The Class of 1955 added a historical perspective to commencement. Twelve members of the class attended a special breakfast Sunday morning in their honor; several brought spouses, including Carole Fish ’55 who brought her husband Calvin ’54, a member of last year’s Jubilee celebration.
“Things were different then,” said several of the class, and they certainly were. Eastern was the Willimantic State Teachers College, and the 43 graduates all became teachers following graduation. The 11 men in the class stayed in Beckert Hall, now home of the David T. Chase Free Enterprise Institute, and the women lived in Burr Hall. The two residence halls plus Shafer and Noble Halls constituted the campus. Keelor Hall was built just prior to graduation, the first building on the north campus.
“We also hung out at The Campus Shop on High Street,” explained Gail Crawford Yother ’55. Others attending the breakfast included Donald Sayers, Alyce I. Butler, Edith Barber Buck, and Catherine Chapman Hiller and her husband, Irving, Jean Jamieson and her husband Robert, Hermine Purvis, Norma Paradis,
Raymond Provencher and his guest Fred Bennett ’54, and Margaret Hickson.
The Jubilee Class later helped introduce the Class of 2005 to Alma Mater at the Baccalaureate Service. President Carter told the group at the service, “You have made the University proud.” |
