Remarks by 1953 alumna
Barbara Neeley Yalich, delivered to her classmates
on the occasion of their 50th reunion, at the Colorado College
Fifty Year Club
Induction Service held in Shove Chapel October 10, 2003.
______________________________________________________________________
PRESIDENT CELESTE, DEAN TOOLEY, FIFTY YEAR CLUB PRESIDENT DWIGHT
BROTHERS, CLASSMATES, OTHER ALUMNI AND COLORADO COLLEGE FRIENDS:
ON BEHALF OF THE CLASS OF 1953, IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO HAVE BEEN
ASKED TO SPEAK TODAY AND EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION FOR THIS WONDERFUL
OPPORTUNITY TO BE ON CAMPUS AND TO BE RECOGNIZED ON THIS, OUR
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY YEAR AS COLORADO COLLEGE ALUMNI.
WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR THE HONOR OF THESE DIPLOMAS AND THE
MEDALLION WE JUST RECEIVED. WE PLAN TO ENJOY THE ENTIRE WEEKEND
CELBRATION TO THE HILT, PARTICULARLY THE CEREMONY AWARDING CLASSMATE
DON LINGER WITH THE GRESHAM RILEY AWARD!
THE CHANCE TO BE HERE TOGETHER IN SHOVE CHAPEL, ALMOST IN OUR
ASSIGNED SEATS, IS TRULY A PEAK EXPERIENCE. WE THANK YOU AND ALL
THE MANY STAFF MEMBERS WHO MAKE IT POSSIBLE. AS WE GATHER HERE,
WE ARE PAINFULLY AWARE OF THE LARGE NUMBER OF CLASSMATES WHO ARE
NOW DECEASED AS WELL AS THOSE WHO CANNOT BE HERE WITH US BECAUSE
OF ILLNESS AND OTHER REASONS. PLEASE JOIN ME IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE
AS WE HONOR THESE FRIENDS.
I STAND HERE, AS I HAVE SO MANY OTHER TIMES IN MY LIFE, SAYING
‘WHY ME’? THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THIS INSTANCE
BECAUSE, AS MOST OF YOU HAVE FIGURED OUT BY NOW, I DID NOT STAY
ON AT CC TO GRADUATE AS ONE OF YOUR CLASSMATES. INSTEAD, MIKE
AN I WERE MARRIED AND LIVED JUST A FEW BLOCKS FROM CAMPUS AS WE
BEGAN TO RAISE OUR CHILDREN AND MOVE ON WITH OUR LIVES. WE STAYED
IN TOUCH WITH MANY OF YOU AND WITH THE CLASSES THAT FOLLOWED YOU.
I LATER SERVED SEVERAL YEARS AS AN ALUMNI TRUSTEE AND THEN IN
1973, I WAS INVITED BY PRESIDENT LEW WORNER TO BECOME A STAFF
MEMBER AT THE COLLEGE, A JOYFUL ENTERPRISE THAT WENT ON FOR MORE
THAN 20 YEARS.
THE COMMENTS I MAKE TODAY, THEN, ARE A MIX OF MY PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
AND FEELINGS ABOUT THIS PASSAGE OF TIME AND EVENTS --- AND ABOUT
OUR LIVES DURING THIS ALMOST LIFELONG AFFILIATION WITH COLORADO
COLLEGE.
MOST OF US, OCCASIONALLY AT LEAST, JOKE AROUND ABOUT THOSE ‘SENIOR
MOMENTS’ WHEN SUDDENLY WE CAN’T RECALL A NAME OR SOMETHING
ELSE WE KNOW PERFECTLY WELL --- OR EVEN WHERE WE PUT SOMETHING
IN A GOOD SAFE PLACE JUST YESTERDAY AND CAN’T FIND IT TODAY.
I LIKE TO THINK THAT PART OF THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE THE
TIMES WE HAVE LIVED THROUGH HAVE BEEN TRULY MIND-BOGGLING ---FROM
THE VERY EARLY 30’S UNTIL THE EARLY YEARS OF NEW CENTURY
HAVE BEEN A ROLLER COASTER EXPERIENCE.
WE ARE THE KIDS WHO SAT AROUND THE RADIO – WHEN WE FINALLY
HAD ONE --- AND LISTENED TO ‘LET’S PRETEND’
ON SATURDAY MORNING AND HURRIED HOME FROM SCHOOL TO LISTEN TO
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT (REMEMBER THE SECRET DECODER RING?) --- THE LONE
RANGER AND JACK ARMSTRONG, THE ALL AMERICAN BOY. AND IF WE WERE
SICK AND STAYED HOME FROM SCHOOL DURING THE WEEK, IT WAS GREAT
TREAT TO TUNE IN ON MA PERKINS, THE GUIDING LIGHT AND STELLA DALLES.
WE SAT GLUED TO THE RADIO ON SATURDAY NIGHTS WITH OUR PENCIL AND
PAPER TO WRITE DOWN THE RANKINGS OF THE LATEST RELEASES ON THE
HIT PARADE.
ON TUESDAYS WE TUNED IN TO FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY. WE WERE SO
NAÏVE IN TERMS OF ENTERATINMENT THAT WE THOUGHT HIS OPENING
THE CLOSET DOOR AND HAVING ALL THE STUFF FALL OUT WAS SIMPLY HILARIOUS.
A FEW YEARS LATER WE LISTENED TO NEWS OF SOME PLACE CALLED PEARL
HARBOR, THEN ALL ABOUT THE WAR IN EUROPE AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC
AND PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT’S DEATH.
THE ONLY TRUE VISUAL IMAGES WE HAD OF THESE EVENTS WERE IN LIFE
MAGAZINE AND AT THE MOVIES, COURTESY OF RKO NEWS FILMS. VERY SOON
HOLLYWOOD HELPED US CLOSE THIS GAP, MAKING THE WAR EXCITING AND
GLAMOROUS, NOT AT ALL LIKE IT WAS IN REALITY. FINALLY WE HAD TELEVISION---
EVEN IF SOME OUR FIRST SCREENS WERE TINY AND FILLED WITH LINES
AND SHADOWS. WE SAW ELVIS (OR AT LEAST AS MUCH AS ED SULLIVAN
WOULD LET US SEE), THE BEATLES, PRESIDENT KENNEDY’S ASSASSINATION
AND FUNERAL, FOLLOWED BY FAR TOO MANY OTHER ASSASSINATIONS---
ALL OF THIS ALONG WITH VIETNAM, WOODSTOCK, HAIGHT-ASHBURY, NIXON,
AN ATOMIC BOMB, MEN WALKING ON THE MOON AND SO MUCH ELSE.
NOW WE HAVE COMPUTERS, THE INTERNET, ATMS, BLACKBERRIES AND PALM
PILOTS AND ‘RED EYE’ FLIGHTS. ----SOME BRAVE SOULS
BANK ‘ONLINE’ AND SOMEHOW OUR ACCOUNTANTS MYSTERIOUSLY
FILE OUR INCOME TAXES ELECTRONICALLY.
NO WONDER, THEN, THAT WE HAVE ‘SENIOR MOMENTS’ AND
FEEL THAT WE ARE CAUGHT UP IN SOME CRAZY TIME MACHINE NOW AND
THEN! WHAT A GIANT LEAP FROM THAT SEPTEMBER IN 1949 WHEN WE ARRIVED
HERE AT COLORADO COLLEGE.---WE WERE COMPLETE CONFORMISTS. WE HAD
BEEN RAISED TO BE ‘GOOD CHILDREN’ IN EVERY SENSE OF
THE WORD. WE RESPECTED OUR ELDERS, DID OUR CHORES, PRACTICED OUR
MUSIC LESSONS, DID OUR HOMEWORK (MOSTLY), WENT TO SUNDAY SCHOOL
AND CHURCH, AND CONSISTENTLY WORE THE SAME CLOTHES STYLES THAT
EVERYONE ELSE DID. NO DEVIATIONS WERE EXPECTED OR EVEN CONTEMPLATED.
I BELIEVE THIS MADE OUR EXPERIENCE AT CC A VERY SPECIAL AND ENRICHING
TIME OF OUR LIVES.--- WE FELT QUITE COMFORTABLE WITH THE COLLEGE
BECOMING OUR PARENT UNDER THE ‘IN LOCO PARENTIS’ POLICY
OF THOSE TIMES. THE COLLEGE WAS SMALL IN 1949 (1180 STUDENTS)
AND OUR CLASS OF 300 WAS SMALLER THAN THOSE OF THE PREVIOUS SEVERAL
YEARS. IT BECAMES EVEN SMALLER AS THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS WENT
BY AND KOREA (ANOTHER WAR AND SO SOON!) WAS GOING ON. THE DRAFT
WAS STILL IN EFFECT AND MANY OF OUR CC MEN WERE CALLED INTO THE
SERVICE OR SIMPLY VOLUNTEERED. CC WAS A WONDERFUL MIX OF OLDER
WWII VETERANS, SOME WITH WIVES AND CHILDREN WHO LIVED IN QUONSET
HUTS ACROSS FROM J’S DRIVE-IN. A FEW FACULTY WERE YOUNG,
ONLY A BIT OLDER THAN WE WERE OURSELVES. STUDENTS DID EVERYTHING
TOGETHER ---- ATTENDED CLASSES, OF COURSE--- REGISTRATION IN COSSITT
BASEMENT--- VARIETY SHOWS AND PLAYS IN PERKINS HALL, THE SONG
FEST--- HOMECOMING PARADES AND HOUSE DECORATIONS, REQUIRED CHAPEL,
SATURDAY CLASSES, DORM HOURS --- AND EVEN ‘HELL WEEKS’,
(WHICH IT NEVER CROSSED OUR MINDS WERE COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS).
WE WORE GREEN HAIRBOWS AND YELLOW BEANIES WITHOUT COMPLAINT. AND
ALL OF THIS UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF JUAN REID, SALLIE PAYNE
MORGAN AND DEAN MATHIES AND PRESIDENT GILL, A DISTANT FIGURE IN
OUR LIVES. IN JANUARY OF THAT YEAR WE JOINED WITH THE COMMUNITY
OF COLORADO SPRINGS (THEN ONLY ABOUT 35,000 PEOPLE) TO FIGHT TERRIBLE
WINDS AND A BRUSH FIRE SWEEPING ACROSS FORT CARSON AND CHEYENNE
MOUNTAIN. FROM THAT FRIGHTENING EVENT AND THE INSPIRATION OF SO
MANY PEOPLE WORKING SO WELL TOGETHER, WE TAKE OUR CLASS MOTTO
“ALL FIRED UP“, REFERRING TO THAT MEMORY AND THE TREMENDOUS
SPIRIT NOW ETCHED ON OUR CLASS TILE IN THE ALUMNI PLAZA. LITTLE
DID WE REALIZE IN THOSE YEARS THAT WE FACED UNIMAGINABLE CHANGES
IN CULTURE, LANGUAGE, BEHAVIOR, MEDICINE, TECHNOLOGY, TRANSPORTATION,
ECONOMICS, POLITICS, INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND SO MUCH ELSE. I
HOPE YOU FEEL AS I DO THAT WE HAVE RESPONDED TO THE THESE CHANGES
AND DONE SO EXTREMELY WELL. WE HAVE ADJUSTED, EVALUATED, READ,
LISTENED, OBSERVED, PARTICIPATED, WORKED HARD, BEEN OUTSPOKEN
AND PERHAPS EVEN SHOUTED A FEW TIMES. IN SUPPORT OF SOME OF THE
CHANGES BECAUSE OF NEW THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED AND RE-CONSIDERED.
WE HAVE NOT JUST SURVIVED, BUT FLOURISHED AND CONTRIBUTED--- EACH
IN OUR OWN WAY--- TO THE GENERAL WELL-BEING OF OUR COMMUNITIES
AND A BETTER SOCIETY. PERHAPS THIS RETURN TODAY TO OUR ROOTS HERE
AT COLORADO COLLEGE WILL HELP TO RENEW AND INSPIRE US AGAIN AS
WE LOOK TO EVEN MORE EXCITING AND MIND BOGGLING CHANGES AND CHALLENGES----
BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE WE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT OURSELVES AND THE
GREATER WORLD AROUND US.
ON A VERY PERSONAL NOTE, I FEEL THAT THE CLASSES OF THE EARLY
FIFTIES IN MANY WAYS HAVE SERVED A UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT ROLE AS
THE COLLEGE WORKED TO BUILD A MODERN DAY ALUMNI ORGANIZATION AND
FUNDRAISING EFFORT. CERTAINLY CLASSES THAT PRECEEDED US WERE LOYAL
AND SUPPORTIVE OF THE COLLEGE. THEY WERE HOWEVER SMALL IN NUMBERS
AND THE COLLEGE DID NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HELP DEVELOP A STRONG
ALUMNI PROGRAM. BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 1980’S, WE WERE FORTUNATE
TO HAVE PRESIDENT GRESHAN RILEY’S STRONG SUPPORT AND FUNDING
DIRECTED TOWARDS BUILDING THE ALUMNI PROGRAM. TUTT ALUMNI HOUSE
IS WONDERFUL EVIDENCE OF THE BEGINNING OF THAT ERA AS OUR CONTEMPORARIES
ASSUMED THEIR LEADERSHIP ROLES IN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR PROFESSIONS,
WE WERE IN A UNIQUE POSITION TO STEP FORWARD AND SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF THIS TASK. IN MY YEARS AS ALUMNI DIRECTOR AND IN FUNDRAISING,
I CALLED UPON DOZENS OF YOU AS LEADERS, VOLUNTEERS AND DONORS.---
I ASKED YOU OFTEN AND I KNOW YOU ARE STILL BEING ASKED.---- YOU
RESPONDED GENEROUSLY AND FREQUENTLY. WITHOUT YOUR KNOWING, WE
USED YOU AS ROLE MODELS FOR YOUNGER CLASSES. ---THIS WEEKEND WE
WILL BE SURROUNDED BY THOSE SAME YOUNG ALUMNI AND STUDENTS AND
NOW THERE ARE THOUSANDS MORE OF THEM ALL ACROSS THE NATION AND
IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. PLEASE DO NOT THINK THIS WEEKEND IS YOUR
SWAN SONG! YOU HAVE MUCH MORE TO DO AS ALUMNI AND OUR NEW TITLE
OF FIFTY YEAR CLUB MEMBERS GIVES US STATUS AS WELL AS CONTINUING
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WELL-BEING OF THIS WONDERFUL COLLEGE. PRESIDENT
CELESTE: WE ARE VERY MUCH AWARE THAT THE COLLEGE IS THRIVING.
WE READ ABOUT IT, HEAR ABOUT IT. ---- AS WE STROLL THE CAMPUS,
WE CAN SEE THAT THIS IS TRUE AND WE ARE PROUD THAT THIS IS SO.
WE KNOW THAT THIS WILL CONTINUE BECAUSE OF A STRONG BOARD OF TRUSTEES,
FACULTY AND STAFF, AND NOW BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP. SO
KEEP UP THE PACE. WE’RE CHEERING FOR YOU. AGAIN, OUR THANKS
FOR THIS CEREMONY AND THE HONOR YOU HAVE GIVEN TO US AS FIFTY
YEAR CLUB MEMBERS.
THANK YOU.
