6 H O R I Z O N S

t is the summer of 1913. AileenMcNamara, a young, Irishwoman is walking toward therebuilt Longyear Hall. She

walks past the only other building oncampus, the Peter White ScienceBuilding. Aileen, originally fromManistique, has just started attendingNorthern State Normal, and is takingclasses toward a teacher certification.As she enters Longyear Hall, shepauses, glances over her shoulder, andabsorbs one last view of the relativelynew 20-acre campus, before proceed-ing to her history class.

What Aileen didn’t realize onthat summer day was that she was thestart to a unique connection. Aconnection that would span four genera-tions and include six very distinct person-al stories. It is a Northern connection.

Aileen McNamara Nelson(graduation date unknown) was thefirst of her family to walk down thecorridors of Longyear Hall. Thirty-two years later, her youngest daugh-ter, Katherine Nelson FeldhauserBS, ’63 MAE, would walk down thesame halls.

Katherine started attending theNorthern Michigan College ofEducation in 1945 as an educationmajor. There were no dormitorieswhen she arrived—Carey Hall wouldnot open until 1948—so she lived atMrs. Yates’ boarding house at 710 N.Third Street, paying five or six dollarsa week, and living with seven otherfemale boarders.

Katherine went to school full-

time for her first two years, workingat the library on campus for 35 centsan hour. Although much of her timewas taken up with her studies, work-ing and returning to Manistique onthe weekends, she still found time toenjoy herself. She was an avid basket-ball and football fan and made fre-quent trips to Presque Isle with herfriends from the boarding house.

“I always enjoyed the pep assem-blies. It was fun to get all together inthe auditorium and see everyone. TheElite was a little restaurant we couldhang out in at night, and we wouldgo down to the Tip Top,” she recalled.

When she took a job teachingkindergarten through fifth grade in aone-room school house inThompson, she began attendingNorthern on a less regular basis.

“They [Northern professors]used to come to Manistique andteach classes at night. I would alsocome to summer school. I did what-ever I had to do,” she said.

For some summers, motherAileen and daughter Katherine wentto summer school together, bothpursuing, and eventually earning,degrees in teaching and both living atMrs. Yates’ boarding house.Katherine explains, “We both had

special certificates when we startedteaching, which means you didn’thave to have a four-year degree. Welived together a lot because my dadhad died. I wasn’t married at the timeand I was the youngest of three. Itworked out really well and it was nice.”

Katherine and Arthur Feldhauserwere married in 1961 and shortlyafter moved to Marquette, where heworked with the Department ofNatural Resources (DNR). They hadthree children Mark, Alan and Mary.

“I had dated occasionally, butafter I met Art that was it. I still keepthinking someone must have toldhim about me, being about 22 andan old maid.”

Although Katherine was raising afamily, she didn’t sway from complet-ing her goal of earning her master’s ineducation. Mark Feldhauser ’75 BSrecalls her dedication, saying, “Iremember when I was younger andshe was in grad school she would takeus kids to the NMU library with hersometimes when she had to study orresearch a paper there. I rememberspending hours in the quiet lookingat magazines.”

Some 10 years later, Mark wouldagain be found amongst the stacks ofbooks at the Olson library, studyingchemistry for Dr. Roger Barry’s class,one of his most influential professors.He also credits Dr. Phil Doepke,whose love of nature inspired Markto go into his current line of work.He’s an environmental manager withthe Department of Environmental

Four Generations. Six Stories. One Connection.

The Feldhauser family’s NMU story spans 95 years

By Brianne S. Rogers ’07 BS

I

For some summers, motherand daughter went to summerschool together, both living atMrs. Yates’ boarding house.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 7

Quality, based in Gwinn, followinghis father’s footsteps.

However, Mark wasn’t stuckinside the library his whole collegecareer. There were rainy footballgames at Memorial Field, summerswims at Picnic Rocks andMcCarthy’s Cove, and Iron Rangerhockey games. Mark was an enthusi-astic foosball player and competed intournaments at the Brat House andenjoyed hanging out at Pier One.Today, Mark and his fiancée, AnnWilson ’92 BS (also coincidentallywith the DNR), are dedicatedNMU Wildcat hockey fans.

When he was a senior,his younger brother, AlanFeldhauser ’78 BS, ’91 AS,started attending NMU. Bothpursued science-based degreesand shared admiration forProfessor Alfred Neimi, who,as Mark said, “had a sense ofhumor he applied to histeaching so I had a betterretention of the subject mat-ter.” Both brothers lived athome, but Alan had more mixed feel-ings about this arrangement.

“Living at home had its econom-ical benefits. The drawback was I wasnot very involved with NMU otherthan class,” Alan explained. However,in the spring of his sophomore year,he made that connection by joiningthe fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi.Along with his outdoor interests,Alan was an active Alpha member, anintense competitor in the annual tug-of-war competitions, a member ofthe Muzak Bears softball team, andwith his frat brothers, a frequenter ofsuch establishments as The VillagePub, which they deemed their head-quarters. Today, Alan is a senior plan-ner for the County of Marquette.

Younger sister Mary FeldhauserAdamini ’85 BS, ’96 MS, said thatcoming from a line of teachers,

“There was never any question wewould all go to college in one formor another.” Mary nearly broke withtradition and went to another school.After going to orientation at MichiganState, however, and “seeing 600 peo-ple in a lecture class, I decided thatwasn’t going to be my kind of learning.”

She attended NMU with herfuture husband, Daniel Adamini ’85BS. She started to work full time as areporter at The Mining Journal whenshe was a junior at Northern. Shefound a lot in common with Dr.

Gerry Waite, who had worked at theMilwaukee Journal. “A lot of timeswhen I would write stories [for TheMining Journal] we would critiquethem in class,” she said. “Whichsometimes I liked, sometimes Ididn’t, depending on whether I didwell or not!”

Mary, who now works as thesupervisor of administrative servicesat the Marquette Board of Light andPower, recently returned to NMU’scampus for a seminar and noticedhow much it has changed.

“I loved the indoor walks in thewintertime. Then going to the new

art museum; I had been to the LeeHall Gallery, but the new gallery isno comparison. And the SeaborgCenter was just amazing. Thecampus was nice when I was there,but I think it is bigger and betternow. I think it has a lot more to offer.”

These changes are commonplaceto Mary’s nephew, Brian Feldhauser‘07, the fourth generation to attendNMU. Brian completed the pre-pharmacy program at NMU andplans to attend Michigan TechnologicalUniversity in the fall to pursue phar-

maceutical chemistry. Hisexperience has a twist—heattended NMU at the sametime as his mom, SueFeldhauser ’05 BS.

“People would ask, ‘Is Sueyour mom?’ It didn’t botherme. I thought it was kind ofcool,” Brian said.

Like his dad, Alan, heenjoys Marquette’s downtownand the outdoors. He fre-quents Upfront and Companywith his friends for the live

music. He can also be found playinga pick-up game of basketball, kayak-ing or cross-country skiing. Alan’sdaughter, Laura, also attended NMU.And their cousin, Abbi Adamini, willattend in the fall, pursuing a doublemajor in international relations andSpanish—and like her grandmother andgreat-grandmother, hopes to be a teacher.

It has been 95 years since AileenMcNamara Nelson walked intoLongyear Hall and unknowinglystarted an educational tradition.Between the time Aileen started andBrian finished, NMU changed itsname five times, has had 12 presi-dents, acquired an additional 300acres and its buildings have morphed,disappeared or materialized. Despitethe changes and the years, these fourgenerations are connected by theirNorthern experience. n

From left: Alan, Sue, Brian, Mary, Abbi, Mark, Ann and Katherine.

Brian’s experience has a twist—he attended NMU at the same

time as his mom, Sue.

8 H O R I Z O N S

hen JohnDeVoe ’46BS gets the

urge to “strike up theband,” he canassemble all theinstruments andtalent he needs with afamily reunion. He isthe patriarch of aclan whose uncannypenchant for turningmusic into a hobbyor career spans threegenerations and evenmarriage.

After serving in the U.S. Air Force during World WarII, DeVoe started what would become a familiar refrain:he graduated from Northern and became a high schoolinstrumental director. Two sons followed the same pathand one of them married a flutist. His two other childrenopted for different careers, but still play instruments. Atthe grandchild level, one teaches high school band, twoare music performance majors at other universities, onegraduated from NMU and married a fellow Wildcat whobecame a band director, another recently married a banddirector, and a high school student is playing the clarinet.Even a niece and nephew received music degrees fromNorthern.

To say the apples haven’t fallen far from the DeVoefamily tree would be an understatement. But how doesJohn explain the inordinate number of relatives whoseinterests have branched out in a similar direction?

“I can tell you that it wasn’t coerced; they all partici-pated willingly,” he said. “I just think the climate was setin our home and it was a good, wholesome activity. Itwasn’t really compulsory, though I suppose there was alittle compulsion—you had to keep after kids to practice

and things. But I feel very good about it and I have a lotof pride in how it turned out.

“I owe my career in music to my parents,” DeVoe says.“There was a lot of it playing in our home and my par-ents saw to it that I had more opportunities with it thanthey had.”

His wife, Grace, dabbles in piano but humbly down-plays her ability. She also was surrounded by music dur-ing her childhood. “We would listen to opera on theradio,” she said. “And all of us would sing along with theopera and act silly like we were performing it.”

DeVoe attended high school at John D. Pierce, a learn-ing laboratory for student teachers operated by Northern.“In my junior and senior years at Pierce, I played in theNorthern orchestra,” he said. “I was taking lessons fromthe head of the music department at Northern, so it wasan easy move from high school to college. Northern wasa small school in those days. I remember the enrollmentfee was $22.50 and that included a locker. I played in theorchestra and band. I had played bass horn in highschool, but Northern didn’t have enough of those to goaround, so I picked French horn instead. Part of the

At a 2004 reunion, the DeVoe family formed a German band andplayed tunes on the deck of John and Grace DeVoe’s summer home,overlooking Sunset Point. John, on tuba, leads (from left) Maddie,Ann, Tom, Kate, Bill and Bob.

Strike Up the BandThe DeVoe family proves the existence of a “band director” gene By Kristi Evans

W

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 9

business of being a teacher is know-ing how to play a number of instru-ments.”

DeVoe graduated from Northern,taught in Crystal Falls for two yearsand earned his master’s degree fromthe University of Michigan beforesettling at Creston High School inGrand Rapids for most of his distin-guished 28-year career.

“One of the main reasons I wentthere is that the city had a goodsymphony orchestra that I couldplay in on the side.”

The couple’s son Ben ’70 BMEwould also move to Grand Rapidsafter college. He played clarinet inthe same symphonic band as hisfather, but taught at Union HighSchool. His career was tragically cutshort when he died of cancer fiveyears ago, leaving behind a wife—aflutist—and three children. Ben’sprofessional and personal legacieslive on. Union High School hon-ored his commitment to music edu-cation and passion for the arts whenit dedicated the “Benjamin DeVoeFine Arts Wing.” One of his chil-dren picked up the baton and is aband director in southern Michigan.

Another recently married a banddirector.

Bill ’81BME was the secondchild to become a band director. Hespent 10 years in the Pinconningand Fenton school districts, but acombination of budget cuts and adesire for change helped propel himinto the hardware business. He ran astore for a decade and now works ata building center. He plays trom-bone in the Norway CommunityBand and is watching his oldestchild advance on the clarinet.

“My siblings and I were going toconcerts from before we were born,”he recalled. “In addition to being aschool band director, my dad wasinvolved in civic and shrine bandsand the church choir. Between those

activities and our own performances,it seemed there was something everyweek that the whole family wouldattend. It doesn’t surprise me thatthe love of music was passed downto my generation, but I’m amazedhow it has carried through to thenext one. We’ve had three genera-tions playing together at one event.”

The two other DeVoe childrenelected not to pursue music as aprofession. However, Bob, aresearcher at 3M, was a member ofthe University of Michigan march-ing band for two years and contin-ues to play the baritone in his sparetime. Bob’s two children are musicperformance majors in college: a sonon trombone and a daughter ontrumpet.

Martha is a retired education

media specialist. She played violinduring her school years and atWestern Michigan University. Herdaughter, Ann Alexander-Golden’01 BS, received a psychologydegree from NMU and married—surprise—a band director andNMU alumnus, Tom Golden ’05MAE. The couple live in Cheboygan.

“It’s a disease; it really is,” laughedAnn. “It could have been subcon-scious on my part. I met my hus-band when he was the bass player ina cover band at Wahlstrom’s. I wasone of the groupies. I joke with himthat he married into his true family.”

While at NMU, Ann played inthe marching, symphonic and pepbands. She also had an opportunityto play alongside her grandpa Johnand uncle Bill in a performancefeaturing students and alumni. Shehopes Northern will resurrect thealumni band so she will have anopportunity to repeat the experience.

“It was fun to watch them. It wasalmost like they were young again,sitting in the stands, playing andgoofing off like the rest of us. Itwould be nice to do again, only thistime we would all be alumni. … Mygrandpa gave me my clarinet when Iwas in second grade. He typed meright there. I wanted to play theflute, but he happened to have a spareclarinet so I played that instead.”

At 86, her grandpa John remainsan active player, especially duringthe winter months at his secondhome in Florida, where he plays intwo bands.

Two key elements comprise mosthit songs: a refrain, or the repetitivemelody and lyrics that make itmemorable; and a bridge, whichconnects two sections together. TheDeVoes’ refrain is the recurringtendency to turn music into a pro-fession or serious hobby. Theirbridge is a shared interest in anactivity that can unite generationsand provide lifelong enjoyment. n

Bob’s daughter, Kate, and Ann’shusband, Tom, on trumpet.

Cousins Ann and Jamie (playing hisdad Ben’s clarinet).

Brothers Bill and Bob on trombone.

10 H O R I Z O N S

ome siblings work hard todifferentiate themselves sothey can fly solo in theirchosen direction when

they’re ready to leave the nest. Butthe German siblings—two brothersand one sister—are rare birdsindeed. Or ducklings, as they like tojoke, for their tendency to fall inline and follow the same path inclose succession.

The trio has taken emulation to anew level. All three attendedNorthern within six years of eachother. All three had the same aca-demic adviser. All three graduatedwith technology-related degrees.And all three work for SeagateTechnology, a global digital-storagesolutions corporation, in the sameShakopee, Minn., location.

Yet the siblings are quick to point

out that they aren’t clones. Theymanaged to preserve their uniqueidentities and interests whilepursuing similar education andcareer tracks.

Jerry German ’81 BS started thetrend. “I took an electronics class atGwinn High School and I enjoyedit enough that it led me toNorthern’s industrial technologyprogram,” he said.

Maria German Noer ’85BS alsoopted for industrial technology. “Iwas going into nursing and my firstsemester I picked biology and chem-istry-type nursing classes. They justweren’t doing anything for me. Jerryhad just landed a good job aftergraduation. I liked math anddecided to take a basic house wiringclass. It clicked, so I continued inthat direction and my minors were

in electronics and electricity.”For Bob German ’87 BS, the

decision to attend NMU “was prettymuch based on Jerry’s positiveexperience and wanting to follow hislead. Northern’s location alsohelped. It was close to where welived, at K.I. Sawyer, so we couldcommute to school.”

The siblings’ father was stationedat the U.S. Air Force base andretired as the non-commissionedofficer in charge. Their momworked for the Department ofDefense in data management. Theysaid the military lifestyle of beingfrequently uprooted and relocatedmade them rely more on each otherand fostered a close-knit bond. “Ourparents did a good job of raising usto have the right values and workethic,” Bob added.

At Seagate, Jerry is the senior leadmanufacturing test engineer fordeveloping disc-drive processes. Heworks closely with design engineer-ing organizations worldwide. Mariais a senior program manager. Sheworks in firmware development,which she described as controllingthe hardware in the drives andallowing the drives to talk to otherparts of the computer. Bob managesthe advance process developmentgroup. Its members develop and“stage” new technologies, getting themready to hand off to product teams.

Jerry and Bob, whose offices areseparated by about 50 feet, have acup of coffee together eachmorning. Maria’s office is 75 yardsaway. Does that make her a relativeoutsider? “Yes, they tell me that allthe time,” she joked during a groupinterview via speakerphone. “Andthey’ve excluded me from theirmorning ritual; I’m not invited.”

Bob said the coffee conversationsusually revolve around weekendplans, hunting, fishing or “talking

The Computer ClanThe German siblings, plus a spouse, all work in the samebuilding for the same high-tech firm

By Kristi Evans

Jerry, Bob and Maria German, now and then (from left).

S

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 11

bad about Maria.” After the trio engaged in some more good-natured rib-

bing, Maria added that she does cross paths with bothbrothers at Seagate occasionally when they are workingon major projects. The job has benefited her personallyas well. She is married to a colleague.

Her brothers married outside the company. Jerry methis wife in Minneapolis. Bob met his wife, Carol(Vertanen) ’88 BFA, at NMU, where was a student inthe art department.

The Germans and theirfamilies get together outsideof work only on specialoccasions. They keep busyschedules with kids’ activi-ties. And as further proofthat conformity does notrule all aspects of their lives,each resides in a differentcity. In other words, the riskof being oversaturated withsibling contact is prettyslim. It also helps that theywork for a large corporation.

“This is the best job I’ve had,” Bob added. “Seagate’sbeen good to all of us. Even though we’ve made the fullcircle, it’s a good company to work for—they’ve takencare of us.”

That circular path to Seagate began when Jerrygraduated from NMU and accepted a job in the super-computers division of Control Data in Minneapolis. Helater transferred to a subsidiary, ETA Systems. Jerryhelped his younger brother secure a successful interviewat ETA. But when Seagate bought out the company’s

data-storage division and the plant closed down, Jerryand Bob were offered jobs in Oklahoma.

Maria worked in the defense products group ofUnisys—formerly Sperry—after graduation. Theindustry’s financial instability, combined with her desireto make a change, led Maria to pursue an opening at herbrothers’ company. But several years later, the Germansfaced corporate downsizing related to the dot-com bustof 2001.

“A lot of product support functions were shut downand, in some cases, employees were given options to

work in one of the other design centers,” Bob said. “Imoved my family to Minnesota that year. I was the firstone up here. Jerry and Maria followed me two years laterwhen the Oklahoma design center closed and they wereoffered transfers. People at Seagate thought it was highlyirregular that four of us—counting Maria’s husband—work in the same building, but there hasn’t been anynegativity about it.”

The siblings say the stress of the Oklahoma shutdownbrought them closer togeth-er. They do not take gainfulemployment for granted,knowing that high-techcompanies are more proneto industry swings.

“Our parents get a littlenervous when there are lay-offs or relocations goingon,” Maria added. “Butthey’re very pleased withwhat we’ve accomplished.We were among the firstfrom both sides of the

family to go to college.”The Germans’ parents remain in Marquette. Maria

shared an “it’s a small world” occurrence from a coupleyears ago. She said her parents were walking near themarina on Presque Isle and struck up a conversationwith another couple, who invited them on their boat.

“After the husband found out we all graduated fromNorthern, the field we went into and our last name, hesaid to my parents, ‘Is your daughter Maria?’ It turnedout that he was Bill Rigby, our adviser at Northern. I wasone of few females who went through the program, but Iwas amazed and impressed that after 20 years he stillremembered my name. I got to see him in Marquette afew weeks later.”

It’s clear the German ducklings made a big splash atNorthern and in their careers.

“I think it’s just that Jerry, the first person in, set thebar high by doing a great job,” Bob said. “I wouldn’thave gotten the job at ETA without them having Jerry’sperformance as a measuring stick. He’s the silver-backedape of the group. And Maria wouldn’t have gotten herjob without being homesick for her brothers.”

After a reported headlock following the last comment,and with all kidding aside, he added that Jerry “made iteasier for Maria and me to get a chance to prove our-selves. In fact, shortly after moving to Oklahoma, one ofthe VPs at Seagate asked if there were any other siblingsin the family. They were ready to hire more.” n

Jerry and Bob, whose offices are separated by about 50 feet, have a cup

of coffee together each morning. Maria’s office is 75 yards away.

12 H O R I Z O N S

ur parents, Henry and Dorothy Feldhusen,were very proud that all six of their childrengraduated from college: Northern MichiganUniversity. Neither of them went to college,

but they encouraged us to further our educations. All sixof us paid our way with scholarships, grants, loans andby working. Four of the six who graduated from whatused to be known as the “teacher’s college” did, in fact,go on to be teachers. We all graduated from Wm. G.Mather High School, Munising, before heading off tocollege, some of us with a few starts and stops along the way.

Tom ’66 BS started at NMU in 1959, aftertransferring from Marquette University. He graduatedwith a major in history and minor in speech. Mike ’65BS, next oldest, was deciding between the University ofWisconsin-Madison and NMU, when Northern offeredhim a partial scholarship for football in 1959. Hemajored in biology and history. Hank ’71 BS started atNorthern in 1964. He and his wife, Jan, were married in1966, before he was drafted into the Army to serve inSouth Korea. He got a degree in elementary education,grades K-9, majoring in English and social studies. Dave’66 BS, youngest of the four boys, was actually the lastof the Feldhusen siblings to graduate from NMU. Therewas a 15-year span between his high school graduation in1966 and commencement ceremonies at NMU. He

attended the University of Wisconsin-Superior on a bas-ketball scholarship for about two years before putting hisstudies on hold to get married and start a family. Daveand his wife, Jaci ’81 BS, attended NMU from 1979 to1981 and graduated together. Dave majored in historyand minored in English; Jaci in French with a minor inEnglish. Their daughter Kim ’95 BS, ’97 MA majoredin writing and minored in political science and went onto get a master’s degree in English from NMU. Barbara’74 BA graduated with her elementary education degree.(Our brothers often joked that, when Barb was born, sheruined the perfect basketball team for the family.) Shelater went on to get a master’s degree in religious educa-tion from Loyola University. Finally, I, Mary ’76 BS, theyoungest Feldhusen, majored in English and minored insecretarial administration and earned a liberal arts degree.

The consensus seems to be we attended NMUmostly because it was close to home and affordable …and, for everyone but Tom, we went to Northern becausethe rest of the family had gone there and we were famil-iar with it. We all had the commuter experience at somepoint in our college careers. Some of us lived in thedorms, some in married housing, and some off campusin Marquette and Ishpeming. We remember travel beingespecially precarious between Munising and Marquettein the winter months. Tom said during his college daysschool was cancelled for the first time ever because ofbad weather.

We all worked while attending Northern. Mikeworked part-time in an NMU cafeteria kitchen as adishwasher and later in the library. He was also a residentassistant for a semester. Hank worked at Fluette’s GasStation and Turner’s Standard station in Marquette. Hiswife, Jan, worked at the Marquette Medical Center. Daveworked at the Lakeview Arena and also cleaned dorms ona work-study program. I worked in the NMU NewsBureau and for Sports Information Director Gil Heard,taking statistics at football and basketball games. We all

A Feldhusen family portrait from the early 1960s. In front,from left, are Tom, Mary, Barb and Mike. Standing areHenry (the father), Dave, Hank and Dorothy (the mother).

A Tribe of Teachers (mostly)How six Feldhusen siblings financed theirown educations and went on to work ineducation and media

By Mary Feldhusen ’76 BA

Mary (on right) at her NMU graduation in 1976,with fellow alum, sister Barbara, and their parents.

O

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 13

worked at various jobs during the summer months.After graduation we started our careers, with the

teaching bug hitting most of us. Mike taught socialstudies and coached football in Harbor Springs andByron. He returned to Munising and taught fourth gradeat Sacred Heart School and eventually retired in 1997from Munising Public Schools.

Hank was offered a job with Stanton TownshipSchools as a teacher of fourth- through eighth-gradestudents at Heikkinen School, a two-room schoolhouse,in Toivola. He taughtthere for 28 years, retir-ing in 2000. He wasable to teach all three ofhis children over nineyears, who all went onto earn college degrees.He was also a bus driverin the Adams TownshipSchool District and astaff member and direc-tor at Camp Nesbit, anenvironmental camp forsixth-grade students.He was also in the Michigan National Guard. Hank con-tinues to teach on a part-time basis at Twin Lakes.

Barbara started out teaching religious educationclasses at Sacred Heart Parish in Munising. She becamethe religious education program director and has been

working there for 31 years as director and part-timeteacher. Our mom, too, worked as a CCD (Confraternityof Christian Doctrine) teacher in the parish for manyyears.

Dave’s first teaching job was in Beach, N.D. Daveteaches now in the Luxemburg-Casco (Wis.) SchoolDistrict and plans to retire this year.

Tom’s career path took a different turn, but even hespent some time as an instructor, teaching U.S. govern-ment at Munising High School. He worked as a newsdirector for radio stations in Munising, Ishpeming andMarquette and then at WLUC-TV6. He retired fromradio two years ago and now lives in Republic with his

wife, Trish. He is a member of the Republic-Michigamme School Board.

I am the only absolutely non-teacher of the siblings.I began work at Hiawatha Chef Supply, Inc. in Escanabafollowing graduation, worked as a clerk for a construc-tion company, and in 2002, I took a job at The DailyPress in Escanaba and am currently business editor andcover the Delta County beat.

All six of us have some similar memories of collegelife. For example, we remember a lot of the same favorite

haunts, long gone now:Kaye Hall, the Pizzarenaand the Blue Link onPresque Isle, Sandy’s andits 10-cent hamburgers,Big Al’s restaurant andits famous onion rings,the Palestra on FairAvenue, Andy’s on FrontStreet and peanut night,events in the oldHedgcock Fieldhouse,games at MemorialField, winter carnivals,

and the Wildcat Den with its wooden tables and benchesetched with names of hundreds of students past. Tomremembers spending a lot of time there as a commuterplaying cribbage.

Tom took part in a demonstration in 1960, whensome Board of Control members objected to EdgarHarden’s vision for Northern.

Mike was part of the 1960 Wildcat football teamthat received a bid to be in the post-season playoffs. Theteam played Lenoir Rhyne on its home field in NorthCarolina. The game ended in a tie. There was noprovision at that time for overtime play. The winner wasthe team with the most offensive yards. Northern lost thegame by 20 yards.

Streaking was all the rage when Barbara and Marywere at college.

The biggest difference between the “good old days”at NMU and the present is that NMU used to be smallenough that you knew almost everyone on campus. Also,the cost has increased dramatically over the years. Kidspay more now for books than Tom and Mike paid fortuition.

If Mom and Dad were still alive, they would be sopleased to know their children are featured in thismagazine. Having all six of your children graduate fromthe same college, with four of them going on to careersin education, may not be a record, but it’s certainly quitean achievement and quite a legacy. n

We remember a lot of the same favorite haunts,long gone now: Kaye Hall, the Pizzarena

and the Blue Link on Presque Isle, Sandy’s and its 10-cent hamburgers, Big Al’s

restaurant and its famous onion rings, the Palestra on Fair Avenue...

Mike (left) and David on graduation day. The sisters at an NMU WinterCarnival while brother Mike was in school.

14 H O R I Z O N S

aul Hytinen, 51, is proud ofhis two daughters, Jamie andErin, for graduating fromNMU this May.

Jamie Hytinen ’02 BS, ’07MAE and Erin (Hytinen) Wasie’05 AS, ’07 BS are equally proud oftheir father—because he alsoreceived a degree from NMU at thesame time.

“For my dad to go back toschool after 30 years is, wow, ... Iknow where I get my intelligencefrom,” Jamie Hytinen said. “He gotAs in all his math classes; I think itwas so cute when he walked aroundwith his backpack.”

Paul ’07 AAS earned an associ-ate degree in electromechanical tech-nology. Erin, 25, completed an asso-ciate degree in criminal justice anddecided to go for a bachelor’s degree

in community health education. Simultaneously, Jamie, 27, who

already had a degree in elementaryeducation and works as a kinder-garten teacher in Dollar Bay, beganto study for her master’s degree inelementary education. In fact, whenshe realized that her father and sisterwere scheduled for graduationtogether, she took seven creditsinstead of the usual four, whileworking full time, so she couldgraduate with them both.

Together the family membershelped each other through college.

“The kids were a great benefitfor me,” Paul said. “They helped methrough the process.”

“Yeah, because Jamie had expe-rience ...,” Wasie said. “... she wasable to guide me, and Jamie and Iwould both guide my dad. I helped

him with his HP 200 (physical wellbeing) class.”

The daughters helped theirfather set up his computer andenroll in classes, while his wife andtheir mother, Mary ’77 BSN,supported them mentally.

“Whenever I was stressing out,Mom just said, ‘you get it done. Youdo what you need to do.’ Shelistened to my stressing out a lot,”Jamie said.

All three Hytinens are ambi-tious and show endurance, especiallyWasie, whose husband was deployedto Kuwait for 18 months while shepushed through college.

The family was already closebefore this experience, but going tocollege together has brought themeven closer.

“Failure is not an option. I haveseen them through achievementturn into fantastic adults,” said Paulabout his daughters.

Jamie said she still talks to herparents every night, and it feels oddwhen her routine is interrupted.

“This past year my dad and Iwere in correspondence several times[a day],” she said. “He’d call meevery day and after class on Tuesdaynight. I waited for that phone call.”

The three graduates sharedtheir typical college experiences:talking about mutual professors,worrying about paper deadlines,struggling with technology.

“Personally I am very relievedto have this degree finished,” saidJamie. “But to be able to share [thegraduation] day with my father andmy sister ... I don’t know how todescribe it.”

“It was a good way to cometogether as a family all at oncebefore going in different directionsagain,” Wasie said. She’s just moved

Dad Paul Hytinen flanked by daughters Erin (on left) and Jamie.

Like Father, Like DaughtersThe Hytinens don caps and gowns and earn associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees on the same day

By Miriam Moeller ’00 BA, ’02 MA, ’05 MFAReprinted with permission from The Mining Journal

P

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 15

to Wisconsin, where her husbandhas been stationed at Fort McCoy,and is in the process of deciding ona career path as a pharmaceuticalrepresentative or in fitness.

Jamie just completed herfourth year teaching kindergarten in

Dollar Bay, where she’ll bereturning in the fall, and misses her“family” of students over thesummer.

As for Paul, with his degree he’smoved from being an apprentice toan electrician at the Empire Mine,

and loves it.Both daughters commended

their parents. “My parents havebeen a big motivation,” Erin said.“Without their help, I wouldn’thave done it. We’re lucky andappreciative.” n

The Right Fit,Eight TimesAn NMU student athlete follows her family’s footsteps

By Cindy Paavola ’84 BS

aris Malin, of Seaview, Wash., said academics andathletics were what brought her to NorthernMichigan University—not family influence. But ifher family had wanted to sway her, there would

have been enough NMU alumni to make it hard for herto ignore the school 2,000 miles away from home.

Malin, a junior sports science major, is the fourthgeneration member of her family to attend Northern.

She says the family’s NMU connection goes like this:“My great grandmother, Bernice Hixson, attended secre-tarial school at NMU while my great grandfather, CarlMalin, worked for a brief period as a shop instructor. EdMalin, my grandpa, received his bachelor’s degree insecondary education in 1951 and his master’s in 1953.Geraldine Doefer, my grandma, transferred fromCentral Michigan to earn a bachelor’s in elementary edu-cation in 1952. My father, Brett, earned a bachelor’sdegree in 1981 in math and computer science. My uncle,Karl Malin, got his master’s in nutrition and he alsotaught at NMU. Jill Malin, my aunt, received a bachelor’sin 1984 and Jay Malin, my uncle, did part of his programat Northern before transferring to complete his degree.”

In choosing a university, Malin said she based thechoice on three priorities: academic program, athleticcompetition and coaching, and college environment.

“I had a long list of colleges that I was seriously consid-ering and was very surprised when NMU fit the qualifi-cations. Legacy was not in my top priorities,” said Malin.“It turns out that NMU had established its sports scienceprogram to be one of the best in the country. That iswhat attracted me first. Next was the first-rate women’svarsity athletics, specifically volleyball. I played elitevolleyball and was looking at many colleges across the

country. My college athletic competition began with thevolleyball team under Jim Moore, who had returned toNMU. Jim’s mentor had been at the University ofWashington and knew of my family legacy. That is howthe process started.”

Actually the process may have started as a child onsummer visits to her grandparents, who owned theBirchmont Motel in Marquette. “When I was young, Icame to visit my grandparents several summers. I wouldcome to campus for recreation. My father would bringme around NMU and tell me stories about being oncampus, as would my Aunt Jill and Uncle Karl.”

But, she said, no one in the family pressured her aboutattending their alma mater.

“They didn’t want me to limit my choices, but toexpand my search. I traveled around the country with mymom visiting colleges. We had researched academic pro-grams and those with teams likely to recruit me. After Iattended a volleyball camp at NMU, I knew that this wasthe perfect choice for me. Luckily, so did the coach and hesigned me.”

Due to coaching changes with the Wildcat volleyballprogram, Milan left the team and joined the track andfield squad as a pole vaulter, a change that has workedout well.

“I am very happy to be competing for NMU. Coach[Tom] Barnes is awesome.”

Malin said that one huge positive of being part of anNMU legacy is the legacy tuition assistance offered tosons and daughters of NMU alumni who live outside ofMichigan, which helps to make Northern’s tuition rateclose to that of in-state students.

“I fund my education with a combination of athleticand merit scholarships, part-time jobs and the legacytuition help,” said Malin.

It took a bit of traveling around the country to get toNMU and some change of plans once she arrived, butMalin believes she’s right where she belongs. Her veryindividual choice of a university just happens to resemblethat which many of her family made in the past. n

To learn more about NMU’s legacy tuition grant for non-Michiganstudents, contact the NMU Admissions Office at 1-800-682-9797.

P

16 H O R I Z O N S

Life’s a BanquetDeb Sharkey, a food service worker at NMU since 2001,doesn’t know how much destiny had a hand in her currentemployment, but she’s not surprised to find herself whereshe is, considering she learned a lot about the job as ateenager at her grandmother’s elbow.

Sharkey’s grandmother, Lolita Johnson, was the NMUfood service worker in charge of banquets from the 1960suntil she retired in the 1980s. Sharkey would work NMUbanquets when she was in high school as a way to “earnmoney and spend time with my grandmother.” But Sharkeywasn’t the only family member on Grandma’s team. BeckyJohnson, Lolita’s daughter and Deb’s aunt, also worked ban-quets in the 1980s.

“My grandmother absolutely loved her job and I love my job, too,” said Sharkey. “She loved the interaction withall the people. When I worked for her she told me to be friendly and that most people would be friendly back. I stilluse that advice every day.”

When Sharkey’s children, Crystal and Patrick, were still in high school, they sometimes worked banquets with theirmom. “Kind of a family tradition,” said Sharkey. “My grandmother, who died in the 1990s, would have enjoyed that.”

Halverson Hall: Back to the Future

Ashley Vogel, a junior English major, doesn’t remembervisiting her uncle, John Page ’94 AS, in his HalversonHall room as a six-year-old in 1986, but when sheenrolled at Northern two years ago, she tacked a photoshe’d found of such a visit in her own Halverson Hallroom.

“My uncle lived in 313 Halverson. I have lived in321 and 332 Halverson—just down the hall but in thesame house,” said Vogel. “We were rummaging throughthe photo albums one day and he pointed out to me thatit was me in his dorm room, and that [back then] theyhad the desks built in.”

Vogel, who works as a desksupervisor for West Hall, saidthat when she decided to come toNorthern she chose HalversonHall because she had heard heruncle liked it when he lived there.

“My uncle, according to mymom, was very happy to hearthat I was attending Northern,his old stomping grounds. Momsaid he found himself havingflashbacks at how much hadchanged in Halverson.”

Vogel’s aunt, Glennes Page’89 Voc. Dipl., also attended Northern and was a residentassistant in Spalding Hall. Vogel points out jokingly, “Ihave no connection whatsoever to Spalding, past or present.”

Carl Holm ’70 BA, ’76 MAE, director of NMUHousing and Residence Life, says it’s not unusual for stu-dents of former residence hall members to request to livein the same hall as parents and relatives who attendedbefore them. “It’s the hall they are familiar with evenbefore attending,” said Holm.

On-Campus Legacies

Ashley in April 2007 atthe University Center,with fiancé Chad Macklin.

t

This photo from the 1964 Peninsulan yearbook was captioned: “Thisyear for the first time, all students living on campus are eating inthe student center. Both men and women are using the same diningrooms. The arrangement has received much favorable comment.”

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 17

Dakota House

From the late ’60s through the ’70s,Dakota House in Halverson Hall wasa special place to live and experiencecollege life, according to DaveBonsall ’73 BS, director of NMU’sCenter for Student Enrichment and aone-time resident.

“With leadership that was firstprovided by resident adviser LennyGeiger ’72 BS, Dakota House devel-oped into a unique community thatannually had 40-plus of the 54 resi-dents return from one year to thenext. Literally every resident ofDakota House was connected and acontributor to the community insome way,” said Bonsall.

Intramural sports played a bigpart of the Dakota House experience,as did fund-raising (the house was thestudent group that initiated thescreening of feature films in JamrichHall) and awards at the house’s annu-al banquet. They even had a housenewsletter.

“All of these initiatives con-tributed to making Dakota a house

that was a home.” Bonsall said. Today, Dakota House still exists

in Halverson Hall, although one bigchange is that it is now co-ed. It’s theonly residence hall house that hasretained its original name. It also hasone of the most active alumni groupsof any NMU residence hall or house.

Two formal reunions haveoccurred (1982 and 1999). Annualfishing trips to Canada usually attract15-20 Dakota alumni. There’s alwaysa Dakota House gathering at

Homecoming each year. And thereare always several informal get-togethers for residents who becamelifelong friends through their DakotaHouse experience.

“Maybe one of the most specialparts of the Dakota House legacy waswhen we established the DakotaHouse scholarship in 1999, which isawarded to a current resident of thehouse. It was one way we could setthe example of staying involved tocurrent house residents,” said Bonsall.

Beta BuddiesIt’s hard to believe that these “Beta Buddies” [Beta Omega Tau] meton the campus of what was then Northern Michigan College 50years ago. Catherine and Janice worked at the switchboard (thatreally dates us), Marge and Janice were members of the studentcouncil, and Ann was on the ski team.

Despite living in many different locations during their careersand married lives, they have held many reunions over the past 50years. They became especially good friends while teaching and shar-ing a home in St. Clair Shores.

While some things change—such as the name of the educationalinstitution and the name of the sorority—the friendship betweenthese Northern grads remains the same.

—Marge Oelsner

Beta Buddies then and now (from left): Marge (Marquette) Oelsner ’59, Janice(Gibson) Hustad ’57, Ann (Saunders) Reaves ’58 and Catherine (Noblet) Masyra’58. All earned degrees in education.

t

A Dakota House reunion in 1999.

18 H O R I Z O N S

ohn Ogren started school onthe Northern campus in theearly 1940s, but he didn’treceive his bachelor’s degree

until 1955. It wasn’t that Ogren wasa bad student—in fact, he went on tocomplete a doctorate after hisNorthern days—rather that he start-ed coming to campus as a third grad-er to attend the university’s laborato-ry school, which was known as theJohn D. Pierce Training School.

Northern operated a laboratoryschool from 1900 until 1971 to pro-vide student teaching opportunities.The school’s original location was abuilding on Third Street that wasdonated by the city of Marquette. Ayear later, it was moved intoNorthern’s Longyear Hall, whereclasses would be offered until 1925.That’s when the John D. PierceTraining School opened as a separatebuilding on campus and was named

after Michigan’s first state superin-tendent of public instruction. Theschool was attended by area children,many who would later becomeNorthern students.

“We were a close-knit bunch,” saidOgren. “The teacher, student teachers,the kids, we all felt that the John D.Pierce was a special place to learn.”

Ogren’s father, who worked atthe sawmill in town, insisted that hischildren would go to John D. Pierce,despite having to pay tuition.

It was the same for Jan(Lafonde) Brodersen ’78, BME,whose mom signed her two daughtersup for their kindergarten enrollmentat John D. Pierce right after theywere born.

“I’m not kidding, right after wewere born. She had attended John D.Pierce herself as a child and thenwent to Northern. She was absolutelydetermined that the John D. Pierce

School is where we would beeducated,” said Brodersen, who com-pleted her elementary grades therebefore going to the area’s public jun-ior high school.

Brodersen would return toNorthern’s campus as a collegestudent to study music. “My reasonfor choosing NMU had everything todo with Professor Douglas Amman.There was such an outstanding musicprogram at Northern during the ’70sand I was honored to be able to learnunder him. Being back on campusafter having spent so many years as achild there took away a lot of thetransitional adjustments some fresh-men go through. There wasn’t any-thing scary about coming toNorthern because I felt I knew theuniversity inside and out.”

Jim Hendricks, emeritus profes-sor and former associate dean of theNMU School of Education, was thestudent teaching adviser at John D.Pierce during the early part of hisNorthern career. He says it’s nomystery why parents wanted theirchildren to go to John D. Pierce ifthe family could afford the tuition.

“The school was a gem and theteachers there were outstanding, justoutstanding. The school had a mar-velous library. I remember somerooms had fireplaces and the teacherswould hold story time for theyounger students by the fireplace.The class size was small and with theassistance of so many student teach-ers, students had a lot of one-on-onelearning instruction and personalattention,” said Hendricks, whoseown children attended the school.

“The school’s strength was itsteachers. They were exceptional andit was easy to tell that they trulyloved being there. For student teach-ers, it was a luxury to have that kind

On-Campus Legacies

John D. Pierce Training SchoolA one-stop K-16 education at Northern

By Cindy Paavola ’84 BS

One of the classrooms with fireplaces. Identified on the back of this undated photo arestudent teacher Jane McInerny and Mrs. Wilmer.

J

S U M M E R 2 0 0 7 19

of learning environment,” he said.Irene (Fassbender) Sparhawk

’50 BS agrees. Sparhawk spent twosemesters student teaching at John D.Pierce and recalls it as “a tremendousexperience.

“Because the school was rightthere on campus, you could practiceteach at John D. Pierce for as manysemesters as you could fit it into yourschedule. Education majors also hadgreat access to students of differentages because they were right there. Sofor instance, if you were in a musiccourse learning about teaching songsto children, you could go over to theschool and teach a song to a child.”

Sparhawk believes that theNorthern-educated teachers of hertime entered their classrooms aftergraduation “with great confidence,good control of the kids and verywell prepared.”

“When I student taught there Iremember one year that some of thefirst-grade students were having trou-ble reading, so the teacher told me Icould work with them. After we’dmeet and she’d ask me questionsabout how each student respondedand about what my thoughts were ontheir progress. Those kinds of experi-ences build confidence.”

The John D. Pierce School

included grades K-12 until 1961,when the junior high and high schoollevels where closed. The elementaryclasses continued until 1971 whenthe school closed, primarily due tofinancial pressures. The school build-ing became the home of Northern’spsychology department and othercampus offices before being aban-doned in the 1980s. The structurewas demolished in 1992.

Although the building and theschool no longer remain, Ogren’sfond memories of them are strong.

“The thing that made it such agreat place for me, personally, is that itwas part of the college; it was totallyintegrated. We went all over the cam-pus as kids and we were involved in alot of the college’s activities, such as theChristmas program. The John D.Pierce students were a big part of that.

“I also remember that when I

first started going to the John D.Pierce School, there were no guys oncampus because they were all offfighting the war!”

Ogren adds that he thought hisgraduation day from high schoolwould be the last time he’d be on thecampus as a student, since his fatherhad died just before his 17th birthday.

“Professor Forest Roberts workedit out for me to attend Northern. His

daughter, Sarah, was in my class andshe must have said something to himabout me not being able to go tocollege because one day he showedup at my house with a bunch ofpapers for me to sign.”

What Brodersen, who is now amusic instructor at Marquette SeniorHigh School, says she remembersabout John D. Pierce is that “we sangevery day in a huge room and it waswonderful. I also remember thatthere were many student teachers ineach room. And, of course, Iremember summer school.”

Students who attended John D.Pierce were on the university sched-ule, not the public school schedule.

“Back then that meant we start-ed school well after Labor Day butwe attended well into July,” saidBrodersen. “It was hard to get goingeach morning when you knew yourfriends had all day to play, but oncewe got there we had a pretty goodtime with lots of outdoor activities.And, one of the best parts was thatwe could wear shorts! That was a bigdeal. Then we’d close each schoolyear with a big picnic.”

Brodersen says as a teacher her-self she now realizes the daily activi-ties were filled with learning. “Butwhat I remember most about goingto John D. Pierce School was howmuch fun we had each day.” n

Phot

os c

ourt

esy

NMU

Arch

ives

The Pierce School building on NMU’s cam-pus, which opened in 1925.

A piscatorial field trip.

Do you have a John D. Pierce memory you’dlike to share? E-mail it to horizons@nmu.edu.