A Midwestern Storyteller of the Inland Seas: A Tribute to Walter Havighurst

A Midwestern Storyteller of the Inland SeasA Tribute to Walter Havighurst Jacqueline Johnson (bio) and John Kropf (bio) In the journal MidAmerica VII, David Anderson refers to Walter Havighurst as "one of the pioneers in the study of the literature and culture of our region."1 With a renewed interest in Midwest historical studies, it is worth remembering Dr. Walter Edwin Havighurst was one of the early social historians of the Midwest, a true Midwesterner, and a son of the Illinois prairie. His work shaped how the Midwest was seen by the rest of the country and set a foundation for the future scholars of the region. Havighurst served as a professor of English at Miami University for fifty years from 1928 to 1968. Widely known as a critic, novelist, and social historian, Havighurst authored over thirty books, writing both fiction and non-fiction, nearly all with a focus on the Midwest. In 1970, the Walter Havighurst Special Collections at Miami University was established and named in his honor. After his death, Havighurst's bequest helped form the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies. Havighurst's life embodied the Midwestern value of investment and devotion to education. He advocated for the use of history in his writings, especially in documenting the history of the Midwestern spirit, its people, and his own writing reflected that belief. Walter Havighurst was one of five children of Freeman and Winifred Havighurst born on November 28, 1901, in the college town of Appleton, Wisconsin, the home of Lawrence College. Walter's German father––whose relatives immigrated to the United States seeking political freedom, along with their deep religious views and dedication to education following the German Revolution––would forever influence him. His childhood consisted End Page 263 of moving to different cities throughout Wisconsin and Illinois with his father who was an itinerant elder in the Methodist Church and later a member of the faculty of Lawrence College. Growing up, Havighurst also worked on a dairy farm with members of his mother's family milking cows and feeding farm animals. Despite the family's modest resources, Winifred insisted that their children see the breadth of the United States. The family traveled to national parks including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, and Glacier National Park (as well as the Canadian Rockies) and also spent their summers in large cities such as Seattle, Boston, St. Paul, Detroit, and Chicago. She made certain their visits included churches, galleries, libraries, universities, and museums. In 1919, at age seventeen, Havighurst followed his older brother Robert and enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University where he attended for two years. Robert would also prove to be a profound influence on his professional life. During summer breaks, Havighurst worked as a deckhand on the Great Lakes and the east coast. For health reasons, he had to withdraw from Ohio Wesleyan and enrolled at the University of Denver because the climate was more favorable to his condition. There, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1924. Over the next four years Havighurst traveled extensively, continuing his work as a deckhand aboard Great Lakes steamers and in the merchant marines in the Pacific. It was during these trips that Havighurst visited bookstores, purchasing books to read while traveling. He read essays by Kipling, Byron, Shelley, Whitman, Thoreau, Emerson, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Bacon. Havighurst also interspersed his wanderlust for travel with academic wanderlust. He pursued a bachelor's degree in sacred theology at Boston University in 1928 and a master's degree from Columbia University in 1928. He also studied at King's College in London, but did not declare as a candidate for any degree. In 1928, Havighurst returned to the Midwest and, with the influence of his brother Robert, joined the faculty at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio as an English instructor. Robert had started as a faculty member in the Chemistry Department the year before. At Miami, Havighurst met his future wife, Marion Boyd, and the couple married in 1930. Marion was also an instructor in English at Miami University and at the Western College for Women where her father, William, was president. Marion was an accomplished author and...