Wind Through the Pines 2016

The Wind Through the Pines

The Once and Future HOWLAND HOUSE! See page 10

The MSU Student Housing Cooperative

A publication for alumni and friends • Summer, 2016

Co­-op Alumni Association New association aims for connection, passing on of knowledge from alumni to current members

- by Syd Burke

MSU Student Housing Cooperative has been around for more than 40 years, and during that time, there have been house­level alumni organizations, but nev­ er a sustained effort to organize alumni at a system­ wide level. Our goal is to create a broad network, an Alumni Association, for those who miss the co-­op or the friends they made, wish to become involved in SHC’s future, or are interested in networking oppor­ tunities.

The purpose of this association is to organize alumni who have learned, worked, and lived along­ side each other throughout the history of coopera­ Hedrick alumnus Alan Fox telling his stotives at MSU and surrounding communities. ry of involvement with local politics at a Through interviews with leaders of many student mentoring session organized by the newly housing co-­ ops around the U.S., I’ve found that, formed Alumni Association. across the board, the largest issue is turnover. Mem­ bers enter our systems, spend varying amounts of time there, then go on with their lives.

Members often find a role within the co-­op, learn something new, deal with issues, im­ plement something amazing, but when they leave, that knowledge and experience often leaves too. As alumni, co­-op members have a great opportunity to pass along what they learned in the cooperatives to younger generations. While it is important to have a fresh perspective, it is crucial to preserve a generation’s memory of successes and failures, and alumni are a hugely under­utilized resource for this.

“What you do know is what you experienced during your time in the system, you know the buildings, the traditions, the wrongs, the rights, and everything in be­ tween.” Bowie House Alumna Liz Milani said.

This organization can have a great deal of benefits for our system. Bringing alumni back to the cooperative organization can harness and re-­instill pride in the co­-op and the val­ ues we stand for, which can be taken with us throughout the rest of our lives. It can also bring possible fundraising, networking, storytelling and advising. The opportunities are pretty much limitless.

“What every housing co-­op needs is some real appreciation of their alums,” Alumni Relations Coordinator for the Ann Arbor Inter-­Cooperative Council Susan Caya said.

“That appreciation can manifest in a number of different ways within houses, and at a system wide level.”

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The association is still in its early stages, but progress has definitely been made. A large amount of research and planning has taken place, an inner alumni steering council has been loosely formed, an Alumni Coordinator role has been established on staff, and meet­ ings have been held.

Our main goal right now is to build our database, establish an official status for our association, continue getting the word out, plan events, workshops, and hopefully other opportunities for the next few semesters. We are hoping to include other Lansing area cooperative alumni, which is why we aren’t labeling ourselves as The SHC Alumni Asso­ ciation.

We firmly believe that once a co-­ oper, always a co­-oper, and even after leaving the system, members can still be a part of it. In order to con­ tinue developing this asso­ ciation, we’d like our alum­ ni’s help to get the word out there, provide ideas, and get informed about what’s going on.

To get involved, please con­ tact Syd Burke at alumnicoor­ dinator@msu.coop or send a request to join the MSU Stu­ dent Housing Cooperative Alumni on Facebook.

Syd facilitating round table discussion about why to have alumni programming, and how alumni can contribute.

Meeting attendees. BACK ROW: Ed Ried (Hillsdale), Vicki Essenmacher (Ellsworth), Jim Jones (Hedrick/Ellsworth/Rivendale), Ray Scurr (Howland/Orion), Katie Nagle (Orion), Mike McCurdy (Howland), Dan Newton (current Apollo), Susan Brownlee (Hedrick), Josh Schriver (Orion/Hedrick), 2ND ROW: Syd Burke (Phoenix), Holly Jo (Harmbee), Liz Milani (Bowie), Alex John (Apollo), Korey Hurni (Bowie), FRONT ROW: Amy Otley (Phoenix), Kerra Whitmill (Howland), Maria Brundage (Ferency).

Wind Through the Pines

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Inaugural MSU SHC alumni networking event a success!

M

SU SHC

hosted its first alumni networking event in East Lansing on April 16, 2016. At least 39 people, including two members from Montie House attended.

The event was marked by the Woody’s cuisine munched on, the beneficial alumni to current member discussion, and meaningful connections made.

Alumni from all eras came out to show their support, with alumni from 2015 in attendance, as well as those who have been involved since 1974.

This was one of the first uses of funds that had been raised for the alumni association from the past couple of years.

The afternoon began with introductions of each of the 14 alumni panelists, followed by breakout groups organized into areas of education, business, community relations, coopera­ tive administration, media, and sciences.

Discussion questions were left at each table to help current members and alums start a dialogue. Some of these questions included: How do you talk about your co-op experiences on a resume or in an interview? What advice would you give to a recent college graduate hoping to enter into your field? Are there any organizations or companies in particular you would encourage recent graduates to pursue? And more.

This was the SHC’s first attempt at creating co-op specific networking opportunities for students trying to follow in the SHC Alumni Coordinafootsteps of these alumni and gain meaningful employment tor Syd Burke addressopportunities after leaving the co-ops. es those fathered for the This unique event was made possible by all the co-opers networking event.

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Wind Through the Pines

who participated, and the association would like to thank all of them for their support. Stay updated about future alum­ ni networking events, and more by join­

ing the MSU Student Housing Cooperative Alumni Facebook group.

New Community alumna Sarah Schu, Howland alumnus Kevin McInerny, Raft Hill alumna Sarah Scott and Bowie alumnus Kore Hurni wait to introduce themselves and speak about their jobs and life after the SHC.

And the Beat Goes On...

New staff, new ideas, new energy! Along with the offi­ cers on the Executive Com­ mittee, these folks provide expertise and continuity.

Pictured are MC Rothhorn (Finance Coordinator), Nola Warner (Member Services Coordinator), Syd Burke (Alumni Coordinator), and Holly Jo Sparks (Executive Director). Mike McCurdy, Facilities Coordinator, con­ tinues even though he’s not in the picture.

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Ping-Pong Lessons The Ping-Pong Lessons is a short story by David Zaiss, Hedrick alumnus ‘59-’60, written about his time living in the co-op, especially for this publication. David also has au­ thored a book, The Ping-Pong Club. Amazon’s synopsis describes the book as: The Ping Pong Club takes on the realities of wrongful discharge and is a counter to the corporate mentality taking over both private and public institutions across the U.S. In his first novel, David Zaiss creatively weaves life in a small town with the Occupy Wall Street movement and his love for the game.

We hope you enjoy this short extra, “The Ping-Pong Lessons.”

A musical prodigy, Tom could play Flight of the Bumblebee on his big old baritone horn in fourth grade, floating over the mu­ sic like a butterfly. I was stunned, we all were. How could he play so fast? We all wanted to play like that, and so for begin­ ning band the next year I chose a low brass instrument... trombone. It wasn’t as fast but more fun.

Tom graduated from high school a year ahead of me. He enrolled at MSU major­ ing in civil engineering. I moved into East Shaw about the same time he moved into Hedrick. We hardly ever connected on campus. About all I remember is one day Tom suggested I give the co-op a shot. I did, and moved in at the beginning of my sophomore year. Tom had left the house.

I only saw my fellow lower brass player at halftimes in the marching band.

In the basement I checked out the kitch­ en and dining room and found in a corner an old ping pong table. It had seen better days but I set it up, and located the paddles and balls… who wants to play?

My roommate Don Hay had no time but every night after midnight a few of us would put away the books and play. I remember matches with Dave Halsted, a German guy (Eckhart?), a graduate student.

One day Don mentioned he had a friend.

Charles wasn’t a student but wanted to play. The next night he introduced himself and followed me downstairs.

“Here you go,” I said, serving up an easy

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one.

Swing and a miss.

Charles smiled, took off his sweater. “All right. Do that again.”

I did… once, twice, and on the third serve Charles made contact but the ball flew off the side. I served again, slower, he re­ turned, barely clearing the net.

“OK. Let’s play a game.”

“But you haven’t played before/ And we haven’t begun-- to volley, spin, loop, drive… smash.” “Let’s play. To 21.”

In those dark days before ping pong was played to 21 points and Charles knew it.

“OK. But eleven zero is a skunk,” “To twenty one. Your serve.”

The first game was 21 zip, second the same. Charles put his sweater on.

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Hedrick alumnus David Zaiss, Freelance Writer/Editor, living in Interlochen, Michigan.

The next night in the third game he won a point.

Charles continued to arrive around midnight just to play ping pong. As the weeks passed he began to score a few points. After several months he reached 21 and we had our first deuce game. The next night, the last week of school, we played a knock-down, drag-out affair that went down to the wire, ad in, ad out, and I lost, but I learned an important lesson: float like a butterfly, forever dipping and sipping from the beauty of the earth, endlessly striving until the chips are down and the full flavor of the flower is up, then sting like a bumblebee.

Signing a copy of his book, The PingPong Club, published in 2012.

SHC making strides to apply for 501(c)(3) In Spring 2014, the MSU Student Hous­ ing Cooperative amended its Articles and Bylaws as its efforts eventually to apply for 501(c)(3) status. 501(c)(3) status means the SHC won’t be taxed on its surplus be­ cause it would be considered a non-prof­ it organization in the eyes of the United States Internal Revenue Service. This would allow us to save money for more projects, such as repairing damaged hous­ es. It also allows the SHC to accept tax-ex­ empt donations and grants. The current effort is centered around the IRS’s 96-32 safe harbor rule, which makes organiza­ tions more competitive if they emphasize their contribution to low income individu­ als and the greater community.

To be a 501(c)(3) organization, the SHC needs to demonstrate it meets an under­ served need in the community through af­ fordable housing. The language in the SHC Articles was too general, even when many of our members are eligible based on their incomes. A first attempt to amend the Ar­ ticles failed due to low turnout. One house also feared the amendment would destroy the culture of some student-centered co­ operatives. After dialogue with the mem­ bership about concerns, enough members voted, and the referendum passed.

Wind Through the Pines

As of June 2016, the SHC has not yet applied for non-profit status, but the amendment increases the likelihood of achieving 501(c)(3) status by making the language of our governing documents both more inclusive and reflective. The referendum includes language demon­ strating openness to age, color, gender, gender identity, disability status, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, race, religion, sexual orienta­ tion, veteran status, or weight, according to the updated Articles and Bylaws.

Becoming an 501(c)(3) recognized or­ ganization would benefit the SHC in many way as Dan Birkholz (President ‘14-’15) noted: “I thought it was important to be 501c3 in order for SHC to have the opportunity to access government grants and other public funds that could improve the conditions of our homes, fund expansion projects on existing properties and also to acquire new properties, allowing more people to live cooperatively. Most major non-profits have 501c3 status so that money can stay within the organization and be used to benefit the organization,” he said. “...I hope it is the right move. It still takes a lot of work from all members for a co-op to thrive.”

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Phoenix Haus Ail (And how your house can have a beer of it’s own)

By Ted Linabury To be a Phoenician takes grit.

While every co-op has its own challenges, Phoenix has certainly survived its fair share of excitement during the past several years. I lived at Phoenix for my sophomore and junior years and can recall a basement flooded with sewage, an electrical box melt-down, an actual fire, and 200-plus person parties on the regular, so I think Phoenix and its resilient inhabitants deserve a toast (or maybe a lecturing? Hmmm, nope, a

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beer).

The idea for a Phoenix Haus beer actually started with my dis­ covery of an English hop variety called “Phoenix”, combined with inspiration from Randy Mosh­ er’s Radical Brewing, a charm­ ing beer history and recipe book aimed at homebrewers.

The Phoenix Haus Ail recipe is a take on a traditional English IPA that’s been barrel-aged.

OK, time for a quick beer his­ tory and science lesson: to pre­ serve beer sent to the colonies, the English made stronger, hop­ pier versions of their standard beers and then shipped them overseas in oak barrels with hops added directly to the fermented beer (“dry hopping”). Thus, the India Pale Ale was created. An ad­ ditional major contributing factor to the character of these beers was the wild yeast and bacteria that lived in the oak barrels. One in particular, B​ rettanomyces, ​ is an alternative brewing yeast, ca­ pable of creating incredibly inter­ esting tastes and aromas, rang­ ing from musky, barn yard funk, to exotic tropical fruit.

I found it quite fitting that Phoenix, on Oakhill Ave, should be celebrated with a funky, oakaged ale, subverted by the influ­ ence of “wild” yeast. So, after brewing a strong IPA with 6 oz of Phoenix hops, I aged the beer for 3 months with a handful of oak chips and a culture of Bret­ tanomyces Bruxellensis t​o create a “classic, sweaty horse blanket” aroma. Yes, really, there are beer snobs who actually seek that out!

Similar to how a self-run house of 29 co-eds sounds on paper, Phoenix Haus Ail could have been a total trainwreck, but the end result blew me away. It was beautifully complex and un­ like any beer I had ever had, so I began brewing it annually. This Wind Through the Pines

year, I decided to spend an afternoon creating a label and adorn a few bottles with green wax (uh, actually melted crayons and glue sticks) to make this beer part of the history of Phoenix.

So, you want to make your house a beer of its own? Chances are you’ve heard of home­ brewing or perhaps know someone in the coops that brews, but may not have the time/ equipment/know-how to do it yourself. Well, several years ago I became involved in a club known as Twin Pints. It started with a half dozen co-opers meeting at Crunchy’s with the goal of creating a cooperative brewery and a homebrew equipment sharing co-op, and ended with a full business plan and several thousand dollars in winnings from a college business pitch competition. While the former half of the dream was never realized, the win­ nings allowed us to purchase some serious­ ly nice brewing equipment and we still have enough left over to leave the current co-opers with a set of their own.

Left to Right: Austin Jeltes, Claire Manning, Theodore Frederick Linabury, Andru D Smith, James Karl Rauschendorfer and Mackenzie Feringa.

And the Beat Goes On...

Incoming and Outgoing Executive Committee Members Right to Left: Nikki Turek (VP Membership 2015-17, Hedrick), Connor Meston (President 2016-17, Bower), Dan Newton (President 2015-16, Apollo, Raft Hill), Kennedy Cullen (Corporate Secretary, Beal), Carley Pagels (VP facilities, 2015-16, Orion), Meghan Hurley (VP Education 2016-17, Elsworth-Bowie)

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Howland Lost, Howland Saved -- Dan Birkholz In August of 2012, a newly renovated and freshly painted Howland House opened its doors to resume functioning as a student housing co-op. Many in the coop community know it as one of the oldest co-ops in East Lansing, with a rich history of strong culture and independence. What many do not know, is the story of how Howland was nearly lost forever as a cooperative.

I sat down with SHC’s maintenance director and former Howlander (or “Howler”), Mike McCurdy to hear how he nearly single handedly rescued Howland House. It proved to be a most interesting story.

H

owland’s origins trace back to 1948 when a group of 50 students, mostly World War II veterans, purchased the early 20th centu­ ry Victorian mansion. At its peak membership in the mid 1970s, Howland House was home to over 40 members. As many of the co-ops in East Lansing began to federate together forming what would eventually be the Student Housing Cooperative Incorporated (SHC), Howland continued to stay independent in or­ der to maintain the highest degree of control over their assets.

By the mid 1990s, Howland began experi­ encing some membership problems, including disorganization, a culture of apathy, drugs, violence, poor physical condition of the house and a bad relationship with the city. In 1998, the house was in such poor physical condi­ tion that city inspectors mandated Howland House make repairs and renovations or else the city would not renew Howland’s renters li­ cense, essentially condemning the house. The estimated cost of repairs was about $60,000, money that Howland House did not have. No bank would lend $60,000 to a student group in such conditions. The only way Howland could get a loan, was if they hired a property

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management company to oversee the reno­ vations, collect rents, and file correct paper work. Seeing few options, the members of Howland decided to do just that. Enter the “dark days”.

Dark Days – Howland Lost The first action the property manager took was to evict all the current Howland mem­ bers. Some members fought and tried to fire the management company, but the member­ ship was too disorganized to effectively col­ lectivize and make a powerful, meaningful decision. The end result was total eviction.

The management company became respon­ sible for filling the house and had a hard time keeping the Victorian mansion full and inspir­ ing cooperative culture. Placing one person in each room, the company considered sixteen to be “full”.

Howland continued to exist as a co-op with ownership legally in the hands of the mem­ bers, but it did not function as a co-op.The management company would file annual doc­ uments with the state that continued How­ land’s existence as a co-op and symbolically

fill officer positions like President, Treasur­ The Rescue er and Board of Directors. “I would walk by sometimes and talk to a few people if I saw In late summer 2011, Mccurdy had had them outside” McCurdy recounted, “I’d ask if enough. “I had a feeling that it was time” they knew they were a co-op and they’d say he recalled with squinted eyes and a cocked that people keep telling them that but they head. Mccurdy walked up the stairs to the really didn’t know what it meant or what kind Howland porch and knocked on the door. No one answered... so he looked around and of control they actually had”.

With little internal organization, a low sense peeked inside the windows. He didn’t see any­ of pride for home, and very little community, one. “After a moment I realized, oh my God, a house of this size operating outside of the this house is vacant! Why is a co-op vacant? I co-op model was bound to fail. Members hat­ knew that something was up and time was of ed the management company. Having little the essence”.

That weekend, at an Equitable Pioneers input and low sense of ownership, members would not take care of their home, allowing gathering at Circle Pines Co-op retreat cen­ Howland to fall again into serious disrepair ter, McCurdy and others involved in the co­ during the twelve years under the manage­ operative movement discussed the situation. ment company. During this time, the co-op Knowing they had to act fast, they found a community was stunned to see Howland slip­ list of publicly filed documents containing the ping away. How could this happen? How did names of the most recent Howland Board of we lose Howland? There must be something Directors. One week later McCurdy was able to track down all of those names. “I did google we can do! And there was.

All it really would have taken for Howland searches, facebook searches, called parents, to return to cooperative living was a majority knocked on doors, everything I could to track vote by members to end the contract with the down these people.” It turned out that most management company. The house belonged of them were still living in East Lansing. So McCurdy or­ legally to “Howland ganized a House Cooperative” meeting of and not to “POS Howland’s Management”. The Board of Di­ power was there for rectors.“Free the taking, but un­ lunch! I said educated “tenants” to entice them were not aware of to come. Peo­ this dynamic. While ple will come working for SHC, to anything for Mike McCurdy tried free lunch.” to come up with With the ways to get How­ support of land back as a co­ a Howland operative.

“Let’s Alumni Face­ offer them a hot group tub if they sell us Then Exectutive Director Rebecca Saunders with Marcus book over the house!” he’d Kamal (New Community) and Pres. Dan Birkholz in the with a hundred exclaim to other renovated Howland kitchen. members, Mc­ SHC staff (co-opers inherently love hot tubs. It is a fact. Every Curdy drafted a resolution that would transfer co-op that has ever existed has entertained legal authority of Howland House Cooperative ideas of installing a hot tub). For these twelve from the current Board of Directors to a re­ years, Howland House Cooperative continued constituted Board of Directors composed of to slide further and further away from being Howland Alumni and Mike McCurdy as Pres­ a cooperative coming just months away from ident. At the meeting, support for removing the management company was unanimous. being lost forever.

Wind Through the Pines

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“They hated the management company.” The resolution passed. “The facebook group of Howland Alum was key. Their support is what made me know I was doing the right thing.”

As the new President of Howland House, Mike McCurdy was ready to make moves. “I could barely sleep at night it was so exciting,” McCurdy recalls. Armed with the legal meeting minutes detailing the collective decision made by the legal authority of Howland House, Mike traveled to the property management office

1948: Howland Purchased! “$12,000 down payment raised by mem­

bers in 12 days. Named for Arthur How­ land of the Ag. Econ. Dept., it will hold 45 members.”

-- Co-ops on Campus, March-April 1948.

and fired them! “How’d you do it?” I asked.

“I just….fired ‘em,” Mike replied with a smirk.

The agent at the property management company was angry and in disbelief. It took Mike nearly four hours to explain the reality of the situation and that Howland House was no longer in need of their services. Unknown to McCurdy, Howland’s mortgage hadn’t been paid in over two months and the agent had been working with the bank to facilitate fore­ closure!! As the agent finally realized there was nothing he could do, he picked up a phone and called the bank to notify them of the turn of events. (If the house was foreclosed on by the bank then the property management company would have the opportunity to buy the house and finally control its assets.)

Now that the property management com­ pany had been fired, Mike McCurdy and the Board of alumni had become the legal owning entity of Howland House and were ready to do­ nate Howland to SHC. “It was too easy. There was no resistance [to acquiring the house].”

Ironically, the most resistance Mccurdy faced was from SHC’s Board of Directors. “I think they just couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that we were giving ALL of our assets to SHC. They wanted us to get a lawyer. We didn’t want a lawyer!

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We just wanted to give them the house!”

After a few months of discussion, SHC’s Board of Directors passed a resolution from Howland’s Board transferring ownership of Howland House and the remaining $130,000 mortgage to SHC. Former Executive Director Rebecca Saunders signed the title and made the transfer official in late 2011.

The Renovation In Fall of 2011, Mike McCurdy and his crew began extensive renovations to Howland House. “I just gave SHC a $600,000 house.

I made sure they let me do a good job ren­ ovating it,” Mccurdy told me with a cool look on his face. They pulled out all the windows, restored woodwork on floors, walls and ceil­ ings, replaced all doors, rewired the electrici­ ty, tore the roof off, jacked up and reinforced the porch, and completed major re-leveling of the main floor. It took all winter and into the Summer 2012 costing just under $200,000.

What’s Up With That Paint Job?!

A book titled “Painted Ladies” had made its way to McCurdy’s desk. “I was expecting to open it up and see naked women with paint on their bodies. I didn’t really know why it was on my desk” Mike recalled. “But instead, it was old Victorian houses with these whacky paint jobs on them. We thought Howland could be cool painted like this.” Consensus on the color scheme was impossible to achieve. Finally, the color scheme decision was entrusted to Exec­ utive Vice President Dan Tooman. Tooman is responsible for many artistic creations in SHC homes like the twin pines on the floor in Apol­ lo, on the main stairs in Vesta, the salvaged piano on the wall in Miles Davis, and the twin pines on the first and second floor in Howland.

Newly renovated, freshly painted, and op­ erating as a co-op again, Howland was back!

The fresh paint is nothing like any other build­ ing in all of East Lansing. It catches the eye and stands out, letting people know that this place is different. Howland is one of the most beautiful student housing co-ops in the state.

Thanks to people like Mike McCurdy for sav­ ing and restoring such an historic house and organization.

An alumni tradition other houses can adopt Each year, Elsworth Co­-op, also known as David Bowie Memorial Co­-op, holds its Alumni Reunion, an annual potluck that brings together old, current and future housemates. Bowie/Elsworth is the only SHC house that consistently holds a re­ union in order to bring alumni back to their home that so many have shared, and are sharing. This has proven to be a wonderful tool for bridging the gap between members leaving the system, alumni, and current members, as well as future members.

Kristin Bryan, an alumna who created the tradition following the death of a house­ mate, explains its origins: “Four years ago today our house lost the nicest, most car­ ing person I have ever met. Joe Urda was a wonderful member of the Bowie house­ hold and an even more amazing cook! I just want to take a moment to remind new and old members alike that Joe is the per­ son who inspired me to start this alumni potluck four years and I hope he inspires you to come this Saturday with Bowie Love in your heart.”

The current members of the house are thankful for the opportunity to meet old alumni of the house and have the chance to keep in touch with their former house­

mates after leaving the co-op. Here is what Meghan Hurley, a current member of Bowie/Elsworth, had to say: “This year was my first year ever ex­ periencing something like the Alum Pot­ luck at Bowie. It was incredible to see how much the place I had lived the past year meant to people even years after leaving it. Seeing generations of houses still close made me so happy because it’s always the fear that after you leave an awesome place that you’ll lose the awesome peo­ ple to memories too, ya know? The alum potluck really comforted me that this is so much more than a house to live in, but it’s a community you are in for always...

I highly HIGHLY recommend it for other houses, it’s a fun time, it’s good network­ ing potentially, and if nothing else, it’s an opportunity for fully functioning adults to take a break from ‘adult­ing’ and revisit the college life.”

The current Bowie/Elsworth reunion may only be four years old, but its success and popularity demonstrate that it has the potential to continue for many years to come.

-- Simon Stepho

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Some Winds Blow Forever As you read this publication, only a few of you will recognize the name: Wind Through the Pines. But it is an old name in East Lan­ sing, dating back to April of 1943, during the darkest days of World War II. There were only two co-ops then, Hedrick and Elsworth, and nearly all the men were about to be called for military service. But they wanted to keep in communication, and even as they prepared to turn their house over to the Army for the duration of the war, they put out the first issue of what became a tradition. Ed Hawley and Harry Brunger wrote, “Well, this is it! Issue number one of the Wind thru the Pines!! The first try is the hardest, they say, so perhaps there will be some more, now that the first painful steps are already taken…”

There were more indeed! Wind Through the Pines was published each term for the next 28 years. The last issue was printed and mailed to Hedrick alumni in the spring of 1971, when the co-op merged with the new MSU Student Housing Cooperative. I put together that last issue, and I grieved that none of the members who joined in lat­ er years felt the need to continue the tra­ dition.

But the name didn’t die. I carried it with me as I traveled around the country, first to Austin, and then to Ann Arbor and to NASCO. I loved that name, and the im­ age of movement, of whispering sound, and somehow also a sense that information and ideas could be communicated despite time and distance.

In Austin, we held a conference in the spring of 1977 on why people become in­ volved with cooperatives and why they continue to be involved over time. It was a difficult concept, and for a long time we couldn’t decide on a name for the event. I finally suggested a poetic name for that “in­ effable” concept, and we called it the Wind Through the Pines Symposium.

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And when it was over, we decided to keep the educational effort alive – we started the Wind Through the Pines Cooperative Educa­ tion Project. And then we formed the Wind Through the Pines Federal Credit Union, with the common bond being membership in an Austin cooperative. We were on a roll!

A lot of that fell apart in the 1980s, as a financial crisis drove the Austin co-ops to the brink. But by that time I was in Ann Arbor, working first for NASCO, then for the Inter-Cooperative Council, and then again for NASCO in 1999. As the General Manag­ er for NASCO Properties, I traveled around the country, from Santa Cruz to Buffalo, visiting the NP co-ops and always trying to find ways to bring them together.

One tool, I felt, was to have an annual publication, an annual report on how they all were doing. Naturally, I called it The Wind Through the Pines. It was published annually until 2009.

Now, after blowing through pine groves across the country, the name is coming home. More than 72 years after that first issue was produced on a crude mimeograph machine, the wind blows again, bringing its message to those past and present mem­ bers who will understand its message.

In 1943, Ed and Harry wrote, to their friends who were about to go off to war, “So let us know what you think…if you want us to keep this alive, send some news too, and we’ll try to have another along shortly.”

I’ll offer the same challenge! Because as they said, “A paper won’t mean much un­ less there’s news in it… You’ll be the news, letters from you will keep a newsletter like this going or stop it altogether. News from all of us, not just the few here, is what will count!”

-- Jim Jones, Hedrick 1971, Elsworth 1971-72, Rivendell 1972-74; SHC President 1971, SHC Manager 1971-74 Wind Through the Pines

The first Wind Through the Pines, from 1943, and other uses of the name over the years.

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This page, clockwise from the bottom right: -- Phoenix, in Phoenix, by Elizabeth Braxton and Nick Wilkinson, 2015 -- From the Bear Hybrid Collection, at Phoenix, by Amelia Larson, 2011 -- Hedrick Sun, in Hedrick stairwell, by Martha Bell, repainted and added to by Elena Hadjicharalambous, 1976

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BEASTS of the co-op wilds!

This page, clockwise from the bottom right: -- From Bear Hybrid Collection, at Phoenix, by Amelia Larson, 2011 -- Raptor, in New Community bedroom, by Sarah Schumacher, 2015 -- Totem, in New Community hallway, by Danea Voss, 2011 -- Mural, in New Community bathroom, by Sarah Schumacher, 2015

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Repurposed wood brings new renovations to several houses

by Mike McCurdy SHC Maintenance Coordinator

The MSU Student Housing Cooperative has been making great strides throughout the last decade improving the safety, sanitation, energy efficiency and aesthetics of our much loved homes.

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W

ith new roofs and windows, up­ graded kitchens and bathrooms, improved insulation, almost universal wood flooring, and major plumbing and electrical upgrades around our system, our homes are in better shape than they have been in a long time. One of the many ways our members have chosen to continue with these improvements is partnering with local carpenter Joe Lechleitner to create beautiful custom made kitchens out of local, sustainably harvested wood.

Michigan’s ash trees have been dev­ astated by the emerald ash borer. This tragedy has caused most, if not all, of the ash in our region to be dead for a few years now. Part­ nering with a local farmer, the SHC was able to help fund a selective harvest of ash trees on his property and have the trees milled on site into lumber for SHC use. This is the most ecologically sustainable lum­ ber it is possible to obtain. It was carefully harvested from trees already dead and less than 20 miles away from our coops.

Long after ash trees are no longer in this region to harvest, our coops will have a unique and beautiful memory of these once beautiful trees.

Working as the Maintenance Coordinator, I have been lucky to be a part of this process from felling the trees to milling the wood to making the cabinets. We have, and are continuing, to use the ash for cabinets and trim for projects around our system. New Com­ munity is getting a major kitchen upgrade and Vesta is getting all new windows with beautiful ash trim as we go to press.

Orion and David Bowie Coop also have new custom ash cab­ inets, and more kitchen projects are in the making for Apollo and Vesta.

Wind Through the Pines

19

The Politics of Cooperation - by Brian Smith, Montie House resident

I

magine, if you will, a chessboard; the piec­ es are the qualities of individuals, as a whole.

For illustrative purposes, the white pieces will be noble qualities, which promote general welfare and allow cooperative living situations to thrive.

The black pieces are those qualities which dis­ rupt and erode cooperation and communal liv­ ing. This theoretical game of chess is rarely fair; each house within the Michigan State Universi­ ty Student Housing Cooperative (MSU- SHC) is playing its own internal game of chess, with var­ ious board advantages and disadvantages due to the house climate and the individuals that compose it. With every passing year and every transition in membership, houses flux in and out of harmony and dissonance, cleanliness and filth, cooperation and fragmentation.

The crux piece of the game of cooperative liv­ ing, the king, is the same quality for both sides: vulnerability. The light side of vulnerability is openness, emotional availability, willingness to engage in the operations of the house and with one’s fellow housemates, aware of the poten­ tial trials present. The dark side of vulnerability is fear, close mindedness, and the inability or unwillingness to participate in activities or with people that are challenging to us. A house is de­ feated when the ability for members to be open and trusting is compromised. A house thrives when insecurities and shielded views are sur­ passed.

Every house, and every member within a house, will play delicately with these pieces throughout the year, operating all other quali­ ties of cooperation and dissension around this key element. In general, people move into co­ operatives, or at least the SHC’s houses, with a willingness to be open, to share and to learn.

Through the experience they discover their boundaries and have them challenged. As the school year progresses and members acclimate to each other, a community trust is established with members learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses, dependability and disreputa­ ble characteristics. Seeing that most of the SHC houses stand strong throughout the years de­

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spite many trials, it serves as proof that positive vulnerability reigns, that the game of communal living can be fought by oddly guided college stu­ dents and succeed.

The counter to this is that houses do fall apart from time to time. The grievance commit­ tee does sometimes expel members; the phoe­ nix may burn wildly and have to be re-birthed from its ashes. Even just one offensive member who is unwilling to change can inflict fear upon a house and eventually topple the vulnerability obligatory for cooperative living. If members are unable to be open, a house cannot stand united, so heed the necessity of vulnerability, the king in the game of chess that is communal living.

For the queen, the most powerful of chess pieces, the quality prescribed is communication.

Positive, direct communications keep coopera­ tives functioning as a well­-oiled machine. Hous­ es excel when members are able to address is­ sues politely and progressively, they find ways to meet members’ needs and desires, meal plans succeed, and house interests are invested in.

Communication is essential between individuals on all levels about house norms and to keep up expectations, both in what an individual needs from the whole, and what the whole needs from the individual. Strong communication coupled with communal passions lead to cooperatives innovating and flourishing, directing house sav­ ings or individual contributions to gardening, mural painting, bicycle maintenance stations, twin pints brewing, and so on and so forth. The

queen stands next to the king at the core of the playing field, and vulnerability relies on the abil­ ity to communicate effectively and fairly, to have a basis of respect present in which members can interact.

In opposition to unity is the black queen, hateful and disrespectful speech which hurts members and the house as a whole. Negative communication kills cooperation. It is the es­ sence of dissonance, the most powerful piece in disassembling houses. At its lightest it is passive aggressiveness, at its darkest it is prejudiced hate speech. Establishing and revisiting how to communicate effectively and addressing every individual’s needs heals hurting homes and al­ lows houses to reach their fullest potential.

Ah, the rook, a straightforward piece, the quality for which is determination. In cooper­ atives, individuals drive the whole. The white rook is ambition, the initiative to lead projects and improvements; the black rook is apathy, be­ ing unconcerned with a house’s current state or its future. I’ve seen plenty of ambition and apa­ thy within the SHC. The houses which outwardly shine are those with ambitious members, and the houses which merely subsist are apathetic.

Perhaps the most distinct examples of this lie in a house’s amenities: an ambitious house will have bicycle storage systems, edible gardens, fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms, and beautiful murals; an apathetic house will have bikes strewn about, litter cluttered corners, eye­ sores for exteriors and interiors, and other signs of neglect. Members with initiative improve houses throughout their stay, and leave that something extra behind for all that the house provided them which inspires other members to rally for house improvement and preservation.

Indifferent members let their house decay, ac­ cumulate clutter, and allow the tragedy of the commons to fulfill itself. The future of a house depends on those willing to put the work in to improve and preserve living conditions. The SHC began on a few people’s ambitions, and it rests on every member’s ambition for its survival.

For the oddball piece known as the knight, the qualities embodied are attitude and personality.

What makes housing cooperatives the beauti­ ful, strange places they are and the beautiful, strange people that inhabit them. House culture is a crucial element of why people choose to live communally. Connecting with and representing a house’s personality creates distinction be­ tween houses and allows potential members to feel out what is right for them. Having a positive Wind Through the Pines

cooperative attitude keeps the dream alive. The SHC is full of idealism, and that idealism is what makes it beautiful. Fatalism certainly exists within some members though. There are house­ mates who are unhappy with what they signed up for and bring down house atmosphere. It’s hard to precisely define how personality is a piece of the whole that is a college cooperative, but much like the knight, personality and atti­ tude are most powerful when front and center.

Of the major players, the last crucial quali­ ties are engagement with the system, the bish­ op on the playing field. Engagement means be­ ing involved both internally and externally with one’s house, the SHC as a whole, and the great­ er community. Positive engagement leads to house bonding, intra­-house activities, SHC wide events, and promotion of the housing cooper­ atives to uninformed potential future members as well as the general public. Negative engage­ ment manifests in such actions as being absent in one’s house activities, less than playful house rivalries, dismissal of SHC events, and down talking the SHC to the public. The SHC survives mostly by word of mouth, and being internally involved provides the energy and information to externally expand the system we know and love.

All of these pieces move intricately togeth­ er, often in tandem, though sometimes in a disorienting dance. I’ve seen ambition build a gorgeous garden through aggressive commu­ nication; I’ve seen individuals loved for their personality as the centerpiece of house neglect; I’ve seen some rather close minded members wildly promoting the system. Life is complex, but it’s more fun together. If we strive to em­ body the light in community living and expel the dark, the SHC can be beyond trying chess plays, a nd become more or less a simple and posi­ tive space for people to find themselves and the wonder in others.­­

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Thank you for helping!

The first two years of SHC’s first organized at­ tempt at fundraising has been a remarkable suc­ cess! Of the 264 recent alumni asked to leave their legacy, 212 supported the SHC Alumni Association. That’s 80.3% percent!! That sta­ tistic is absolutely astounding, and illuminates the fact that to us, it’s not about the amount that alumni help out with, it’s about the num­ ber of alumni that help out that really makes a difference. The smallest pledge was $0.46, and the largest $320.33. Both of these amounts are equally important, because both of those num­ bers went into the total amount raised, which was 5338.93 . The total average pledge was $20.61.

It is because of the generosity of these people that we are able to make this publication happen.

It’s because of these folks that we have been able to put on our Alumni Career Day, steering council meetings, alumni reunion events! This support have given us our initial funding which we can build upon and grow year after year.

The idea is that the support they offered, will go back right into their pockets if they attend events, or meetings, and make further connec­

tions and impressions on current and past mem­ bership alike. This is the start of something big.

Total Amount Given: $5,339 Pledges: 212 Average Pledge 20.61$ Percent: 80.75% House Total Given Apollo $393.72 Beal $435.34 Bower $391.77 Ellsworth $695.48 Hedrick $349.23 Howland $688.79 New Comm. $466.87 Miles Davis $55.00 Orion $306.81 Phoenix $723.02 Raft Hill $440.41 Toad Lane $155.78 Vesta $132.73 Zolton Ferency $104.07

Percentage 91% 94% 79% 94% 75% 89% 71% 33% 85% 88% 80% 100% 50% 78%

Apollo: Aaron Feinauer, Alexander Grein, Alex Guyon, Alexander John, Brandon Tuckey, Catherine Little, Erica Shekell, Julia Feeley, Madalyn Gildea, Michael McQuiston, Mikhail Flipovitch, Nathan Ward, Zachary Scott Beal: Alex Renny, Andrea Zuchora, Andrew Smith, Andrew Stinavage, Brittney Grzesiak, Christina O’Meara, Emily Matthews, Felicity Stevenson, Kristy Morrell, Laura Robb, Lindsay Benson, Lukas Hagen, Megan Hughey, Tabor Vits, Tyler Berg Bowie: Amanda Moser, Anne Lusty, Bridget Waldron, Caroline Rodriguez, Devon Early, Emelene Hadd, Emily Guy, Eric Wink, Erica Zazo, Griffin Engel, Jacob Lange, Kalsea Thomas, James Conwell, Jennifer Zarafonitis, Jennifer Pritchett, Kristen Bryan, Maria Accavitti, Mary Jane MacCready, Paul Owen-Smith, Peter Rustad, Ryan Martini Bower: Aida Amroussia, Amy Hammett, Bhavik Patel, Caitlin Miner, Cameron Stewart, Cara Krolikowski, Chelsie Holmes, Christian Farmer, Eric Molnar, Janessa Esquible, Joel Peven, Katherine Hoffman, Kody Day, Kristen Krcmarik, Laura Watt, Joshua Dolphin, Lind­ sey Beaver, Robert Kraemer, Ryan Peterson, Madeline Valentine, Michael Kransz, Nicole Blanzy, Xueshi Li, Zachary Zweifler Hedrick: Alexander Ethridge, Alicia Symanski, Brian Smith, Charisma Thapa, Christopher Long, Dillion Lee, Emily Pasek, Frederic Boyer, Grace Rodriguez, Karl Schwinghamer, Lauren Rowland, Jennifer Opie, Justin Cook, Maeva Bottex, Margaret Levasseur, Tao Sun Howland: Adam Bussell, Adam Loch, Alexander Paver, Alexandra Smith, Alissa Grace Lyon, Amy Ashley, Chris Salas, Emma Louise Davis, Evan Chiplock, Evan Simon, Gabrielle Smith, Hillary Johnson, Jonathan Huck, Josh Wald-Kerr, Justin Hadden, Kevin McInerney, Mara Zumberg, Marina Csomor, Mark Cogo, Michael Spreng, Michelle Feghali, Mikole Levran, Natasha Sprau, Nicholas Galli, Nicole Bachynski, Rebecca Harris, Sarah Stryker, Scot Hoke, Taylor Lascko, Zoe Jackson Miles Davis: Anita Lukibanova, Paul Helling New Community: Alyssa Honeycutt, Autumn Apsey, Charles Marusak, Danielle Muirhead, Francine Wanetick, Jack Schumacher, Jess Burkhardt, John Herdman, Jordyn Riegle, Keith Wiley, Natalie Wanetick, Sarah Gallagher, Sarah Schumacher, Shaina Alvesteffer, Seth Zundel Orion: Ashley Wilson, Cambria Sobolewski, Carolyn Gass, Connor Mehren, Henry Whitenack, James Vogl, Jonathan Constan, Katherine Nagle, Kathryn Gryczan, Kevin McCarty, Lelia Boniadi, Nick Erbskorn, Nina Banchero-Smith, Peter Vites, Seth Zundel, Theresa Schall­ horn, Zachary Kernick, Zachary Nowicki Phoenix: Bridget Maurice O’Brien, Carrigan McCatty, Celeste Carbajal, Charli Bradley, Clifford McClumpha, Colin Knighton, Dan Birk­ holz, Devin Culham, Elizabeth Braxton, Hillary Dado, Jenna Becker, Jessica Banfield, John Czerwinski, Kara Bracken, Jordan Russell, Nicholas Wilkinson, Matthew Koziara, Mingwu Gao, Paul Mooney, Samuel Akwei-Sekeyer, Spencer Hoffman Raft Hill: Adam Bezinque, Alanna Markle, Brandon Rohnke, Chun Yuen Tsang, Colleen Valko, Colin Marshall, Gabriela Saldivia, Janet Hsiao, Kirk Mason, Kyle Davis, Mairin Chesney, Matthew Castel, Mick Haley, Nicole Rigdon, Sarah Scott, Shane Solar-Doherty Toad Lane: Abbey Debniak, Brian Vandercruyssen, Josi-Rae Bradley, Madeline Couch, Margarette Sawaya, Nicholas Baldus, Selina Paupert, Spencer Nault Vesta: Andrew Curtis, Jacob Sable, Katherine Butterfield, Madison Moll, Mario Carill, Olivia Roedding, Timothy Matsamakis Zolton Ferency: Christopher Kerwin, Drew Vandergrift, Elise Caruso, Jordan Niemann, Kyler Stanley, Laura Drotar, Megan Lowlor

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Dear alumni...

Well, that’s a wrap on our first issue of Wind Through The Pines--Hope it BLEW you away!!

Want to write a submission for inclusion in the next issue? Know another SHC alum who wants to get involved? Do YOU want to get involved?

Great!--This network needs your support!

Wind Through the Pines is an ongoing process. We’d love to publish your stories, memories and pictures, and share them with the rest of the SHC community!

This publication was made possible because of you: without your content and your dona­ tions this dream would have never become a reality. Your continued support will sustain this publication, our annual Alumni networking event, future scholarships for cooperators, and more!

Anything helps!

All you need to do is send a check made out to “MSU SHC” to the following address: 541 E Grand River Avenue, East Lansing MI 48823.

Or simply call 517- 355- 8313 to give using a credit or debit card!

Who else would like to receive “Wind through the Pines?”

Please email alumnicoordinator@msu.coop with names and contact information.

We need accurate records to facilitate future regional and East-lansing based alumni events.

We’d also love to receive submissions for the next publication, the names and contact info of other alumni, and any questions you have about getting involved!

Join us online!

Finally, consider joining the MSU Student Housing Cooperative Alumni facebook page. We have over 500 members and counting! And stay tuned--we’re looking to add an Alumni section to our website, where you’ll be able to donate online and find info about Alumni programming, photo galleries and more!

Thanks so much for reading!

Wind Through the Pines

23

MSU Student Housing Cooperative 541 E. Grand River Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823

Member owned, cooperatively operated!

www.msu.coop

Oh, The Places We Go! Living in a house of the MSU Stu­ dent Housing Cooperative can be an eye-opening experience for many of our members. For some, it’s the place where they spend the most formative years of their lives. With these experiences, alumni go on to do great things all over the world, while others choose to stay in the area. Either way, they are taking their experienc­ es in the co-ops to affect change in the world around them. By sharing their stories through the Alumni Association, former mem­ bers build a rapport with current members, sharing with us exam­ ples of how to apply the lessons of cooperative membership.

- Simon Stepho