1977 – Fall ’19 Class Letter
Alan Lawrence
920-730-9515 / [email protected]
With help from MARYJO MACSWAIN ’77, we have a Facebook page for our class. Please visit it. Then Like or Follow so that your news feed will include items about your classmates. Please also leave a posting about yourself: https://www.facebook.com/RiponCollegeClassof1977
My wife and I participated at Alumni Weekend this past June 29. It is a multi-day event, but I’m fondest of the Saturday part of the program. I’ve been informed that I really should consider the Friday evening parts in future years.
Classes formally celebrate their “reunions” every fifth year, but many alumni make a practice of attending more frequently. Our next fifth anniversary reunion is in 2022. I was joined this year by MARYJO MACSWAIN ’77, JEAN BLACK ’77 and CONNIE JESS ZOLKOSKE ’77 for the Class March that walks from Todd Wehr Hall to the big tent beside The Commons for lunch and speeches. This space is called Memorial Lawn these days and is the site where Memorial Hall stood when we were students.
My daughter, JENNIFER RESCHKE ’14, was also present for Alumni Weekend because her class was celebrating its fifth reunion. It is not unusual to see two generations of alums in the same family coming together for the weekend.
On May 1, our College held its second annual #OneDayRally to raise funds in a single day. Thanks to MARYJO MACSWAIN ’77 for offering a matching pledge and recording a video of herself asking classmates to participate. MaryJo summarized the event with these words, “Congratulations to Ripon College and to the Class of 1977! We had 23 donors and contributed almost $25,000, a significant improvement from last year. We ranked 18th in number of donors and 14th in dollars contributed.” Overall, the College raised $1,085,314 in the successful fundraiser.
Last spring LAIRD DECRAMER ’77 and LINDA GLAUBITZ DECRAMER ’89 of Princeton, Wisconsin, informed us that both of their children are currently Ripon students. “The Ripon tradition continues. Although our kids are polar opposites, CALLISTA DECRAMER ’20 (suave, sophisticated and likes to tango) and SULLIVAN DECRAMER ’21 (overzealous, long-haired and always looking for cash) both work tirelessly towards their goals.”
LARRY MALCHOW ’77, former executive director of development at Ripon College, has been receiving honors for his creative writing. “Wash the Crying River,” a short story won the John Steinbeck Award For Fiction, sponsored by Reed Magazine of San Jose State University. His first short story, “Trapped,” was a semifinalist in the Machigonne contest sponsored by the New Guard Literary Review. His second short story, “Liberty Motel,” was a finalist for the Portal Prize in Speculative Fiction and will be published in Easy Street magazine. His latest story, “Molecular Music,” can be read for free online at cagibilit.com. Click on Issue 7: July 2019, scroll down and click on “Molecular Music.”
SUSAN LENNON SOLBERG ’77 and Curtis Solberg of Greenville, Wisconsin: “We have been enjoying a new granddaughter this year! KELLY SOLBERG WILHELME ’06 had this baby this last June. Life is busy and blessed!”
Please send news about yourself either to the College or to me to be shared in our next class letter. We’d love to hear from you.
Remember that your financial help is very important to help keep Ripon a competitive and quality institution. Your donations are important every year. Your participation is very important.
Always for Ripon,
ALAN