FORGING FUTURES
Forging Honor: The Class of ’66
Class’ Bond Creates Generosity and Togetherness
The Class of ’66 is undeniably a tightknit bunch. Upon their graduation, the class pledged, under the direction of their student president, the late Charlie Bell ’66, and treasurer Lois Hobbs ’66, that they would stay in contact and have a reunion every five years.
They’ve reached that goal and, in many ways, surpassed it with the group’s spirit of generosity and togetherness.
“I don’t know how to exactly explain it, but we share a special bond,” said Hobbs, a retired superintendent of schools who noted that the class celebrated 55 years in 2021.
The Class of ’66 also established a scholarship for students in education, raising $45,000 since its creation five years ago. So when the idea came up to honor their classmate 1st Lt. Harold “Doug” Martin, who perished in Vietnam, the support was overwhelming.
“Jim Richardson ’66, a veteran and active in supporting Frostburg’s Veteran Center, recommended that we honor Doug Martin,” Hobbs recalled. “There was no hesitation.”
Richardson proposed a traditional military honor for Martin, by leaving a chair vacant at a graduation ceremony where the Class of ’66 was recognized and posthumously awarding him the medallion at their 50th anniversary.
“It took about two years to find Doug’s sole surviving family member – his brother, Dick,” Richardson recalled about his classmate who left Frostburg to join the military before graduating.
At a luncheon where they presented the medallion to Martin’s brother, another idea was born for the class to support the FSU Veterans Center in Martin’s memory. The group quickly raised more funds for ceremonial flags and a new podium.
But they didn’t stop there. The class launched a campaign and raised an additional $13,000 to name a room in Martin’s memory at the FSU Veterans Center. The gesture to honor a fallen classmate is just another way the Class of ’66 demonstrated their unending togetherness.
“I am not sure that I can place a finger on what keeps our class together,” said Richardson, who is retired from 42 years of U.S. military and civilian service. He thinks the climate of the country and the campus in the mid-60s may have something to do with it.
“It may be that FSU was undergoing a major transition during our four years here. Those changes caused us to bond and become close,” he said. “Whatever it might be, it is something that I personally treasure.”
Hobbs agreed. “I count myself very fortunate to be a member of Frostburg’s Class of 1966. Our college years together have given us both happy and sad memories over these 55 years, and our friendships have lasted a very long time.
How to Give
CONTACT:
Lynn Ketterman
Director of Development
301-687-4068
lketterman@frostburg.edu
SEND PAYMENTS TO:
FSU Foundation Inc.
101 Braddock Road
Frostburg, MD 21532-2303