Teaching Is Civic Duty To Max Aupperle

Mrs. Max K. Aupperle is reasponsible for most of her own sewing, but when it comes to a big job - such as a coat or a jacket - she Iets her husband take over. For Mr. Aupperle has taught adult education classes in tailoring and pattem design for the past 24 years. Since February, 1946, he has taught three or four evenings classes during each term. Once, he enrolled his wife as a student: "I had her sign her maiden name. That's how I got all the information about myself from my students back to me." " The two Aupperle daughters also were enrolled one term under different names so that they could mingle with the other students and learn how they feit about Mr. Aupperle's classes. "It's like having a spy in the class!" he smiled. Why the subterfuge? He feels that it is important to get his ideas across to people. He has found that students are more likely to discuss the classes among themselves, rather than with him. He feels, as a teacher, that their feedback is beneficial. To him, his role as a teacher is both an enjoyment and a civic responsibiüty : "As long as people want to leam something, society has a duty to help them." Many years ago, a night class in which Mr. Aupperle learned to speak English, sold him on education: "That's why I teach locally, here." He learned his tailoring trade in Germany, where he was bom. His father was a tailor and since Max was the oldest son it would have been "a perfect set up to take over." The war, however, complicated matters. The young Aupperle decided to leave the country. Not quite 18, he arrived in Syracuse, N.Y., and learned to speak English. Then he began work, first as a coat-maker and then as thè assistant cutter for a tailoring company. But followin'g the Depression, many small businesses closed. Mr. Aupperle f o u n d a job with Wild and Company and carne to Ann Arbor in 1936 with his wife. He began to run the store's tailoring business. When World War II ended in 1945, he recalls that "the boys returned to the University in droves." The stores did not have enough clothes for them, but Wild and Company was fortúnate to have a good supply of woolens. However, the store did not have enough help to make the material into clothing. Mr. Aupperle, seeking help f rom the schools, inquired about sewing classes, but the schools had no instructor s to teach these classes. Since Mr. Aupperle realized the need for dressmakers, he taught the first class in 1946 to about 12 persons. Today his classes involve ten weeks of work. Many of his students have sewn before - others have not. The first four weeks consist of basic training. The first thing to learn about tailoring, claims Mr. Aupperle, is to sew with a thimble. "Invariably the students say the thimbles are uncomfortable. That's only because they have been using the wrong needies. Tailoring needies are considerably shorter and firmer than dressmaking needies." Since he began teaching, his number of students has grown. He teaches three evenings a week and has regular customers during the day. On Wednesdays, he goes into Detroit to see other customers. According to the tailor, women are more involved in sewing than ever before. "Most of them enjoy it. There is a little saving involved, too, if they really are productive. Some of them are doing very well." After Wild and Company dissolved its tailoring business, Mr. Aupperle began serving regular customers. He and about four other persons form the Ann Arbor Apparel Studio. He has won both local and state citations for his ability as a teacher. "It's a very interesting vocation for me," he concluded as he went back to work again. "I love to do it. I do it mainly out of gratitude. This system has helped me."