by Bob Whitton '69
My Williams story began in what must have been a page-by-page scan of the Fiske Guide to Colleges in 1964-65. Having grown up in Virginia, I determined, in rough order, that I wanted to get away and also to connect to the most challenging, liberal school I could enter (east of the Mississippi). With maybe $50 in my wallet I flew to Providence to see one school, then to Albany to see another. I don't remember how I finally got to Williamstown, but it was in a snow storm, and I found myself itching to meet a True Liberal My Age. I was not disappointed, as there were Freedom Riders in our midst. Later, a senior in jeans, lumberjack jacket and (maybe) Frye boots offered to drive me to his Albany home so that I could get to the airport next morning. We went to a local road house and drank "pony" bottles of beer until closing time. How all grown up!
In a funny way, Williams was never quite as liberal as those two personal myth-making days. And of course, way more so, because late '60s America was fracturing along oh so many fault lines. I led a somewhat predictable if undistinguished Williams career, graduated with (I thought) a ticket to Officer Candidate School, got married, became a parent twice-blessed, had an all-civilian career (except for a lucky five years off and on in the New York National Guard) and stayed in touch with some wonderful Williams characters. To this day I am still becoming connected to the class, for which I give thanks to Williams.