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In-Person Class: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church.
A Tale of Two Wild Wests: Michigan and New Mexico, with Frederick Godfroy and Billy the Kid
This is a story of two “wild wests” – old and new. Frederick Godfroy and Billy the Kid represent that transition, Godfroy because his family played a significant role in the early history of the region but unlike Billy, they are barely remembered. Billy the Kid emerged as one of the most famous historical characters of the West. In this class Kathleen Chamberlain will introduce both men, and will compare the two frontiers through them. Apaches versus Potawatomies. Range wars versus the French and Indian Wars and the War of 1812. The roles of the Indian trader and agent in both. Frederick Godfroy encountered Billy the Kid while living in wild New Mexican Territory on the Mescalero Apache reservation, and returned to Michigan with many stories to tell. Join us to hear and enjoy some of these tales. 
 Kathleen Chamberlain holds an M.S. in Western history from the University of Colorado/Denver and a Ph.D. in United States history from the University of New Mexico. Her areas of specialization are Native Americans and the Old West. Kathleen taught American history at Eastern Michigan University for more than 15 years, retiring in 2016. She has published In the Shadow of Billy the Kid: Susan McSween and the Lincoln County War, and is currently writing another book titled Women Who Loved and Hated Billy the Kid, for the University of Oklahoma Press.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Kathleen Chamberlain
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Dates: 4/21/2023 - 4/21/2023
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Vineyard Church
Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church
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In-Person Class: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church.
Join Judy as she tells the story of her mother's encounter with the Gestapo after Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass - November 1938), her escape from Germany during World War II, and her adjustment to life in America. Following the storytelling, Judy will describe the research that went into chronicling her mother's journey. In the second part of the program, participants will have the opportunity to share stories about their own parents, using a series of "conversation starters." 
Judy Sima is an award-winning storyteller, author, and educator. She has been featured at conferences and festivals, schools and libraries, churches, and senior groups throughout Michigan and across the country. A retired school librarian, Judy is the pied piper of storytelling in metro Detroit. Judy has introduced many young people and adults to the art of storytelling.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Judy Sima
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Dates: 5/10/2023 - 5/10/2023
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: W
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Building: Vineyard Church
Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church
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Online Class: A ZOOM invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
In the fall of 1966, 14-year-old Faz Husain took a break from his part-time job at a pizza shop on Cross Street in Ypsilanti and stepped outside. Up the street he noticed a crowd of people gathering in front of Eastern Michigan University's Pease Auditorium. He decided to wander across to see what was happening. This decision set the course of his remaining life, and ended up making him one of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area's most beloved citizens. In this presentation we will take a look at the well-lived life of an immigrant from Patna, India, whose friendship with figures such as Muhammad Ali and Bill Clinton led to meeting an array of other figures from the worlds of politics, sports, and entertainment. 
John A. Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He is proud to have been one of the many friends of Faz.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): John A. Stewart
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Dates: 6/27/2023 - 6/27/2023
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: Online Course
Room: Online Classroom via Zoom
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In-Person Class: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church.
‘We Can Do It’ became the rallying cry for millions of women during World War II who had, until this time period, never envisioned working on an industrial assembly line building the weapons of war. Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defense industries, and she became an iconic image of working women. Join presenter Claire Kitchin Dahl of the Yankee Air Museum to learn the incredible history of the Willow Run B-24 Bomber Plant and the teamwork of the powerful Detroit automotive industry. Claire will share the dramatic and vital roles played by women as they showed the nation that they were willing and able to fill the work force gaps caused by men going into military service. This class is in partnership with a tour at the Yankee Air Museum on Thursday, May 11 (see TO43).
Claire Kitchin Dahl began her teaching career in 1971 and retired from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in 2009. Armed with a master’s degree in women's studies, she has always championed the strong women in American history. Claire volunteers as a Tribute Rosie at the Yankee Air Museum.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Claire Kitchin Dahl
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Dates: 5/4/2023 - 5/4/2023
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: Vineyard Church
Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church
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In-Person Class: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church.
This presentation focuses on immigrant neighborhoods in Detroit and their art as a sense of place. In this “nation of immigrants,” the City of Detroit stands out for the incredible number of nationalities, ethnicities, and religious groups which have populated its 138 square miles. To fully appreciate the city’s turbulent history and its abundant cultural treasures, it is helpful to envision the many invisible borders that have served as demarcation lines between and among groups. In this class Ken Stevens will explore Detroit’s history of immigration and migration, the ever-changing maps, the disruptions, and the harmonies. We will look at the “new Detroit,” with its many cultural attractions, art forms, restaurants, and parks, and travel back to the hidden gems of “old Detroit,” some in ruins, others repurposed, and a few still viable and operating.
Ken Stevens began his theater career in Cincinnati where he co-founded the Showboat Majestic and served as a Rockefeller Fellow at Playhouse in the Park and the University of Cincinnati. In 1972 Ken joined the faculty of Eastern Michigan University (EMU) where he created both the musical theater program and the graduate and undergraduate programs in arts management. Following his retirement in 2014 as EMU’s director of theatre, Ken has continued to serve as a lecturer, while supervising interns and supporting the resident artist program at Villa Barr Art Park in Novi and the Michigan Legacy Art Park at Crystal Mountain Resort.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Ken Stevens
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Dates: 5/3/2023 - 5/3/2023
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: W
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Building: Vineyard Church
Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church
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Online Class: A ZOOM invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
Join us for this presentation which will focus on key points in Ukrainian cultural and political development, emphasizing Ukraine’s complicated relationship with Russia. While Ukraine and Russia have an intertangled history, one longstanding theme is Ukrainian efforts to break free of Russian domination and establish a separate Ukrainian identity. How this history plays into the current conflict and features of contemporary Ukraine will be emphasized throughout the talk.
Paul Kubicek is a Professor of Political Science at Oakland University. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation (University of Michigan, 1995) on post-Soviet Ukraine, and has published extensively on Ukrainian and Russian politics, the European Union, democratization, and Turkey. He has recently updated his book, The History of Ukraine (Bloomsbury/Greenwood).
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Paul Kubicek
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Dates: 4/11/2023 - 4/11/2023
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: Online Course
Room: Online Classroom via Zoom
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In-Person Class: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church.
What do the Greeks, Underwear, and Henry Ford Have in Common? Ypsilanti’s Bicentennial, 2023
Christened Ypsilanti in honor of Demetrius Ypsilanti, the hero of the Greek Revolution, the town grew when its original site at Woodruff’s Grove was displaced after the Chicago Road was built. The railroad brought business and industry to the community, and also brought its most famous inventor, “The Real McCoy,” Elijah McCoy, whose father and mother were significant conductors on the Underground Railroad. Ypsilanti thrived in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Education and commerce joined hands. Henry Ford’s decision to bring manufacturing to the community provided abundant opportunities for a strong workforce. WWII expanded Ford’s contribution with the building of the bomber plant at Willow Run in the early 1940s. The 21st century has brought new energy, along with a focus on the unique cultural and social opportunities the city offers. Preservation of Ypsilanti’s architectural heritage is reflected in the strength of local historical organizations.
Rochelle Balkam taught history and government at Ypsilanti High School for 36 years, and taught Michigan history at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for 27 years. She holds an M.A. degree in history and an M.S. in historic preservation from EMU. Rochelle serves on the board of the Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association, and formerly served on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Historic Commission.
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Fee: $15.00
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Instructor(s): Rochelle Balkam
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Dates: 4/12/2023 - 4/12/2023
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: W
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Building: Vineyard Church
Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church
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- ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS NOW CLOSED. If you are trying to register the day before this class starts or the day of the class, please email or call the office. This close to the class start date, we need to register you over the phone and provide you with any important information and send you the Zoom Link if the class in online. Thank you!
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Z Online Class: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
In 1844, Joseph Smith, controversial founder of the Christian sect informally known as the Mormon Church, was killed by an angry mob in Carthage, Illinois. Two years later his successor, Brigham Young, led many of Smith's 30,000 faithful to a 'New Israel' in the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Around the same time, James Jesse Strang, a rival of Young, enticed a splinter group to settle in Wisconsin and then led them to Beaver Island, a 56 square mile oasis in the northern reaches of Lake Michigan. The island's Irish fishermen and trappers were overwhelmed, and sometimes expelled, as the new arrivals set about creating a utopian colony with James Strang as their king. The experiment came to an abrupt end in June of 1856 when Strang, like Joseph Smith before him, was assassinated. Join us to learn about this little-known slice of Michigan’s history.
John A. Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He enjoys self-guided travel to out-of-the-way places.
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- ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS NOW CLOSED. If you are trying to register the day before this class starts or the day of the class, please email or call the office. This close to the class start date, we need to register you over the phone and provide you with any important information and send you the Zoom Link if the class in online. Thank you!
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Z Online Class: A Zoom invitation link will be sent one day before class begins.
Women of the 1920s led a revolt against the old standards of womanhood that were dominating U.S. culture. Flappers and feminists, they spoke and acted out, inspiring other women to follow. In this class Matt will analyze the work of several important 1920s female authors who chronicled this revolt, including Mae West, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein, and Dorothy Parker. These trailblazers wrote counter-narratives to the sexism, racism, classism, and homophobia women faced during the Jazz Age. Matt will bring their novels, poems, plays, and film scenarios into conversation with each other. He will explore examples of how these women worked individually and collectively to attain the political power, social status, economic independence, sexual freedom, and artistic recognition they deserved. Class interaction is highly encouraged.  
Matthew Niven Teorey is currently Associate Professor of English at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, WA. His research has focused on issues of gender, race, and sexual orientation in literature. His teaching specializes on multidisciplinary connections such as literature and mathematics. Matt is the author of Self-Made Women in the 1920s United States (Lexington Books 2022).
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