Eastern Editor’s Note
Two Worlds, Seven Decades, One Inspiration T
wo people born 70 years apart inspired this issue. Tey’ve never met. In fact, they’ve
never heard of each other. Yet their contributions resulted in our cover story, “Normal, with the World at War,” page 14. First came a beautifully handwriten note from
Arlene Allen (BS47), leting us know she might “possibly have a unique story to tell.” She wrote about atending kindergarten in Welch Hall to atending Michigan State Normal College, geting married, starting a family. How her kids went to Roosevelt School. How much she enjoys atending reunions. Tere was one section of her leter, however, that
made us pause—and choke up a litle. It was about her brother Robert, who atended MSNC for one year before serving in World War II. Robert never made it home; he was killed in action in July 1943. Arlene said she vaguely remembers her mother making a donation for a carillon tower in memory of the men and women who died in WWII. Stop there. How many others with MSNC ties lost their lives? How did the war affect the
The Pierce Hall carillon tower features the Alumni Memorial Chimes, installed in June 1950, and dedicated to those who died in World War II.
campus community? What was life like for students in the 1940s—before and aſter the war? It’s hard today to fathom a war of that magnitude. It’s even harder to imagine classmates,
friends and family members fighting for our country and paying with their lives. It reminds us of the ugliness of war; of the frailty of life; of the sacrifices made by the generations that are now passing on. Soon aſter receiving Arlene’s leter, I went to EMU’s Undergraduate Symposium. Te
Symposium is an incredible showcase of student projects and is always fertile ground for story ideas. It’s an editor’s dream. Tat’s where we learned about the extensive research done by Stephen Lund, an EMU
freshman. Lund, sponsored by history professor Joellen Vinyard, wrote and presented “Michigan State Normal College at War: Education Is War Work in a Democracy.” His 15-page paper featured more than 20 sources and told a fascinating story about how WWII affected the campus. We knew this information needed to be shared in Eastern magazine. We’re grateful to Arlene for writing and sharing her story with us, and we’re indebted
to Stephen for the hours that he spent in the University Archives, poring over newspaper clippings. Neither realized it at the time, but their convergence of information and enthusiasm and knowledge helped bring a compelling story to a larger audience. We owe them our thanks. – DG
4 Eastern | SUMMER 2011
Summer 2011 Vol. 8, Issue 3
EDITOR Darcy Gifford ART DIRECTOR
Mike Andaloro (BFA75) CONTRIBUTORS
Rhonda DeLong (MS08), Geoff Larcom, Randy
Mascharka (BBA85), Dan Mathis (BA07), Jo Mathis, Nancy Mida (BS72), Jeff Mortimer, Jeff Samoray,
Dick Schwartz, Leah Shutes, Jakob Skogheim, Scott Stewart, Ellen Weaver, David McKay Wilson
ABOUT EASTERN Eastern (ISSN 2150-4679) is published three
times a year by the Division of Communications at Eastern Michigan University 1215 N. Huron River Drive Ypsilanti, MI 48197-2351 All rights reserved.
The views presented are not necessarily those of the editor or the official policies of the University.
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