Welcome to the Mount Holyoke College Class of 1968

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Nailed it! Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2020 Tatiana has captured the essence of the late 60s at Mount Holyoke as well as at several neighboring men's colleges. The reader feels all the angst, loneliness, friendships and successes of the uncommon women of MHC. Brilliantly written.

Buy this book!! Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2020 This book was really a fun read!!! It gives great insight to what it was like for women during the changing times of all women's ivy league schools...Looking forward to reading more by this author.

In this interview Tatiana Androsov talks about her book, (https://youtu.be/wGn4eNspUbQ) "Before They Cut The Ivy." Enjoy these reviews, as posted on her Amazon page.

Interview of Tatiana Androsov (https://youtu.be/5DCv5tv7FOA), author of book, Mangoes and Blood. Available on Amazon and Kindle. Tatiana worked for the U. N. and attended Mount Holyoke College.

Dear Classmates,

When I wrote to you on behalf of the Class of 1968 officers in Feb, I had no idea I'd be thinking about you with such worry a mere two months later. I hope you are well. I hope your family and friends are well, too, and that you will all stay well until we're safely on the other side of this pandemic. I know I speak again for all class officers.

While we're on lock-down, some of us are learning new computer skills like Zoom to enable us to maintain some semblance of social life. Consider having a virtual mini-reunion with classmates, one or several, to add joy to your day. Many email addresses are available from the Alumnae Directory at the MHC Alumni Association website. Go to directory.alumnae.mtholyoke.edu. If you haven't registered yet, do it so others can find you. Take a screen shot of the "gathering" and send it to Susan Iverson at siverson@mindspring.com, and we'll all be able to see it on our class website (mhc1968.com). (Each computer and device has a different way of taking a screen shot, but most aren't hard to find.)

We've been lucky. Sure, we had rain at our graduation but we had a ceremony. We had a fabulous 50th Reunion, live and in person with real hugs. On top of it all, most of us are retired and more-or-less used to hanging around the house. We can get through this.

To those doing essential jobs, thank you and stay safe! To those who are sick, you have the best wishes of your MHC sisters, including prayers from many.

Nancie Fimbel
Class President 2018-2023
on behalf of the class officers

Dear Classmates,

Your class officers have many good things to report this year. But even this annual letter has word limitations. For a full picture of the activities of our class, please check our class website at www.mhc1968.com often. It is updated frequently and also has historical entries and reference material. Class Scribe Eloise Killeffer (ehpk1@att.net.) posts longer messages over the 400 words allotted for us in The Quarterly Notes on the website, too.

Website Update (www.mhc1968.com)

Due to the excellent work of Cornelia Davis, we now have an online Art Gallery to show off our class members' creative talent. Eight classmates have contributed so far. To add a photo of your art work, please send one jpg with your name, title of artwork, medium, size, and date of creation to Cornelia at cambia716davis@yahoo.com. We are planning to have a physical Art Show at our 2023 Reunion somehow.

We also have a section of the website for authors to tell us about their publications. It's currently incomplete. Please send additions (old publications or new) for the website to Eloise at ehpk1@att.net with the usual bibliographic info.

Hearty thanks to those who organized or attended a mini-reunion and let the class know about it! Pictures and descriptions are at our website, and they show how much we value the friendships made 55 years ago. Send info and pictures to Susan Iverson at siverson@mindspring.com.

Keeping Connections with the Class of 2018

This fall the Class of '68 made a Connections gift of $2018 to our sister class, in fulfillment of a tradition for the 50th Reunion Class to give the graduating class the amount of their year in dollars. The money is to be used for scholarships to assist new grads to attend their 2nd reunion this May.

This "tradition" blindsided us, but thanks to the 53 people who had paid their dues, we were able to make the gift. Now, of course, we would like to restock our treasury, and we are asking the 351 who have not paid your dues to consider doing so. Dues are $50 for 5 years. Send a check to Class Treasurer Stephanie Whalen Cosgrove at her new address: 56 Spruce Ridge Dr., Brentwood, NH 03833. If you are not sure if you have paid, check the list on the website at www.mhc1968.com.

Stephanie suggests another reason to pay your dues. MHC informed all Class Treasurers that new banking regulations require account activity or the account will automatically be frozen. Our Class has squeaked by so far, but our account is currently pretty quiet. Dues are tax deductible and cover class letters, website management, and scholarships for Reunion attendance. Please help us stay unrestricted-and solvent.

2020 and Beyond

Thank you to the 112 class members who already have given or pledged to the Mount Holyoke Fund this fiscal year. You have given $123,000, putting us almost three quarters of the way toward our modest post-Reunion goal of $175,000. Special thanks go to Mobby Brown Larson for a generous gift of the proceeds of an annuity to the Mount Holyoke Fund and to Co-Head Class Agents Ellen Jacobson Petrino and Linda Gross for their good work.

While our participation is higher (33% vs. goal of 55%) than this same time last year, we still need 76 classmates to go the mtholyoke.edu website or send in the mailer and make a gift before the end of June. Those who don't act today will receive notice of a new March4MHC Challenge happening March 4th to 5th to promote participation, so important in demonstrating alumnae support when MHC applies for grants. If applicable, consider a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA to reduce your adjusted gross income and/or gifting an appreciated stock now while the stock market continues strong.

Special thanks in the "Other Gifts to the College" category go to Christine Balko Slywotzky and Shelley Weiner Sheinkopf for large endowment gifts this year and to the seven others who have contributed directly to the College. On a personal note, let me say it's crazy fun to watch your money at work! Mount Holyoke couldn't have pleased me more with the decisions made about what has become the Fimbel Maker and Innovation Lab. Also of note is Diane Hashim Glynn who is featured in a recent planned giving mailing about specifying MHC as a beneficiary in her will.

Momentum is already building for our 55th Class Reunion in May 2023! And here's a good reason to come: The Alumnae Association, understanding alumnae feedback, has lowered registration fees for reunion classes and added more flexibility to weekend packages. Together with reunion scholarship funds set aside from our dues, our next reunion will be more accessible for many.

Sue Graham Simpson and Nancy Huttemeyer Davis, our Vice Presidents and Class Reunion Co-chairs, plan to meet on campus this summer to outline a preliminary planning schedule in preparation for our 55th Reunion. In the meantime, they appreciate all our classmates who have already agreed to help:

• Gayle Gunderson Richardson and Chris Anderson Salmon are heading up the Program Committee, for which Carolyn Dorais and Jan Andrews Owens have shared many great ideas.
• Linda Graham McElroy will be putting together a Hospitality Team to welcome us.
• Holly Vincent Bean and Mobby Brown Larson will lead the Class Memorial Service, an important and meaningful part of every reunion.
• Meg Boyd Meyer is our liaison with the Class of 2018, our 50-year Connection Class who will be celebrating their 5th Reunion on campus as we are celebrating our 55th.
• Thanks as well to Suzanne Lenz Janney, Jamie Gardner Vernon, Susan Clark Iverson, Carol Foy Graham, Betsey Huebenthal Johnson,and Debbie Dunn Rottenberg who have also volunteered to help.

Many more of us are welcome to join this group of enthusiastic volunteers. In particular, help is needed in these areas: Reunion Book, Class Dinners, Memorabilia Room and Class Costume. Please contact Sue agssgs@cox.net and/or Nancy ndavis2@cox.net with your thoughts, suggestions and offers of help.

Can't resist: May the year 2020 give you clarity of vision!

Warm Regards,

Nancie Fimbel for all the 1968 Class Officers 

The MHC Archives and Special Collections welcomes donations from alumnae to enhance its collection and preserve our memories. The first step in making a donation is to contact the staff at archives@mtholyoke.edu.

Archives and Special Collections collects the papers and other records of individuals, institutions and organizations associated with Mount Holyoke along with rare books. These materials are maintained as primary resources for teaching and research conducted by students, faculty and other users.

The Manuscript Collections document the social history of the United States and other countries primarily as seen through the eyes of women. The collections also document the social history of Mount Holyoke College through the letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and other materials.

Interested in transcribing historic materials? Visit transcribe.mtholyoke.edu to learn more about this exciting project or to become a digital volunteer. Transcribers work from home on their own flexible schedule, and anyone (alumna, spouse, friend!) is welcome to request an account to join this community.