Received yet another letter from a high school teacher. Truly made my day. So happy to be part of the curriculum.
Hello,
I just want to thank you for your awesome WW2 music webpage. I am a high school American History teacher and every time I teach the WW2 unit I have an activity the students do to capture the essence of life on the homefront during the war. While they are working on the activity, I play your music through my ceiling speakers to set the mood. I see the kids tapping their toes and tapping the desks as they work. Thank you so much for this valuable resource!
Sincerely,
Stacey Olsen
Birmingham, MI
Wrote back to her right away...
Dear Stacey:
How wonderful to make your acquaintance. I was delighted to get your email this afternoon for it truly made my great day even brighter.
Your email is the second letter from a high school teacher this spring; the other being from California. I am so honored to be able to contribute to the education of the younger generation, and as a connoisseur of an eclectic blend of music, I am excited to to be able expand the tastes of high school students.
Music has always been a wonderful venue and a great way to teach history. What better way to put the kids into the "moment". History comes alive and is no longer mere words, figures and cumbersome dates to remember. I applaud your efforts and I can't tell you how pleased I am to see how you are taking that extra step.
I would love to be able to meet you in person some day, for we too live in Michigan. We moved to Alger ('tween West Branch & Standish), six years ago this month, and originally hail from Detroit. We married and lived in the city and also had our own machine shop. Lee graduated from Farmington High, and I, from Plymouth-Salem. We are now running a small convenience store built in 1889, with attached house built in 1900. Talk about living history!
I graduated from Eastern MI with a minor in history, so my love of history stems from long ago...
If you get a chance, take a sneak look at my documentary in progress. It is a real work of love. It is such an honor to work with the WWII veterans. My only regret is not being able to meet them decades ago, for their numbers are dwindling all too quickly.
http://www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/NoBridgeTooFar
Thanks again for writing, and for giving me the chance to enter your classroom via the world-wide-web.
Warmly,
Marion
Proud Daughter of Walter (Monday) Poniedzialek
540th Engineer Combat Regiment, 2833rd Bn, H&S Co, 4th Platoon
There's "No Bridge Too Far"