May, 2002
Dear Classmates,
Remember the times you've had here,
Remember when you're away.
Remember the friends you've made here
And don't forget to come back someday.
Remember the hills and valleys, the sky so heavenly blue.
For you belong to GA College,
And Gustavus belongs to you.
The road back to Gustavus may be long in miles from wherever you are, but in memory it's only 50-year miles away! So pack your bags, fill them with the treasures you've carried with you all these years, and come on down to your favorite college on the "Hill" to join us in two days of reminiscing, renewal, reviewing, and re-entry. You'll see friends whose names you thought you'd forgotten, friends with whom you've crossed paths often through the years, old Gus who's still standing, professors who may or may not remember you, Old Main that stands proudly at the crest.
You'll attend informative and interesting seminars, eat food so good you'll hardly believe it in the fabulous Evelyn Young Dining Room, drink lots of Swedish coffee, walk down Hello Walk, visit new buildings not dreamed of 50 years ago, and worship with your classmates in the inspirational chapel! It will be well worth your effort whatever that might be. So come on down to Peter town! We, the reunion committee, will be waiting to welcome you.
The committee has made plans to meet on the campus at noon tomorrow, May 7, to finalize plans for our wonderful reunion. Wish you could join us! We think you'll enjoy what we have planned for you, especially because we're giving you lots of time to meet and talk to your classmates and to revisit the campus. We've worked hard to make it as special as possible, so don't pass up this remarkable opportunity. We've had fun too. If you haven't mailed your registration form to the Alumni Office, do so without delay! PLEASE! We're counting on you!
We're also counting on you to contribute to our class gift. Whatever the amount, get on board and be counted! You know that we're planning to endow a $25,000 scholarship for the college that will continue to give far into the future, long after the last of us is gone. This will be our gift to the college, the college that molded our lives 50 plus years ago and to those who went before us to make it all possible. It was our legacy, and now we must pass it on to ensure that young, new leaders with strong academic backgrounds, a faith strengthened by Christian values, and a commitment to service will take their places in a world that needs them so desperately. PLEASE! We're counting on you!
Spring has not yet come to Minnesota, but it will. Just remember Robert Browning's words:
The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven -
All's right with the world.
The Alumni Office will add, at the end of this letter, the list of those who have reserved, to date, for the reunion. See you in the springtime at GAC!
Love,
Barb Eckman Krig
1952 Class Agent
1952 Reunion Attendees as of May 8, 2002:
Anthony & Marilyn Almen
Shirley Huselid Anderson
Marie (Schafer) & Stan ’51 Benson
Ruth Peterson Bidwell
Arlene (Hansen) & John ’51 Bloom
Norma (Johnson) & Don Carlson
Paul & Donna Elofson
Jerry & Jean (Kirkvold ’54) Emholtz
Donn & Mary Erickson
William Erickson
Marion (Hier) & Kenneth Frederickson
Marv & Barbara Granath
Paul & Edna (Spaeth ’50) Granlund
Ihleen (Nelson) & Robert Gunderson
Christy Hansen
Harold & Ruth (Seashore ’46) Horton
Paul & Lois Johnson
Rodney & Anne (Ekberg ’55) Johnson
Ron & Lois (Carlson) Johnson
Vernon & Elaine Johnson
Lois (Oleson) & Roger Krantz '57
Barb (Eckman) & Bobby Krig '53
Ernest & Louise (Granath ’49) Lantto
Ruth (Peterson) & Robert Larson ’51
Paul & Joanne (Runez ’53) Lindau
Dexter Linman
Deane Lundell
Roger & Jean Magnuson
Clair & Ursula McRostie
John & Patricia Mielke
Elizabeth (Sampson) & Earl Nelson ’50
James A. Nelson
Nancy (Sanzenbach) & Ritchey Newman
Clint & Vynnette (Hanson ’53) Perkins
William & Marilyn (Larson ’55) Peterson
R. J. "Red" & Mary (Edlund ’53) Rehwaldt
Lois Sletvold Ringquist
Roger & Helen (Johnson ’55) Rotvig
Henry & Carolyn (Peterson ’51) Ruggles
Gloria Anderson Samelian
Irmgard (Meissner) & Hans Schulte
Patsy O'Connell Sherman
Marold & Jeanne (Youngquist) Strand
Paul & Carole Swedberg
Marilyn (Beschnett) & Vernon Tappan
Carolyn (Moll) & Marvin Tennefoss
Bob & Shirley Werness
Bev (Luckemeyer) & Jim Whitney ’51
Ruth Lundvall Zahller
Lee Jaenson Zopff