Recently posted by Ellie Blanton

October is college fair time in the Pacific Northwest.  Selling Simmons is not a difficult activity.  Many colleges and universities across the U.S. are represented -- even other wonen's colleges.  Simmons usually is the only one in Boston 

I completed a tour of four fairs this past Thursday, all 731 miles.  My husband provided

the necessary company.  These fairs are usually scheduled on successive days. The PSAT was given one day, so there was a welcome travel day.  The ice in centrral Oregon slowed travel, but nothing else hampered driving.

It is exhilirating to share Simmons information with high school students.  In this area, the trend is to attend Oregon schools.  The girls have no idea that a Simmons education might cost less than the local offerings.

As the economy has tightened here, the number of high school guidance counselors has decreased.  Those who would be the first to go to college from their families 

do not have the support and tools to address college admissions.  It is a challenge talking to the students who have no idea of the process nor the benefits of small colleges.  Simmons offers smaller class sizes than many experience in high school.

I encourage all of you to consider volunteering for a fair or to take admissions information to your local high schools.  Many years ago before I stopped working, I helped on a smaller scale in Michigan.  

If that doesn't interest you, there is an easier way to make Simmons known.  Wear a S.C. shirt or cap, put a decal in a car or house window, use Simmons pens or pencils,

carry a Simmons tote, or many other such activities.  I wore a Simmons shirt to a picnic one time.  Someone remarked that their housemate was a S. C. graduate.  We live 20 miles apart.  She was re-connected to Simmons.  At a U. of OR track meet I met a M.I.T. student whose mother was a Simmons grad.  This spring I sat with a Tufts employee at a sporting event who noticed my shirt and told of her connection to Simmons.

I am excited about the progress I've witnessed on campus.  The students are not bound by restrictions I felt fifty years ago.  The dorm rules were necessarily strict then.  Students did not have the freedom in coursework present now.  I continue to be amazed by the variety of majors, minors, and combinations of them that a single student might consider.  The balancing of academics, volunteering, sports, foreign travel, and other activities is mind-boggling.  Our graduates are succeeding in so many areas.  The days of "women's work" are gone.  

Go Sharks!

Greetings from Ellie Clarke Blanton '59 in southwestern rural Oregon. My husband of almost 44 years, Joe, and I moved ourselves here from Michigan in 1988, in 3 roundtrips & the last one way. Our daughter and son-in-law live in Fredericksburg, VA. Each of them has a son.

I was a Physical Therapy student at Simmons graduating in January, 1960. There was time to return to Glen Ridge, NJ, for time with my parents before starting work in a rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids, MI.  After 7 years there, I became the first P.T. in an area pre-school for the handicapped, moving on to the special education students in the middle and high schools. Those years included: attendance at the World Confederation of Physical Therapy in Denmark, traveling in Europe for 3 weeks; formation of a local wheelchair group with 2 other P.T.'s  to bowl, practice archery, and participate in track & field events, traveling to & competing in the National Wheelchair Games in NY; membership in the MI PT Assoc.; & appointment to the MI PT Licensing Board by 2 governors. I became chair of the board.

Simmons prepared me well for my profession & I credit her with encouraging my participation in new endeavors & adventures. I represent the College at many Oregon college fairs & several years in Seattle, serve as a contact for the Oregon Simmons alumnae/i group: the Magnificent Oregon Simmons Society (M.O.S.S.), was secretary for the Alumnae Association for one term and class president for 2 terms. Joe & I have established a scholarship in my mother's memory for Simmons students. Both of us have returned to Boston for most reunions.

Since becoming an Oregonian, I have become part of many activities. Gaining Water Safety Instructor certification while at Simmons, I volunteered weekly to help in a local swim program. The elementary school had a Celebrity Reader program in which I read. Participating in Scottsburg Community Service activities, I selected playground equipment for the local park & wrote a grant to fund it; raised funds for a flagpole in the park; organized the annual birthday party for Levi Scott, the community's founder & Oregon trailblazer; raised funds for the local volunteer fire department; planted daffodils in Scottsburg most years; & organized the community garden with aid from 3 county departments. The state-wide environmental group contacts me to set up local projects to improve landscapes, removing invasive plants, litter removal, etc. The spring & fall beach clean-ups are among my regular activities.  I have been a member of 2 OR Dept. of Transportation committees, one to determine placement of a new bridge & one to designate the local highway a scenic byway (granted in 2009). Safety concerns pushed me to organize a one-day study of local traffic & to share the data with the State Police & Sheriff's Dept.

Joe and I became volunteers at the closest Chamber of Commerce visitor center & learned about the area. As a result ,we became tour guides on the NSF R/V Hero while it was here, gray whale watch volunteers during the spring & fall migrations, & presenters of whale information at the Umpqua Discovery Center & at Tsalila (a watershed celebration). An OSU trip to Baja California (Mex.) to see the gray whales followed. I retired after 15 years of service with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the volunteer branch.

We enjoyed many trips to England & Scotland & saw more of Europe on the way to a conference in Prague before the Communists left.

Joe and I became part of an archeological work party to St. Kilda (west of the Outer Hebrides) in Scotland. That led to participation on 3 U.S. Forest Service Passport in Time (PIT) projects locally. Archeology is fascinating.

I continue to be a blood donor, on the way toward 11 gallons. A political activist on the local, county, state, & national levels, I attended 2 national conventions.

In 2002, I became an honorary alumna of Lynchburg College, partially because I co-chaired the centennial fund-raising effort with Joe. Awards have also been given to me by the Reedsport Chamber of Commerce and the Douglas County Democratic Party.

We survived a house fire in 2008 & moved into a custom-built house on the same site in 2009. Therein are many tales.

Your comments and questions will keep me busy on the computer -- and away from the mundane housekeeping chores. Thanks.