A Word from the Editor A little of this, a little of that The stellar black and white family photo used in the article about Graduate of the Year Paul Gignilliat ’49 is courtesy of his niece, Leslie Gignilliat-Day of Portland, Ore. Leslie is the daughter of Paul’s brother, the late Leigh R. Gignilliat III ’45. But there is another Culver connection. Leslie is the co-owner and creative director of Amber Lotus Publishing in Portland, which is the publishing company that has produced the Culver pictorial calendar since its inception in 2007-08. Early on, her name prompted the obvious question and the surprising answer. While she did not attend, “I have walked the campus and jumped off the alumni pier more times than I could ever recount.” She remembers 15-cent ice cream cones at The Shack, Sunday parades, and dinner at The Culver Inn.
By Doug Haberland Editor
Founded in 1988, Amber Lotus publishes calendars, cards, journals, and books “that have heart and soul, that illuminate spirit in the world, promote wholesomeness, healthy lifestyles, and earth stewardship,” according to www.amberlotus.com. The calendar, she said, “is a small way to give back to a place that gave me so much.” ••••
Alumni Reunion and Summer Homecoming are enjoyable for me because it is an opportunity to meet individuals that I have only known previously via phone calls and emails. Case in point (and pun fully intended): In May, I met Peter Seibel ’64, a Defiance, Ohio, attorney. I had traded emails with Peter earlier in the year when he made me aware of an experience his daughter, Samantha ’13, had as a freshman at Denison University. We connected quickly, as I was familiar with Defiance from my days as a newspaper columnist in Fort Wayne, Ind., in the early 1980s. Defiance sits at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee rivers and its name is derived from Fort Defiance, built there by Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne in 1794. The fort was a strategic location in the securing of the Northwest Territory. So, I’m asking Peter if he knows a Defiance County judge who happens to be the son of a couple that my parents knew in high school and ran around with as young newlyweds and parents. I knew the son was in Defiance because his mother died earlier this year and I sent a sympathy card on behalf of my 90-year-old mother and the memories of our parents’ friendship. I can remember his family visiting us, and vice versa. And I remember his Dad having a great sense of humor. Not only did Peter know the judge, he had hired him originally as a deputy prosecutor back when Peter was the county prosecutor (1977-93). Sharing the story of my folks and the judge’s parents was emotional for me. It took me back 50-or-so years to a special time in all of our lives. That’s what reunions can do for a guy.
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Doug Haberland, Editor (574) 842-8365 haberld@culver.org