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Legacies Project Oral History: June and Clyde Bennett
Mary June Bennett was born in 1922 in Evanston, Illinois. She grew up in Ann Arbor and Birmingham, Michigan during the Prohibition Era. After attending the University of Michigan, she joined the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) and graduated from midshipman’s school at Smith College in 1944. She was photo editor of the U.S. Navy’s All Hands Magazine. She had three children with her first husband, Maxwell Matthews, and after their divorce she married Clyde “Buck” Bennett in 1967. She was a family therapist for 25 years. She passed away in 2016.
Clyde “Buck” Bennett was born in 1918 in Houdathotit, Alabama. When he was 10, his family moved to Birmingham, Michigan. He attended Birmingham High school and two years at Antioch College, where he gained experience in sales and newspaper advertising. Bennett served in World War II, and returned to Michigan to work for the Jam Handy Organization and Chrysler Advertising. Later in life he switched careers to become CEO of the Bennett Realtors and Commercial Development Company in Deland, Florida. He passed away on January 25, 2020.
June and Clyde Bennett were interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Joyce Plummer
Joyce Plummer was born in 1931 and grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her mother was a registered nurse and her father taught public school. She recalls the impact of the Depression and World War II on her community. Plummer attended Flint Junior College and the University of Michigan and went on to get two Master’s degrees. She taught English for 10 years before becoming a reference librarian at the Flint Public Library for 20 years. Later in life she married Robert H. Plummer, whom she had met at Flint Junior College.
Joyce Plummer was interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Joan Dickson
Joan Dickson was born in 1929 in Omaha, Nebraska. Although her father had a secure job with AT&T, she remembers the severe effects of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. After attending college in Iowa, she got married and moved to Waterloo, Iowa. She raised four children and was active in volunteering throughout her life. After divorcing her first husband in 1990, she remarried and moved to Michigan. She enjoys traveling and taking art classes.
Joan Dickson was interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Jim Crowfoot
Jim Crowfoot has spent the majority of his career advocating for social and environmental justice as a professor and then dean at the University of Michigan. He began his education at Knox College, attended seminary, and then got his PhD in social psychology from the University of Michigan. He co-founded U-M’s Program in Conflict Management Alternatives and was dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment. He has two children from his first marriage, and has been married to his second wife, Ruth, for over twenty years.
Jim Crowfoot was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2016 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Jacqueline Heubel
Jacqueline Heubel was born in 1930 in Fond du Lac Wisconsin in the midst of the Great Depression. When her father regained his job on the railroad, her family moved to Eagle Grove, Iowa. She attended Iowa State Teacher's College and the University of Minnesota School of Dental Hygiene. After a few years working as a dental hygienist, she returned to teaching. Huebel taught in the Pontiac School District during the Civil Rights Era, and recalls the effects of integration on teachers and students.
Jacqueline Heubel was interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Jack Pointer
John Davis “Jack” Pointer was born in 1935 and grew up in New York City. His great great grandfather established the first Jewish congregation in the South Carolina colony when he immigrated in the 1760s. The family later converted to Episcopalianism. His grandfather was a journalist for The Denver Post, his parents were artists, and Pointer was a mechanical engineer.
Jack Pointer was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2010 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: George Ramsey
George Ramsey was born 1938 and grew up on East Warren Avenue in Detroit. He remembers experiencing the Detroit Race Riot of 1943 as a young child and the Detroit Riot of 1967 as an adult. He attended Northeastern High School with classmates who became famous Motown singers. Ramsey served in the United States Air Force and USPS before becoming a road manager for a Motown recording group in the late 1960s. He worked for Motown music producer Lamont Dozier in California in the 1970s.
George Ramsey was interviewed in partnership with the Museum of African American History of Detroit and Y Arts Detroit in 2010 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Fred Lang
Ernst Frederick “Fred” Lang was born in 1916 in Detroit and grew up on Van Dyke Avenue. As a young man he played ragtime and jazz piano in Detroit speakeasies. He attended the University of Michigan LSA and the Medical School. After graduating in 1941, he married his longtime sweetheart, Virginia, and they raised four children. Lang was a radiologist at Harper Hospital in Detroit for 40 years and served as editor of the American Journal of Radiology. He passed away on September 26, 2014.
Fred Lang was interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Eunice Burns
Eunice L. Burns was born in 1923 and grew up on a farm in Caledonia, Minnesota. She attended La Crosse State Teachers College and became a physical education teacher. She and her husband Carl Burns had four children, and the family enjoyed camping and other outdoor activities. They were married for fifteen years before his tragic death in a sailing accident. Burns (D) represented the First Ward on the Ann Arbor City Council for six years (1962-68). She championed the Fair Housing Ordinance and the establishment of the Huron River Watershed Council. She passed away on October 20, 2016.
Eunice Burns was interviewed by students from Skyline High School in Ann Arbor in 2010 as part of the Legacies Project.
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Legacies Project Oral History: Ethan Stewart
Ethan Allen “Al” Stewart was born in 1926 in New Jersey. Midway through his undergraduate studies, Stewart worked for over two years as a junior engineer for the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, and then returned to MIT to complete his degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for Procter & Gamble and as an executive at Ford Saline and the Ford Research Center in Dearborn, MI. He and his wife Connie were married for over sixty years. He passed away on April 22, 2014.
Ethan Stewart was interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.