What is your NMU connection?
I graduated summa cum laude in 1972 and enjoyed a career in teaching, thanks to NMU.
Your favorite NMU memory or story
Commuters have always been a significant segment of NMU’s student body. I was one of them in late 1969. Our lives, Monday through Friday, tended to be governed by our schedule of classes and the comings and goings of our carpool. We tried to form carpools with others whose schedules aligned with ours, but they never totally coincided.
That’s what led Diane, my dear departed friend, and me to our vexing problem. It was about noon on a beautiful Friday afternoon in October and we were finished with our classes for the day. Unfortunately, it would be another four hours before the rest of our crew were finished with theirs and we desperately wanted to head home and prepare for a promising weekend. Sitting for hours in the Wildcat Den, the commuters’ hangout, wasn’t at all appealing.
I suggested we hitchhike home as this was still a somewhat acceptable form of transportation, for guys anyway, but we had each other so what could go wrong?
We devised a plan. Walk down to Washington Street, Marquette’s main thoroughfare, and begin hitching from there. It was a pleasant walk swishing through the dry leaves scattered on the sidewalk along Third Street although our textbooks were heavy clutched to our chests. Backpacks hadn’t become part of the uniform in ‘69. At last we reached Washington Street, stood on the corner, and tentatively stuck out our thumbs from behind our textbooks. This was all pretty brave for two shy freshmen girls from Ishpeming!
It didn’t take long before a small, brown sedan pulled up in front of us and stopped. We looked at each other with big, wary eyes and opened the door to the backseat. A short, elderly man wearing a felt-brimmed hat sat in the driver’s seat. He said nothing as we clumsily slid into his car being careful not to lose our loads of textbooks. The car remained stationary. “We’d like to go to Ishpeming”, I said as pleasantly and directly as my nervous voice could muster. The car still remained motionless and he said nothing. He didn’t even turn around!
At last, the car crept slowly forward, but then stopped abruptly. Slowly, he awkwardly slid across the front seat and rolled down the passenger door window. (Yes, car windows had to be rolled down in those days!) Shakily, he raised his hand which clutched several letters, and, with a quick shove, deposited them into the big, sidewalk mailbox.
Diane and I looked at each other in shock! We were speechless! He slid back behind the wheel and, without so much as a word, drove us to Ishpeming depositing us at Kentucky Fried Chicken, now Ralph’s Deli and the contentious Firestation. We clambered out thanking him profusely and watched in disbelief as he turned around and, presumably, made his way back to Marquette. And so, our weekend began!
Who is the most influential person you met during your time at NMU and why were they so influential?
The most influential instructor I had was John VanBeynen in the math department. His enthusiasm for his material made me realize that teaching math could be a whole lot of fun!
Tell us about the significance of any teams, clubs, or organizations you were part of during your time at NMU
Unfortunately, I wasn’t very involved with many extracurriculars as I didn’t really feel part of campus life as a commuter. My mistake for not asserting myself! Oh, to do it over!
What is/was your favorite thing to do in Marquette?
Head to Wetmore’s Landing on sunny days and take in football games outdoors. Loved hearing “The Pride of the North” marching down from campus and inhaling rich, tobacco pipe smoke!
Talk about any significant/memorable sporting events, weather occurrences or other on-campus activities
See above. Also, the hair-raising rides we had down to campus during blizzards as Northern never closed for inclement weather. Never made us commuters feel very valued.
What is your current or former profession?
Retired middle school math teacher.
How did NMU help you get to where you are today?
It gave me a solid foundation for what I’d face as a classroom teacher. Great instructors in both the education and math departments.