Share your Gettysburg Memories

Read and share your memories of Gettysburg past and present.

Please email postings@cnav.gettysburg.edu to submit a memory.

Dale Boyd '66: I and my wife, Aggie (Sanger) '66 (who at the time I had not yet met), remember J.F.K.'s shocking death. I was going back to the SAE house after class and passed by the Chapel in disbelief and went in and said a prayer. Aggie doesn't remember where she was, but remembers the day. At the time she was dating Dave Johnson '65, brother of Carole (Johnson) Hiddeman '63. I think the rest of the week we stay glued to our TV sets and really thought the world was coming to an end. Camelot, as such, did.

Louise (Armstrong) Ihle '56: I will always remember the concert given by William Warfield in the chapel. What a magnificent voice!

Edward J Alexis '48: My most memorable event occurred at Commencement 1946. I had returned from World War II that January and immediately started serving as a reporter on The Gettysburgian. When it was announced that General Dwight Eisenhower, then Chief of Staff of the Army, was going to be the speaker, Jerry Borstel, the editor, asked for a volunteer to interview him. When no one responded I -- a rookie reporter -- said I would, as I was staying to begin summer school the next week. Arrangements were made for the interview to be backstage at the Majestic Theater before the ceremony. However, "Ike" arrived late so a quick change was made to move it to President Hanson's home where a reception was to be held afterwards. One of Ike's security escorts asked me to take him to the "White House" so he could check it out. As soon as Ike finished his address we hurried to the campus and I went to a parlor to await for our distinguished speaker. Dr. Hanson brought Ike to me and warned me to be brief. I invited Ike to be seated, but he said he preferred to stand. I guess it was his hint for me to make it "short and sweet." I asked him about some of his decisions in the war, and then he asked me if I had been in combat there. I replied that I had been a rifleman in the 28th Infantry Division and had been captured in the Hurtgen Forest. He wanted to hear a little about that. By now President Hanson had put his head in the door a couple of times, but Ike waved him off. It was embarrassing to me, so I finally ended the interview. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera to record the experience and didn't get his autograph as I thought it would be undignified.

Carole (Johnson) Phillips '67: I remember singing in the Chapel Choir in a hastily arranged service in memory of the recently slain President, John F. Kennedy. Everyone on campus had been stunned and somber, and the service seemed to focus our emotions. Attendance was high, and I recall that the service, led by Chaplain John Vannorsdall, was very moving.

Jim Walker '62: My favorite memory was walking to class from the TKE house and seeing President Dwight Eisenhower ride by in his car. He had an office on campus and used it quite often when he was at his farm. We would wave to him and he would wave back to us and smile that famous grin of his. It was quite a thrill to experience that with the man who led the Allies to victory in Europe in World War II and later become our country's president.


Autumn Taylor '04: One of my favorite memories has to be from the spring semester of 2003. The campus shut down due to a blizzard -- marking only the fourth weather-related closing in nearly 40 years -- and my friends and I discovered that the plows had made huge mounds of snow in Glatfelter parking lot. After a home-cooked meal in one of our Ice House Apartments, we headed out to sled down the hills and across the icy pavement on a tray that had been "borrowed" (and of course returned) from the Dining Center. When we had tired ourselves out, we returned to my apartment to wrap ourselves in blankets and drink hot chocolate in front of the television. I love that carefree and child-like memory so much because it reminds me that I found more than just friends at Gettysburg. I discovered a second home and family.

Paul Redfern '00: My favorite Gettysburg memory is when I was coaching basketball at Gettysburg. We won back to back Centennial Conference Championships in 2000-01 and 2001-02. We had a group of players like Curtis McNeil, Terence Callahan, Jim Natale, Antoine Gather, and Cody Bowers who were seniors and would not be denied. I will never forget going to F & M for the finals in 2002 and winning 50-47. The crowd that showed up for Gettysburg was amazing and unforgettable.