Hearing about the man who’d dedicated his life to eliminating the cancer of slavery from the United States was okay, but Hope College scholars Madison Coers, Kylie Sneller, and Katherine Dirkse wanted more. During their spring 2023 course Civil War America: Disruption & Destiny, winter weather forced the cancellation of a class trip to Harper’s …
Author Archives: Fred Johnson
Hope ’23 Graduate Completes Marine Corps Officer Candidates’ School
Written by Fred L. Johnson III, Ph.D., Twelve weeks of relentless pounding by Virginia’s brutal summer sun did not stop them. Hours of marching, running, and pushing themselves to perform beyond what they had once thought impossible made them determined to do more. Be better. Be excellent. They silenced inner demons of doubt to better …
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What if Lincoln Had Lived?
Hope College, the History Department, and the Van Raalte Farm Civil War Muster of Holland are pleased to welcome world-renowned author, eminent Civil War historian, and prize-winning Lincoln scholar, Dr. Allen C. Guelzo from Princeton University. Professor Guelzo is the Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities and Director of the Initiative on …
“And Then Came the Lion”: Remembering Congressman John Lewis
For most of 2020, I’d been able to hold it together, rolling with every punch and willing myself to stay positive as each month took more and more of the life I once called “normal.” Sometime in March, the pandemic came to America and bizarre became the status quo. Right around that time, as we …
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The House that Albert Bell Built
Dr. Fred Johnson shares his immense gratitude for Dr. Albert Bell, who is retiring next year after having served at Hope College for 42 years. On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Dr. Albert Bell submitted grades for his students to the Hope College Registrar’s office for the very last time. Without fanfare, without celebration, and without notice, …
The Long Shadow of Vietnam
The 2017 Vietnam May Term was the first ever such experience offered to Hope College students. For two weeks, eight fierce young women helped their two gasping male professor chaperones keep up as we traveled across the immense beauty of Vietnam. At the risk of sounding like a cliché, the Vietnam May Term was a …