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UID:event-55045@qmeet.net
DTSTAMP:20260921T095150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260921T061708Z
DTSTART:20260924T153000
DTEND:20260924T170000
SUMMARY:Motor City Boomer: Book Talk and Signing with Dr. Larry Lankton
DESCRIPTION:The Van Pelt and Opie Library would like to invite campus and c
 ommunity guests for an evening of storytelling\, Q&A\, and a book signing 
 with Professor Emeritus Dr. Larry Lankton. He will be sharing his newest b
 ook\, Motor City Boomer: The Car Culture That Defined a Generation. This e
 vent is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Le
 arn more about Dr. Lankton and his recent book project in his own words: A
 fter receiving a doctorate in American Civilization from the University of
  Pennsylvania I took a job as a curator of power and shop machinery at The
  Henry Ford in Dearborn\, MI\, Then I moved to Washington\, D.C. to serve 
 as an historian of engineering with the Historic American Engineering Reco
 rd (HAER)\, a part of the National Park Service. While at HAER I ran a pro
 ject to document the history of the Quincy Mining Company in Upper Michiga
 n. I found the history of Michigan copper to be so interesting\, and so ri
 ch in archival records\, that in 1981 I took a faculty position at Michiga
 n Technological University in nearby Houghton. I taught there from 1981 to
  2012. Before retiring and becoming an Emeritus Professor of History\, I w
 rote four books about the Copper Country’s mines\, technologies\, commun
 ities and people. But I had not published any books about the automobile\,
  even though I taught a class at Michigan Tech\, “The Automobile in Amer
 ica\,” for thirty years that enrolled 3\,000 to 4\,000 students. That ha
 d to change. Nearing retirement\, I set a goal to finally write my “car 
 book.” It would be a cultural history\, covering the Fifties and the Six
 ties\, that would lay out the auto’s impact on the nation. At the same t
 ime\, it would be a highly personal memoir. It would be an “auto biograp
 hy\,” recounting my life growing up with cars. Taking trips to relatives
  in Indiana and Illinois. Listening to "Maybellene” and “GTO” on the
  car radio. Taking your first love out to neck in remote locations. Cruisi
 ng Vermilion Street in Danville\, Illinois. Driving a muscle car and drag 
 racing Chevelle Super Sports and Oldsmobile 442s. Rolling a car over\, whe
 els to wheels. Driving the Prom Queen and her court around the track at Da
 nville High’s football stadium. That book is finally done and has been p
 ublished by Wayne State University Press. I think you will be edified and 
 entertained by MOTOR CITY BOOMER: THE CAR CULTURE THAT DEFINED A GENERATIO
 N. Expect to learn a lot\, laugh a lot\, and cry three or four times.
LOCATION:J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library East Reading R
 oom\, 1400 Townsend Drive\, Houghton\, MI\, 49931\, United States
URL:https://www.qmeet.net/EventDetails?EventID=55045
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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