Showing 5498 results

J. M. (John Merton) Aldrich was born on January 28, 1866, in Olmstead County, Minnesota, the son of Levi O. and Mary Moore Aldrich. He was educated in the county and high schools of Rochester, Minnesota. In 1885, he entered Dakota Agricultural College at Brookings, South Dakota. He received his B.S. degree in the first formal commencement exercises of Dakota Agricultural College in 1888 and was the first graduate who specialized in zoological sciences. He later received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Kansas and a Ph. D. from Stanford University.

Following graduation from Dakota Agricultural College in 1888, Aldrich was employed as an assistant in entomology at the college between 1889-1890 and an Assistant in Zoology from 1890-1892. During this time, he was also Assistant to the Agricultural Experiment Station Entomologist. From 1893 to 1913, he was Professor of Zoology at the University of Idaho. While at the University of Idaho, Aldrich began work on his Catalog of North American Diptera. In 1906, he took sabbatical leave to receive a Ph. D. from Stanford University, where his Catalog was accepted as his thesis.

In 1913, after his association with the University of Idaho was terminated, he was then appointed as Entomological Assistant in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomology at West Lafayette, Indiana. Five years later, he was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. In 1919, he became Custodian of the Diptera (two-winged insects) and Associate Curator of the museum in its division of insects. Aldrich was the first Dipterist employed by the Smithsonian Institution who had been previously employed by the USDA.

Aldrich was known for his unusual success in obtaining rare specimens of insect life in various sections of the western hemisphere, including the western United States, Alaska, and Guatemala. Many of the insects he captured were previously unknown to science. Because of his extensive knowledge of North American Diptera fauna, his eminence made the National Museum the center for studies on New World Diptera. In 1923, Aldrich turned over his specimen collection of more than 45,000 insects, with more than 4,000 classifications.
In addition, he donated to the museum a card catalog file of North American literature on these specimens. This collection is among the most important general Diptera collection in the National Museum. In addition to his work at the National Museum, Aldrich wrote extensively on subjects of insect life. He was also President of the Entomological Society of America (1921) and received many honors and awards.

Aldrich died in 1934 but is still honored today by the existence of the Aldrich Entomology Club, which was formed in 1961 at the University of Idaho. This club provides a forum for student, faculty, and other interested persons to share their enthusiasm for insect biology.

Jane Alexander was born in Brookings, South Dakota, to Ruth Ann and William Alexander. She began her journey of community engagement during her high school years while volunteering at the Brookings Retirement Center. Here she formed a lasting friendship with Neva Harding. This connection inspired her to delve into Neva's life, eventually leading to the expansion of Neva's autobiography.

Jane graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, where she majored in history. Alongside her studies, she dedicated her time to volunteering as a tutor and aide to children in the Holyoke Schools.

After graduating in 1980, Jane embarked on a career dedicated to helping others. She worked at the Parker Street shelter with unhoused adults in Boston, and later at the Pine Street Inn women’s clinic. It was during her time at the women’s clinic that she, along with her colleague Eileen Reilly, conceptualized the idea of a daytime shelter for women. In 1982, they brought this vision to life, establishing the Women’s Lunch Place in the basement of the Church of the Covenant, with Jane serving as the Executive Director for the next two decades.

Throughout her career, Jane received numerous accolades for her work, including the Mount Holyoke College Mary Lyon Award and the Boston Celtic’s “Heroes Among Us” award. In 2002, she transitioned to roles at Renewal House and East Boston Ecumenical Community, while also volunteering for disaster relief efforts with the Red Cross and providing medical aid in Haiti.

In 2004, Jane married Mark Johnson of Jamaica Plain, and they relocated to New Orleans in 2007. There, she pursued her passion for social work, earning her master’s degree from Tulane School of Social Work. She then served as the Executive Director of Churches United in Moorhead, Minnesota, until 2016, where she pioneered initiatives for permanent housing and winter expansion at the shelter.

Jane returned to Massachusetts, settling in Dracut with her sister Sarah Alexander. There, she devoted herself to caregiving, providing assistance to elderly individuals and their families.

Jane passed away on July 26, 2022, in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Ruth Ann Alexander February, 13 1924 – February 1, 2010

Born in Lansing, MI on February 13, 1924 to Harry and Anne (Green) Musselman, Ms. Alexander graduated from East Lansing High School and Michigan State University with a BA in English in 1945. She completed her masters in American studies at the University of Minnesota and her PhD in American intellectual history at Michigan State. She married William Alexander in 1955 and had three children.

Ms. Alexander taught English at South Dakota State University for 34 years, becoming full professor and the first woman to head the English Department (1981-1989). She developed the university's first courses focusing on women writers and African American and Native American literature. She chaired the committee that created the Women's Studies major. Ms. Alexander received numerous grants and fellowships, including a Bunting Fellowship at Harvard in 1987. She received SDSU's Outstanding Educator Award" in 1971, 1972, and 1974. Upon retirement in 1989, she was named Professor Emeritus and continued to research South Dakota women writers and women in the Episcopal Church. From 1994 to 2002 she wrote a column about women in the Episcopal Church called All Sorts and Conditions of Women" for South Dakota Church News. In 2003, she published the collected columns in Patches in a History Quilt: Episcopal Women in the Diocese of South Dakota, 1868-2000. She wrote numerous scholarly articles on such South Dakota writers as Elaine Goodale Eastman and Kate Boyles Bingham. She was a touring member of the Great Plains Chautauqua series, portraying Elizabeth Cady Stanton from 1989-91 and acting as series moderator from 1998-2001.

A life-long advocate of equal opportunities for women and girls, Ms. Alexander was the first woman on the Brookings School Board (1970-1975) and worked for equal funding for activities for girls and boys and higher academic standards. In 1972 Governor Kneip appointed her to the first statewide Commission on the Status of Women where she served until 1979. She also served on the Board of Directors for the South Dakota Historical Association from 1988-2000; the Episcopal Church History Association from 1992-1997 and for the Episcopal Women's Church History Project from 1991-1997. She helped found the Brookings Food Pantry and was chair of the Emergency Services Commission from 1983-1999.

Ruth Ann Alexander died of lymphoma on February 1 in Brookings, South Dakota. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Alexander in 1979; her sister, Jane (Musselman) Addams of Houston, Texas in 2008; and her late life sweetheart, Wes Kelley of Brookings in October 2009. She is survived by her three children: Jane Alexander (Mark Johnson) of New Orleans; Andrew Alexander ( Linda Kruckenberg) of Wayne, NE; and Sarah Alexander of Sioux Falls; and by her siblings: George Musselman of Grand Haven, MI; Sarah (Musselman) Phelps of Madison, WI; and Mary (Musselman) Fischer of Hastings, MN .

• South Dakota State University
• Weight Class: 177 lbs., Heavyweight