Class of 1959 celebrates 50th reunion

Members of the Class of 1959 arrived on campus in October to celebrate their 50th anniversary reunion. A record number of class members enjoyed a special weekend filled with fun, fellowship, and an induction into the Old Guard.

Former Virginia Tech cheerleader Don Williams, along with the current squad and the HokieBird, kicked off the reunion festivities with an Ol' Hokie cheer. Additional highlights included a presentation on the history of the class ring, complete with vintage film from past ring dances, and an update on the corps of cadets. Several cadets who were receiving the Class of '59 Emerging Leaders Scholarship were recognized.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the newly constructed Graduate Life Center Amphitheatre, made possible through the generosity of class members as part of their 50th anniversary gift. Following a remembrance service in the War Memorial Chapel, the corps of cadets honored the class with a dedicated pass in review on the Drillfield.

Friday evening, members of the Class of 1959 attended their 50th reunion banquet, where Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger was the guest speaker. The class presented Steger with two facsimile checks, one for $5.5 million, representing class gifts to the university since its 45th reunion, and another one for $12.3 million, representing lifetime giving from the class. The next day, class members enjoyed a festive brunch and Homecoming football game.

Congratulations to members of the Class of 1959, now eligible to attend their first Old Guard Reunion, May 19-21, 2010.

				Kathleen Rollins, seated, widow of Forrest Rollins '36, the former faculty advisor to the Cotillion Club, poses with her hosts, Mary and Rick Monroe, at the reunion.

German Club and Cotillion Club alumni hold joint reunion

Last fall, alumni of the German and Cotillion clubs held a joint reunion at the German Club Manor near campus. For nearly 70 years the two dance clubs fostered a friendly rivalry of competitive dances on the same weekends each quarter.

The German Club, founded in 1892, and the Cotillion Club, founded in 1913, held dances in Squires Hall and the War Memorial Gym, serving all students on campus. They also jointly sponsored spring campus concerts. Throughout their rivalry, they sometimes merged both dances into a single event when one club's band canceled.

The German Club continues a tradition of sponsoring a dance each February in Squires Student Center. The Cotillion Club dissolved in 1970 to reactivate the original 1873 chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Nearly 200 people attended the joint reunion, which included a reception, dinner, and dancing. Two distinguished guests in attendance were Evelyn Gordon, widow of Charles Gordon '42 and lifelong supporter of the German Club, and Kathleen Rollins, widow of Forrest Rollins '36, the former faculty advisor to the Cotillion Club. Both couples chaperoned formal dances for the clubs for many years.