Hey, classmates! Can you believe May marked 43 years since our graduation? Where has that time gone? If you’re thinking of a trip to Maine this summer or coming back for Homecoming in the fall — do it! We’re not getting any younger and there’s so much to see now on campus, especially if you…

 GO BLUE! Have you heard us rallying the crowd from Orono this winter? We hope you follow our Black Bears in person or online if you’re not in Maine. Perhaps you’ve caught them on the road this year? If you do, snap a photo and post it to our Facebook page! It’s an exciting time…

Mother always said, “time flies as you get older.” I think we’d all agree that is so true now. And just like that, it’s time for the summer column, and a Facebook plea once again turned up a few updates from classmates. Here they are — Pat Strauch received a Distinguished Alumni Award last fall…

This column should be published in the midst of the winter sports season and we Black Bear faithful are hoping for successful seasons on the ice and on the basketball court with a few new coaches on the benches. With that, let’s jump right into some sports news! The Class of ’81 was well represented…

We sure are living in interesting times. Those of us who had parents from the WWII era and heard their stories never thought we’d see things like we have on the news this past winter. Some of you who live in Maine may have caught Anne Hall on a local news report, as she was…

All done in ’81 — but, thanks to the pandemic, no reunion for our crew until ’22! I had hoped to report on Homecoming and the classmates who returned for our Reunion in this issue, but that didn’t happen. Events were scaled back, and I got many messages from classmates who were opting to play…

Barb Brown Dalton 21 Black Bear Drive Veazie, ME 04401-6929 (207) 356-5647 barbiebd81@gmail.com Facebook: University of Maine Class of 1981 and  facebook.com/groups/UMaineClass1981/ Hope this finds you all well and vaccinated! We’ve certainly adjusted our lives in the past year and I’m hopeful that this summer will be a bit more normal than last. It was…

Well, that was a hell of a year, wasn’t it?! Although I write this column with about three months to go in 2020, I think it is safe to lead with that line. And it’s certainly my hope that things will be looking much better on many fronts by the time you are reading this!…

Barb Brown Dalton How do you write a column during a pandemic? This won’t go to print for a few months, and we have no idea where our country and our world will be at that point. I’ve thought of my parents a lot lately, and how they grew up in the Great Depression and…

Barb Brown Dalton We’ll start off with news items that are indicators of our age!  Honors and awards seem to be popping up more often, along with retirement announcements. The mailbag did not disappoint this time around!   Congrats to Marie Warner on her induction into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame this past August.…

Barb Brown Dalton How about that Maine football team?! How about those Red Sox? How about the Patriots? And how about the Maine Women’s basketball team?! We love our sports here in eastern Maine and northern New England and it’s been a darn good past year! Hope you’ve enjoyed it from wherever you are, too!…

Barb Brown Dalton 21 Black Bear Drive Veazie, ME 04401-6929 (207) 947-4827 barbiebd81@gmail.com Facebook: University of Maine Class of 1981 and facebook.com/groups/UMaineClass1981/   Are you retired yet? I am far from it, having just started my ad agency three years ago! But, those of you who are lucky enough to have retired early should feel…