In the 1960’s Dr. Patterson noticed a lack of participation from students of color in Ann Arbor’s public school music programs, an issue that still persists today. He founded the Our Own Thing Instructional Program to provide free instruments, instruction, and support for local youth. In this episode, we hear a lively discussion between Dr. Patterson and Sylvia Harmon, one of his earliest students.

Ben Helmke grew up on a farm in Pratt County, Kansas in the 1930s. He served as an organist in the Army chaplain’s office at Camp Schimmelpfennig (now Camp Sendai) in Japan. Helmke graduated from Hastings College and McCormick Seminary and got his masters in social work from the University of Michigan. He and his wife Polly raised three children and he started his own mental health clinic. Late in life, he came out as gay to his wife and children. He lived happily with his partner Len Quenon for 25 years.