Don Stevens was born on a farm halfway between Greenville and Belding. After high school he moved to Grand Rapids where he worked for a local laundry from 1937 to 1941 and then began working for the Joppe's Dairy in 1941. Stevens was instrumental in creating the United Dairy Workers union with John Gibson from the Michigan CIO, after which he worked for the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union beginning in 1944. Stevens' next position was with the AFL-CIO where he was elected in 1957 to the Board. In 1958 he was elected to the State Board of Agriculture, the group that would become the MSU Board of Trustees in 1960. He was on this board until 1978, serving as chairman from 1968 to 1970. Stevens was a member of the MSU Board of Trustees during both the staff and faculty unionization movements. Topics/people covered in the interview include: Walter Adams; Paul Bagwell; Jack Breslin; John Bruff; Pat Carrigan; Phil Course; John DiBiaggio; Jack Flagler; Gerald Ford; Doug Frasier; Bob Grovner; John Hannah; Edgar Harden; Frank Hartman; Alan Holland; Warren Huff; Kellogg Center; Charles Killingsworth; Cecil Mackey; Bill Marshall; Blanche Martin; Phillip May; Kyle McDonald; M Peter McPherson; Frank Merriman; Jim Miller; Oakland University; Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union; AFL-CIO; Joppe's Dairy; G Mennen "Soapy" Williams; student unrest on campus; unionization; Frank Murphy; Stephen Nisbet; Tom Quimby; Kenny Robinson; Robert Shaw; John Shingleton; Louis Shuey; Emil Starr; Don Stevens; Jack Stever; Dennis Thompson; Ken Thompson; Woody Viner; George Welsh; Clifton & Dolores Wharton; Clair White; Joe Wolf; Leonard Woodcock
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