|
|
  Cover illustration by Byron Gin  
|
A Much-Needed Haven I recently visited Steppingstones after reading about it, David Krempels and the Krempels Foundation in the alumni magazine (Spring '01). It was so inspirational to visit a place where the brain injured can socialize, learn new skills, get much-needed support and simply be themselves. As a brain-injury survivor myself, I know firsthand the struggles with acceptance, self-esteem and socialization. Parts of David's story were so familiar that you could have been writing about me. Steppingstones provides a much-needed haven for those struggling with the least understood, yet most important, aspects of the recovery process. Without your article, I might never have known about this wonderful organization or had the pleasure of meeting these amazing people.
Teresa Kelleher '86 I just finished reading the article by Bill Burtis about Steppingstones. It is excellent, and Kindra Clineff's photos are perfect. I am very impressed. Please pass on my kudos to both for a job well done.
Martha Burnham P'02 I needed to take a few minutes to express the impact your UNH Magazine article about David Krempels and the programs of the Krempels Foundation (Steppingstones and the Grants Program) has had on many individuals. To begin, I and other Krempels Foundation employees have received numerous phone calls and e-mails from UNH alumni from various parts of the United States. Some have called to ask for more information about David, Steppingstones and/or the Grants Program, and to see if there are other similar organizations in their state. Others have already begun to access our services (after long periods of time in isolation), and a few individuals have asked how they can volunteer their time. What has been most heartwarming are the phone calls from those individuals who have felt so isolated since they incurred their brain injuries. Reading your article made them realize that they are not alone, and that post-rehabilitative services do exist. Thank you for taking the time to print David's story and, most importantly, thank you for the impact it has had on many individuals' lives.
Carrie Fagner, executive director Love's Labors Found I just received today my copy of the Spring '01 edition of the UNH Magazine and was thrilled to see the article on the Cambridge summer program, which is so close to my family's heart. Why, you ask? Because almost 23 years ago (1978), on the first year of the program, my husband and I met. I was a UNH student and he was a program attendee from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. We married in 1981 and will be celebrating our 20th anniversary this summer. We have two wonderful children who also owe their existence to the program! In those days, the program was run by Professor John Richardson from the UNH English department. It was a wonderful, inspiring and fulfilling way to experience the world as a 21-year-old.We were fortunate to be able to return to Cambridge on the 20th anniversary of our meeting, with our children in tow, and to experience all the emotion that comes with such a visit. I wished to write this note, I guess, as an endorsement of and addendum to the article, and to express the gratitude of our family for beginning such a wonderful program! Thanks!
Zoe Abrams Alley '79 Music of Hope I read with interest your story about Tim Janis, Class of 1991 (Spring '01). Several years ago, I was shopping at the mall and I heard ethereal music coming from a distant part of the mall. I followed the sound to discover a small group of musicians playing. I sat and listened, putting aside my shopping agenda, and then bought a CD. Since that time I have purchased most of Mr. Janis' CDs and play them regularly. I find they help me relax and during especially trying times provide me with a sense of hope that only some of my favorite requiem masses provide. Several of my friends have had similar experiences: hear the music, buy the CD, play the CD all the time! Congratulations to Mr. Janis for his determination and talent.
Elizabeth Crepeau '66, '88G Water Woes
My compliments on the Spring '01 issue of your magazine. Often in the past I have not given my copy much more than a cursory look. The current issue has some real content and not just a lot of UNH blowing its own horn. I found the article
"Water, Water ... Nowhere" by David Appell interesting, even though it left me a bit discouraged about the chance for any real solutions. However, I would point out that the Colorado River drains, or at least should drain, into the Gulf of California and not the Gulf of Mexico.
Bob Hart '81 All Aboard! I was reading the letters in the Spring '01 issue of the UNH Magazine and noted the different remembrances of when rail passenger service ended in Durham. Would you believe June 30, 1967? Service from Boston to Concord ended the same day. The 1958 date that many remember refers to the B&M's decision to divest itself of money-losing intercity passenger trains, and many popular trains with mail/ express, coaches, parlor cars, sleepers and diners were "dropped" between 1958 and 1961. However, for several more years the B&M ran diesel rail cars through to Portland. Known as "Budd-cars" as they were made by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, these self-propelled cars could run singly or combined in any number and had controls at both ends so they didn't have to be turned at the end of their runs. They saved the railroad quite a bit of money, although not enough to make the service profitable. My grandmother, Annie B. Piper, and I rode an eight-car set of Buddcars from Boston to Exeter in August 1961, when I was 11. I wanted to stay on the train to Durham, but the Exeter stop was a few miles closer to Grandma's farm in South Lee (and no doubt the fare was a few cents cheaper!). Buddcar service to Portland ended in January 1965 (another date folks remembered and the same year service from Boston to Portsmouth ended), but one set of four cars continued to run five days a week between Dover and Boston until June 30, 1967. This was essentially a commuter train, and one had to be down at the depot by about 7 a.m. to catch it. It returned around 6:30 p.m. As students at Oyster River High, my friends the Wright brothers (sons of popular faculty member Paul Wright of zoology and Clare Wright of the Dean's Office) and I would occasionally "play hooky" and ride this train to Boston to spend the day; our first such trip was in April 1966. One should never let school get in the way of one's education!
Brian Jennison '72 The winter issue of the UNH Magazine contains many interesting articles. One which really caught my interest is "All Aboard," by Maggie Paine and Mylinda Woodward, the story of train service to Durham and the movement of the tracks farther west. This explains the railroad bed, which I helped to survey, along with every other aspiring civil engineer who attended the university. My interest in trains began as a youngster. A week or two of summer vacation meant the family went camping, and the mournful wail of a steam locomotive was always in the background. Where was it? Where did it come from? Where was it going? I wondered. Came freshman year at UNH and word of the new stainless steel, high-speed diesel locomotive, the Boston & Maine Flying Yankee. When train schedule and class schedule worked out, I was at the station or on the highway bridge overpass to see this beauty--to me a thrill. Now this train is being restored at Claremont Junction, N.H., for actual use on mainline tracks. For those intimately involved, it is a love to be part of the project.
Guy E. Alexander '41
Archives of letters to the editor. blog comments powered by DisqusCurrent issue | Past issues | Class notes Department archives | Send a letter/news | Address updates Advertise | About UNH Magazine | Alumni home | UNH home University of New Hampshire Alumni Association 9 Edgewood Road Durham NH 03824 (603) 862-2040 alumni@unh.edu |
