Classmate's Comments on Reunions
See also Photo Galleries for picture from Reunions
Bill Hussey on the 45th:
I almost chose not to attend our recent reunion since few of those to whom I was close as an undergraduate were going to attend. I found the reunion very enjoyable because of the chance to spend time with classmates whom I had not known well, and ending up sharing more with them over a weekend than I had during four undergraduate years.
Our classmates are interesting because so many have led such unexpected lives. Many have dealt with irregular career paths, divorce, problems with their children and even untimely deaths. These events were not envisioned in the "happily ever after" mythology of the 1950's, but people are resilient and we seem to have turned out to be more interesting than we were as callow undergraduates.
Thanks to all for a wonderful reunion weekend
Short comments from several, in August and September of '04, on the 45th:
JoAnn Witmer Anderson:. "First, I loved our June reunion....so nice to see everyone, the College did a phenomenal job to "entertain" us (Lobster fest and all).........it was an uplifting time and so worthwhile!"
Aliceanne Britain Griffin: "Reunion was the best ever, from the glorious weather to the opportunity to see classmates who have enjoyed such interesting and varied lives. In renewing friendship with Ginny Aretz Roberts, I learned that my granddaughter and Ginny's and Joel's grandson are in the same third-grade classroom this year: a piece of serendipity uncovered at reunion."
Ginny Schlosser Vaules: "I really enjoyed our 45th reunion and if it didn't mean that I would be five years older, I would wish that our 50th were right around the corner."
Carolyn Parks Behr: "Still full of enthusiasm after our recent reunion, your 50th reunion co- chairs Pete Erbe (hperbe@mindspring.com) and I (cbehr@adelphia.net) have already met to brainstorm about June 2009. The key to a great reunion is getting as many people back as possible - and getting as many classmates involved in the planning as possible. Pete and I would love to hear from any of you who are willing to take on tasks, large or small, leading up to the Big Weekend."
Paul Schosberg: "It was great getting back to Midd for our 45th reunion and I hope to be there for the 50th."
Bob Luce on the October, 2002, mini-reunion:
[to come]
Cynthia Hall Marshall on the 40th:
A reflection on the 40th Reunion
"Confessions of a Latterday Returnee"
by Cynthia Hall Marshall
This was included in a College mailing to classmates after the 40th Reunion.
Other than attending the comings and goings of two of our four children who attended Middlebury, I'd never returned for a reunion. Strains of the rousing question, "Will you come back?" and the promise-response we once sang, "Yes, we 'II come back, back to the College on the hill" remained with me. But so did the undergraduate memory of seeing misplaced, displaced alums on campus. I wondered what in the world they were doing there, wandering aimlessly about. Didn't they have a life? I vowed back then and there to be so engaged on the "outside" that returning would be either impossible or very low priority. Mind you, it's not that I'd abandoned our alma mater. I have enjoyed continuing contact with college friends and classmates and have spent more than 20 years on local PR/Alumni Admissions. I've even been an Annual Fund faithful because the Middlebury experience has been of great and lasting value to me. But I confess: when I headed "up country" for the 40th, I was a reluctant returnee!
This pilgrimage actually began last fall with a phone call from Anne Hartman. Within a week of declining her "invitation" to join the reunion planning committee, I received a letter thanking me for agreeing to serve! A protest call to Granthia proved ineffective. Persuasive, she was...and is! So I agreed to the minimal. I wrote a few letters, made a few phone calls, lined up a few speakers. Once I had encouraged others to attend, I realized that I would have to show up! So on the weekend of May 25, Dottie Dever Frost and I drove from Rochester through the lush and rolling countryside of upstate New York and rural Vermont with a mission: to join the legions of those misplaced alums on the Middlebury College campus! Upon arrival, however, we were miraculously transformed from aimless wanderers on forbidden territory to purposeful, respected members of the College community. The outstanding reunion organizers, Granthia Preston, Pete Erbe, Anne Hartman, Roger Miller--and other early arrivals--were gathered in the Pearsons living room as an informal welcoming committee. Even the two undergraduates assigned to our class seemed genuinely happyto see us and commented at the end of the reunion that the '59ers had convinced them that growing older wasn't so bad after all! Registration involved sign-ins (but no sign-outs!), distribution of reunion schedules and gifts, refreshments and lots of lively, informal conversation. And for the most part, we recognized each other, with the help of large-print nametags!
Friday evening began with a social hour in the Pearsons living room, followed by an elegant dinner just down the hill, behind Forest, under a beautifully appointed white tent. Where most of the other classes were herded together waiting in long buffet lines for Friday fare in the cafeteria, ours was a "Class of'59 Exclusive," by special arrangement! After dinner was special, too, with David Riccio's introduction, Professor Horace P. Beck's talk and President McCardell's impromptu visit. Class was dismissed at about 9:00. Members dispersed to various hot spots on and off campus.
Saturday found us lining up by class to process into Mead Chapel for mid-morning Convocation. Watching "the generations glide" was impressive, especially when the Class of 1929 made its way down the aisle to a standing and sustained ovation punctuated with celebratory cane tapping. Of course, there was additional hooting and hollering when the Class of 1959 Reunion Gift ($7 million plus!) was announced! After a barbecue lunch on the chapel grounds, there were all sorts of activities to keep us from aimless wandering. We sat in on lectures, went hiking and canoeing, played tennis and golf, took tours of Middlebury and surrounding area, enjoyed a Dissipated Eight performance and attended a reception in honor of Millicent Fairhurst, editor/publisher of a 1959 feminist viewbook. Dinner was another '59 gala under twinkling white lights, in a tent behind Meeker, with Chaplain Scott and Pardon Tillinghast as honored guests. Entertainment was provided by the Dissipated Eight, Barry Croland as MC, and other classmates who somehow managed to get a few words in edgewise.
Sunday morning's chapel service was another special occasion. Both sermon and music were inspiring. The Alumni Chapel Choir sang and two of our classmates, Pam Payne Lewis and Millicent Fairhurst, offered a particularly moving voice/violin duet. Probably because chapel dress code and attendance requirements are no longer operative, nearly everyone showed up, looking quite presentable, too! Following the service, we were invited out to the old Hadley Farm for a delicious brunch catered by the Dog Team Tavern. In that beautiful place, we paid tribute to classmates who have died, celebrating their lives as well as our own good fortune to be alive and well--and back for a memorable reunion.
The 40th gave me a new appreciation of Middlebury College, past and present. I was re-educated to the quality of its people and the natural beauty of its setting. Perhaps "The Strength of the Hills" became ours also during those formative years. Without question, the Middlebury experience produced classmates of good humor, well-directed intelligence and generosity of spirit.
Advice from a reluctant returnee: Don't miss the next reunion and the opportunity to revisit and reconnect!
Other submissions are welcome! Please submit them to Lucy Paine Kezar atlpkezar@rcn.com.