Collection is comprised of handwritten letters between Frederick “Fritz’ Hinga and Maxine “Mac” Pope.The folder entitled “Frederick Hinga and Maxine Pope Correspondence 1947-1948” contains 40 handwritten letters by Frederick “Fritz” Hinga to his girlfriend Maxine “Mac” Pope. Fritz, while attending Western Michigan College summer ’47 classes and living with his mother, father, and grandmother on Hazard Avenue in Kalamazoo, MI, wrote to his girlfriend Mac, while she was home for the summer from her studies, in Eau Claire at her family’s farm. Between his trips out to the family cottage on Pine Lake, errands he was running for his father’s business, teaching swimming lessons for the American Red Cross at various lakes around Southwest Michigan, and listening to the Detroit Tigers or boxing matches on Kalamazoo’s new radio station, found the time to write his girlfriend a couple times a week to tell her his day’s events and express his love and admiration he had for her. Fritz was a chemistry student for the summer of 1947 and enjoyed fishing with his family, playing cards with friends, and listening to the Detroit Tigers win some baseball games after he had spent time teaching swimming lessons to children for the Red Cross. Also, he occasionally helped around the Pope’s orchard, bringing home delicious apples and peaches to enjoy.

The collection also includes photographs Benton Harbor High School material; ledger book; financial records; tax records, 1856-1920; teacher contracts; wills; information about the Kalamazoo Education Association, 1980-1984 and the Kalamazoo School district belonging to the Hinga, Pope, Griffin, Quigley and Born families of Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo, Michigan.