Grigor Hasted:
CLASS OF 1970
Pontiac Northern High SchoolClass of 1970
Pontiac, MI
Grigor's Story
I've lived in Hillsdale, MI pretty much since I left Pontiac for college. I am on my third "tour of duty" working for Hillsdale College, all positions have been administrative. I spent a year at Georgetown University and a couple in Cincinnati working for P&G; I spent about 15 years as a marketing consultant working for many small colleges around the Midwest, primarily (working from Hillsdale). I am now the Alumni Director and a fundraiser for the College and expect to retire in this capacity. Great fun, good people, meaningful work.
I've been married to Dee for very nearly 30 years (I sometimes call her "my first wife" -- not sure she appreciates that). We have two children; Emily (38) by Dee's first marriage, and Graham (29). Emily graduated from Kalamazoo College (BA) and Indiana University (MA) and now works at U of M, as does her husband. Graham graduated from Elon University (BA) in NC and is presently a cook in Ann Arbor (still single). Not sure this is yet a "career move" for him.
I tried to fill out the questionnaire on this site about my interests and viewpoints, but I hate stuff like that. Don't read too much into it. Happy to tell you a little more about myself in this space.
I'm pretty sentimental about growing up as we did. I keep in touch with a good number of old school friends -- could do more, I suppose. Get back to the old neighborhood from time to time and have absolutely worn out my wife and kids with Pontiac tours and old stories -- my paper route, the old house, where I broke my nose, the Boy's Club and baseball fields, where my friends lived. That may be why we have called a truce to subjecting one another to our class reunions.
Musically, I'm pretty middle-of-the-road. I favor popular top-40 stuff, I guess -- have become a fan of country music. My playlists are all over the map, though. Still love the oldies -- all the poplular stuff from our growing up years. Gotta love the old Motown songs. I even went to a Gary Lewis and the Playboys concert here at the County Fair in September of '10. Hah!
I became a Master Gardener a few years back -- have enjoyed designing and building the landscape around our place. I've also become more of a handyman/re-modeler than I might have guessed I would become (out of necessity, I suppose). My father-in-law was a real "just do...Expand for more
it" kind of guy -- "knock that wall out and then figure out how to fix it." He taught me a lot, took some of the mystery out of it. I mean, if HE could do it . . . .
Politically, I'm fairly conservative, but I'm not religious and I lean to libertarian views on a lot of social issues.
My wife and I have lived all our married lives in Jonesville (about five miles north of HIllsdale) in a restored railroad depot (c. 1898) on about 8 acres. She purchased the propertywith her first husband in 1970 -- it had been abandoned since the mid-50s. He left in '75, we met in '80, and married a year later. Renovations and landscaping have taken decades and are on-going, but are a labor of love. It's a unique old place, that's for sure.
In 2005, facing an empty nest and Dee's retirement from teaching jr/sr high school, we converted much of our property into a Bed and Breakfast Inn named "The Rooms at Grayfield" (Google us)with 5 guestrooms. As we were making those plans and renovations, Dee spent 6 months in NYC becoming a chef, and we now cater many on-site events. This was not a life-long dream for us as it is for some. Rather, we yearned to make substantial and expensive improvements to the property and this has enabled us to finance them ("champagne tastes/beer budgets"). But while it was largely a means to an end, we have enjoyed it more than we ever imagined.
I travel extensively for my work. I like the way it balances my otherwise small-town existence. Would love more personal travel in Europe. Dee spends three months each winter in Santa Barbara, CA and I join her there as much as I can. We rent a small cottage a couple of blocks from the ocean. That, too, balances her life as a chef and B&B proprietor. Hopefully, that will remain our winter routine when I retire in 8-10 years -- I'm in no rush to do that, though.
So . . . work, family, etc. have all been very stable and fulfilling in my life. I've never missed a PNH reunion (although I've done little, if anything, to organize them) and I always look forward to seeing old friends (there's usually a very pleasant surprise in store). My heartfelt thanks to the classmates who make this happen every five years -- and who do it so very well. And thanks to any of my classmates who may have touched my life in such a positive way. Life's been good.
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