Alumni Work Together to Put Windmill On National Register

Alisa Crawford '95 works at Windmill Island Gardens in Michigan as a Master Miller and Events Coordinator. For the past three years,

she has been working on a nomination to put the De Zwaan Windmill on the National Register of Historic Places. In April 2018, the nomination was approved. However, this feat might not have been possible without the help of another alum, Bob Christensen '72. Bob worked for the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office for about 34 years. Bob retired in April 2017 and the first review meeting for the nomination was in May 2017, two weeks after Bob retired. Unfortunately, Bob's replacement did not even read the nomination before the first review meeting. But, for the next meeting in September 2017, Bob came out of retirement to attend the meeting and back Alisa for the nomination. During the meeting, the nomination was upgraded to state level significance and went on to be approved.

Alisa is truly grateful for Bob's guidance, stating, "I appreciate his careful consideration of my nomination, his collegial challenge to deepen an aspect of my research, and as a result a richer story emerged that strengthened the nomination and allowed a part of the past previously untold to go into public record. I am very happy to have accomplished having the windmill listed on the National Register."

Congratulations to Alisa and Bob. Their accomplishment is a testament to the shared bond between CGP alumni and what we can accomplish together.

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