CLASS OF 1967 | 2014 | ISSUE 2
I used Wesconnect to send an e-blast to all members of the class for whom Wesleyan has an e-mail, asking for info. In that e-mail I also asked what event remains most vivid in your memories. I mentioned that a vivid memory for me was learning about JFK’s assassination (I was in Downey House). The responses have been fascinating—some brief, some detailed.
Not surprisingly, Kennedy’s assassination was also a vivid memory for many of those who responded. Mike Feagley remembered learning about Kennedy in the following way: “When someone on campus told me in my third month at Wesleyan that ‘the president has been shot,’ I wondered at first why anyone would attack Vic Butterfield. I got a bit less stupid as time went on and Les Gelb broadened my perspective.”
George McKechnie wrote this about the assassination: “The JFK assassination was a turning point in my life. I heard the news while dissecting a fetal pig for freshman biology. My fantasies of becoming a surgeon were quickly deflated, and I began to think about studying human motivation and personality—which I later did.”
Dave Garrison put the death of JFK in the larger framework of the five years he spent getting his Wesleyan degree: “My graduation was delayed by my year abroad in Spain. JFK was killed in the fall of my first year, then Martin Luther King in the spring of my last year, and RFK two days before my graduation. The speaker was Leonard Bernstein, who was a close friend of the Kennedy family, and he was grief stricken. Having my college years bracketed by assassinations left me, even at that age, with a sense of the fragility of life.”
Brian Sichol wrote: “Certainly JFK’s death. Got in a car and attended the funeral with Cliff Arnebeck, John Murdock, and Dave Cadbury. A moment in history.”
For a few who wrote, the moment in history they recalled had to do with Wesleyan football. As Mike Klein put it, “winning the Little Three football title in 1966 was Incredible.” Andy Barada was more specific: “One memory was being at Williams for a historic football victory! I have a splinter from there somewhere in the house. If my memory serves me correctly, our mutual friend, Ollie Hickel, caught the winning TD pass.”
Jeff Hicks did not refer to a historical football moment, but wrote about a more recent encounter he had with the football team in November 2013 (the team was on its way to winning the Little Three): “Was asked to give a talk to alumni, students, and athletes about the ‘pursuit of Excellence in Learning’ and how students differ now in terms of learning skills. This lecture was initiated by Mike Whalen, current football coach, and a person who, along with President Roth, has changed the culture regarding athletes and athletic success at Wesleyan. I had the opportunity to address the football team at their new practice field and both my brother (Peter ’72) and I spent the evening at dinner with Coach Whalen and Riley discussing the successes they were enjoying. Most importantly, the next day at the football game, which 6–7,000 people attended, was an incredible display of Wesleyan pride, spirit, and pure joy in being together watching history being made. The field behind the stadium was filled with cars, tents, venues serving food, drink, and selling Wesleyan wear for all in attendance. The crowd was passionately committed to Wesleyan and hopes that continued success with support will follow. Great to see some of the old boys at the DKE house and all the incredible facilities that the students today have at their disposal.”
Bill Vetter recalled working with Upward Bound students during the summer after his junior year, and described some memorable moments, including the following: “One Saturday, we took about six cars and drove to the mountains in New Hampshire. In my car, about four of them were in the back of the station wagon playing poker, trying to look bored. We finally got to the park where we could ‘climb’ the mountain, really just a couple of miles hike up a path, but up above tree line where the views were spectacular. The kids said they didn’t want to take the hike. They preferred staying in the car playing poker. The man who ran the program (sorry I don’t remember his name after 48 years) said, ‘Fine. Out of the car.’ He locked it, and the rest of us started up. Grumbling and griping, the reluctant four trudged on. As we got higher, the trees started to thin out, and one could sometimes glimpse a distant vista. The reluctant ones started to get excited. The higher we went, the faster they climbed. At the end, they literally ran up the path, jumping and shouting about how great it was. The memory of seeing them experience something so freshly has never left me. I learned a lot more that summer—about the poorer parts of Middletown down near the river; about government programs; about kids whose exposure was so small that they had never been to either Boston or New York City. It lifted me upward, I’m sure.”
And Bob Callahan sent a number of vivid memories. Here’s one of them: “One from my freshman year stands out as the metaphor for Wesleyan during the Butterfield years: I was passing the Chapel and heard beautiful organ music. I went inside that dark and welcoming sanctuary and was there alone, listening to E. Power Biggs practice in advance of a concert. A kind woman came in and sat with me, kind of amazed that a student would be inside the chapel on a gorgeous day, one that called for frisbee, touch football, or softball. We had a nice chat and then she invited me to visit her at home. It was Kay Butterfield, the president’s wife, and I visited with her and the president for an afternoon. Where else does that kind of thing happen?”
There’s more, including some news about those who wrote, but Bob’s question, “Where else does that kind of thing happen?” seems like a good place to end for now. More next time.
Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu