Class of 1948

 

April 2007

 

 

Hi Classmates,

 

Spring is around the corner I know, even though yesterday’s snowfall covers the grassy areas and the air is a bit nippy.  We have had a wide range of temperatures recently from a warm 84° F to a cold 18° F.  Still – the birds are arriving at our feeders everyday and their plumage is changing color and their songs fill the air.

 

Gustavus is getting ready for their busy spring agenda including our 50-Year-Club activities which registrations should arrive in our mailboxes soon.  We will be on campus for breakfast on May 26 ready for a full inspiring day.  This year we will stay over until Sunday to attend graduation of our granddaughter, Katherine.  I hope many of you will join the ’48ers and other Gustie friends on Friday and Saturday for this special time together.

 

May 31, the deadline for the 2007 Alumni fund is soon here!  Many of you have given your gifts early and the progress report for our class stewardship shows we are down donors from 41 to 34 with class participation at 41.5% and total dollars given up from $11,407.00 to $21,022.50.  I am very proud of the response thus far and look forward with anticipation to the final tally when we might/could/will exceed 41.5% giving and a greater total dollar amount this year.  The need is great and ’48ers can do it!  Congratulations – your response is overwhelming and very much appreciated!

 

Class News:

J. Lyman Hall, Pinehurst, NC, sent pictures of V12 classmates who were on campus for Old Main’s restoration dedication and also trips to Normandy, France and Wales, UK.  I will share them with classmates May 26.  Hopefully you and Charlotte will be able to be on campus also.

 

Karl Sturnick, Olympia, WA, ways he is ending an era of golfing, and now enjoys two bridge groups, his pool, and poker buddies.  He and wife, Lorraine, enjoy theatre and their Performing Arts Center in Olympia.  “Life is always interesting and busy with family and friends.”

 

I was saddened to receive an e-mail from his wife, Phyllis learning of Jack Nelson’s death.  He died Nov. 2, 2006 in Hot Springs, AK.  She wrote of special times she and their two children had with him recently, especially, going to Alaska with wife and daughter and also being in Amarillo, TX, where his doctor son lives and helped Jack get a second opinion about his diagnosis and have the surgery and rehabilitation needed.  The family was home together for Thanksgiving including a great-grandson who was so comforting to him.  Jack is survived by his wife, son Scott and daughter Linda, a Gustie class of ’73.  Phyllis wrote, “He was always grateful for his years at Gustavus and how they prepared him for his postgraduate studies and his profession.”  Thank you, Phyllis, for your e-mail.

Some of you may remember Glen (Honk) Holmquist, ’49, and wife Betty (Engebretson) Holmquist ’49.  She died Jan. 7, 2007.  Their last home address was Nekoosa, WI.  I visited with them recently at a 50-Year-Club reunion on campus.

 

Grandparents – are you looking for gift ideas for those older grandchildren?  Gustavus sponsors summer sport camps on campus in golf, hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, swimming, shot-put and discus and leadership in sports.  Information is posted at gustavus.edu/athletics/camps/.

 

Also – do you remember that beginning in Sept. ’07 it was announced the Gustavus Legacy Award, renewable for new students of $2500 per year, are given to students whose siblings are current Gustavus students or graduates or whose parents or grandparents are Gustavus alumni.  Recipients must have a high school grade point average of at least 3.5 or an ACT of 26 or an 1170 (critical reading & math) on the SAT.  Call or write the admission office at 800/GUSTAVUS. What a deal!

 

Did you know:

Gustavus has been designated as an “All Steinway School” having at least 90% Steinway pianos for students on campus thanks to gifts and replacement from damaged pianos after the horrific storm in 1998.

 

Gustavus Dining Service was listed in the top 10 in a U.S. News & World Report survey on the best campus food in America.

 

Campus Events:

The Gustavus Choir and Department of Theatre and Dance will celebrate 75th anniversary events in May.  Alumni and friends of the choir are invited to a reunion on May 5 and Theatre will celebrate on May 11 & 12.  Call 800/487-8437 for more information.

 

Honors Day on campus is May 5 and also the Open House for Senior Studio Art Majors’ Exhibition in the Hillstrom Museum of Art.  We are excited to see our granddaughter’s work for the first time.

 

Commencement’s Baccalaureate will be Sunday the 27th in Christ Chapel.  Graduation exercises will be at 2 pm.

           

I am wondering what memories each of you have of our graduation fifty nine years ago!  Little did we think then about living so long and how Gustavus and the world and we would change.  I do remember the excitement of the day, being relived of exams and term papers, and feeling sad at the reality of having to move from dorm and campus and severing the everyday connections with staff, professors, and most of all saying ‘goodbye’ to classmates and friends.  It is truly amazing how the friendships and feeling of ‘Gustavus family’ survive and continue to grow thru the years.

 

Our class letter is a good way to keep in touch for many of us.  I know some classmates enjoy round robin letters and some are fortunate to visit or write to special persons.  I would like to challenge each of you to try contacting a “lost” Gustie friend and renew an old friendship or send a greeting and news thru the class letter.  I will love hearing from you and the Alumni office may be the place to find a missing friend.

 

Let us keep in touch and again, Thanks a million for your support.

Sincerely,

Lorrie J. Leaf ‘48

 

More Campus News

Alumni Awards Announced

The Alumni Association announces the following 2007 awards selected by the Alumni Board of Directors.  Greater Gustavus Award – Given to those who, by deed, have notably advanced and aided Gustavus Adolphus College:  Russ and Jan (Ledin) Michaletz ’74 ’74

 

Distinguished Alumni Citations – Recognizes outstanding and exceptional professional achievement

Paul Peterson ’94, principal, St. Peter High School, Minnesota State High School Principal of the Year.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher ’90, house speaker, Minnesota House of Representatives.

 

First Decade Awards – Recognizes early professional achievement

Jennifer Pleuss Spande ’97, diplomat, Political and Economic Section, U.S. Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Alexander Hill ’97, senior scientist, Medtronic, Inc.

 

The Greater Gustavus Award and Distinguished Alumni Citations will be presented at the Alumni Banquet on Saturday, May 26, and the First Decade Awards will be presented during Homecoming Weekend, October 13.

 

Linnaeus Symposium Celebrates Birth of Carl Linnaeus

In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, Gustavus will host its second Linnaeus Symposium, Linnaeus @ 300, on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The daylong conference will feature presentations by ethnobotanists Mark Plotkin and Paul Alan Cox, and Linnaean scholars Hans Odoo and Paula Robbins. The day will also include tours of Linnaeus Arboretum, a special photography exhibition by Anders Bjorling, music, dance, and a Scandinavian feast. Visit <gustavus.edu/arboretum/> or call 507/933-6181 to learn more.    

 

Lindau Symposium brings Richard John Neuhaus to campus

The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a well-known conservative Catholic intellectual, will address “Religion in American Public Life” at the inaugural Lindau Symposium at Gustavus on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, 7:30 p.m. in Alumni Hall.  A gift to the College from Phil ’58 and Nancy Lindau given prior to Phil’s death last April established the symposium at Gustavus that bears his name. Lindau, a commodities trader and executive who served Gustavus as a board member, campaign chair, and longtime volunteer leader, was passionate about the faith-life intersection and the church-relatedness of his alma mater. The symposium, which the Lindau family and College officials anticipate will be an annual event, aims to provide a forum in which diverse intellectual voices and mainstream beliefs and values can be brought together in a liberal arts environment.

 

“Community Food Security” is Theme of MAYDAY! Peace Conference

"Community Food Security" is the theme for this year's Gustavus MAYDAY! Peace Conference, to be held on May 2.  This is an annual conference, devoted to a topic relating to human rights and social justice.  Among other events, the daylong conference will feature presentations from author Janet Poppendieck, who wrote Sweet Charity?: Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement, and Mike Hamm, Ph.D., chair of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University.  For more information call the Office of College Relations at 507/933-7520.

 

Gustavus Choir Reunion to Celebrate 75 Years

Alumni and friends of the Gustavus Choir are welcome to attend a reunion on Saturday, May 5.  The day will include an alumni choir rehearsal, a banquet for past and current members of the choir, and a full concert with both the alumni choir and the Gustavus Choir.  For more information, contact the Office of Fine Arts Programs at 507/933-7013.

 

Celebrating 75 Years of Theatre at Gustavus

The Department of Theatre and Dance celebrates 75 years of theatre at Gustavus with a reunion on May 11 and 12.  Highlights of the weekend will include an afternoon program sharing memories and monologs from the past 75 years and viewing the performance of The Tempest in Anderson Theatre.  For more information and to register, go to the theatre reunion section of the Alumni website at <gustavus.edu/alumni> or call the Alumni Office at 800/487-8437.

 

Upcoming Alumni Events

Linnaeus Symposium - April 25

Gustavus Association of Congregations – April 28

MAYDAY! Peace Conference: Community Food Security - May 2

Celebrating 75 years of the Gustavus Choir - May 5

Lindau Symposium – May 8
Celebrating 75 years of Theatre Reunion  - May 11-12

Class of 1962 - 45th Anniversary Reunion – May 25 & 26

Class of 1957 - 50th Anniversary Reunion – May 25 & 26

50 Year Club Reunion – May 26