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Macalester set many of the paths I have traveled the last 50 years. In my junior year, I was the social secretary of the Macalester Community Council and Roger Grussing ’59 was the religion secretary. He introduced me to his brother Paul (’53) that spring and we were married in December of the following year. (Our New York honeymoon included a visit to the U.N.)  Also during my junior year the college assigned me to student teach at Edgerton School in Roseville, Minn., and in the fall of 1958 I began my teaching career there.

Our son Jon and daughter Jane were born while we lived in Falcon Heights, Minn. Our neighborhood and church included other Macites and to us it was an ideal place for young families. When Paul accepted a faculty position at the University of Illinois at Chicago, we pulled up our deep roots and moved to the city’s western suburb of Downers Grove. We grew to love Chicago -- a world-class city after all -- and lived there for 21 years.

After teaching in public and private elementary schools in Minnesota and Illinois, I began a 10-year period of work in grant-funded literacy programs before spending my last five years before retirement as a literacy coordinator at the Center for School Improvement at the University of Chicago. This work led me to one of my more exciting hobbies… collecting alphabet books and posters.

Now, like a lot of other retirees, we live in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota. We enjoy being with family and friends, volunteering and traveling. London is a frequent destination since our son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren live there. Our daughter, son-in-law and two other grandchildren live in Edina, Minn., and my brother-in-law Roger Grussing and his wife Carol live next door!  Since the days when Roger was religion secretary, he’s preached a lot of sermons and I’ve planned a lot of socials. (Believe me, our reunion will be way better than the All-College Dinner Dance I co-chaired with Dave Engerbretson ’58 where the Fountain Bleu was decorated with flowers collected from mortuaries!)

Margaret Johnson ’46 taught Spanish and Social Studies at Montevideo High School. Because of her, four Montevideo girls – Joyce Bergendahl ’57, Janice Peterson ’58, Alice Wallien ’57 and I – came to Mac in 1954. Thank you, Maggie, for introducing me to Macalester. For me it has made all the difference and I am profoundly grateful.