hand instead of being locked into mandatory-miniums that exist now. It is too late to stop my son and husband from a prison sentence. Yet, it can save so many others in the future. Truly, the passage of this bill is the first step towards full legalization of medical marijuana. To read about the bill go to: www.Leahy.senate.gov it is vital that as many as possible from every state contact their Senator and ask them to support the safety valve bill. Thank you, Jo

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