Doors Opened: From Benton Harbor Junior College to a Lifetime of Success

During Lake Michigan College’s year-long 80th Anniversary celebration, the College is featuring stories of some of the people who have been part of that history, and who, in the process, have been shaped by their connection to Lake Michigan College (1964 to present), and its predecessors Benton Harbor Junior College (1946-1954) and Community College and Technical Institute (1954-1964).

Sam Monte remembers how Benton Harbor Junior College set the course for a lifetime of opportunity

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. - When Sam Monte of Riverside enrolled at Benton Harbor Junior College in 1953, he was one of more than 100 students who made up the largest freshman class at the time in the young college’s history. 

Established just seven years earlier in 1946, Benton Harbor Junior College, a predecessor to Lake Michigan College, was founded primarily to provide returning World War II veterans with a close-to-home option for using their G.I. Bill benefits. It quickly became more than that. It was an on-ramp to a college education for many throughout Southwest Michigan who, for a variety of reasons, couldn’t go away to a university right out of high school. 

“Benton Harbor Junior College opened the door for a lot of people, especially me. It was a very gratifying experience, especially academically,” Monte recalls. “It was one of my favorite periods of my life.”

In those early years, there were 15 full-time faculty members, and classes were held in the old Central School on Pipestone Road that had been converted for use as the Junior College. Though the College had been in that building for only five years, it was already bursting at the seams. 

“I remember Mr. Bolerjack who was the math instructor and athletic director, the English teacher Miss Niles, and the president Dr. Clarence Beckwith. The school had three floors of classrooms and no elevator. It had a big room down in the basement, the Union Room, where we all played cards. That’s where I learned to play pinochle.”

In the same year the College was established, the men’s basketball program also got its start. Leading up to the 1953-1954 season, the team had accomplished notable success – especially for a new program at a new college – having gone to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championship tournament twice. Under the continued guidance of Coach Gene Morgan, they were about to make a return trip. 

Monte recalls his involvement with the team.

“I wasn't good enough to play basketball, but sports were always very important in my life. Gene Morgan, who was a wonderful coach, was looking for a basketball team manager. Two of us applied, and fortunately, he accepted both of us. We went to all the home games and all the away games. We kept up the uniforms and arranged the trips. And that season, we went to nationals in Hutchinson, Kansas. It was a wonderful experience.”

The team departed for the NJCAA tournament from Benton Harbor on Sunday, March 7, 1954. They went to Chicago, where they boarded the Santa Fe El Capitan bound for Kansas. The Junior College didn’t have the funds to send the team to the tournament. To ensure the team could make the trip, local radio station WHFB held a benefit broadcast of the team’s final regular-season game against Hillsdale College. Through community support of the broadcast, the radio station presented the College with a check for $1,010 to fund the team’s travel and lodging expenses. 

“We didn't win the Hutchinson tournament, but we finished in fourth place. The press kept up with us in the local newspaper. Finishing that high up was a big thing for Benton Harbor. When we came home through Benton Harbor, the streets were lined with people – fans and well-wishers – waving and welcoming us back. I'll never forget that ride,” Monte said.

Beyond the fond memories and experiences as part of the basketball team, Benton Harbor Junior College was the foundation for many milestones in Monte’s life.

“I got my grades high enough to be accepted into Michigan State. I graduated from there, and that's where I met my wife, Connie. Things moved along from there. Our family business, Monte Package Co., now a division of Bunzl Agriculture Group, is in its fourth generation. My father and mother started the business in 1925. I worked there after Michigan State. Later, I took over the business. Now it is managed by my son, Tony, and grandson, Samuel, and as part of Bunzl, it is one of the largest agricultural container distributors in the United States,” he explained. 

Under Monte’s leadership, the family business grew from being a local agricultural supplier into a national and international provider of produce packaging. In the early 1960s, his parents passed the business on to him and his wife, Connie. In 1969, Monte founded Michigan Crate and Basket. In 1990 and in 2001, he again expanded the business by establishing operations in Florida. Additionally, he spent more than 35 years on the Benton Harbor Fruit Market Board. During that time, he visited more than 50 markets worldwide. 

Looking back, Monte credits his time at Benton Harbor Junior College with putting him on the path his life has taken.

“I don't think I would have ever gotten into Michigan State without an opportunity at the Junior College. If I hadn’t gone to Michigan State, I wouldn’t have met my wife. So, it just goes to show you, without Benton Harbor Junior College, I don't know what would have happened to the business or anything else in my life.”