What is the memory that makes you laugh hardest today?
“Everything Bono did while not trying to be funny. Nair. Mount Vernon chicks while dressed up as Mr. Spock, Georgeanna “too late,” burning his forehead by accident with a lighter he’d been playing with for 20 minutes – “aw man!”” – Dan Hughes, ’97
“The year, 1948. Bob Carr trying to augment the GI Bill had a peanut machine. It was a glass globe half filled with nuts. For a dime you got 6 goobers! We caught a mouse and installed him atop the nuts in that machine which sat on the landing coming in from middle path. The Sarge was really mad. Nobody broke a smile. Who would do such a thing. Yes, we laughed like mad, in private.” – Jack Bartlett, ’50
“One Dance Weekend Sunday morning my roomie, John Clark, and I awoke to the sound of a large bulldozer running down Middle Path heading directly for Old Kenyon! The drunks driving had “captured” the dozer from a construction project down on Highway 29 around the Hill. At the last minute, they turned away from the building and proceeded down the (then) dirt maintenance road to the East and away. Never did know if they were students or visitors (we had a lot of those on Dance Weekend in those days).” – Dale Bessell, ’61
“Dan – do you remember urinal surfing in Leonard? I had a rough day of work related travel the other day and that memory popped into my head while in the O’hare airport. I chuckled – the 30+ strangers in the bathroom with me did not…..”-Adrian Amedia, ’99
Describe the best party
“Spring 1950, the lodge, Dance weekend: Greek Toga Party with my date Mary Ann, now my wife of 54 years.” – George Holthaus, ’50
“Military Ball Weekend, l959.” – Walter Hamilton Taylor, ’60
“Any party that involved staying in the green room until 5 AM to finish the kegs, which was pretty much every party.” – Dan Hughes, ’97
“No such thing as the “best party” in those days- they were all memorable and, frankly, after 45+ years, who can remember one in particular?” – Dale Bessell, ’61
Describe your favorite/best road trip
“Spring break ’96. Trying to leave Kenyon on a sunny day, then coming back to spend the night at the lodge after Michael Courtney-Brooks flipped his car 2 miles outside of Mt. Vernon with Jamie Lester and Jon Holter in it. Next day, MCB heads home to Columbus and Holter, Lester, Joe O’Reilly, Jeremy Bono and I pack into Bono’s 2-door Ford Escort and leave Kenyon in an ice storm, headed to NY. Takes us 12 hours to get to eastern PA and then the car breaks down in sub-zero weather on I-84. We get rescued after an hour by the greatest cop ever – Officer Frank Scacciati – and end up crashing in a shitty motel in some podunk town in NE PA. Five of us in a room with two double beds and I get the floor. That was my 21st birthday.” – Dan Hughes, ’97
“We took many road trips to Lake Erie College, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, and Miami U. The best was to Lake Erie my freshman year and it was memorable because it was my first and I met a girl that I dated several times thereafter.” – Dale Bessell, ’61
What is the one memory you have shared or will share with your children or grandchildren?
“600 mile round trip hitch hike to Michigan State to see my dearest Mary Ann.” – George Holthaus, ’50
“Lester, Bono, and Dinger all hooking up in one room in Mather while O’Reilly’s passed out on the floor.” – Dan Hughes, ’97
“Now that I have (7) grandchildren to go with my (3) children the memory that I’ll share is when me and my fiancée (my wife of 45 yrs. now) had lunch at the old restaurant in town called “Dorothy’s” with Paul Newman (Class of ’50) and his wi
fe the actress Joanne Woodward who were back for Graduation Weekend in June of 1961.They were both very friendly and not famous enough yet to be aloof.” – Dale Bessell, ’61