c o mme n ts
Photographed by classmate Joe Gromelski during their Bates days, John Jenkins ’74 touched many lives deeply.
‘No Belly Laughing’ Last year’s death of John Jenkins ’74, a beloved alumnus, educator, and community leader who served as mayor of Lewiston and Auburn, reverberated through the Bates community, especially among alumni of Walt Slovenski’s track program, of which Jenkins was a member. His obituary is in this issue. For more information about the John Jenkins Scholarship Fund being established at Bates, contact Eric Foushee at College Advancement: efoushee@bates.edu or 207-755-5985. To contribute to a story collection about John Jenkins, email your story to Chuck Radis ’75, cradis@maine. rr.com, by July 1. John and I never met in person but exchanged a number of messages on Facebook. With all of the racial tension and everything going on, John continued to feed me little pieces of advice and suggestions that were honest while also almost transformational. To some extent I definitely took it for granted. I wish I asked him more questions and picked his brain a bit more than I did. He not only welcomed it but he encouraged it. He wanted to be a resource, he wanted to help keep the ball rolling forward, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful. Adam Spencer ’14
Medford, Mass.
On a very cold Vermont Saturday morning in February 1972, John, Joe Grube ’73, and I were left behind when
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the team bus left the Holiday Inn for our meet at the University of Vermont. Walt did it on purpose: He was tired of waiting for us. As Joe recalled, we missed the bus probably because he and John were watching cartoons together. It ended up being an adventure. We hitchhiked to the meet, arriving just in time for our events. We did well in our events, and Bates won the meet. Bob Littlefield ’75 remembers the long bus ride home on Route 2, how the silence was broken every 15 minutes or so by John, a city guy from Newark, N.J., loudly proclaiming how we had been left “way the hell up in Ver-mont.” The story of our day didn’t show up in the meet results, of course. But many years later, John told our story at Walt’s memorial service in the Chapel. His retelling, as with everything he did, was filled with humor, grace, and love. Joe Bradford ’73
Plymouth, Mass.
On those long bus rides I can remember him toward the back of the bus holding court, keeping everyone laughing throughout the trip, with Walt eventually standing up and yelling, “No belly laughing!” — fearing that someone might pull a stomach muscle by laughing too hard. James Anderson ’76
Oak Ridge, N.J.
When I met John as a freshman, he was the first Black person I ever met. It was a time when racist jokes about many groups were common
and felt “innocent” enough — but, I promise, if you ever had the privilege of meeting John, it was no longer possible to be an unknowing racist. He touched everybody he met. I was serving as president of the Maine State Bar Association when John received our highest award, the John Ballou award, for his contributions to the public good. When he accepted the award, he spoke about growing up in a tough, tough area and how influential his single mom was in keeping him out of trouble. RIP John, you made a difference! Lester Wilkinson ’78
Augusta, Maine
Inspiring The Marshall Hatch ’10 story was inspiring on many levels (“Resist, Inspire, and Rebuild,” Fall 2020). I have shared this story with a dozen others to illustrate how important his kind of community-building is for the sake of the young men he counsels and the surrounding community that needs them as much as they need it. Ann Phillips Hotchkiss ’78
Durham, N.H.
We white-male folks have had systemic racist attitudes built into us since birth, and need to have this process reverse. I’ve been working on mine since 1961 when, following my Bates graduation, I began to learn the depths of the racial divide in this country. Very subtle stuff. I’m proud of Bates’ effort to bring racial attitudes to the surface. Richard B. Larson ’61
Englewood, Fla.
Feat of Clay I always enjoy insights into the Bates construction process (“Clay Play,” BatesNews, Feb. 25, 2021). But I’m left wondering: What happened to the clay that was excavated from the Bonney Science Center construction site? Where did those trucks go? And could Bates clay be
suitable for bricks made onsite? That is, is it different from clay used by Morin Brick Co.? Gene O’Rourke ’89
Amelia, Ohio
The Bates clay was taken to a landfill. Morin clay and Bates clay are roughly the same “species,” so bricks could have been made from the Bonney material, although clay composition always varies from site to site.
A Good Deal The item about Luiggi’s (“What’s in a Name: Luiggi’s,” Fall 2020) takes me back to the ’70s, when I would sometimes go to Luiggi’s and buy a cheese pizza for 75 cents, take it next door to the Blue Goose and buy an Old Milwaukee for 30 cents. Lunch or dinner for $1.05. Even when I was making $2.25 an hour as the concierge in Chase Hall, that was a good deal. Ken Paillé ’78
Chapel Hill, N.C.
Veterans Plaza Thank you for the video and the information about the dedication of Veterans Plaza. My father, Everett W. Kennedy, Class of ’37, was killed at Anzio during World War II when I was an infant. My mother, Esther Strout Kennedy Allen ’40, would have been thrilled with what you have done to honor veterans. She died in 2016, but if she were alive, she would be the first one to visit the plaza. Thanks to Bates for having it done! Louise Kennedy Hackett ’65
Merrimack, N.H.
In addition to photographs of the plaza on page 9, a story about the dedication is at bates.edu/veterans-plaza.
1991 and Angela Davis Many thanks for your beautiful and engaging piece about that unique night at Bates and in the world back in 1991 (“30 years ago: Gulf War, Angela Davis,
