Jonathan, You are a prince of a fellow to take on this initiative, which I will support in whatever way I can.
I remember when Marta first started contributing to the MacGroup list and I enjoyed her posts, and their literacy, enough to ask her if she might be interested in doing some writing for Louisville Magazine. She politely declined, but I have always been a fan of hers. I did not know her history, but I admire her even more after reading what you wrote. I will certainly contribute money to the cause. Let me know if there is anything else I can do. Dan > On Feb 1, 2016, at 10:56 PM, Jonathan Fletcher <[email protected]> wrote: > > MacFriends, > > Lee has agreed to turn off Marta’s account for a couple days while you and I > discuss an upcoming milestone in her life. > > Many of you know Marta in person. You knew her when she used to come to the > Louisville Computer Society meetings. You may remember her as cheerful and > energetic, or you may remember her take-no-prisoners demeanor. But, if you > met her you have not forgotten her. The rest of you have seen her posts over > the years and may have noticed that they are not as coherent as they once > were. > > Well, let’s give her a little slack! Marta is turning NINETY in a few weeks. > When I feel overwhelmed by my three-score-and-one I just think about her > being TWENTY-NINE years ahead of me! I can’t even imagine. > > Well, as you might guess she has outlived the vast majority of her > contemporaries and all of her relatives. The one child she did have > tragically died in his early twenties. And yet, you have to see her smile and > chat up the room, even now. She’s always been a force to reckon with, and > even though she has to have 24-hour assistance now, you can still see an > incredible spark of the dynamo that she once was. > > A few points (okay, more than a few) for those who don’t know her that well: > > Marta Dietrich was born February 21, 1926 in between-the-wars Germany not too > far from the French border, grew up to be a multi-lingual teacher of great > intellect, breezing through her studies and suffering along with the rest of > her countrymen the horrors of the Nazi regime and the resultant war. She told > me that her family attended one of the many “Confessing Churches” across > Germany that had withdrawn from the reprehensible national German Church that > caved to Hitler’s demands. The churches of the "Confessing" body were > strongly opposed to Hitler and his mistreatment of the disabled and > “non-aryans,” and especially the Jews who were a vital part of Germany’s > prominent upper-middle class. She told me she heard something against Naziism > in every sermon. > > When it was finally over, Marta found herself attracted to the friendliness > of the Americans she encountered during the occupation. (The French and > British were understandably less warm to the Germans.) She got a job as a > telephone exchange operator after the war, drawing the eye of the dashing > young non-comm that was her boss. > > Over the years since, Marta gradually found out that this charmer had once > been a professional baseball player, saw plenty of action in the war, had > been wounded, a prisoner-of-war (twice escaping), a real-life spy, a machine > gunner on the back of a General’s Jeep, had crossed paths several times with > General George Patton (whose refusal to sign the last dotted line on the > papers that all his other commanders had signed cost Dayton a Medal of > Honor), had participated in a scheme among the field commanders arrayed along > the Elba to deceive General Eisenhower about their crossing the river to > rescue fellow soldiers AGAINST the direct orders of the Supreme Commander of > the Allied Forces, and the first person to discover and liberate the horrible > Wöbbelin concentration camp. For all that he had been through, though, Dayton > was a warm and generous person. > > Dayton was sent back to the states and continued to correspond with her and > began participating in a shining symbol of the American people’s world-renown > post-war largess that came to be known as CARE. He sent CARE packages to > Marta’s family. (Since then, Marta and Dayton came to be sort of the > “poster-children” for the CARE program up until very recently, even getting > their picture in the New York Times a few years ago.[1]) > > Dayton went back to Germany a little later to collect his girl and they were > married under a tarp amid the rubble of a bombed-out church near her home > town. > > He had to leave the next day, though, to return to duty in the states, and so > Marta followed by herself. She stepped off a boat in New York without a clue > as to what she would do or where she would go. To her immense relief, Dayton > was waiting for her on the dock. So moved was she that she still talks about > her “leap of faith.” > > They lived in Northern California while Dayton fought in Korea. While there > Marta went up to Cal Berkeley and took some entrance exams. She scored so > high in Science that they wanted to make her a Biology instructor. She had no > interest in that, though. They moved to Louisville when Dayton was posted to > Fort Knox. Once ensconced in Louisville, Marta had to find something to do > with her energy while Dayton was away on various deployments, so she rode the > bus with her young son downtown from Valley Station to Spalding College every > day and talked them into letting her audit classes. She eventually audited > every class they offered. She did so well and charmed everyone she met so > much that they just gave her a diploma. > > She caught the attention of the Language Arts department at U of L (or > whatever it was called then) and ended up teaching German there for many > years during the 70s and 80s, staging elaborate German-language pageants with > her students that became hot social events on campus. She served so many > years there and refused tenure so many times that she had to testify that she > had been offered tenure, but refused it, just to keep the University out of > trouble with their accreditation body. She just wanted to teach. > > During that time she took numerous trips to Germany with her students, > including many prominent Louisvillians at the time. She counted among her > students and friends Harvey Sloan, David Jones, and a manufacturing mogul > from Shelbyville named Charles Grawemeyer. (And those are just the ones I can > remember her telling me about.) > > Mr. Grawemeyer, who went on several trips himself, wanted to donate to help > students to go on her trips to Europe. The way Marta tells it, it was she > that suggested to him that instead of just giving the students money that he > should turn it into an essay competition. We all know that today, UofL’s > Grawemeyer awards in music, religion, psychology, and "ideas improving world > order" are some of the most prestigious awards of their kind in the world. > > Marta’s great love was learning, with a particular affinity for philosophy. > Long-suffering Dayton would often come home late at night from his > post-military job with Jewish Hospital to find the living room crammed with > students discussing world affairs and the deeper issues of life. Frequently > he also had to step over their slumbering bodies the next morning. She told > me that Dayton was her “enabler,” making it possible for her to be who she > was. > > Marta also greatly influenced the choice of Mainz as the German "sister-city" > of Louisville. You can see the name on various signs around town attesting to > the short list of cities around the world that claim Louisville as a > sister-city. I always think of Marta when I see one. > > Always tech-savvy, Marta loved the many Macintosh computers she had over the > years. At one point I actually counted a Mac in nearly every room in her > house. But not in Dayton’s den. ::-) > > Upon retirement Marta continued to travel all over the world for many years > and stayed active and connected to her old friends locally and abroad, until > now there are few left but her. > > Dayton died on my birthday three years ago, last month. She called to tell > me. They had been married 62 years. > > You are one of her last remaining groups of friends. She constantly monitors > our postings and reads every word you all write, even though it is getting > ever harder for her to see the screen on her big iMac. Even up close. That is > why I asked Lee to disable her account temporarily. > > Why am I telling you all this? > > Well, one of our national treasures is about to celebrate NINE DECADES on > this mortal coil. And she’s not ready to shuffle off just yet. > > You all have the ability to bring a little sunshine into an old friend’s > dreary and largely unrecognized, but extraordinary life. > > Here are some ideas: > > 1. A bunch of us who are within driving distance meet up near her house and > descend on her place, en masse, with a cake, cards and flowers, (and maybe a > little singing). I can alert her care-givers to have her presentable and > ready, without spilling the beans. This would happen sometime around the > middle of the afternoon of February 21, a Sunday. > > 2. We all chip in for flowers and send her a flurry of cards. > > 3. You send all your cards to me and I will present them to her with a cake > and flowers on the 21st. (I am planning on going over there anyway.) > > 4. Other: suggest something > > Now, we have all day Tuesday and Wednesday of this week to talk about this on > this list. On Thursday morning Lee will turn her account back on and we can > take this conversation off the group list. Please let me know, either through > this list, or directly, if you would like to participate and your preference > for contribution. Any and all suggestions are welcome. > > I hope you will join me in honoring this remarkable woman, who is one of our > own, faithful, "Macolytes." > > Jonathan Fletcher > > > [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/business/08care.html?_r=0 > > > -- > Jonathan Fletcher > [email protected] > > Kentuckiana FileMaker Developers Group > Next Meeting: 2/23/16 > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > Posting address: [email protected] > Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> > Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/> _______________________________________________ MacGroup mailing list Posting address: [email protected] Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/> Answers to questions: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup/>
