wnn6-05-06

To enter the contest, Kratz and other hopefuls submitted 500-word essays on why they would be the perfect traveling companions and how the experience would benefit them personally and professionally. Finalists had to follow up with official transcripts.

“It sounded like something worth trying for because it offered an opportunity to see a unique part of the world while gaining journalism experience with a Pulitzer Prize winner at the same time,” Kratz said. “I've never traveled outside of the Midwest, so getting to see an entirely new side of the world would have been awesome. Plus, it would have given me a chance to get my byline outside of the local arena and experience third-world issues firsthand.”

Kratz is an English writing major with a journalism concentration. She formerly contributed a weekly column to the Mining Journal. At NMU, she has worked for two years as a student writer in the communications and marketing office and has contributed articles to Horizons. She will leave that position in August to serve as features editor for the North Wind student newspaper. While she didn’t come away with the grand prize, Kratz said the contest boosted her confidence in her writing ability and validated her decision to pursue a career in journalism.

The essays submitted by Kratz, the remaining finalists and the grand-prize winner are posted at www.nytimes.com/marketing/winatrip/.

For the past month or so, a partially buried piece of rock wall has become a popular destination on campus. Located on the north side of Cohodas, along Waldo Street, the rock wall has been a bit of a mystery for years, but only recently has it garnered serious attention. Bob Fleury '97 uncovered the wall about 13 years ago but little was done at that time to discover its origins. Now those efforts have heated up. No one is certain of the history of the wall. Its location is near the original site of the Olson library, but no one remembers the wall being any part of the library. A number of people have since ventured down the hill to check it out, even some alumni from the '30s, but no one has been able to offer any clues. The wall contains a number of animal representations, a horse and a cow, which appear to have been painstakingly put together. A lot of time and effort when into its construction.
	The location of the wall is north of Cohodas and east of Carey Hall.
	The wall contains intricately designed depictions of animals. A horse and a cow can be seen in these photos.
Do you or someone you know have any information on the history of this wall? We'd love to hear from you.