The Skaaldic Society hosts a writers' group for reading and responding. All are welcome. Meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month.
Meeting location:
:
Lansing Community College
Arts & Sciences Building, Room 165
419 N. Washington Square
Lansing MI 48933
Upcoming 2008 meeting dates:
June 11
July 9
August 13
September 10
October 8
November 12
December 10
Meetings begin at 6:30pm, last until........?
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PATRICIA L. HOGG, WILLIAMSTON ARTIST, ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR
1927-2008
Her young children were mortified to learn that the first time their mother ever saw their father, he was the nude model in her life drawing class at the University of Kansas. Now, Patty Hogg’s kids think that’s a great way to begin to tell the story of a great storyteller. Williamston author Patricia L. Hogg passed away on April 18, 2008, at age 80.
Patty Lee Moser didn’t actually meet that handsome male model for a few weeks, on St. Patrick’s Day, 1948. This time it was in a watercolor class, he had clothes on, and it was easier to strike up a conversation. He and Patty were the only ones in the room who knew all the words to “Molly Malone,” so she painted an Irish harp on the back of his smock. He asked her to marry him, she jokingly said, “yes,” and he put his high school ring on her finger. Patty didn’t even know his name then. Later, her three younger sisters were frantic when they found out his first name was Victor (also the name of the local “village idiot”), and his last name was Hogg.
Patty had tried to give that ring back, but Vick wouldn’t take it. She agreed to go out with him only if it was a double date. So Vick took another couple along on a long dusty car ride and an arduous trek into the prairie, to show her something wonderful he found. It was a pack rat's nest. The tiny animal had decorated its yucca-plant home “like a crazy little Christmas tree,” with bits of string, wilted wildflowers and tinfoil gum wrappers. The other couple thought Vick was nuts, but Patty didn't. She then found a cow skull, and she and Vick spent the rest of the afternoon locating the rest of the creature’s bones, that had been scattered by coyotes amid the tall grasses. They articulated the entire skeleton. That is how the two celebrated museum designers began their life together.
Their love of nature and art led them to work as scientific illustrators, sketching dinosaur bones and animal skulls for paleontological and natural history publications. Vick’s work with the Dyche Museum in Lawrence, Kansas resulted in a job as Curator of Exhibits at the MSU Museum in East Lansing, and eventually, as a freelance museum designer. In 1957, Patty packed up her babies and followed Vick again. He had showed her another wonderful thing he found--a town called Williamston.
Patty raised her four children “and some strays” in a Victorian house on the Red Cedar River affectionately called Hoggwilde. Over her fifty years in Williamston, she impacted the lives of many families. She was a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader, and frequent Boy Scout camp counselor for more than ten years. She established a children's Fourth of July parade on High Street in 1964 that suffered a hiatus, but was resurrected in 1993. Patty also taught drawing and painting classes through a 4-H program and was a Williamston Adult Education art instructor.
A violinist and pianist, Patty encouraged musicianship and provided a refuge for gifted young people whose own parents didn't seem to understand what made their children tick. "We learned a long time ago that we were expected to share Mom with other kids," said daughter, Franny. "You could often hear fiddle and bagpipe music wafting down the river from our house." Adopting Vick’s Scottish heritage, Patty became a matriarch of the Clan MacNeil, squiring her family's bagpipe band to Highland Games festivals all over the United States and Canada. Patty also produced the first Robert Burns Night at the Williamston Legion Hall. This annual party in honor of the Scottish poet, now produced in Lansing, is in its 37th year and hosts 450 celebrants.
During Vick’s fifteen years on the City Council, including an eight-year stint as Mayor of Williamston, Patty was pivotal in turning the celebration of city's bicentennial in 1972 into the annual event known today as the Williamston Jubilee. She was a core member of the preservation group that saved and restored the Williamston Depot and the Williams Hotel. She was active on the Chamber of Commerce when the Hoggs operated their three family businesses, Riverbend Studio (Interpretive Development Planning for many historic areas around Michigan, especially the forts at Mackinac), Restoration Arts (repair and restoration service for antique houses and furniture), and Hoggwilde Enterprises (sign making and screen printing) out of beautifully restored Victorian storefronts in Williamston. After Vick’s death in 1988 of a brain tumor, Patty served on the City Council for eight years.
In addition to the work she did with her husband, Patty was exhibits designer and fabricator for the MSU International Center, and was a consultant for the MichiganWomen's History Museum.
A member of the choir and vestry of St. Katherine’s Episcopal Church, she researched and wrote a series of essays about the history of the church and its tiny chapel, built in 1888. Thanks to Vick and Patty's efforts, the chapel was one of the first buildings in the United States to be placed on the National Historic Register. Patty's book, “A Dog Called Dirt,” a collection of stories about life in Williamston in the 1970s, was published in 2001. She also wrote and illustrated publications for the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and numerous magazine articles. Patty was a member of the LCC Forum for Authors and a featured speaker at Lansing’s Rally of Writers.
Her oldest son, Andy, preceded her in death. Patty is survived by daughter-in-law Elizabeth Sullivan Hogg, and granddaughters Amanda and Margaret Hogg, who are pursuing art careers in Chicago. Daughter Franny is a lawyer who lives with her husband, Robert Lochow, in Beacon, New York. Patty's son Chris Hogg is a designer with Johnson Controls, in Holland, Michigan, where his wife Jill Lareaux works as a sculptor and painter. Timothy Hogg is an engineering technician with Delta Township. He lives in Dimondale with his wife Meg and daughter Lindsey. Patty is also survived by Brenda Alchin, her invaluable friend and helper, and five cats.
A memorial service took place on May 10, 2008, at St. Katherine’s, 4650 North Meridian Road, Williamston, MI 48895, at 2:00. It was Patty's wish that any memorial contributions be made to the church, in lieu of flowers. She will be buried next to her Victor, in the churchyard of the chapel their combined effort helped restore. --Frances (Hogg) Lochow. (Color photo by Ed Noonan)
Our Skaalds website is now exclusively www.skaalds.com
The Skaaldic Society also hosts A Rally of Writers, an annual one-day writing conference,
coming to the LCC West Campus this year on April 5, 2008.
For more information on the Skaaldic Society or A Rally of Writers, or to be added to our monthly email reminder list, email: Skaaldic_Society@hotmail.com