Tom Heidtke

Arrived in Ann Arbor in 1965 and never left. Finished my B.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1970 and suddenly realized I didn't want to be an industrial engineer. Completed my PhD in Water Resources Engineering at UM in 1975. I worked at The Great Lakes Basin Commission in Ann Arbor from 1975 until 1981 while also teaching as an adjunct assistant professor at Michigan. I accepted a faculty position in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Wayne State University in 1981 and remained there until my retirement in 2010. I lived in Ann Arbor the entire time, commuting between Ann Arbor and Detroit for 29 years. My wife Jo had a

I had such a great time in high school I barely know where to begin. I remember having my heart broken as a sophomore when Arthur Hill's basketball team suffered its only loss of the season (by 2 points I believe) in the state semi-finals against Adrian. I was at that game with Ken Rabideau and his Dad. I attended every tournament game that year, including a huge win in the regionals at the Flint IMA. I remember Arthur Hill defeated a supposedly invincible team from Grand Rapids South (their star was Lee Lafeyette) just prior to the state semi-finals. When we won that game, I was certain we would go on to win the state title. Craig Dill, Art Gelow, Jim Flora, Keith Kundinger and I think Tim Shoskey were the five starters for Arthur Hill. It was an incredible run throughout the season. It took me a few weeks to get the sick feeling out of my stomach after we lost the semi-final game played in East Lansing. Another memory that sticks out for me is having my lunch attacked each day by my good friends Harry Myers and Paul Minnis. As soon as I brought a sandwich out of my lunchbag in the cafeteria, Minnis' fist would come smashing down on top of it, converting it into something very thin and unrecognizable. Then another hand would quickly grab whatever dessert my mom had packed. No one ever messed with the fruit or the carrot and celery sticks. It sounds strange but we all laughed until we cried. I learned to eat a big breakfast during the week because lunch was always going to be a challenge. Finally, I can still remember playing "barnyard" basketball ... outside ... during the winter on friday and saturday nights at Rick Bruggers' house. There were 8-10 of us, including Chris Martin, Harry Myers, Lloyd Anderson, Tom Mills, Bob Chandler, Tom Miller and a few other names that escape me. No matter how cold the outside temperature, we cleared the driveway of all ice and snow, put on our gloves and hats and multiple layers of clothing, turned on the outside lights, and played for hours. Those were good times.