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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPlymouth 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\u2019s 1947 All-Class Reunion, dubbed the \u201cgreatest event of its kind since the Centennial.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the March 1947 Colgate Alumni News<\/em>, 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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. \u201cRefrigerator trucks full of thousands of fresh clams, over 3,500 live Maine lobsters, and fresh seaweed to make the clambake authentic\u201d were provided by a Massachusetts caterer, says the May 21, 1947, Maroon<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 1955, The Seven Year Itch<\/em> premiered, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to appear on color TV, and Colgate held its first \u201cmodern\u201d reunion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Previously, reunions were held the same weekend as commencement, and alumni reveled in their nostalgia with the University\u2019s newest alumni. However, that also meant they didn\u2019t 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 \u201clecture and discussion meetings conducted by members of the faculty,\u201d the program allowed alumni to \u201csee the college in action today,\u201d according to the Nov.\/Dec. 1954 Colgate Alumni News<\/em>. A sampling of courses taught by Colgate luminaries included: \u201cWhat Is Happening to Our Economy?\u201d with Professor William Kessler and \u201cChristianity in Crisis\u201d with philosophy and religion professor Holmes Hartshorn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The long weekend was dubbed the \u201cHoliday in Hamilton,\u201d with golf, softball, swimming, sailing, and drives through the\u00a0Chenango Valley on the itinerary. Alumni and their families stayed in residence halls, equipped with \u201cmany new beds with comfortable mattresses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s newest alumni were left without their \u201csheepskins\u201d (diplomas used to be made out of the material). That is, until 60 years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The year was also a notable anniversary for a mainstay campus group: The Colgate Thirteen. The University\u2019s first a cappella association held its first reunion in conjunction with the commemoration of its founding 35 years earlier. Its 1942 start makes it \u201camong the oldest collegiate groups of their kind in the country,\u201d said the spring 2017 Colgate Scene<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost 5,000 alumni, family, and friends traveled to Hamilton May 30\u2013June 2, 2019, to celebrate Colgate\u2019s Bicentennial Reunion under the tents on Whitnall Field. Classmates hugged, promising one another that they\u2019d soon be together again. Though a pandemic made it impossible to meet in the Chenango Valley in 2020, it won\u2019t be long before they\u2019re able to make good on that vow. <\/p>\n\n\n\nOut With the Old<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Commemorating Past Events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>Cheers to 200 Years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nReunion 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n\n