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 Michigan
Women'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)
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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