CMU President Plachta at his First Holy Communion

I am processing CMU President Leonard E. Plachta's recently donated personal family papers. His official papers document his service as president, but offer little about him on a personal level. The personal papers fill that gap. Here is a precious, formal family photograph of a then very young Leonard probably in the mid-1930s formally posing in a special outfit for his First Holy Communion. Most of us remember him as a senior man with gray hair and wrinkles. I love processing personal family papers in the archives because I can see a person's entire life, which I find endlessly fascinating. In knickers and a jacket adorned by a boutonniere consisting of a flower, ribbon and holy medal, Leonard holds his rosary in one hand and his prayer book in the other. The prayer book title is in Polish. I love the white ribbon on his arm. His shoes are highly polished. He looks very snazzy. Leonard and his wife, Louisa, were both members of Detroit Polish-American Catholic families and attended Catholic primary schools where they were taught in Polish, and then they attended the Catholic University of Detroit (Now University of Detroit-Mercy). This portrait documents a pinnacle moment in Leonard's life and that of his family.  The high quality studio portrait in its equally fine tri-fold presentation case is from Bonish Studio, 6764 W. Warren, Detroit, Michigan.