University of Maine - Class of 1954

Welcome to the Class of 1954 official webpage on the University of Maine Alumni Association website. Here you will find any special announcements or reminders the Class of 1954 needs to know.

Siblings, Herbert Doten '54, '66G and Shirley Doten Oliver '49, '53G accept the Fogler Legacy Award from Suzanne Hart (center) during Reunion 2009. They are the second generation of the Doten family to graduate from UMaine. Since their graduation, two more generations have graduated from UMaine.

Below is the longer version of the Class of 1954 Class Column. The shorter version appeared in the Summer 2010 issue of Maine Alumni Magazine.

Harmon D. & Jane Stevens Harvey
11 Hillcrest Street
Hallowell, ME 04347
(207) 622-6896
janmon@roadrunner.com
or
Mary MacKinnon Nelson
97 Tamarlane
Portland, ME 04103-4267
Marynelson78@yahoo.com

At our last writing we had just finished celebrating our 55th Class Reunion. Now another class is making preparations for its 55th! Our plea to classmates has resulted in several news items regarding fellow alums and we hope you’ll keep it up as our numbers diminish with additional time.
A January 2010 Kennebec Journal article reported that Ed Coffin had been selected by the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce for its Lifetime Achievement Award. Ed, a 51-year resident of the city and current city councilor, said he was “flabbergasted!” After graduation, Ed had a career as a civil engineer and land surveyor, and worked as an engineer and bridge designer for the Maine DOT. In 1973 he started Coffin Engineering and expanded to Camden where a major account was held with MBNA. In 1999 he was named Maine Surveyor of the Year.
Our classmate coached basketball for over 30 years, having begun his coaching as a 12-year old in Freeport and still “does Augusta area tournaments” every year. He sold his business about 10 years ago although family members are still involved in its activities. He and his late wife and business partner, Lolly, had five children, many UMaine grads. He has since married May Ross of Augusta. Congratulations, Ed!
Another of our classmates was recently honored, according to the Bangor Daily News, late in 2009. Valdine Chalmers Atwood is the Machias, Maine, areas leading historian. She was honored by the Maine Genealogical Society with its Award of Excellence in Genealogical Service. She was described as a one-woman treasure-trove of the shire town’s history. All of this is even more remarkable because Valdine isn’t from Machias. She was born and raised in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
Still another Bangor Daily News feature tells of the large Hackett family of Derby (Milo) and ’54 class member John Hackett. John’s well-known family, both from earlier athletic and later academic achievements, has been a proud UMaine product. Although a sister went on to Eastern Maine General School of Nursing, four sons, including John, went to Orono, earned bachelor’s degrees, and all went on to claim master’s degrees. All of the careers have contributed greatly to educational advancement in Maine. John went on after college to pursue a successful teaching career that started in Houlton and then moved on to Schenck in East Millinocket. He and his wife, Betty Kruck, had three children, Joe, Anne, and Linda. John now lives in Bangor.
A clipping from the Portland Press Herald in January tells us of another coaching legend, Gene Hunter. At the beginning of a local basketball game Hunter was honored for 59 years of coaching at the middle and high school levels. Gene, as a history teacher, retired as coach for Portland High School in 1974 and then served as the school’s athletic director for 10 more years. For six years, the Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee served as executive director of that organization. After graduating, Gene, a Presque Isle native, began coaching at Houlton High. He moved to Wilton Academy, and then spent nine years at Morse where his team won the state title in 1956. He won four New Hampshire state championships at Portsmouth High before moving to South Portland.
Roger Mallar stepped down from his post, less than a year after being elected as road commissioner in Farmingdale, Maine, as reported by the Kennebec Journal. “I just turned 77 years old. I’m tired and I’ve decided to retire. It’s as simple as that.” Roger has long been involved in municipal politics and state government. Following his tenure as Maine Department of Transportation commissioner he served on Farmingdale’s highway advisory and capital needs committee.
The Cracker Barrel, newsletter of the Page Farm and Home Museum at Orono, has just welcomed a new member on its board, Richard Andrew Johnson. Richard was born in Caribou and served in the U.S. Navel Reserve throughout the Korean War. He received a B.S. in agronomy in 1954 and an M.S. in horticulture in 1960. He returned to Aroostook County working for the Soil Conservation Service in Presque Isle. He moved to Piscataquis County to work for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service.
On a sadder note, around the first of the year we received an email from Ruth Holland Walsh ’50, sister of Jim Holland, a long-time active and loyal member of our class. She related that Jim had desperately wanted to attend our 55th but that he was quite ill with what had been diagnosed as Pulmonary Fibrosis and was being hospitalized. This was particularly of concern as Jimmy never smoked, was diligent in physical exercise, ran seven miles a day, and had participated in 17 marathons.
A shower of get-well and prayer cards by classmates was organized for Jim and a birthday party was organized for him subsequently at the hospice. An early celebration of his and Claudette’s 54th wedding anniversary was performed, to his great joy. Jim passed the first of February.
Finally, we have received correspondence from the Office of Student Financial Aid at the university with notice that Tracy Savage and Megan Kennedy, both seniors, were recipients of Class of ’54 Scholarships this year. Subsequently, thank-you letters were received from each of the winners. Later correspondence was received from the Foundation office notifying us that $ 2,059 had been distributed this year. The fair market value of our scholarship fund has recovered to $34,090.68. So, as you complete your estate planning, please remember how important your university background was to you and consider a gift to our ’54 Scholarship Fund. Thanks for all the news!