Winter in Ripon While it may have arrived a bit late this year, winter always finds its way to Ripon and always finds a way to make things interesting for our students and faculty, alike. Several alumni share their fondest memories of winter in Ripon.
Doc Webster’s snowshoes
Amazing first snow The first big snow of the year was always amazing to me. Late fall was always dreary. The snow covered up the dreariness and quieted Ripon down. Winter was amazing in Wisconsin. Coming from coastal Connecticut, I was not used to belowzero temperatures, strong winds and a foot or more of snow from time to time. My friends and I would build a ramp on the hill leading down from Scott Hall to the Quads and take an early version of a snowboard and go down the hill for hours. Peter Tuz ’76 Charlottesville, Va.
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10 R I P O N C o l l e g e
I remember Doc (Edwin) Webster’s snowshoes by the south pillar at the front door of Lane Library. Rain, shine or blizzard — class is in session. The snowshoes were about his loyalty to his job and his students. They were his transportation when snow was heavy (two 15-to-20-inch blizzards in February 1959.) His classes were convened in the second floor of Lane Library. The words were unspoken, but if you saw the snowshoes you knew that he was there and waiting for you. The unspoken phrase was, “I’m here and you had better be here, too.” That winter we jumped from third-story windows into the snow drifts along the south side of the ASE house, which was at the east end of North Hall. No one was hurt, but the jumper needed to be dug out of the drift. Also, walking from North Hall over the hill past Scott Hall, the snow was so high that handrails along the path were only ankle high. David Jennings ’60 Wales, Wis.