1982 – Spring ’22 Class Letter
Greetings, Class of 1982!
Dear Classmates,
KRISTEN RASMUSSEN OLSON ’82 /P’20 and I (PETER HINTZ ’82/P’10) write to extend a personal invitation to you to attend our 40th Reunion at Ripon College the week of Thursday, June 23 – Sunday, June 26, 2022!
Time has certainly flown by. Forty years ago, we were engrossed in our social lives and studies in our last semester at Ripon, hoping it was going to be a good one, in nervous anticipation of what would follow after graduation. Despite the years that have passed, it is not very difficult to remember steak night in the Commons, football games, intramural sports, Homecoming, annual “Air Guitar” contests, Springfest, the almost weekly all-campus parties and events hosted by various living groups including Derby Days, Sigma Chi’s Mash Party, Frisbee Golf Tournaments, Merriman’s Toga Party, DU’s Road Rally, Friday night movie night in the Farr Hall pit (remember “Night of the Living Dead?”), standing in the dinner line at the Commons reading the newspaper, taking classes and hanging out with our favorite professors, the gravy lady at the Commons, the Bar Brigade, Jim’s Liberty Inn, reading the eye-opening “First Bite” articles in the Days, Schlitz pitchers for $1.25 at Benders, Swamp Water and the disco floor at The Spot, late nights at the Wayside and Red’s, STEVE SHEA ’82’s music reviews in the paper, ROTC, the freezing winter westward walk over the hill toward the Quads, the Friday and Saturday revelers coming back from the bars, the sometimes odd classes we took to fulfill our liberal arts requirements, jostling for the one phone for each living group, sharing a common tv, pledge weeks, the 100 Days Party at the Beckoning, the Student Senate, WRPN radio shows, as well as a host of other memories unique to each of us. Some of us, like me (PETER HINTZ ’82/P’10), even married our classmates. While the years have taken us all many miles and experiences hence, hopefully, you have some special memories of special bonds with some of your classmates. It would be great to reconnect and come together again for this very special weekend.
Special Events
We, your Class Agents, as well as the rest of our Class Reunion committee, have been working hard to make our 40th Reunion memorable. We’ve arranged for a class social on Friday night outside at the lawn of Hughes House across from Bartlett Hall, and we would love to see you participate in the Class March at 10 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the State of the College address, our class boat cruise on Green Lake on Saturday afternoon from 1:15-2:30 p.m. (we did this on our 35th Reunion and it was a blast), and our Reunion celebration on Saturday evening. We have secured the beautiful Great Hall for our Class Reunion dinner (quite a coup, I might add), and we will dine in style in this beautifully renovated space.
Our classmate, SUSAN BUNDOCK ’82, will be honored at the 1851 Awards Dinner and program on Friday evening as a 2022 Distinguished Alumna! Some may wish to attend that gathering.
Other Fun Alumni Weekend Events
Other highlights of the weekend include opportunities to participate in other fun events:
- All-Class Gathering at Roadhouse Pizza – Thursday evening
- Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble at The Golf Courses of Lawsonia – Friday
- Lunch and Wine Tasting – Friday
- Campus Tours – FridayFaculty Talks – Friday
- Rally Walk/Run – Saturday morning
- Class of 1982 Boat Cruise on Green Lake – Saturday
- Greek Socials – Saturday
- “That Was Then” Storytelling Session – Saturday
- Reunion Celebration – Saturday evening
- Farewell Brunch – Sunday
Accommodations
It is our goal to ensure we do not let another year pass without celebration! We all deserve this chance to get away and reconnect with old friends and possibly make some new ones! Please reserve June 23-26, 2022, and make reservations soon! There are accommodations in Ripon, Green Lake, and Oshkosh, as well as on-campus accommodations in the dorms, if you dare. Here are some of the numbers:
- Mapes Hotel (use code RCABJUNE online)
- Heidel House Hotel (Green Lake, 920.807.0300) and Cobblestone Suites (Ripon, 920.748.5500), but you must call for the Alumni Weekend rate.
- Other area lodging information can be found at www.ripon.edu/lodging.
Online registration for the Reunion and on-campus lodging will be available April 1 at alumni.ripon.edu. Now is a good time to reach out to your old roommates or friends to encourage them to join you on campus this summer! We are looking forward to welcoming back many old friends and perhaps some classmates who haven’t been back to campus in years, if ever. If you are one of the latter, please consider this a very warm invitation to come home for the weekend. You will experience nostalgia at its best and you are sure to feel 40 years younger, at least for a brief time!
Please feel free to contact us with questions and mark your calendars for this truly special reunion!
Memories: Class Special! 40th Reunion Memory Book to be Available in June. Please send us your photos and memories! We are working on a memory book for our class (digital and print), which will capture some great old and new photos and updates on our class. This is where you come in! We will be collecting photos (old memories and current photos), along with any information about yourself and your family or memories you would like to share. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of the Memory Book! Please submit any pictures and type in your updates here. Pictured above, Commencement 1982.
If you prefer to respond by mail, we would love to hear your thoughts on one or more of the topics below:
- Where were your favorite places to go, on campus and off, and why?
- How did you make your own fun at Ripon? Fond memories.
- What was your favorite music and why was it special? What songs remind you of Ripon days and why?
- What was your most memorable all-campus party and why?
- Who was your favorite professor and why?
- What was your favorite downtown hangout? What made it special or extra fun?
- What sort of impact did Ripon make on your life?
- What is your favorite memory of your roommate (be careful here!)?
Send your photos or thoughts to our Memory Book committee, KRISTIN KOHLES JANSSEN ’82, LAURA NORRIS ’82, or GREGG RIEDER ’82. In return, you will receive a complimentary copy of the book for your own special walk down memory lane. You won’t want to miss this chance to reminisce!
See you at our Class Reunion!
PETER HINTZ ’82/P’10
(920) 229-4399
KRISTEN RASMUSSEN OLSON ’82/P’20
(507) 279-1091
Your 1982 Class Agents