EDITOR’S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — The small number of minority faculty at the Upper Peninsula’s three universities will not increase until more non-white students receive master’s degrees and doctorates, officials say. “Two years ago there were only nine Native Americans with Ph.D.s in the country,” said Fred Gillard, vice president of academic affairs at Lake Superior State University. John Hatch, education director for the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of Chippewa Indians said, “The problem with faculty members is that there are only about 5 percent of Chippewa with college degrees out of 17,000. There’s so few of them that they get heavily recruited by everybody. All three universities have stepped up recruiting and retention efforts, but the lack of minority faculty and staff is making the job more difficult. At Lake Superior State University last year, Native Americans accounted for 237 of 3,078 students. On the faculty numbering 117, there were three Asians, one black, and no Hispanics or Indians. At Northern Michigan University last year, Indians were the largest minority group– 181 out of 8,700 students — but NMU had no Indian faculty members. The school had 151 Black students, but only two of 302 professors were Black. At Michigan Tech, six of the school’s 367 faculty members last year were Black. The school had 71 Blacks in a student body numbering 6,640. Tech had one Native American instructor and 36 Indian students.

60 years ago

CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP — Marquette County veterans who served in the 31st Dixie Division during World War I held a reunion at the Harvey Inn recently, with 24 members attending. The men were among 120 who left from Marquette County May 25, 1918 to serve as replacements in the 31st Dixie Division at Camp Wheeler, Macom, Ga. A.C. (Doc) Porter and Howard Boyd, both of Marquette, began the reunion last year, and made extensive efforts to contact all living veterans. At the reunion, the group organized the Marquette County 31st Division Association and made plans for future meetings. In attendance were: Russell Brown, Alfred Bureau, Clifford Fleury, Joseph Morin, Thomas Rich, James O’Donnell, Mark Sleeman, William Carlson, Steven Solody, A.C. Porter, Louis Boyer, Lee Robert, Gust Johnson, Howard Boyd, Carl Bangren, and Eugene Costello of Marquette; H.F. Stansbury, Stan Williams, Robert Gustafson, Albert Leverton, Clarence Ayotte and A.R. Holmgren of Ishpeming; as well as Rudy Johnson and Henry Spelgatti of Negaunee.