Gustavus Adolphus
College gustavus.edu alumni@gustavus.edu
September
2002
Dear
Classmates and Friends:
Sad
news to report in this letter. John
Kendall died on Friday, 26 July. He was
almost 74 years old. Not very old. Remember Psych 201? I’m sure all of us had to take it. I took it from Kendall. I had taken a psych class in high school and
knew I enjoyed the subject. In
Kendall’s class, I enjoyed it even more.
Several things stand out in my mind.
First, he made us stare at a slide of the American flag, and then we
looked at the blank white screen. I saw
a yellow and blue flag. I’ve never
needed that piece of information, but for some reason it stuck with me. Second, the lecture on Harlow and his
monkeys. I remember Kendall saying that
Harlow was a great researcher – when he was sober. And was it B F Skinner who put his daughter, Debbie, in a
box? That amused me because I have a
sister named Debbie who in no way would have lived in a box, at least not
quietly. Most importantly, Kendall
practiced what he preached about immediate reinforcement. By the time we had completed an exam, he had
posted the answers on the wall outside the classroom in Old Main, and we pretty
much knew how we had done. I really liked that. Jan
Hilton Peterson and I spent many hours in the caf studying for those
tests. An A was my reward, and I’ve no
doubt it was hers, too. Evie Cieslar Erdman, my roommate at the
time, was also in that class. I
remember John Kendall as a smiling, happy person, a professor who made learning
fun. Here’s to you, John Kendall.
Here’s
some better news. On Thursday, 25 July,
Ma Young celebrated her 90th birthday at Mount Olivet Lutheran
Church in Minneapolis. It was a small,
intimate affair, only about 500 guests.
Dean Wahlund ’72 and Paul Tillquist ’63 amused us with their rendition
of baking rye bread. Fortunately, that
was not the rye bread we were given on our departure. Several speakers spoke of Ma Young’s
contributions to Gustavus and those she claims as her family, namely the entire
world. Ma Young had an opportunity to
address the group when the other speakers had finished. Red velvet cake was served, as it was on my
22nd birthday at Gustavus.
Only difference, a few more guests at Ma Young’s party. I hope that when I’m 90 I can look as good,
get around as well, and be as articulate as Evelyn Young is today.
I
plan to attend the Nobel Conference this year, for the first time. I’m looking forward to having dinner with Marcia Woie Robertson and Evie Cieslar Erdman during the
conference. All I have to do is drive
to Mankato and find Mexican Village. If
I end up in Waseca, I’ll know I’ve missed it.
Now, here's the news:
At
the Class Agents meeting on September 7th, Al Molde, Director of
Intercollegiate Athletics, spoke to us about Gustavus athletics, which is
celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Mary Dietrich was mentioned
among his list of great Gustie athletes.
Ruth (Trimbo) Heilman received her doctoral
degree in education on July 10, 2002, from St. Thomas University. Her dissertation was entitled, “The
Beginning of an Elementary Teacher: A
Phenomenological Study of the Process of Teacher Preparation and Into the First
Year Teaching.” Ruth teaches at Kennedy
Elementary in Mankato, MN. Son, Jacob,
graduated from Gustavus in May, Roy is Class of ’02, and Baird is a senior in
high school. Will he follow his
brothers to Gustavus?
Diane (Peterson) Retzlaff, Shafer, MN, is a first
grade teacher for Forest Lake Schools.
Trudy Severson, Owatonna, MN, is an
English teacher and AP Coordinator.
Both of her children are at Gustavus: Meghan is a senior and Erik is a
freshman.
Dale Fredell, Lindstrom, MN, is
currently manager, Education Services, Food & Beverage Division of Ecolab
in St. Paul, where he has worked for 25 years, beginning in Research and
Development in 1977.
Barry Lane, Ramsey, MN, is director of
adult learning programs for Bloomington Public Schools-Community
Education. He completed a doctoral
degree in Strategic Leadership (DSL) from Regent University, VA.
Andrea (Grimsrud) O’Brien, Raynham, MA, is a staff
nurse in perinatal nursing at New England Medical Center.
Patti (Randa) and Steve Rude, both teachers at Eden
Prairie High School, are celebrating their 30th wedding
anniversary. They have 2 married
children and one grandchild, about 1 year old.
Marilyn Arvidson is a legal secretary in
Chesterton, IN.
Deb Weissenborn, Blacksburg, VA, is
research director of Plant Transgenic [something must be missing here] at
CropTech. When I talked to her in
April, she was on her way back to Minnesota to see “her” Lake Superior, with
its strength and beauty. I can relate
to that sentiment. Husband, Neil Ames,
runs Neil Ames’ Horticulture Service.
Evie (Cieslar) Erdman, Mankato, MN, is a program
manager for Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America, based in St.
Peter. Husband, Steve, is employed by
Immanual-St Joseph’s Mayo Health System.
Patty (Keys) Spahn, St Paul, MN, teaches math
to 7th grade boys at St Thomas Academy. Husband, Mike, is a pharmacist.
All three daughters are in college.
Lois (Olson) and Gary (’72) Sater, Middleton WI, celebrated their
30th wedding anniversary in Christ Chapel on May 27th.
Bruce Boyce, Waseca, MN, has been
Waseca County’s coordinator for 23 years and ran for re-election in June.
Mike Steinbring, Brooklyn Park, MN, works
at the Hennepin County Juvenile Court, where he has been for 17 years. He lives with his wife, Elisabeth, their
son, Joshua, three cats, a dog and Elisabeth’s mother. In June, Mike gave an organ concert in his
hometown of Grand Meadow, including two of his own compositions.
Mary (Frey) Sauter, Eau Claire, WI, is an
elementary art specialist for the Eau Claire Area School District. Husband, James, is an administrator for the
Chippewa Falls Public Schools. They
have two daughters at UW-Madison. One
is a senior, studying business, accounting, and health careers
certification. The freshman is thinking
about medical engineering. I’m reading
my notes from April, so I’m guessing the senior has now graduated and the
freshman is a sophomore.
Charles Ortloff is pastor at Our Savior’s
Lutheran Church in Mankato MN. In June,
he preached the first of the 125th anniversary services at First
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glencoe, his hometown. He and his wife, Karen (Lomen ’75), live in Mankato and have
three adult children.
Niels and Bonnie (Hawkinson’75) Henriksen live in Grand Rapids MN,
where Niels is production manager for Arrowhead Promotion & Fulfillment
Company. His employer is facing its
third expansion in the past 7 years.
Bonnie is community services director at Itasca Community College.
Sue (Engelsma) Wilcox was co-chair of the
thirteenth “A Royal Affair” last November.
Gustie alums and supporters donated $192,000 to the Folke Bernadotte
Memorial Library Endowment Fund.
Karen (Bukosky) Snedeker, Woodbury MN, was spotlighted in the Business Section of
the StarTribune, 8/25/02. She is now president and CEO of BlueFire
Partners Inc., Minneapolis.
Not
to be outdone by my classmates, I just want everyone to know that my picture
was also in the StarTribune. Okay, so I wasn’t promoted to anything, and
my hand is in front of my face, and my name isn’t mentioned and the most
prominent feature of the photo is a dairy cow, but hey, we gotta take our 15
minutes of fame wherever we can get it.
I go to the State Fair almost every year, and I’ve decided to do or try
at least one new thing each year. This
year, my husband and I went on the first day, and went on the first Barn Tour
of the day (and, therefore, of the fair).
When I saw two women in the group, one with pencil and steno pad and one
with a camera, I knew it was my time for fame.
I got really excited when the tour was over and the photographer asked
for my name, with correct spelling. But
she must have lost it or something.
Maybe I’ll send the photo to the Quarterly
and try for a few more minutes of fame.
Approximately
700 new students arrived on campus this fall keeping the total student
enrollment just over 2500. Almost 40%
of the new class were in the top 10% of their high school class. There are many interesting opportunities for
first year students even before school starts with a community service
immersion experience in Twin Cities, a cultural study in Paris and a wilderness
experience in the Boundary Waters.
The
Fiske Guide has again named Gustavus one of forty-three “Best Buys” in the
country. This is based on an
exceptional investment of tuition money for an exceptional education.
Hello Walk Online Community is featuring several a
discussion with Political Science Professor Don Ostrom discussing the upcoming
elections. Join the conversation by
going to <http://hellowalk.gustavus.edu>
Gustie
students start new community service
initiative called the AMIGOS program.
The 65 Spanish speaking volunteers serve the growing Chicano-Latino
population in St. Peter by providing after-school tutoring, teaching ESL
classes to adults and serve as big partners.
This program is in addition to the other on-going and one-time service
opportunities that 75% of students participate in while at Gustavus.
Due
to cuts with the Minnesota State Legislature, Gustavus lost $400,000 in money
for student employment. The college
continues to work hard to meet financial needs of students since nearly 80% of
Gustavus students receive financial assistance. This includes $14 million from the colleges own budget. Your support of the annual fund goes
directly to help these students and is especially needed to help make up the
financial gap for these current students.
E-Mail addresses:
Many
other e-mail addresses are available online at gustavus.edu/alumni and friends.
Diane
Retzlaff roypete@msn.com
Matt
Peterson mathewcpeterson@msn.com
Trudy
Severson dsever@ll.net
Barry
Lane blane@bloomington.k12.mn.us
Kelvin
Miller kelvin@primarius.com
Deb
Weissenborn nahs@usit.net
Patty
Keys Spahn pspahn@cadets.com
Mary
Frey Sauter msauter@ecasd.k12.wi.us
Phonorama
is scheduled for Oct 7-17. It may
surprise you to know that even students who pay full tuition do not cover the
cost of their Gustavus education. Just
as those who came before us provided money for our scholarships and tuition
grants, so we need to do the same for current and future Gusties. Your support is important. Please respond positively when we call.
Happy
Fall!
Marcia