![]() ![]() Allen Park is part of the collection of communities known as Downriver.Īllen Park is home to the Uniroyal Giant Tire, the largest non-production tire scale model ever built, and one of the world's largest roadside attractions. The city was once recognized in Money Magazine's list of America's Best Small Cities. The city is known for its tree-lined streets, brick houses, and the Fairlane Green Shopping Center that opened in 2006. Since 2002, Allen Park is the practice home of the Detroit Lions football team and is also the site of the team's headquarters. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limits. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638.įord Motor Company is an integral part of the community. That's how Bob Allison will be remembered.Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. "I do the show the way I want to and if someone doesn't like it, that's fine, turn something else on," Allison told the Free Press all those years ago. He broadcast his show on his own terms, steering "Ask Your Neighbor" by his own compass that may have seemed outdated, but kept a community of listeners together. With corporations ruling radio, TV and print in 2020, Allison remained a gentle maverick until the end. Wayne State University's Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance, renamed in 2000 in conjunction with her $2-million endowment, stands as one of the family's best-known gifts. His real last name was Allesee, which was considered too ethnic by radio executives of the Eisenhower era.Īllison and his wife, Maggie Allesee, became a power couple of philanthropy in metro Detroit, working for numerous charities and civic clubs. He spent more than a decade in radio before landing in Detroit as a hip young disc jockey with a love of jazz. ![]() ![]() The Indiana native spent a few years in Los Angeles as a piano player before "Ask Your Neighbor" started. "You'd be surprised how many people write or say that we're an island of civility in a sea of rage, a place where you can be at peace," Allison told the Free Press. The show may not have been competitive in the ratings market in recent years, but It remained a beacon of gentle radio in a nation that had become difficult and divided. There were never any shock jock antics, no anger, indignation, or sarcasm. Everyone is treated with courtesy, from longtime fans to new listeners." They're not hustled off or chided for their opinions. As the Free Press wrote in 2000, "Callers get as much time as they need. "Ask Your Neighbor" stuck to a different set of rules as radio evolved. His son, Rob,will be hosting a commercial-free edition of the show on Thursday, said WWJ. More: Detroit's WDIV-TV morning news anchor Evrod Cassimy tests positive for coronavirusĪllison kept doing "Ask Your Neighbor," which he took to the smaller WNZK-AM (690) in the late 1970s, until just a few weeks ago. More: Detroit newspapers feel economic pressures of coronavirus at time they're needed most In 2013, he did a short-lived revival of the show for WADL-TV in Detroit. It was the "Survivor" of its day, in terms of local ratings. He also hosted Detroit's iconic 1970s TV game show, "Bowling for Dollars," a program that's hard to imagine in today's flashy, high-speed world of reality competitions.įilmed at the Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, it features local contestants bowling for a modest cash prize in the range of a few hundred dollars. Essentially, it was a mass-market chat across the fence between listeners, mostly women, who shared recipes and queried each other for advice on things like recipes for cottage cheese pie and where to buy hard-to-find items in the era long before Amazon. WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) reported he had recently fallen at his home.Īllison was best-known as host of the radio show "Ask Your Neighbor," which began on WWJ in 1962. A cause of death wasn't revealed, but his health recently made his move to a nursing home necessary. ![]() Allison, 87, died Wednesday afternoon, according to WWJ-AM (950). ![]()
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