<< Return to Foundation Focus Page Childhood Memories Lead to Philanthropy for "Miss Alice" Alice Gates Thinking back over the decades there is much that Alice Gates, "Miss Alice" to her friends and neighbors, remembers about attending Muskegon’s one-room Maple Ridge School on Buys Road. Memorable are the Christmas parties, warm and inviting in the quaint white building, and the music lessons held in the cloakroom and led by the traveling music teacher. And then the trips to the outhouse, necessary even in the frigid Michigan winter since the school had no indoor plumbing -- but "Miss Alice holds even those memories dear. "It was all wonderful," says Gates who now lives in Chester, Maryland. "We learned so much because of the ratio of teachers to children; there were only three students in my eighth grade class." Those happy memories recently inspired Gates to establish a Designated Fund with the Community Foundation for Muskegon County benefiting the historic Maple Ridge School. Today the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District operates Maple Ridge School allowing fifth graders from Muskegon area schools to experience a bit of history by spending a day in a one room school house. Youngsters taking part in the program dress in period costume, carry their lunches to school on poles and do their lessons on slates. During the 2003/2004 school year 744 students participated in the one-room school program. Gates credits her early education with providing the groundwork for her successful career. Leaving Maple Ridge she attended North Muskegon High School graduating in 1938. She had a rich career beginning when she was hired as a clerk by the US War Department in 1942 and ending when she retired as a Grade 14 Computer Analyst from the Department of Defense in 1979. Throughout her career she traveled widely: France, Japan, England, and Italy, are among the locales she has lived in or visited. Today she is involved in a variety of organizations and politically active in causes affecting senior citizens. Her generosity and support of Maple Ridge School is "a wonderful surprise," says MAISD Superintendent and Community Foundation Board Chairman Mike Bozym. "We are delighted with this contribution from Miss Gates for the continued care of Maple Ridge School," he says. "This school is the perfect opportunity for young people, and the community as a whole, to experience this important part of history. Her support of this project is wonderful and the MAISD will use this gift to develop further community support for Maple Ridge School. << Return to Foundation Focus Page