December, 1971 - CROSSROADS - Page Six
“I Am Not Old!”
-Just Grown Up
When I was younger I loved all growing things,
Trees, flowers in the cycle of each year.
But now I look upon them with dislike... they’ll last.
The little maple will grow on and on and give its shade
To people I will never see.
The roots I’ve nourished in my flower bed
Will go on living when I lie dead
And I begrudge them life.
Next year I think I’ll only plant
The fragile annuals.
ALUHNI NEHS
By Mrs. Mary Cook
ALUMNI NEWS
’19 -- Thank you for your note, Joseph Lyons, wishing
us luck in the Centennial campaign and telling us that
it has been 58 years since you were at the Abbey and
that your son was here in 1950. Come for a visit soon.
’49 -- Congratulations to Bill Pharr, who was elevated
to Reverend Monsignor in the Diocese of Charlotte.
’52 -- Charlie Klenast is Safety and Traffic Manager
for Barros Construction Company in Kinston, N.C. He
and Lavinia have two sons and a daughter. Charlie
was in the Marine Corps for twenty years and is happy
to be settled in Kinston. Dr. George Stuart, Staff Ar
chaeologist for the National Geographic Society,
lecturer in Anthropology at George Washington and
Catholic Universities, and author of numerous books
and articles on -the Maya of Middle America, spoke
here at the College on December 8. He and his wife and
children live in Chapel Hill and he commutes each
week to Washington. George is a graduate of Belmont
Abbey Prep and his father was Director of Public
Relations.
’58 - It was good to see Dolores and Luke Lenahan
and five of their six boys when they visited the Abbey
recently - Shawn, Kevin, Larry, Joseph, and Timothy.
They also have one daughter. Luke is a driver
education specialist in the Old Bridge (New Jersey)
school system, teaching the handicapped.
’61 ~ Kenneth Quick is broadcasting instructor at
Gaston College.
’69 ~ Allan Ehrich is senior systems planner with
Westinghouse in West Orange, New Jersey, where he
and Win live. He received the MBA in Finance from
Fairleigh Dickinson University this past December.
’70 " It was good to see Julia and Don Krafnick when
they stopped by the Abbey on their way to his home in
,McLean, Va. They have two sons, Teddy four and
‘Timmyone, and a daughter, Terry, who is five. Don is
Department Manager of Inspection with Milliken
Textile Co. in Barnwell, S.C.
’71 - John Warner is a First Lieutenant in the Air
Force stationed at Tinker AFB, Okla. A weapons
controller with a unit of the Tactical Air Command, he
previously served at Wallace Air Station, Philippines.
'Thank you for your letter, Greg Edmonds giving me
news of yourself and your classmates. Greg will
graduate in December with a Master of Engineering
degree from the University of Florida, and will join the
staff of Sverdrup and Associates, Consulting
Engineers, in Jacksonville as a structural and foun
dation design engineer. He and Vickie are expecting
their first child in April. Congratulations! Janice and
Bill Robichaud are living in Atlantic Beach, Florida,
and Bill is on the faculty of Bishop Kenny High School
in Jacksonville.
’73 - Kevin Kirk stopped by to say hello when he was
in Charlotte on business the middle of November. He is
Group Pension representative with Hartford Insurance
Co. and^ivas recently transferred from Connecticut to
Atlanta, where he and Deirdre live.
’76 - It was good to see Greg Holllngshead when he
and June were here in November. Greg is assistant
manager of Ben Franklin Store in Lehigh Acres, Fla,
’75 A letter to Fr. Oscar
from Don Smythe, Jr.,
955 Leigh Avenue,
Orlando, Florida, 32804,
follows in part:
“As Thanksgiving and
the other holidays are
just around the corner I
find myself thinking
more and more of what
one has and what he or
she should be thankful for
having. I am grateful for
my family and what I
have attained through
them but I am also aware
of what I gained from
having attended Belmont
Abbey College, and your
Campus Ministry
program indeed.
I feel that it was
through working with you
and Campus Ministry
that I not only benefited
socially but also
spiritually. I became
more aware of the world
and its surroundings and
their relation to people. I
also think I became more
cognizant of the fact that
we all have a lot to be
grateful for with most of
us having our health and
sound minds. And it was
through your Campus
Ministry that I feel is
largely responsible for
making me more of a full
person in being able to
see it all. Due to this, you
will find a check for $25 to
help keep what I feel is a
most worthy organization
on the Abbey Campus. I
also hope that in a small
way it will show my
thanks for such an ex
perience and being able
to share it at the Abbey.
I think I have grown up.
And others think so, too.
They see me walk along the street
A little stooped, my grey hair blowing in the wind.
And steps uncertain.
And yet I know that if a yellow leaf
Comes skittering in my path and acorns fall
I still will step on acorns to hear them crack
And chase that leaf to catch and hold
A little of the year’s end gold...
I am not old!
Poet-In-Residence
Charms Abbey
Mrs. Marion Cannon
visited the Abbey campus
early in , the month of
November. Arriving on
Monday morning, she
was a poet-in-residence
for three days. Mrs.
Cannon met with
students informally to
read, discuss, and
criticize their poetry.
She suggested ideas to
students and told them
what she liked and what
she disliked.
In addition to having
private and group
meetings with students,
Mrs. Cannon attended
formal classes and
lectures. She visited
among others: Mrs.
Moore’s Creative
Writing; Fr. Matthew’s
American Literature;
and Fr. John’s English
Literature classes.
On Monday evening
Mrs. Cannon attended a
lecture given by Dr.
Louis Dupre, a Yal
Professor, on “Marxism
and Christianity.’’
Mrs. Cannon sat in the
spotlight on Tuesday
evening as she en
tertained a large group of
students with a reading of
her poetry in the library
auditorium. She an
swered questions by
students and faculty
about herself, her poetry,
and her life experiences.
Many of her poems
were taken from the
collection, “Another
Light.’’ (The poems
printed here, with her
permission, are also from
that work.) Also, Mrs.
Cannon read some of her
more recent work.
She commented on this
work (as quoted from
The Lance, October 23,
1975): “When my book
came out (Another
Light), I was im
mediately labelled ‘The
Poet of Old Age and
Death’. One reviewer in
Chapel Hill even used
that as his headline: all
the way across the top -
THE POET OF OLD
AGE AND DEATH.’’
Critic Fred Chappell
described the volume as
“a book which has been
won from life,” full of
“Truthfulness, ob
servation, lyricism.”
KEEP
WRmNG!
One needs so little to create
If bridges, planes and towers
Are not the goal:
A scrap of linen, strands of wool, a needle;
A pot of dirt, a seed, a bulb
Or just a pencil and a piece of paper.