Michigan Technological University’s Van Pelt and Opie Library welcomes alumni, family and friends to visit the library for special services and exhibits during Alumni Reunion. Our Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections staff encourages visits and will have expanded hours.
SPECIAL HOURS DURING ALUMNI REUNION
The archives reading room will be open Th. (Aug. 7) – Fri. (Aug. 8), 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
LIBRARY TOURS
Thursday, August 7
Take a guided tour of the library’s resources and services. Tours begin at the Library and IT Service Center. No need to sign up in advance. Tours begin at 10AM, 1PM and 7PM.
EXHIBITS
Michigan Tech Remembers When…
Location: Library Main Entrance Hallway
The main hall past the Library and IT Service Center will feature an exhibit, Michigan Tech Remembers When…. This exhibit showcases early photographs from campus and student life as well as a display case showing a progression of Michigan Tech’s visual identity through the years.
Yearbooks and University Publications
Location: Archives Reading Room
Yearbooks and other university books are available for browsing in one of the archives’ book case displays. This is a nearly complete range of Keweenawan yearbooks from 1924-2002 and a copy of the Engineer from 1915. The display case also includes popular university publications such as the book Michigan Tech Centennial 1885-1985, alumni bulletins from the Michigan College of Mining and Technology (MCMT), the MCMT Freshman Bible, and various years of the University’s Winter Carnival Pictorial. Also available for viewing: Lode on microfilm: 1921-2005 (digital copies of the Lode from 2009-2014 available on their website: http://issuu.com/michigantechlode), Michigan Tech vertical files: newspaper clippings and printed ephemera related to campus activities, sports, organizations, and academics, and Michigan Tech photo vertical files: photos related to campus activities, sports, organizations, and academics. Photocopies are available.
North to Adventure: A New Old Perspective of the Upper Peninsula
Location: Archives Reading Room
In the 1960s two tourists, Harold and Beatrice Putnam, visited the Copper Country and documented their journey with a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera. Ultimately, the images from this trip made their way into the Putnam’s self-published travel guide, North to Adventure in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Putnam’s photographs capture the landscape of the Copper Country, an important part of the Michigan Tech experience.
Keweenaw Exhibit
Location: Hallway just outside the main entrance to the Archives Reading Room
This exhibit is an installation of photos related to University and community history. The exhibit is divided into four series; Early Keweenaw, Changing Campus, Town & Gone, and Copper Mines and Miners. This exhibit is in memory of our former Student Assistant, Jonathan DeCleene (1987-2007). Financial support for this exhibit was provided by Jonathan’s family, Gloria Kennedy and Valerie DeCleene, and the Friends of the Van Pelt Library.
1975 Apollo-Soyuz Spaceflight Exhibit
Location: Alumni House
The final flight of the Apollo program was the first spaceflight in which spacecraft from different nations docked in space. In July 1975, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft carrying a crew of three docked with a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with its crew of two. Michigan Technological University has a unique connection to this space station mission. Former Head and Professor of Metallurgical Engineering, Raymond Smith, was friends with Donald (Deke) Slayton, one of the astronauts on the flight. A Michigan Tech banner was brought into space on this mission and the original banner, along with some other memorabilia related to the Apollo-Soyuz spaceflight will be on display at the Alumni House. This exhibit was a partnership between the Alumni Association and the University Archives.