Class of 1964

 

April 2006

 

Dear Gustie Classmates,

 

Linda’s last class letter, complete with confessions and excuses, is a hard act to follow.  You’ll enjoy her updated winter antics further on in this letter.  And Shirley Smith Franklin enclosed her reflections and an account of her latest adventure in India.  Do all of you lead such busy, interesting lives?

 

Since I can’t top Linda’s travelogues – either past or present – I can only offer you three Gustie vignettes:

The Gustavus Choir, Wind Orchestra, and Symphony Orchestra gave an outstanding concert, 2006 Music Showcase, in Orchestra Hall on March 12.  While designed to encourage prospective students and their families, many alums also attended.  The musical groups were excellent. Visiting with Gusties following the concert was even better than the music.  Everything about the afternoon was exceptional.

 

Quite different, but also a lot of fun, was the Gustavus Library Associates’ Breakfast with the Easter Bunny.  This grandmother brought our two adorable granddaughters, their teddy bears, and their mother (daughter, Kristin ’95) to Mount Olivet earlier in March.  The room was full of young Gusties in their 20’s and 30’s with little children and beaming grandparents.  The Teddy Bear Band turned up the volume, kids and teddy bears danced, and older Gusties glowed.  It is the most amazing intergenerational Gustie event you can imagine.

 

Last but not least, I think, although you can correct me if I’m wrong, I am the first in our class to be the grandmother of a college student.  Grandson, Craig, is in his first year at Gustavus. That doesn’t mean we know more about campus news and events than you do. But it does mean that a lot of the goals, aspirations, and opportunities associated with students are now heard or seen through a lens linked to a specific student.  It is so much easier to want the best for your children and grandchildren, than to provide it.  So I have become very grateful for all the components that create a fine education:  the extra measure of support and excellence provided by the Annual Fund, the scholarship program which makes a Gustavus education possible for at least 80% of the students including my favorite Gustie, the dedicated and creative faculty, excellent facilities, and Jim Peterson’s fine leadership.

 

That leads to a big THANK YOU to all you have contributed to making Gustavus an exceptional college.  Your gifts, involvement, and support are so important to the college and the students.  The Annual Fund 2006 concludes the end of May.  Thanks for all who have given, and if you postponed making a gift – there is still a little time left to do so.

 

The Guslink callers get good marks on placing calls, but are less adept at gleaning class news.  Here is the report on our classmates as sent to us through the student callers.

 

 

 
 

 

That is a record short list by all standards:  very little travel, only one grandparent reference, no interesting work relayed.  But there is another way to stay in touch with classmates.  Email us at:  1964classagent@gustavus.edu and your mail will be forwarded to Linda and myself. Then we can include your news.

 

Make a mental note that our next reunion (the 45th in 2009) will be in the SPRING and ON campus.  My first thought was that a spring reunion means we have now been clumped with the very old, but the 40th year reunion people will be there as well.  And spring is beautiful in Minnesota!

 

That’s all for now – have a wonderful spring and summer.

 

Joanna Carlson Swanson

1964 Co-class Agent

 

 

Moving on to Linda’s letter...

 

Hi all...well, it is spring in Minnesota, even though it is still early April.  Perhaps we can blame it on global warming or perhaps not.  It may snow next week and I can remember wearing sweatshirts in June.
 
I have enjoyed such a lovely winter.  I visited Naples, Florida briefly in February.  Although it was really cold, it did not quite freeze while we were there.  I did get to see Karen Benson Hanson’s renovated new house in Bokeila, Pine Island, Florida.  Karen and Larry were just a few weeks away from moving in.  What a long wait since Hurrricane Charley!!
 
My Gustavus senior roommate, Sue Bolmgren Anderson, and I left at the end of February and spent a week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I had never been there before, but Sue had many times.  We had a fine time!  Terrific weather, lovely people and fun times.
 
I came home, washed clothes and left two days later to fly to Phoenix, Arizona.  After renting a car and driving to Sedona, I visited with fellow art classmate, Gary Kenning.  He was renting a terrific spot in Sedona.  We saw movies, hiked, watched the snow come down, took photos and also painted...as we used to in the old “Art Barn” at Gustavus.  His paintings turned out better than mine.  He was having more company so I moved on to Prescott, AZ and also visited cousins in Scottsdale and Mesa, AZ.
 
I flew home and then regrouped for a ski vacation in Aspen the last week of March.  All was going well until one slushy hot day I tried to stop and caught my ski edge and I kept moving.  I dislocated my kneecap and tore an inside ligament.  So my skiing stopped on day two.  I did still have fun.  I found a Gustavus alum for my orthopedic doctor here in Minneapolis, Dr. Kayvon Riggi ’84.  I am told I will heal in 6-8 weeks, so in the mean time I am slowing down a little.
 
I did make a bargain with myself: that I would work one hour a day on my taxes.  Well, I was looking and found that I had NOT contributed to the Alumni Fund!  So, maybe you could check to see if you have forgotten to donate also.  I know it is a new year, but remember; Gustavus can still use your money.  I am sending a check as soon as I get done writing this letter to you.
 
Please send in news, any kind, about you, your grandchildren, where you’ve been, what you think is important, etc.  It will make these letters more interesting!!!
 
I hope this finds you well and happy!
 
REMEMBER THE GUSTAVUS FUND CLOSES ON MAY 31!!!  
 
Love, 
Linda Leonardson Hallman ’64
 
 
The following is from Shirley Smith Franklin:
 
Here’s a small and conversational piece for the letter:
 
Have you done any, as Flannery O’Connor put it, “large and startling images” lately?  When we were in college, I used to say, “someday I’ll write.”  I made various attempts over the years, even published a thing or two:  VBS curriculum for Augsburg, a few book reviews, programs about experiences in India, an article on adaptive kitchen tools for a cooking magazine, bits and pieces in my church newsletter―but that “someday” seemed to elude me.
 
I enjoyed a few years in a small writers’ support group, tided over the middle age years (or maybe, by the latest reckoning, we aren’t done with them yet?) by writing poetry, even publishing and holding a couple of readings of a bit of that.  But not much:  just enough to work up the temerity to call myself a writer.
 
Then I took an early retirement, from teaching, “to write.”  ‘Someday,’ I thought, had arrived.  They didn’t tell us that much of our retirement would be spent in filling out paperwork, or that some of us would expend large amounts of diminishing time and energy on physical exercise, or that visiting other people and countries could become an end in itself.
 
But God is good.  We sustain hope and good humor by fellowshipping and comparing notes with classmates and their growing families, with whom we’ve maintained contact over the years.  Computers come in handy for keeping us in touch between get-togethers:  perhaps correspondence is the most valid kind of writing after all.
 
And He has given us the time and the means to begin to give back, in our case, in the form of a fledgling nonprofit organization we have initiated, dedicated to helping disadvantaged persons in my husband’s district in India to become self-sufficient in livelihood, public health, and education.  (This spring my assignment is to come up with a brochure.)  But that’s another story, and perhaps the more important use of what time and energy the Lord has in store for us yet!
 
FYI, this year, on the first day of our somethingth (I lost track after twelve) trip to India, I slipped on a sandy, smooth stone sidewalk and fell, and broke a kneecap and two fingers.  I spent five weeks in a long leg cast, and only really enjoyed the last couple weeks of the ten we spent there.  We enjoyed a week with a niece in France before coming home and getting back into an exercise routine...meanwhile arthritis flared up again...physical therapy anyone?!  
 
Shirley Smith Franklin ’64

 

Campus News

The Alumni Board met on campus in February and made the final selection for the Alumni Awards:

 

Greater Gustavus Award:  Gustavus Library Associates, for providing financial resources for Folke Bernadotte Library, and engaging and introducing alumni and friends in the mission of the College.

Distinguished Alumni Citations:  Karen Bossart Rusthoven ’66, St. Paul, MN, founder and principal of Community of Peace Academy, St. Paul; Susan Semple-Rowland ’77, Gainesville, FL, professor of neuroscience, University of Florida and director, Neuroscience IDP Graduate Program; and Magnus Ranstorp ’85, St. Andrews, Scotland, chief scientist at the Centre for Asymmetric Threat Studies, Swedish National Defense College; and a Senior Honorary Research Associate and former Director of Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

First Decade Awards:  Rebecca Konrad ’96, Washington, DC, investment officer, global transaction team, The World Bank International Finance Corporation; and Milo Martin ’96, Philadelphia, PA, assistant professor, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Pennsylvania. 

The awards will be presented on Commencement Weekend or Homecoming Weekend depending on the recipient’s schedule.

 

Gustavus Alumni Directory

The 2006 Gustavus Alumni Directory will be published soon and our goal is to represent your information as accurately as possible in the printed edition.  PCI:  the data company, is publishing our directory and a short phone call will update or verify your information.  Call toll free:  1-800-982-1589, Monday-Saturday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CST, and Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. CST.  International callers dial:  1-972-386-0100, Monday-Friday CST.

 

Gusties In Volunteer Endeavors (G.I.V.E.)

Gusties love to serve while they are students and after they graduate.  Gusties In Volunteer Endeavors (G.I.V.E.), the annual day of community service, will focus in the Twin Cities’ Phillips Neighborhood.  This 1.6 square mile section of Minneapolis has 3,100 families, and 31 percent of those families live below the poverty level.  This neighborhood also is home to the American Swedish Institute.  Come out to help make the community a little better.  To learn more about G.I.V.E. Day and to register, go to gustavus.edu/alumni.

 

Gusties Gather!

Gusties around the world are called to gather on Sunday, August 6!  The Alumni Board is designating this day as a way for Gusties to stay connected with each other.  In research among alumni, we know that Gusties already stay in contact with many alumni, and we know that Gusties have a strong interest in staying connected with other Gusties and with the College.  Ever think you want to do more to be connected with Gustavus?  Now is your chance, signup to host a Gusties Gather! event.  Complete event checklist, host kit, and details will be provided.  Sign-up via e-mail at <alumni@gustavus.edu> or call 800/487-8437.

 

Upcoming Alumni Events

Gusties In Volunteer Endeavors (G.I.V.E.) Day of Community Service in Minneapolis – April 29

Gustavus Library Associates Author Day with Robert Alexander – May 3

Reunion for Class of 1956 and 50-Year Club – May 26-27

Commencement – May 28

Gusties Gather! – August 6

Reunions for the classes of 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001 – October 6-8

Homecoming/Family Weekend – October 7 & 8