Library memories and reminiscences from the class of 1974
Letters: From Our Readers
Literature, science, and lifelong connections: the class of 1974
I am indebted to Beloit College for a meaningful liberal arts education that prepared me for a well-rounded and fulfilling career as a physician, scientist, and researcher. After graduating from Beloit, I went on to medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Minnesota. I then spent 30 years as a pediatric endocrinologist. I was part of teams that proved that intensive treatment of elevated blood sugar prevented diabetes complications and participated in community-based obesity prevention programs that remain active in inner-city Cincinnati.
A couple anecdotes: In my interview for medical school, I was asked what books I was reading. I had recently completed The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell and explained that they were based on Einstein’s theory of relativity, depicting a series of events from the vantage point of four different characters. Later, I passed my interviewer in the hallway, a physicist and a friend of Einstein’s. “Albert would have loved your interpretation of Durrell’s work,” he said.
Another anecdote: Plant taxonomy became a lifelong passion for me while I was at Beloit. I specifically remember the humor of [Professor of Biology] Elizabeth Souter who taught us to identify prairie flowers. This systematic approach to knowledge led to me receiving the “Golden Hyoid” award for the best grades in the first-year human anatomy course in med school.
At every step of my career, my ability and enthusiasm for coming up with new ideas and approaches to understanding disease in animal models and in humans was in part due to my ability to have a broad perspective and to visualize the context in which the problems exist, the foundation for which was nurtured at Beloit College.
My love for literature and science, and the lifelong connections with my Beloit classmates, have enhanced my career and sparked my lifelong learning. Here, in the Berkshire mountains, my wife and I survived Covid together while working remotely, biking, reading, me playing violin, and she painting. We planted a garden together which provided great meals for our table. My liberal arts education has prepared me well for the next step in life: an active, happy, and fruitful retirement with my family.
David Klein’74
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Library memories
From Mozart to the Mutations
I spent many a Sunday morning in the basement studio, where an excellent audio system helped me discover the beauty and genius of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. The photocopy machine on the first floor allowed me to create punk-ish posters for performances of my band, the Mutations. I explored the stacks of old issues of The Round Table, once finding an article about the so-called Old Beloit vs New Beloit (whatever that meant).
And one not-so-fond memory: while sitting beneath the floor-to-ceiling windows, working my way through a textbook on medieval history assigned by Professor Bob Irrmann’39, I noticed my vision wavering in a peculiar way, one of the first intimations of type 1 diabetes.
Life really hit me between the eyes in that library! Just what a great college should do.
Dan Hurley’79
Montclair, New Jersey
Lights out at the library
One night I was sitting in the library late into the evening, reading Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King for a literature class. I don’t remember which class or which professor. It was close to closing time, but I was also close to finishing the book, and so entranced I could not bear to close it and walk back to my dorm to read the climactic final pages.
I read past every warning that the library was about to close, racing the clock. Just as I turned the last page, all the lights went out! I ran out of the library and down College Street and across the quad, climbed the stairs of Brannon Hall three at a time, and read the last page of the book in my room.
Steve Wingeier’78
Atlanta, Georgia
Love in the stacks
My wife, Amy (Brda) Kessel’82 and I met at Beloit as returning students in August, 1980. I was 27 and she was 24. We were in Chaucer together, and began meeting for coffee before class. As we grew closer, we started meeting in the evenings in the library, in the 200s. The stacks were organized into little alcoves back then. I was a student library aide under Glen Remelts, who inspired me to become a librarian.
Amy and I were married in September 1982, and I graduated that December. I’m now a retired librarian and she is the director of the writing center and an English professor at Loyola University, Chicago.
Thomas A. Mikolyzk’82
Countryside, Illinois
The Spring 2024 issue
Entrepreneurship enhances the liberal arts
Richard Van Scotter’61
Longmont, Colorado
The New Plan lives!
I benefited from what was then called the “New Plan” at Beloit and featured a semester of work in the “real world.” I had been sorry to see that go. But reading the Spring issue, I was delighted to see all the new changes that are re-creating many of the best features of those years in an even more innovative way, specifically the creation of the “Schools” and other programs that encourage students to have hands-on experience with the community and the world. Congratulations!
Karen Gleeson’69
Northport, Maine
Capturing the essence
Thank you for the fantastic pieces in the most recent magazine — you did a great job capturing the essence of Erv Zuehlke, Jane Threinen, and Darrah Chavey. I have no doubt there are many readers who appreciate the attention you gave them. Know that this alumnus is grateful for the continued good work you and your colleagues do to produce each issue.
Jon Urish’96
Beloit, Wisconsin
