My best memories of Nasson are Dr. Ciullo's biology classes. We never had more than six students in our classes, so it was almost like being tutored! He made us work incredibly hard. Dr. Ciullo taught me the value of high academic standards, and I think of him almost daily in teaching my own science classes as well as in mentoring work that I do with other teachers.

I also remember the "war" between Holmes and Glidden Halls that ended with the Ex Lax truce, and of course Friday evenings at the Pits!

Distilling diethyl ether over an open flame (lucky to be alive!). The Oak Hall v. Holmes Hall was or '64-'65.

The friends that I made at Nasson, such as Doug Harvey, Herbert Mallard and Robert Rosen. Also Cindy Eastwood.

I also have found memories of Professors Walker Connor, Ruth Mackay, and Lillian Aiken.

Nasson College represents to me four years of good memories. Perhaps the best four years of my life were spent at NassonCollege. I was overwhelmed with sadness, the first time I made a visit to Nasson, after it had closed, and saw several buildings boarded up. here must be a way to open up that college again.

Lorraine Faye Jacobs Lamarre (married Andre Lamarre, class of 1963) was my roommate, and Barbara Ann Reed Larkin (We still see each other) and Carol Belcher were my suitemates. We had such great times together! Although I stayed only one year, I visited often, since I married John Lodge in January of '63, and he graduated in June of '63. My Aunt and Uncle lived in Alfred, so I always spent time in the area. I especially enjoyed Homecomings, visiting with old friends and their new families. John and I divorced nearly 12 years ago, and I remarried 3 years ago, to Earl Kennedy, who graduated from the University of Tennessee - I'm now the Vols' biggest fan - I love football! I go to visit my mother in New Hampshire every summer, and usually visit family friend Martha Keefe on Oak Street, just across from the old campus. I also see Dick Coggon '64, in Laconia, NH when I visit my mother. Would love to hear from old friends - come visit in Florida! Does anyone know what happened to Carol Belcher? Sadly, my dear friend, Lorraine Jacobs Lamarre passed away a few years ago, after a long bout with cancer. Her husband, Andre Lamarre, recently remarried and lives happily in New York. Barbara, Andre, and I are all grandparents and proud of it!

I just stumbled on your website in stream of consciousness web surfing, and I thought I'd drop a note. My father, Robert J. Smith, was a faculty member in 1965 or 1966 when I was 3 or so. I have vivid memories of riding my tricycle across the Nasson campus. I learned to ride a two-wheeler nearby and probably terrorized the campus once I'd perfected my style.

Good friends -- good times and many lasting memories. My fondest memories are of friends that I will never forget - Jim and Joyce Choate, Gary Porter, Warren "The Dove" Hutchins, Joanne Morris, Joel Mitchell, Sue Pitcher, Bob Johnson and so many more who's faces I can still picture.

We partied with the best at the usual haunts - the dam, pits, RR tracks and Mousam River Gorge followed up with greasy eggs and home fries served up well after midnight at some unknown diner in Sanford. I smile every time I think some of the strange things that went on - in no particular order - spitting tobacco in the Glidden Hall tub, "touring" the coast with a case of bud and a car full of friends, 5 bottles of Valley Forge Beer from Vic Remy's for $1.99, Spaghetti diners at Warren Hutchins' camp and Butch the bartender at the Wolves Club.

By the grace of God, 2 tours of summer school and Doris Reando, I managed to graduate as the "anchor" of the class of '66 with an education that has served me well through life. I'd love to hear from folks at 508-876-1031 or cgibson@bltrading.com

Glidden Hall, John Holsapple, Jim Walton, Donald Farquarson, Richard Alves, partying on the back porch, the old ski hill, pizza, etc.

Mrs. Rollins and her Saturday @ 8am Math classes! Larry Legere (sp?) and his 3 wheeled car -- we used to pick it up and put it on a dorm porch when Larry was at the Lion's Den. Hanging around with Milt DaSilva, Herb Mallard, Cindy Eastwood and Bob Rosen.

I remember the beginning of our senior year when we were scheduled to move into brand spanking new Pryor-Hussey. Well, it was so new that it wasn't done yet. So, the College rented a hotel in Kennebunk and a fortunate few lived the life of Riley on the beach for a couple of months, carrying food from the cafeteria for many meals and snacks. But, those early morning rides in the surplus bus were the pits as well as getting back out there after soccer practice. The weekends were great, although, as an extension of the school, it was dry of course.

Nasson College was very definitely an extremely important part of my life. After going to night school at Rutgers in Newark NJ, I entered a wonderful world at Nasson, and very soon felt a part of the entire student body. Interested in government, running for student body president, being an NSA representative, working in the cafeteria, taking Dr. Young's and Dr. Connors history classes, being a founder of the campus World Affairs Council, and many other events bring back very fond and irreplaceable memories. As do the friendships formed during those years. The atmosphere at Nasson was exactly right for me - I hope it was for many others too. My wife Rose (a southern gal) and I now live near Morehead City, North Carolina, enjoying retirement and wondering how the years went by so fast. I turn around, look in a mirror, and see a person happy, bald and gray! And it all started for me in Springvale. I would love to hear from old friends and acquaintances.
(May 13, 2010)

"The Pits" . . . The prank when the B & G guys were trying to grow grass in front of Allen Hall and had the area surrounded with chicken wire and someone put some livestock in the area. . . . Seeing Dick Bosworth, Ray Space, and Jim Tracy, going through some of their antics. . . . The trip some of us took up to NH one night to see the Spaceship and Aliens that Nadine Seaman's townie boyfriend reported to be seeing. Many recreational beverages were consumed while watching but I got a little nervous when after seeing an unusually large shooting star, someone heard on the radio that the lights were out all along the east coat -- the night of the Big Blackout!

... an un-represented class of '67. Well, here I go, with my daughter showing me what to do. My memories are about the "pits", dam, and cemetery. Joey Bouchard and the soccer team which was great fun, but with little success. The New Division was close to Pryor Hussey, and some friendships developed. Where are they now - Lorinda. We lost Dick DiCarlo to a strange accident -- saw it on my local news here in New Haven. A real shock. My son is a sophomore at B.U. playing tennis. My daughter just got her license, and is driving me crazy, how the tables have turned.

Gerry Holtorf remains a good friend. Occasional contact with Bob Dresser, and that's about it. But I remember Nasson fondly, and the instant and fast friends I made there. Enough---

My attendance at Nasson for 1963 to 1965 (graduating from Johns Hopkins in 1967) constituted my most memorable years in all my 13 or so years in college. From the beanies we wore in my Freshman year to the recording of the “Beautiful Dreamer” carillon being played over the campus in that May of 1965, when I left Nasson's campus for the last time, every moment was full of learning, socialization, and awakening of this young adult. It was Dr. Myrl Young, one of the finest professors of history I have ever known (I can say this after all these years) who made the past come alive. I am not convinced that he didn't transmogrify his being through each historical period … and may be he did; he was that good! My classmates (I do not want to name names for being afraid of omitting someone) with whom I interacted provided me with that intellectual ferment so vital to a developing mind. Dr. Connor teaching Political Geography helped teach me how think the opposite of my convictions. Dr. Ciullo, ex-med student (I understand) turned botany professor focused my attention on biological detail. Dr. Whittier tried telling me about composition, and, perhaps some of that rubbed off, as I did technical writing for over ten years. At least, I think I have sense enough to put “Spelling?” after possible misspellings. In addition, I do not violate the Royal English so as to parade as a Cockney by ending a sentence with a preposition. So far, White Sands Missile Range hasn't objected, anyway, to my doing its documentation. There were others – Hansen (Spelling?) (memorized a phone book within a couple of hours, I am told – walked over a snow bank while reading “something”) – Auger … and I know there are others omitted … yes, you all contributed to my character, and thank you at least for that!

For fun? Yes, I remember the beer parties, but I never participated (although I have caught up somewhat since then. :-) ) However, there was my being elected to the Nasson Student Association for two years and my being hauled before one of its Star Chamber proceedings to see if I was fit for duty. One night, in trying to get the “B&G boys” off their duffs to get chairs set up in the Activity Center for a Hootenanny (which I played the harmonica), I rang the fire department to call attention to the fact that 15 minutes before the event was to begin, nothing had been done for the set-up. The Center was opened, and presto - 20 minutes later – chairs – lights – action – Hootenanny! Later, a contrite Jeremy Horne weaseled his way out of the situation at a Nasson Student Council Judicial Affairs “hoedown”, and another year of representation by him was had by the Class of 1967. (Yes, Dr. Whittier, I will employ the passive voice, when appropriate.)

A number of foundations were laid by wonderful years at Nasson, but a number have been ravaged or reconstructed over the past 40 years. Ohmygawd – 40 – did I really write this? My parading through the streets of Springvale with “Goldwater in ‘64” signs and working with my politically conservative Nasson compadres primed me for the more sobering post-Nasson experiences that catapulted me into the National arena when working in Baltimore and Washington ferreting out hate groups in 1965-1966. The years 1963-1967 constituted a time of the dying McCarthyite period, a time in which putative fact presided over substantive fact and its keen analysis. It was a time when the sobering gunshots of darker forces called our attention to the need to emerge from the halcyon delusional days of “Leave it to Beaver”. My reaction to Kennedy's assassination – denial. My reaction to Viet-Nam – my organizing my conservative classmates into Young Americans for Freedom to fight the “enemy” at our doorsteps. I was to return to the quietness of my father's farm and the seeming stability that once was America. A 1963 fantasy – a 2003 reality – what a contrast!

Of the reminiscences? We are some 40 years down the road, but we can take with us the standard that was borne by our experiences at Nasson. We can take with us that sense of community promoted by our professors and classmates, a community that developed in the environment fostered by the New England Town Meeting, that community imbued with the spirit of democracy that is the essence of an American's being. Nasson, you, as an institution are in the past, but the character with which you were provided continues.

Hi,
Just received your last issue of The LION speaks and thought I would drop you a line to say it's impressive how you have all maintained the spirit and heritage of Nasson College. I was the art professor from 1955 to 1967, and My wife Peg preceded me by two years as faculty in clothing and fashion. Among our colleagues and good friends on the faculty were Len Whittier, Vern Bovie, Bob Ciullo,Walter Hansen, Myrl Young, and Walker Connor, and others. We still see Walker as we pass through Vermont on the way to our cottage in Maine. Sadly we sold the cottage last summer after forty six years. It is on Wilson Lake, just 11 miles from Springvale, so we never totally left the area. After leaving Nasson I became Fine Arts Division Head at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, then moved on to become Dean of the School of Art and Design, NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Too much history there for this brief note. I remain active in the studio and continue to exhibit. Peg recently stepped down after 33 years on the Village Planning Board. We recognize a number of photos and names from the Lion Speaks. Perhaps some may remember us. Nasson remains an important passage in our lives, and Peg and I send you our best wishes.
(March 28, 2016)

Student Abroad trip to Strasbourg, shopping with Carol Faulkner and Marty April in Paris, those vineyard tours, and fun, fun, fun!!!!!!!!! Was it really so long ago?

The people. The establishment of a hockey team. Partying during the late 60's. Scott Merrow and his government courses. Professor Whittier and his English courses. Watching sports and giving the opposition, particularly St. Francis College a tough time.

After 33 years some memories dim in time but not for the period of1964-1968.... Vic Remy's.... 9 people in a car outside Allen Hall with adult beverages... playing the first Nasson hockey game... Chuck Boyajian and Dick Sisson and their practical jokes... Vic Remy's... the popcorn machine and the laundromat... all the walks up to the ND at night and none of the walks back... Sharon Francis's eyes... The Errant Sons... Down with People... Vic Remy's... the Beaver Palace... James Cotton for a week at the ND... summer school... 1,287 five bags of Rheingold... Tom Fahey walking back on campus after VN... four wonderful years.

I have a lot of random memories. I lived in Makin Hall for 6 semesters. The other 2 were spent in: Vienna for one semester and my last one in an apartment because I got married. That's another fond memory. And guess what, I'm still married to Dick Mayo ('68). Is that a record?

Makin Hall, what a great dorm! Judy Wells (Whale) and Karen Tasker were there too. We had fun. Nancy and Alan I too remember that first Vienna trip. Wasn't Herr Greibsch an interesting fellow? I'll never forget drinking new wine (Way too much!) I saw more cathedrals than I ever want to see again. I remember we went on a tour through one and a wedding was going on. We were surprised and wondered if we should be there but they said that it was common practice. Remember going over on the ship? Whenever I hear Wooly Bully and I Can't Get No Satisfaction I think of that trip over.

Speaking of songs, I also remember Dino singing When I Woke up This Morning You Were on my Mind every morning in the hallways. I wonder what ever became of Scott Peterson after Vienna. He never returned. We had a feud with Holmes Hall freshman year (Do you remember that Alan?) and Mrs. Mac dumped her Welsh rarebit on one of the boys heads as she came back from the dining commons. She was quite a housemother! She was also secretary to the dean and smoked cigarettes with a holder and coughing constantly.

Does anyone hear from "Pete" Peterson?

I wonder if anyone goes drinking by the dam or over in the cemetery anymore.

It makes me sad to think that there's no campus left but glad to know this web site exists as well as the room in the Learning Center. I've kept up to date with the happenings from the Portland Press Herald and we're only about an hour from Springvale here in Bridgeton but we've never gone over since the closing because it makes it less real if you don't see it!

I had four really good years at Nasson. Academics weren't a priority but I made it through the four years and had a hell of good time too. When I went back to school in the '80's and had to say why I should be allowed into a graduate program with a less than stunning GPA I said I'd matured, scored high on the Miller's Analogy test and they accepted me. I then "lived up to my potential" as my teachers always said I should and got my MSed.

Well I've rambled on long enough. Our e-mail is rhm@ime.net if you want to send a message.

(Later): I have a new e-mail address muscatawa@yahoo.com. I am retired after 27 years of teaching and enjoying my retirement. As of next week my husband, Dick (also class of '68) is going half time. He's easing into retirement!

We're still in Bridgton so we are not very far away.Sorry to read about Vince Mayo (no relation). He played the organ at the local Catholic church and was sometimes asked to finish the wine for the priest. He said sometimes his final piece was very inspired! For a Nasson boy he had a very low tolerance for alcohol!
(August 28, 2009)

I remember the excitement of preparing for the first study abroad group in Vienna with Herr Griebsch. The camaraderie of the group was something that I have rarely felt since. Being a Bio major at Nasson was another extraordinary experience. Trudging through tidal pools and Deering Pond and the mobile lab. I hear of all the competition at larger schools, but we were a team. Drs. Gilmore, Ciullo, Jackson, Johnson, Fitzgerald and all my fellow classmates - thank you.

(Later): I thought that some of the Vienna and Caen groups might enjoy this website on Sititmar lines: http://www.ssmaritime.com/sitmar1.htm

I attached a photo of the Castel Felice which sailed from New York City in the summer of 1965 with our Nasson group from Vienna. Ours was the first of the Nasson study abroad programs. My memories of Nasson are numerous and it's hard to pick one highlight over the others, but the study abroad program certainly was a great experience. I disliked both language and history in High School. When coming to Nasson and learning of the possibility of studying abroad those subjects came alive. Between Dr. Young and Herr Griebsh, the program became reality.

We all studied hard (remember those evenings in the language lab), making connections with Vienna (remember the pen pal program), learning German Christmas carols and caroling at the professors houses (I especially remember going to Dr. Young's farm) We became a unit - Herr Griebsh and us students and Dr. Young's history courses became even more interesting as I imagined travelling to Europe. Probably the thing I loved the best about the academic program at Nasson was the total involvement given by the professors. Certainly, that was what I felt both as a biology major (the total involvement of Drs. Ciullo, Gilmore and Johnson) and the study abroad program (Drs. Young and Herr Griebsh and Dr. Johnson (I believe that was the name of the professor Nasson hired from New Brunswick, Canada.

In my first and second year, we lived and breathed German. history and the Humanities, and in my last 2 years, we lived and breathed Biology. I regret that my kids chose larger colleges - one went to Penn State and the other to U. of Rochester. I can say with certainty that my experience at Nasson beat their college experience by far - in school spirit, friendships, and yes - also in academics.It was at Vienna that I learned to appreciate classical music, history, language, art and architecture - an appreciation that lives to this day and has enriched my life immensely, and it was as a biology major that I learned to live and breathe - get totally immersed in a chosen subject area.

My life brought me to graduate education in Europe (something I probably would never had done without the Vienna experience), and I do a bit of teaching and try to do as those Nasson professors had done - make the subject come alive. My German comes in handy with the Amish patients in the area. I have no idea what my life might have been without my Nasson experience, but I'm certain that it would not have been anywhere as rich. Regards to all my Nasson friends.
(August 28, 2009)

Random thoughts that percolate while perusing the Nasson website and remembering what it was like way back then... being around during a monumental transition when women were required to wear skirts to class and the dining hall, had 10 PM curfews during the week and were required to "flip in and out" when leaving the dorm (freshman year 1964)... being a member of the first study abroad group... some very special profs: Dr. Young, Dr. Bovie and Dr. Herberger...participating in a student production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?". (I see Irene Jackson is in the directory... where are you Bill Hunter??)... the foursome of Raisig, Rand, MacDougall and Whitmore - inseparable then, on different paths now.... it's fun to look back and remember how it felt, especially now that my two daughters are in college.

There are many, but the first three that come to mind are drinking martinis and listening to Mahler's Second with Dr. John Colby Myer, coming back in the late seventies, walking across the campus and getting bear hugged by Dr. Gold (to a point that I couldn't breathe), and every moment with Dr. Young.

Maine still has the clearest blue skies. Mahler was a constant. And Nasson professors were the best because they loved what they taught and they cared about their students. I recently corresponded with Mario Prisco who is retired from a long tenure at Moore College of Art and Alfred University. He is encouraging my daughter who is an art jock to apply next year, while my older daughter heads to West Point on June 29th to join the bicentennial class of 2002.

It was a great 4 years. We were in the middle of building the science center when the school started to run out of money. Great picture of us standing in the hole.

I am Rosemary Putnam class of 1968 and would like a list of those in my class. I would also like a list of those planning on attending Homecoming. My husband and I have plane tickets to Boston and plan on coming up to the reunion, if we know anyone who willl be there. He was hospitalized again in the spring when you had the Vienna reunion and I hadn't even read it as I was so busy taking him to Dr's and physical therapy and trying to work. If there is a copy of the video of what was shown, please put me in contact with that person, so I my purchase a copy.

We all had a lot of fun and learned a lot over in Vienna. I have used my knowledge well that I learned at Nasson, as I taught Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Anatomy & Physiology, Honors Classes in Biology and Chemistry and many other science and physical education classes as well as coached field hockey, basketball, gymnastics.

From 1968-1985 I then worked for the National Education Association as a Uni Serv Director in Kentucky for 9 Years Defending Teachers and Support Staff. Very Rewarding. We took two cased to Supreme Court and won both. One giving the Support Staff in NH bargaining rights and in KY reconfirming Site Base Decision Making which upheld that monthly meetings consisting of the Principal, two teachers, two parents and eventually one student would make all the important education decisions for the next month(s) and they would be upheld. These decisions could not be over ridden by the principal.

After that, I took some law courses and my health deteriated and I returned to teaching until my health forced me to retire from teaching in 2003. We are very happily retired in Florida in Bonita Springs on the south west coast.
(September 20, 2008)

David Patton (ND) told me about this site. As one of the two New Division graduates in the class of '69, I was delighted to have a chance to see the photographs. It brought back a flood of old memories. The first is a vivid mental picture of Kendall Marsh, in a kilt, greeting the new students on the stoop of New Division 1 when I first arrived. A second, a fond remembrance of hiking back along the old railroad tracks with Jeff Douglas to fly fish in the pond about a mile back in the woods. I recall playing touch football in the parking lot, in a tee-shirt. When the temperature broke thirty-two degrees, we thought it was Spring. Also, my former wife is still laughing at the remembrance of my fly fishing the Mousam River at ice-out. Wading wet, I slipped. The only thing above the surface water was the fly rod. The trout were delicious, but it is a miracle it didn't kill me. Then there is the way had to park that old Jaguar convertible on a hill. When the temperature hit freezing, I had to roll it down the hill and pop the clutch. Jeff Douglas, Bill Kennedy, the faculty, staff, and students made staying up all night in front of the fireplace a source of wonderful memories. It truly was the "Death of a Dream."

Most indelible is the Caen trip, with Janet Saxton, Barbara Gerraghty (sp), Paul Fibkins, Nancy Blackwell and a cast of mostly splendid, funny characters. I may be the only person on earth who actually walked down the Eiffel Tower. The trip gave me a taste for the foreign and influenced my future.

Then there was the Chip Fay, Joe Harvey, Rick Russell, Doug Monitto clique, who taught me Knock Rummy and who gave new meaning to "caustic wit." Doug stayed a friend for years. I lost touch when he moved to China and am so sad he has died.

The Footlighters, the drama group, provided some of my most memorable moments; "Virginia Wolff" put me together with Bill Hunter (who went on the make his first career in the theater), Jeff Babcock (who seems to be making his second career in the theater) and Debbie ? with the long dark hair.

Sally Kruger, still my best friend, on whose car was left a note by a cranky B&G man: "Car parked big wholeness on front lawn."

Dr. Bovie, hands in pockets, so excited about his lecture that he whipped his hands out and coins went cascading around the room.

Dr. Lillian ?, who gave me a taste for philosophy and whom I will always associate with sensible suits and a lit cigarette.

Sharon Francis and her beautiful eyes; ditto Drew Davis and Tom Mason; Penny McCandless and her beautiful hair; Vic Remy, the Wagon Wheel, some awful beer --Dawson's?-- that tasted like it had been harvested too soon, and Sundays in the dining commons eating steak and apple pie.

My week's suspension (for jumping out the window of Marland Hall) almost brought my Nasson life to a halt in freshman year. I'm glad my parents capitulated; I would have missed some wonderful times.

'67 Study Abroad Program in Strasbourg, France.

Hi June,
I just noticed your last name. My mom was a Gillis from Cape Bretton, NS. We have an interesting history.

I so appreciate your work. I have such fond memories of Spingvale. Fourunately, as a late acceptance in 1966 as a transfer from Dean Jr College, dorm space was gone.

I was lucky enough to get assigned to Phil and Esther Gould, 27 Grove Street on the corner of Grove and Kirk St.. The Goulds became my second family. Perhaps you knew them. They owned and ran Norman's Store on the corner across from the Bank and Brown Hall. Their house, saved from the big '49 fire by a last minute change of wind direction, was moved down to Grove Street from Beaver Hill after the fire. I considered it the best house on campus. I could watch everyone coming or going from Prior/Hussey and the New Division.

I feel so grateful for the many gifts that Nasson provided for all of us.

No need to respond, but it's always good to know we have allies. I'm one.

Thanks again go your efforts. I have a final exam on May 1.(I teach at Stonehill College, Easton MA, Healthcare Administration) but so wish I could be there. Hope we get to meet in the future.

Stay warm,
Warren
(February 6, 2009)

Great to be alive! At Nasson we had music! Lionel Hampton, Sam and Dave, The Blues Project, James Cotton Blues Band to name a few. But please remember Peter Gross, Jay Davis, Fred "Flash" Dadmun, and me as the ICONS (before they put those things on computers) for the cheapest garage band rock n' roll on campus. Gail and I are still married after all these years. PEACE. (Gail Campbell, class of ' 69, married Rick Higgins, class of ' 69 & ' 70, in the old church in Lebanon Center with Nasson's own Rev. Hugh Crouch as pastor, on Jan. 17th, 1969.)

I suppose that I should explain the '68 & '71. I was originally with the class of '68 but a certain 8:00am English class with Dr. Whittier got in the way of finishing my freshman requirements, which was somewhat embarrassing since I was the class VP. Before I was able to make it up, the Vietnam War got in the way. Since I was being drafted, I had to join the Navy for four years to escape holding a gun. I still maintained close contact with all of my friends in that class by spending many weekends at Nasson during those four years. When I was discharged from the Navy, I enrolled in summer school at Nasson to make up for that EARLY English class. I joined the Class of '71 that fall and met my future wife Hope Andrew (Nasson '71). Gil Poliquin '71, John "Spot" Spottiswood '71 and I had the apartment over Remy's Grocery right across the street from the campus. It was a great time, I still have many fond memories of those years, particularly "the dam", the Outing Club, and the N'er Beach Motel.

Random thoughts... Study Abroad,Vienna-1967 with Dr. Strauch and 35 other great souls, of course. John and I met there...we barely knew each other before Vienna although we had been on campus together for over a year... destiny?... Hitchhiking through Europe with Bette Kirelis for 6 weeks after Vienna... Sneaking out of Marland Hall (during curfew days) with Martha Bessey to drive to Kennebunkport for breakfast one gorgeous spring dawn... Flying over campus in a tiny plane with John, Elliot Siegel, and Sam Morgan... Our yearbook woman, Nancy Mitchell... Wait Until Dark with Irene Jackson directing, Bill (Van) Hunter, Jeff Babcock, Terry Bregy, Phyllis Callihan... Sitting in the snow at Wildcat et al, timing races for the ski team because John was captain (love was blind and insulating apparently!)... flipping burgers at the Den... living at Home Management House, the best gig on campus... German with Herr Griebsch and Dr. Daley (thanks for your patience!)... and the English faculty that was the best... Doctors Herberger, Bovie, and Whittier... I appreciate them more every year! Being an English major was still the best decision I ever made at Nasson. Above all, the roommates, friends... many we were so lucky to see in May, 2000 in Framingham, the fine faculty... the magical four years that will be with me forever.

1967 - Study Abroad Program in Vienna, Austria.

There are many great memories of Nasson. One of the best experiences was the Vienna Study Abroad Program in 1967. It was exceptional way to see some of the artwork, music history and culture as it pertained to our Humanities course. There was no substitute for being there! Over the years, I have done a lot of overseas business travel and some for pleasure. Nasson gave me my first opportunity which I will always remember well. When I returned to the Nasson Campus in the fall of '67, I was able to see the school more completely for the possibilities that it offered. Favorite professors: Dr. Bovie, Dr. Herberger, Dr. Aiken and Mr. Terry Jones.

My senior year, as I was taking one of my final history classes with Dr. Myrl Young, the Science Building, the foundation of which had been dug my freshman year, was still not completed. As Dr. Young looked out the window at the structure finally nearing reality, he said, "You know, when I think of how long it took the great cathedrals of Europe to be built, I take heart."

I am honored that the link will be on the maine website !! If it were not for the Alumni website, I would not have gotten the spark to have a class website. My dream, as is the Alumni Association's, is to keep the Nasson Spirit alive. I can not express too strongly how important the Alumni Association is in keeping this dream alive :) I am in the beginning stages in suggesting to the Class of 1969 that we hold our 40th Reunion on Alumni Day next year on Campus. Our days at Nasson were so important in making us what were are today! Be warm.. be happy.. be healthy :)

Always,
milt :)

(Later, May 2, 2009): Dear Class of 1969
I want to thank the entire Class as well as the dedicated Alumni Association for keeping the spirit and Nasson memories alive. About 35 classmates were able to come to the Campus :) We wore special 40th reunion name tags that had our picture from the 1965 mug book. We may have changed in appearance but we are all still 20. We were wisked back to our student years on Campus :) We had time for a leisurly walk around the local streets and view remaining dorms.

Thanks to the arrangments by the Alumni Association we were able to see the renovated gym, the chapel, and the Little Theater which is being completely renovated. The renovation is in progress and it will be the Nasson Legacy :) Memories flowed at the restaurant where we gathered for out 40th reunion get together. We all had a wonderful time looking at pictures that classmates brought. Reminiscing was so much fun :) Of course there was the after hours get together for those in the hotel. We met in the coffee room and the laughter and memories lasted into the early morning hours. The bull session was alive and well!

For those who were able to attend and took pictres please e-mail them to me or send them to me and I will do the scannning and I will return the pictures to you. I will get the pictures up on our web site and I will get mine up shortly.

Thanks to all who were able to attend.You made our 40th reunion a success!! A special THANK YOU to Gordon Ayer for being my local connection and for making the hotel and restaurant arrangements. Thank you to June and Anna for making the Alumni Day details and the entire Association for you never ending efforts to keep the Nasson spirit alive. Thanks to the Town and local businesses and all our Class for donations that have supplied the money to fund the renovations.

I'll close now before writing like an award recipient, but the truth be known I was rewarded by having a wonderful 40th reunion :)

Always,
milt :)
www.nasson1969.com
www.nasson1969.com/blog

Hello out there, from out of the blue, with a reunion coming up, it's time to reconnect. I had a question that I wonder if any of you Nasson Grads could help with. Many years ago, soon after graduating in 1969, I remember at one if not more, reunions, Betsy Hopkins attending with her little girl. Children in the group were a rarity at that time, and I remember how much I was impressed by her simply silently observing us all. If my memory serves me, and it sometimes does, both Betsey and her daughter were shortly thereafter killed an auto accident. From time to time I remember her and wonder if any of you out there remember her name. I would like to think, that if nothing else, that I could remember her name. On a happier note, I hope that you all are having a good summer and can attend the fall reunion. Thanks for any help, John Rohter
(July 11, 2008)

Howdy. I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of 1969, after my high school junior year (before Woodstock) in an 8-week 'Summer Program in Field Biology at Nasson College. We lived in what was called the New Division building, and the director of the program was Dr. Vincent [Robert] Ciullo. I got four credits for this which transferred to the University of Michigan, where I graduated from in 1975. I know I'm not technically a Nasson alum, but I often wonder how to begin to go about contacting any of the others in the program (there were about 15 of us), I particularly remember a real tall Swede named Lars, who somehow managed to get us into the back of a pickup which took us to some weird dance in Sanford, a girl named Bonnie who was (unlike the rest of us) an actual college student (she had finished one year someplace) from Ipswich, MA, and some of our field bio field trips, to Deering Pond, to Goose Rocks Beach, and to the Madison Huts on Mt Jefferson (or is it Mt Adams? - in the Presidentials, anyway).

A further memory, which is completely accurate: We had to do a number of 'labs' over the course of the summer program, each of which took a whole week. I think there six, although I can only remember four: a trial run nearthe campus, where we learned how to count the number of different species of plants in a 'quadrat', which was a square meter of forest floor outlined in string; Deering Pond, where we collected water samples and measured turbidity and pond chemistry (and learned that Deering Pond was mesotrophic - that is, slowly turning into a peat bog); Goose Rocks Beach, where three of us decided not to sleep in the pup tents we had set up on the beach (unaware that it was both a full moon and a wind-driven high tide; you can imagine the rest) and instead 'camp' in the short bus that served as transport - this was the sandiest, hottest, most humid night I have ever experienced, made complete by the bloom of black flies that erupted as soon as we got into our sleeping bags); and the climax, which was a dawn departure (in that same bus) for the base of the AMC trail up the back of the Presidential Range to the Madison Huts (in view of Mt Washington across The Wilderness) - where we collected samples of water from 'glacial pannes' (the little ponds up there) and analyzed them for e.coli. We got a damned fine education in how to keep notes and do things correctly. Dr. Ciullo was a martinet, and the exact memory I referred to above is his instruction to those of us who smoked cigarettes: 'Field Strip Those Butts!' (meaning, tear up the butt into little pieces that would biodegrade and no be visible.) Nowadays this would be stated as 'Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.' I also remember that I had a battery-powered Singer brand stereo record player, and I am pretty sure that the hot albums (in my collection at least) were Creedence Clearwater Revival and Iron Butterfly (yes, I 'fess up to owning 'in-a-gadda-da-vida' - heh..)

I tried contacting somebody at the ND site but I got no response - I guess we in this program don't rise to the level of 'real' Nassonites (true enough), but since the whole place is now part of the past now, perhaps I can throw myself of the mercy of the court. Thanks in advance for any response. Larry Honig, Newton, MA
(February 9, 2009)

Jere [husband] passed away his family gathered by him along with one small fluffy poodle named Koda Bear. After years of battling heart disease he succumbed to cancer at the age of 68. He joins his daughter Bonnie who passed 7 years ago at the age of 35. He was a quiet man, a family man. He will be greatly missed.

Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n Roll! Don't trust anyone over 30! Question Authority! Make Love Not War! Give Peace a Chance!

Nasson offered a very unique education -- small classes, wonderful professors and diversity in the student body. But as Dylan said, “The Times They Are A Changin.” We rebelled. We said right off we wanted drinking on campus. It was hypocrItical and dangerous to put it off-campus. We pushed -- the rule was changed. We were the first classes to study abroad, to explore the world with our knapsacks and to bring 'Otherness' back to Nasson. The sleeping womb of Nasson was infiltrated with first-hand experiences of art, foreign cultures and knowledge of the bigger world. Growing up was happening ... fast! Friendships were intense. Study was intense. Parties were intense. Our class treaded on new generational territory. At the Little Theatre we stopped performing lightweight Neil Simon but took the dark journey with Edward Albee. In film the uncomplicated goodness of Julie Andrews was replaced with the seductive and morally-corrupt Mrs. Robertson. An experiment in education on campus took place -- The New Division. Controversy ensued. We were constantly being asked to think differently. Integration was happening, a sexual revolution was happening -- we all went through this together and, not everyone stood on the same side of these polemics. But we were united in seeking the best solutions. The Viet Nam war held our dreams by the throat. We gathered together as the lottery took place and emotionally held each other's hands as each number was drawn and a classmate's fate was determined. There was lots of levity but it always masked a changing and dangerous world. The sweetness of folk music was pushed aside for the harsher sounds and experiences of Hendrix, Joplin and Dylan, and, not to be forgotten, the explosion created by the release of the Beatles' “Sargeant Pepper's.” While John Lennon said The Beatles were more popular than Jesus, “Time Magazine” asked, “Is God Dead?”

This was the rule-changing world that was ours while we were at Nasson. Nothing went un-challenged. But it was the very unsettling nature of the world that brought the glue to our long-lasting friendships and the reverence we seem to have all these years for Nasson. And for each other.
(July, 2015)

Nasson was my way out into the world that I knew was out there, but otherwise would never have found the path to. I got there on a War on Poverty grant. What I remember most was never having felt that I was being judged as a "townie". Loved the small classes, and didn't appreciate that wasn't the norm till I attended The University of New Mexico. Never had a professor who wasn't encouraging. I had a number of jobs on campus. The one I had the most fun in was working at the library. I got paid to read newspapers, magazines and books. Well, I read them as I put them away. I met Dr. Young while there the summer before classes started. Mr. Gay's secretary had worked for Kathryn Hepburn, so I heard all kinds of stories about one of my favorite actresses. Some upperclass men were also working at the school, and made me part of their group. Babysitting for Herr Greibch (not sure of the spelling) and Dr. Smith, who along with his wife introduced me to the inner gossip of the administration as well as how to just hold a glass of beer and wine and relax in a social situation. And going to France for the semester! Have returned to Caen twice. I came to Nasson from a totally different direction than most everyone else and loved every minute of it thanks to great classmates and teachers. It was a unique time.
(July, 2015)