Sigma Alpha Iota

16 Summer 2022 • sai-national.org Sisterhd We are so pleased to share with you a glimpse into the life of Ruth Hoglund - her family, her work, and her time in the SAI sisterhood. Ruth was born on May 8, 1925 at the family home in Moorhead, MN. From the time of her infancy to this day, music has always played an important part in her life. She tells of her mother's "lovely, quiet voice" singing her to sleep, and as she grew older, she would hum along; as she became older and was put down for a nap, she would "hum" herself to sleep and still does once in a while. As a young student she took piano lessons and participated in musicals, accompanying fellow students in recitals and programs. Her soprano voice was an asset in her church choir and wherever else it was needed. As a college student she majored in Music and Biology at Moorhead State Teachers College. ere was not an SAI Chapter on campus, but her advisor thought that she would benefit from belonging to an active music group, so Ruth was allowed to initiate into the Omicron Chapter of SAI on the North Dakota Agriculture College (now NDSU) campus in 1945. She affiliated with the Fargo-Moorhead Alumnae Chapter in 1951, so she is celebrating 77 years of continued membership in SAI. Ruth started her teaching career teaching the 8 th grade in a rural school. Music played an important part in the curriculum. If the students were restless, she would go to the piano, play a chord, and they would sing a song they were working on; aer a few minutes they would get on with their regular curriculum. Ruth states that during that time she probably "pitched more soball than anyone else in the community." When Ruth's boys were young, Ruth and her husband Philip built a house in town so that their boys could attend Washington Elementary School. Ruth taught piano lessons, and when her youngest son started kindergarten, she started working for the Fargo Public Schools in Special Services, helping any child that was home bound or in the hospital and keeping them in contact with their schools. She was approached by the school board and asked if she would go to the University of Minnesota to take the classes necessary to certify for teaching blind children in the public-school situation. It was called the "Resource Program for the Visually Impaired." Ruth and her husband worked out the logistics for her to spend the summer taking classes 250 miles away, coming home only on the weekends. e first year she worked with six students. Her half time position quickly became full time, with students coming from both North Dakota and Minnesota. Several of the children wanted to learn piano, so she started giving piano lessons to the blind. She also wrote braille music for the cello, trumpet, and for chorus for different students during the school year so that all could participate. e highlight of Music for the Blind was when one of her first blind students was asked to play a Mozart concerto with the high school band and orchestra. e orchestra director was retiring and asked her to play. Her piano teacher consented to help her, so she read the music to the student, a very good braillist, and she brailled the piece. is same student also played the organ and then in retirement learned to play the harp. e Resource Program for the Blind in the Public-School Situation became known throughout the state of North Dakota and Minnesota and also internationally through the efforts of Dr. Jeanne Kenmore, who was a professor at the University of Minnesota, and later worked at the Helen Keller Foundation and in Paris, France. As a result, Ruth and a teacher friend were invited to teach a 3-week seminar with Dr. Kenmore in Kalundborg, Denmark. Twenty-five teachers from ten countries participated and four of the 25 were really interested in music, so they worked in the evening just on the Music Code. ey wanted more—not just the Braille Code, the Mathematical Code, and the Code for foreign languages. Teaching the Music Code was something that Ruth found interesting and appreciated doing. Another time this same teacher friend and Ruth were invited by Dr. Kenmore to teach a 3-day workshop at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. Once again, the students were particularly interested in the Music Code, so Ruth had the opportunity to work with them aer the evening meals. One of Ruth's observations is that many of the people who taught the blind had music in their backgrounds. In 1975, Ruth was one of the first 25 distinguished teachers of the year graduates of Moorhead State Teachers College – now there are over 300. In 1976, she was named Fargo Teacher of the Year and North Dakota Teacher of the year. In 1977, she was named YWCA Woman of the Year in Education. Ruth has always been an "active" SAI member. For many years she hosted the first meeting of the year in her home in the country. If there was a Province or National Officer in attendance, Ruth's husband would put on his top hat and tuxedo to meet the person a couple of miles down the road with his horse and buggy, or the surrey with the fringe on top; if there was snow, he would use the sleigh and give them a ride to the front door. Ruth has received the Sword of Honor, the Rose of Honor, and the Rose of Dedication. She is forever grateful and thankful that she was allowed to become a member of Omicron Chapter, and as a result, she has had 77 years of wonderful friendships and experiences in the world of music. —Submitted by Kathy Bresee, Treasurer, Fargo-Moorhead Alumnae Chapter Celebrating a Semisesquicentennial and Beyond!

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