Giving List

Spring 2013

Dear Class of ’62,

I am still thinking about what the college does for me each time I set foot on campus. This is particularly true since my parents, who lived in Decorah, now are gone. Now my visits to Luther take place separated by years rather than months. Think back to that day in May of 1962 when we became alumni/ae. We thought “thank heavens that is done and now we turn to real life, real jobs, real adults.” Then our horizons were without limit, the threshold of overchoice. Looking back from our present situation in life we can only dream about what alternative choices might have developed, where else we would be now. From that day and place we headed from “there” into life. So I think about “there” repeatedly. It goes this way.

A century and a half ago, out of all that space which was “the West,” our forefathers chose those hills and valley to be the home for a new college; the space became a place. To become a place requires human interaction with space—intentions and memories. So we return to the place where we had dwelt for four years. Presumably we could have homecoming at some big hotel in Minneapolis or Chicago, even Des Moines if you could imagine it. But this thought is absurd because we must return to the “place” where our memories lead. We long for the theater of events, life, and learning a half century ago.

“Place” also means architecture, the diction of the buildings themselves. After I sent our last letter, I pulled out of my unread library section a really neat book on the theology of art and architecture by Paul Tillich. He led me to appreciate the architecture of Luther. Foremost is its honesty—it doesn’t attempt to imitate some style of building centuries ago. Our people did not have the time or money to fashion gargoyles, arches, and spires. In their nod to symmetry as art and balance they seemed to have settled for keeping the wind, rain, and cold at bay. What they said was that buildings do not embody the divine, they are a “place” for the divine to happen. Just as we arrive at campus from Leif Erikson Drive you recall the statue of Martin Luther holding a magnum-size Bible. That is the clue to Luther’s architecture. It is Protestant architecture. Whatever else it is, Lutheranism is a religion of words: Word and Sacrament with the admonition “to believe is already to have eaten.” Maybe this is the key to Luther’s rubric of roll-away altars. We had one in the CK Preus multipurpose chapel-gym-locker room-rehearsal room-swimming pool (to be born) edifice. Note the present Center for Faith and Life has an altar on skates as well. [Here is an irreverent thought: the night we stole the turnstyle we should have gone for the altar instead, since it was all set up on wheels anyway. We could not, however, have hidden this one in my parents’ basement—I told Mom it was the new water meter.]

So Luther is “essentially” free of altars, spires, gargoyles, crosses, and any other religious clichés. Luther, therefore, is free to build in the style that is honest for our age, not having to copy something from another time to prove that it is religious. Rather it is the freedom to make a religious statement for our time. (By the way, can you remember one stained glass window? Luther’s windows are open to the world with clear sunlight.) Maybe someone coming to campus from a “religious world” would say these people have no religion, no God.

That, of course, would be a perception wide of the mark. From Genesis we learn that mankind has the charge to be a steward over creation. To most of us it is becoming clear that care for the earth and its inhabitants is a signal ethical issue. So look around the campus and see the wind turbine sucking electricity out of the air, or to the north there is a field (a field, mind you) of photovoltaic collectors sucking electricity out of the sunshine. Anything built in the future, moreover, will be consciously attuned to ecological issues. Luther’s religion is moving in the direction of environmental ethics, a direction that can be clearly seen at many points.

What Luther has built is an expression of honesty. It is not for show primarily but to answer the needs of the school and of the society. My dad (’29) also reflected Luther’s honesty and so did David Nelson, one of our English professors. In a contemporary philosophy class I learned some long-handled technical expressions, which I just plunked down into a paper in Nelson’s class on contemporary literature; probably it came from Martin Heidegger.

Nelson, at any rate, told me to take it out because it added nothing to my argument. How could that be, after all, I picked it up in Jenson’s class and then assumed it would be automatically brilliant and automatically understood. I thought who the hell (a Rhodes Scholar) was he to tell me this was “just for show” or “writing calling attention to itself.” But I can thank my Norwegian Lutheran reserve for keeping my mouth shut and not saying something I would regret for a long time. It did, after all, sink in much later that Nelson was telling me the truth.

It helped me later on at the U. of Chicago, where I met Joseph Sittler. He liked my writing because it was clear and to-the-point. I said thanks, but there are some people around here who write so brilliantly I can’t begin to understand them. Sittler said possibly that is the case, but in his experience with these brilliant writers, it may be that their stuff is just badly written. Score one for Professor David Nelson, who showed me the way to go.

The buildings around Luther, then, help us to speak and write to the point, they help us to refrain from overstatement, and help us to be honest. As in the case of music, they are “in tune” with Luther’s religion, that is, both Martin Luther and Luther College.

I do not think it an overstatement to think, if not say, when we walk around campus, “Our ancestors started the tradition of Luther architecture and Luther scholarship that shaped me. And now in a small but significant way my money that goes to Luther in concert with all the alumni goes to further the tradition of honest architecture and contemporary environmental ethics. This is a witness to the world.

On a different note: how about the class of ’62 taking a week in June or July of a year or so in the future? If your experience at homecoming was like mine, it went like this: so many classmates and so little time to get with each. I ran this by Stan Iverson at a party and he thought it had possibilities. So did Sue Drilling, who produces these letters for us (I still can’t really type) and put me in touch with Jud Barclay, who can set up these things. He tells me we can have a week of six nights at Baker Village for (this year’s rate) $198 and meals could be programmed with the cafeteria, plus one night at Mabe’s Pizza. Mr. Barclay is very open to all kinds of sensible arrangements and he suggested to have a committee selected to cobble it all together. What is your pleasure? Maybe not this summer, but in two or three summers from now. Let’s do it before we lose memories or classmates.

Finally, let’s remember that our class has until the end of May to make a record for contributions in honor of our golden anniversary reunion. We currently stand at $536,377.33 (as of February 28, 2013).

Sic semper,

John Helgeland
john.helgeland@ndsu.edu

Don't forget your Annual Fund giving! 
Each year nearly 9,000 alumni, parents, and friends support the Annual Fund with gifts from $5 to $50,000. Strong support from alumni helps Luther secure additional funds from foundations and corporations, and your gift each year helps us reach our goal of 27% alumni giving.  Here’s how your class—and surrounding classes—did in 2012:

Gerald Aaker*
Joel Aarsvold*
Arlan Abel
Carol (Odegard) Adams
Beverly (Leonard) Anderson
Terry Anderson*
Gerald Anderson*
Marilyn (Miller) Anderson
Glenn Austad*
Karen (Swain) Austad*
Richard Bakka
Mary Lou (Greenheck) Baryenbruch*
Harry Becher
Guri Belgum
Lois (Stole) Berg
Mary Bergquist
Harland Bjugan
Nancy (Larson) Bluemel*
David Brislance
Kathryn (Roble) Budzak*
Peter Bungum
Stephen Bungum
Anne (Marking) Christopherson*
Durwood Clauson
Karen Dahlen-Lacivita
C. Michael Dahly*
Judith (Ream) Davis
William Davis
Michael Dotseth*
J. Kent Dougherty
Shirley (Frette) Dubansky
Russell Duffner*
Carol (Everson) Duit Brader
Patricia (Condon) Dummler
Dennis Ellingson
Bonnie (Ring) Enke*
Duane Everson*
Ronnald Farland
Larry Fogdall*
Eleanor Froiland Andrews
John Gard
Laurel (Ness) Gatz*
Davis Gilbertson
Julie (Risdal) Gilbertson
Bruce Glasrud
J Bruce Goetsch*
Janice (Engle) Gray*
James Griffin*
Roger Grundahl
David Hanson
Beverly (Sime) Harang
Gerald Haugen*
Lola (Pederson) Haugen*
Roger Hegland
Karen (Lunde) Heimer
John Helgeland*
Paul Heltne
Bert Henderson
Nancy (Hass) Hendrickson*
Darrell Henning
Eugene Heyerdahl
John Hibbard
Peter Holt
James Huffman
Stanley Iverson*
Thomas Jacobson*
Ruth Ann (Bakken) Jeno
John Jersild*
Rolfe Johnstad*
Ronald Johnstad
Gary Kessler
Louise (Benston) Kjosa
Ronald Klipping*
Kenneth Knutson*
Janice (Nokleby) Kunze
Earl Lackey*
Lewis Larson*
Gary Lee*
Jon Lee*
Karen (Swenson) Lee*
Marvin Lee
Ronald Lee*
Stefani (Monson) Lee*
Lois (Aaker) Lerum
Dorothea (Nybroten) Lind
Jerrold Lokensgard*
Charles Lunde*
Mary Ann Lunde
Cheryl (Erickson) Mahaffay*
Charles Mahnke*
Nancy (Hansen) Mahon*
Diane (Sundahl) Malmin
Martin Malmin
Karan (Evans) Mathison*
Alta (Simonson) McCarthy
Sara McGah
Karen (Johnson) McGarigle*
DuWayne Mickelson
John Miller
Donald Mills
Edward Mosbo
Larry Mosby*
Janice (Peterson) Myers
Suzanne (Clunis) Myli
Carolyn (Nuttall) Nelson*
Gerald Nelson*
Barbara (Freeman) Nguyen
Charles Nolop
Ronald Nybroten
Miriam (Strum) Odden*
Thomas Odegaard
Charles Peterson
Janice (Mathews) Peterson
Helen (Knutson) Porter*
Judith (Miller) Ranheim*
Alice (Ashland) Rasmussen
Sharon (Harvey) Rebouche
Lila (Drews) Revie
Gretchen (Ingersoll) Richardson
Dori (Amundson) Ritland*
Kathleen (Jahnke) Rosedahl
Dale Ruosch*
Connie (Wilham) Ryks
Ann (Peterson) Sansgaard
Richard Sansgaard
William Schmid
Gloria (Tonne) Schrader
LaVonne Sharp
Sonja Sola*
Terry Sorom
Barbara (Knutson) Spalding
Cheryl (Martinson) Spear
Mary (Frost) Steen*
Barbara Steidl*
Dorothy (Erickson) Stoskopf*
Carl Sunde
Duane Syverson
Gary John Thompson*
John Thompson
Carolyn (Lindquist) Tobiassen
Paul Twedt*
Leonard Upham*
Thomas Vaaler*
Harold Wallestad
Caroline (Hjerleid) Weis*
Jerry Wiebusch
Rosalie (Abraham) Wiebusch
Don Wolding
Janet (Heckner) Wolfe
Nelson Wolfe
Mary (Ylvisaker) Zoroufy