1940-1950 - Northern Magazine

World War II was already underway by the time the 1940s began, and it was definitely the big event of the first half of the decade. The Nazis established death camps in their effort to murder millions of Jews during the Holocaust, who were eventually liberated as the Allies conquered Germany and the war ended in 1945.

Shortly after World War II ended, the Cold War began between the West and the Soviet Union. The 1940s also witnessed the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the beginning of apartheid in South Africa, which continued long into the 20th century.

Outdoor education flourishes with the procurement of Munuscong Camp near Sault Ste. Marie and the gift of an additional 120 acres by Longyear Forest on the Dead River Basin by Abby Beecher Longyear Roberts, granddaughter of J.M. Longyear, who donated the original land for campus.

Northern’s first school nurse, Martha Hatch, and first full-time nurse, Ada Vielmetti, tend to students’ health-care needs on campus in small offices and via house calls. If a student needs to be hospitalized, the college pays $3/day or $5 toward the cost of the operating room. Free x-rays are offered to identify tuberculosis.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, under the direction of the Office of Civilian Defense, all Northern staff members, including President Tape, keep four-hour, round-the-clock air raidwatches on the roof of Graveraet High School.

In 1940, more than 500 students are enrolled, but by fall 1944, there are only 26 male and 201 female students. A group of former students training at Glenview, Ill. form the U.P. Wildcat Squadron. Others, used to cold climates and with skiing skills, join the Tenth Mountain Division. Those serving are mailed copies of Northern News, and many express their gratefulness to receive news from home and school in postcards to the editor and in frequent correspondence with faculty members. By 1943, seven Northern students lost their lives, the first being Ensign Robert Miller.

After the war, with education paid for by the GI Bill, veterans flock to campuses. In 1946, 929 students are enrolled. The state appropriates additional funds to hire more faculty, and war surplus buildings are moved to campus to provide housing for 90 families. Located near the present Northern Center (University Center), this is known as "Vetville". More veteran housing is located near Waldo and Presque Isle and is known as “Fertile Valley.”