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Pathfinder
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Children made this quilt for her. Stitch by stitch, square by square, a fourth- and fifth-grade class from a Cleveland public school created it. Thirty individual squares form a rectangle measuring about five by three and a half feet. The squares surround a center space containing an outline of Ohio. Inside the state, a line runs a wriggly course from the Ohio River north to Lake Erie. That line shows the path the CWRU alumna walked on her journey retracing Ohio’s Underground Railroad route. Joan’s fifty-nine-day expedition last spring was a triumph of planning, will, faith, and physical and mental strength. The walk, described in the feature story “Footsteps of Courage,” is what the boys and girls commemorated. This former social worker, not much taller than the youngsters and old enough to be their grandmother, walked hundreds of miles in tribute to her forebears. She honors them further by telling their story in schools across the state. Her lesson is one the schoolchildren will never forget. In response, the children from rooms 109 and 114 in H. Barbara Booker Montessori Center crafted the colorful quilt. Each square ties to Joan’s trip or the slave experience on the Underground Railroad. Some squares, for instance, show the house in Ripley where John Rankin helped slaves escape. Life is full of surprising miracles, Joan says. She stands in the Cleveland home she’s lived in for thirty-six years, the home shaded by a towering sycamore tree in the front yard. She is a person who chooses to be open to miracles. People of all ages are inspired by her. Meet Joan Southgate one time, and you’ll understand why. She radiates warmth, grace, and humility. She gives off something else, too: a sense of her indomitable spirit. It’s what led her, however weary she might’ve felt, to push on mile after mile after mile. CWRU Magazine welcomes Derek Bellin as its new publisher. In October, Derek joined the University as vice-president for development and alumni affairs. Two months later, his duties expanded when he was appointed vice-president for the newly created Office of University and Alumni Relations, which includes oversight of the magazine. He was also named the University’s chief development officer. Derek replaces Richard Baznik as publisher. Dick, the founder of this magazine, was named vice-president for another new division, community and government relations. President Edward Hundert created the two divisions as part of an administrative restructuring. Before assuming his new leadership role, Dick had served as vice-president for public affairs since 1987. He held other senior posts dating back to 1968, the year he joined the University. Dick deserves a salute. For fifteen years, he provided counsel and backing to the staff of CWRU Magazine. He offered his keen story sense, his long experience as a writer, editor, photographer, and graphic designer, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the University. The staff, Case Western Reserve, and, most important, the magazine’s readers are the better for it.  Ken Kesegich, editor kxk7@po.cwru.edu Photograph by Betsy Molnar |
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