Homecoming 2015: A Celebration of Friendships, Memories

At this year's Knox College Homecoming, Gary '75 and Judy Middleton Anderson '75 were celebrating not just one, but two, important milestones: their 40th Class Reunion and their 40th wedding anniversary.

"The chairs were set up for graduation on Saturday, and they got married Sunday, the next day," recalled fellow classmate Bob Nelson '75, who was best man at the wedding.

The Andersons and Nelson, who have stayed close friends over the years, were among more than 1,000 alumni and friends who returned to campus for Knox's 2015 Homecoming celebration October 16-18.

The Homecoming festivities included a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Whitcomb Art Building, an all-class Reunion, Homecoming Convocation, a 5K walk/run, the Prairie Fire football game against Cornell College, and various tours and receptions.

Current Knox students organized additional events throughout Homecoming week, such as a pumpkin-carving contest, window painting, and a Homecoming bonfire.

ALUMNI MEMORIES

For Judy Middleton Anderson '75, the year she spent abroad in Barcelona, Spain, is one of her most memorable Knox experiences.

"I had never been on an airplane before I went to Barcelona," she said. "It's a beautiful place. I cried when I left."

Dr. Eric P. Williams '85 frequently gets back to Knox for Homecoming because, as he says, "I love Knox."

Faculty members, including Linda Dybas '64 and William Geer, weren't just professors, Williams said. They were mentors who helped him and other students achieve their goals. "I feel like I'm forever indebted," he added.

Jim Fox '65 says he comes back to Knox to catch up with longtime friends.

"This class, in particular, has stayed together as friends after Knox," Fox said. "I see many of these people still, to this day, in other places and here."

Knox friendships are important to Audrey Petty '90, too. "It has been a few years since I came, and it just took a couple of friends to say: We're going [to Homecoming]. Let's do this," said Petty, a former Knox faculty member. "And I was in."

Her "first official stop" after arriving Saturday afternoon was the ABLE House.

"It was really wonderful to meet old friends—people I went to college with, people I taught here, and then to meet new generations of students and people who were here before I was," she said. "It was just very powerful to be connected in that way."

While Carol Klail Vovis '65 returns for Knox Homecoming pretty much every year, Cindy Ridgway Tomevi '65 hasn't been back since her class' 40th anniversary 10 years ago.

"We saw each other yesterday for the first time in 50 years," Vovis said on Saturday. "We just started talking about our lives, and it was like no time had passed at all."

Tomevi recalled Knox as "a special place."

"It really is," Tomevi added. "This is a good leaping-off place into the real world."

Maurice "Mo" Harris '08, who serves on the Alumni Council, said he enjoys seeing the renovated Alumni Hall and other changes on campus since he was a student.

One of his favorite Knox memories is participating in Model United Nations with fellow students. "it was nerdy, but fun," he said.

Friends and classmates Barbara Barnstead Pollak '60 and Sue Lawrence Lewis '60, whose most recent visit to Knox was five years ago, said it's the friendships and memories that bring them back.

"The thing I learned from Knox was a very strong fondness of reading. I read a lot," Pollak said.

"I got a remarkable education," Lewis said, adding that she has continued to be a lifelong learner.

HOMECOMING AWARDS

The traditional Homecoming Convocation opened with the Class of 1965 Processional, marking the class' 50-year anniversary as Knox alumni. Dozens of members of the class entered Kresge Recital Hall together as Ricky Dale and the Dreamers performed '60s hits "Surfin' USA" and "The Twist."

"Welcome home," President Teresa Amott said. "We are delighted that you are here and in such strength."

The Class of 1965 presented Knox College with a giant check representing the classmates' combined contribution to the College—an astounding $3,892,842.