Class of 1961
Charlie Prinn • Early Chow—Then and Now
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“What we really wanted was a reason to get together.”
e’d never admit to it, but Charlie Prinn ’61 is a masterful event planner. For nearly eight years, he has been one of the driving forces behind the “Early Chow Society”—a group of around forty alumni who gather at Cram Alumni House every six weeks or so for a casual lunch and guest speaker presentation. (The group is named after a fondly remembered dinner seating when the Psi Upsilon dining room couldn’t accommodate all members simultaneously.) Over the forty-six lunches to date, “Early Chow” has welcomed ambassadors, senators, scientists, explorers, authors, and more—accomplished individuals in their fields, occasionally retired, who live in and around Brunswick. “Ted Fuller ’61 suggested we start a book club, but what we really wanted was a reason to get together that had a substantive foundation without the required reading,” explains Prinn. Though he lost his eyesight suddenly ten years ago to polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), Prinn has largely guided “Early Chow” on his own, though he’s quick to credit Fuller’s close support. A longtime resident of Yarmouth with his wife Frances, Prinn spent much of his professional life managing portfolios in the investment division at Unum. At fifty-five, he decided to make a career change and became president of J.B. Brown & Sons in Portland. He was preparing to retire when PMR altered his life’s course, but by no means has it impacted its richness or Prinn’s attitude. “I’m not a role model for how to be blind. I’ve had it easy in comparison to someone who goes blind at thirty. I had already raised my children and enjoyed successful careers,” says Prinn. “I still do much of what I used to—I just need a ride now and then. And I rely on the kindness of friends.” Having served on the Alumni Council and as a class agent for decades, Prinn has been a great friend to Bowdoin. Comparing the College to the song “Hotel California,” he notes, “you can check out, but you can never leave.”
Photo: James Marshall
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