TRAVERSE CITY — Ann Rogers' first defining moment came early in life.
It was Aug. 6, 1945, the day U.S. planes dropped a uranium atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, followed by two plutonium bombs on Nagasaki on Aug. 9.
"We are the only nuclear power in the world to use that power to bomb a civilian population," she said. "To me, that was incomprehensible, and the more I've learned since then, we didn't have to do it. We were testing the bomb."
Today, Rogers is a retired Traverse City elementary school teacher, a former city commissioner, mother of four and grandmother of five. She also is a longtime community activist known for her peace work, social justice advocacy, environmentalism and defense of barrier-free access for people with disabilities.
Her advocacy keeps her busy. She's a regular at local Veterans for Peace marches and Occupy Traverse City demonstrations. She's been a member of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council for 20 years, the last 15 on its board. She is a yearly participant in the annual Great Lakes Bioneers Conference held in Traverse City.
She also serves on the board of the Disability Network of Northwest Michigan. During her one term on the city commission from 2000 to 2004, she chaired a task force to survey city sidewalks, public buildings, restrooms, parks and parking lots to bring the city into compliance with the American Disability Act.
"I feel an urgency," she said. "That's what keeps me going -- the whole environmental idea of leaving something for seven generations."
Rogers grew up in Detroit but spent many summer weeks in Traverse City at her grandmother's Union Street home. Her mother, Marie (Vogl) Doran, was one of three graduates in St. Francis High School's Class of 1917 and her father, John, was an Internal Revenue Service auditor.
She studied political science and government with a minor in science at Marygrove College, then an all-girls Catholic school. In 1951, she started six years of teaching elementary school in Detroit and moved to Traverse City in 1957 after meeting her husband, Joe Rogers, then a science instructor at Traverse City's 6-year-old Northwestern Michigan College. She retired from teaching in 1991 after 30 years in the classroom -- the last 20 at the now-closed Norris Elementary. Joe died in 1997 of bone cancer.
What drives Rogers' activism?
Two things, said her friend Susan Odgers.
"You have to know that her total personality is to be a teacher," said Odgers, a faculty member at NMC and Grand Valley State University. "That's why she cares so much about youth. It really is tangible for her. And you can't really know her unless you know that she was raised Catholic and understand the time she was raised in."
Daughter Sally Rogers attributes her mother's activism to her deep empathy for people.
"It's about walking a mile in someone's shoes and allowing yourself to feel what it's like and to dig into the emotion of it," she said. "My mother is not black or handicapped, but she allows herself to go there."
Ann Rogers has an impact on Traverse City, according to people who have rubbed elbows with her.
"We didn't always agree, but we always treated each other with respect in politics," said Bryan Crough, Downtown Development Authority director. "She did her homework, and there is a lot of civility in her actions. She spoke for a constituency in the city, and her environmental awareness is something she's constantly kept in the forefront."
"By being present and coming up to the mike, she has become a consistent voice for the environment," said Greg Reisig, an Elk Rapids environmentalist and NMEAC board member.
Neighbor Jim Tompkins, a former city clerk and later a city commissioner, was on the commission during part of Rogers' term. He said she plays an important role in the community.
"People know her, and they listen when she says something," he said.
From Grand Traverse Scene
This story is an abridged version of a story from the winter edition of Grand Traverse Scene, a magazine published six times a year by the Record-Eagle. The next edition of Grand Traverse Scene will be out in February and inserted in single-copy editions of the paper on Saturday, Feb. 4. Stories planned for that issue include a profile on former Gov. William G. Milliken, the history of the VASA and a dining feature on Sleder's Family Tavern.
For more information, go to www.grandtraversescene.com or find Grand Traverse Scene on Facebook. Call 946-2187 to subscribe.
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