It is my senior year. I will only be there for one more semester, as I completed college in three and a half years. It is the fall 1976, and my parents decided they were going to take advantage of the lovely weather and spend a day with me, along with my paternal grandparents.
Although both born in the United States, neither of my grandparents went to college. Grandpa finished eighth grade, I believe. Grandma finished high school, she might have also gone to a secretary school, as she worked as an executive secretary until she was 77.
On this Sunday, since I was only an hour away from my parent’s home in New Jersey, they all came out to see me and take me out to lunch. It was a wonderful planned surprise.
I took my parents and grandparents all around the college campus. They met my friends. Saw my dorm room. They finally could visualize where I was going to college. This was a treat for all of us.
My grandfather, who was usually a solemn and taciturn person, was happy. He enjoyed the entire day. I was almost surprised that he came because he was never outgoing with us. But he and I shared a bond because I sewed and he was a tailor.
You will notice in one photo I stand with my grandparents and mother in front of a window. They had a good laugh because that window led to my dorm room.
I was living in the first floor of what was then New Dorm. It had recently opened. And I was so excited to have a room to myself!!! Each ‘suite’ had four little rooms surrounding a common bathroom. I thought it was the biggest and the best. I never ever had my own room before. In fact, it was the only time in my life I had my own room.
Across the bathroom from me lived one of my best college friends. We are still friends to this day. Another room was filled with a girl who lived with me my junior year in a real suite, where we even had a living room. The fourth girl I did not know. She spent most of her time in her room.
New Dorm was built into a hill, so on one side the rooms were below ground level. That window was high up in my bedroom. But I did not care. I told my parents that it kept me warmer and allowed me more shelf space!! They still could not understand why I would give up a suite with a living room for this arrangement. But I loved it.
My daughter went to Drew 30 years after I did. She lived in this dorm as a senior as well, after spending her junior year in a real suite. It was just great to have your own space. When she graduated, I was there to help her clean out her room after four years of college. And when I entered Riker Dorm, once New Dorm, the rooms and the bathroom seemed so small! I was mildly shocked because my memories made everything so much bigger. But it was still a great place to live!
But back to my grandparents and parents. They were laughing because I thought living in the basement was a great improvement over sharing a room. My grandparents told me that in their day, living in the basement apartment was not considered a treat. Rather it had lower rent because there were no good windows and no light. They could laugh all they wanted, for me it was the best ever.
I had a wonderful senior semester at Drew. These two pictures bring back memories of college and delightful memories of my parents and grandparents.
zicharonot 