Travels with My Dad-Days 6,7,8

Wheaton College

The two goals for our trip were for my Dad to attend his 65th college reunion and to see my sister and her husband in Denver. 

Dad entered Wheaton in the fall of 1942 and would have graduated in 1946 had the war not carried the young men away.  Mom was a senior that year although she took an extra year and graduated with the class of '43.

Understandably, there was not a huge turn out of alumni from 1946: they are 86 years old or so.  At dinner the first evening there were 6, and mostly they didn't remember each other.  The few that Dad had looked forward to seeing weren't able to make it.  There were 2 from the class of '41 and 1 from '36.  They joined our group, along with my good friend Marilee who was in my freshman class (class of '72) and is now the assistant to the president.  She was there representing her dad, class of '41.

 

Over the weekend we had a great time of seeing the campus, enjoying the well-kept grounds and being thrilled with the new buildings, especially the science building.  Dad identified all the buildings by their old names and purposes and was happy to have a few stories to tell about their former uses. He took me to see his off-campus house that he roomed in with his cousin on Scott Street and showed me the path he walked to school everyday.

 

His house has been refurbished and looks better now than it did then, he says.

 

 We enjoyed getting in on the graduate school graduation.  Lisa Beamer, author of Let's Roll and widow of the 9-11 hero of Flight 93 which crashed in the countryside of Pennsylvania, was the speaker.   Her husband, Todd Beamer, was a Wheaton grad ('91) and the new student center is named for him.  Lisa spoke on "Ordinary Significance", encouraging these young academics to find significance in their daily lives.

                                                        

Dad and I both enjoyed the sunshine and the memories of this weekend. We felt that the Lord has blessed and protected Wheaton through the decades as He has protected and blessed our lives.  We are grateful for the heritage that my own children have enjoyed, as well.