Be a part of history

Amy Holich-Dunn, Assistant Director for Reunions and Classes, and I were corresponding earlier this year, after our class Save-the-Date postcards went out. Reunion Chairs are not consulted about the images that go out on those cards; they are selected by the AASC from the college archives, which has a limited pool of photos from which to choose.

Amy said that the college would love it if alumnae from our era would submit their photographs (actual prints, not digital files) since there is a shortage of images from that period.

She writes: "It would be fabulous if classmates sent their photos (labeled with names) to the College Archives for inclusion in the class files. It's becoming increasingly difficult to find images for younger classes as we move further and further into the digital age, and the Archives receives far, far fewer alumnae images from the most recent ten or twenty classes than they do from earlier classes. I certainly encourage you to send copies of any images you have to Archives."

For more information, visit the College Archives Donations page to find out how and what to donate.

Kirse Granat May, Naomi Graychase, Megan Sullivan Dawson.
Winter Weekend, Cushing House, 1994.

Classmate Photos: Christine Thomas

Classmate Christine Thomas sent me these photos today to share with you all. Sadly, she's lost her old-fashioned film-based photos from our college years, but these three current photos represent part of her community in Boston.


Pictured above, Boston Pride 2007 and 2008 (top of page). "I think all involved in the pics (and those who used to march and dance with me back in Smith days) will get a kick out of them," writes Christine.

Christine (above, right) is a PhD student in Hebrew Bible, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Above, she and her partner celebrate New Year's Even 2009.

This year's reunion has a very special LGBTQ-themed event:

2:15–3:15 p.m.	Freeheld screening and Q&A with director Cynthia Wade '89 (LGBTQ reception follows)
Followed by:
3:30–4:30 p.m.	LGBTQ reception

For more information about the LGBTQ Alumnae Alliance of Smith College contact Brooke Trent ’57, an organizer of the group, at brooketrent@optonline.net.

Reunion Schedule: AASC

Our class events schedule is still taking shape, but the college's events are all set in stone now. To view the schedule, click here.

How Good is Your Smith Trivia?

Sure, we all know Madeleine L'Engle, Gloria Steinem, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Julia Childs, Margaret Mitchell, Sylvia Plath, Ann Morrow Lindbergh, and the other uber-famous, ultra-fantastic, high-profile Smithies; and we all know how very impressive all the regular old not-particularly-famous Smithies in our lives are. And sure, now Wellesley has a Secretary of State alumna to brag about...but, did you know...

...the first woman to climb Mt. McKinley was a Smithie? (Barbara Polk Washburn ’35)
...the first female physician in Kenya was a Smithie? (Ng’endo Mwangi ’61)
...the first woman network television sports producer was a Smithie? (Eleanor Sanger ’50)
...the first woman editor of the New York Times business section was a Smithie? (Marylin Bender Altschul ’44)
...and the first woman to fly a jet plane was a Smithie? (Ann Baumgartner Carl ’39)

If you know of other notable alumnae, you can nominate them here. And browse the database to learn about other pioneers, as well.

Send us your photos!

We're planning a slideshow at one of the class dinners--and possibly it'll be playing at headquarters? I don't know... But I do know we'd love to share your photos here--and there. E-mail photos from our undergrad years for the slideshow or send current (or old) photos to share here. Bring us your flannel, your ripped jeans, and your 90's era haircuts; bring us your spouses, your houses; your offspring. Show us your adventures, your misadventures, your hair. Really! We want to know.

E-mail Naomi at graychase@gmail.com or the Reunion Committee at smithreunion1994@gmail.com.

The Swymer Memorial Scholarship Fund

For many alumnae, a Smith education is part of their family tradition. For the Swymers, Smith became a home away from home for the entire family. In what grew to be a treasured ritual, each fall George and Beverly Swymer drove their daughters to campus until all four received their degrees. Christine ’90, Karen ’91, Laura ’94 and Emily ’96 all thrived at Smith and made their parents proud.

Sadly, since graduation two of the sisters have been lost. In October 2001, Laura Swymer Clancy died suddenly while competing in the Baltimore Marathon. Six months later, Karen Swymer Shanahan’s long battle with cancer ended. The tragic loss of these vibrant young women continues to be felt by the Smith community.

In a moving gesture, family and friends have chosen to memorialize Karen and Laura by generously establishing an endowed scholarship fund in their names. For generations to come, Karen and Laura’s legacy will directly impact and enrich the lives of deserving Smith students. How fitting that the Swymer sisters zest for life will be celebrated as well as honored here at Smith, their second home.*

If you would like to make a contribution in honor of our classmate, Laura (Wilson House), click here for the Smith advancement Web site, which will allow you to make an online payment or give you instructions about where to send a check.

Laura's best friend, Lesley H. Reidy and I are planning a memorial service at reunion, which will honor all seven of the classmates we have lost since we arrived on campus in 1990. We'll post details here, as well as at the class headquarters during reunion.

*Text and small photo courtesy of the Smith College Website.

Support a Classmate--Help Cure Parkinson's

Dearest classmates,

I need your help. I’m trying to raise money to support research into better medications and an eventual cure for Parkinson’s Disease. I support a lot of different causes – I give money for research to battle Multiple Sclerosis and breast cancer, and I call in to those annoying telephone drives for National Public Radio. But PD is closest to my heart—that’s because I have it.

I was diagnosed with Young-Onset PD two years ago, in January 2007. I’m on great medication and doing really well – I feel healthy and happy and struggle only marginally with the physical limitations the disease foists on me. But I don’t know what’s coming. And that’s why I need your help. Your donation – even just a little bit of cash – will go a long way to supporting valuable research of organizations like the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation. I picked the Parkinson’s Unity Walk as my cause because 100% of the proceeds raised for the annual event go to research.

Think of it as a dollar per drop of dopamine (the dying neurotransmitters in my brain). Every dollar you contribute will go toward discovering medicines like Azilect, the miracle drug that’s helping me function so well today, as well as other meds that exist only in the lab right now.

I’m not selling Girl Scout cookies, I’m not raising money to go to cheerleading camp in Florida or a school trip to Washington, D.C. I’m selfishly trying to buy myself (and hundreds of thousands of other people like me) a little bit more time, to slow down the progression of this relentless disease, to try to fix what’s broken in my brain.

Thank you, Bettina H. Chavanne


Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Parkinson's Unity Walk

[More here.]

Kids at Reunion (Info)

Kira Hamman posted to our Facebook group that she emailed the AASC "about the ridiculousness of charging $40 for a four-year-old to go to the class dinner and was told that kids' meals are available for $10 and that kids under 3 can go for free. Those options do not seem to be available on the online registration form, though. FYI."

Kirse also added that "you do not have to get separate rooms and pay for children if you either have a portacrib or sleeping bag and they can stay in your room (you can also steal mattresses from other areas of the house, but you didn't hear that from me)."

There are also a few hints about child care options here.

Online reunion registration is open! You can find it athttp://alumnae.smith.edu/reunion2009/registration.php. Early bird registration deadline is end of March.