Since the earliest days of Michigan Tech, campus life has taken on a different rhythm in the summer. Many students head home, faculty go on research trips, and a new season of special programs begins—like sports camps, summer youth programs, and field schools. This is true today, just as it was in the early 1900s.
This great image from the University Archives’ Negative Collection, dated June 1, 1911, shows a group of summer field students preparing for a trip into one of the local mines—lunch buckets and all!
What summer experiences did you have as a student? Did you participate in summer sessions or special programs during your time at Michigan Tech? Let us know in the comments!
About the Archives
The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections houses a wide variety of print, graphic and manuscript resources related to the history and culture the Copper Country and Michigan Technological University. If you would like to research in the archives, appointments are available from 1-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Appointments may be requested by calling (906) 487-2505 or by filling out the request form on the archives website. If you have any questions regarding archives services, collections, or remote research help, please reach out to (906) 487-2505 or e-mail us at copper@mtu.edu. The Michigan Tech Archives can also be found on Facebook (Michigan Tech Archives), Instagram (@michigantecharchives), and X (@mtuarchives).
Thanks for sharing!
Summer of ’81 looked just like the picture from 1911, except I didn’t have a funny hat. First track I had the ME 400 level computing class, which was tough, but I remember thinking it would have been a lot harder if I’d taken it with other classes during the regular year. Second track was Humanities and SS classes, a lot of reading at the Hancock Beach. We had a two week stretch of really hot and humid weather. I also had a job as an instructor at the then brand new SDC weight room. The AC worked just fine in there.
I took classes during the summers of 1964 and 1965. In 1964 I took my Junior year electrical engineering course, skipping from the class of 66 to the class of 65 on graduation. The hardest 10 weeks of my life! The Peninsula if so beautiful in the summer, the best time to be there.