Alice Kalom Was 'Serious, Likable'

Alice Kalom Was 'Serious, Likable' By Phil Maxwell (News Staff Reporter) There is an old house at 311 Thompson nestled like a prim dov between the blank brick im-i.dp1-' "f a parking structure ar 'dern apart- ment buildhifa. 1., »»ears a new coat of glossy brown paint, and flower boxes deck the Victori- an balustrade of its front porch. A big elm tree throws dappled shadows across its face. Until a few days ago it was the home of Alice Elizabeth Kalom. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fronc- zak live in a first floor apart- ment, next door to *''." one Miss Kalom occup 'y didn't know her well, uiu,y iium brief encounters in the hall. Mrs. Fronczak remembers i.ss Kalom as a friendly, whole- some lo(i' in: :irl with a vivid imagina' Mr. Fronczak said that friends who gathered on week- ends in the neighboring apart- ment were always quiet, and well-behaved. Mrs. Fr"——1- saw her last on Frida: ng with a girl friend in iiuiit ui. ihe house. Donald Rolston, the mana- ger's son, said Miss Kalom was a quiet girl who was interested in photography. The only thing near to a complaint he could! remember was that she used quite a bit of water when developing pictures for her film class. The house at 311 Thompson appears as calm and tranquil as ever from the outside, but on the inside it's empty, far emp- tier than before. Miss Kalom's father, Joseph, spoke of his daughter as "a e, a nice girl." Other people who knew her remember her as just that One woman who Miss Kalom once baby-sat for in her home town of Portage said she was a qui- et, studious book reader who didn't seem to date much. "She was quite a real likable person," Mrs. William Dobbs added. Another woman, a former high school teacher of Miss Kalom's, said she exercised "very quiet leadership," she was a "very conscientious stu- dent, a very serious one." Miss Kalom, who turned 21 C'i;'-' ii.i- "Pay, was graduated " , a degree in fine arts with a "B" average. University officials said si. had stayed on to take a COVL[,.. more courses during summer session. Her Portage High School Principal, James P e 11 o w e , described her as "warm and friendly but at times reserved." Other teachers ranked her as "excellent." Last Seen On Front Porch Alice E. Kalom, the sixth murder victim in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area, was last seen alive about 1 a.m. Friday on the front porch of this rooming house at 311 Thompson St. Her purse and all identifi- cation were found in her apartment after the murder. Related story on Page 1. (Ann Arbor News Photo By Cecil Lockard)