Who is Harry Petersen? 

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Throughout my childhood I was supported by war orphans' benefits ( which some would call public assistance). But, I was blessed with a very loving and supportive mother and grandparents who brought me up to believe that, poor or not, if I worked hard enough, and if I wanted it bad enough, I could grow up to be anything I wanted.  They encouraged me to do the hard work and take myself out of what is now termed poverty. (We didn't even have an indoor bathroom until I was in my teens!)  The emphasis was always on what I could achieve, not on what I could eventually own.

I was blessed, and I thank God,  that there was NOT some liberal social worker telling me that being poor was impossible to overcome, or that my "plight" was all somebody else's fault and that I had to wait for somebody else to fix it, or that the government "owed" it to me - -  or I might still be trapped in the welfare system today!

I contracted polio as a young child. Fortunately, we were visiting relatives in California, where the Sister Kenny treatment was being used experimentally. I was one of the successful experiments. I'm still a bit stiff, and if I do too much walking or standing, I feel it. But I praise God that I have been walking these 53 years and have had good health. We must appreciate what we have, not envy what we don't have!

My wife, Mary, has always been my best friend for the 33 years of our marriage. While our son Rob was small, she was a "stay-at-home" mom; we made the conscious choice to have fewer material things, and neither of us has ever regretted it.  I worked at various jobs, and went to school during this time. After our son was older, Mary earned her PHT (putting hubby through) while I earned my Ph.D.  in industrial engineering at Texas A&M.  I have done many things in our 33 years, from high school and university teaching to working on railroads, always with the help and support of my best friend, Mary.

From Texas, we moved back to Minnesota where I became Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering at the Duluth campus of the University of Minnesota.  Here we would stay! Or so we thought.

I was our department's union representative when our white, male department head was accused of discrimination and sexual harassment against minority and women faculty members.  I was also a witness to some of the incidents, so ethically I had to support the victims (an arbitration hearing later found him guilty.)  I was only an assistant professor then, and because the MEA decided to support the department head and refused to help the victims or me, l was forced to resign after the department head threatened my future there.

From Duluth, we moved to Alfred, NY, where I was an assistant professor at Alfred University until the department closed due to low enrollment.  Due to strict affirmative action rules in university hiring, it took me two years and over 150 applications to get the position I now hold:  teaching Manufacturing Engineering Technology at Mankato State University; I was promoted to Associate Professor in the Fall of 1996.  It's a great school, and a great department; I couldn't ask for better students and colleagues.  I 'm thankful to be here, although I believe that I would not be here except for the controversy that erupted (see D.J. Tice's story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press by going to the Equalist homepage from our list of links).   After all I have been through, it's hard to understand how Bill Clinton can claim white men aren't hurt by Affirmative Action.
 

So, you can see that I really have been there - I understand.   Even so, I never lost faith in God and America. And I lived the American Dream!  But I almost had that dream destroyed because I was the wrong race! (I can understand why some minorities are so bitter!) Along the way I worked hard, have studied hard, have risked, won and lost. I've gotten blisters, headaches, highs and lows, have always loved my wife, my family, my home state of Minnesota, and my country.

I have been both union and management, laborer and teacher, poor and middle class (but not rich). I've been disabled, and I've been stereotyped. I've worked in factories, farms, research labs, and offices. I've learned from many different people and my life experiences. I've seen what's wrong with the country (government growth, taxes and controls) and what's right (our people and our freedoms.)