ALI returning to Manchester this spring with two new classes!
submitted by Joan Gaughan, Adult Learners Institute
Last fall, for the first time in its history, with help from Kathy Dimond at the Manchester District Library, Adult Learners Institute (ALI) offered two classes in Manchester. Held in the Village Room at the Library/Village Offices, the first class, a history of Manchester, consisted of two sessions. Armed with scores of slides and her own encyclopedic knowledge of the history of western Washtenaw County, Grace Shackman, a seasoned and beloved ALI instructor, taught the first session. The second session was taught by an equally expert historian, Manchester’s own Ray Berg, who brought Manchester’s past to vivid life with a tour of the village starting at the Mill and ending at Carr Park. Participants in the two sessions of the class got a glimpse into the minds, the aspirations, and the tastes of the generations who lived here before us.
The second ALI class featured another beloved ALI instructor, John Hauger, who is fascinated by how music not only reflects history but also affects our culture. On October 9, however, he turned in a slightly different direction as he reflected on the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, which marked the 400th anniversary of the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World.
This spring, both Ms. Shackman and Mr. Hauger are returning to Manchester. In her classes on April 9 and 16, Ms. Shackman will depart from Manchester to compare the histories of Dexter and Saline. Manchester, along with our three neighboring towns, Dexter, Saline, and Chelsea, are all within about 12 miles of each other. Yet, as Ms. Shackman has shown in previous classes, they each have unique histories. Founded by very different men with very different aspirations, the stories of our neighbors actually give us a deeper appreciation of Manchester’s uniqueness.
In the second Manchester ALI class of this spring term, on May 15, Mr. Hauger will again go to a fair. This time, it will be the World’s Fair in 1904, which, in sheer size and variety, surpassed even the Chicago Exposition a decade earlier. Not only was it larger than the Chicago Exposition but it also had an unusual impact on our culture by giving us the song “Meet Me in St. Louis” sung in Vincente Minnelli’s 1944 movie of the same name.
In addition to the two classes in Manchester, ALI’s April schedule also brings butterflies, music, heroes, and the law. April also brings Easter, and a fitting way to prepare for that most solemn of feasts is with Reverend Daniel Pezzica’s third and final In-Person and Zoom class on the History of Church Music on April 1 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Chelsea.
Given the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions, not only on our culture but sometimes even on our personal lives, Peter Van Hoek’s In-Person and Zoom class exploring Significant United States Supreme Court Opinions at the Cedars of Dexter on April 3 will be of particular interest.
With the arrival of spring, you may want to learn how to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden from Carol Brodbeck on April 7 at the Chelsea Senior Center. In her In-Person and Zoom class, you will learn what flower colors and shapes attract butterflies and what items they need in order to pollinate your plants. And their courting behaviors will surprise and delight us.
Eddie Rickenbacker and Wendy Zielen’s own grandfather are the inspiration for her In-Person and Zoom class on Bravery and Innovation: Early Aviation Heroes on April 11 at the Chelsea Retirement Community. Her thrilling stories of these intrepid World War I aviators, many of whom came from Michigan, will fascinate and awe us.
Mike and Cathy Muha’s trip to Scotland a few years ago generated a love for the New Scotland, that is, Nova Scotia, of North America. Their In-Person class, Adventures in Nova Scotia at the Chelsea Senior Center on April 25, will include insights into the history as well as a look at the natural beauty of Nova Scotia. Preceded by a visit to Campobello in Maine, the Muhas will provide a tour of the Cabot Trail of Cape Breton Island, as well as visits to Quebec and Montreal on the way home.
If you had “A Hard Day’s Night” with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” you will want to “Let it Be” in Bill O’Reilly’s class, The Beatles — Everything You Never Knew, at the Chelsea Senior Center on April 21. You and “Eleanor Rigby” are going to enjoy this In-Person and Zoom walk down “Penny Lane.”
Barbara Gregorson’s In-Person class at the Chelsea District Library on April 29 comes just in time for you to learn about Native Plants … what to plant, where to plant, and how to find native plants for your own garden. She has a special interest in teaching adults with special needs how to garden and has also coordinated a children’s gardening program. To register for this FREE class, you need to call the Library at 734-475-8732 x 219.
In addition to ALI catalogs at various locations in the area, more information can be accessed at ALI’s website at info@ALIMichigan.org or by using the QR code below. You may also call 734-292-5540 and leave a message.
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