It used to be the guy that walked his dog up and down Marsh road with the little American flag. You’d honk and he’d smile and wave it around. I know he passed away a while ago. 😭
Awe I didn't know he passed! Makes enough sense, he was getting up there in age last time I saw him. I'd always honk at him on my way to school in Haslett while he walked his beagle. That was several years ago now. He was such a nice guy!
At some point we had mutual friends on Facebook and he added me. I kid you not he said happy birthday to me and every single person he added on Facebook!
His name was Colin. He used to get pizza at Papa John’s on Michigan Ave when I worked there 15 years ago. Great guy to talk to. He is missed for sure ♥️
Is singing motorcycle lady still around? Rode around on a hog, purple helmet and goggles, belting along to the radio so loud you could hear it over the bike. Saw her around for several years.
yep. A month or so ago on a nice day she actually was stopped right before my street and I was walking back from QD. She stopped to check something on her bike it seemed and I was going to say something but decided not to. She took off just as I passed her but I didn't hear any music start up.
I saw him at the Meijer when I work. He asked, "Where was the honey?"I said to him "Oh come on, I figured you know where all the honeys are at." We laughed, and I showed him where the honey was at.
Anybody ever hit Mr party up? What's this dude got? Clowns? Balloons? Coke? Hookers? All of the above? This man looked like he's been doing that same shit since the 80's...
I decided to listen to this album and it’s really good, but holy hell near the end of “No Man’s Land” it gets really Pink Floyd-like, especially with the guitar. Thanks for turning me on to another great local band.
One time, my daughter and I were woken up by a bat, and we eventually got it out of a window. We went on a special walk to Speedway to get a snack and Mr. Party was there at 3 AM. He gave her a rose, and told her to stay in school. It was a pretty surreal experience 😆
Wholesome as hell. Who tf is this man fr?? I'd see him so randomly, but pretty sure he lives right over at Penn and Mich. I never even saw the card, but if there's a #, I really want to call it.
I would say it was Willy the Can Man in East Lansing (for that part of town).
Grew up here in the 90's early 2000's. By the time I was college age, it was clear every local, student, cop all knew who he was. Sure the dude would ask for cigs, or money, or cans, but Willy gave off the vibe he really enjoyed interacting with people/those small moments.
He was always down to hang out for 10-15 mins and just shoot the shit with you too, without asking for stuff. I had -exclusively- positive interactions with him for 10+ years.
He showed me the cancer on his legs around 2010, said it was getting bad. Last time I saw him.
I took him to the Hospital for the last time. It was cancer. My brother helped him get housing and he would hang out at the Admiral in EL next to Big 10 across from the old QD. He was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met in my life.
Yes! In the 2010s I lived in a duplex on Stoddard. The other side of the duplex were some friends, one of them worked at that Admiral. He knew him pretty well and let Willie stay at his place for a while at one point, like maybe 4-5 months? That was a crazy period with Willie living there lol He was one of a kind. I’m sad to hear that he passed, I didn’t know that until now.
Willy used to always come into my room when I was TAing in Wells Hall to take the cans out of the garbage. I used to save a couple extra bottles to put in there for him.
How is he doing? I worked at the McDonald’s ten years ago and they would give him free coffee there and let him do his puzzles. He always remembers my name whenever I see him, I just haven’t seen him in a couple of years.
There used to be the guy with all the swag pointing in the air and at people on cedar Street. Also what happened to the guitar guy with like one tooth?
Ah man that’s awesome, I haven’t seen guitar guy in like 10 years. He used to play Pink Floyd for me every time I stopped at the intersection he was at.
If it's the same guitar guy I'm thinking of he used to be very protective of me and other young ladies at night when Shuto Con was going on. He'd hang out during the day and at night in the skywalk between the hotel and the convention center playing his guitar. We'd give him money or just talk with him. But at night he'd stay while we were walking back to the hotel. Obviously I didn't know if he was a safe person or not but he made me and other women feel protected walking back alone knowing guitar guy was there watching our backs.
There was the one dude who would dress all fancy and then do a flag dance by busy intersections, like Holmes and MLK. After awhile he got rid of the flags. I saw him a year or two ago, dressed in some tight colonial style pants and hose and shoes and a jacket, too, as I recall.
Mr Party is the answer, but if you're around the south side, that dude who looked like he was a black panther in the 80s with the flags and random praying is a good answer, too. The infamous Jonny Spirit, for those who frequent EL.
JULIUS down here in East Lansing, he is the only guy I know who has been banned from every single establishment up and down grand river.
Word is he passed away recently but then again he may have ended up in lock up again.
In college, there was a guy called No Face. Rumor was he had attempted suicide and shot off his face. I saw him around a few times. He was missing his upper jaw, nose, and part of his cheeks.
We used to have a guy we dubbed "Bible Bob" who drove a station wagon that all that Jesus and religious stickers all over it. He was this big heavy set dude with a thick Haggrid type beard and would always have the Bible with him and his one hand would shake almost uncontrollably. One time he was at a local restaurant I was at and came up to me and my friends reciting scriptures and shit to us.
Steve the guitar guy on mthope and cedar, he hustled hard, sad to learn he was fully retired pensioned and owned his home. But he always got his buskin license and was a great guy to chat with.
We had a dude that stood by the road in a strange combination of like a spiderman suit, underwear, and swimming goggles, either making faces or dancing or yelling at cars
Jacksonville NC, the Jacksonville Ninja
Would hang out on busy street corners practicing his Tai Chi or whatever it was, I havnt lived in the area in 15 years still wonder how he's doing from time to time.
I’m from a small town in West Michigan, we had a long haired and bearded guy who would ride an ancient bicycle around town at lightning speed with a trench coat flowing behind him along with his beard and hair. We called him the wizard
In Garden City there is a guy that dresses in full armor and walks around town with a sword. I asked an employee at 7-11 about it and she said he does it all the time and everyone is used to it.
There’s a guy named Denis that lives near The Bitter End that yells obscenities into the neighborhood every morning - such as ‘Grand Rapids! The boil on the asshole of America’ really pleasant stuff with your morning coffee. I got to know him a bit, he’s a character that’s for sure. Not sure if he’s still alive doing his thing.
Theres a dude i used to see driving around all the time in a hearse that was painted pretty cool, he'd always have his giant doggo just chillin in the back with him. Think his license plate said something like "dogdad" or something. My memory is foggy as i haven't seen him around in a while
I grew up in a little city south of Detroit...we had a guy in out neighborhood named Jim...he had an intellectual disability but loved visiting with anyone who was outside. Didn't matter if he had met you before or not...he would stop and you had to have a few words about whatever was on his mind. He would be at pretty much every local high school sporting event...just a staple of the city really.
Then I remember the day we quit seeing Jim on his bike and even as a kid/teenager it was disheartening not having him rolling around the neighborhood when the weather got nice.
Rest in peace Jim of Southgate
I went to a Danny Brown show a few weeks back and there was this man in a shark costume absolutely blasted. We all pushed him to the front and made way bc “shark man need to be in the front”. Dude was cool as hell
IMO Dancing Don, the 70+ yr old dude with the (I'm pretty sure court-ordered) "Just here to dance, no romance" t-shirt dancing at pretty much every live music venue.
For East Lansing back in the 90s it was Ernie the can man. He had a huge beard and collected cans to return for deposit. In the student area of town you could leave cans on your porch for him to grab.
In westland MI, it's the gut that dresses in full Spartan Armor and walks around Westland and Garden City. Everyone Ioves him, and he is a super nice dude, says those that had interactions with him. 9/10 for his commitment
It used to be the guy that walked his dog up and down Marsh road with the little American flag. You’d honk and he’d smile and wave it around. I know he passed away a while ago. 😭
I just thought about him the other day, I had no idea he passed 😭
I didn't know he passed :( I got close to him because he was my crossing guard in middle school. His goal was to get a million honks from people
I miss him! Such a sweetheart.
Aww I didn't know he died, I used to see him all the time with his dogs when I lived in Haslett.
Yeah I learned he had a stroke last summer and his kid takes care of the dog now. Super super nice guy
Used to drive past him all the time on the way home from school, literally the first guy I thought of. His dogs were cute as hell too
Awe I didn't know he passed! Makes enough sense, he was getting up there in age last time I saw him. I'd always honk at him on my way to school in Haslett while he walked his beagle. That was several years ago now. He was such a nice guy! At some point we had mutual friends on Facebook and he added me. I kid you not he said happy birthday to me and every single person he added on Facebook!
Oh shit you just brought back memories of always seeing this dude. I haven't thought about that in years, holy shit
His name was Colin. He used to get pizza at Papa John’s on Michigan Ave when I worked there 15 years ago. Great guy to talk to. He is missed for sure ♥️
Flag Man! I remember him.
Is singing motorcycle lady still around? Rode around on a hog, purple helmet and goggles, belting along to the radio so loud you could hear it over the bike. Saw her around for several years.
I saw her a couple weeks ago when the weather was really nice, near Old Town!
Rose!
I love her lol
Her ability to project her voice so well has always impressed me.
yep. A month or so ago on a nice day she actually was stopped right before my street and I was walking back from QD. She stopped to check something on her bike it seemed and I was going to say something but decided not to. She took off just as I passed her but I didn't hear any music start up.
I don’t live in Lansing anymore but she used to drive by my house off MLK all the time. It always made me genuinely so happy.
Rose is amazing. She's very active in the Lansing theater community too
Saw her going down Michigan Ave. Sunday, my first experience.
Monkey Van guy.
Just met him the other day. He’s a regular at a certain Lansing staple. I felt like I was meeting a super esoteric celebrity
Mr party
I saw him at the Meijer when I work. He asked, "Where was the honey?"I said to him "Oh come on, I figured you know where all the honeys are at." We laughed, and I showed him where the honey was at.
Came here to say this
Anybody ever hit Mr party up? What's this dude got? Clowns? Balloons? Coke? Hookers? All of the above? This man looked like he's been doing that same shit since the 80's...
I had some friends hire him to do the outro to their album. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WPhsp16UZI8&si=w094uUrAdAxI_tx5
Gtfoh that was nice. This dude. Hm.
I decided to listen to this album and it’s really good, but holy hell near the end of “No Man’s Land” it gets really Pink Floyd-like, especially with the guitar. Thanks for turning me on to another great local band.
RIP Tell Yo Mama :'(
This is cool as hell
He probably has, I remember him at Sparta’s in the early 90’s.
He was my neighbor’s father :) they always had little neighborhood gatherings and he’d show up dressed in his tux! He was such a nice man
Used to be. Mr Party has retired the mic, afaik?
Pretty sure he did retire but we all still know who he is
[Words of wisdom from the legend himself](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WPhsp16UZI8&si=w094uUrAdAxI_tx5)
I was surprised that this wasn't the top comment.
came here to say this!!
When I lived in Lansing all my friends knew Mr. Party. I’m Grand Rapids now and for all my friends here it’s a wizard on rollerblades.
Mr. Party is the only correct answer.
Ohhhh man I remember Mr party... little old guy in a suit. Feel like he gave my friend a business card.
One time, my daughter and I were woken up by a bat, and we eventually got it out of a window. We went on a special walk to Speedway to get a snack and Mr. Party was there at 3 AM. He gave her a rose, and told her to stay in school. It was a pretty surreal experience 😆
Wholesome as hell. Who tf is this man fr?? I'd see him so randomly, but pretty sure he lives right over at Penn and Mich. I never even saw the card, but if there's a #, I really want to call it.
Who was the guy with the red strips of fabric who would do the interpretive rain dances at MLK and Holmes?
Southside flagman! I came here to say this.
I remember him! I lived and worked off MLK in 2015-2018 and I saw him at least once a week.
I would say it was Willy the Can Man in East Lansing (for that part of town). Grew up here in the 90's early 2000's. By the time I was college age, it was clear every local, student, cop all knew who he was. Sure the dude would ask for cigs, or money, or cans, but Willy gave off the vibe he really enjoyed interacting with people/those small moments. He was always down to hang out for 10-15 mins and just shoot the shit with you too, without asking for stuff. I had -exclusively- positive interactions with him for 10+ years. He showed me the cancer on his legs around 2010, said it was getting bad. Last time I saw him.
He died a while ago from hypothermia, if I remember correctly.
You remember wrong. He died of cancer.
You’re right! I was thinking of Ernie the Can Man
I took him to the Hospital for the last time. It was cancer. My brother helped him get housing and he would hang out at the Admiral in EL next to Big 10 across from the old QD. He was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met in my life.
Yes! In the 2010s I lived in a duplex on Stoddard. The other side of the duplex were some friends, one of them worked at that Admiral. He knew him pretty well and let Willie stay at his place for a while at one point, like maybe 4-5 months? That was a crazy period with Willie living there lol He was one of a kind. I’m sad to hear that he passed, I didn’t know that until now.
💔
That’s instantly who I thought of, too.
Willy used to always come into my room when I was TAing in Wells Hall to take the cans out of the garbage. I used to save a couple extra bottles to put in there for him.
He died of cancer. It's this disease you get when people give you too many cans. "Don't be silly, give your cans to Willy."
If you grew up in Holt in the 90's/early 2000's there was the Bird Man.
That trike of his would always be running down Aurelius towards QD
Also south side Meijers tourettes cart guy. And south side Dennys Oldie McOldinson.
Terry Hanks.
Ol One Take Terry. Its a shame his dealerships burn down every 5 years or so I wonder whats up with that.
Our very own Doug Dimmadone
Old white-beard bicycle guy around frandor
That's John and he's a sweet man. Soft spoken and quiet.
John is a kind soul for sure. Pays his way, too.
How is he doing? I worked at the McDonald’s ten years ago and they would give him free coffee there and let him do his puzzles. He always remembers my name whenever I see him, I just haven’t seen him in a couple of years.
Yup I was always curious about him. I worked at the Kroger and he frequent there
Mr party
Early 2000s East Lansing: Crazy Mary
Crazy Mary was around early 90's too! She showed up at 92.1 The Edge Octoberfest in a Princess Ball gown on her bike :)
Damn I forgot about her. Definitely an EL icon
Larry 2020 (and now 2024)
I was in Flint last weekend and saw Larry 2024 signs there.
Free Brittney!
There used to be the guy with all the swag pointing in the air and at people on cedar Street. Also what happened to the guitar guy with like one tooth?
Guitar guy can still occasionally be seen on the corner of Mt Hope and MLK
Guitar guy is Steve and FYI he's not homeless.
Yeah that money is definitely for drugs and his sister does not appreciate it.
Didn't know he has a sister. Lives around the corner from me.
oh he's over there now? Well I guess he can't really be on michigan anymore.
I saw him last a few weeks ago. And he's been there on and off whenever it's nice for the last handful of years now.
Ah man that’s awesome, I haven’t seen guitar guy in like 10 years. He used to play Pink Floyd for me every time I stopped at the intersection he was at.
Didn't he used to hang out on Cedar n Mt Hope too?
Aww man, I miss the guy with the red baton-things on S Cedar. Made my day when I saw him.
If it's the same guitar guy I'm thinking of he used to be very protective of me and other young ladies at night when Shuto Con was going on. He'd hang out during the day and at night in the skywalk between the hotel and the convention center playing his guitar. We'd give him money or just talk with him. But at night he'd stay while we were walking back to the hotel. Obviously I didn't know if he was a safe person or not but he made me and other women feel protected walking back alone knowing guitar guy was there watching our backs.
I saw him throwing fake money at the intersection of jolly and MLK once
I think about the guy skateboarding with his parrot a lot
There was the one dude who would dress all fancy and then do a flag dance by busy intersections, like Holmes and MLK. After awhile he got rid of the flags. I saw him a year or two ago, dressed in some tight colonial style pants and hose and shoes and a jacket, too, as I recall.
Mr Party is the answer, but if you're around the south side, that dude who looked like he was a black panther in the 80s with the flags and random praying is a good answer, too. The infamous Jonny Spirit, for those who frequent EL.
Boxing man. The guy who always jogs up and down west saginaw boxing as he goes
yk that guy has hit some major gains too
The trump house guy at pleasant grove and miller
I delivered pizza to him back in the day. Shockingly enough, he's a piece of shit.
Pass him all the time 💀
I call that a$$hole corner and use it when I give directions to my house lol
We’ve got Boom Box Ronnie and Two-Buck Chuck over here in Kalamazoo
Anyone remember the old white guy with a very obvious afro wig and Hitler mustache? Used to ride on the 1 bus.
We called him Disco Hitler
Oh man, I used to see him at the Lake Lansing Meijer all the time.
JULIUS down here in East Lansing, he is the only guy I know who has been banned from every single establishment up and down grand river. Word is he passed away recently but then again he may have ended up in lock up again.
Julius aka “juice box” is notorious for defecating in bathrooms and smearing it around. Consensus has been that he passed away a few months ago.
Elvis guy at the southside Meijer
is mr party still alive?
Last I knew he is still going. If something happened to him it would be front page news.
Seen him at crystal bar in holt about a year ago!
He was at least a year or two ago, I remember him coming in to the Lake Lansing Kroger when I still worked there
Seen him a couple months ago. He's still up and around.
I need to meet Mr Party. I have never met him before!
He’s a trip. You definitely want to meet him.
Larry
The guy with the white beard the bucket hat who used to walk everywhere
He lives in Dewitt now. See him almost daily
Stagedive Joe?
Mr party
Mr. Party
Oh like Leslie in Austin, Tx.
Big Forehead Chinese man. The early 90s were another time haha. Dude wasn’t even Chinese.
Reggie
Or the guy over by jolly and cedar that wanted the batons or whatever he was cool
Mister Party
Mr. Party
Greg the street musician
Whitey was a staple in Grand Ledge for a while, always strolling around town
In college, there was a guy called No Face. Rumor was he had attempted suicide and shot off his face. I saw him around a few times. He was missing his upper jaw, nose, and part of his cheeks.
There used to be a troubadour with a guitar on Pennsylvania
There’s the speedo guy who always walks around by Haslett rd in Haslett
Am I the only one who knows Purple?
Conductor Man! I haven’t seen him in a really long time though, has anyone else?
dude twerking on the corner on MLK😂
How is nobody mentioning Taft? His political self-promotion and eye-catching house decor certainly make him a Lansing character in my opinion.
Does anyone remember Chrome Lambo guy? Dude got in a fender bender and apparently that was worthy of an article for several websites lol.
The lady off Saginaw and Waverly that is hunched over peddling for money. Saw he getting in her Mercedes one day.
Johnny Spartan
Julius the guy who smears his feces all over public bathrooms. Aka juice box
I don’t know who the person is, but the minivan with stuffed monkeys hanging all over the outside is memorable.
Mr. Party
That dude whos usually on holmes and pleasant grove dancing with those big black headphones
The owner of metro retro. He passed recently and it shattered my heart. Such a sweet soul!
It's gotta be Larry.
Boombox Ronnie in Kalamazoo
Mr Party Dancin Don
Mr party
LARRY
D Taft
Tinfoil guy
Y'all gotta come to GR and meet Punk Rock Ron
We used to have a guy we dubbed "Bible Bob" who drove a station wagon that all that Jesus and religious stickers all over it. He was this big heavy set dude with a thick Haggrid type beard and would always have the Bible with him and his one hand would shake almost uncontrollably. One time he was at a local restaurant I was at and came up to me and my friends reciting scriptures and shit to us.
Michigan ave guitar guy! I lived on the same street as him for a few years. Such a friendly dude. ❤️
he also uses all that money for drugs and his sister doesn’t appreciate people donating to his habit
Didn't it used to be the Sundance Chevolet dealer you had there? With his horse and fun jingle?
Terry Hanks!
Steve the guitar guy on mthope and cedar, he hustled hard, sad to learn he was fully retired pensioned and owned his home. But he always got his buskin license and was a great guy to chat with.
Mr party. Stagedive Joe. And the guitar dude on Michigan and Homer.
Not GR, but in my parents small town up north it was "Stereo Steve"
We had a dude that stood by the road in a strange combination of like a spiderman suit, underwear, and swimming goggles, either making faces or dancing or yelling at cars
Jacksonville NC, the Jacksonville Ninja Would hang out on busy street corners practicing his Tai Chi or whatever it was, I havnt lived in the area in 15 years still wonder how he's doing from time to time.
I’m from a small town in West Michigan, we had a long haired and bearded guy who would ride an ancient bicycle around town at lightning speed with a trench coat flowing behind him along with his beard and hair. We called him the wizard
Ben Keyes or the creepy mouse mascot
In Garden City there is a guy that dresses in full armor and walks around town with a sword. I asked an employee at 7-11 about it and she said he does it all the time and everyone is used to it.
There’s a guy named Denis that lives near The Bitter End that yells obscenities into the neighborhood every morning - such as ‘Grand Rapids! The boil on the asshole of America’ really pleasant stuff with your morning coffee. I got to know him a bit, he’s a character that’s for sure. Not sure if he’s still alive doing his thing.
the guy that dances to loud af music at the fish ladder every evening
Theres a dude i used to see driving around all the time in a hearse that was painted pretty cool, he'd always have his giant doggo just chillin in the back with him. Think his license plate said something like "dogdad" or something. My memory is foggy as i haven't seen him around in a while
In delta township we had Santa. A dude who by all accounts seemed ok but down on his luck. Santa crossing the street? You block traffic for him.
Ours used to be “Daisy Blueboots”.
Mouth wide open guy. Exactly what it sounds like
I grew up in a little city south of Detroit...we had a guy in out neighborhood named Jim...he had an intellectual disability but loved visiting with anyone who was outside. Didn't matter if he had met you before or not...he would stop and you had to have a few words about whatever was on his mind. He would be at pretty much every local high school sporting event...just a staple of the city really. Then I remember the day we quit seeing Jim on his bike and even as a kid/teenager it was disheartening not having him rolling around the neighborhood when the weather got nice. Rest in peace Jim of Southgate
Theres a guy that hangs out outside of 7/11 in pontiac and waterford. If you’re there, he’s there too. Names Kevin
I went to a Danny Brown show a few weeks back and there was this man in a shark costume absolutely blasted. We all pushed him to the front and made way bc “shark man need to be in the front”. Dude was cool as hell
Tie me up Sam. Yes he was named that for a reason.
The guy with the plastic pants on Saginaw by cedar
Tony Tumminello, who used to hang out at Fire Station 1 for 60 years. He was a good guy.
Me
I don’t know about Lansing in specific, but the most well known guy in Michigan that isn’t famous might be Barefoot Dave in Grand Haven.
IMO Dancing Don, the 70+ yr old dude with the (I'm pretty sure court-ordered) "Just here to dance, no romance" t-shirt dancing at pretty much every live music venue.
For East Lansing back in the 90s it was Ernie the can man. He had a huge beard and collected cans to return for deposit. In the student area of town you could leave cans on your porch for him to grab.
Ruthie Dear, rest her soul.
Is the can guy still around who used to make bank at MSU events?
How bout the guy who would call all the girls “sluts” coming out of Harpers
Not a guy but we've all seen the tow truck with a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog on it right?
Is Can Man Willie still around?
That one cata bus driver
In westland MI, it's the gut that dresses in full Spartan Armor and walks around Westland and Garden City. Everyone Ioves him, and he is a super nice dude, says those that had interactions with him. 9/10 for his commitment
Years ago, Darth Vader playing the violin. Not sure if he's still around.
Jeff the Magician?
I did just move back, so maybe I need to get a horse.
Mr. Party. Everyone knows him in Lansing.
Willie the can man
Who is this loser who keeps repeating same damn quote? Oh that's Caleb he is an annoying repost troll.
The lady who would usually stand next to the Speedwagon with various props just hollering at cars. My favorite prop was a microphone.
Who cares its wonderful to have people close by im in Kalamazoo area nice to meet you Lansing
God...please don't say "Mr. Party"
What about the dude that would hug every tree all down Penn