Dear classmates,
While you will read this column on what could easily be a windy winter day, I am writing it on a crisp October day where the trees here in Maine are at their height of color and the sun is bright in the sky.
I returned a few days ago from our mini reunion held in Bath on Wednesday and Freeport on Friday. On Wednesday we visited the Maine Maritime Museum and took a boat ride up the Kennebec River to Popham Beach. On Thursday we met at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport for a business meeting and to hear a talk and see a slide show by Dana Humphrey ’44H on icebergs in East Greenland. I have no intention of trying to describe what he showed us as they truly must be seen.
The Reunion was just plain fun and proved to all of us there how much we enjoyed being together if only for a couple of days. We plan to meet every year in the fall — at least for the foreseeable future. So, start planning now for a reunion in late September 2025, somewhere in southern Maine.
Below is a list of those who attended the Reunion. Yes, many of them provided me with information I will pass along in the next column. A couple of alums were first-time attendees.
One highlight of our gathering was the recognition of Virginia Barnes Grogean as the recipient of the Block M Award for her many contributions to the university. Well deserved, Gina!
Attending our Reunion were: Dana Dolloff ’64G, Perry Clough, Penny Smith Harris, Elaine Farashian, Patricia Small Flaherty, Martha Lowden Scarlett, Judith London McBrair, Janet Small Cowperthwaite ’92G, Ron Brown, Irving Hodgkin, Sally Grindell Vamvakias, Marcia Roak Fitzgerald, Elaine Murphy Burnham, Mary Jo Brush Thoman, Charles “Chubb” Michaud ’64G, Mary-Jane Patterson Preble, Rachel Boucher Smalley, Barbara Bassler Keast, Virginia Barnes Grogean, Bunny Thibodeau Andrews ’87G, and Debora Cutler Grace.
Others who attended were Val Raymond Michaud ’62, Sally Hall Dolloff, Jill Welch, Terrence Thoman, and Thomas Grogean.
Besides having a mini college reunion, I also attended my 65th high school reunion in August. A few of our Maine classmates were also my high school classmates. Melicent Chapman Versteeg, like most of us, is enjoying retirement. Mickey, plan on our next UMaine mini!
Algis Kalvaitis, another high school classmate, saw the picture of Marcia and me in the winter 2024 alumni magazine and reached out to say he would be in Maine for our high school reunion but not for UMaine. Well, at the time of the reunion, he sent a picture of himself on crutches. By the time you read this, Algis, you should be totally healed! Judy Phelps Finkel also came to Maine over the summer as she does every few years. She and husband, Bob, have been married 53 years and are planning a Caribbean cruise to celebrate!
Wishing the very best to all of you. Please stay safe and well — and send me news!