Raking Leaves

A little seasonal fun: Chris and I raking leaves in 1963.

Deer Lake 1967

So I figured out how to embed these little slideshows in the blog! Just click below to see a set of pictures from Deer Lake, summer of 1967. Lots of fish and fisherpersons, but also visits from AK & Angelyn and Robert Haan.



Note that if you roll your mouse over the picture so you can see a little symbol with four arrows and you can click on it, it will expand the slideshow to fill your screen. Or you can view the slideshow here or browse the set here.

Hunting Season

I showed this picture of Grandpa TerMaat to Dad and he was quite surprised. "Never shot a gun in his life!" We speculate, given his formal looking attire that he is posing in front of someone else's prize, possibly his employer's.

Debate!

With debates in the news, I thought I would share these pictures of Connie TerMaat, high school debater.


From the Sheboygan North 1947 yearbook page above, we learn that his senior year he debated for the affirmative- Resolved: That the federal government should provide a system of medical care available to all citizens at public expense. They tied for third place at the Wisconsin Forensic League District Tournament and for fifth place at the National Forensic District Conference.

Below we see Connie TerMaat, debate coach in 1953 at Grand Rapids Christian High.


His debaters are listed as D. Monsma, A. Bos, L. Plantinga and B. Jeltema with S. Monsma and R. Baker in the back. They debated - Resolved: that the Atlantic Pact Nations Should Form a Federal Union. They had a 10-18 record but the yearbook explains that they debated against more experienced teams in state competition.

Here's a picture from the Grand Rapids Christian High 1953 yearbook of Dad as high school teacher. Or some bad imposter as it looks nothing like him. I'm sure the "Use your hands" quote is a reference to debating.

The Chimes

I decided to do a little musty archival research into the box of old Calvin Chimes newspapers that is in our basement. This article with photo from spring 1950 announces Robert Haan's appointment as editor of the Chimes. It details his grandfather and father's history with the paper. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Here is Robert's first editorial, a peptalk for returning students in the fall of 1950. I find his opening paragraph about not knowing how to stay busy over summer vacation very amusing considering the post below about his ability to make my vacations very memorable. Again click on the photo to enlarge and read.

(This bit just lets you see the part I couldn't capture in the first scan.)

Dad was on the staff of the Chimes too, as a member of the 'Policy Committee'. (Mom says that's another word for 'crony'.) Here's an editorial by Dad which stood out because the references at the beginning to the newly formed United Nations and the Korean war give it a little more historical context outside church and school matters than do many of the others I've skimmed.

Robert Haan: Central Park to Lost Valley

I've shared these photos previously. There are certainly more photos of Robert to share but these are the easiest to begin with. The first are of our 1964 visit to New York City where Robert bought me a toy boat and helped me sail it in the Central Park boat pond. I was very fond of the boat and it kicked around the house for some years but never found as grand a venue for adventure after its maiden voyage. Robert certainly had a way with memorable vacation projects involving kids. I was always impressed that he gave children his full attention and made you feel very grown up, but maybe the secret was he just never stopped having fun doing kid things. I also love the photos in my previous Lake Charlevoix post, where he has assembled a large child crew to carry out dike construction. No other adults in sight.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

These photos (the second by Peter) are from Lost Valley in 2000. To relive that happy time together click to browse the set or view the slideshow