Greetings from the north country of Vermont, where I awoke to -12 degrees a few days ago. I have really enjoyed getting back to a college town (Middlebury), where the friends are many and the educational stimulation just great. One of the best things here is a new Colby friend, Peg Rodgers Nichols ’50. I’m sure some of you remember her—a super gal. * In late December Paul and Mimi Russell Aldrich returned from their annual week on Antigua and began making plans for an early-winter trip to St. Barts. They’re great-grandparents to “two of the most beautiful and bright kids ever, aged 5 and 4. The latter is expecting a baby sister in April.” The Aldriches also sent an obituary for Arnold “Jesse” James, who passed away Dec. 18 at his home in Lamoine, Maine. * Richard “Dick” Chamberlain wrote, “An active group, close to 3,000, is using the Facebook site ‘You Know You’re From Waterville If.’” Dick mused, “It would be interesting to the Colby community since pictures of old Colby are among the most popular, frequent posts. One recurrent theme comes from the folks who grew up in Waterville and dislike the changes that urban renewal brought to the downtown. Many want to know what happened to Parks’ Diner. A recent post published Dean Ernest Marriner’s ‘Little Talks on Common Things.’” So many Colby students lived in the town at one time or another, so Dick is sure there would be some interesting memories prompted by this material. * Evangeline Sferes Getzen wrote, “You asked if we remembered any of our classes. Yes, I remember my math class where Prof. Combellack told me I would flunk after my first exam results. And I did. Then another math professor casually one day in the Spa told me I should take his class: I would meet lots of good-looking football players and I would pass the math, which I did. Another class was Shakespeare. The professor would invite me to go to movies with her and invite herself to dinner at our dorm, with instructions to ask other English majors. It was embarrassing because my friends accused me of ‘trying to butter up’ the professor. I lived in Houston for six years, Afghanistan for three, and North Carolina for many. We have a very large family, and we visit Maine (where my family was) and Florida (where my husband’s family lived). We traveled in connection with my husband’s work as a chemistry professor. Highlights: driving down the Khyber Pass from Kabul to Peshawar with three small children and a grandmother (who was terrified most of the way), crossing Russia from Tashkent to Khabarovsk to Nakhodka on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and then going to Japan by boat. Got on a plane in Russia and waited nervously while gasoline was pumped by a Russian worker casually smoking cigarettes. We visited friends in Warsaw the week Communism fell, survived a scary earthquake in Kabul, and were put on alert to prepare to evacuate Kabul when the Arab-Israeli war broke out.” WOW is all I can say, in addition to my thanks to Vangie for all that. * Art White said, “Things are pretty quiet in Bath, Maine. The cold tends to slow things down. I saw the Colby-Bowdoin basketball game at Bowdoin and was pleased to see Colby win. I missed the Colby-Bowdoin football game as I went to the Dover-Foxcroft-Waterville playoff football game the same day in Waterville. The Foxcroft Ponies are coached by my brother Norm’s (Class of ’50) grandson. Unfortunately Waterville scored in the last seven seconds for
the 13-7 win.” * Thanks to everyone for their participation this time. We’ll see you next time.