The greater Houlton community posted “Welcome back Ricker College students” signs around town to greet former students and alumni to a weekend reunion held at the Shiretown Inn and Suites. The alumni filtered in on Friday evening for a casual social where they not always recognized their former classmates without reading their nametags. Upon making the connection, faces lit up and years of not being connected melted away to generate countless stories with laughter and the proverbial, “Those were the good old days.”
No matter where these students came from the most common statement shared was, “There is no other place like Ricker and Houlton, Maine.”
Since Ricker College closed in 1978, reunions have been held sporadically throughout the years in Houlton and other parts of Maine or out of state, but returning to the town and walking on the grounds of the former campus cannot be matched anywhere else.
Carlton Wiggin, now of Bangor, graduated in ’69. While at Ricker he was the campus postman, being paid $1.60 per hour, a kind of work-study job for that era. He became familiar with the entire student body in this capacity. Wiggin loved the small campus and spoke highly of his instructors, naming Dr. Gene Kilpatrick and Charlotte Melvin as two that he learned a lot from. He said, “They weren’t easy, but they were fair.”
One former student drove from Maryland for the reunion, picking up friends along the way. One of the friends brought a tape recorder and recorded their stories all the way to Houlton.
Saturday was filled with more arrivals, touring the downtown, the Ricker Room at the Aroostook Historical and Art Museum, the old Ricker campus, finding the old High Street Grocery, the Borderland Drive-in Theatre, locations where fraternity parties were held, checking out Westford Hill or the old Hollywood Road where many pledges were dropped off in the darkest of nights to walk back to the campus. Several combed the antique shops searching for anything printed with Ricker College on it.
Many recalled marching through Market Square wearing their freshman beanies, playing soccer games at the park, attending basketball games at Putnam Gym and attending the many concerts for Homecoming or Ricker Snowball weekend. “What great times.”
When some of the alumni were asked, “Why did you choose to attend Ricker College?” the answers varied from; “ a friend told me about it, I saw the Ricker catalog and liked the pictures and the description of the campus life, or I wanted a small campus atmosphere.”
Doug Partington, a ’76 graduate said that the teachers here looked out for the students and the student body was close knit. He came from a large high school and it was very different. He was happy with his choice of schools.
Alyssa Wingate originally from Great Neck, N.Y. married another Ricker student, Frank Wingate.
Following college they operated a landscaping business in Augusta. She said that the friendships that developed while attending the school have lasted a lifetime and now even though she may not have been a close friend with others while on campus, her network of friends is expanding by attending the reunions. She has gained new friends that have lived the same college experiences at Ricker. Wingate lost her husband a few years ago and reconnecting with the alumni, some of whom knew her husband, gives her comfort.
The Ricker attendees enjoyed a buffet-style dinner at the Shiretown and bid on several silent auction items with the Ricker logo or other items unique to Aroostook County, such as a bag of new potatoes.
Meg Leach, of Portland spearheaded the event with the help of many volunteers who joined along the course of the planning. As activities began to fall into place for the Ricker 2014 reunion, Arnie Hoffman ‘76 found an old concert ticket advertising the 1973 Ricker Homecoming with Bruce Springsteen opening for Orleans. Ticket prices were $1 for students and $3 for general admission.
When Ed Malloy who is now living in Iowa learned of the unique find, he thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could recreate that concert for this reunion.”
Malloy had been on an events committee in ’73 while at Ricker and booked various groups for the college. The original homecoming concert slated Springsteen to open for Leo Kotke, but a few weeks before the Houlton gig; Kotke extended his stay in Europe leaving the concert with no main attraction. Malloy contacted the William Morris Agency who recommended a list of bands, which included Orleans. He was familiar with John Hall, one of the lead singers and liked his music so he booked them. The concert was a big success and now 41 years later both acts have been successful and are still performing.
With some luck and tenacity, Malloy was able to contact Orleans’ booking agent and pass on his request to have the band be part of this reunion. The five-member band accepted the invitation and traveled from a variety of places including, Kentucky, New York and Massachusetts to the Bangor and Presque Isle airports and on to Houlton. While here they spent time at the Houlton Farmers Market, enjoying the brisk fall day and the hometown atmosphere before joining the Ricker alumni for dinner. They blended in and could very well pass for former students themselves. Orleans played to a crowd of about 300 at the Houlton High School Performing Arts Center. They followed the opening act of 13 Scotland Road from Portland, featuring Bill Binford, a ‘78 Ricker graduate. This band performs at a variety of venues in the greater Portland area.
Following the concert, the band members were presented with T-shirts designed by alumnus, Pat Cunningham who had the Orleans logo and a copy of the original concert ticket screen printed on the front of the shirts with the Ricker Reunion 2014 information on the back. These were made specifically for the band members and as special gifts to others.
The weekend ended Sunday morning with brunch and plans for celebrating again in a few years.
Donations to the Ricker Reunion Fund can be sent to Meg Leach, P. O. Box 11234, Portland, Me. 04104.
Souvenir Ricker bulldog T-shirts are available by contacting Dave Berry @207-942-2862 or info@commercialscreenprint.com.
