1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

1950

M. Grace Piselli Keene
179 Cook Street
Auburn , ME 04210

The Gorham Alumni Reunion was held on June 19. Those attending from our class were: Audrey Stevens Driskell, Rosalie Preble Barden, Harold Mailman, and your class agent M. Grace Piselli Keene. Reconnecting with old friends truly gives you a high. It gave us much pride to stroll across campus to admire our beautiful special spot that was dedicated in 2000. The USM Facilities Management team has really made the beautification project come alive. The annual luncheon at the reunion is always something to remember. Placing the food on our plates in such an attractive way makes you think you are dining in New York. Elizabeth Huntley, director of Alumni Relations, oversees the day with perfection.

A celebration of life was held at Falmouth by the Sea for Anne Welch Flaherty, who died in June. She is survived by five children. Ruth Cammic Doyle '65 made a $1,000 contribution to the Gorham Endowment Fund in memory of her husband, Donald J. Doyle. Thank you, Ruth, for your generosity. Don would be as proud of that gesture as we are.

Rosalie Preble Barden and her husband, Dick, went on a Carnival cruise to the western Caribbean and Central America with Barbara Neal '51 and her husband, Paul. They visited Belize with its tropical zoo. They also swam at Tabyana Beach in Isla de Roatan, Honduras. On Grand Cayman Island in the British West Indies, they found themselves on a turtle farm amid 16,000 turtles! In Stingray City, they could interact with the stingrays. Touring the Mayan ruins of Tulum, Mexico, was especially interesting as that was an ancient walled city settled in 300 A.D. Wow, Rosalie, what lasting impressions.

Jeannette Dumas Cobb, of Somersworth, N.H., hosted Nina Curry Stitson and me, along with our spouses, for a wonderful backyard repast on an ideal summer day. Jay is so busy with her varied herb garden, masses of annuals and perennials, and manicured shrubs. It was a grand sight to behold. She also spends time crafting and scrap booking. Speaking of Nina, she is one proud grandmother. She attended her granddaughter Niki's graduation at Dartmouth in June. Niki received her Ph.D. last September, but this occasion was the hooding ceremony. Congratulations are certainly in order! Audrey Stevens Driskell, of Portland, and her husband, Jack, relax during the summer months at their lovely camp in Norway. They celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in August. Audrey is very active in various organizations and quietly carries out many responsibilities with Gorham Alumni, College Club, at Maine Medical Center, as well as visits shut-ins. She is an inspiration to all her friends and neighbors.

From our avid world travelers, I learned that Jean Ellen Smith Strus and husband, Tom, of Waukegan, Ill., journeyed to France. On a riverboat on the Rhone for eight days, they stopped in places like Avignon, Lyon, Tournon, and Macon. They rode through the Burgundy countryside with a stop in Beaune, followed by lunch at a chateau. At Dijon, they boarded a train to Paris (they have been there four times already!) for four days where they roamed around Montmartre and visited the Musee d'Orsay. By bus, they motored to Blois in the Loire Valley, stopping at Chartres on the way. Fortunately for them, both crew and food were wonderful, and the weather was fine. Can you believe they had an Elderhostel in Washington, D.C., planned in October? How great is that? A phone call to Lois Allan in Portland revealed she relishes working part-time at Toys R Us on the sales floor. She makes a point of walking 2.5 miles each day and takes pleasure in the great outdoors. She is also busy with her grandnieces and grandnephews—a rewarding experience.

Arthur Berry never gets bored as he spends time in Florida and in Gorham and Five Islands in Maine. He proudly discusses his son who teaches in Bangor at a regional vocational center and his daughter who is an environmental engineer manager in Detroit. Art still remembers his classmates and the enjoyable times while at Gorham. So do I! Ramona Lancaster Cosentino of Connecticut noted that she and her husband, Hank, traveled from Amsterdam up the Rhine, across the Main Canal, and down the Danube to Budapest, Hungary. “What a wonderful way to see Europe floating through so many countries,” says Ramona.

While attending the convention for the Maine Education Association for Retired Teachers in Augusta last May, I chatted with Esper Mank Bagley from Searsport. She always looks the same, so calm and serene. Her darling husband graciously used his digital camera to record the Androscoggin County display table for which I was responsible. He was a gem!

“I love my retirement living quarters at Piper Shores in Scarborough,” says Trudy Ford. She is right on the ocean and can look out to Spain! Trudy looks forward to golfing at the South Portland Golf Course in her spare time. Trudy generally goes to Florida for 10 days annually to spend time with her sister and her husband. Mary Brown Ranlett of Illinois stopped to visit Trudy with her husband, Charles. They were attending a family reunion at Point Sebago.

I heard Elsie Pulkkinen Tenney's lilting voice say hello when I called. Elsie is happy in her new modular home after having sold her old home. She has had two knee replacements. Elsie lives in scenic Naples, Maine. Agnes Stevens Sweetsir of Portland is still substituting and playing the French horn in local orchestras and bands. She and her husband have traveled to Alaska and they usually spend five months in Florida where daughter Lynn lives. Lynn is a nurse midwife and teaches at the college level. Their son Steven is a musician who has his own business selling pianos and other musical instruments. He conducts a wind ensemble and travels frequently with them to Europe. Agnes has 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Please know that your classmates are interested in what you are doing in your retirement. Send me the information at the above address or e-mail the USM Alumni Relations Office at alum@usm.maine.edu. I am grateful that you do take the time to get the class note material to me. Thanks very much. Our 55th is around the corner! Hope you are thinking about attending the reunion in June. Plan now to be there!

back to top

1951

Marilyn Weymouth MacLeod
67 Wild Rose Avenue
South Portland, ME 04106-6619

Barbara Stanley Neal
69 Johnson Road
Gorham, ME 04038-1116
pabanea@aol.com

Barbara Wyman and your class agents attended Reunion in June. We watched, through intermittent rain, the dedication by the Class of 1954 of two flagpoles and a beautiful wall in honor of all alumni who served in the armed forces. It was a wonderful ceremony.

Priscilla Jones Wilson wrote that Ray Flagg '50 and his wife, Peggy, hosted a reunion at their home in Jefferson, Maine. Priscilla noted that the windowed back of their earth-sheltered house is surrounded by flower gardens with woods behind. The front of the house is built into the ground. “It is a lovely, tranquil setting,” she wrote. Ray and Peggy Flagg are both published writers, and had attended a writers' conference. Priscilla noted that some classmates then joined Ada Hall Duncan and her husband, Clyde, at the Country Farm Restaurant in Whitefield. The conversation was lively with talk of families and day-to-day life. Ada and Clyde are retired and very busy in the Nobleboro Baptist Church.

Priscilla also wrote that Cynthia McComb Bowles and her husband, Keith, live in Berwick, and are busy in the church. They have two grown children who live close by. Keith had offered to drive Cindy and Priscilla to the get-together, for which they were most grateful. Priscilla writes that she keeps busy with her grandchildren and also sewing, knitting, crocheting, gardening, and reading. Once in a while she tutors an ESL student.

Priscilla noted that others invited were Bev Merchant Sloatman who had car problems at the last minute, and Carolyn Howard Grant whose son was visiting. Lillias Sullivan Pinson and Barb Wyman also called with their regrets. “We're going to try again next year so anyone who is reading this and would like to join us, please contact one of us,” Priscilla wrote.

Barbara Neal and her husband, Paul '87, and Rosalie Preble Barden '50 and her husband, Dick, spent a week cruising aboard the Carnival ship Paradise. They departed from Miami and the first stop was Belize, where they visited a rain forest zoo. They continued onto Isla de Roatan, Honduras, and spent a day at a beautiful private beach. The third stop was Grand Cayman Island and to the town of Hell, a turtle farm where they picked up huge turtles, and on to the shoals about 45 minutes out to sea where they swam with, held, and even kissed stingrays. Then on to Mexico, where they hiked into the Mayan ruins of Tulum. All had a wonderful time.

Barb Wyman, June Gill Harper '53, and class agent Marilyn Weymouth MacLeod spent an afternoon with Jeannine Belisle '52 at her home in Pine Point. They had a clambake and spent time on the beach. In August a group of classmates met for lunch at the Muddy Rudder and visited at the Yarmouth home of Pat Tardif Crowley '55. The group included: Barb Wyman, Marilyn Weymouth MacLeod, Buzz Belisle '52, June Gill Harper '53, Faye Harriman Bean '53, Jen Lebel Sproul '54, Louise Bonang Marchildon '54, Lorraine Bonang Gingrass '54, and Pat Tardif Crowley '55. “We had a wonderful afternoon of memories and laughs,” noted class agent Marilyn Weymouth MacLeod.

The sad news for this issue is to report the passing of Alice Baker and Muriel Barnes. We send condolences to Priscilla Jones Wilson on the death of her husband, David.

back to top

1952

Fleurette Roux Forrest
13 Turner St.
Springvale, ME 04083
fforrest@psouth.net

back to top

1953

Florrie Belisle
425 Stage Road
Charlton, NY 12019

Micky Vermette
59 Pleasant Street
Skowhegan, ME 04976

From Islesboro, Maine, came a most welcomed letter from Grayson Hartley. Both he and his wife, Ruth, retired in 1990 after a career in education. Grayson served as a school superintendent for 30 years! During their retirement years, Grayson and Ruth are enjoying visits from their four children and nine grandchildren, along with traveling and just enjoying island life on the coast of Maine. Last fall Grayson had the privilege of presenting his older son, Bill '88, for induction into the Husky Hall of Fame. Bill played basketball for USM. What proud parents Grayson and Ruth must be!

What great news to know that Eileen Davis Pettie has moved from Woodstock to Glemont, N.Y., which class agent Florrie Belisle notes is just 45 miles from her home in Charlton. “It is something when your talk centers on happenings that occurred over 50 years ago,” Florrie noted. Mary Anne Hale Allenwood, living in Belfast, writes that she is well and happy and hopes everyone is the same.

News recently reached us that Shirley Karstensen Allgrove's husband died. Our sympathy to you Shirley and your family.

Connie Taylor Porter '54 now has a Florida address. Much warmer winters there! Many of us have retired from our life's work, but not Mickey Vermette. She continues to work many hours in her husband's dental office. However, she has made plans to spend a month relaxing at St. Martin in the French West Indies.

Most of Janet B. Holloway's children live near her in Maine and Jan and her husband, John, enjoy lots of company at their home in Bar Harbor. The couple visited Hawaii for the third year in a row. “As usual we had a great time and got to visit all of the places we missed before,” Jan wrote. They enjoyed seeing their daughter MaryAnn, their son-in-law Col. David Jowers, and their boys Matthew and John. Jean Osborne Libby visited her daughter and her family in Connecticut.

Liking always to be busy and trying new things, your class agent Florrie Belisle opened a chapter of the Red Hat Society. The next outing of the Upstate New York Red Hatters is a trip to visit the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Should be interesting! Please keep those letters coming. We want to hear from you all! Thanks to all of those who did send letters. They are appreciated.

back to top

1954

Carl H. Winslow
172 W. Main Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096
ychief@aol.com

Twenty-four class members who graduated from GSTC and two graduates of Portland Junior College led the processional at USM's 2004 Commencement in May at the Cumberland County Civic Center. They marched in to the sounds of the Golden Grads March, as will all Golden Grads in the future. The Golden Grads March was composed by Robert Ek '67 who was the winner of a contest sponsored by the Class of '54. Following Commencement, the Golden Grads enjoyed a luncheon at the Portland Club.

50th Reunion Class Class of 1954—(front) Pat Ames, Joan Connary Clark, Janice Hogan Simler, Dorothy MacDonald Hunt, Jean West Meserve, Louise Bonang Marchildon, Nancy Grant Daniels, Lorna Johnson Stilphen, and Lorraine Bonang Gingrass; (middle) John Bussell, Elmer Lyons, Nancy Pillsbury Lyons, Carl Winslow, Robert Hodge, Edith MacDonald Jordan, Lovina Griffin Wagner, Roberta Jewell Douglass, Barbara Bernard Howe, Elizabeth Green Fogg, Audrey Peterson Alexander, and Elizabeth Bolton Gailey; (back) Nelson Wentworth, Richard Carter, Irving Herrick, Roland Grant, Robert Campbell, Maurice Getchell, Priscilla Maxim Schwartz, Miles Brookes, Keith Leavitt, Madeline Clement, and Joan Price Laws.

The Golden Grads participating in the 2004 Commencement from GSTC were: Audrey Peterson Alexander, Patricia Ames, Helen Vattes Beach, Miles Brookes, John Bussell, Richard Carter, Madeline Clement, Roberta Douglass, Elizabeth Green Fogg, Maurice Getchell, Lorraine Bonang Gingrass, Robert Hodge, Barbara Bernard Howe, Edith MacDonald Jordan, Ann Rankin Knudson, Joan Price Laws, Keith E. Leavitt, Louise Bonang Marchildon, Wilda Elms Roman, Priscilla Maxim Schwartz, Jeannette Lebel Sproul, Lorna Johnson Stilphen, Nelson Wentworth, Carl H. Winslow, and from Portland Junior College Nelson Haynes and Samuel Mandarelli.

Joining in a reunion banquet on June 18 at Keeley the Katerer banquet center in Portland were Pat Ames; Barbara Bernard Howe; Louise Bonang Marchildon and her husband, Donald; Lorraine Bonang Gingrass; Miles Brookes and his wife Susan; Robert A. Campbell and his wife, Joyce; Madeline Clement; Joan Connary Clark; Nancy Grant Daniels; Roberta Jewell Douglass; Elizabeth Green Fogg; Maurice Getchell; Roland Grant; Irving Herrick and his wife, Bernice; Janice Hogan Simler and her husband, Richard; Lorna Johnson Stilphen; Edie Macdonald Jordan and her husband, Ken; Dorothy MacDonald Hunt and her husband, Frank; Audrey Peterson Alexander; Joan Price Laws; Jean West Meserve; and Carl Winslow and his wife, Pat. It was a joyful time as we reminisced about the past, talked about the years since 1954, and enjoyed each other's company. Madeline Clement donated a beautiful patchwork tapestry of Corthell Hall as a door prize that was won by Pat Ames. We all vowed to keep in touch and to provide news for this column.

The Gorham Reunion was held on the Gorham campus on June 19. This annual event featured the 50th reunion gift of the Class of '54. The twin memorial flagpoles are located at the entrance to Corthell Hall. They are dedicated to all Gorham/USM students, faculty, and staff who have courageously served our country in the Armed Forces. If you have not been on campus to see this fine addition, take time and view this beautiful and lasting gift to the University.

Classmates who were unable to attend the reunion banquet at the banquet center joined us for the alumni reunion luncheon. They were: John Bussell, Nelson Wentworth, Robert Hodge, Priscilla Maxim Schwartz, Elizabeth Bolton Gailey, Joyce Campbell '67, Elmer Lyons, Nancy Pillsbury Lyons, Lovina Lee Wagner, Keith Leavitt, Richard H. Carter, Janice Boynton Day, and Helen Vattes Beach.

Miles Brookes gave the luncheon invocation. Robert Hodge gave an excellent address from the Class of '54. Bob brought back many memories of our days on the Hill, Dr. Bailey and the Tuesday and Thursday chapels; some faculty members, such as Bonnie King, Louis Woodward, Paul Barker, Miriam Andrews; Robert Miller and the third floor lab; the library under the watchful eyes of Marjorie Eames; geography classes with Paul Salley; the excellent history classes with Edna Dickey, and not to be forgotten Esther Wood. Those who could not attend missed hearing about the good old days as recalled by Bob. Nelson Wentworth was presented an engraved desk clockin appreciation for his work on the Gorham campus beautification project, his leadership on the flagpole project, and his many contributions to the University as a class agent.

Pat Ames provided the leadership needed to steer the ship through the Golden Grads March, the reunion banquet, the memorial flagpole dedication, and the alumni breakfast and luncheon. She and the reunion committee are to be commended for doing an outstanding job of organization for the 50th class reunion.

A class agent can only write news of classmates when it is received from each of you—take the advice from the song lyrics, “I'm going to sit right down and write you a letter”—do it now!!

back to top

1955

Suzanne Gilbert Corcoran
44 Brewster Street
North Andover, MA 01845-5008
sucy4@webtv.net

back to top

1956

Betty Lou Dodge Banks
8 Hillview Road
Gorham, ME 04038

Guess what? Some of us are already working on making sure our 50th reunion is a big success! A few of us met this summer at Adeline Clark Whitney's to discuss the event. We will be the first class to have our reunion during Homecoming weekend in September 2006, instead of in June. This will be a nice change as there are lots of extra things happening on campus in the fall. We would be happy to hear your input. Also, please mark May 15, 2006, on your calendar. That is when our class, in our gold caps and gowns, has the honor to march in the USM Commencement procession. The University makes it a very special day for us golden grads by providing breakfast, transportation to graduation, and a luncheon afterwards. Plan to join us!

Ann Crosby Payson is going to chair the planning committee for our 50th. Ann and her husband, Darrell E. Payson '55, have been in Littleton, Mass., for 43 years. They enjoy their 12 grandchildren, the oldest of whom is a sophomore at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. They have traveled to the Scandinavian countries, Russia, England, and many U.S. destinations. They enjoy their timeshare in Ogunquit as well as most of the winter in Marco Island, Fla. Ann would be very happy to have your input as well. If you have a computer, please add our e-mail addresses and write to us! Ann's e-mail is Alp57chevy@aol.com and mine is listed at the beginning of our class notes. We want to hear about what has happened in your life since 1956. For those without a computer, please write Ann a letter, and please help us out. We want to make a booklet for everyone to have about every graduate, even if they can't make the reunion. Thanks!

On a very sad note, Joan Edgett Daubenspeck passed away last August. I had kept in touch with Joan by e-mail and was shocked. She had lived in Shoreview, Minn., for most of her years after graduation. She and Tom had a son, Tom, Jr., and a daughter, Adella, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Many of us have fond memories of Joan. Remember the big bridal shower?

The Rev. Joe Murphy and his wife, Joan, were honored for 30 years of service at the Grace Bible Church in Moscow, N.Y. They have three children and their daughter, Rachel Seavers, presented them with a gift of appreciation. Joe is also the part-time chaplain at Vermont State Hospital. Joe graduated from what was then Portland Junior College. I wish more PJC graduates would send in news!

I don't know how all our classmates who live or vacation in Florida made out with all those hurricanes in the fall. I do know that Janice Littlefield Ludwig and her husband, Steve, had devastating damage to their home in Vero Beach. They summer in Gray. Janet Gullifer Whitney and her husband, Wil, owned a mobile home in Ft. Myers, which was totaled.

I want to thank Patti Carmichael Swett for being a class agent with me since the beginning. Patti is stepping down this year; so if anyone wants to help, please contact the Alumni Relations Office or me. Thanks again, Patti, for your help.

1957

David Yates
965 Luna Lane
Lady Lake, FL 32159-9193

1958

Pauline Deschambeault Pollock
356 South Street
Biddeford, ME 04005-9312

Martitia Walker Lennon wrote that she got married on Oct. 18, 2003 to her long-time boyfriend. She retired in May 2001 and had been living in Florida. She is now a snowbird, splitting her time between Hooksett, N.H., and Ft. Myers, Fla.

back to top

1959

Joan Morse Bragdon
Neal H. Bragdon
9 Woodview Drive
Scarborough, ME 04074

back to top