Herb Olson retired in 1990 and still resides in Okemos with Mary, his wife of 42 years. They have spent their "Golden Years" following the careers of their four children, traveling winters to Texas and Florida to visit relatives, and the rest of the time at home gardening, golfing and volunteering for various community and government activities. Herb, who has had surgery on both knees, confesses that, while he likes golf, it is Mary who belongs to three golf leagues and really has a passion for the sport. Herb and Mary frequently golf together, and Herb also hooks up with Vern Seefeldt and Jay Kim, good and longtime friends from the department. An avid hunter and fisherman, Herb can also be found planning a trip or just having returned from an adventure.

Shortly before he graduated from Chadsey High School in his native Detroit, Herb enlisted in the Navy in May of 1945. As he was not quite 18 years old, his father had to cosign the enlistment papers. After Boot Camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Herb found himself on a ship headed for the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, and later onto Tokyo Bay, but while enroute, the two atomic bombs were dropped, forcing Japan's surrender. By April of '46, Herb was on his way stateside, and after a three week layover in Hawaii, he was home by July.

Herb was working in the Detroit area when an old school chum suggested he enroll at Michigan State, so taking advantage of the G.I. Bill, Herb joined his friend in East Lansing in the fall of 1949, became a physical education major and the rest is   history. Shortly before his December, '51 graduation, a physical education administrator asked Herb if he had any interest in staying on and becoming a graduate assistant while pursuing a Master's degree.

Naturally Herb was interested so the spring of '52 found him in grad school,. where he studied for his MA under the tutelage of Dr. Henry Montoye. This relationship would start Herb's involvement in the ongoing and famous Longevity Study, which kicked off in 1952, and then was revisited in 1960, 1968. 1976, 1984 and now again in 1998. Herb and Dr. Montoye are still key principals in the investigation. In 1954 Montoye left for the of U of M and Herb was hired as a full time instructor. Remaining in contact with his mentor, Herb started work on his Ph.D. at U of M the
summer of 1956, finally earning that degree in 1972.

Dr. Gale Mikles played a big role in Herb's career at Michigan State and also gets an assist for Herb and Mary getting together. It was during registration in the fall of 1956 and Gale mentioned that on his next break, Herb should stroll by the Home Ec. table and check out the scenery. The object of the scouting mission was the beautiful Mary and it turned out she was from Missouri and was a new instructor in Home Economics. It was love at first sight! Then in 1965, after he became head of the department, Gale asked Herb to be in charge of the one credit activity courses. Herb complied and remained in that position until his retirement.

Asked about his most memorable achievements with the department, Herb quickly named two: The Longevity Study, which he is still involved with, even today, and the development of the Foundations of Physical Education course and team authorship of the course book. Herb spoke with pride about how he, Wayne Van Huss, John Friedrich and the late Roy Niemeyer poured their hearts and souls into the project, which resulted in the MSU course HPR 105, and also became a key introductory course at countless other colleges and high schools from the early 60's to the late 70's.

Thanks for taking time to chat Herb, and thanks, too, for your numerous contributions to our department over the years. Best wishes to you and Mary for continued happiness and good health in the years ahead and we'll look forward to seeing you at the centennial activities.