The Wind Through the Pines 80 Years of cooperative living! The intertwined stories of the oldest student housing co-ops in East Lansing
Hedrick House 1939 - page 8 and...
Elsworth/Bowie 1940 - page 12
The MSU Student Housing Cooperative A publication for alumni and friends • For years 2019-20 and 2020-21
Contents:
Letter from Nikki Phan, President 2019-20
Letters from the Presidents ...........2 Merger of SHC and Rivendell ..........4 SHC Flier from 1973! ....................7 80 Years: Hedrick House ..............8 80 Years: Elsworth/Bowie ............12 Parties and Dinner at Apollo ........18 Genesee Gardens Co-Housing.......20 SHC helps Grand Rapids co-op......23 Save the date! ...........................24 “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” - Winston Churchill
“Co-ops are like sharks — if they’re not moving forward, they will die.” - Holly Jo Sparks,Exec. Director, MSU-SHC
The Wind Through the Pines is an annual publication of the MSU Student Housing Cooperative primarily for former members and friends. The name is taken from an alumni publication produced by Hedrick House from 1943 to 1971.
Creation and coordination: Emily Tayler (Vice-President for Education, Vesta)
Production/editing: Jim Jones (Hedrick ‘71, Elsworth ‘71-72, Rivendell ‘72-74)
Production Assistant: William Taiw Chen (Apollo)
Photographer: Riley James (Bowie)
2
Dear alumni, cooperators and friends, In my role as both CEO and chair of the board in 2019-20, I had the responsibilities of organizing and facilitating bi-monthly board meetings, as well as providing oversight to our operational executive committee. My year-long term as president began in May, and I spent the summer familiarizing myself with my job, planning our event calendar for the coming year, and helping to prepare educational programs for the new members of our board. It was a productive summer and I’m very excited to share with you a little bit about what our cooperative has been up to recently, as well as our plans for the future! In 2005, the SHC purchased a property in downtown Lansing and turned it into a co-op. Up until that point, we had been a collection of only student co-ops. Harambee house, as it was named, was our first venture into community cooperatives. Three years ago, we acquired two more community co-ops: Rivendell and The Shire, and we intend to continue our expansion into the greater Lansing Area in the next several years. While we’ve been expanding outward, we have also been raising the quality standards of all of our houses. “A screen on every window and every basement dry” has been the motto of our maintenance coordinator, but in the last decade we’ve also completely rewired and remodeled several entire houses, installed dry-in systems in every one of our basements, keyed all of our houses to a master key system, and done extensive work to make many of our kitchens state-of-the-art. Our co-op houses aren’t the only things we’ve remodeled. In 2015, we overhauled our governance structure. Our board began using Policy Governance, and we established an executive committee to oversee operations. The board has made steady progress in the years since to refine our policies and make our governance as democratic as possible. Last year, they focused on long-term planning and working with the executive committee to prepare for our 50th Anniversary coming up in 2022. The executive committee spent their summer in 2019 working on a number of projects, including advertisements in city and state papers, managed info tables at both student events at MSU and local events such as Pride. Our VP’s of membership and education worked together to plan consent trainings at our houses and released a sexual assault survivors’ guide for our members. We revived a bi-monthly member zine called the “Pine Press,” and a New Member Orientation is in the works, as well as a con-
Letter from Erik Berg, President 2020-21 “Where do we go from here?” This is the question that opened the first-ever Wind Through the Pines in 1943, and it’s the question once again at the forefront of our collective consciousness. By any measure, the past year has been a tumultuous one for the SHC. The world condition in 2020 has unsurprisingly dealt a blow to cooperative living. Looking back, the number of traumas experienced, mistakes made, and crises averted boggle the mind. To us individuals, most of these situations were unique and appalling; but to the co-ops, these recent problems were nothing new. As the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This couldn’t be truer in our co-ops, even in novel times like this. Regardless of the changing world situation, one constant throughout our history has been our perseverance. Whether it be a depression, World War, or pandemic, co-ops have shown time and time again that they’re capable of not only surviving, but growing, in times of hardship. Hard times make strong people — and strong co-ops. The period of time during and immediately following WWII was also a tumultuous one for the co-ops. Regardless, the members not only weathered the uncertainty, but continued to improve and expand their houses, their membership, and their movement. This legacy of perseverance would be continued by generations of co-opers to come, and it’s a legacy we continue even now. This summer, we helped make history by loaning GRACC (Grand Rapids Alliance of Cooperative Communities) the funds necessary to purchase one of their four
Nikki Phan, continued from previous page flict resolution seminar for our houses. It was a busy year, and we had high expectations for what we wanted to accomplish. Everyone did their own part, and we hope that our work will set the organization up to continue growing and serving our community. I would like to thank you all for your continued interest, and your help in spreading cooperative values and principles around the nation and the world. In cooperation,
Nikki Phan, President 2019-20
Wind Through the Pines
buildings — the first cooperatively-owned house in Grand Rapids. Just as Elsworth loaned Hedrick $300 to restart after the war, this same type of cooperation among cooperatives is practiced in current times. Expansion is on the horizon for our own houses as well. After nearly 50 years of interest, the SHC finally has the opportunity to purchase 131 Whitehills, the building next to Bower. In a world of soaring housing costs and declining homeownership, the cooperative model can still grow and benefit an increasing part of our community. Many of the SHC’s operations have also changed recently, in line with the changing world and the changing needs of our members. A COVID-19 Response Team has been formed to help our houses navigate the pandemic, and a Financial Relief Committee has been working to help our members overburdened with economic hardship. With the new year comes a new website for the SHC, enabling more opportunities for education, information, and communication to our prospective, current, and alumni members. Some things do stay the same, though. Yes, we’re actively working on applying for 501(c)(3) status. Yes, we were doing that when you were here too. The dirty dishes are still piling up, and your house is still talking about buying a hot tub. 50 years after forming, the SHC is still here — and continuing to grow from its roots. All of this speaks to the past and present SHC, but makes no mention of its long term future. The SHC began in 1969, but wasn’t able to take off until 1971. Our strategic planning process began in 2019, but won’t take off until 2021. High turnover delayed the SHC’s formation, and this obstacle persists in everything we do. It’s for this reason that committing to a strategic plan for the future is all the more important to our co-op. Although 2020 “delayed” this process, the hard times seem to have strengthened the co-op, and further emphasized the need to make plans for the unpredictable future. I can’t say exactly where we’ll go from here, but I can say this: we’ve only been able to get here by building upon the work of past members. So, on behalf of the current and future members of the SHC, I want to say “thank you” for what you’ve built. While our membership may constantly change, the immense appreciation we owe to you, our alumni, will always stay the same. In cooperation,
Erik Berg, President 2020-21 3
Bringing It All Together:
The Merger of the MSU-SHC with Rivendell/the Shire!
I
n 1972, a group of SHC members started Rivendell Co-op in a small house on Grand River Drive. Four years later, the group pooled their resources and bought a house in Lansing, not far from the Capital. It was a long way from the university, but it had always been a largely non-student group, and the prices in Lansing were a lot lower. Fast forward to 2011, when SHC staff member Mike McCurdy talked to Rivendell about a house for sale near his home in Meridian Township. What? That isn’t near Lansing or the university. But Rivendell was thriving, and they were ready for a new adventure. Why not buy a second house in the country? At least they could grow vegetables! A deal was struck, and The Shire was purchased. Rivendell became two houses.
4
In an odd twist, the SHC also jumped across the Grand River just a few years earlier, buying Harambee (originally called Bulmer) a little south of the capital and about a mile from Rivendell. In doing so SHC became a “community co-op,” providing affordable housing for non-students in a totally different part of town. Indeed, both groups expanded their visions and dreamed of new horizons, making bold leaps of faith. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise that both cooperatives soon had “new house problems.” That’s common, particularly when a concept, both geographically and conceptually, is different from the norm. Harambee had high turnover and operational difficulties from the start. The Shire and Rivendell had communications,
turnover and non-payment problems, soon infecting the original location as well as the new offshoot. To make matters worse, the City of Lansing tightened it license requirements; there were inter-personal problems; and soon a sense of morbid despair began to settle on both groups. SHC tried, unsuccessfully, to sell Harambee, while Rivendell’s debts began to build. The mortgage loan used to buy The Shire would come due in December of 2016, and refinancing seemed impossible. Then another miracle happened, and the two groups began to talk about working together to solve their problems. Miracles happen frequently with co-ops,
and again we shouldn’t be surprised. The very existence of SHC is a miracle, as sheer persistence and incredible idealism brought together houses with vastly different cultures to form something totally new. Rivendell also was a miracle, with seven people buying a house and finding success for more than forty years far from other similar efforts. Maybe it was just time for one more miracle. Rivendell approached SHC about purchasing their two houses in 2016. In October, a financial analysis was made; by November, the facilities were inspected and estimates made for the cost of repairs; in December SHC helped Rivendell to temporarily extend their loan. A feasibility study was conducted, and in the
Members of the original Rivendell Cooperative in 1973. Left to right: Jim Jones, Eva Kipper, Dave Juckett, Karen Burrell, and Mark Charles. The head below shall be forever nameless. Wind Through the Pines
5
spring members of both organizations voted to approve the proposal to merge. Today, the world seems much brighter. A great deal of work has been done on the Rivendell houses, which they are full, and Harambee is dong well. Some Rivendell residents have taken leadership roles in the SHC, and ever stronger bonds are forming with the nearby Genesee Co-Housing group (see article on Genesee later in this issue). Yes, miracles really do happen, but in our coops, they aren’t really magic at all. They are miracles of the will, brought to reality by determination and hard work. How strange that we are surprised. -- Jim Jones
Clockwise from the top: Rivendell, the back yard at The Shire, and The Shire.
6
Wind Through the Pines
SHC flier from 1973! Note the names and addresses...
7
Hedrick House: 80 Years of Cooperative Living in 2019!
Hedrick, the Early Years...
In 1939, during the dark days of the Great Depression, Hedrick Cooperative was born. Dr. Orion Ulrey, godfather of the East Lansing cooperatives and a professor of agricultural economics initiated the organizing effort and assisted the organizers in planning. Just before Christmas, a house was found at 405 Abbot Road, which they remodeled, with all the work done by members. The formal dedication of the house was on Sunday, January 28, 1940, with Wilber Hedrick, a popular retired professor, present as honored guest. The effort was sponsored by the Independent Men’s League, the YMCA, and the Agriculture Council of the college, and membership was open to any students who matched with “good character, willingness to cooperate with other members, and a scholastic average of 1.0 or better.” Each member paid a $10 deposit and a $10 loan to the house,
8
by Jim Jones which was refunded when the house became self-sustaining, in addition to room and board charges of $5.50 per week. “Cooperation among cooperatives” came early and easily to the Hedrick members, who assisted a second group, called Elsworth Cooperative, to buy a house in 1940 (see story on Elsworth/Bowie elsewhere in this issue). Hedrick loaned the new Elsworth group $290 of its $300 in savings, and that money, along with $1,231 in loans from the Elsworth members, was enough for a down payment. In 1941, Hedrick moved to a new location, purchasing a house at 903 East Grand River (across from Mason and Abbott halls). This house, like Elsworth, was purchased with a land contract. Capital for the down payment and for furniture was loaned to the co-op by individual members. It was a great start, but change came soon. Wind Through the Pines
The war years “The latest word on the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps (Direct from President Hannah) is that all will be called up between April 13 and 26th, with the exception of Senior ROTC’s. This is PROBABLY final.” - Wind thru the Pines, Vol. I, No 1; April, 1943
As with the college as a whole, many of the Hedrick men enlisted as the United States entered World War II. While many students were opposed to involvement with the war before Pearl Harbor, there was little to no dissent after. The college, concerned about the loss of housing for students, worked out an arrangement managing the fraternities and co-ops while the men were gone (both the army and Farmhouse Fraternity rented the house). It would be several years before Hedrick would reopen. After the war, “cooperation among cooperatives” would again make a difference. Elsworth house was re-opened by members returning to school, and that group assisted in re-opening Hedrick. In addition to helping with the reorganizaiton, Elsworth loaned Hedrick $300 dollars for seed money—the same amount as Hedrick loaned them six years earlier. New beginnings in the 1950s Catastrophe struck on January 1, 1954. While the Spartans were playing the Rose Bowl, the house burned. The cause was attributed to an over-heated furnace. All 26 members were left homeless and many lost all of their personal possessions. The College community responded quickly, however. The Christian Student Foundation held a benefit drive, and other co-ops volun-
teered to feed members of Hedrick, and the YMCA opened their kitchens to them for lunch. Some of them ate at the College House. The East Lansing Merchants Association arranged for discounts at area stores. The members lived temporarily in quonset huts on campus. But recovery came quickly. By January 27, members of Hedrick purchased and moved into a house at 335 East Grand River. That house, formerly home of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, had eight rooms on each of two upper floors, and living, dining, study and kitchen spaces on the ground floor. City ordinances prevented rebuilding on the site, so insurance money was collected and the lot sold. Along with savings, there was enough to provide the down payment on a lot on Haslett (now called Collingwood). In 1956, the members of Hedrick finished building a new house at 140 Haslett, following the example of Elsworth six years earlier. Again, Dr. Ulrey had a hand in the construction of both houses, although perhaps in a round-about way. In the “Handbook for Student Cooperative Houses” written by Ulrey and George Motts in 1964, they wrote: The two cooperative houses, Elsworth and Hedrick, have the distinction of being the first student living units at Michigan State to receive construction loans from the East Lansing Savings and Loan Association. Ulrey was also instrumental in starting the Savings and Loan.
An original concept drawing for the new building
9
An early picture of the new Hedrick House
The Hedrick Empire begins In 2015, former member Pat Wahl wrote about the purchase of 146 Collingwood: Hedrick Co-op bought the “annex” (146 Collingwood) in 1962 when [140 Collingwood] was bursting at the seams. No kidding, 32 guys once lived in the big house, including a triple in the basement. The annex sometimes wasn’t run as their co-op, but Hedrick men voted to re-open it as a women’s co-op around 1971. And MSU agreed that sharing the common areas -- like Hedrick’s big institutional kitchen and dining room -- was legit. Starting SHC
ferred. Hedrick was a strong supporter of the umbrella organization concept. There was also strong support from two rental co-ops, Ulrey and New Community, but the other groups that owned property were undecided. In January of 1971, Jim Jones moved into Hedrick and soon became president of the MSU-SHC. He was a former member of the Ann Arbor co-ops, enrolling at Michigan State as a new grad student. His involvement seemed to tip the balance toward making SHC a reality. Jones and Phil Bozzo, a former member of Hedrick living at New Community, were largely responsible for organizing the transfer of property from Hedrick, Elsworth, and Bower and Motts (now Raft Hill) into the new organization, as well as the leases for New Community, Ulrey and Eleutheria. Hedrick was the first to transfer its property. Years later, SHC was able to purchase the house next to 146, at 152 Collingwood, and the Hedrick Empire became a thing.
An Inter-Cooperative Council was started after the war to coordinate activities among the cooperative houses. In 1961, the co-ops began to explore the idea of an inter-cooperative “holding corporation.” A Research and Development Committee was established, Dark Years and in November the chair wrote to the Ann Arbor ICC, arranging for a visit. However, not Even strong co-ops can lose their way. The until 1969 would the MSU-SHC be incorporat- 80s brought a downturn to Hedrick. Reflecting ed, and 1971 before any property was trans- on that period, alum Pat Wahl wrote:
10
Wind Through the Pines
The multi-house Hedrick model worked well ... until it didn’t. The co-op experienced massive turnover, and soon had multiple vacancies and too much in unpaid room and board charges. The group decided to solve their financial problems with a fundraiser. Short story is that HH hired a wellknown local band to perform on the back deck of 146, put up flyers, bought kegs and high-volume amplifiers, and charged admission for endless beer. In
Bailey Neighborhood, of all places. [Hedrick House] officers ignored the first, second and third noise complaints--fines are punitive and progressive. Cops shut them down, enforced multiple violations of sanity, and kicked out “guests” who then demanded their money back. Nobody went to jail, but the bank balance went from bad to worse. Soon after, SHC stepped in and evicted the residents of all three houses. [They] restarted 140 and 146 as separate co-ops, and rented 152 to Asher (religious coop, Christian Science I think.) Common meals ended, except at Asher. SHC finally bit the bullet on those tiny double rooms in 140, even put in sound insulation-- remember, those walls were 3/4-inch plywood -- and filled the house back to stability. Hedrick was back from the brink, and out of the ashes came the new reality. The co-op had nowhere to go but up. And it did. Today, Hedrick thrives!
Members in 2019 11
Elsworth/Bowie: 80 Years of Cooperative Living in 2020!
The original Elsworth Cooperative, left, and the Annex, right. They were located on Albert Street, in what is now a parking garage with senior living above! One day during the winter term of 1940 three freshmen rooming in Wells Hall were doing some very simple cooking on a small hotplate in one of their rooms. Their names were James Lyons, Ralph Newton and Delmar Ruthig. As they were eating the hot snack they had prepared, Ruthig remarked that there ought to be some way for a number of congenial students to live together: not only to provide themselves with room and meals more economically, but also to enjoy the group fellowship during their student years at college…
--George Motts, MSU professor and Elsworth advisor
In the beginning… (by Jim Jones)
existed so far only in the strength of their own faith. That faith was justified. Shortly after school closed we learned that the house at 218 Albert Street could be bought at $8,700 on a land contract provided (1) a $1,000 down payment could be made by July 1… An emergency letter and urgent appeal to the 23 boys – all were under 21 – brought in a growing flow of hard earned dollars that reached a total of $1,075 just 24 hours before the July 1 deadline!
Elsworth (now called Bowie) has been one of the most important cooperatives in Michigan State’s history. Started in 1940, Elsworth was just the second independent housing co-op in East Lansing, following Hedrick in 1939. A group of eight students soon met with Dr. Orion Ulrey, the faculty advisor to Hedrick, and several other faculty members, and by the end of the spring term had organized themselves into a cooperative association. Motts continued his sto- Comes the war ry: The house was purchased, and just in time. Thus began a busy summer. The 23 On December 7 of the next year, Japan boys had left for their homes to earn money to help finance the house that attacked Pearl Harbor, and the world
12
Wind Through the Pines
changed. A cloud of uncertainty hung over the entire campus, as men began to feel detached from their studies, and many enlisted in the armed forces. At the end of the school year in 1943, the co-op gave up its attempts to continue operations as usual and leased their house to the military. In fall of 1944, the army announced that they would no longer need the house after December 31. Dr. Ulrey took on the responsibility to find a group willing to restart the co-op during winter term of 1945, identifying 25 individuals through personal contact and newspaper ads. Many had conditions that prevented them from serving in the military, including one who was blind. “Living in a cooperative house was a new experience for everyone, and there were few guides to follow except the constitution, House rules and suggestions by Dr. Ulrey,” wrote Motts. The next fall, the rush of returning G.I.s began to hit the campus. Enrollment at Michigan State grew to double the number from pre-war years. The coop somehow squeezed 36 men into every corner of the house, including the attic. Because of the G.I. bill, members had more money than before the conflict, and the group was able to increase their land contract payments from $40 per month to $60 per month, allowing them to purchase the building more quickly. Hedrick was still empty, and the members of Elsworth worked frantically to reactivate the group. Five Elsworth members volunteered to move into Hedrick in the fall of 1946 if enough new and returning members couldn’t be found. The group also offered to loan Hedrick $300 for startup costs, replicating a loan from Hedrick when Elsworth began.
returned to Elsworth. Smith also was responsible for finding 12 people to start a third house in the fall of 1945, and starting an Inter-Cooperative Council that began in fall of 1946. Smith became the first president of the new ICC – and then the first president of the North American Student Cooperative League, established in that same year.
The first meeting of the North American Student Cooperative League, Jerry Smith center.
A moving experience
There was still more growth in the spring of 1947, when Elsworth cooperative paid off their land contract and purchased the house next door on Albert Street, bringing their total membership to 46. But within a year, the heavy use of the original house began to cause real problems. Large maintenance expenses quickly drained the modest reserves, and the group decided to sell the two properties and purchase a larger house in better condition. As luck would have it, the city of East Lansing decided at this same moment that they wanted the Elsworth land for a new parking lot. The property was sold in 1950, and a net gain of $14,069 was deposited in the bank. The next year was consumed with hunting for a new location. Jerry Smith, extraordinary co-oper When it proved impossible to find another building that was large enough, a Particularly important in this effort was Jerry Smith, a pre-war member who had small house at 711 West Grand River was
13
Looking back in 2001, I wrote: Elsworth… was inhabited by an apathetic group living off the fat of the land. The mortgage had been paid off several years earlier, and people were living cheap. Repairs (particularly to the roof) were needed, but somehow the money was never there and no one had the time to do the work. The house had vacancies, but members were discouraging applicants so that they could enjoy single rooms. It was a mess.
Construction of the new house on Grand River. Members did much of the work, particularly the painting.
purchased. (Five years later, three adjacent lots on Grand River were purchased to ensure that there would be enough parking and recreation.) The new house “opened” in September of 1950, but work wasn’t completed before the members moved in – a common problem with construction. The house was built to house 40 members, all in double rooms. And of course, it was all men – there were no coed houses until the legal age of adulthood was lowered to 18 in the late 1960s 1971: The day that changed everything Thirty years later, a number of co-ops, led by members of Hedrick and New Community, incorporated the new MSU Student Housing Corporation (later changed to Cooperative) in 1969, but it didn’t become a sound and sustainable organization until 1971. In that year, Elsworth was a mess.
14
But the groups trying to organize the SHC were having a different kind of trouble. They were all so different from each other that bringing them together with joint ownership seemed impossible. New Community was a group on a mission, filled with activist organizers, and the Free University ran out of Eleutheria, while Bower had a large group of Viet Nam vets who were way into motorcycles, and Montie at that time resembled a fraternity. Elsworth was somewhere in the middle, with ROTC enthusiasts, international students, and a large group who stuck to themselves. The Hedrick members were willing to transfer titles for their two houses (140 and 146 Collingwood) into the new organization, but another of the older co-ops needed to contribute equity in order for SHC’s finances to work. The co-ops broke into factions, and some key groups pulled back. A pivotal meeting broke down amid recriminations. Then, a miracle happened. Remembering that night, I wrote: As the meeting broke up in confusion, I felt a sense of failure. As I stood there in Montie’s living room, an Indian man who I’d noticed sitting silently across the room came up and introduced himself. His name was Satnam Mathur, and he was president of Elsworth. He said they might be interested in the SHC and we should talk some more.
Elsworth, it turned out, was willing to contribute their property if in turn they could get the roof fixed. Elsworth had neither the financial expertise nor organization to get a bank loan on their own. Once again, enter Dr. Orion Ulrey. Along with another retired professor, Henry Larzelere, he controlled a fund that held money left over from the sale of an early, failed co-op. They agreed to loan money from the fund to Elsworth for their roof if they would contribute their property to the new umbrella group. The deal was struck, and before the beginning of summer semester, the new MSU-SHC was a financial reality. Today... (by Kirsten West) Never has a place felt more like home than the David Bowie’s Memorial Co-op [renamed from Elsworth]. From the first time you enter, the people living in the house really emphasize how they function like a family. I never realized what that meant until I saw they would be there for me in any situation I needed, even if you didn’t think you were close at first! I became friends with people I never
Wind Through the Pines
would have met or thought I could connect with if we didn’t live in this space. There is also a great community between the generations of people who lived there. I’ve become friends with people who lived in Bowie but never at the same time as me because we share the same ideals
15
for family and staying open minded to growth. Having all single rooms meant you had your own space too if you needed a break from socializing, but I quickly realized I wanted to maximize how much time I could be present in the house because I loved it so much. Whether that was cooking meals for everyone, studying hard in the basement, creating art together (on canvases and the house walls), playing board and video games, or tuning in to new episodes of our favorite show every week (from Jeopardy to RuPaul). Living with 20 other people means someone is always going to be down to do something with you, like go to your favorite band’s concert, or drive two hours away to get a new couch for the living room. It also means that someone is going to be inviting you to try new things that you would never even think about or have had the chance to do, like visit a sunflower field or drive to a music festival with music you never listened to! The diversity of backgrounds people come from also is great because the house
16
will have open and constructive conversations of people’s different viewpoints so that we can learn from each other. This can be about anything from politics, to how the house could run even more efficiently than it already does, to what the best TV show is and why. I’ve had my best memories and greatest friendships created in that big gray box on Grand River. It’s a space that accepts differences and change so you can grow together and become a better version of yourself.
Elsworth Dedication Dinner, Nov. 17, 1940 Pickles Baked ham with vinella sauce Candied sweet potatoes -- buttered peas Pineapple and cottage cheese salad Fruit jello and cake Coffee -- Milk
Wind Through the Pines
To Bowie from Budapest, with Love The first time I fell in love with Bowie Haus was on a warm summer day on my housemate Brett’s boat. Around ten of us drove out to Grosse Point to spend the day on a lake and get to know my newfound friends. After sharing lots of laughs, photoshoots, and tubing session on the boat I knew I had to spend another year living in Bowie Haus with these amazing people. The past two years Bowie Haus has spent spring break in the Smokey Mountains. Around 25 housemates and close friends spend a week in a huge cabin in the middle of the mountains—there’s nothing like it. Even though I get to know the 20 people I live with pretty well throughout the year, these spring break trips always bring us closer together while hiking through the mountains, singing along to Zach’s guitar playing, and staying up all night playing games or having dance parties. These spring break trips have been some of the most amazing memories of my college experience, and I’m so lucky to have gained so many lifelong friendships through Bowie. I am currently sitting in a hostel in Budapest with four of my housemates and two close friends of the house. This past January my housemate Luc was looking up tickets to Europe after we joked about backpacking through Europe this summer. When he found $190 plane tickets to London, we decided this was our chance, so we spontaneously booked these tickets. So far we have experienced London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Budapest, and we even met up with some people from Orion in these cities. The bonds I have made with the people on this trip have strengthened while sharing tiny hostel rooms and exploring these foreign cities. If I didn’t move into Bowie two years ago, I would never be on this amazing trip with so many awesome and fun people. Last summer all the Bowians had to relocate due to the rewiring project. When we decided that we would all have to move out in October of last year, my heart sank. I felt so sad for weeks, knowing I would have to leave this house that I had a newfound love for. In the end, I think our relocation created a stronger bond between us all. We spent the whole year stressing about the project and making sure the house was getting the work it deserved. At one point, members of the EC [Exec. Committee] were trying to convince us to get a conduit wiring, instead of the full rewiring like we had originally planned back in October. This came to our attention when Mike McCurdy reached out to us in April—right before we were supposed to be moving out—and we had to hold an emergency meeting to convince members of the EC to return to the original plan. After we succeeded in doing this, Bowie members took hours to move literally everything out of the house, so our big, gray box could get the work it deserves. At the end of August, Bowians moved everything back into our rewired house with blank walls. My housemates and I spent the year cleaning the house of the construction mess, putting everything back together, and splashing paint on the walls, and I believe this inconvenience made our house become so much closer because we had to fight for what we deserve and turn Bowie into a home again.
- Riley James
There’s always time for a party!
Dinner at the House of Apollo!
Wow, this is great, I think... What is it? Wind Through the Pines
19
Friends and Neighbors at
Genesee Gardens Co-Housing! After three announcements of ‘group through forty which dictated who was first to picture time!’ and two individual searches for people who had mysteriously disappeared, everyone managed to look completely ridiculous once the final photo was taken. It was perfect. Some people were still moving when the shutter clicked, their faces now permanently blurry and distorted. Others had their tongues sticking out or were singing into rainbow maracas while sporting santa hats. In the left corner, I could be found wearing my bright red Christmas sweater and drinking out of a glass bottle that looked suspiciously like it contained alcohol, but was really just filled with water. Before the picture had been taken, the members of our Genesee Gardens Cohousing community had squished onto couches, chairs, and even the floor of our common house after they placed a wrapped gift on the table. Our annual White Elephant Holiday party had begun. The Fun Committee then passed around a hat filled with scraps of paper labeled one
20
unwrap a random present from the table. Three hours later and after all the gifts had been opened, ‘stolen’, traded, or coveted, the winner of the Ugly Sweater Contest was awarded. (This particular year, we also happened to have an unchallenged winner of the Victorian Era Outfit Contest. She looked absolutely stunning in her vintage tea time dress and hat.) This marked the end of our activities as a whole and the beginning of smaller groups that would branch out into songs around the piano or board games in the next room; but first we had to herd everyone into the frame for the group picture. Fitting forty people around a couch designed to fit four is a bit of a challenge but we manage just fine. Three rows in the back and two in the front, plus a few leaning over the sides and everyone in our community can be seen in both the ‘normal’ picture and our traditional ‘silly’ picture. The silly ones are always my favorite - they capture the energy of
the group better than any other. It is really the people in cohousing that make it such a cool place to live. Yes, the community gardens, weekly potlucks, and shared resources are great, but they wouldn’t be the same without the people around them. We have about 8 families plus a similar number of individuals who all live within our cohousing boundaries and reside within their own households. Our common spaces include two
How Genesee Gardens planted itself next to Rivendell In December 2002, the process of developing a traditional cohousing community in the city of Lansing had fallen apart. There were approximately 30 families, each who had planned on buying an individual home and sharing 1/30th of a common house, to make a village. However, the prices were too high and the values of the same property too low, so many were backing out of the deal. Months later, in the Spring of 2003, a few people were still meeting around kitchen tables looking for an alternative, cheaper way to build a cohousing community. They stumbled upon a ‘retrofit cohousing model’ that involved buying houses in an existing neighborhood and retrofitting the backyards to create green, people spaces where the garages normally were. A search for the right neighborhood to locate in Lansing began in earnest that Spring and quickly narrowed in to the Downtown area, where there was a density of housing, good public infrastructure, and a housing coop called Rivendell, that had been in existence for over 30 years. None of those cohousing pioneers were connected to the cooperative movement (other than being part of the East Lansing Food Coop), but they understood that there might be some residual social capital in the neighborhood after 30 years of investment, and that seemed like a good place to put their financial capital. And they bought 5 homes down the block. -- MC Rothhorn
Wind Through the Pines
outdoor community gardens, a bike garage, a tool shed, and the downstairs of our Common House. But those are not the only things shared amongst our members. I have often walked across the street to receive homework help from the college math professor whose parents speak little English but make our gardens look beautiful. Every fourth Saturday of the month, I can tiptoe barefoot across the pebbled paths that lead from my back door to the Common House and play complicated board games until midnight while eating homemade chocolate dipped pretzels. If I’m just sitting on my back deck overlooking the garden, I can wave to five different cohousing homes and usually at least one will wave back and start up a conversation about whatever they know is going on in my life (college applications and a trip to Europe at the moment). In cohousing, I have never once talked to someone about the weather or other such mundane topics of conversation; we know each other so well there is never a need to resort to small talk to fill the empty space. If I’m not able to talk to the other cohousing members during the day or our weekly Friday night potlucks, I know I will be able to catch up with them during our semi-annual cohousing retreats. We have one every summer and winter for about two-and-a-half days where we spend time playing games, talking, and making (and eating) food together. The main chunk of the time is dedicated to checkins where everyone gathers in a circle and talks about themselves and how their lives are going individually. This gives everyone a chance to relax for a bit and listen to how their family and friends are feeling at the moment and then makes for great conversations afterwards. To be honest, the kids don’t usually sit still and listen for that long; we tend to get our check-ins done first and then run away to the back rooms of wherever we happen to be staying at and entertain ourselves. All the kids are a part of a group called the Fun Committee (I happen to be the Countess of this committee) and we are in charge of planning the ‘fun’ for each cohousing event. In the summer, we create group games and competitions with homemade prizes. In the winter, we organize
21
the talent show and nag the adults until we have a few more sign-up. We always put together a Kids Act for the talent show (magic tricks, a skit, riddles, etc.) and create props, costumes, and lines for each kid. They always treat it like it’s a huge secret we must keep from the adults and they go to great lengths to hide everything before we perform it for them. It usually runs smoothly considering the creation of the set is valued over rehearsal time. Before the end of our retreat, we stake out the largest room in the building and set up chairs to create a layered effect. Everyone is ushered into the room using everything from utensils being knocked against glass to people standing on benches and projecting their voice throughout the hallways - ‘group picture time!’. The kids like to position themselves in front for maximum silliness after the first pic-
ture is taken. After that one, all bets are off. Props might be taken out, babies might be lifted into the air and pretended to be eaten, eyes will be crossed and someone will definitely wind up with bunny ears. It is perfect. Whenever someone asks me what cohousing is, I tell them it’s an intentional community with shared resources and really awesome people who all live in the same neighborhood. It might not be the best way to describe it but it is a different experience for everyone. I have grown up here nearly my whole life and am just now starting to realize things about it that I didn’t know before. The only thing I can say for sure is that I love living here. I love being a part of a community right outside my backdoor that might as well be an extended branch of my family. -- Kata Rothhorn
Ah...What’s a “Co-op?” Do you have friends who are sending their kids to Michigan State? Do them a favor! Tell them about the co-ops! Housing co-ops are one way to avoid loan debt while in college, not to mention a great way to become a part of a strong, progressive community and an opportunity to learn how to work with others to control your life!
22
A Dream that Came True in Grand Rapids A stately old home just a few minutes walk from downtown Grand Rapids became a leasing co-op in 2013, and seven years later, with the help of the Student Housing Cooperative, now owns its first house. While the front of the house was built by a banker in 1853, the bulding was converted to eleven apartments in the 1950s, and then The James Russell House, purchased in June by the Grand Rapids Alito twenty four bed- iance of Cooperative Communities. The SHC guaranteed a loan and made a direct loan to make the purchase possible! rooms in eight suites in 2013. The property was leased for several years before the Grand Rapids Alliance of Cooperative Communities was able to buy it this summer with the help of a loan guarangee and an additional direct loan from the SHC. GRACC also leases three nearby houses, with a combined total of fifty members.
Wind Through the Pines
23
MSU Student Housing Cooperative 541 E. Grand River Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823
To:
Member owned, cooperatively operated!
www.msu.coop
SHC’s 50th Anniversary Celebration:
A Saturday in October, 2022! CHANGED due to Covid. The exact date to be announced this fall! 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! Join us online on the MSU Student Housing Cooperative Alumni facebook page at http://bit.ly/2KrDamm. Or use our QR code! We have almost 800 members and counting. And you can find our alumni webside page at https://msu.coop/alumni/. Once a member, always a member!