Daily Pioneer News

(left to right) Mary and Hobart Tredinnick and Robert and Arlene Barker shared memories and laughs during a visit in April. The pairs of UWP alumni hadn't seen each other in 62 years.

PLATTEVILLE - Hobart Tredinnick was at his Mineral Point home with wife Mary when he began perusing the University of Wisconsin-Platteville alumni directory that had recently arrived. He spotted the names of Robert and Arlene Barker.

"I got the directory from the alumni association, and it was one of the first things I did," Hobart said. He realized he and his wife had a trip planned through the town where the Barkers live, Warren, Ill. "I thought, 'Why not?'"

And that's how on a day in April the couple showed up out of the blue on the doorstep of the other pair of alumni. Hobart Tredinnick knew Robert Barker from their days at the institution in the early 1940s. Both Mary Tredinnick and Arlene Barker were 1942 elementary education graduates of what was then called the Platteville Teachers College.

The friends hadn't seen each other in 62 years.

"I always wanted to get in touch with him but I never did it," Tredinnick said.

During the unexpected visit, the foursome talked about their life experiences, families and careers. Hobart Tredinnick, an agriculture graduate, was a lifelong farmer. His wife Mary was a homemaker for many years and also worked as a teacher for some time. Robert Barker, an industrial technology graduate, owned and operated a floral business with his wife. Both couples have since retired.

"Bob was from Warren originally. His dad had a greenhouse and flower shop, and right after we were married we came and started working here. Eventually we bought that and have lived here ever since," Arlene Barker said.

"I was thinking too bad he didn't take any ag classes," Hobart said. "But he liked the courses he was taking. He liked working in the shop and doing the drafting. I admired those guys."

Hobart himself began studying agriculture business in 1938 and went into farming soon after graduating in 1942. He worked on and managed operations near Darlington, Belmont and Mineral Point during some 50 years of farming, and didn't retire until 1995.

"I loved it. I just like the outdoors. I just loved putting in crops, taking care of livestock," Hobart said. "I was 85 years old when I finally slowed down. It was a different kind of farming by then, mostly mechanical."

The impromptu visit happened as the Tredinnicks were traveling to northern Illinois to visit their daughter. They were accompanied by their soon-to-be son-in-law Paul Rux, who took photos to remember the reunion. One of the topics the group discussed was how things were different in the 1930s and 40s.

"We talked about how times have changed and things like that. The school was small at that time. Everyone pretty much knew each other," Arlene said. "We have a grandson that goes to the university at Platteville, and he tells us about different things. I got my yearbooks out for him to see, and he was really interested to see how things are different now from what they used to be."

One world event had drastic effects on nearly all aspects of life during the 1940s: World War II. While Hobart, Mary and Arlene all graduated in 1942, Robert Barker was called up to active duty before he could finish his degree. He only spoke briefly about his war experiences during the April visit. Arlene said her husband fought throughout the European theater with an armored tank division.

Hobart remembers many of his roommates and closest college friends either volunteered or were drafted into the armed forces. Not all of them survived.

"There was so many of them, that it really was a shock. You think, this really can't be happening," Hobart said. "You think that this can't be true, but you know it's true, and you have to accept it."

Hobart himself tried to enlist, but was deterred when a recruiter didn't seem too interested in him, he said. He figured he'd leave it to the draft board, and was not drafted into service.

"I was not relieved. Not at all," Hobart said. "But I had an obligation to my future wife, and I was able to keep it. I didn't want to leave her out of my life, and she's here beside me right now." The two married in 1944. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Many men weren't so lucky, but Robert Barker did make it through the war unscathed. He went back to school and finished his degree in 1947, marrying Arlene the same year. They've been living happily together in Warren, Ill., ever since.

It's easy to lose contact with former friends and colleagues after so many years, but the Barkers were glad they had the chance to reminisce and share a little bit of their life experiences with the Tredinnicks.

"Every once in awhile we'll talk about different people that went to school and wonder where they're at, but we never kept in touch with anyone too much," Arlene said. "We were pretty surprised. It was really just kind of unreal really, because you never think of seeing somebody that you knew so many years ago. It really was a nice surprise."