Ellen S. Oblander

Ellen S. Oblander (GRS’48) of Sonora, Calif., writes, “I decided it was time to give the forties some representa- tion, so here are some memories to start off your class notes before this century flies by: Around the beginning of September 1947, I arrived from California, checked out the dorm (musty!), then found a room for $7 a week, which became my home for the next nine months.... I loved all my professors, including H. Augustine Smith, Everett Titcomb, and Karl Geiringer, and made wonderful friends, such as Betty Smith and Elizabeth Taylor. I also fell in love with Boston and went to all the concerts I could find and afford, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at fifty cents a student in the gallery. Somehow, by finding a cheap restaurant and by feasting on many cans of Heinz beans, I even managed to go to New York (my hometown), for concerts and opera, and to the Bethlehem, Pa., Bach Festival, which thrilled me. Altogether, 1947–1948 was a totally memorable academic year—and a totally self- centered year, I realize, as I reflect on it at the age of 98. God has blessed me in many ways, and I hope my memories, with which He has endowed me, may put a little extra sparkle in your eyes today.”