| (IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THIS LETTER BY E MAIL, PLEASE LET Jill Vollmer Blackwood KNOW. jblackwood48@gmail.com)
Dear Classmates:
With the beginning of fall, I hear the Mary Lyon chimes in my memory and remember the fresh start of a new school year. Thankfully, almost 2300 students are back in South Hadley this fall…and, for more than half of them, this is their very first year on campus!
Other Campus News:
• Due to the fire this past summer at Mead Hall, about 150 students are temporarily living at Hampshire College for this semester. They should be able to return to Mead in the spring.
• Mount Holyoke’s ratings have risen! In US News and World Reportrankings, the College has gone from 34th to 30th, with the increase due predominantly to the reputation of the faculty and our continuing high graduation rate. We are 23rd in terms of Alumnae giving rates among a group of similar colleges.
• Covid 19: By mid-September more than 95% of students and 97% of faculty and staff had been vaccinated and more are in process.Since the beginning of the semester, there have been 12 new cases on campus. MHC is apparently doing much better statistically than Hampshire County
There is a light at the end of this long pandemic tunnel for us too as we look forward to our delayed 50th class reunion next May. I hope you have saved the dates on your calendar, are reaching out to friends you want to meet in South Hadley and are planning to reabsorb the beauty of the MHC campus from noon on Friday, May 27 until noon on Sunday, May 29. This is Reunion II weekend, and we will share it with our “grandchild” class of 2020, who will finally celebrate their commencement on Sunday.
We have all led different lives since our own graduation almost 52 years ago and this reunion affords us a rare opportunity to gather again and share our experiences and life stories. I expect that we will find surprising similarities, but also amazing and unique differences. Please plan to be there with all of us. It has been almost 7 years since we were last together on campus…and we all deserve this time to see each other again and to celebrate!
Still Uncommon After All These Years: 50th Reunion Updates from Jane Hiller Farran, Barbara Cooke Monks and Yvonne Watford-McKinney
Our 50+Reunion is a mere seven months away – May 27 – 29, 2022! Hooray! Mark your calendars, make travel arrangements, pack your whites, and let’s get together in South Hadley for that three-day weekend. The class reunion committee has reconvened to resurrect some plans and to develop new ideas for activities and, especially, more Pegasus Perspectives. There are now 52 Reasons to Attend Reunion, instead of just 50! Watch for all 52 to be unveiled on the class Facebook page. Now that you know the basics, get ready for a festive weekend at Mount Holyoke at our class base of operations in Buckland Hall. Know that there’s no reunion without you!
HELP WANTED!
(1) Are you a photo slideshow expert? The reunion committee would like to create a spectacular presentation that celebrates the class of 1970. We will provide the digital images. You will develop a slideshow that will be on view in our headquarters dorm. If you’re interested, please contact Ellen Cochran Hirzy (ellenhirzy@gmail.com).
(2) Our 50th Reunion Memorial Service is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, May 28, 2022. If you are a vocal or instrumental musician and would like to offer a musical selection as part of the service, please email Patricia Sobers Mitchell at prsmitchell@gmail.com
A Message from our Head Class Agents, Toni Tschann, Beth Kofronand Susan Ellis
We are often reminded that our financial support is essential to Mount Holyoke. Currently, 73% of students receive direct support from the College which means that a gift to one of the scholarship funds will make an immediate impact. I hope you will join me in showing our support to these students with generous gifts in our “50+” reunion year.
Dues
Thank you for sending in your class dues which will help us stay connected! Dues for the five years ending with our 55th reunion are $20 annually or $100 for five years. Checks made out to Class of 1970 MHC may be sent to our Treasurer, Marjorie Gross, at 400 W. End Ave. 9B, New York, NY 10024. To pay electronically, click on your bank’s app and on “funds transfer with Zelle.” The recipient is classof1970MHC@gmail.com. If they ask for the name of the recipient, use Class of 1970 of Mount Holyoke College. If they ask for a first and last name, the last name is “College” and the first name is the rest of the recipient name. If you don’t remember if you’ve already paid, check on our class page on the Alumnae Association website: https://new.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/1970/
Staying Connected
We are always looking for Quarterly Class Notes about what you and your college friends are doing, any mini-reunions you are squeezing into this year or special adventures on which you have embarked. Please send your updates to Diane Mayer Murphy (dmurphy@cminc.com) or Ellen Cochran Hirzy (ellenhirzy@gmail.com).
• Our class website can be accessed through alumnae.mtholyoke.edu or by clicking directly on https://new.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/1970. Check for dues updates plus copies of class newsletters. Reunion information will also be posted here.
• Please consider joining our class Facebook page: Mount Holyoke Class of 70 or by contacting Jill Vollmer Blackwood at jblackwood48@gmail.com
• If you plan far ahead and would like to get involved with our 55threunion in May 2025, please reach out to Libby Tucker Gould (ltucker@binghamton.edu). We will only have 3 years to organize after our rescheduled 50th reunion next year, so no time to waste!
• As our reunion approaches, I hope you will take the time to find other college friends and to be sure your own information is updated through the Alumnae Association website. To update your e-mail information on the Alumnae Association online directory: go to https://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/ and either log on or register. Proceed to your profile to EDIT information. Please note that you can choose to have your e-mail address public or hidden from view. The next important step is to scroll down to edit e-mail preferences i.e., select which types of college e-mails you want to receive. Then SAVE and you are done!
Like many of you, I am gradually resuming my own personal travel. I hope to visit cities in the next six months close to where some of you might live and I will try to let you know with an email notice in advance. It would be wonderful to meet you for coffee, to share a meal or a quick chat. I look forward to seeing you “where you are” and especially at our 50th!
In the meantime, please stay safe. I know the passing years have brought new challenges to many of us. As I write this newsletter, I am sending you every good wish for strength, resilience and optimism, along with good health, precious moments with family and friends, the joys of every season, new books to be read and new roads to be taken.
Ann
Ann Richardson Berkey
Class President
ann.berkey@gmail.com
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