| Latie McLean
I grew up in Whitehall, Michigan (population 2000), the oldest of five children. My father was the editor and publisher of a weekly newspaper and two other papers in nearby communities. He played a role in the growth and development of our resort community with his leadership in Community Chest (forerunner of the United Way), Chamber of Commerce, School Board, and Hospital Commission and was an originator of the White Lake Community Fund.
In his mid-fifties, he was tapped by President Hannah of Michigan State University to be the director of the Michigan State daily newspaper, which had been operating in the red. He was able to make the newspaper profitable while paying students for their work.
My mother was a full-time homemaker raising five children who sometimes did proofreading and bookkeeping for the newspaper business.
I attended Michigan State and had planned to major in journalism, but was discouraged by a counselor who said there were few jobs for women in that field. Instead, I graduated in 1953 with a BS in Home Economics and taught in public schools in Michigan for two years. I applied for a scholarship and received an MA in Home and Family Life Education from Teachers College, Columbia in 1956.
Roger and I met that year (through the National Citizens Commission for Better Public Schools in which my Dad and his uncle were active) and were married in August. We immediately started new jobs, mine as teacher in the Rye, NY public schools and his at Time, Inc. in NYC. After a year of shuffling between three schools, with my interest in cooking, I applied to the Test Kitchens of General Foods. Without a major in Food and Nutrition, I was lucky to be hired and worked there for five years becoming head of the Baking Kitchen, only leaving with the hope of having a family.
When our children were 11 and 13, it became necessary for me to work, and I returned to full-time employment as Teacher-In-Charge of a program for disadvantaged and foreign adult women. We provided information on cooking, sewing, shopping, health and family relationships with daily programs and outside speakers. It was a demanding job, which gave me much personal satisfaction, but ended after two years when the school system ran into financial difficulty and terminated all teachers hired during the past seven years regardless of merit.
I was hired again by General Foods in the Consumer Center as a Package Editor which entailed writing recipes and preparation directions for food packages, understanding the legal requirements for product labeling, and proofing all copy for consumer readability and accuracy. In 1988, this function was eliminated, and I took a retirement package. However, four GF divisions immediately asked me to serve as a packaging editorial consultant for them.
When the federal government mandated new package nutritional labeling in 1991, I became an exception to company policy on retirees and was rehired by General Foods then Kraft Foods - to develop and manage a unit of four people to learn the new labeling laws and revise all the packages (about 1,000). Later, I helped create new package development procedures and trained product managers in the system. In all, I worked a total of 20 years for General Foods and Kraft.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of my jobs, I am not sure that I would have chosen to return to work when the children were 11 and 13. My work was very demanding and I continued to try to spend time with my family and maintain high standards at home. General Foods did not allow time off to attend children's events, and I used vacation days. For several years, this left only one week for family vacations. During those years, I was often too tired to enjoy the things our family did for fun.
The women in our generation had more opportunity for meaningful jobs than did my Mother's generation, but businesses were not family friendly and would not permit flexibility in work hours. Also, husbands were not as involved in child and home care as they are in my son's generation.
Living in Westchester County, NY afforded us wonderful opportunities to enjoy many plays and concerts in New York City, Westchester, the Long Wharf Theatre (CT) and Tanglewood (MA).
Like many members of the Class of '52, we have enjoyed making new friends over the past 50 years and have thoroughly enjoyed catching up with them and their families when we get together at minis and other events. Roger's term as president was exciting for both of us as he sought my ideas on plans, activities, committee assignments, and lectures for the class of '02.
My father set a wonderful example of public service. Aside from sharing in Roger's involvement in the United Way, Scouts, and support for two professional orchestras, I have not followed in my father's footsteps. The years I was home, I did some volunteering in the schools and at the John Jay Homestead in Katonah. Since we have lived in Acton, we have been away much of the time, traveling and assisting our young families in VT and ME, and I have been reluctant to start an activity requiring a definite number of hours per week. | 
