Linder House History
The ICC bought Linder in 1989. We're a pretty young house, cooperatively speaking. The house itself has been around for a long time and has a lot of collective history in it, however, as it has been home to many organized groups.
The house at 711 Catherine Street was built in 1894...over 100 years ago! Wow! Anyway...it was inhabited by frat boys back then, as it was the Phi Chi fraternity in 1896. In 1904 it became property of the New York State Club, then it turned over into the hands of the Keystone Club the next year, and by 1907 the Empire State Club owned it.
In the 20's the McNaughton family bought the house, but by the 60's it was a boarding house once again. In 1989 the ICC bought the house and the first co-opers moved in. Check out our house portfolio/scrap-book to "meet" some of these folks!
(Historical information researched by Susan Wineberg. Thanks, Susan!)
My favorite part of Linder is the beautiful woodwork. The banisters and the window frames are especially beautifully carved, and the wooden floors in the common areas are wonderful. Our porch is great in the afternoon and evening when it's sunny.
There are 20 members of Linder. Ten of these folks live in singles, and ten live in doubles. We all share a washer and dryer, a newly remodeled kitchen, 3 bathrooms, wireless internet, VCR, and DVD, and a Macintosh computer and printer. None of us smoke tobacco in the house, but you can smoke on the porch.
This year, we've revived a long lost house tradition, uncovered in scrapboks during a work holiday: The Linder Prom.
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| Living at Linder means spending lots of time hanging out on our front porch! Or members either read...or spend hours gazing off into the distance! | |
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| One of the house's greatest characteristics is its beautiful woodwork! Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by it and the wood really gives you the feeling that you're at home. | We even have a piano in our living room for our members to play on ! |
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| Our kitchen is kept in the cleanest state possible. | Even our kitchen drawers and cabinets are made from wood! |
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| A picture of our dishwasher and two large refridgerators. | We have lots of food stuffs! Whether it be rice, or bread, or pasta, we've got everything you need. |
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| Our second TV room in the basement. Comes with our very own Nintendo 64. | The house computer. Equipped with a scanner and printer. |
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| An example of one of our bathrooms upstairs. | All our members contribute to ensure that our living space is kept clean and sanitary! |
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| Our washer and dryer in the basement. Forget those coin machines provided by other housing groups! |
Linder House Rules and Norms
Meetings
We have house meetings whenever necessary or whenever we feel like we haven't seen each other as a group lately. Expect meetings to be necessary every month. We eat our dinners at home (some of you may recall our former arrangement with Vail; that's over now) four to five nights a week.
Meetings are facilitated by the President and are run by Robert's Rules of Order Revised. The President will go over meeting procedure at your first meeting. It's pretty simple and fair, and if the issues are not too complex or controversial meeting procedure is not always so formal. And every meeting starts with an ice-breaker or a very fun activity, so be sure to be on time!
Work duties
Everyone at Linder is responsible for four credits of work per week (approx. 4 hours/ week). The way this works is: you turn in your schedule to the work manager and he or she portions out responsibilities based on your time available and your preferences. Non-officer duties are cooking and cleaning. These are the duties that keep our living conditions enjoyable and sanitary, and keep our house looking so beautiful! There are also some officer positions that take up 2 to 4 credits/week. See the constitution for a description of these, and start thinking about which positions you might want to run for.
Elections for house officers will take place either in April or at one of the first meetings of the new term. You do not need any experience whatsoever to do one of these jobs! That's what's so great about the ICC: training is provided for all jobs, and if you have the desire to learn there are many opportunities.
Rooms
Room picks are done by seniority within the ICC or date of contract signing for new members. It is rare for a new member to get a single, but our doubles are very spacious.
Rules
We are a non-smoking house by choice, and allow no tobacco smoking anywhere in the house. For health and personal reasons, it is asked that everyone respect this rule. We also do not allow cats.
Quiet Hours
We set quiet hours at the beginning of the term and expect them to be observed. If at any time you are bothering someone with music or any kind of noise it is expected that you will be thoughtful and remember that most of us are students. It is a right of any person to have peace in their own home.
Disclaimer:The most important thing to remember about Linder house rules is that democracy and personal taste are of the highest priority and that any of the above rules can be changed. We own this house, are self-governing and therefore are equal in the decision-making that takes place in it. We live as we desire, in the cooperative mode, without impinging on others' rights.
The Social Side of Linder
Meetings
We have house meetings whenever necessary or whenever we feel like we haven't seen each other as a group lately. Expect meetings to be necessary every month. We eat our dinners at home (some of you may recall our former arrangement with Vail; that's over now) four to five nights a week.
Meetings are facilitated by the President and are run by Robert's Rules of Order Revised. The President will go over meeting procedure at your first meeting. It's pretty simple and fair, and if the issues are not too complex or controversial meeting procedure is not always so formal. And every meeting starts with an ice-breaker or a very fun activity, so be sure to be on time!
Work duties
Everyone at Linder is responsible for four credits of work per week (approx. 4 hours/ week). The way this works is: you turn in your schedule to the work manager and he or she portions out responsibilities based on your time available and your preferences. Non-officer duties are cooking and cleaning. These are the duties that keep our living conditions enjoyable and sanitary, and keep our house looking so beautiful! There are also some officer positions that take up 2 to 4 credits/week. See the constitution for a description of these, and start thinking about which positions you might want to run for.
Elections for house officers will take place either in April or at one of the first meetings of the new term. You do not need any experience whatsoever to do one of these jobs! That's what's so great about the ICC: training is provided for all jobs, and if you have the desire to learn there are many opportunities.
Rooms
Room picks are done by seniority within the ICC or date of contract signing for new members. It is rare for a new member to get a single, but our doubles are very spacious.
Rules
We are a non-smoking house by choice, and allow no tobacco smoking anywhere in the house. For health and personal reasons, it is asked that everyone respect this rule. We also do not allow cats.
Quiet Hours
We set quiet hours at the beginning of the term and expect them to be observed. If at any time you are bothering someone with music or any kind of noise it is expected that you will be thoughtful and remember that most of us are students. It is a right of any person to have peace in their own home.
Disclaimer:The most important thing to remember about Linder house rules is that democracy and personal taste are of the highest priority and that any of the above rules can be changed. We own this house, are self-governing and therefore are equal in the decision-making that takes place in it. We live as we desire, in the cooperative mode, without impinging on others' rights.
The Social Side of Linder
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| As a house, we spend lots of time together. And we even have some crazy ideas from time to time! | Food is a large part of what brings us together. If you love making and eating food, then you've come to the right place. |
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| Here our members gather around in the kitchen to enjoy one of our house dinners. | Dinners are always a fun time! There's always something to talk...or laugh about. |
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| Our house just loves to relax and enjoy our surroundings. | Sometimes we even pursue off-campus activities together. Here we are picking blueberries. |
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ICC Office: 337 E. William St. / Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 662-4414 / fax (734) 662-5870
info@icc.coop
(734) 662-4414 / fax (734) 662-5870
info@icc.coop