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Welcome to ElderwiseIn-person, online, and hybrid classes Winter Term 2025 Registration is Open! > History

History   

 
  • Where Two Worlds Met: The Great Lakes Fur Trade 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Nearly 400 years have passed since the first encounter between Indigenous people and the French in the Great Lakes region. Neither culture was ever the same since then. The early exchange was mutually beneficial and cordial. The Native people did not feel threatened by the Europeans nor did the Europeans fear the Indigenous people. Each had a commodity the other needed: trade goods for the Native Americans, fish and fur for the Europeans. The two cultures often blended in intermarriage, for the French presence was primarily fur trappers, missionaries, and soldiers. It was not until a third ingredient was added, the British, that conflict erupted into the French and Indian War. Rochelle Balkam taught history and government at Ypsilanti High School for 36 years. She taught Michigan history at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) for 27 years and at the University of Michigan for 4 years. Rochelle holds an M.A. in history and an M.S. in historic preservation from EMU. She is president of the Michigan One-room Schoolhouse Association, and previously served on the board of the Historical Society of Michigan and as a member of the Washtenaw County Historic District Commission.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Rochelle Balkam

  • Dates: 3/6/2025 - 3/6/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • The History of the Calendar 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Bill Ingram will lead us through the history of our calendar, starting with the Egyptians and Babylonians and how they shaped the later Roman calendar. Then we will investigate the problems with the Roman calendar that Julius Caesar had to fix, the problems with the Julian calendar that Pope Gregory had to fix, and right up to what is going on in Ukraine with the Gregorian calendar. There is much to talk about: the signs of the zodiac, why there are two different calculations for the length of the year, why weeks and months are the length they are, why do we need calendars anyway, and finally why our calendar is so wonky: why “thirty days hath September”? William Ingram is Professor Emeritus of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan. He is known for his work on early modern drama and performance.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): William Ingram

  • Dates: 3/11/2025 - 3/11/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Tu

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Michigan's Polar Bear Experience in WW1 

  • HYBRID: In the classroom and online. A Zoom link will be sent to all one day before class.

    Discover the fascinating story of Michigan’s Polar Bears, a group of U.S. soldiers sent to northern Russia during World War I. This presentation explores their unique mission, enduring the harsh Arctic climate while engaging in combat long after the war officially ended. Learn about their challenges, bravery, and the lasting impact of their service, highlighting a little-known chapter of American military history. Perfect for history enthusiasts interested in World War I and Michigan's contributions. Ray Stocking is a lifelong resident of Michigan and has a personal connection to “Michigan’s Polar Bears.” Ray’s grandfather, Vernie F. Stocking, was a U.S. Veteran of WWI and served in the 339th Infantry, Company F in Arch Angel, Russia. Ray will share some personal family photos and other memorabilia during this presentation. Ray is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where he received his BBA and MBA degrees in business management.

     

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Ray Stocking

  • Dates: 3/18/2025 - 3/18/2025

    Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Tu

  • Building: Hybrid: In-Person and Online

    Room: Vineyard Cafe and Zoom

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  • The Magic of Brill Building Pop: Early 60s Songwriting Teams 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    Sandwiched between 1950s rock ‘n’ roll and the mid-1960s British invasion, brilliant songwriting teams in two Manhattan office buildings made pop music magic. Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, were striving Jewish youth voicing their own experiences for other teens and young adults. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” and “Up On the Roof” melded black and white, classical and Latin, with a strong female presence. Brill Building pop created a soundtrack for the baby boom generation that remains compelling 60 years later. Michael Homel is Professor Emeritus of History at Eastern Michigan University. He specializes in 20th century American history and American urban history. He is the author of Unlocking City Hall: Exploring the History of Local Government and Politics, and other publications on urban politics and education.

     

  • Fee: $30.00

  • Instructor(s): Michael Homel

  • Dates: 3/12/2025 - 3/19/2025

    Times: 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 2

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Our Many Voices Singing Free 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    The American Musical is often characterized as diversion, distraction, and amusement, yet from the earliest days of Vaudeville to the present, the musicals have both reflected and shaped our civic and social values. In this uniquely American art form composers, lyrists, and performers have employed sentiment and satire, melody and mirth, to both entertain and enlighten America’s distinctively heterogenous audiences. In this class, Ken Stevens will explore the ideals and values in shows by time honored theatre luminaries like Rodgers, Kern, Sondheim, Williams, and more recent award winners like Kander and Ebb, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Terrence McNally, while considering the evolution of audience characteristics over the decades. Ken Stevens came to Michigan from the University of Cincinnati. He is Professor Emeritus at Eastern Michigan University, where he created both the musical theater program and the graduate and undergraduate programs in arts management.

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Ken Stevens

  • Dates: 3/20/2025 - 3/20/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: Th

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • William W. Cook: U-M Donor Extraordinaire 

  • IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom at the Vineyard Church

    William W. Cook (1858-1930) graduated from the University of Michigan’s LSA and Law School and donated the Martha Cook Building and the entire University of Michigan Law Quadrangle. This class will describe how a man who grew up in the small Michigan town of Hillsdale became a successful lawyer in Manhattan, helped to create trans-global communications, and became the nation’s leading expert on corporation law. Cook was generous but eccentric, and racially biased by today’s standards. Margaret Leary’s presentation addresses critical changes in the role of philanthropy and of race in the last century, both at the university and nationally. Margaret Leary received a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. from the University of Minnesota, another from Eastern Michigan University, and a J.D. from the William Mitchell College of Law. She taught at the University of Michigan Law School and was director of the university’s Law Library from 1984 to 2011. Margaret is the author of Giving It All Away: The Story of William C. Cook and His Michigan Law Quadrangle (University of Michigan Press, 2011).

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor(s): Margaret A. Leary

  • Dates: 2/19/2025 - 2/19/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: W

  • Building: Vineyard Church

    Room: Classroom at the Vineyard Church

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  • Ypsilanti Historical Museum Tour

  • This class has reached the enrollment limit.  Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
  • OFFSITE TOUR: 220 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti

    Enrollment: This tour is limited to 10 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
    Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this tour. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant.

    The Ypsilanti Historical Museum’s collections are housed in a handsome Italianate mansion built in 1860 by banker Asa Dow. The building’s fourteen rooms are filled with 19th century furnishings and artifacts donated by the area’s residents. It features two parlors, a country kitchen, a solarium, and rooms dedicated to crafts, costumes, music, tools, and toys. There is a room celebrating some of Ypsilanti’s more notable past citizens, their industries, and their accomplishments. If time allows, we will descend to the basement for a quick look at the extensive city archives - which include items such as maps, photographs, directories, court records, tax rolls, and obituaries. The museum is operated and maintained by volunteers, most of whom have local connections, as well as by interns from the historic preservation program at Eastern Michigan University. John A. Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He has served as a volunteer docent at the Ypsilanti Historical Museum for the past 13 years. Driving directions and parking instructions will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.

     

     

  • Fee: $15.00

  • Instructor: John A. Stewart

    Capacity Remaining: 0

  • Dates: 3/28/2025 - 3/28/2025

    Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • Sessions: 1

    Days: F

  • Building: Offsite

    Room: Ypsilanti Historical Museum

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