Reunion

Find photos here.

Thanks to Sandy Klamkin Schockett who has documented the weekend:

FIFTIETH REUNION

CLASS OF 1958

Being the fiftieth reunion class, we were given the honor of marching first in the Alumnae parade. Along the route, a child was heard to shout, “They must be in their 100’s!” We may have grandmother faces, but a spring in our step made us feel like freshmen as we returned to a place that suddenly felt like home. The spectacular leafy campus and warm welcome of our classmates made the years melt away as we basked in the sunshine of friendships rekindled and new horizons to explore. Edgy, Di and their efficient team provided each of us with ample opportunity to share our past, expand our mind, eat and drink to our fill and absorb the endless beauty of the campus and its surroundings.

Carolyn Czaja Topor launched our coming together with an elegant dinner on Thursday evening at her spacious South Hadley home. For classmates, spouses and guests, it was a perfect opportunity to chat with old friends and new, trying not to adjust the bifocals to read the nametags while pretending to recognize the girl who lived next door freshman year. Most of us did not resemble our 1958 yearbook picture. As the evening ended, Carolyn’s daughter presented us with her homemade cookies decorated as argyle socks, playing cards and a hot air balloon with an MHC logo. Did any of us spend Mountain Day drifting over the valley in such a conveyance?

Friday offered many opportunities. We hiked, swam, played golf and tennis, sang, and wondered how we had managed to survive four years of communal bathrooms. Most of us stayed in Abbey-Buckland while those who desired a more commodious accommodation found it at nearby motels. To stretch our mind, we attended excellent lectures including one on the 2008 election by Alan Schechter, husband of classmate Alison Rhodes Schechter. In the evening, we were guests of President Joanne V. Creighton at a reception at Willits-Hallowell Center followed by dinner sponsored by the Alumnae Association and the Development Office. President Creighton reviewed many of the initiatives Mount Holyoke has undertaken emphasizing successful programs and the record-breaking applicant pool for admission to the Class of 2012.

On Saturday, following the Alumnae parade (white clothes, banners, signs) and Laurel Chain ceremony by the Class of 2008, we assembled in the amphitheater for the 136thAnnual Alumnae Association Meeting. We were delighted to learn that 100% of our class had contributed $1,234,058 to achieve a new Fiftieth Reunion record. Our five-year “umbrella total” was $8,880,000. We also learned that an anonymous benefactor had contributed the final amount needed to reach the “uncommon” record just that morning. In addition we won all the fundraising and attendance awards, except for the highest reunion attendance that went to the Class of 1983. Medals of Honor were awarded to Carolyn Bump Marsh and Sandy Klamkin Schocket, whose son drove 11 hours from Ohio to surprise her during the ceremony.

Sue Fresh Anderson received the Loyalty award and the following day at Commencement, Harriet Levine Weissman received an honorary degree: Doctor of Humane Letters. These awards expressed recognition for decades of service to Mount Holyoke.

During our class meeting, capably run by President Muffie Taylor Seifert, outgoing officers were recognized and an incoming slate headed by Di Marston Wood was elected. We saluted our nine Medal of Honor winners including the two who received their medal earlier that day. Previous Medal of Honor recipients are: Judy (Misty) Turino Gideonse, Muffie Taylor Seifert, Carol Bissell Truesdell, Carolyn Czaja Topor, Harriet Levine Weissman , Anne Ensworth Whitney, Meg Claytor Woodbury.

Anne Ensworth Whitney presented a moving tribute to our deceased classmates, enabling us to spend a quiet interlude remembering them and the time they were with us. As a sad footnote, Margaret (Mimi) Fullarton Hood, although seriously ill, showed great courage by attending the reunion. She died a few weeks later, in Wisconsin on June 7.

Within our reunion, were several mini-reunions; among them high school friends who had not seen one another since graduation. Washington interns during the summer of 1957, Janie Katz, Amy Herz Juviler, Lyn Volker Brown, Ginny Lueth Keith, Ellen Boles Olsen and Ann Jones Dolbear reminisced about the politics of the time, memories of Miss Schuck, the government agencies where they worked and their after hour activities. Ann’s husband, whom she met that summer, joined in the conversation.

Several talented class artists showed and even sold their art, an impressive display of painting, photography and craft. A few intrepid classmates braved a cool evening to observe the senior canoe sing on Lower Lake while others listened to the ceremony from Buckland rooms.

As we departed on Sunday, there was praise all around for one of the best reunions ever. Thank you to all who made it possible:

Reunion Co-chairs: Mary Edgerton Sloat, Diana Marston Wood

Saturday Dinner Chair: Elizabeth Dana Ford

Costumes: Debra Koff Freedman

Reunion book: Virginia Piser Pitman

Name tags: Carolyn Matheson Hirsch

Welcome/hospitality: Elizabeth Bailey Benzinger

Reunion history: Sandra Klamkin Schocket

Art show:

Annette Foisie, Sally Dumper Wiseman, Carolyn Matheson Hirsch

Memorial: Anne Ensworth Whitney

Parade signs: Judith Sweetkind Levey

 

Leadership Gift Co-chairs:

Jane Sterling, L. Ann Thompson, Carol Bissell Truesdell.

PLEASE NOTE: If you did not attend the reunion and would like to purchase the very attractive and informative Class of 1958 Fiftieth Reunion Book, you may order one now. Please send a check for $25, payable to Mount Holyoke Class of 1958 to:

Barbara Ryan Lofblad, 193 Dockham Shore Gilford, NH 03249 603-520-8596

The Reunion Gift Fundraising Team expresses our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the Class of 1958 who helped make our record-setting gifts to Mount Holyoke a reality, and our thanks to Edgy, Di and Muffie for creating such a wonderful fun filled reunion for those of us who were fortunate enough to be able to attend.

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