I just wanted to note that your current TechAlum newsletter missed another long-time faculty member who is retiring at the end of this semester. Carol MacLennan in Social Sciences has been here more than 30 years. She’s a beloved teacher and accomplished scholar. We just had a retirement party for her last week and a huge number of former students came back and so did many faculty members from across the university. It would have been nice to see her face in your newsletter too! I’m sure it’s hard to keep up with everyone but maybe there’s an extra note you could include next time.
Here’s her faculty page: https://www.mtu.edu/social-sciences/department/faculty/maclennan/
Sarah Fayen Scarlett
-Thank you so much for letting us know about Professor MacLennan’s retirement. We have included a brief about her retirement in this issue! -SW
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Broomball was fun, but skiing is forever. I will ski Nordic, but Alpine is my favorite. I earned a few physical education credits on Mont Ripley. The cross country trails at MTU were the finest I’ve ever been on, which reminds me of taking a friend from the Bahamas out cross country skiing for the first time – he didn’t do that badly.
The best part was on the return. There was about a foot of snow on his roommate’s car, so I took my skis off and ran them by hand up the hood, windshield and over the roof. Then, I gently placed pole plant marks next to the tracks, taking care not to scratch anything.
Later, the roommate came out, saw the tracks and blew a gasket. He thought for sure that he was going to find holes in his roof from the poles. The roommate was relieved to find the car intact, though he didn’t join us in the laughs.
Still skiing. May have a couple days backcountry this year.
Dale ‘85 and Joanne Stockman
-Thanks for the memories, Dale. Continue to enjoy skiing! We’ve got lots of snow up here if you get a chance to visit the Keweenaw this year. -SW
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I remember a trip my freshman year (I think it was) in the fall of 2008. I was driving home in my old Dodge Dakota with my friend Eric that I met at Tech, who grew up near where I did in Wisconsin. We left Houghton and it was a white out snow storm. All you could see was the trees on each side and just white snow in between. The center rumble strip was never so helpful! I locked the truck in 4X4 and it stayed that way until we got past Bruce Crossing. That was a slow white knuckle drive…
Mark Jacobson ‘12
-Glad you got back safe. Sounds like a scary drive. Being new here, I’ve found the rumble strips to be extremely helpful as well! -SW
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No skating for me now, but I have fond memories of public skating in the evenings with my future wife at Dee stadium – on NATURAL ice. It was not always the best of conditions by the end of the session.
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Having spent several winters at Tech for Winter Carnival at a time when speed skating seemed to be in vogue was exciting for me. It did not sit well with the classic skaters that sported hockey skates. With the focus on hockey at the time of Tony it was fully understandable. I had gone to Tech with the idea Terry McDermot had attended Tech and earned a silver medal in speed skating for the ’64 Winter Olympics. What I didn’t realize until attending Tech was that he had gone to the Sault Ste. Marie campus. So it was a bleak first year, however a number of others had interest in speed skating – and had skates. So working into the mile the first year seemed to be a good introduction to speed skating at Winter Carnival and acceptable to the hockey crowd. Have to check my records, however second or third year the pressure came to go against the hockey skaters for the 500. Nothing ventured nothing gained. The challenge was on – and speed skating at Tech seemed to be gaining interest. But not enough to keep it going apparently. Maybe with the Winter Olympics in February there are some at Tech that will take up the torch?
ttstoner ’70
-Thanks for the speed skating memories. If you have any photos from that time please share those, that would be great! -SW
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During my freshman year (1960-1961) living in Wadsworth, I spent a lot of my free time lifting weights or playing handball across the street at Sherman gym. During my sophomore year living in the Newman House, I really enjoyed the impromptu broomball games on Ruby Street in front of the ‘House. Since the Newman House burned down, I guess that ‘sport’ venue is no longer available.
Richard Beauregard
Class of 1964
MetE
-Thanks for the memories. Anyone else remember playing broomball on Ruby Street? -SW
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Statue all-nighters with the group and viewing all the statues the morning after.
Also going to Ripley to ski…believe it or not.
GO Hockey!
Regards-MKM,
Joel Scott ‘83
-Thanks for the memories, Joel! -SW
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Patrick ’09 and Rachel ’09 Connors are excited to announce the birth of Wyatt Gage Connors! He was born December 28 at 2:15am weighing 8lbs 15oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.
Mom, dad, and Wyatt are all doing well and settling in to this new adventure!
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Joe Dancy ’76 (Metallurgical Engineering) accepted the role as Executive Director of the Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
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Anne (Dancy) Maher ’12 (Biomedical Engineering) and William Maher were married in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on August 19, 2017.