Supported by the Macomb Community College Foundation • www.macomb.edu/retirees • 586.445.7302 • retiree@macomb.edu WINTER 2020

Letter from the EditorBy Steve Rybicki

Each time we put an issue of this newsletter to bed I feel as though I’m tucking in my friends for another long night after sitting up and telling each other stories, and reviewing the events of past days. In this issue, you’ll read tales from Dennis Thompson, Art Ritas, and John Kinch

among other familiar retirees. My library career has come full circle. I began doing reference work in the Language & Literature Department of the Detroit Main Public Library on Woodward Avenue across from the DIA in 1967 when I was asked to assume the editorship of the Library Staff Newsletter which was circulated in-house and to all the surrounding branches. And here I am again, doing the same, and unstuck in time. I realized I had become a bit jaded here at Macomb regarding library work, when to my delight, I helped a middle-aged student resuming her education find a book in the

circulating collection on the second floor. The first thing she said to me as we stepped off the elevator was: “Ah, the smell of books.” And I knew it had been a while since I stopped to smell the roses on my own. Books will always be with us. They are perfume for the soul.What are we doing now, you ask?Hank Rishel and his wife Barb continue to own and operate The Antiquities Wellington Inn, a B&B in the historic Boardman Neighborhood of Traverse City. Hank also writes a political blog: medium.com/@TheRishelReport. Nancy Arnfield is a much-sought-after director of community stage theater. This Spring 2020, she leads the Royal Oak Stagecrafters in a timely modern morality drama. Newly-retired Dawn Roberts is enjoying life with husband, Jay, and son, Peter. Dale Rustoni is a docent for the Dodge Mansion and Estate at Meadowbrook, adjacent to Oakland University. John and Lynn Kinch live in North Carolina, and welcome their fifth grandchild, Hannah Mei, thanks to daughter Elana and her husband. Art Kingsbury has been spotted back in town, non incognito, after an extended absence due to acceptance of a

Fullbright Scholarship, temporary residence in Montana, and world-wide security assignments for the State Department. It’s been a joy hearing from everyone. Because of you, the Retiree Association continues to thrive and do well. Here are some notable highlights from the past year:

Retiree Association Accomplishments:• Archives Committee produced “The Legacy”

a video conversation with Drs. Lorenzo and Jacobs and the committee continues its work on documenting the living history of the college while key founders of the college are still with us to tell their stories.

• Volunteer retirees continue to assist students during Welcome Week each August and January.

• Several retirees attended and contributed to a silent auction basket for Comedy & Cocktails 2019 in support of the college’s arts and cultural programs.

If you have a personal anecdote or piece of college history to share, please send it to rybickis@macomb.edu.

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A publication by the Macomb Community College Retiree Association

MACOMB CONNECTIONSNEWSLETTER

The Music Man: A Classical CommitmentBy John Kinch

The Macomb Symphony Orchestra, created and maintained by Thomas Cook of our music faculty, has existed nearly half a century. Tom was hired by Macomb Community College in 1966. He organized the first MSO season in 1974 when concerts were held in the

South Campus student center. When the Macomb Center for Performing Arts opened in 1983, Tom transferred to Center Campus where he has produced seasons of four

concerts each year. Over the years, the orchestra personnel transitioned from mainly student players to the all professional ensemble that it is today. Thus, a sustainable payroll must rely on ticket sales, contributions (private and corporate), and foundation awards.

Maestro Tom Cook

Tom’s love of classical music was established early on. One of his cousins tells the story of their extended family Sunday dinners back in the early sixties when the Detroit Lions football games were on TV in the living room and became a part of dessert after the meal was over.

Sometimes, Leonard Bernstein and the New

York Philharmonic telecasted a “Young People’s Concert” simultaneously on another channel, and Tom insisted on switching to the music program as an alternative. The family football fans usually forfeited the game to Tom, so long as they could catch the final quarter of play to learn if the Lions were any closer to a playoff berth that year.When Tom landed his job at Macomb, his musical zeal led him to found a regional symphony orchestra to serve our community. Typically, his concert seasons rotate between a nationality concert, a Christmas concert, a pops concert, and often a baroque music concert with lots of brass (Tom is a trombonist). Continued on page 2.

Annual Retiree Breakfast Reunion September 2019

Stay Connected!We continue to collect mail and email information. We now have home addresses for over 600 former Macomb employees and email addresses for over 200. We are working with Macomb’s Human Resources office to routinely invite newly retired staff to join the Macomb Retiree Association. If you have updated

information, please email us at retiree@macomb.edu or call 586.445.7302!

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Thompson Tidbits #4: Career Choices Educate Prime MoverBy Dennis Reed Thompson, Ph. D, Retired English Faculty, Professor Emeritus

This is #4 of a series of Tidbits of the early beginnings of Macomb.This is not a biography, but rather a glimpse of the making

of a man whose people skills and business and negotiation competence created stepping stones. Meanwhile, his personal fortitude brought the vision of the early beginnings of Macomb to fruition. To grasp the evolution of that vision, it is essential to understand how circumstances and choices provided focus and clarity for anyone curious about how the college came to be.The real story began in the mid-1920s when Max Merlin Thompson (1906-1971) grew up in poverty in Parma, Michigan, with a strong English-born widowed mother, who saved every penny Max contributed to household finances while working on the railroad, enrolled him as a freshman in Alma College, packed his bags and, as Max said, “told me to get, and I did!” (See Tidbit #3 online at https://www.macomb.edu/alumni-donors/retiree-association/retiree-newsletters/index.html.)

Once he got to college, Max learned that he could figure out how to stay until he completed a degree. At Alma, he internalized the concept that obtaining an education was THE way for him to a better future, a conviction that would shape his own career path. By 1950, it would become the driving force against all odds to bring a college to the doorstep of the graduates of Lincoln High School and other high schools in southern Macomb County. As history unfolded, people have shared that he personally paid tuition for their own first years in college out of his own pocket with confidence that they, too, would find a way to complete a course of study and make a better future for themselves and their families! After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Alma College in 1929, Max took his first job teaching high school chemistry in Keego Harbor, Michigan. He loved turning his students on to science, and his friends said he gained instant popularity with the student body. By 1934, his perspective had changed. He had developed an interest in implementing changes to improve the whole school, in contrast to improving only his science classes. Moreover, he and Helen Reid—a young woman from Harbor Beach, Michigan,

in her first teaching position—were talking marriage, buying a house and starting a family, and the siren of a position with more money lured him into accepting the principalship of Keego Harbor High School. The story told by others is that his people skills, leadership skills, and sanguine personality kicked into gear, and by the end of the first month as principal, he had earned the admiration and respect of his teachers, several of whom spent their last decades as trusted and beloved anchors of departments and administration of the Van Dyke Public School System. Not only teachers, but a number of young professionals who met in Keego Harbor from 1929-1936, became informal personal consultants and lifelong friends.In 1936, Max was hired into a higher paying principalship at Farmington High School. Once again, he instantly gained respect and quickly became popular with both faculty and students. Among other evidence, the class of ninth graders when he arrived in 1936, dedicated their senior yearbook to him when he left in 1940. In 1940, Superintendent James L. Truax (1907–1950) enticed Max to take a position as high school principal with the Van Dyke School District. In addition to a higher salary, this new position provided the opportunity for Max and Helen to buy their first home only two miles from the school and twenty minutes from Wayne State University, where Max took night courses leading to a Master

of Arts degree in educational administration in 1951 and later his ABT (all-but-dissertation) studies—augmented by graduate courses at Harvard and the University of South Florida. In Max’s early years working with Jim Truax, 1940–1943, the two men forged family alliances that lasted until each nuclear family member died. Perhaps, an interesting side note is that Jim’s son was instrumental in establishing the personal part of my South Campus office computer system for English for Academic Purposes (EAPP) in the late 1990’s until he passed in 2005. Some of you on campus at that time would have met Don Truax, the son of Jim and Florence. Max and Jim worked well together and shared strong goals to enhance the education of their students. Max took the goals as his responsibility, his raison d’etre. When Max entered the Navy in 1943, Jim assured him he would have an administrative position when he returned. In the Navy, Max learned how to give birth to a college! (See Tidbit #2: College of Gauze online at https://www.macomb.edu/alumni-donors/retiree-association/retiree-newsletters/index.html.)Next Tidbit: Max returns from the Navy. Jim Truax dies in a car accident. Max is promoted to Superintendent and is hell-bent on getting more Lincoln High School graduates into college.

Outside the regular concert season, he also provides a youth education concert for local school children every March.Occasionally, MSO programming is inspired by unexpected sources with delightful results. One year, Tom decided to base a nationality concert on the music of Armenia. This seemed somewhat risky since the majority of nearby Armenian-Americans live in Detroit’s western suburbs. Would they travel so far to attend a concert devoted to their heritage? They came by the busloads, delighted to have their culture so honored!The Armenian music concert was an artistic triumph as well as a box office success. The opening selection was Hovhaness’ “And God Created Great Whales.” This piece is marked by deep bass chords that sound like expressions from an expanding Mid Atlantic Trench. Periodically, the score erupts with recorded

songs of humpback whales: a rich feast for the ears. Tom also sought an Armenian-American soloist to play in Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto. Since no such violinist was locally available, Tom substituted a beautiful, young flautist instead. As a result, this concert was innovative in both form and content.In fact, every Macomb Symphony Orchestra season is distinguished by some memorable artistic achievement. If you’ve never attended a performance, plan to go soon. Tom is currently conducting his forty-fifth season with the orchestra, and his retirement is inevitable before too long. When he leaves, what are the odds that someone like him will step up and continue his work? Currently, no line is forming near his podium, and Macomb County will have lost the sound of music.

The Music Man, continued from page one.

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Royal ReunionBy Art Ritas

Art Ritas touching the only touchable art in

the DIA.

We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Royal Society, Warren Annex (RSWA) with receptions, dinners and tours. In 1969 the founders, like-minded Macomb teachers with student-centered teaching philosophies, went on a “run” to every bar on Gratiot from 12 Mile Rd. down into

Detroit and then north up Woodward. We ended the pioneering migration at Spears Bar on Six Mile in the early morning hours. Many local patrons commented on the surprising sight of full professors with credit cards appearing in neighborhood haunts. As we left these establishments, we often heard the question, “Who are those guys?”The core group, born and bred in the Division of Basic Education, expanded and has met every year for a half- century.

We taught Science, Art, Music, Literature, Film, and Politics. We learned from each other. Maestro Tom Cook is still teaching, trying to beat Lou Baltman’s record of 54 years at Macomb. Tom has been conducting the Macomb Symphony for 45 years. Are these national records?Our Golden Anniversary celebration began with a Friday reception at Jim and Gabriella Jacobs’ home. The buffet table groaned, we ate, laughed, and recounted tales of teaching and learning. With great affection, we recalled names of memorable students. We gave up trying to calculate how many tens of thousands of students we taught.On Saturday morning, we toured Eastern Market with Dan Carmody, Development Director Eastern Market Corporation (EMC) and President of the Eastern Market

Partnership (EMP). Dan outlined plans to make the area a center for revitalizing the City of Detroit, a city that has lost almost 2/3 of its population since the 50s. Steve Babson, a friend who joined us on the tour, observed that “Eastern Market benefited from the 60-year slump in urban development, since places like Chicago lost their old established public markets to real estate development. The challenge now is to survive gentrification and the pressure from developers.”

Continued on page 4.

A Consummate CounselorWhat follows is a collection of memories from Pete Quick, Dale Rustoni, Joyce Monte, Paul Thacker and Jim Varty. Bart’s Daughter, Bettina Jacobs (Fiumano), adds thoughts on behalf of those who knew him best, the Fiumano Family.For over 39 years, Bart Fiumano was the consummate counselor. He was a very good listener. When, future wife, Diana came in for advising to their shared office, Pete Quick told Bart, “You should marry that woman,” and he did. Together they raised three wonderful daughters. Pete continues, “I was fortunate enough to spend my first couple years at Macomb sharing an office with Bart. I will always remember and cherish his infectious laugh.”As a counselor Bart had no peer. Dale Rustoni shares that Bart was deeply appreciated by the other counselors. He represented them effectively as their MCCFO senator and served on the curriculum committee for many years. Paul Thacker writes; “I was very appreciative of Bart’s leadership on the Curriculum Committee. Bart would take the time to really study the proposals. He approached them from the student perspective and from a concern of how the proposals dovetailed with existing course offerings. He could almost always find a way to improve on what was being considered. It got to the point where I would take business course proposals to Bart before we officially submitted them.” Bart was also known for his knowledge of the proper way to write courses so they met transfer obligations. One of the first counselors to master the computer, he used it to assist students to graduation and beyond. He was largely responsible for development of the Life Career Development course.Joyce Monte adds “whenever I had questions about transferability of credits, questions about different university programs or which school would be the best fit for a particular student, I could always count on Bart to have

the answers.” If other staff members had a son or daughter who was about to transfer, they sent them to Bart for one last credit check, a clear indication about how he was respected by his peers. In retirement Bart continued to be supportive of the college. Jim Varty reports that he was a valued founding member of the Retiree Association, outlined a direction for the development of a “people’s history” of the college, wrote for the retiree newsletter and worked to provide “context” for materials found in the college archives.Bart didn’t leave his counseling hat at the office. His daughter Bettina reports, “our dad’s role and life at Macomb was a huge part of his identity. Even as kids, we remember it being a family joke that we could never go anywhere in Macomb County without running into someone dad knows (and the requisite corresponding daughter-eyerolls). Looking back as adults, he was obviously well-known and liked in the community and that is due to the many people he encountered at Macomb. My sisters and I also knew what our Meyers-Briggs type was before we graduated high school and had thoroughly evaluated our skills, interests and abilities. When the time came for each of us to go on college visits, we could count on dad to ask questions pertinent to his students at Macomb, always on the lookout for new information to share with his students. In addition, it was not uncommon to see my dad with the Macomb course book at the kitchen table with our friends, relatives

and neighbors seeking his counsel as to which courses they should take and which would transfer.Our dad truly cared about his students. He wanted them to succeed and gave them his time, care and attention. Since many of his students were employed full time, he would often patronize their businesses to show his support of their hard work outside of school -- just one example of how genuine his interest was, in the students of Macomb.My sisters and I grew up hearing the names of the people he spent his days with: Eleanor Veramay, Dr. Shoemaker, Jim Varty, Bev Datzi, Dale Rustoni, Pete Quick, Paul Gould, Don McCoy, Bill and Ildi Knott…and many others over the years. At dinner we would hear the stories of people we as kids never really knew, but we knew what they meant to my dad. They were at times comrades-in-arms, old friends, and a network of workplace “family”. Macomb meant so much to my dad, and so did the people there. His success as a counselor, husband and father, was strengthened and nurtured by the people and experiences of Macomb. We are all grateful.” We know that Bart would be proud that his family is establishing a scholarship at Macomb Community College in his name. Bart retired, but he never left. He would find it fitting that his endowment will continue to care for “his Macomb students”, and that they will continue to be influenced by him.

In memory of Bart Fiumano. July 22, 1943–November 30, 2019 Bart, with his wife Diana, proudly wearing his Macomb shirt.

Left to Right—Tim Hannert, Tom Cook, Phil Barrons (seated), Jim Jacobs (standing), Ed Arnfield (seated), Art Ritas, and Lou Baltman.

14500 E. 12 MILE RD., WARREN, MI 48088-3896

Address service requested

Contact the MCC Foundation office for event reservations, to update your contact information and to share news. retiree@macomb.edu or 586.445.7302

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A publication by the Macomb Community College Retiree Association

MACOMB CONNECTIONSNEWSLETTER

Get involved!Are you interested in digging into the history of the early years of Macomb? Do you enjoy connecting with fellow retirees? Would you like to make an

impact by being a student mentor? Email retiree@macomb.edu to get involved in the archives, social, volunteer, mentoring, or communications committees today!

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March 30 @ 6:30pm The Jim Jacobs Civic Engagement Project presents Shoshana Zuboff—The Price of Privacy: The Unprecedented Use of Personal Data in the 21st CenturyFor tickets: www.macombcenter.com

April–May SOAR Macomb Spring SemesterRegistration required: www.macomb.edu/SOAR

April 16 @ 11:30 am Retiree Assoc. Spring LuncheonKavan’s Tavern, 28971 Hayes, Roseville

May 7 @ 10:30 am Retiree Steering Committee MeetingUniversity Center, Room 109

May 8–May 16 2020 London ExperienceContact: barronsp@macomb.edu

June 5—Save the Date Orris-Corey Memorial Golf OutingCracklewood Golf Course

June 12 @ 6:00pm Macomb Community College Night at Jimmy Johns Stadium

August 6 @ 10:30 am Retiree Steering Committee MeetingUniversity Center, Room 109

September 18 @ 8:30am Retiree Breakfast ReunionCommunity Hall, Lorenzo Cultural Center

MACOMB COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEESKatherine Lorenzo, Chairperson | Frank Cusumano, Vice Chairperson

Kristi Dean, Secretary | Roseanne DiMaria, Treasurer Joan Flynn, Trustee | Shelley Vitale, Trustee | Vincent Viviano, Trustee

James O. Sawyer IV, Ed.D., College President

Royal Reunion, continued from page three.

Retiree Holiday Luncheon, December 2019

Joining us was Susan Calkins-Ritas, retired teacher of Sociology and Anthropology, and retired math teacher Mell Ackerman and husband Hank. We concluded that Eastern Market is one of the Islands of Hope in a downsized Detroit.On Saturday evening, we dined in elegance at Craft Work. In RSWA’s early days, we celebrated yearly by camping out at Ontario’s Pinery Provincial Park and had meals around the campfire; this year we had a sumptuous multi-course meal at one of Detroit’s fine new gourmet restaurants. And we’ve gone co-ed, as wives and significant others joined the celebration. Who says there’s no progress?

Finally, on Sunday we toured the Detroit Institute of Arts and heard from Ian Rapnicki, the Education Director. We were awed by the extraordinary and diverse collection, valued by one estimate at $2.6 billion, and thankful that the DIA did not sell it off and close down during recent hard times. As we listened to Ian and contemplated the magnificent Diego Rivera Mural, I had a good idea why the DIA is ranked one of the top six art museums in the U.S.. Along with Wayne State University and the medical complex, the DIA forms yet another center of vitality in Detroit.At the end of our golden anniversary weekend celebrations, I feel gratitude for the twists and

turns of chance that led me to Macomb, the Division of Basic Education, the RSWA, and to fellow seekers committed to lifelong teaching and learning. Like so many others in our group, I continue to teach in “retirement,” leading book discussion groups at the Collier Libraries in Naples, Florida. So for me and other members of the RSWA, the first “run” was but a foretaste of a much longer journey.

Presented by

SAVE THE DATE! October 9, 2020To purchase tickets: www.tinyurl.com/2020comedy

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