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The Class of 1969: You Wouldn't Believe It

May 26,2009

Chapin House, my home for four years

some of my Chapin cohorts

I just got back from Northampton, Massachusetts, where I celebrated the reunion of the Smith Class of 1969 along with 125 of my classmates. We were the class that overturned 100 years of tradition; when we arrived, there were blue-haired genteel housemothers and no going away for the weekend without mommy’s permission.

From the Smith museum from left, Frankenthaler, Mitchell, DeKooning, Kline

a fabulous Lee Bontecue at the museum

We had to wear skirts to dinner (I protested by wearing the same skirt over my jeans for four years) and there was coffee in demitasse cups on Thursday evening. My first week, I was admonished for “lowering the tone of the house” by going barefoot downstairs. I was the lead singer and drummer in an all-woman band called “Maggie’s Farm”. By the time we left, there were no housemothers and pretty much no rules left worth breaking.

the class parade

more class parade

I organized a show of artwork of my class members, which was quite interesting, and also took a few photos of some of the work in the genuinely outstanding collection of the Smith College Art Museum, which is more than worth a stop if you are in or near western Mass. The museum also has a special show of the work of Leslie Dill, class of ’72. Her impressive, evocative installations and sculpture generally start with poetry and incorporate both the meaning and the text itself. (Then you can go on to North Adams and see MassMOCA, another truly rewarding experience.)
The reunion classes parade down the campus wearing their class colors and other ridiculous paraphernalia. I knew you wouldn’t believe if you didn’t see it yourself.

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