Bill Popko Spring 2005 2233 Seton Ct Claremont, CA 91711 RES: (909) 624-3002 Greetings from Ripon College via your West Coast outpost. Ten years ago our class had "Ripon's First and Perhaps Last 37th Class Reunion." It was an outstanding success. We outdrew the Class of 1960's 35th Reunion almost 2 to 1. It was .inspired by a December, 1994 snowstorm in southern Wisconsin which had already dumped 8 inches on Jefferson Wisconsin --- and was still dumping when Ken Steussi called me. " Say Bill, I've been sitting around reading our class letters and having so much fun that I had to just call and thank you for them let's have a class get together this summer " We've got a great class and it is always a lot of fun to get together. Let's do it again this year and have "Ripon's First and Perhaps Last 47th Class Reunion." We have an even better reason to get together than we did ten years ago. An idea was born during our 45th class reunion. Rich Kraft touched so many lives in so many wonderful ways it would be nice if Ripon College could honor his life's work. It was a great idea but we immediately ran into a major obstacle. Rich passed away a few years ago and no one knew if it was possible to give recognition posthumously. Jan Hume Konstans submitted the nomination and worked very hard to build support for it. Jan passed on some great news to me last November when she sent me an email confirming it was unanimously accepted by the Alumni Board and the distinguished alumni award will be presented posthumously to Phyllis Schaffer Kraft during Alumni Weekend in June, 2005. As far as I know, this is the first time this award has been made posthumously. Check out the supporting documentation when you return. You will be amazed. Rich was a Sigma Chi and I've heard they are expecting a large turnout of their brothers for this ceremony. The Merriman men usually show up in numbers to match the Sigma Chi's whenever our class gets together. If there's even a hint of a party we'll be swamped by the men from West and Smith Halls. The Sigma Nu and Theta Chi pledges had their annual "Toilet Bowl" mid-winter midnight football games and the men from both houses will want relive memories of them as well as the many pranks they played on each other --- all soothed with the parting that followed. During our freshmen year we had a great freshman basketball team. At that time they couldn't play on the varsity, but they often played preliminary games before the varsity games. Often their opponents were the intramural teams from the various fraternities. Try as they might, neither Lambda nor the RUM (Ripon Unaffiliated Men a.k.a. Independents) could schedule a game with them --- "your team is too weak." They decided to combine their teams and challenge the Freshmen basketball team. Lambda-RUM won both games and the members of both organizations will have something to crow about in June --- that is unless they have bad cases of CRS. Nobody had more fun than the women of our class during our 45th reunion and we expect more of the same this summer. We trust you will be among them. Bottom line --- we're going to have a great turnout and it'll be even better if you are there. Be sure to make your reservations early. Cathi and I had a chance to visit with Lori and Ted Peterson last September. They picked a beautiful place to retire. Several great golf courses are located in the immediate vicinity. They'd love a visit from you too. You can reach them at (931) 707-0518 or write to them at 129 Fairhaven Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. You'll see some more changes when you return this June. President Joyce announced that the former president's home at Ripon College known as Hughes House is being transformed into the Evans Welcome Center. The facility, located at the corners of Seward Street and Woodside Avenue, will be part of the major entrance to campus. This is just east of the tri-dorms. Completion of the $600,000 interior and exterior project is expected this spring. The upper floor of the Evans Welcome Center, originally constructed in 1863, will be renovated to house the college's Admissions personnel. Since the project started last fall, Joyce says, exterior renovations have included replacement of the roof and porches and tuck pointing. New windows are also planned. A circular drive will take campus guests to the Welcome Center, which they will approach from the East off Woodside Avenue. In addition to the welcome and admission center, the first floor living room and dining room will be restored and used for meetings. The Evans Welcome Center is named for Silas Evans, an 1898 Ripon graduate who served two stints as the college's president and his wife, Nell. The lead gift for the renovation comes from a trust established by President Evan's son, Richard H. "Harry" Evans '38. Other gifts to the College are funding the rest of the renovation project. Other significant gifts for the project have come from Don and Marilyn Dixon Anderson '42/'45 and from John "Jack" and Nellie Weiss Murray '37/'37. The Murray gift is in honor of her grandfather, the late George Weiss, an 1886 Ripon College graduate. The Evans Welcome Center is one of several construction and renovation projects underway on campus. Plans are in the early stages for three other projects: The bookstore will be moved to the first floor of S. N. Pickard Commons. The $200,000 project will use space in the ground floor entry which previously housed coat racks as well as space now occupied by the plant department personnel. There will be a small coffee shop adjacent to the bookstore. The space vacated by the bookstore in Harwood Memorial Union will be renovated into a catering kitchen and storage space to accompany a $500,000 Great Hall renovation. This project will include a new floor and other decorative elements along with heating and air conditioning. First-floor restrooms will be renovated in the first phase of the project, which is partially funded by a $500,000 gift from Leonard Dahm '43 of Santa Ana, CA who made the gift to benefit students in honor of his late wife, Belen Dahm. The fourth project, still in the planning stages, is to create a fitness center in part of the first floor of Bovay Hall. This will accompany other renovations to the building as part of the overall Quad residence Hall Project which involves remodeling to all four of the buildings, two of which are completed. We are having our 50th coming up in 3 years. We need some class members to serve on the Gift Committee. We also would like some gift ideas. Please let me hear from you. Is this the year you make my dream come true --- my dream to reach 100% class participation in the Annual Fund. Dreams are good --- even better when they become true. I can dream. Can you? Gifts must be received by June 15, 2005 in order to be counted in this year's Annual Fund. Many thanks. Best regards, Bill Popko '58 Class Agent |
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Class of 1958 - Spring 2005 Newsletter |
