The Legacies Project

09/22/2026

Peggy de Vries had a natural gift for seeing beauty in the world around her. Although she couldn’t afford to attend photography school when she was young, her love for photography never faded. During high school, her uncle gave her a camera, opening the door to a lifelong passion for capturing moments and memories.

Peggy’s story is a beautiful reminder that creativity doesn’t always require formal training or expensive resources. Sometimes, all it takes is curiosity, determination, and the opportunity to begin. Through her photographs, Peggy expressed herself and preserved the world through her eyes.

She passed away on December 12, 2010, but the creative spirit she shared continues to inspire. Her life reminds us that when we follow our passions, even in simple ways, we can leave behind something meaningful that lasts.

08/21/2026

This past July was the hottest July on record in the contiguous United States since the Dust Bowl era began in the 1930s. Today, we take a look back at the story of someone who lived through those difficult years.
Joan Dickson was born in 1929, as the Great Depression was beginning and just before the Dust Bowl would transform life across the Great Plains. Through raging winds, blowing dust, and blistering summer heat, Joan grew up surrounded by a loving family. She went on to build a family of her own, eventually becoming a grandmother to 21 grandchildren.
Joan’s resilience and determination carried her through some of the hardest years in American history, and her story offers a glimpse of what it was like to grow up when families endured immense hardship while finding strength in one another.
Today, we’re grateful to share Joan’s story and hear her memories of a time that shaped a generation.

07/25/2026

Today marks six years since the passing of Herb David, who died on July 25, 2020. As we remember Herb's incredible life and legacy, it's especially meaningful that today also falls during Disability Pride Month. Herb, who was hard of hearing, never let his disability define or limit him. Instead, he built a lasting impact on the Ann Arbor community by founding Herb David Guitar Studio, where he repaired guitars and taught countless musicians, and by helping spark the idea for The Ark, one of the city's most beloved folk music venues. More than his accomplishments, Herb is remembered for his kindness, creativity, and the lives he touched. Today we celebrate his contributions, honor his legacy, and remember a man whose influence continues to be felt six years later.

06/30/2026

As Pride Month comes to a close, we’re reflecting on stories like Ben Helmke’s — a reminder that it’s never too late to live authentically. While working as a mental health specialist in Ann Arbor, Ben spent years hiding his identity as a gay man while married and raising a family. He came out to his wife during her battle with breast cancer and later shared his truth with his children on Thanksgiving. Years later, Ben found love with his partner, Len, through a gay social group, where they built a life together filled with sailing adventures and a blended family of ten children. Ben’s story reminds us that Pride isn’t just about celebration, but about courage, honesty, and the freedom to finally be yourself, no matter when that journey begins.

04/14/2026

Citizens targeted by their own government, while their neighbors look on helplessly. Sound familiar?
But while the rest of us move on with our lives, the victims don’t have that option.
Case in point: May Watanabe. May tells her Legacies Project team at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor what happened when she was nineteen-years-old – not much older than the students themselves. Seventy-four years later, those memories still cut deeply.

03/26/2026

Tomorrow, 3/27, is National Theater Day, and what better time to showcase a woman who has made monumental strides in the theater than during Women’s History Month! Today we honor Mary Ellen Guinn, a narrator with a very special talent and love for all things performance. Even as young as 5 years old, shortly after World War II, Mary’s parents would take her to ballet and opera, nurturing her early love for the performing arts. In her early 20s, she moved to New York and joined the Robert Joffrey Ballet Company. Additionally, her love for the theater brought her a different kind of love—Mary Ellen met and eventually married Leslie Guinn, whom she met at a summer theater program in Cape Cod (who may or may not be featured soon!)

03/12/2026

March is Women’s History Month, and today we celebrate one of our many remarkable female narrators, Anan Ameri. An immigrant, visionary, and lifetime advocate, Ameri is the founder of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Throughout her life, she has fought for women’s rights, amplified underrepresented voices, and worked to preserve and share the stories of Arab American communities. Her dedication to these causes inspired history and change. Who's a woman in your life that exhibits these strong qualities? Let us know in the comments!

02/26/2026

For our second feature of Black History month, we would like to shine a light on Shirley Beckley. She was a civil rights activist, education advocate, and police reform leader, all while raising 3 children as a single mother. She marched for more Black teachers and administrators, and was even arrested during a race riot at Pioneer High School in 1971. She worked tirelessly until she passed in April 2025. These are her thoughts on how she can help future students.

02/19/2026

For our first legacy feature of Black History Month, we honor Louise Adams, a woman whose commitment to Black education created opportunity and change for students of color. Did you have a teacher that left a lasting impact on you? Let us know down below!

06/25/2025

Sadly, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the landmark Obergefell vs. Hodges Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, hard-won rights of the LGBTQ community are under assault on many fronts. While there will still be celebrations, the undercurrent of the menace so many are experiencing will be palpable.
To show our support for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, we at the Legacies Project offer the story of Ben Helmke, a former wheat farmer, musician, Presbyterian minister, husband, and father of three – who, in his fifties, came out to his wife and children. It wasn’t an easy decision and, as Ben says, “that was a rough couple of years.”
But five years after his wife, Polly, died – he still writes letters to his late wife every year – Ben met the man who would be his longtime partner, Len Quenon.
It took courage for Ben to come out when he did and, while it made for some hard times, ultimately, it led to him being able to live his life as his true self and to find a partner with whom he lived happily for twenty-five years.
We at the Legacies Project know that these kinds of honest, intergenerational exchanges chip away at the fear that underlies bigotry; and the thoughtful and sensitive story Ben’s team of Skyline High students produced on Ben is testimony to the power of those exchanges.
While the LGBTQ community is facing rough times now, hopefully, someday soon, there will be happier days ahead.
In the meantime, we hope everyone can take some inspiration from Ben’s story.

Our mission is to preserve the stories of our elders and, in the process, remind ourselves that they are cherished sources of cultural wisdom and first-hand witnesses to history.