Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Stopping By Antioch: A Trip Back In Time


Dear George,
Recently Katja and I took an overnight camping trip to Yellow Springs, and we spent some time there walking around the campus of our alma mater, Antioch College.  We visit Antioch every now and then, and we’re always filled with nostalgia.  Katja and I were students at Antioch from 1955 to 1960, a time period that’s often viewed as part of the institution’s “golden age.”  Along with Oberlin, Reed, Bard, and a few others, Antioch was widely regarded as one of the most innovative liberal arts colleges in the nation.  It was also known as a bastion of left-wing politics and was soon to become a center for student activism and the counterculture revolution in the 1960’s.  Having grown up in a staunch Republican family in a small Upper Peninsula Michigan town, it was a transformational experience for me.  Intellectually exciting, sometimes mind-blowing, confusing, engaging, challenging.  It’s nearly five and a half decades since we graduated from Antioch, and I still have a firm sense of identity as an “Antiochian”.



Main Hall

Main Hall is the college’s administration building and constitutes its iconic visual image.  Along with the North and South Hall dorms, it’s one of Antioch’s three original buildings.  The college was founded in 1852.  It was the first coed college in the nation to offer the same educational opportunities to women and men and the first to appoint a woman professor to its faculty.  Its first president was Horace Mann, an abolitionist and educational reformer who was known for founding the American public school system.  Mann gave Antioch its college motto: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”




South Hall

When I arrived in 1955, South Hall was the men’s freshmen dorm.  I was assigned to Viking Hall, located on the west half of the third floor.  My classmates were mainly from big cities, mainly on the east coast.  My freshman roommates, Les S., Bob P., and Ted R., were from New York and greater Chicago.  The campus was filled with bright and gifted students.  Our Viking Hall bunch came to be the most cohesive group of which I’ve ever been a part.  Members ate their meals together at the cafeteria, drank 3.2 beer at a local tavern, played pranks in the dorm, talked philosophy and politics, and stayed up all hours of the night playing poker for cafeteria meal tickets.  As the end of our first year approached we swore that we would reconvene for a twenty-fifth reunion, but, alas, that never happened.




North Hall

North Hall, the freshmen women’s dorm, was right across the quadrangle.  Katja lived on one of the floors there.  I’d seen her from a distance on the first day that we’d arrived on campus and fell in love at first sight, but I didn’t possess the courage to actually speak to her.  When I walked into a common room area in North Hall one evening that first year, Katja was alone there, playing a mournful song on the piano.  I listened for a moment, then passed on through.  It would be a year and a half before we met through mutual friends while we were on coop jobs in Madison and Milwaukee.




The Science Building

My high school math teacher had strongly urged me to become an engineer, and I started Antioch as an engineering major.  That was a major mistake.  I shirked my studies in calculus, had trouble working the instruments in my surveying class, and stopped attending Engineering Mechanics because it was at 8 a.m., an impossible time for a late night poker player.  Worst of all, I mixed the wrong chemicals together in my Organic Chemistry class, and a mixture containing sulfuric acid exploded and scalded the corneas of both my eyes. 




The Infirmary

I spent ten days in the infirmary after my chemistry accident.  The blisters eventually peeled off my eyes, and, much to everyone’s relief, my vision was still intact. 




Horace Mann Hall

I’d enjoyed creative writing throughout high school and, after my engineering fiasco, I declared Literature as my new major.  Faculty offices and classrooms were in Horace Mann Hall.  My teachers included Nolan Miller, Judson Jerome, and Bob Maurer.  Nolan Miller had coined the phrase “beat generation” in one of his novels.   I enjoyed his fiction writing courses the best, but, after submitting 27 short stories to various pulp magazines for publication and getting 27 rejection form letters, I began rethinking my career choice.  Professor Jerome, a nationally prominent poet, despaired the lack of social and financial support for the literary arts in our society and suggested that Psychology or Sociology would be better majors for aspiring writers.  I followed his advice and promptly changed my major to Psychology, a decision that would shape my adult life and career.  My psychology profs included Clarence Leuba (a post-Watsonian behaviorist), Bill John (a cognitive social psychologist from Harvard), and Erling Eng (who drew from Jungian psychoanalysis, Zen Buddhism, and experiential learning techniques).  I became an Eng groupie.  




The Antioch Library

Antioch’s library, like the rest of the campus, operated on an honor system where you checked out your own books.  I spent a lot of time browsing in the stacks and doing homework at the library’s tables.  One of my best Viking Hall friends liked to read the newspaper there.  He’d cut a small hole in the center of the paper so that he could look unobtrusively at the girls walking by.




The College Gym

The Gym was close to South Hall, and I spent a lot of time there during my freshman year.  Physical Education was required of first-year-students, and I took tennis, basketball, and boxing (in the latter, most of my opponents were 3 or 4 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier).  Antioch didn’t have any intercollegiate varsity sports but instead supported an active intramural system.  Viking Hall sponsored touch football and basketball teams.  I and Bob P. were the shooting guards on our basketball team, and we were runners-up for the intramural championship.




Greywood Hall

In my third year I lived in Greywood Hall, a small dorm on the edge of campus.  I shared a room with my Viking Hall friend John N. and an acquaintance from California whose hobby was making keys.  The grinding of the key machine was difficult to study by, but we eventually got used to it.  Most nights John and I would go out at midnight to the 68 drive-in at the north edge of town and enjoy pie and a cup of coffee.   




Corry Hall

I lived in Corry Hall for a couple of years, including 1958-59 when Katja was in France and Austria on a year abroad program.   The upperclass hall members had less to do with one another than had been the case in my freshman year.  In my fourth year I was a freshman hall advisor in Corry.  I was too quiet and shy for the role and did a half-baked job.




Birch Hall

Birch Hall, the main upperclass women’s dorm, was designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen and constructed in 1943.  After she came back from Europe, Katja lived here with her best friend, Judy F.  Unlike most schools in the 1950’s, men and women were welcome to hang out in one another’s dorm rooms until curfew time at 10 p.m. on weekdays or midnight on weekends, so I was a regular visitor to Birch Hall.      




Student Union

When we arrived at Antioch in 1955 the college cafeteria was housed in a pair of quonset huts that had been built on campus during World War II for military purposes.  The new student union building was completed during our third year, and it housed the cafeteria, bookstore, coffee shop (C-shop, a popular evening hangout), student government offices, and the Antioch News Record.  Sitting on the Student Union steps and shooting the breeze was a favorite pastime.  





Antioch Inn

The Antioch Inn occupied the west end of the Student Union Building.  It offered a restaurant geared to adult visitors to the campus and several hotel rooms upstairs.  Katja worked as a waitress in the restaurant, and sometimes my first-year roommate Ted R. and I would have supper there, getting deluxe service.  Katja and I got married at Antioch after our graduation in 1960, and our parents and siblings (Steve, Peter, Vicki, Ami, David) stayed at the Antioch Inn.  We had our wedding reception there in a big upstairs room.

When we drove into Yellow Springs on our recent trip, Katja remarked that we’d spent the most significant years of our lives at Antioch.  I’d have to agree.  My memories are of phenomenal friends, errant ways (e.g., smoking, drinking too much beer), co-oping in New York City and San Francisco, existentialism, psychoanalysis, Kerouac and Ferlinghetti, Com’s Tavern, late night intellectual conversations, romance, jazz, anti-conformity of all sorts.  I made my long-term career choice while at Antioch (social psychology), found and married my life partner, and gained credentials for admission to graduate study at the University of Michigan.  We even chose to live in Cincinnati years later partly because of its proximity to Antioch and Yellow Springs.  I had some of my most rewarding life experiences at Antioch, as well as some of my most personally difficult and painful experiences.  I did some of the stupidest things in my life there, and some of the most adventurous.  A lot of these memories came back into mind during our visit.  We’ll have to go back again soon.
Love
Dave   



Thursday, September 25, 2014

My California Wedding Adventure (by Katja)



Dear George,
Recently my sister Ami and I flew from New York and Cincinnati, respectively, to attend our nephew Tyler’s and his fiancĂ© Amelia’s wedding near Los Angeles.  It was the first wedding in our family’s younger generation.  It was also my first trip ever to Southern California.  We flew initially to Sacramento where my brother David met us and brought us to his and Susan’s home about 30 minutes away. Tyler is David and Susan’s “first-born” child, and, though it has been too many years since I saw him, it was a wonderful opportunity to get together with the whole family.




This is the front of David and Susan’s house.  It’s truly an estate with many many rooms, an enormous amount of indoor Victorian wood carving and architectural details, and filled with Susan’s artwork.  We sat on the porch till late at night, talking and drinking and having fun.  David is quite the baker, and he got up in the early morning and baked cinnamon bread, and made smoothies for the family . Best of all, he made wonderful cups of espresso on his super-duper espresso machine. I have rarely felt so pampered in my life.  I slept late and watched the U.S. Open for hours at a time. Although the matches didn’t turn out the way I would have liked, I had my own big screen TV to enjoy the tournament.




Compared to Cincinnati, California’s flora is very exotic.  This enormous palm tree is in the front yard.  Each year a man climbs up to the top of the palm trees and trims their huge leaves at a cost of about $2000.  David trims all the topiary bushes by hand. The house is surrounded by wonderful landscaping – citrus bushes, flowering bushes, trees and flowers.  Susan has done a magnificent job in the landscape department.





David and Susan have completed all sorts of renovation since we were last there.  They’ve put in new walls of Venetian plaster themselves all through the house, and it’s magnificent.  Everything is in a Victorian style but with up-to-date appliances. 




This is a dining room view.  The huge oval dining table seats 12 or more.




The bathroom floors are all retiled with beautiful white tiles, and there are mammoth Victorian bathtubs with their original hardware.




There are patios at the front, back, and sides of the house.  This one is brand new.  There are chairs, umbrellas, grills – everything you need for California living. 




This is the newly renovated swimming pool.  We lounged by its side in the morning and late afternoons, drinking martinis and white wine and eating brie and crackers.  It was like being movie stars.  The only thing missing was a butler. 




On Thursday David, Susan, Ami, and I drove down to Los Angeles, an 8-hour trip through a largely desert-like inland countryside.  Here’s our group on the magnificent beach in Malibu (from the left, David, Ami, Susan).  It was amazing to be standing at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  We poked our toes in the water and surprisingly it was warm.  I  felt like I was in a Ray Donovan episode on Showtime, although nobody else knew who Ray Donovan was.




Ami and I are enjoying our drinks at the bar of Loew’s Hotel on the beach in Santa Monica.  




Here are the proud parents of the groom the day before the wedding.  




The sunset over the Santa Monica pier was beautiful.






The wedding was at a ranch high high up in the San  Gabriel mountains, 100 miles east of L.A.  Here is Tyler’s sister Mandy (left) and one of the other bridesmaids.  Mandy was exquisite.  David looked very chic in his new suit, black shirt and black sunglasses. Susan was elegant in her flowy Eileen Fischer outfit – absolutely perfect for the occasion -- and Ami brought a wonderful touch of New York to the wedding with polka dots and leggings.  Jonny looked wonderful in his groomsman  tuxedo – tall, dark, handsome, and full of fun. What a great family!





Tyler and Amelia are exchanging their vows.  Amelia was absolutely stunning.  She looked like a Rosetti painting.  Tyler looked manly, proud, and happy.  It was simply a beautiful ceremony.  




Tyler and Amelia enjoy their first dance together as a newly married couple.





Here’s Susan with her two sons, Jonny and Tyler.

I have lots of good memories, as you can see.  I’m happy for Tyler and Amelia, who I’m sure will enjoy a rich and exciting life together.  It’s wonderful for David and Susan too.  All in all, this is the sort of event that is a major marker in our lives.
Love,
Katja      


G-mail Comments
Linda C (9-26): What a great wonderful time you must have had, looks just beautiful.  You look so lovely Katja , and  also your sister,  fun time.
-Susan and David W. (9-25):  Thanks, Katja! What beautiful memories is right!  We loved seeing you and Ami at our son's wedding.  Our visit all together was a lovely family reunion.  Thanks again so much for being with us all.  Susan and David




Friday, September 19, 2014

Clifton in Verse, Part Three

Clifton Ave., looking north toward Ludlow Ave.

Dear George,
I’m sure many (maybe even most) people are inspired to poetic musings by their neighborhoods.  That’s certainly the case in our Clifton village.  Our two major thoroughfares are Ludlow Avenue which runs east and west and Clifton Avenue which runs north-south.  Ludlow contains the center of the business district, while Clifton houses several major institutions and an elegant residential area.  I did two previous photo/poetry postings about places on Ludlow Ave. (see “Clifton in Verse”), the first one for the south side of Ludlow and the second for the north side.  The present photos and accompanying poems are mostly for Clifton Ave.  I haven’t covered everything of note, but this completes my neighborhood poetry-writing project.
Love,
Dave




Hebrew Union College

Hebrew Union’s a quick walk away
So many fine treasures of old
It’s a famous fixture, I’d have to say
With scores of new rabbis enrolled




Brueggers Bagels

In Bruegger’s they stare at their laptops
There’s only one patron per booth
The youth are all clad in their flip-flops
And the geezers look long in the tooth




UDF

UDF means “Farmers, United Dairy”
They sell eggs plus milk plus ice cream
Some like the peach, others black cherry
But it’s egg nog that leads us to scream




Good Samaritan Hospital

Good Sam is only eight blocks away
We got sitters from the nurses’ dorm
They took good care of our young son J
They were always so nursily warm




Burnet Woods

Whenever I long to get away
Burnet Woods is a soothing respite
Our sheepdogs wander about and play
On the trails they’re the handsomest sight





“The Muse of Clifton”

I’d say I’m in love with this sculpture
She’s the symbol of springtime and youth
I don’t know if she’s really high culture
But she radiates beauty and truth




Dewey’s Pizza

We go to Dewey’s for a married night out
They cater to adults and kiddies
The pizza is splendid, of that there’s no doubt
And their salads give people the giddies




Presbyterian Church and Day Care Center

The Presbyterians offered a center
We  sent off our son at age four
J’s teacher was an outstanding mentor
She taught him to mop up the floor




310 Bryant Ave.

My inlaws came to Bryant 310
They moved all the way from Philly
Helen would do it all over again
But my father-in-law thought it was silly




3507 Clifton Ave.

This was our home in ‘74
It’s a mansion befitting a king
We occupied the entire first floor
It made Katja smile and sing




Clifton School (now the Clifton Cultural Arts Center)

Clifton School had oodles of stuff
Like reading and cursive and art
Multiplication was ever so tough
But the kiddies who got it got smart





Mt. Storm Park

Mt. Storm Park is not much of a mountain
It’s more like a pretty high hill
The dogs like to sup at the fountain
And the cityscape gives us a thrill