One of the more gratifying parts of advancement work is getting out to meet alumni and friends of UMF — to thank them for their support of the University and bring a little bit of campus to them in the form of updates and anecdotes.
Just about everywhere the Ferro Alumni Center team travels, we’re met with tales of friendships forged at Farmington. And then there are encounters that cause the staff to beam just a little brighter — for days.
The four that made Angelides’ and O’Donnell’s day: Emmons Pinkham ’55, Barbara Pinkham ’55, Betty-Jane Meader ’68, and host Marilyn Hall ’58. (Photo by Michael Angelides ’12)
Such was the case when Ferro staffer Michael Angelides ’12 recently called on Marilyn Hall ’58 with an offer to meet for lunch at an eatery of her choosing. What Angelides didn’t expect, but quickly came to appreciate, was how Hall graciously turned the tables. “That just won’t do,” said the proud home economics major. “My home-ec friend and I will cook for you!”
Thus, Hall rang fellow home-ec alumna Betty-Jane Meader ’68, along with fellow Oakland friends Barbara ’55 and Emmons Pinkham ’55, to join the Feb. 8 brunch at Hall’s home near McGrath Pond. (Meader’s husband, Dick ’68, head coach of men’s basketball at UMF couldn’t make it, but had a good excuse: He was on campus, busy making final preparations for the team’s eventual conference win over Maine Maritime that evening.)
To make it an even six, Angelides invited Ferro colleague Katie O’Donnell ’07, who was eager to reconnect with Meader, after their work together on coordinating the Class of ’68’s 50th Reunion in summer 2018.
Hall baked a scrumptious quiche, Meader baked equally tasty blueberry muffins, and Angelides and O’Donnell brought flowers for Hall’s table along with hearty appetites. Angelides and O’Donnell shared nuance on an array of campus news, including Interim President Eric Brown’s announcement of a nearly $3.3 million gift to the University from two anonymous donors, as well as plans afoot for Fall Fest Alumni & Family Weekend.
There was plenty of alumni news shared, too — about the success of Dick’s 2018–19 squad, as well as how the Pinkhams received a sizeable donation of farming tools and equipment for display at the Lexington-Highland Historical Society. The LHHS History House Museum is now expanding a post-and-beam barn to house the collection, and all agreed to a summer visit to see the completed structure.
In the midst of the fellowship, and as if on cue in the month of love, Hall asked the Pinkhams — who have been married 64 years — how they met.
What unfolded, according to Angelides and O’Donnell, was something that would have been right at home among the “How we met” interludes in When Harry Met Sally.
“It was at a dance in Mallett Hall,” said Barbara.
“One of my friends dared me to ask Barbara to dance,” said Emmons.
“We danced that night, and we’ve been dancing ever since,” said Barbara.
It went, apparently, just as Shakespeare says it does: No sooner met but they looked, no sooner looked but they loved.
For Angelides and O’Donnell, the visit remains a powerful reminder of the reasons they do this work.
“We arrived at Marilyn’s home hoping to make some new friends,” said Angelides. “We left feeling like we had been enjoying each other’s company over 50 years of Friday morning brunches.”
“Watching them interact and seeing the love and appreciation they have for each other reminds me of my own UMF relationships,” said O’Donnell. “We may be separated by more than 50 years, but our UMF experience is, in some ways, timeless.”
— Marc Glass, director of advancement