Evelyn M. Hunter, 93, of Westmoreland, NH, died peacefully Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital after a short period of failing health. She collected and organized student loans at KSC in Student Loans Accounts when that office was housed in Elliot (the space Admissions currently occupies), retiring in 1983. She was very proud of her success record and the rapport she had with the students. Evelyn was creative and passionate about art and color. She enjoyed such creative endeavors as weaving, knitting, photography, spinning, and sewing.
A celebration of Evelyn’s life will be held at the United Church of Christ in Westmoreland. Services will be held at 12:30 on Sunday the 28th. In honor Evelyn’s love of color, guests are invited to wear bright colors. Contributions can be made in her name to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 W. Swanzey Rd., West Swanzey, NH 03469.
At Warner Bros. Studios, Sean Gillery ’89 plays "As Time Goes By" for Larry Benaquist and set decorator Natali Pope ’85 on the same piano that graced Rick's Café Américain in the 1942 classic, Casablanca.
You might think it’s a long way from Appian Way to Hollywood, but the distance got a lot shorter last month when Film Studies Professor Emeritus Larry Benaquist traveled with KSC Sr. Major Gift Officer Sean Gillery ’89 to reconnect with film studies alums in California. Dr. Benaquist got to see what several of his successful students had done with their degrees, and the duo got tours of the fabled Warner Bros. lot and Dreamworks studios.
The KSC community is saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Lisa Henkel from heart failure on October 30. Lisa was a student, an alumni, an employee, and the beloved daughter of KSC music lecturer Sussan Henkel. Lisa was also an inspiration. She worked in the Office of Disability Services using adaptive technology, helping to develop materials in Braille for vision impaired students. Her particular talent was in translating math and music, a difficult enterprise requiring knowledge and skill but made effective by her connection to the students she served.
Memorial services were held this morning (Nov. 4) at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Church in Keene.
In September, we told you about the CANstruction competition, in collaboration with The Community Kitchen and Scully Architects, where groups use canned goods to design and create clever structures. Three teams created remarkable sculptures in the Student Center atrium on Monday (Nov. 1). If you didn’t get a chance to see them, you can catch them in today’s Candid Campus gallery.
And don’t forget to use the “comments” link to tell these clever and socially conscious designers that you appreciate their worthy efforts.
Another of our noteworthy alumni achievers, Elizabeth Georgian (r) and her mentor, Dr. Kristen Porter-Utley
Dare I ask if anyone remembers the old TV Western, The Guns of Will Sonnet? Com’on, it wasn’t that long ago. Anyway, the main character was a tough old timer who would warn his opponents that he was the fastest gun alive. “No brag, just fact,” he would add.
I often think of that line when faced with a remarkable achievement. Several of our recent grads have gone on to notable careers in the sciences and arts, and they credit their education here for getting them where they are today. The Office of Sponsored Projects & Research has collected several of those stories, and they’re well worth reading as testimonies of the very talented students KSC attracts and the excellent instruction they receive here. No brag, just fact.
We'll have the snow—you bring the imagination. Photo by Mark Corliss.
It is possible—with your help! The Alumni Association is looking for five or six alumni to join a committee with students to guide our plans for our first Alumni/Student Winter Carnival Homecoming scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 & 5, 2011. We are dreaming big and need your help in the planning and activities. Ice skating, a bonfire, broom hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, the Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner, snow sculptures along Appian Way, KSC tubing night at Granite Gorge—imagine the possibilities. It can all come true, if you pitch in a little of your time and a lot of your enthusiasm! To volunteer, please email Patty Farmer.
If you’ve been kicking yourself for missing the world premiere of Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve: the First Hundred Years of Keene State College, you can stop later this month. The KSC Film Society will be showing this excellent film by Larry Benaquist and Lance Levesque every night at 7 p.m. from November 28–December 3 in the Putnam Arts Lecture Hall. The film chronicles the College’s rich history through rarely seen footage and photographs, with interviews from some of the earliest alumni, and with a sound track of music with regional connections.
Don’t miss this chance! Free and open to the public, of course.
Harold E. Nugent ’58, age 77, died suddenly on October 14, 2010, at his home in Gainesville, Fla. Dr. Nugent taught English and linguistics at KSC from 1965–1989 and helped start the Center for Writing while he was here. As a proponent of developmental studies, he helped design and deliver a course on critical thinking and supported the assessment of all incoming freshmen for placement in English composition. He was also a dedicated environmental educator who earned several awards and citations for the conservation work he did in Florida.
The Gainesville Sun published a nice obituary for him. Dr. Nugent touched many lives while he was at KSC. If you were one of those lucky lives, please use the “comments” link to let us know.
Alice Herz Sommer, who turns 107 this month. Happy birthday, Ms. Sommer!
Alice Herz Sommer isn’t an alum – in fact, she has probably never set foot in New Hampshire. But her story is an incredible inspiration and testimony to the power of the human spirit to triumph, forgive, and soar—and to the spiritual power of music. She turns 107 this month and is the oldest living Holocaust survivor, having lived through the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Watch this video clip from the new documentary on her, Alice, Dancing under the Gallows. The world needs more special souls like Ms. Sommer.
There are two pieces to this month’s mystery photo: First, where is this building, and second, do you know its historic significance? That’s the most interesting part. Be the first to send in your answer! (Actually, we’d love to receive lots of historical info on this—so keep the comments coming.)
This, and other images as we add them, are on display in our Where’d I See That? gallery. If you think you’ve solved this mystery, insert your answer into a first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and mail it to Newsline, Alumni Center, Keene State College, Keene, NH, 03435-1502, or use the “Comments” link below.
REDiscover Homecoming 2010 was a BIG success! The noble 600 who attended the world premiere of Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve: the First Hundred Years of Keene State College loved it; later that night, the comedian in the Night Owl Café had the audience bursting with laughs; O-staffers, Phi Mu Delta, & the CDC held wonderful affinity gatherings; and alumni from several sports teamed up again for a little friendly competition. The weekend wound up with a big bang on Saturday, starting with a tailgate party at the athletic complex, an exciting men’s soccer game that the Owls won in overtime, and awesome fireworks!
The biggest “thank you” to everyone who helped make the weekend what it was. We sure hope we’ll see you back soon. Mark your calendar for KSC’s Winter Carnival on February 4 & 5! To stay up-to-date with KSC Alumni events and happenings, find us on Facebook at “Keene State College Alumni” or follow us on twitter via “kscalumni.” And, of course, you can always depend on Newsline.
KSC Archivist Rodney Obien demonstrates one of the Archives & Special Collections' reading stands. Photo by Al Karevy
The Wallace E. Mason Library held a grand opening for its new Archives & Special Collections Center on October 2, 2010, as part of Homecoming Weekend. President Helen Giles-Gee, Library Dean Irene Herold, and Archivist Rodney Obien welcomed visitors and spoke about the importance of this facility. Student staffers Laura Ruttle, Brittany Arita, and Ryan LaLiberty also spoke about their work in the Archives & Special Collections.
Theater & Dance Prof. PeggyRae Johnson read a selection of poems from Then, Something and Duties of the Spirit by N.H. Poet Laureate Patricia Fargnoli, who was in attendance. Ms. Fargnoli recently donated her papers and manuscripts to the Archives & Special Collections.
KSC also recently received the papers of Edith Newlin Chase, a recognized children’s author and poet from Alstead, N.H., perhaps best known for The New Baby Calf (Scholastic). Margaret Perry and Ellen Chase, the author’s daughters, did a special reading of their mother’s prose and poetry, including The New Baby Calf.
The Center displayed the Chase Papers and books from the Robert Hubbard-Edward Gorey Collection.
If you were one of the approximately 600 audience members who attended the premiere of Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve: The First Hundred Years of Keene State College over Homecoming Weekend, you know what a hit it was.
The film touched many hearts. One of the film’s creators, Larry Benaquist, had a doctor’s appointment a couple of days after the premiere. When the nurse came into the waiting room and called for “Larry Benaquist,” three other people there leapt to their feet and applauded him. They told him that they saw the film on Friday and loved it. It’s that kind of film.
If you weren’t able to make it that weekend, don’t despair. There are lots of plans to make the film available later, including as part of the KSC Film Society’s offering next month. The public is invited to any of the free showings at the Putnam Arts Lecture Hall at 7 p.m. from Sunday, Nov. 28, through Thursday, Dec. 2. Don’t miss it!
KSC senior and student archivist Ryan LaLiberty was in the Colonial for the premiere and was so impressed that he wrote a review:
If you’re in town Saturday, Oct. 16, for Pumpkin Festival, stop by the Alumni Center on your way downtown. We’ll be here from 11 am.–4 p.m., offering a warm spot to sit, rest, share a little camaraderie, and enjoy a little snack and a drink, courtesy of the KSC Alumni Association, the KSC Parents Association, and the Alumni & Parent Relations Office
Most of the time, when KSC alums have a birthday, it’s not big news. Except to the alum having the birthday, of course. But once in a while, a birthday truly is newsworthy. In fact, three KSC alumnae just celebrated remarkable achievements.
Fast friends from the Class of 1940 (l to r): Dot Carruthers, Effie Torrey, and the birthday girl, Marion Thorell, who turned 92 on Sept. 23. Marion is holding her copy of a certificate that each of the surviving Round Robin friends received at a recent Golden Circle luncheon in appreciation of their loyalty to KSC and to each other.
Round Robin Reunion
Seven women from the class of 1940 had become so close when they were at KSC (then, Keene Teacher’s College), that they vowed to keep in touch as they each went off to seek their fortunes. And keep in touch they did, via a round robin letter that passed from friend to friend, each adding to it and passing it on – to this very day. Three of the original circle – Effie Wynn Torrey, Dorothy (Dot) Carruthers, and Marion Thorell – are still going strong and met at a Bedford, NH, restaurant on September 20 to celebrate Marion’s birthday. She turned 92 on September 23.
The Union Leader columnist, John Clayton, did an article on the round robin circle that appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Keene State Today.
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Dorothy Bailey '32, holding the certificate alums are awarded when they reach 100.
Dorothy Britton Kendall Bailey ’32 also celebrated a birthday on September 23 – her 100th! How many people, KSC alums or not, have achieved such a milestone? Pretty impressive. Mrs. Bailey taught reading at the Jaffrey Elementary School and now lives in Royalston, Mass. She received a certificate signed by KSC President Helen Giles-Gee for reaching that amazing century mark.
Claris Lacey '31, 102 years young and married 70 years. Now, that's staying power!
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Claris Head Lacey ’31 turned 102 on October 3. She and her husband, William, took her friends out to dinner to celebrate. Claris lives in Portsmouth in the house William, now a mere lad of 97, built for them when they were first married. They lived in the basement for seven years while he finished the house. They must have built a strong foundation, because the couple have been married for more than 70 years. How many people, KSC alums or not, have achieved such a milestone?
Claris taught in one-room schools in Winchester, West Lebanon, and Warren, N.H. – the “Three Ws,” as she says. Just think of the amazing history she’s lived!
If you know any of these remarkable alumnae, or just want to cheer them on, drop them a comment.
In September, we told you about the 
If you’ve been kicking yourself for missing the 
If you were one of the approximately 600 audience members who attended the premiere of Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve: The First Hundred Years of Keene State College over 
