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Richard, George (ed.) / Wisconsin alumnus
Volume 54, Number 3 (Nov. 1952)
Erlandson, Mrs. W. J.
Claude Leroy: he makes friends for U.S., pp. 25-27
Page 25
Claude Leroy: He Makes Friends for U.S. BY MRS. W. J. ERLANDSON, '27 N HIS BOYHOOD days in Lake Mills, Claude Leroy used to take travel books out of L.D. Fargo library and dream about seeing the world. Now he's the town's most- traveled citizen and is making a career out of international understanding on a person-to-person basis. Leroy has spent most of the last decade, since his graduation with a B.A. degree from the University in 1941, packing and unpacking his travel cases-getting to know his homeland and foreign countries, studying, teach- ing and servin' in Un~ted States-spon- sored bi-national centers in Brazil. Although he has traveled throughout * * * Europe and South America, Brazil re- mains his first choice for a home abroad "because I know 'the tempo of the people and understand them so well." And understanding people is Leroy's job. Leroy's work in the bi-national cen- ters-originally c a 11 e d inter-cultural centers-is part, of an important ven- ture in this country's planned cultiva- tion of friendship abroad. The centers exist to foster good will and under- standing between nations. We have cul- tural centers in nearly every country, seven of them in Brazil. The centers vary in size and facili- ties. The SRo Paulo center has 6,000 * * * Brazilian students; the one at Rio de Janeiro looks like Wisconsin's Memorial Union and is similar in its services. It's a large three-floor downtown building that includes a well-stocked library, art centers, and rooms for social gatherings. The centers are under direction of the U.S. Department of State, which provides teachers, directors of courses, secretaries, office assistants and librar- ians. At Santos Leroy is serving as director of courses and instructor. That job involves about six or seven hours of teaching d a i 1 y-English, American history and the arts-working with day and night students from 14 to 70 years old. He helps arrange confer- * * - * THE AUTHOR of this article has had pretty much of an interesting life herself. The former Charlotte Rathmann, both she and her husband were graduated with journalism degrees in 1927, and have been newspapering ever since. The first 13 years they were at Elmhurst, Ill., where Bill was editor of Press Publications, a chain of six surburban newspapers. In 1939 they purchased the Lake Mills Leader and the next year that weekly was designated "most improved" in Wisconsin. After reading some books on self-sufficiency through living from the land, the Erlandsons began a hobby that combines farming and horticulture -and she says their interest in this avocation is considerable. In fact, Bill claims if he were to enroll at the Univer-ity again, he'd be taking an agricul- ture course. Not that the Erlandsons are disillus'cned with the Fourth Estate- it's just that they like the land better. Mrs. Erlandson's pride and joy are two Sequoia trees which she believes are the only one of their species in Wis- consin. On their back-yard acre of land they also have 35 varieties of lilacs, a fruit orchard and lots of strawberries and raspberries. Oh, yes, there's another Badger in the family. The Erlandson's daughter, Pat, also attended the University. After two years, though, the travel bug bit her and after a year at Texas Christian she was graduated from Drake in 1951. Mrs. Erlandson, with all her activities, still finds time to act as Lake Mills correspondent for the Wisconsin State Journal, in which parts of the accompanying article appeared. NOVEMBER, 1952 25
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