‘Round Robin’: 7 decades of letters keep ’Berg generation, traditions alive

In the summer of 1955, the country was flocking to the movie theaters to see Disney’s newest animated feature, “Lady and the Tramp”. Pérez Prado and His Orchestra’s "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" was playing on just about every jukebox. And the Heidelberg Class of 1955 was making its way into the world, heading to new jobs or graduate school, new towns, making new friends. Leaving the ‘Berg and memories behind? No, not at all. After graduation, a small group of women classmates started a “round robin” letter, each taking turns to add their personal news and updates to the pile and mailing it on to the next on the list.  

Today, that tradition is still going strong – 70 years on.

Most of the current participants agree that the letter was started shortly after graduation by women who lived in Williard Hall. Among them were Peggy Neff, Sally Jaster, Sandy Remieres, Marlyn Buehrer, Barbara Dunn, and Dionne Koch. As time went on, others were added to the list, until at one point there were 50 or more participants, including two alums living in Japan (Barbara Dunn and Kikuko Ono).

Today, the letters travel back and forth across the country to 12-13 alumni, all in their 90s, who receive the packet once every 18 months or so.  

Sometimes written by hand, sometimes typed (yes, on an actual typewriter), and now often computer printed, the letters are more than just a way of keeping in touch. They are also an affirmation of how special the “Robins” ’Berg experiences were and reveal a continued appreciation for the Heidelberg faculty who helped shaped their life paths.

Dick Glessner, whose wife Sandy was one of the original “Robins,” reports that “occasionally the envelope of letters has stalled for a time, but a member has always been able to sleuth out the problem, whether it be illness, death, storms, political unrest, or memory loss, and get it back on track.”  

Natalie Johnson Wittmann ’81, daughter of Peggy Neff Johnson, says her mother loved getting the letters, always a welcome surprise to find the big manila envelope in the mailbox. In recent years, as Peggy’s health declined, Natalie became her mother’s scribe for the letters, penning her last contribution herself, as her mom was unable to contribute. That did not mean that Peggy was not thinking about her classmates and the ‘Berg – as Natalie noted in her last Robin letter “[Mom] has been having more imaginative thinking and the good news is that she is steadily thinking she is at a Heidelberg alumni event.”

Round robin contributor George Bang says the class of 1955 was particularly close, especially since Heidelberg was quite small then (about 550 students), so everyone knew everyone. But perhaps it’s because Heidelberg excels at building community. Younger generations stay in touch too, but through Zoom, the one good thing to come out of the pandemic.

This small group of Heidelberg women friends – named the “Uncommon Women” after a production of the Wendy Wasserstein play many of them worked on at Heidelberg in 1981 – meets regularly to exchange family and career news, discuss our current reading list, and ‘Berg memories. They share joys, triumphs, illnesses and setbacks, just like the class of 1955, only in real time. And the conversation might include some of the same faculty names that the class of 1955 remember fondly, among them Ferris Ohl, Ruth Bacon, and Archie Thomas.

The class of 1955 marks its 70th class reunion this June. That’s a milestone in and of itself, but that the class history also includes so many classmates keeping in touch all those years, well, that’s remarkable.

The Aurora yearbook for the class notes that “the class of 1955 looks back with pride on a college career that includes … friendships at Heidelberg that rise and glow beyond these walls.” It’s a true testament to the notion that Heidelberg builds families – for the Class of ’55, ’81 and for generations to come – that that those friendships endure and continue to glow.

This article was written by Cynthia Heininger ’81 with thanks from Barbara Dunn Mensendick, Dick Glessner, George Bang, Lucy Boyadjian Janjigian and Natalie Johnson Wittmann for their contributions.