SOCKED AT THE SOCK HOP (WHAT A WOMAN!)

Archie '41 and Margaret Powell Thomas '41

On Oct. 15, 1937, the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity had a sock hop in their meeting room in downtown Adrian. A fellow named John Huston bunked next door and thought it would be a good idea for me to attend this dance. I told him I wasn't particularly interested and that I didn't know any girls.

He said, "We can fix that. Let's go down to the Dean of Women's office." There he riffled through note cards with the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the women enrolled at Adrian. We made several calls but the girls weren't home or they had previous plans. Finally one girl named Margaret Powell said that she would be willing to go if I would pick her up after she finished working at Penney's store. That roped me in and I just had to go. John assured me that this was a fine girl and I would be very happy with my date. I didn't know her but apparently she remembered me from our zoology lab.

We set up a time to meet so I went to Penney's and waited for someone to "pick me up." Finally, this good-looking gal approached me, introduced herself and we proceeded to the dance. She was an excellent dancer as well as being a good conversationalist. What more could you ask for?

During our walk home from the dance Margaret needed to stop at the Lenawee Hotel to use the restroom. I embarrassed her by offering her a nickel to use the coin operated stalls! Nothing cheap about me! We walked to her home at 339 N. McKenzie Street and said goodnight on the porch. I wasn't sure our evening together warranted a good night kiss but I decided to take a chance, as she seemed willing as I put my arm around her. That kiss did it-I have never recovered! Lights flashed, whistles went off and I was trembling rather obviously. It was bonkers! Like a born again experience! I was afraid she would think I had a health problem. I must say that on the walk back to my dormitory my feet never hit the sidewalk. I think it was a combination of kissing a beautiful girl and the thought that I was really accepted by someone. All those melancholy thoughts that I had back on the farm about never finding acceptance by a woman were melted away.

During the weeks and months following that blind date I learned what a talented person she was. Margaret was a top-notch student in high school, played the viola, piano and organ and had a beautiful singing voice. She could cook and sew and was a 'town girl,' which meant that I didn't have to get her back to the dormitory at any appointed time! I was a little afraid, however, that our relationship might not last. I had none of the talents she possessed and my academic background was at the other end of the spectrum. She and her family were steeped in education for their entire lives. She was most precise and orderly in everything she did and I was helter-skelter! This particular difference was well illustrated by a comparison of our laboratory drawings in the zoology class. Her drawings were neat and, where stippling was required, her dots were spread evenly on the drawing and precise. My drawings were rather irregular and my stippling looked more like commas than dots.

But I had always heard that strength in a relationship could result from perfect compatibility or the direct opposite. There could be no doubt that any success I might attain with this young lady would have to come from direct opposites!

In the 61 years since the start of our relationship, there was only one occasion when we had a major disagreement, and I might as well speak of that now. If it had to happen, I'm glad that it happened before we were married. One morning I was sitting on a campus bench talking with another girl when Margaret arrived back from an ornithology field trip. On seeing me with this girl, she walked right past us without speaking a word and headed for the women's dormitory. I knew I was in trouble.

I waited outside the dorm and when she came out I asked her to talk to me about this matter. She kept walking right up campus and ignored my request to talk. It was the case of a girl with red hair versus a stubborn Welshman! I finally said, "Alright, two can play this game!"

For a few weeks we did not communicate with one another, even when we were the only ones passing on the sidewalk. Our friends tried their best to mend the rift but to no avail. Finally, I found a note in my North Hall mailbox saying that if I were any type of gentleman I would come to her house at a given date and time. We sat in the parlor under rather strained circumstances. We didn't talk much but the ice had been broken and we were back together again. As I look back on that experience, I thank the lucky stars that we did.

I did not know until I returned from WWII that Margaret kept all the letters and notes that I had written to her, starting in the spring of 1938! I have re-read all of those letters and arranged them in chronological order. They are a source of information, entertainment and embarrassment! As you might suspect, an overwhelming percentage of the content could be classified as "love letters." Margaret should have been 100 percent sure of my love for her!

 PARTIES AND SPRING FORMALS CREATE A BOND THAT LASTS

O. Eugene '64 and Judy Harder Montgomery '67

Gene and I met in the spring of 1963 at an Easter party at the ACC (American Commons Club) House, now the Theta Chi Fraternity. We had a brief introduction that evening and then about a week or two later he called and invited me to his spring formal. Our first date went quite well, so I in return invited him to my spring formal for Sigma Sigma Sigma. Thus began courtship, which lasted two and a half years.

Gene graduated in the middle of my sophomore year and spent the rest of that year traveling for his fraternity. The following September he was hired by the Edwardsburg schools to teach English and history. After two years of a 'long distance' relationship we decided to take the plunge and were married in the middle of my senior year. I then moved to Edwardsburg with Gene. In the summer of 1966 we returned to Adrian so I could complete my education. Before the summer was over, Gene was hired as an admissions counselor for Adrian College. This was a blessing for us as it made it much easier for me to complete my degree. Keeping a promise I made to my parents, I received my diploma in May 1967.

It doesn't seem possible, but we have been married over 35 years now, and we have raised two children and are now grandparents.

THE RING UNDER WRAPS

Mark '84 and Ellen Williams Davis '85

We met in Davis Hall on my second day on campus. At that time, Davis was a coed freshman dorm and despite being a sophomore, Mark was assigned there. The residence staff had paired the males and females in a "brother/sister" activity meant to help us break the ice and get acquainted. Mark was one of three brothers paired with my roommate and me. One of the most memorable of the scheduled activities was a semi-formal dinner in Ritchie where we all dressed the part and we sisters were escorted across the quad to the dining hall. Mark and I were a couple within the first few weeks of the semester.

During our courtship we took many walks around the perimeter of the campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Mark, an Adrian native, often invited me to spend weekends with his family at their home on Devil's Lake.

Mark proposed on Christmas Eve of my sophomore year. He bought the ring after I left Adrian for the holiday break and was so excited that he showed it to several of our friends. When I returned to campus to show it off, a lot of them had already seen it. How anti-climactic!

Mark graduated in 1984, and lived at home until we got married in May 1985.

 ANT TRAPS AND EUROPEAN RENDEZVOUS

Michael '92 and Tracy Michalcik Bilen '92

I met my husband Mike Bilen at Adrian College. We had classes together our freshman year and both lived in Cargo Hall. Our first date was probably in our sophomore year when Mike asked me if I wanted to go with him to the grocery store to buy ant traps-and then go to Big Boy's for hot fudge ice cream cake. Soon after that we attended the inaugural ball for President Caine together. In our junior year Mike studied in Vienna, Austria, through Adrian's exchange program with Central College, and I went on the Paris program. I spent Christmas in Vienna, and Mike visited Paris in February. He never got to see my room, however, as my dorm was run by nuns and men were only allowed in the dorm for teatime in the lounge. After we graduated from Adrian in 1992, we both went to graduate school at Penn State. The summer after our first year we came back to Michigan, and Mike asked me to marry him at the bench reserved for engaged couples on the Adrian campus. We got married in 1995 in the Adrian College Chapel and now have a five-month-old son named Timothy.

NOT EXPECTING A HUSBAND AND A HOME

Bill McCaulley '00 and Beth Blonde '01

I came to Adrian College in the fall of 1997. Coming from the small town of Imlay City, I was fairly sure that the College and the city were the right size for me to spend the next four years. Not knowing what was in store for me, I tried to get myself ready for my new home away from home. My belongings were all here, but I was missing something. The first thing I needed to find was a friend. But little did I expect that the one I would find would be lifelong.

During the second week of my first semester, I met Bill. He was a sophomore at the time and lived in the same residence hall as I did. Many of his friends also became my friends, so it wasn't uncommon for us to be together in the same circles. However, it wasn't love at first sight. I remember the first time meeting Bill and thinking to myself, "Who is this guy?" But the more that I began talking to him the more I realized that he was genuinely an exceptional person. He was caring and considerate and held all of the qualities that I would want from a significant other. So now this "guy" happens to be the man that I am going to marry. The wedding will be here in Adrian on June 29.

Never in my life would I have dreamed that Adrian College would be the spot where I was going to meet my future husband. Just over four years ago, I was thinking of Adrian as a temporary home. Now, we would both be happy to call it our permanent home, and plan to continue living around this area after the wedding. Adrian College means a lot to both of us. Without it, where would we be today?