NEW 70TH REUNION PAGE
REMEMBER WHEN WE LOOKED LIKE THIS?
Well it's time for a new image!
HERE'S THE REALLY GOOD NEWS!
IT'S FREE!
YES YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY!
THE COLLEGE IS PAYING FOR EVERYTHING FROM FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FOR ALL CLASSMATES
We will have to get ourselves there as transportation costs are not included, but no one should worry about $ because we have scholarship $ available for anyone that feels they can't pay their transportation cost.
We want you there!
Ellie Graham Claus is our Reunion Chair
Until Our Next REUNION!
We'll be staying at Willets with our own bathrooms!
(There goes that worry!)
And all of our meals will also be in Willets.
We'll have a bus tour of the campus with students guides and time to talk to them about life on campus in 2025.
Our Honoraries will join us for meals and social hours
and it will be
FUN, FUN FUN!
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DONATIONS TO THE ARCHIVES
We're all in the process of "cleaning out stuff" so this is the perfect time to think about sending some of it to
The Mount Holyoke Archives!
Archives and Special Collections collects the papers and other records of individuals, institutions, and organizations connected with Mount Holyoke College. Archives and Special Collections also collects rare books related to a wide variety of areas, fields, and disciplines. All of these materials are maintained as primary resources for teaching and research conducted by students, faculty, and other users.
Archives and Special Collections has been shaped and strengthened through the generosity of thousands of individuals who have supported it through the decades. The rich and diverse collections are the result of the thought and effort of generations of loyal alumnae, faculty, librarians, archivists, and friends of Mount Holyoke.
We welcome donations of collections or of single items that directly support or complement the historic collections.
The first step in making a donation is to contact Deborah Richards, head of Archives and Special Collections. She looks forward to discussing what materials you have.
Donating archives
The manuscript collections document the academic, administrative, and social history of Mount Holyoke College through the letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and course materials of faculty, staff, and students.
Each year, these collections are consulted by thousands of researchers from around the world. With the donation of each new collection, we are able to increase the breadth and depth of our resources to better serve the educational needs of the College and of scholars who are drawn to our collections due to Mount Holyoke's prominent place in the history of women's education. Each donation helps to enlarge the documentation of not only the effect of Mount Holyoke on the world but the effect of individuals on the institution itself.
Below are lists of some types of materials that Archives and Special Collections collects. Please note that these lists are not definitive; there may be other types of documents or records that may have continuing research value. Printed and digital materials are welcome.
Personal papers
ocorrespondence
correspondenceodiaries and journals
diaries and journalsoscrapbooks
scrapbooksophotographs
photographsoMHC course syllabi
MHC course syllabiobiographical information
biographical informationoaudio/visual recordings
audio/visual recordingsInstitutional and organization records, including class years and student organizations
oarticles of incorporation
articles of incorporationoby-laws
by-lawsoannual reports
annual reportsoclass histories
class historiesocorrespondence
correspondenceoevent flyers and programs
event flyers and programsomeeting minutes
meeting minutesophotographs
photographsoplanning documents
planning documentsopress releases
press releasesopublications
publicationsoaudio/visual recordings
audio/visual recordingsDonating rare books
The Rare Books collection serves as a primary resource for teaching and research conducted by students, faculty and other researchers. Donations to this collection, or monetary donations for the purchase of rare books, help us to increase the breadth and depth of our collections and allow us to better support the curricular needs of the College.
The Archives and Special Collections main rare book collections include books written specifically for girl readers between 1830 and 1970; American history; illustrated editions of Dante Alighieri's Divina commedia; 19th-century books that are known to have been used in the courses of study at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary; rare children's books; published works related to the Collège de 'pataphysique; Renaissance science books; and fine press books. Because our collections cover more than these main areas, gifts of books will be considered on an individual basis.
DONATIONS (NOT MONEY THIS TIME!!!)
SOME FACTS...PLUS OR MINUS A FEW!
In September, 1951, when we entered Mount Holyoke, the Class of 1955 numbered 321. Their biggest class so far.
In 1955 271 of us graduated. Lots got married over the years and had to leave as I'm sure you all remember. Currently at the end of 2024, 98 of us remain.
Now, so far, 27 of us (that’s almost 30%!) plan to attend our 70th reunion, May 23-25, 2025. We're reaching out to contact everyone to hear their plans.
MARY LOU JUDD CARPENTER
NANCY SCHUSTER HANSON
JOAN WINKEL RIPLEY
ELEANOR GRAHAM CLAUS
SYLVIA JOHNSON LUCAS
DEE LAMB BARSTOW
BARBARA SUCHMAN KASMAN
PAM MOODY HARKINS
DEBBIE WALSH KENNEDY
NANCY NUTTING LANE
ANN TOMLINSON EDMONDSON
MARY CAREY BACHMANN CHURCHILL
SUSAN NUTTER KELLER
JANE BARTH
ALICE CZYZ
SALLIE BARR PALMER
MAC CROFT OSBORNE
JULI SHEA TOWELL
JUDY VERNON
JAN WILLIAMS LIBBY
DIANA ALEXANIAN JALELIAN
BARBARA MULVEHILL GRAY
JOAN HASKELL VICINUS
KAREN ZEHNER LUCAS
WIN PETUS LOSA
MIMI MALLACE FREEMAN
SUE ECKERT SMITH
ALREADY REGISTERED WITH A BED RESERVED!
February 19, 2025Dear ‘55er,
You should have now received your registration letter for our 70th from the college and the Reunion Committee’s letter that was sent in the same envelope. Today’s email is an information report from your committee that we hope will be helpful.
First and foremost, Sue Nutter Keller has volunteered to be our reunion information expert…bless her. She is your contact for any questions you may have about our 70th. We know you’ll have questions and we’re ready to help.
Sue Nutter Keller
Cell 908-795-1647
908-795-1647Emailhen19sue33@gmail.com
hen19sue33@gmail.comIf she doesn’t know immediately she will find out and get back to you.
We know many of you would like to be with us, but we all are a bit diminished since our college days, and health issues have raised their ugly heads. Many of us will be clutching our walkers and canes as we travel the campus. We will have transportation everywhere, but we still do need to get in and out of the transport!
But just because you can’t be physically present with us doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy our 70th We are determined to make this as interactive and inclusive as possible.
Thanks to Dee’s brilliant idea we have arranged for all of our programs and Honoraries’ Presentations by Vinnie, and Edwina after dinner to be available on Zoom, so you won’t miss anything! Our main program, an update of Uncommon Women – Generations Apart led by Eleanor will also be Zoomed. Unfortunately, you will not be able to contribute to the conversation, but you can enjoy the conversation and see how wonderful we all look for 90 + year olds!
We need an updated photo of you. You can send it in snail mail or by email, but we plan to have graduation pictures and current pictures for all of us.
And there is another very important way that you can participate in our 70th and we are counting on all of you!
To commemorate this distinctive reunion, we are planning to give everyone that contributes to our idea a gift that we hope will be meaningful for you, your kids and grandkids and the college archives.
Information about our Storyworth Book Project is explained in the enclosed letter. Now it is time to finish the story. As you can see, we will be creating a folio with remembrances from all of you.
We also need your ideas. Many heads are certainly better than eight heads especially when they are Mount Holyoke Alums! What have we missed? What additionally can we do to help you enjoy our reunion? This is probably our Last Hurrah folks so we’re trying to go ALL OUT!
You can email me anytime at joanripley@me.com or we could set up a phone date as we want as much input as possible. This reunion belongs to The Class of 1955
Wink, Ellie, Dee, Sylvia, Willie, Nancy, Sue, M.C. & Jane
P.S. Since we don’t know who actually uses their email addresses, we will be sending this by both email and snail mail. If you don’t need to receive a snail mail copy, please hit reply and let us know.
IMPORTANT: Please let us know ASAP if you are planning to attend Reunion, definitely not coming, or undecided. You can change your registration up to the last day…remember it is FREE.
We also need a Backup Contact’s Relationship, Cell Phone and email for everyone in our class whether you are coming to Reunion or not. This will not be shared with anyone, even the college. It’s just for 1955, but we’re beginning to lose tract of some of our friends and that’s disturbing.
Hit reply NOW BEFORE YOU FORGET!!!!!! And send in your picture too.
LETTERS ABOUT REUNION SENT TO '55ERS
February 17, 2025Dear ‘55ers,
As I write this, we have 95 days, 19 hours, I9 minute and 11 seconds until our long awaited 70th Reunion, and time’s flying by! Soon many of us will be stepping back on campus and remembering….
Remembering the good times, and yes, of course the times that were perhaps not so great, when papers were due and blue books were on the horizon.
Remembering is the key word here.
As we wrote you, we want all of you to be a part of our 70th Reunion even though some of you can’t be physically present on campus. Our programs will be Zoomed so you can watch them too. And most importantly we want your thoughts and your words to be included in this event. Our goal is to make this Reunion as interactive and inclusive as possible.
We are counting on you to do your part by contributing to our 70th Reunion Book. This will not be our usual type of Reunion Book. We hope it will be much more meaningful to both you, your family and The Mount Holyoke Archives.
Perhaps you remember that a few years ago we had some Storyworth prompts on our website, and we started remembering. Now it’s time to finish the story. We will be creating a folio with remembrances from all of you about all of you.
The world is a very different place than the innocent time when we first entered Mount Holyoke’s Gates. Our grandchildren and great grandchildren have no idea what life was like back in the day. Would they be interested in knowing? We think so!
We have a good start with several entries from a few years ago when there were originally seven prompts. We will be using all these entries as well as
adding five more new prompts. Naturally we would like everyone to answer them all, but we are realistic. Some will be much more appealing and easier for you to write about. They can be as long or as short as you like. It is all up to you…the author.
We also need an updated photo of you. You can email it to joanripley@me.com (with maybe a little help from those grandkids) or snail mail it to Joan Ripley, 6 Fox Den Rd. Mount Kisco, NY 10549. But please do it.
Attached is the complete set of 12 Storyworth Prompts we will be using for our book, along with a few examples of some short entries to give you an idea of what we’re after. We hope you will write more rather than less.
As you can see by the opening of this letter, we don’t have much time left, because we still have to assemble the book after we receive your prose and your pictures. That means…
1.Start writing NOW
Start writing NOW2.Find a picture
Find a picture3.Once again, send the material in via email or snail mail to:
Once again, send the material in via email or snail mail to:Joan RipleyJoanripley@me.com
Joanripley@me.com6 Fox Den Rd
Mount Kisco, NY 10549 Questions: 914-393-5669
And if you haven’t yet sent in your backup contact information, please include it.
We hope all of us, and our families, will enjoy these stories and the history that surrounds them.
Everyone who contributes entries for the book will receive a book. We’re looking forward to reading them all.
All material must be submitted by April 15th.
But the sooner…the better!
Some short examples of answers to our first six prompts.
Prompts for our Storyworth 1955 Project
#1What do you remember about your very first day at Mount Holyoke?
What do you remember about your very first day at Mount Holyoke?Confusion, do I have the right things sent from Oklahoma to furnish my single room? NO! Pleased to have a single as I am a light sleeper! Thrilled at seeing the mature trees and vintage architecture around the campus, so different from where I come from! Also thrilled to think the intellectual atmosphere here is heady, no boys to put their hands up FIRST to answer the teacher’s questions. IT IS UP to US gals!
#2Tell us about some of the most fun things or happy times you remember about college.
Tell us about some of the most fun things or happy times you remember about college.Sneaking into the sculpture gallery one night with a small group of Art Majors and clothing the sculptures. Playing “who am I” to study for blue book exams. Sledding on borrowed cookie trays…
#3What unexpected occurrences do you recall encountering while at MHC?
What unexpected occurrences do you recall encountering while at MHC?Mostly everything was unexpected in some way -- it was the first time I'd ever lived away from home But one of the most exciting discoveries I made was --- PIZZA. I had never had pizza, or even seen one, before some of my classmates introduced me to this exotic dish. And I still like it today!
#4What teacher or teachers influenced you the most and why?
What teacher or teachers influenced you the most and why?Mr. Rox and his splendid art course had a major influence on me. Whenever I go to the Met and view the paintings of the little Dutch painters particularly, Vermeer, I remember Mr. Rox pointing out that the light always comes from the left, and illuminates the clothing, face, hands, etc. of the subject. I look at Titian, and the hues of red, rose, rusty red in the cloaks and drapes of the subject and remember Mr. Rox. I could go on and on. Whenever I hear Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony I think of Mr. Leedy.
#5What were your friends like at Mount Holyoke?
What were your friends like at Mount Holyoke?The few close friends I made at Holyoke remain very special to me. But while thinking about college friends it struck me that over the years whenever I came in contact with a classmate, whether I remembered her well or not, there was always a certain bond. I think that affinity is what makes Mount Holyoke in general, and our class in particular, so unique.
#6What were your favorite movies when you were in high school or college and what do
What were your favorite movies when you were in high school or college and what do you remember about them?
I remember Rear Window and The African Queen well. My husband and I watched them both, among many others, during the pandemic lockdown. But the one movie that really stands out is Kind Hearts and Coronets. I was so entranced with my date that evening that it was years later when I finally realized that Alec Guiness played all of the parts. P.S. I married my date of that evening and yes, we did watch it together again last winter.
#7. Why did you pick your major, and if you could do it over again,
would you pick it again? Why or why not?
#8. What were your political leanings back in the 50’s? Are they the same now?
#9. Would you choose a woman’s college if you were about to enter college? Why
#10. What are you learning from the next generations? Children?, Grandchildren?, etc.
# 11 What best describes you now and what best described you when you were in college?
You don't have to answer them all if you don't want to. Just pick a few that interest you and start composing.
It will bring back memories you haven't thought of in a long time and at the same time make a contribution to Mount Holyoke and a lasting memory for your family.
Highlights of our Reunion Weekend
Friday 12:00 - 1:30 P.M. Lunch
1:30 - 2:30 President's State of the College
4:00 - 5:00 Book Program on Emily Dickinson: Riddles &
Definitions by Chris Benfry
5:00 - 6:00 Social Hour including our Honoraries
6:00 - 7:00 Dinner including our Honoraries
7:00 - 8:00 Russia Then and Now 1955-2025 What's Next?
With Edwina Cruise
Saturday 7:00 - 7:45 Breakfast
8:30 Gathering to start the Parade
10:00 - 12.00 Alum Association Annual Meeting
12:15 - 1:15 Lunch
1:30 - 2:30 Uncommon Graduates - Generation Apart with
Eleanor Townsley and the Class of 2005
3:00-4:30 Campus Bus Tour and Class Photo
5:00 - 6:00 Social Hour including our Honoraries
6:00 - 7:30 Dinner including our Honoraries
7:30 -8:30 Current Events Program by Vinnie Ferraro
Sunday 7:30 - 8:30 Breakfast
8:30 - 9:00 Class Meeting
9:30 - 10:30 Class of 1955 Memorial Service
REMEMBER APRIL15TH IS THE CUTOFF DATE !!!
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS
THEY ARE IN THE SECOND LETTER
ALL THE PROMPTS ARE LISTED BELOW. YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER THEM ALL, BUT PLEASE DO AT LEAST ONE!
EVEN THOUGH THE QUESTION ABOUT WWII WAS NOT WHILE WE WERE
AT COLLEGE, THIS ANSWER IS TRULY LIVING HISTORY.
WE ARE THE LAST GENERATION TO ACTUALLY REMEMBER THIS TIME.
PLEASE TRY TO SHARE YOUR MEMORIES ABOUT IT.
REMEMBER APRIL 15TH IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
AND WHAT IS YOUR JOB FOR REUNION?
IT'S TO GET BUSY RIGHT NOW AND ANSWER OUR STORYWORTH PROMPTS FOR OUR 70TH REUNION BOOK
IMPORTANT!! REGISTRATION FOR ON-CAMPUS HOUSING CLOSES ON MAY 1ST!
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
EVEN IF YOU ARE ONLY COMING UP FOR THE DAY YOU NEED TO REGISTER.
TO REGISTER CALL KATE SAWICKI AT 413-538-2734
SHE WILL TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU.
Short Reunion Bios
(Alphabetical by undergraduate name)
Diane Alexanian Jalelian lives in Arlington MA. Political Science Porter, N. Mandelle, Abbey, N. Mandelle
MC Bachmann Churchill lives in West Palm Beach, FL. History Porter, N. Rocky, Wilder, Pearsons
Sallie Barr Palmer and Peter have lived in the same home for 30 years in Largo, FL. , Brigham, Abbey, Brigham, Safford
Jane Barth lives in her own home in Collegeville, PA. Physics Porter, then 3 years in Lakeside where she was close to the Physics Lab!
Alice Czyz lives in her one home in Suffield, CT just 1 mile from the home in which she lived while growing up. Psychology Brigham, the Rockies for 2 years, Pearsons
Ellie Graham Claus lives in a CCRC in S. Yarmouth ,MA. Physiology-Sociology Porter, Mead, N. Rocky Ellie spent her last year at Hartford Hospital Nursing.
Joan Haskell Vicinus lives in a CCRC in Exeter, NH. Economics/Sociology Porter, Mead, Lakeside, Porter
Sylvia Johnson Lucas lives in her own home on a golf course in Kensington, CT. Physiology/Zoology Pearson’s Annex, 2 years in Lakeside, N. Rocky
Mary Lou Judd Carpenter lives in suburban Minneapolis in a CCRC, a national Fellowship Community. Political Science Pearsons, Mountain View, Pearsons, S. Mandelle.
Dee Lamb Barstow lives in Skidaway (a CCRC) in Savannah, GA. History Pearsons, Mead, Safford, N. Rocky
Pam Moody Harkins lives in a senior living facility in Exeter, NH, Pearsons, Abbey (left after her sophomore year)
Barbara Mulvehill Gray lives with her husband in a CCRC in Cleveland, O. Psychology Porter, Lakeside, Wilder, Pearsons
Sue Nutter Keller lives in a CCRC in New Providence, NJ and spends summers in her own home in Southport, ME. Math Pearsons, S. Rocky, Brigham, Porter
Nancy Nutting Lane lives at Edgehill, a CCRC in Stamford, CT. Art History Brigham, N. Rocky, Safford, Pearsons
Win Pettus Losa lives in a CCRC in Peabody, MA English Brigham, French House, Abbey, Woodbridge
Nancy Schuster Hanson lives in her own home in Savannah, GA. Economics/Sociology Pearsons, N. Mandelle, Wilder, Porter
Barbara Suchman Kasman lives in the home she has been in since 1962, in Chestnut Hill, MA. English Porter, S. Mandelle, S. Rocky, Mead
Tommy Tomlinson Edmondson lives in her own apartment which is attached to her daughter’s home in Holliston, MA. Zoology Brigham, ?,?, Safford
Judy Vernon lives with her husband Ed in an Over-55 facility in Township of Washington, NJ Political Science Brigham, S. Rocky, Mandelle, Abbey
Debbie Walsh Kennedy lives in Newton, PA in an assisted living facility near one of her daughters. French Safford, ?, Paris!, ?
Jan Williams Libby lives in her own home in Providence, RI Political Science Pearsons, Mead, Abbey, Porter
Wink Winkel Ripley lives with her husband, Mills, in their own home in Mount Kisco, NY. They spend summers in their home in Harwich on the Cape. Chemistry Safford, Mead, Wilder, S, Mandelle
