North Central alum hand-delivers 60-year reunion invites
A member of North Central College's Class of 1951 braved thousands of miles with unflagging energy to travel the country and personally invite classmates to attend their 60-year reunion this week in Naperville.
Leota Buss Ester of Appleton, Wis., hand-delivered invitations to every surviving classmate she could find, encouraging them to attend the Sesquicentennial Homecoming Celebration marking the college's 150th anniversary. The Class of 1951 will gather Nov. 10 at a Naperville hotel.
Ester tracked down dozens of classmates, now in their 80s.
“When I called one classmate asking to visit, he said, ‘I don't know. I'm getting old,'” Ester recalls. “Then he paused, laughed a bit, and went on, ‘But so are you, I suppose.'”
Many classmates fondly shared with Ester recollections of a favorite professor, Richard Eastman, who taught English and served the college for 36 years. Eastman, known as “Prof,” died in 2009 at age 92.
“(Classmate) Jean Crosby told me about the day Prof Eastman came to class earlier than usual, and she had just gotten an ice cream cone,” Ester says. “He asked her to finish it in the hall. She couldn't. Her legs would've collapsed she was so embarrassed. She set it on the window ledge instead. Her friend, Janet Lederman, would reach over and take a lick while Jean remained immobilized.”
Members of the Class of 1951 mentioned Prof Eastman more than any other name, Ester says.
“Prepared, knowledgeable, fair, demanding, patient — these are among the adjectives of admiration and appreciation for him and his teaching,” she said.
North Central College's Class of 1951 had 160 members. Ester's goal was to visit 28 states to see 120 surviving classmates she was able to track down.
“Some classmates I didn't know, and they don't remember me,” Ester says. “It matters not. We tell stories that make us laugh. One remembers coming in after dorm hours, one of us started the Sadie Hawkins Day event. We all remember green beanies, the rope tug of war over the DuPage River with the sophomores, First Church and Grace, no dancing allowed. The list goes on.”
Ester made her way to all parts of the country: the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and the Southeast.
“Stepping out the front door into Cincinnati sunshine, Burton (Class of 1949) and Jean Crosby burst into ‘North Central is the school we love,' (the alma mater song) and I joined in to make it a chorus of three, not caring a bit what the neighbors might think,” Ester said.
Throughout its 150 years, North Central College has embraced its mission of preparing students to be informed, involved, principled and productive citizens and leaders. Ester found these traits among her classmates from 60 years ago.
“What are we like? Mostly middle-class folks who have been of service to their communities, families and country, surprised with where life has taken us, but not changed from the values we brought with us to North Central — and which carried us through our lives.”