Why We Come Back

There are a lot of reasons to come back to Williamstown.  Here are videos of 22 classmates making their pitches to the rest of ’71 for attendance at our 50th Reunion, August 7 – 10, 2022. They were recorded – quite spontaneously, as you can see – at an event called the “Presidential Forum” in Williamstown on September 14, 2019, when classmates not present were much on the minds of all in attendance. Feel free to add one of your own — send it to [email protected] and we’ll add it to the collection.

 
     
     
George Ebright   John Finnerty   Kent Rude
 
     
     
Mark Ruchman   Doug Pickard   John Rosenquest
 
     
     
John Ackroff   Jack Sands and John Untereker   Jim Vipond
 
     
     
Paul Lieberman   Dave Olson   Bob Schwed
 
     
     
Nick Tortorello   Bob Eyre   Rod Brown
 
     
     
Jock Mackinnon   John Chambers and Nick Ward   Hugh and Poppy Hawkins
 
     
     
  Doug Bryant  

Jack Nicklaus Didn’t Sleep Here

Paul Lieberman recounts some of the events surrounding Jack Nicklaus’ visit to the Taconic for the 1956 Junior Amateur tournament.

 

Here’s the back story, as Paul related it during our Fall 2019 Mini-Reunion:

Phil Smith Welcome Video

Phil also comments on the 10% Plan:

Renzie Welcome Video

Renzie sat for these videos in the spring of 2018, showing his usual generosity by helping us encourage interest in our 50th Reunion.  Unfortunately, he will be with us in spirit only; he passed away in mid-November, 2018.  But what a spirit!  What memories!
  
 

President Mandel shared the following with the Williams community:

The Passing of Renzie Lamb

November 19, 2018

To the Williams community,

I write to share the sad news that on Saturday, November 17, Williams lost a legend with the passing of retired longtime coach Renzie Lamb, whose coaching career at Williams spanned 36 years. In addition to serving as head coach of men’s lacrosse throughout most of his tenure, he was head coach of women’s squash for a decade and assistant football coach for 30 years. He retired in 2004.

 

Rob Farnham has shared the following:
December 1, 2018
Ode to Renzi Lamb

Certainly the Thompson Memorial Chapel was a fine space to say goodbye to Renzi as the intricately created wood motif comprising the ceiling parallels the complexity of the man we were all there to celebrate. The stained glass windows were colorful and depicted the saints, as the man was and was not, in that order. The printed program for the Mass captured Renzi on the front in a dapper bowtie, black blazer and an apparent US flag handkerchief folded neatly in the pocket while the back photo showed him in a leather pilot’s helmet, cigar in mouth and a gaze along with a smirk that dared you to take him on. This was Renzi in total for he could cross disciplines with aplomb and was at ease in both a summer party at the Hamptons on Long Island or in the back room of a welding shop. The script for the Mass included refined music by The Rosamund Trio and a series of prayers and hymns put forth in voices ethereal, all appropriate for a religious service. The homily by Reverend Lillpopp mentioned the word iconic to describe his life in Williamstown and the often told reference to Mark Hopkins sitting on one end of a log and a student on the other to highlight Renzie’s role as an educator rather than a coach. I sat there, however, and could not square the ceremony with the man and coach I knew so my mind wandered while envisioning a service I would champion.