Yoshito Nomura traveled all the way from Nagoya, Japan. He attended Ricker at the end of its time in the late 1970s and made life-long friends that he is still in contact with today. Nomura or “Mr. Pa” as he was known by his circle of friends has even attended small reunions with other Japanese students in Tokyo.
Every former student attending smiled ear to ear about the reunion and seeing their excitement of rediscovering friends from years ago was priceless. They stated over and over their love for the college and the community and how sad they were that the college had closed.
As they walked through the campus area of today, gone is Putnam Gym, all the boys’ dorms lining Kelleran Street, the white office building on the hill where some classes were held and Wording Hall, where the majority of students spent their time.
Some commented on how glad they were that the Wesleyan Church is located in the former cafeteria and coffee shop and that the building will be taken care of. The church also owns the former girls’ dorm. Many visitors toured the facility finding that some of the rooms have been left intact as they were more than 40 years ago.
When asked, ‘What led you to Ricker College?” One answer from Pat Cunningham who lived in Sparta, N.J. was that his guidance counselor’s two nephews from Massachusetts were students at Ricker and loved it. Cunningham said it was one of the best decisions he made. He loved the small student body and the friendships that he made then, will last forever. As he prepared his own son for the decision of where to go to college he steered him in the direction of a smaller more intimate campus like Ricker.
Steve Moriarity became good friends of many of the Japanese exchange students and would often invite them to holiday gatherings at his Massachusetts home or his farm in southern Maine.
As many toured the downtown district with Houlton’s Leigh Cummings, also a Ricker alumnus they recalled the many stores that used to be there. They remembered the Laundromat, by the North Street bridge that provided washing, drying and everything folded for a nominal fee, the pizza place at the end of the Square and Benn’s House of Billiards.
They recalled the college parades through the town for a variety of occasions including Snowball weekend. They reminisced about the great soccer games at community park, the fraternity parties, snow sculptures and the concerts with groups that were unknown then, but who went on to achieve great success. Some of those were Chad and Jeremy, Bruce Springsteen, Melanie, Brooklyn Bridge, The Toys and Richie Havens.
As the former students heard about the history of Houlton, they also began to look at the downtown a little differently than they had in earlier days. Today they were taking in the architecture of the buildings and the quaintness of Market Square, a place hard to duplicate anywhere else. They also stopped by Sadie’s Bakery and Uncle Willie’s Candy Shoppe.
Many remembered their first attempt at picking potatoes. Cunningham admitted he thought he would give it a try. He bought gloves, coffee and doughnuts and hit the field. He would be paid 35 cents per barrel, after one barrel he told the farmer he was done. He said, “That was hard work!”
Another talked about the Borderland Drive-In and the nights when they would fill the car with as many people as one could for one dollar, while other times some would sneak through the woods and meet up with one or two people that had paid the full price for the movie.
As the former students explored the local area they shopped in some of the antique stores looking for anything that had Ricker or Houlton inscribed on it. Some found mugs, glasses, clothing and signs.
“Great memories,” said Steve Cummings of Pennsylvania, a member of Kappa Beta fraternity. who had 11 members of his group attend, one of whom came from Texas for the reunion.
Tom Carratura, from Norton, N.J. remembered flying into Presque Isle after Christmas, as a freshman in 1970. He took a cab to Houlton and the snow banks were so high, he began having second thoughts, but he stayed and today he laughs about going to Hovey Hill to toboggan. The first time down he fell off and scraped his face on the crust. “I was a mess!” he said. He also participated in the cafeteria tray race. Using trays the students slid down the hill on the campus, which they said seemed much higher years ago.
Faculty members attending were Woody Dunphy, John Elliott, Joe Inman and Vic Vere. Jay Brewer, Class of 1951 took the honor of being a member of the earliest class year in attendance.
The reunion, organized by Meg Leach of southern Maine and Tim Humphrey of Houlton was a great success for the more than 100 attending. The events began with a social Friday evening where attendees pored over old photos and yearbooks, followed on Saturday morning with a tour of the former campus, a visit to the Ricker Room at the historical museum, a dinner in the evening and a brunch on Sunday morning. The formal activities were held at the Shiretown Motor Inn and catered by Reggie and Emily Dow. Musical entertainment was provided by 13 Scotland Road with Bill Bimford, Class of ’78 as lead vocalist. Rev. Nancee Campbell offered an opening prayer for the occasion and a time of remembrance for deceased faculty and students was observed.
As former students prepared to say good-bye, the comments heard most often were, “We’ll see you at the next reunion and there is no other place than Houlton to capture the nostalgia each one of us feels as we walk the former campus, the streets of town, visit the Ricker Room and relive the days of our youth.”
Ricker alumni are able to keep connected through several facebook pages and websites, including, Ricker Reunion, Ricker College of the Northeast and Ricker.net.
