Mount Holyoke College -- 40 Years On

Williston Library at Mount Holyoke

Suffice it to say I had no clue what I was doing when I applied to college. Neither of my parents went to college (although my mom went to nursing school). So we were basically the blind leading the blind. My high school guidance counselor was less than helpful. When I was looking at Mount Holyoke his "advice" was that it would be a poor choice and I would be home within a year. "Susan Sullivan came home from [insert school in the Northeast here]," he reminded me. Nothing against Susan, but really? Years later, when I ran into Mr. Neudecker at a high school reunion and reminded him of his comment, he just laughed. Quality counseling for sure. 

As I was stumbling around figuring out where to spend those formative years, I fixated on going to an Ivy League school. The pictures in the brochures looked just the way a college campus should look. Old buildings! Ivy! Argyle sweaters! (Yes, I was clearly focused on all the important aspects of my higher education.) I somehow got the idea that schools located near one another would compare applicant pools and question a wanna-be freshman's commitment if she had applied to multiple schools in the same region. I avoided that concern by applying to the widely disparate choices of Mount Holyoke, Emory, and Washington University in St. Louis. I seriously could not make this up. 

With Jean, Sheryl and Karin on the steps of our freshman dorm 

MHC was the only of the three schools we visited, and it fit my vision of a college perfectly. As one of the Seven Sisters, it met my Ivy League objective. And did it really make a difference that it was a women's college? (Um, yes.) My decision made, I bought a pair of jeans, packed up my open-toed shoes and headed north. 

When some friends reached out about going to our 40th reunion, I immediately said yes. No one was more surprised than I was. I've only been back once since graduation day. It was the following year for a concert. The outing was more memorable for the accident on the way home than the music. It was late, and on our way back to Boston a guy ran across the Mass Pike. We grazed him. He was fine and more interested in getting the pot out of his pocket before the cops arrived than seeking medical assistance. But I digress. I was curious to see how the campus had changed. And of course I was eager to spend time with my old friends. Still, I approached the visit with some apprehension. 

Gathering for the annual tradition of the laurel parade
the day before graduation

The campus was as gorgeous as ever. Walking around and revisiting old haunts was great fun, although it turns out my memories of those years are dim at best. I do, however, remember Sheryl's question at our freshman dorm meeting on the first day. "Is pot legal here?" she casually asked. I might have audibly gasped. Sheryl is from Alaska, where the recreational drug was legalized long ago, so it was a quasi-legit question. (Easy research via the internet was decades to come.) But knowing Sheryl now, her question was primarily to shock the wide-eyed young women. Suffice it to say it wasn't the last time she shocked me during our time there. 

We were able to get into not only our freshman dorm but our rooms, including the "troll room" that Sheryl and Karin shared under the stairs. The rooms are all now singles. Truthfully, it was hard to see how two single beds, two desks and a dresser fit into those rooms, but none of us remember complaining about the lack of space. There were lots of other changes too. 

Library expansion includes atrium with Chihuly sculpture

There of course was no desk at the front door where a student would "sit bells." From dinner until 11:00, the front door was locked, with an attendant to answer the doorbell when a student or guest arrived. I can't remember what happened if a student was locked out, but she must have had to find a phone, call one of the hall phones and hope someone answered and let her in. This was of course long before the days of cell phones unless you were Maxwell Smart. The tradition of sitting bells seems to have been discarded in the early '90s. 

Another big change was the addition of a communal dining hall to replace the kitchens and dining rooms in each dorm. It of course makes sense from an economic perspective (except, perhaps, for the students who no longer have jobs as waitresses and kitchen staff). And dietary restrictions being what they are today, it would be difficult for each dorm to accommodate student requirements. But dining together day after day built a real community of students across classes. On the other hand, people in different dorms now have another way to easily get together and build those bonds. No conclusion was reached as to which we would have preferred. Chatting about dorm dining rooms was an opportunity, however, for me to recall the time my friends brought a stripper in to the dining room for my birthday. My recollection is that he was originally dressed as a fireman, but I might have that wrong.  

Inside the reading room 

One tradition that is still intact is the laurel parade the day before graduation. Alums and grads dress all in white and march up to the grave of Mary Lyons, the college founder. I was adamant I wasn't going to participate unless someone could give me a darn good reason why we dressed in virginal white. This was my line in the sand. 

Karin promptly responded. The tradition stems from the historic connection between Mount Holyoke students and the suffragette movement. Who knew? It seemed like a pretty good reason, though, so I searched my closet for something suitable to wear. When the morning arrived, it was of course cold and drizzly. You can't tell from the picture but I was wearing a long sleeve pink workout shirt under my short sleeved white shirt and a matching pink jacket. Lovely. But I was there, and I actually enjoyed the occasion. The seniors were just so darn happy, and it was kind of fun to walk and talk and applaud the soon-to-be grads when they passed. Members of each class held up placards noting events that happened during their tenure. There was a lot of history in the making. What caught my eye most, though, was the sign that Diet Coke was introduced during our time in college. And so began my lifelong addiction.

Atop Mount Holyoke

Before we headed back to Karin's home, we made a stop at Mount Holyoke in memory of Mountain Day. On a morning in October, the bells ring across campus to signal that classes have been cancelled for the day. Needless to say, there's always much speculation about when it will occur. It's intended as a day to get outside and enjoy the fall weather. And if you hike to the top of Mount Holyoke, you get ice cream. (The summit is only 942 feet, so it's not overly daunting.) Shockingly, I didn't remember the ice cream part.  

The views over the valley were gorgeous and reinforced the beauty of the place I once called home. But at the risk of causing rolling eyes and perhaps even some gagging, the most beautiful thing about the trip was the way those old friendships reignited after all these years. I loved being with these women who were there when a small town girl from Florida made her way to her dream. My memories of that time might be dim, but the friendships are as bright as ever. And at the end of the day, that's what's important.