This past Friday night I zipped over to Salina after a days work and met Peggy, my old college roommate, for the centennial reunion at Marymount College of Salina. Under a harvest moon, late at night, it was the very definition of atmospheric.
I hadn't really planned to go, but Peggy's sister, who also went to Marymount - a 1972 graduate, was on the planning committee and eventually made us see the error of our ways. Here we are below, in front of Antionette Hall, where we lived for 4 years in a teeny tiny room with 2 beds, a small desk area with a chair for each of us, the communal bathrooms down the hall, and the phone booth right outside our door. We thought it was the nearest thing to heaven on earth.
By the time we got there in 1977/78 we had card keys and I don't think there was a curfew anymore. I don't recall that being a problem anyway. Peggy's sister and her friends were "campused" in 1970 for sneaking out of the chapel windows, and being unable to get back in, were forced to stay out until 6am when the dorms opened, at which point they were spotted by someone who reported them. Peggy's mom was able to retrieve the letter that was sent home to the parents informing them of this behavior, so her dad (who would likely have come and brought her home) was none the wiser.
The Coyle sisters above after mass in the chapel which was part of the weekend experience. Marymount had a fabulous music and theatre department in addition to the stellar nursing program - the alums put on quite a performance with the music for the service. It was fun to see people we went to school with and catch up on what they are doing now. It was also great to see some of the Sisters of St. Joseph, the order that started the college in 1922.
Above with Sr. Mary Fran Simons, who graduated from MMC in 1960. I haven't got the words to describe what a stellar human she is. You will just have to take my word. There are amazing women in this community and the influence they have had on all of us runs deep.
In addition to being able to see the dorm, we saw the fine arts building and relived our moments of glory in student directed shows. There was a quick glimpse into the gym, a great tour of the administration building, and we walked all over campus saying "remember when we..... " at all the spots we walked by. I am not a reunion attendee by nature, but I am so glad I did not miss it. The older I get the more I value the roots that were started at Marymount College and have been nurtured through the years by all we learned there, from each other, about what is important in life.
I graduated from a BIG college in the BIG 10, which was not a small school. I graduated in 1980 because I was on the seven year plan. Hey, I dropped out, moved away from the big school in Maryland and went back in Indiana. I don’t keep touch with anyone from those days. You are lucky. I blame it on always being a commuter in college. My 50 year HS reunion is next year and reading this made me want to go for about a minute. Which is a long time since I’m so anti-social!
Posted by: Claire | 10/13/2022 at 08:43 PM
Claire: I am with you... making small talk is painful for me, but there was something magic about this weekend, just brief interactions with people who I remembered or who remembered me... most of the time spent with Peggy and her sister talking about the old days, then coming home at night for more talking and some great wine.
Posted by: Carol | 10/15/2022 at 05:08 PM