Running Around Town: An Ann Arbor Memoir

by Stephen K. Postema

This collection of essays shares the observations of an energetic boy living in an anything-but-simple time: the mercurial decades of the 1960s and 1970s in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Running Around Town brings funny and quirky insights into gentle focus, with a lens on the small things in life that bring purpose and make us human. Our perennially curious narrator describes his small but teeming domain extending to the University of Michigan Diag and the people who influenced him: A cashier who sells him a peace sign necklace at Middle Earth. The clerks at Discount Records who provide musical advice. The folk musicians at the Ark. U-M basketball star Cazzie Russell. And importantly: a policeman neighbor who bails him out of situational predicaments. And a classmate, a bibliophile, who teaches him to sing in tune and passes him a note in history class at Pioneer High School.

Part coming-of-age impressions, part family and societal portraits in miniature, part love story, Running Around Town is ultimately a tapestry of transformative everyday interactions, woven together with the cultural influences and music of the times.

220 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2025

About the author

Stephen K. Postema grew up in Ann Arbor. He attended Ann Arbor schools, Harvard University, and the University of Wisconsin Law School. He began as a litigation attorney in 1985 and became the City Attorney for Ann Arbor in 2003. He was a frequent writer and speaker on legal topics. After retirement from the city in 2022, he returned to private practice and has an office on Main Street with a window looking out on the Old Westside.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to Ann Arbor as a 17 year old freshman at U-M. This book brought back a lot of memories of how Ann Arbor used to be.
What a coincidence: I finished the book the same day that someone posted the recipe for limeade that was served at Drake’s!

[Kathy Scarnecchia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you’ve never been to Ann Arbor, you will enjoy the journey Steve takes readers on. A memoir built on love for family, friends, curiosity and especially the town that shaped him. I appreciated being taken back to my own younger days through Steve’s detailed memories and perspective. This will be a favorite book of mine for years to come.

[Mary Rumman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight! This memoir was special to me as I also grew up in Ann Arbor and recognized familiar haunts. His coming-of-age stories were filled with hope, adventures, missteps, independence and humor. Still smiling!

[Mary Post · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much! Steve has woven together a set of stories that create a strong sense of place, history and relationships. His incredible recollection of details makes the stories both rich and entertaining. With the stories spanning many years, Steve has been able to capture the voice of whatever age he may have been in a particular story. What fun it was having a 10 year old, a 14 year old, a 17 year old sharing his experience with me as the reader.

The book feels like a love letter not only to his city, Ann Arbor, but to his friends, family, teachers and the random people he has met along the way. It is both his story and something more universal.

I highly recommend!

[Julie Stielstra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps a "niche" memoir with a niche audience: people who have lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and University of Michigan alums. I am definitely in the niche on both counts, and enjoyed this book immensely. Postema lived about four blocks from my family in our childhood days. He attended a local Lutheran school; I attended Dicken School across the street from our house, so our paths didn't cross then, but he and I attended the same junior high (Slauson) and high school (Pioneer), if a few years apart. Hardly a page of this book went by without a nostalgic reminder - Delahant's dime store on Stadium Boulevard, Miss Marin's eighth grade algebra class, the terse and tough-minded high school cross country coach, Discount Records and its bins stuffed full of LPs, the early-days head shop Middle Earth just off the university campus, the library bookmobile. His father was a founder of the seminal music venue The Ark, still a hugely popular house where I spent many an evening, and where my own dad became a beloved performer. Aside from this emotional memory passage for me, this is also an engaging series of episodes of a young boy discovering himself and his passions: the groundbreaking musicians of the 60s and 70s, working four jobs to fund a drum set and concert tickets (when sneaking in didn't work out), basketball (even if he wasn't that good, he worked hard at it!) and running (and he was good at that). Postema was a worker and a hustler, got into Harvard and attained a law degree, and served as the city attorney of Ann Arbor for many years.

A delightful nostalgia trip for his contemporaries from Ann Arbor, and an affable coming-of-age story for everyone. Enjoy.

[Suellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming and funny memoir about growing up in Ann Arbor, my home town. Steve illustrated so well what it was like to be a child and teenager during politically and socially troubled times. His humble descriptions of his own mistakes, successes, and naïveté will appeal to anyone regardless of where you spent your childhood and high school years.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful read! You won’t be disappointed with this funny, thoughtful book about growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s in a college town. The memories and insights bring back memories of our own growing up years in other places. This is a wonderful book for book club discussions.

[Jennica Dotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully charming. This memoir hit just right. It was a great snapshot of a couple decades of American history, especially in Ann Arbor, and told with a clever, lightly humorous tone that kept me thoroughly engaged.

[Laura Bauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and humorous stories about growing up in Ann Arbor during the 60s and 70s. Our book group loved it!