1. NEW Announcements.

2. NEW Article: Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971, the First Baccalaureate Class, Part 2.

3. Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971... Part 1.

4. NEW Article: Students and Colleagues Remember Biology Professor Dr. Jean Pugh: Part 3, Conclusion.

5. NEW Article:  When Dr. Patch Adams Recited Wordsworth in My Romantic Literature Class at CNC.

6. NEW Cartoons: Honoring Our Dads.

1. A JOINT 50th REUNION of the CLASSES OF 1970, 1971, and 1972 IS PLANNED for FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2022 on the CNU campus. SAVE THE DATE! Articles celebrating these three classes and more details about the 2022 reunion will be posted on this website in coming months.

2. CNC/U's 60th BIRTHDAY will be celebrated at CNU on the weekend of SEPT. 17 & 18, 2021. Included will be an on-campus LUNCHEON of the CNC FIRST DECADERS. SAVE THE DATE!

3. CNU's CURRENT FIRST LADY, ROSEMARY TRIBLE, is continuing frequent infusion treatments at MCV in Richmond. Her doctors are pleased with her progress.

4. CNU's FOURTH FIRST LADY, CAROL KRAEMER SANTORO, died peacefully at home with her family on May 23rd at age 78. Our sincere condolences to former CNC/U president Dr. Tony Santoro and family. Click here for the obituary: legacy.com/obituaries/dailypress/obituary-email.aspx?n=carol-kraemer-santoro.

 Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971,

 The First 

Baccalaureate Class

Part 2 

By A. Jane Chambers

Following the June 12th commencement in 1971 there was a second one on August 20. Below is that program.

The First Four-Year Ring

          Covered in Part 1 here was the creation of CNC's new college seal, designed by student Kenneth Flick (photo R) and subsequently used on the front pages of the 1971 June and August commencement programs. In the spring of 1970, a Ring Committee was formed to create a new ring for the first baccalaureate class. Committee member Ken Flick submitted a ring design that the committee immediately approved. His design choice for the top of the ring was the same as that used earlier for CNC's Associate of Arts (AA) degree: a stone with the words "Christopher Newport College" (photo R). The three ring photos here were made by Ken, using his own ring, from the class of 1972--identical to the 1971 ring except for the date.

          Ken's designs for the two sides of the four-year ring can be seen in the photos below. On one side (photo L below) was the same image of the upper body of Captain Newport that appeared on the larger college seal Ken had created--Christopher Newport holding the ship's wheel with his left hand and right hook. Added also was a compass at the bottom. The graduation date above the captain's head is 19 (L) and 72 (R)--Ken's class.

           Another fact Ken recalls about this first baccalaureate ring is that "our men's rings weighed a hefty 29 penny weight, one penny weight heavier than VMI's," then the largest men's college ring in Virginia. The Ring Committee chose this extra weight, Ken says, for this reason: "Since CNC did not have the largest campus, the largest library, or the largest student population, it should at least have the largest men's ring" among Virginia's colleges and universities. This ring continued to be CNC's four-year ring for many years. Does anyone know when it was replaced?

          At least two recipients of CNC's Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in 1971 deserve "first" titles. CATHERINE SYLVIA CURTIS JOHNSON (photo L above) was the first Black student to earn a four-year degree at CNC, in psychology. Also, she went on to earn an MA in guidance and counseling at Hampton U and then a JD at William & Mary’s prestigious Marshall Wythe Law School—the first in her class to earn that law degree. She became an attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia.

          WILLIAM KEITH KAHLE (photo R above) was CNC's first BS degree recipient (biology) to become a medical doctor, earning his MD at UVA. He served as an orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. Air Force for twenty years, retiring in 1991 as Lt. Col. Then he practiced spine surgery with Dean Health System in Madison, WI

          At least three Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) recipients in the 1971 class also deserve "first" titles. MARTHA L. (MARTY) MUGUIRA (sadly, deceased in 2012) was CNC's first Latina BA degree graduate (photo L above). After earning her BA at CNC in psychology, she earned a MS.Ed at ODU and an Ed.S at William and Mary. In 1991 she became the first of her CNC class to earn also an Ed.D at William and Mary. She had a long career as counselor, family therapist, psychotherapist (even had a bilingual private practice) and was an assistant professor and counselor at ODU from 1994 to 2005. During her fatal illness, she wrote and published a book of her memoirs.

          By completing the ROTC program at William and Mary while also completing his BA degree work at CNC, WILLIAM H. (BILL) MANN, JR. (photo R above) became the first CNC graduate to earn the military commission of Second Lieutenant in the Army. He then served two years actively at Fort Carson, Colorado (1971-73), followed by 14 years (1973 - 87) in the Army Reserve as a Captain. A career in human relations culminated in Bill’s being Executive Director of the Greater Peninsula Workforce Development Consortium.

          After earning his BA in English at CNC, ROBERT C. (BOB) SCHLAGAL completed his MA in English at UVA, and then became the first in his 1971 class to earn a Ph.D. at UVA, in Language, Literature, and Pedagogy. After 10 years of teaching at two colleges, in 1992 he joined the faculty at Appalachian State College, where he served until retirement as Professor of Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities.

          I used the phrase “at least” here because there are over a dozen members of this first baccalaureate class for whom I have no information because they have not yet been located or have been reported as deceased. They will be listed in the next article about the Class of 1971.

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Published June 15, 2021

Celebrating CNC's Class of 1971, the First Baccalaureate Class

by A. Jane Chambers

          The 1971 Class of Christopher Newport College of the College of William and Mary in Virginia would be celebrating its 50th Reunion on the CNU campus this month (on May 7th) were our planet not still battling Covid-19. But we will celebrate that Class of 1971 here, beginning this May of, 2021, by recalling various ways in which the word first applies to the class. The photo above, from page 124 of the CNC Trident, shows some of the degree candidates marching toward Ratcliffe Gymnasium, and the one below, also from that page, shows the procession inside Ratcliffe, led by Dean of Students William H. (Bill) Polis.

          From the beginning, the goal of CNC's first leader, H. Westcott Cunningham, was not merely to build a very successful two-year branch of The College of William and Mary (his alma mater), but also to prepare that junior college to transition into an outstanding senior college. Thus, in 1963 he hired English professor Dr. W. Stephen Sanderlin to chair the English Department and lead its development of a BA degree in English, and in 1965 he hired Dr. Jean E. Pugh to head the Biology Department and lead it quickly into a position to offer a BS degree in biology. Additional highly qualified PhDs were hired in major fields in the later 1960s, so that by academic year 1970-71, CNC was ready to award baccalaureate degrees in five fields: English, history, government, psychology, and business.

          The seniors expecting to receive baccalaureate degrees in June of 1971 found themselves needing much more time in the office of Registrar Mrs. Jane Pillow than usual. She had the burdens of counting course hours, computing grade point averages, sending transcripts to graduate schools, and ordering academic regalia and invitations. Every bachelor degree candidate needed her help in planning for graduation. To show their gratitude, the Trident staff, which included many seniors and was headed by senior Dinah Everett, dedicated the yearbook to Mrs. Pillow, pictured here with degree candidates (1971 Trident, p. 13).

          Ken Flick added to his sketch a ship's wheel, held by Newport with his right hook and left hand. He based the wheel on the pilot's wheel on the seal of the City of Newport News, symbolizing the area's shipbuilding and seafaring history. Finally, Ken put three historically important images within the wheel. Top left is the Wren Building, from the seal of The College of William and Mary--a reminder of CNC's beginning as a two-year branch of W&M. To the right of that is the central image from CNC's first seal, with the date 1960, the year CNC was established by the General Assembly. And at the bottom is an image of the three ships that Newport commanded, also based on the Jones mural. Together, the three images, Ken says, "show the ties" of CNC "to the community, education, and history." Circling these three symbols are the words "Christopher Newport College."

          The U.S. Continental Army Band, based at Fort Monroe, participated for the first time in a CNC commencement on June 12, 1971, and Mills E. Godwin, Jr. gave the commencement address--the first governor of Virginia to do so (photo left below). Graduates also had their degrees handed to them by President James C. Windsor, then serving his first year as CNC's second president. Senior Wayne M. Barry received the first four-year degree (photo below right) --"just because," he said, "mine was the first surname on the alphabetized list." Both photos are from page 125 of the 1971 Trident.

          In offering the baccalaureate degree in 1971, CNC did not turn away from those students seeking the associate degree, as shown on the below list of candidates in the June 12th program. It continued to offer both degree levels for a number of years.

          The back of the program listed the senior class officers: President, Jon Grimes, Jr.; Vice President, Wayne M. Barry; Secretary, Kathryn H. Green; and Treasurer, William N. MacGlaun.

          There was also a summer commencement on August 2Oth, which will be included in Part 2 of this article--along with more firsts and more pictures. We will welcome additional commencement 1971 photographs!

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Published May 6, 2021

Students and Colleagues Remember 

Biology Professor Dr. Jean Pugh

Part 3: Conclusion

Revised June, 2021

by A. Jane Chambers

Jean's Generosity and Frugality

          Dr. Pugh's biology colleague and close friend HAROLD CONES (photo below L) shared several examples of Jean's generosity: "She bought cars for some, financed trips, and helped many people with projects." Learning that Gosnold Hall's housekeeper "had terrible teeth and was in constant pain, Jean gave her a bus ticket to a dental clinic in N.C.," where she had paid for the woman to receive a full set of dentures. Jean asked her "not to tell anyone" who her benefactor had been. Jean also "donated $10,000 a year to the Biology Department," for "student trips and ... pizza for every senior." Annually, she "made a large donation to the Daily Press Christmas Fund"--not under her name, but that of her little dog, "Tinkerbell."

          Another of Jean's close friends, psychology professor SAM BAUER (photo above R), wrote that she was "extremely generous" but "very much did not want to be recognized for her charities and gifts, which I greatly admired as true charity." He recalled that in the early 1980s, when he and his wife, Karen, moved to an old farm house in Hayes, not far from Jean's home, "in the process of moving and beginning to clear land," they often "had to borrow a truck." When Jean's brother died, "she bought his Toyota pick-up truck and gave it to us, making our lives a lot easier and allowing me to get rid of our old van."

          Biology colleague and friend EDWARD WEISS (sadly, now deceased) wrote in 2012: "I was one of the recipients of Jean's generosity. In 1988 I was able to be part of a People to People tour to China for biology instructors. Spouses were allowed to go but the expense was my responsibility....I knew my wife, Marcia, should go but did not have any idea how I could afford to do this. No problem--there was Jean making sure I did the right thing. Always there when needed!"

          Jean was exceptionally generous but also "most frugal"-- as shown in this anecdote by former student and close friend DANNY PETERS (photo R): "When Jean offered to give me the 5.5 acres to build my house, I told her I was going to have it surveyed. Her reply was, 'Why are you going to waste your money on this?' " The survey uncovered an error in addition; the land was actually only 4.5 acres. When Danny showed Jean the proof, "She took the original plat to the Commissioner of the Revenue to get back the taxes she had been paying on the non-existent acre for 15 years!"

          HAROLD CONES remembers how Jean loved the 22 cents sales in some stores on George Washington's Birthday: "Jean would do a careful analysis of what was on sale, where it was geographically, both address wise and in the store, and on the morning of the 22nd, Jean, Sam [Bauer], Edward [Weiss] and I would head out early on a sort of Black Friday kind of event." Jean especially wanted hoses for her gardens, and once "the four of us, each limited to five hoses," bought 20 hoses for her in one store at 22 cents each--"among our other purchases. We moved from store to store ...and by 10:00 or so we were finished."

Her Friendship and Sense of Humor

          HAROLD CONES recalls that he and his wife "started life in this area living in a trailer." One day Jean told him that "the house next to her house on 60th Street was for rent." They then "lived next to her for two years" and "learned stuff!"--such as her friendship with neighbors. "Jean baked cookies every few weeks--not just a few cookies, but hundreds of cookies--and mixed the dough in a small wash tub. She often called on us to help stir the 25 pounds or so of mix. Everybody in the neighborhood received a pile of cookies on baking Saturdays."

      DANNY PETERS wrote: "Jean was a master of jokes and shared them often." One time her major professor at UVa, Dr. Horton Hobbs, asked her to send him a joke "that was easy to remember and clean" for a weekly department meeting. She sent this one: "What happened when the woman backed into the plane's propeller?" Answer: "disaster." Dr. Hobbs told Jean a few days later that no one laughed at her joke. She "couldn't believe it and asked him to repeat everything he said. All was fine until the punch line--Dr. Hobbs said, 'decapitation.' Neither she nor he ever forgot this mistake."

          HAROLD CONES sent this amusing example of Jean's sense of humor: "After Jean moved to Hayes she bought a player piano, the kind that used paper rolls. Whenever the department (then probably eight folks or so) had a party at her house, we all gathered around the piano and sang the words printed on the roll. We always had real difficulty with one particular song. Jean revealed years later that the words were misprinted so that the music and the words did not match, but she didn't tell us because she had so much fun listening to us trying to sing that song."

          The close friendship Jean shared with three colleagues in particular is reflected in this brief account by HAROLD CONES of how the group gave themselves a special nickname: "One year many years ago, Jean, Sam Bauer, Ed Weiss and I traveled very early in the morning to Madison College for a conference (a very, very poor biology conference) .... All we could receive on the car radio was a fire and brimstone sermon by Brother Green, who told us all about picking fruit from the tree of life. His metaphors were so outlandish we laughed for hours. From that point on, the four of us called ourselves 'The Bro.' "

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Published June, 2021

When Patch Adams 

Recited Wordsworth

 in My 

Romantic Literature Class 

by A. Jane Chambers

          I met him first in the hall outside my second floor classroom in Newport Hall, shortly before my Monday night class was to begin. His cousin, one of my students in that class, introduced us. When she called him "Dr. Hunter Adams," he quickly said with a smile, reaching for my hand, "Patch. Just call me Patch."

          The year was 1988, a full decade before Robin Williams introduced us to Patch Adams, M.D., by portraying him in the movie PATCH ADAMS, so I knew virtually nothing about this very tall man I had agreed to have as a guest speaker in my British Romantic Literature course. I knew only what my student, his young cousin, had told me a few days before, when she had asked me if she could bring him to our meeting. He was, she had said, a medical doctor, visiting relatives on the Peninsula, and a "very unusual, most interesting man...a genius!" He could recite by heart all of William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality."

          "All 204 lines?" I had asked. "Yes!" she had replied enthusiastically. "Every bit of it! And many other poems as well!" Since we were studying Wordsworth's poetry at that time, I agreed to have him come to recite the "Ode" in my class.

          He looked more like an 1960s Hippy than like a medical doctor. He had long hair, pulled back into a pony tail, and a large handlebar mustache, and he sported a colorful pair of suspenders. Thirty-plus years later, having read much about Patch Adams, I know now he was in 1988 forty-two years old, eight years younger than I was then. He looked like his image ten years later in the 1998 photograph above with Robin Williams.

          Patch's recitation of Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality" was perfect. It was obvious that he not only knew the wording of all eleven stanzas totaling 204 words but also felt and understood the poem's varying tones and meaning. When he ended, the class applauded enthusiastically.

          I had agreed that after the recitation Patch could spend a little time discussing his medical practice in West Virginia and his belief that medical care should be free for everyone. He told how, after completing his M.D. at MCV in Richmond in 1971, he and a small staff of medical friends founded and operated a small, cost-free medical service in the building shown above, which he named the Gesundheit Institute. He also talked briefly about his medical philosophy and how he hoped to build a hospital some day which would charge its patients nothing. He did not ask us to donate to his cause. And then he thanked us for inviting him and left.

          Nine years later, in 1997, Patch and a co-author published a book titled Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy. It was this book that led to the movie PATCH ADAMS. Patch said afterwards that he agreed to the making of this film because he was given the impression that money earned from it would be donated toward the building of his hospital. That did not happen. He also criticized the film as portrayed him as just a funny doctor.

          At one time he harshly criticized Robin Williams for making "$21 million for four months of pretending to be me, in a very simplistic version," yet not giving even "$10 to my free hospital." But in another interview, he praised Williams: "I think Robin himself is compassionate, generous and funny. I like to think that that's who I am, and so I think he was the only actor I wanted to play me, and I think he did a fabulous job." When Patch heard the news of the actor's suicide, he sent out a press release dated August 12, 2014 including these comments:

          "Robin Williams was a wonderful, kind and generous man .... he never acted as if he was powerful or famous. Instead, he was always tender and welcoming, willing to help others with a smile or a joke. Robin was a brilliant comedian--there is no doubt. He was a compassionate, caring human being....especially kind toward my children when they would visit the set....When he invited me and my family into his home, he valued peace and quiet, a chance to breathe--a chance to get away from the fame that his talent has brought him....This world is not kind to people who become famous, and the fame he had garnered was a nightmare....I'm enormously grateful for his wonderful performance of my early life, which has allowed the Gesundheit Institute to continue and expand our work. We extend our blessings to his family and friends in this moment of sadness....Thank you for all you've given this world Robin, thank you my friend."

          Recently now 75-years-old Dr. Patch Adams had to have the lower part of his left leg amputated after three failed operations on his left foot, infected with MRSA. While still recovering in the hospital, he had a video made in which he talked cheerfully about how he might now be called "Stumpy" and how his prosthesis will provide him with opportunities to enjoy new adventures and new fun. If you want to meet him, just watch this short video by holding down your CTRL key and clicking these words: Patch Adams response to losing a leg - Bing video. When the page of videos opens, click the first one on the top row.

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Published June 16, 2021