09 autumn reporter 1-20 - Franklin College

“Let’s go up to fourth floor and see what it’s
like.” The second reluctantly agreed, while the
third, a confirmed coward, argued that it was
a bad idea. Naturally, the coward was chosen
to lead the group up the staircase. Upon
reaching the door, the coward proclaimed it
was locked and started back down. The leader,
however, tried the door and found it unlocked
and easily opened. The trio found a treasure
trove of Franklin College memorabilia: A large
slate board in a former classroom with names
and initials of those who had visited the
forbidden area before, old cane chairs with
sagging seats and deflated basketballs with
scores of Grizzly wins over larger and betterknown
schools, during the years of Griz
Wagner’s teams. Finally, the coward
announced she was leaving and started down
the stairs. The other two followed, grumbling
about scaredy-cat spoil sports. When they were
halfway down the stairs, a gust of wind from
the forbidden fourth blew the door shut with
a slam. The coward, who had been in the lead,
was nearly knocked down the steps as the
other two rushed to exit the building. This is
a true story. I should know. I was that coward!
William C. Legan ’57: I was against going to
Franklin College because I lived in town.
With the persuasion of my parents, who were
paying the tuition, I finally enrolled. One
great memory is that of meeting my future
wife, Zana McKeny ’59, at Franklin College.
We were married for 43 years and raised four
adult children before she died. It took me
several years to focus and graduate. Actually
I did not understand the significance of my
education until I was near retirement age. If it
had not been for the professors at Franklin
College, especially Dwight Heath, I would not
have done well in my teaching career of 38.5
years in public school education. I am now
remarried to a wonderful lady and living in
New Albany, Ind. I thank Franklin College for
giving me a wonderful education, friends for a
lifetime and memories to savor.
Lloyd “Buzz” Spencer ’57: A favorite memory
of mine is when professor J. Daniel Kocker
directed Our Town and chose me for the
role of George, a major character in the
play. There were two performances, and I
made it through without forgetting my lines.
A lifelong interest in theater was started by
that role.
Constance Richardson Van Valer ’59:
There are so many memories, including
Dr. Mary Owen’s excellence as a professor.
She turned me into the student (in her
classes) that I should have been. It wasn’t
until many years and four children later
in medical school that I became the
kind of student she was looking for.
Looking back over the many years since
I think it probably was much harder
on my dad, Harold Richardson, to be
president of the institution I graduated from
than the other way around. I remember after
a particularly rebellious episode in my junior
year, he wrote me a letter about two hats he
wore, one as president of Franklin College
and one as my father. He expressed such
understanding and pride in me that I couldn’t
have had more resolve to do better if I had
been taken to the woodshed. I would give a
great deal to have kept that letter. I am now
privileged to march at commencement with
the college board of trustees. I wear dad’s
mortarboard, which fits me perfectly but
which I modified slightly to be appropriate
for a doctor of medicine. Then, there was
meeting Joe Van Valer ’59 and our next
50 years together . . .
’60s
Marjorie (Cooper) Geho ’60: One evening near
the end of my sophomore year, I sat alone in
the dimly lit Zeta Tau Alpha sorority suite
and reflected upon the past two years before
entering Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio, to complete the final three
years of my nursing degree. It was a nostalgic
time with another sorority down the hall
singing softly and our lilting song, “I Hear the
Call of Zeta,” drifting through my mind.
When invited to share a memory of Franklin,
I found that, indeed, Franklin College is the
memory. College is a tapestry of memories:
The sense of belonging to a special campus
community, meeting classmates who would
become dear, lifelong friends, sitting under
the tutelage of a knowledgeable, caring and
accessible faculty who nurtured my Christian
faith and did not seek to undermine it,
helpful staff members, the privilege to be
among Elsey Hall’s first residents (even
removing sanding equipment, etc., from our
room before my roommate and I could move
in), congenial camaraderie in the dorms
gracious family-style dining with an upperclassman
as the hostess at each table, growth
through participation and leadership in
organizations, Privy Council, working on
Homecoming floats, May Sing, Christian
Fellowships, the East Coast spring choir tour,
gathering around the stairwell between classes
in Old Main and the gracious welcome I know
is always waiting for me, to name a few. I have
been asked why I feel an enduring loyalty to
Franklin College when, although I returned
in 1961 to receive my diploma, I was only
on campus two years. The answer is in my
tapestry of treasured memories and “Hearing
the Call of Franklin,” my alma mater, forever
echoing in my heart.
Revenna Singleton Richardson ’60: Some of
my most precious memories from my FC years
include standing in line for food at the
cafeteria, which was an old army barracks,
while ironically “Canadian Sunset” played
over the speakers. I also remember finding
the painter’s ugly shoes in our room at night
(they were left in a different room each day),
Bible study in the housing area for married
students, College Fellowship meetings and
meals at the Presbyterian church, wearing
hats, white gloves, dresses and high heels to
church and walking from the dorm to the
Baptist church, raking leaves on campus,
building floats for the Homecoming parade,
working in the library and being privileged to
know Hester and Robert Coward, baby-sitting
for Dr. and Mrs. Bullington, standing around
the railing in Old Main while waiting for
classes to begin and making friends that have
lasted for nearly 50 years.
Michael Alexander ’62: One morning in
October 1961, several SAE fraternity members
awoke to find that the large moose head that
hung in the hallway leading to the dining area
was stolen! All year we searched and asked
classmates if they knew the whereabouts of
our beloved moose. Nothing turned up.
Then, sometime in May 1962, a mysterious
phone call was received. The caller told where
our moose head could be found. Several of us
WWW.FRANKLINCOLLEGE.EDU AUTUMN 2009 49
1950s