Clear skies. Low 44F. Winds light and variable..

Clear skies. Low 44F. Winds light and variable.

This month, my alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, celebrated its 90th anniversary of the college’s Johnstown location.

In the fall of 1967, the newly constructed Richland campus offered its first on-site four-year program. I became one of the nine members graduating in the Class of 1971.

The rumor of a four-year school in our immediate area was a dream come true for me.

Responding to the late ’60s nationwide teacher shortage, universities charged reasonable tuitions with government assistance.

“Lyndon,” who’d been left holding the Kennedy-Camelot bag, attempted to fill it with his Great Society initiative. Many groundbreaking and exemplary programs (Head Start for one) sprouted.

When folks think ’70s-circa college students, they often dwell on agitators, demonstrations, anti-war protests and student takeovers. Hollywood provided an endless supply of films depicting the turmoil and chaos of the time. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young sang about “Ohio.”

I won’t say that UPJ was immune to the era’s turbulance, but UPJ’s Johnstown melting pot legacy reflected its welcoming atmosphere.

UPJers marched to a different drummer. The education department, eager to establish ties with local school districts, started sending us on student-teaching gigs during our sophomore year, mainly to observe.

I absorbed Mr. LaPlaca’s tactful but firm approach to discipline in Richland. A woman teacher (whose name I can’t recall) trained me in bulletin board craftsmanship.

The summer of my junior year, classmate Pat Russell and I assisted with Head Start in Franklin Borough.

Carpooler Pat complained that she never heard an entire song on my car radio. I was (and remain) a compulsive button-holic!

The Fundamentals of Education professor emphasized that no pupil should ever know our political affiliations.

Our jobs should focus on information. No brainwashing.

I met Sharon, a BFF, at the college entrance exams held at Johnstown High. We shared numerous classes.

We were the only upperclassmen in Murray Terrace’s fall ’68 Chemistry 101 because we’d both flunked it as frosh! Sharon stopped the show one day when she asked Dr. T, “If everyone on earth joined hands at the equator and ran in the opposite direction of the earth’s rotation in the universe, would we all fall off?”

Monsieur Nadier, a fresh-off-the-boat language prof, totaled three consecutive Renaults driving on the wrong side of Pennsylvania highways.

Our public speaking instructor may possibly have invented the “smiley” emoji. He began every session scrawling, “I am seeing myself SUCCEED!” punctuated with a smiley on his blackboard. Sharon and I would doodle little frowns in our comp books.

Unlike pompous and pedantic Professor Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase,” UPJ instructors were accessible, cooperative and eager to lend a hand.

My mentor, Tom Russell, seasoned journalism and creative writing prof, called me “Mike.”

Sharon’s honey, Harlan, lived near Russell in South Fork.

During a pre-Thanksgiving class, Sharon blurted, “Harlan and I drove past your house on Sunday, and we saw your turkey (door decoration).”

Feigning embarassment, Russell responded, “I didn’t think it showed.”

The Louise Leticia Miehle Award for creative writing was traditionally presented to an outstanding freshman. He presented it to me my senior year.

“The walls would cry out if we didn’t acknowledge this young lady’s incredible talent,” he said. His words are etched in my heart.

We exchanged Christmas newsletters for more than 20 years. Russell began his career at The Tribune-Democrat. I’m certain he subscribes to the “H” edition.

So, pretty cool school, huh?

Just in case breathtaking scenery, proficient and delightful teachers, and a minimal price tag isn’t enough, UPJ boasted yet another outstanding distinction.

We were the only U.S. university whose dean drove an Edsel.

Michele Mikesic Bender is a Johnstown resident and a columnist for The Tribune-Democrat.

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