7/17/11

7/17/11….Mark Gleckman. Very mixed feelings on Suellyn’s previous post. Attending Belknap reunions and staying connected to a number very good friends Cindy and I made during our years in Center Harbor makes it obvious how important a role the school played in our lives. How it evolved from the mid-late 60’s until its closing was interesting to live through, but inevitable. Without an endowment, Belknap was required to reach out to a population of high school, post grad, veteran or other adult learning candidates who reflected the times, and so the typical student attracted to Belknap from 1969-1973 was different than the student who applied in 1964-1968….not any better or worse….just different.

Being there during the bridge years and seeing how the beer drinking,intramural football and whales tails population evolved into the pot smoking, anti-establishment and moratorium population was a great learning experience, as I’m sure it was at a number of other small and struggling colleges that also closed in the early-mid 70’s.

I have only positive memories of Belklnap, even as I write this post! The story would make for a great screenplay.