Dear Editor:

My wife and I found your Trailertown article recalled many memories. We moved into Garnet Street trailer park in January of 1967 with a used 8' x 46' Liberty trailer.

I recall the walks to and from campus or the Crackerbarrel up Garnet Street hill for lunch, sometimes a coffee at Lou's Grill, never having much money. We remembered buying the first groceries for our new trailer and they filled our Pontiac sedan so full for $26 that we could hardly get in.

We stayed at Garnet Street until it closed and moved to Pilgrim Terrace on the stamp sand with the help of a friend and a Jeep. Our stay at Pilgrim Terrace was pleasant except for the trains that passed five feet from our back bedroom, it seemed our 46-foot trailer was too long for the lot so Steve Harold (the manager) and I opened the fence next to the track and backed the house up to the grade. I now wonder how that was allowed.

We now are retired and living back in the Upper Peninsula. Please continue to publish interesting stories.

Keith Kalnbach '69

Dear Editor:

I received my Michigan Tech magazine with the northern lights on the cover. That is an awesome picture that is even better than the light shows I remember. I was showing some of the pictures to my co-workers and looking at how much the campus has changed.

I spotted a little white house in front of Douglass Houghton Hall in one of the pictures. I remember passing that house every day, in the mid to late 70's, to park in the dirt lot (which now looks paved) and wondering why the house was there.

Bradley Johnson

From the Editor: The house now belongs to the university and is used as space for the counseling office. The house was a private residence at one point. That space is slated for an expansion of Fisher Hall, but the house will continue to stand until the state funds the project.

Dear Editor:

I received my December magazine yesterday, and the "Trailertown" article triggered several hours of reminiscing. My wife, Virgean, and I arrived at Tech in September of 1957 as newlyweds, with our recently acquired 36 ft. trailer. We were directed to the just-opening facility on the stamp sands, and settled in there beside the railroad tracks.

In the spring of '58, we were offered a trailer space in Dollar Bay, behind the old cheese factory. The building had been replaced by a new facility, and was in use only to store packaging materials. The owners desired to have someone on the property for security. The rent would be only $10/mo., so we jumped at the chance to reduce our cost.

The only problem was that we had allowed the license on the trailer to expire, and a renewal would have warped the budget. So I phoned the Sheriff and asked if there was any way around the problem. He asked when we planned to move, and I told him that July 4th was our desired date. He then said, "Son, if you can have that trailer moved by 6:00 in the morning, no one will bother you." We moved, sans license, and without any problem.

Fred J. "Jim" Knight '59

Dear Editor:

Your recent article on "Trailertown" brought back many memories for my husband (Ron Kay '64) and I. We too shared many fun times from January, 1962, until Ron's graduation in August, 1964. We had a pretty yellow and white trailer, 41 5 8, that we bought for $2,000 (sold it to an Air Force cadet for $1500 when we left), and were at #2 Garnet Street Trailer Court.

We, too, walked the steep hill down to the campus through the deep snow (in those days gals who worked wore skirts and tall boots!). I appreciated those who trekked down ahead of me who made the path-I was the secretary for the Air Force ROTC. We used to start our car in the winter by shoving it down the hill and working the clutch.

Hot water was the luxury we could not afford so Ron made a metal container that sat on top of our furnace across from the kitchen sink. He ran a copper coil up through the smoke stack which, in turn, heated the water for our dishes. A rubber hose got the hot water to the sink.

The hallway in the trailer was so narrow Ron had to turn sideways to get from one room to the other. He studied in the first bedroom while I watched the TV, located on top of our refrigerator, with ear phones so as not to disturb.

Those were really good times—41 x 8 was all we had, we did what we had to do, and are better for having been there. Thanks for the memories!

Loni Kay
White Bear Lake, MN

Dear Editor:

My name is Howard Wilson and I'm a 1959 graduate of MTU and my former wife, Mary, was mentioned in the article about "Trailertown" in your Dec. 2004 issue of Michigan Tech Magazine. I certainly remember the thrill of living in the Garnet Hill Park. Especially winter was exciting.

I fondly remember Jack Parker, our immediate neighbor to the south. Jack had a dog called Nicky Creek that he used to bring to class. It was an unusual dog in that it could be coaxed into smiling, something I never had seen before or since.

The university decided on one occasion that the dog should not be allowed to attend classes. But the students raised a big enough stink that the order was dropped. Those truly were the 'Good Old Days.'

Howard Wilson '59

Dear Editor:

That was a good idea, eh. I mean to change the name from Michigan Tech Alumnus to Michigan Tech Magazine. A much better fit, eh.

But what about that cover, eh? Is the night sky over Quincy Hill really green at 3:30 am? Well, whether it is due to auroral activity or a color shift in Photoshop, the green sky cover has given me an idea. Why don't you run a sort of contest by inviting all of your readers to submit their favorite photographs, new and old, with a MTU related theme? Then it would be up you as editor to select the best for publication in the magazine.

In anticipation that you are going to like this suggestion, I have attached the very first contest entry which is a picture of the Osceola Mine in Calumet photographed in October 1996. So what do you think, eh? I mean about the suggestion, not the photograph.

Donald R. Johnson '53

From the editor: I've taken Mr. Johnson's note to heart-his photo is above. If you would like to submit your photo for consideration, email it to woodbeck@mtu.edu. We will need a high-resolution image.

Dear Editor:

This is in reference to a letter printed in the "Letters to the Editor" section, page 5, of the December 2004 issue in the "Michigan Tech Magazine." It was written by my cousin Barb Hanshaw and reflected her perception of my work experiences after graduating for MCMT in 1958. Unfortunately I had no idea of her desire or intent to write such a letter. I can only surmise that her understanding came from well-intentioned embellished family discussions concerning my various assignments with the Federal Highway Administration in numerous states and Central America.

The lack of understanding falls back on me as I have never been one to talk about work with family members. I am the first family member to graduate from college but not the last. I am proud to say that I have a daughter-in-law along with several distant cousins, including Barb's daughter, who are Tech graduates. The family affection for Tech is believed to originate in the fact that my grandfather's parents immigrated to Michigan 1875 from Sweden and resided in Hancock for a time before settling in Skanee.

Sincerely,
Robert Deatrick '58