GoldenBison CARS ON THE HILL

Charles "Skip" Colton, Class of 1961

A very cold bitter January night, a student came back from a weekend at home. He was driving a brand new Chevrolet Corvette. Less than a mile from Nichols, he hit a tree. The new fiberglass Corvette disintegrated into hundreds of pieces leaving just the chassis, engine, and seats. We took out wastepaper baskets and picked up all the pieces. The next weekend he came back to campus with a new Corvette!

I do not remember the color of the Corvette, just it was so very cold. Most of the students' fathers owned big businesses and many were given a new car! I was not one of them, had to thumb a ride to Hartford, then the bus to home in Windsor. Back then there was no highway going past Nichols, just back roads with lots of trees that student cars would bump into after a night out! I remember a Saturday night the guys were very restless and wanted to get out and do something. There must have been 14 cars driving off campus going to an all-girls college.

As you might imagine, that many boys at an all-girls college caused a stir. Yes, the police intervened and took all of them to the station. The president, James Conrad, told all of them to pack up and be off campus within six hours. They did a lot of pleading. They were confined to campus until they graduated. No, I did not go; I had a big test Monday.

A student’s car in the parking lot of Daniels Hall had the high performance engine stolen during the night. It was not discovered until the next morning when he tried to start the car.

Charlie Howe, Class of 1962

Bob Sharp '63 had a Nissan Datsun which he would race on weekends. He was given a Nissan Dealership in Connecticut, and sometime later partnered with Paul Newman to form a racing team. The Maroon Jaguar owned by Henri David '64 was a bit of a novelty on the Hill. Henri also had a fondness for station wagons as time went on. As a matter of fact, my wife Kate did a painting of his car.

Lyle Fox’s Thunderbird & Bruce Collett’s yellow Corvette were novelties. Pete Whitney’s black VW was known to find its way home, on its own, from the Country Club Restaurant late at night. My two-door white Falcon didn’t exactly qualify for any extraordinary recognition. There are many good stories associated with other Cars on the Hill, but they will have to remain untold, or revisited by someone else. My lips are sealed!! Memory Lane.

Dan Tomassetti, Class of 1964

Reminiscing about the 1961 Chevy Convertible that traversed highways on trips to Green Mountain College. At the end of the day, three of us married Green Mountain gals!

Phil Collins, Class of 1966

Phil clearly remembers the hearse that Stephen Chernock ’66 and others had for transportation. They were featured in a national magazine when they attended the 1966 Indianapolis 500 wearing their famous top hats.

Roy Garizio, Class of 1967

At the time, some students had very nice cars. I remember Oldsmobile Cutlass 442s, Pontiac GTOs and several Corvettes. I recall Professor Guimond, director of guidance and testing, had a Corvette, and would often be seen driving around the campus with his dog in the car. I had a Daytona Blue 1964 Corvette with 327/365hp. I loved that car!

I kept it until the week before I left for Vietnam in 1968. I sold it to a friend for $2,000! Now I drive a BMW M3 which is a fantastic car, but I still think about my 1964 Corvette.

Dan Stewart, Class of 1969

It was Homecoming 1967, and she was a gorgeous light turquoise blue rag top, a brand-new top-of-the line dramatically beautiful 428 Ford Sunliner. Proudly, Carl Christensen '68 pulled up directly in front of the Grecian columns that marked the entrance of Merrill Hall. Carl and the Ford from his father’s dealership in Maine was now directly adjacent to the dorm for a “broadside” of mischievous, college behavior. I recollect articles of clothing and other detritus being launched from open second floor windows, Carl’s floor.

As Carl exited this dream ride, feeling the effect of the “love” being launched at him, he paused outside the entrance to Merrill Hall and looked back just in time to see the result of not using the emergency brake nor the “PARK” transmission feature. He parked his beautiful convertible on an incline. Needless to say, a proud smile quickly transformed into a look of horror as the blue beauty, in slow motion, rolled down the path leading directly to the brick corner of Smith Hall.

As the wrecker hooked up to the thoroughly smashed Sunliner, all of Carl’s friends on the second floor continued to pour out their love (and dirty underwear?) on a completely depressed Carl.

Jim Mulcunry, Class of 1970

In the fall of 1966, freshmen were not allowed to have cars on campus, legally. The first opportunity for our group was sophomore year.

John Wheeler '70 drove up that September of 1967 with a 1967 Ford Mustang GT coupe, which he drove through his senior year. It was dark green with a tan interior. It was great on dry payment, yet awful in rain and snow. In fact, when it snowed, he made extensive use of his girlfriend Jeannie’s (now wife of 52 years) Volkswagen Bug. The Mustang provided needed transportation to Becker College (his wife’s alma mater) and Boston.

Jeff Innis '70 attempted to drive his 1965 Ford Mustang to campus that same fall to meet his roommate John Wheeler but did not make it all the way. He recalls feeling excited to be able to have a car on campus. Unfortunately, he and his Mustang hit a tree racing to get the lower bunk at the dorm. The car wasn’t repaired until Thanksgiving. He recalls that being a tough phone call to his parents, informing them that he crashed 8 miles from campus.

Rich Merrill '70 drove his 1964 Chevy Impala to the campus in the fall of 1967. He bought it from his cousin over the summer. Rich ultimately traded in for another Chevy just before his senior year.

Bob McIlvain, Class of 1970

I don't have a picture of my car from Nichols but she was a 1963 Oldsmobile Cutlass, complete with a 4 barrel carburetor and positraction! (If you remember those two you are dating yourself.) I got her my sophomore year. She ran well until my senior year when things started happening. Once, going back to “the U” on a Sunday night, she quit on me in the middle of the George Washington bridge! The engine quit but the lights stayed on. I took a shot and figured it was the ignition. I reached my hand under the key area and pulled. Evidently the plug had worked its way loose and I pulled it back in. She started back up and got me back to Smith Dorm.

The next major problem with the Ghost was overheating. The aluminum block did not age well and after it overheated and that became a regularity. I even carried 2 gallons of water with me for the trips home to Pennsylvania. By the time I graduated I knew the Ghost was on her last legs. I was going into the Navy that September and managed to nurse her through the summer. One day in August I noticed the carpet under my feet was wet. I pulled it back and was looking at the ground. She had rusted through. I left for the Navy leaving instructions to have her towed away. Like most of us, I had taken a battered, used car and made it survive my college years — always to be remembered.

Greg King, Class of 1973

This is the 1949 Oldsmobile that I drove 3 of my 4 years at Nichols. I still have this car, seen here with the Nichols sticker in the back window.

Fran Keefe, Class of 1973

I drove a ’63 Volkswagen Bug I bought in 1970 for $300. Freshmen at Nichols back then were not allowed to have cars on campus. The windshield wipers didn’t work, and the car had no heat which made it hard for my roommate and I to get to hockey practice or games in Worcester. My car also had a starter issue which forced me to park it on a hill so I could pop the clutch to get it started… a real piece of junk. I drove it from my sophomore year to my senior year graduation in 1973. That car could tell some stories. I bought the car when it was white… my dad painted it Nichols green with deck paint using a brush every summer. It was great on gas and terrific in the snow as the engine was in the rear. Gas in Dudley at that time got as low as 19 cents per gallon!!

The Nichols College chapter of the American Marketing Association is a full member of the national college division and professional chapters.

The major objective of the club is to afford its members a first-hand practical knowledge of industrial and consumer marketing in free world economies. This function is fulfilled through seminars, trade shows and lectures, all available to the member through the national Association.

This year, in conjunction with the Ford Motor Company, the Association tested a new 1971 Pinto automobile. All aspects of the car’s workmanship to style design were tested. The club was on a special grant by Ford to do so and the conclusions of the club would be used, along with those of other college clubs, to improve the Pinto."