From Mary (A.Court) Downey '61
Mr. Wilde always wanted to maintain the academic standards of the college.
I came to the college from Brazil. He was not familiar with the schooling there and stressed I would have to work hard. I did. He matched roommates well. My roommate and I got along well and supported each other. I loved the pension. Monsieur was a Calvinist pastor. He and his wife had four children. No one spoke English. So we practiced our French a lot. We lived in Colombier. Monsieur took us mountain climbing and his son Alain took us sailing on the lake. Madame made huge macaroni pies and blood sausage.
Mr. Wilde invited us to dinner, as he did many students. He sincerely wanted to get to know us.
About the author: I’ve had a very happy life as a wife, (to an Anglican priest) a mother to three and nana to four, whom I love dearly and share in their lives each week. I was a book editor with Clarke Irwin, I write columns for papers, tutor English and French, teach piano, and work in lots of gardens.
Back