In answer to Carol Carlson, John Kennedy was a candidate for President, running against Richard Nixon, when he made his peace corps proposal on the steps of the Michigan Union in 1960. I was standing on the low brick wall next to the sidewalk to the left of the steps, to get a better view. That was a thrill I will never forget!

I was the first in my family to attend college and Michigan was the only one considered by this “Detroiter”.

One professor stood out above all others in my experience at Michigan and that was Elzada Clover, professor of Botany. I became acquainted with Dr. Clover by taking her Botany 2 course, which was a practical “hands-on” course taught at the old Botanic Gardens on Iroquois Avenue. Mostly aspiring teachers took this course since it gave practical experience in propagating and nurturing house plants. It also didn’t hurt that most of these students were female!

One aspect of the course was Dr. Clover’s film presentation of her trip down the Colorado River in 1938 (first woman to do so) in double ended plywood boats. Her exploration of the Havasupi Indians, cacti collecting, and perhaps even an adventure or two with peyote made quite an impression on these 1950’s students. Ultimately, I became a teaching assistant in this class, worked part-time after school in the Gardens mixing soils, repotting plants, and watering on weekends.

All this led to a biology major, summer classes at the Biological Station on Douglas Lake, and a professional teaching career in biology and science in independent schools.

Elzada Clover’s guidance, patience, and nurture helped bring this large and overwhelming college experience down to a manageable personal level for this young college student.

Please forgive me for using this venue to inquire–wasn’t J.F. Kennedy a sitting President when he ‘helped launch’ the Peace Corp. on the steps of the Union? –perhaps not.

I just received the news that President Obama will deliver the Commencement address on May 1. I was so delighted I immediately tried (and failed ) to find a hotel room. I don’t know who spoke when my baccalaureate was awarded in 1961; I didn’t even think about attending. By 1964 when I had earned a master’s degree it belatedly occurred to me that the occasion involved my parents and I asked if they would like to attend. We all enjoyed the day but I can’t honestly say I focused on President Johnson’s speech. It was only years later that I learned of its historical significance. In the last two and a half years I have been keenly aware of the historical significance of Barack Obama’s candidacy and election to the Presidency and wholeheartedly supportive. I would be surprised if Pres. Obama does not allude to the great accomplishments President Johnson first named that day. I feel certain he will give a fine and thoughtful speech, that he will continue that great work and that the class of 2010 will look back with pride and gratitude that he spoke at their commencement.

I wrote the letter (with then husband Alan Guskin) that started the organizing on campus,later worked for P.C. in D.C., went to Thailand as PCV, then helped set up VISTA. I have spent my career working with cultural and linguistic issues in Education. The Tobin story is basically correct. I would like to write something for the 50th Anniversary issue that deals with the importance of the Peace Corps experience. I hope we can discuss this. Thanks

Thank you so much for the pictures/captions about housing the GIs after WWII. My younger sister and I were residents of the family housing at Willow Village…the stove in one of the pics is as I remember it, ditto the back stairs leading to the kitchen and the fuel storage shed (I don’t remember if it was coal or wood for the stove). There was a wall-mounted kerosene heater for the rest of the house. We had a real ICE BOX, and I was big enough to pull out the drip pan from underneath and empty the run-off daily. The kitchen sink was also a bathtub for the baby sister. The landscape with the drab one-story buildings in the background is also familiar…at that complex of buildings there were large pads and sidewalks of concrete which were perfect for roller-skating.

I was a student at the University of Michigan starting in Sept 1971. I remember the Free John Sinclair Concert” like it was yesterday. The doors were suppose to open at 8:00pm but there was a delay and it was a freezing cold and rainy night. We were packed into the arena like sheep. I was pretty close to the stage, on the floor and the music went on forever and ever. The articles I have read online the do not include half the bands that were there. We were all very thirsty, it being so hot and crowded. Someone kept passing a jug of water around the arena. All I remember was that the jug never got to us. John Lennon came on very late but the concert was not over until past 6:00am the next morning. It was an experience I will never forget. Then the following April 1st was the 1st annual Ann Arbor Hash Bash, I was there too and for several years after that. My birthday happens to be April 1st and that’s part of my story. Pink Floyd at Hill auditorium was another great story I’ll tell at a later date.

I fondly remember all my days at U of M. My favorite professor was Prof. Bredvold in the English Department.

When I was there, the campus ended at 2006 Washtenaw, the ZBT house, and north campus was a gleam in someone’s eye.
Visiting U of M a couple of years ago was a real eye opener. So many changes. So many things gone, such as the Pretzel Bell, where one could celebrate one’s 21st birthday with a free pitcher of beer.

Am still in contact with two of my DPhiE sorority sisters (we were charter members when the sorority first was installed on campus in 1954). We meet twice a year and proudly wear our U of M shirts.

My daughter-in-law has recently graduated with a PhD from the Ross School of Business. So the tradition goes on.

When I came to Ann Arbor as a foreign student in the summer of 1988 I was determined to become a doctor. I had some credits transferred from the University of Lund in Sweden, where I had studied, and went to work taking classes in biology and chemistry. The group of faculty in organic chemistry inspired me to take more classes than required and all of a sudden I found myself enrolled in the C.U.G.S. masters program in medicinal chemistry. I still hadn’t given up the thought of a career as a physician but research and science became more and more of an interest. I worked in the lab of Dr. Richard Lawton someone who, as it turns out, became a lifelong inspiration to me. His way of thinking about learning and science led me to consider the path of research as I dropped my original dream of practicing medicine. Then with a full scholarship I was able to do some extracurricular work in the student services answering the hotline geared towards students in crisis. With it came a package of group-therapy, lectures on eating-disorders and lots more. My focus started to shift again and I enrolled in some classes in child and developmental psychology. For personal reasons I left Ann Arbor and via a short detour in Arizona returned to Sweden. At home again, I enrolled at the University and am now a working child psychologist as well as a free-lance writer. With me from my years in Ann Arbor I have the gratitude for being given the opportunity to explore myself and my interests, and that I was able to, finally, find a sense of direction. Through the different paths my life has taken me I have carried with me the notion of the importance of learning and putting your mind to something as well as the self-confidence I gained through the careful and sensitive guidance by my mentor. As I progress in my life I become more and more aware of what as gift those years in Ann Arbor were and I know it might sound sentimental but I cherish the memories.