“Long ago, in the valley of Chenango, gathered 13,” declares the favorite Colgate anthem “1819.” Almost 201 years later, the people of Colgate still gather, though there are far more than the original 13. Every reunion is a testament to that, and though classmates weren’t able to gather on campus this summer, there’s still an opportunity to reminisce.
Look back on some reunions past:
‘Every Living Alumnus on the Hill in 1919’
“The returnees hailed from thirty-two states. Some voyaged from China, Burma, and India, while others sailed from Europe. The oldest celebrant was from the Class of 1854. With 600 students on campus for the fall term, housing the alumni was a challenge. Surplus army cots were borrowed from the New York War Camp Community Service, and 1,500 men bedded down in the gymnasium, administration building, and the hallways of dormitories and fraternity houses. Hamilton residents also opened their homes to the visitors. To feed the crowd, tents were set up near the old academy building.”
Here Comes the Greatest Generation
Plymouth De Luxes and Buick Specials lined the streets of Hamilton, while men clad in sharp suits and women donning A-line skirts strolled up Oak Drive. This was likely the scene at the University’s 1947 All-Class Reunion, dubbed the “greatest event of its kind since the Centennial.”
According to the March 1947 Colgate Alumni News, the University boasted more than 8,000 living alumni at the time, and nearly half served the red, white, and blue. With World War II over and alumni back on American soil, the weekend was dedicated to the 140 Colgate lives lost at war.
Then New York Governor Thomas Dewey addressed the 2,500 alumni who returned to their alma mater. Among the featured attractions were a Colgate vs. Cornell baseball game, an alumni song fest, and an old-fashioned New England clam bake. “Refrigerator trucks full of thousands of fresh clams, over 3,500 live Maine lobsters, and fresh seaweed to make the clambake authentic” were provided by a Massachusetts caterer, says the May 21, 1947, Maroon.
Out With the Old
In June 1955, The Seven Year Itch premiered, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to appear on color TV, and Colgate held its first “modern” reunion.
Previously, reunions were held the same weekend as commencement, and alumni reveled in their nostalgia with the University’s newest alumni. However, that also meant they didn’t have the weekend to themselves, so in October 1954, it was announced that reunion would take place the weekend after commencement. More time meant more activities, including the Alumni College program, today called Reunion College. Filled with “lecture and discussion meetings conducted by members of the faculty,” the program allowed alumni to “see the college in action today,” according to the Nov./Dec. 1954 Colgate Alumni News. A sampling of courses taught by Colgate luminaries included: “What Is Happening to Our Economy?” with Professor William Kessler and “Christianity in Crisis” with philosophy and religion professor Holmes Hartshorn.
The long weekend was dubbed the “Holiday in Hamilton,” with golf, softball, swimming, sailing, and drives through the Chenango Valley on the itinerary. Alumni and their families stayed in residence halls, equipped with “many new beds with comfortable mattresses.”
Commemorating Past Events
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, shepherding many members of the Class of 1917 to fight overseas. Commencement was canceled, and the University’s newest alumni were left without their “sheepskins” (diplomas used to be made out of the material). That is, until 60 years later.
Then octogenarians, 10 members of the Class of 1917 attended the 1977 Reunion. They received their long-awaited diplomas in a special Friday night commencement ceremony.
The year was also a notable anniversary for a mainstay campus group: The Colgate Thirteen. The University’s first a cappella association held its first reunion in conjunction with the commemoration of its founding 35 years earlier. Its 1942 start makes it “among the oldest collegiate groups of their kind in the country,” said the spring 2017 Colgate Scene.
Cheers to 200 Years
Almost 5,000 alumni, family, and friends traveled to Hamilton May 30–June 2, 2019, to celebrate Colgate’s Bicentennial Reunion under the tents on Whitnall Field. Classmates hugged, promising one another that they’d soon be together again. Though a pandemic made it impossible to meet in the Chenango Valley in 2020, it won’t be long before they’re able to make good on that vow.
Reunion 2021
The Awards Committee of the Alumni Council honored the service of several alumni and staff members for the 2019-20 term. They will be recognized publicly during Reunion 2021. See the full list of winners here.