Small Torrents Following A 50-Year’s Silence

I so wanted to attend our 50-Year Reunion. But a blunder in scheduling, my doing (more later), will rob me of the opportunity.   

My years at Mac definitely impacted my life and career. As I sit before the computer, scene after scene of my days at Mac flashes before me. In retrospect, four great years!  

Between 1953 and 1957, I took classes in disciplines ranging from liberal arts to science. Under the guidance of Dr. Huntley Dupre, Dr. Thomas Hill, I somehow graduated with a degree in International Relations. Many notable involvements in the life of my college days include being elected to the Community Council as Citizens Secretary; enjoying the activities of the Cosmopolitan Club, warmly and generously backed by Dean Dupre and President Turck; performing with the Minnesota Orchestra as a member of the Little Choir and College Chorus; perpetrating some of the less-said-the-better Kirk Hall pranks; and, not the least, befriending a large number of faculty members and fellow students.

The 1957 Religion-in-Life Week featured speaker was Dr. James Robinson, a widely known and respected minister whose Church of the Master and the Morningside Community Center served the communities around 125th Street in Harlem. In a brief dialogue we had, Jim asked that I call him if I needed help after graduation. After many months of fruitless and discouraging search for a job in New York City, I phoned him. He arranged for us to have lunch at the Russia Tea Room. Before ending our meeting, he inquired if I would want to be his administrative assistant, specifically taking the responsibility for the newly founded Operations Crossroad Africa. A heady offer. I did.

I was a tenor in the Little Choir, some of the best time I spent at Mac was singing under Dr. Ian Morton, an able and caring conductor. To this day, my singing in various church and community choirs remains uninterrupted. In 1986, I traveled with Pemigewasset Choral Society (Plymouth, N.H.) on a concert tour to England. The following year my wife and I visited China, after being away for about 35 years. Those two wonderful experiences led me to ponder the idea of taking a chorus to China. The New Hampshire Friendship Chorus (NHFC) was thus founded. Every even year since, it has performed worldwide, in far away countries. Next year NHFC will celebrate its 20th anniversary. One celebratory event is an alumni concert with 100 singers expected, which I inadvertently scheduled for June 2, coinciding with our 50-Year Reunion. The summer of 2008, I will take the 2008 Friendship Chorus to Croatia and Slovenia for a two-week choral tour.

I retired ten years ago, after working as a librarian for 35 years, the last 15 as library director at Plymouth State College (now Plymouth State University). How have I been using my free time? Planning and organizing tours for New Hampshire Friendship Chorus and numerous nonprofit groups, hammering at Pemi-Valley Habitat building projects, traveling a lot, and enjoying very much being a house husband. Still singing, but no longer reaching the high B’s or C’s. Susan and I have been married for 46 years. We have a grandson, and three grown sons who are a partner in Booz Allen, a writer and university administrator (in that order), and a SEC lawyer.