Rock On

I loved the article on Rock Lititz and the Penn State connection [“They Will Rock You,” July/August, p. 42]. They are clearly rockin’ the entertainment business! I want to give a shoutout for two more Penn Staters doing great things behind the scenes at Rock Lititz: Graduates of Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management, brothers Joshua and Jake Funk own and operate TFB Hospitality, which manages all of the food service and catering on the Rock Lititz campus, the Rock Lititz Hotel, and Per Diem restaurant, along with operating several other Lancaster-area eateries. They’re making this former professor proud.

Bart Bartlett ’75 H&HD, ’84 MBA Bus, ’96 PhD Edu
State College

 

Proper Focus

Best Penn Stater that I can remember. Finally, an issue that portrays the university as a serious academic institution, which it is, rather than a sport-centric entity. It was a pleasure to see an issue devoted to the achievements of its students and alumni. The interview with President Bendapudi [“We’re Supposed to Make a Difference,” July/August, p. 34] was a revelation on what it means to be a state university and the challenges all higher education systems are facing today.

Anthony Gallo ’66 Edu
Washington, D.C.

 

Track Meet Memories

I enjoy the magazine, especially those stories about Penn State track and cross-country teams, present and past. I ran for Penn State in the ’50s and was captain of one of those teams. Our indoor meets at Madison Square Garden were a treat. We went to and from by train and enjoyed meals en route! Those meets provided great competition. At one meet, a Penn State grad hung a college rug over the Garden’s second-floor rail for all to see. We did well that night, as I recall. Those trips provided access to world-class theater, a first for me. It was possible to go to the theater because our coach, Charles “Chick” Werner, somehow found a donor willing to give each of us competitors $25 to spend as we wished! It seems amazing even now, decades later. 

Don Woodrow ’57 EMS 
Richmond, Calif.

 

Goal Model

My oldest son, Henry, age 7, recently read the article about TJ Malone—awesome role model feature of the magazine for aspiring young readers, by the way!—and hasn’t stopped talking about him [Five Questions, May/June, p. 30]. Henry just finished his first lacrosse season and was beside himself to read that TJ also started playing around the same age. He wrote TJ a fan mail letter and received his response yesterday—a signed photo and very nice note. He’s still talking about it!

Jessica Faller Alexander ’08 Com
Vienna, Va.

 

Paper Chase

I saw your call for stories about working during college. Coincidentally, while I was tossing old boxes, I happened upon an advertisement that my roommate and I posted for prospective customers during college. When I arrived at Penn State in 1986, I was thrilled to find that my freshman roommate, Scott Shapiro, owned an Apple Macintosh, complete with a dot-matrix printer. This was years before everyone had a laptop, so we immediately spotted a business opportunity and started typing papers for fellow students. Back then, most students would have had to go to a computer lab to use a shared computer. We designed an advertisement that said, “Is This You When a Paper Is Due?” and sported an (unlicensed) Bill the Cat image and made it very clear that for $1.25/page we could easily make papers shorter or longer by adjusting the font and size of the text! Finally, we thought it could also be a good way to meet coeds, so we posted the printed ads on bulletin boards in the sorority dorms in South Halls. I can’t remember if that strategy worked, but I know that I continued typing papers for students until I graduated. It was a great way to meet new folks and make spending money from home!

Dave Schappell ’90 Bus
Wolfeboro, N.H.

 

Memories of Nittany Hall

 

 

Here’s a picture (above) of alumni from Nittany 25 gathered on campus in June, taken immediately after a delightful stop at the Berkey Creamery. We were together from 1976 to 1978 in the original Nittany 25 building, which was a part of Nittany Halls. Those dorms were constructed for returning vets from World War II. Each building was a separate unit with, I believe, 24 rooms. There were probably in the neighborhood of 30 separate buildings. We dined in Pollock. They were rundown and had no amenities, even for those times. When someone asked you where you lived and you said Nittany Halls, they looked at you as if it was a leper colony. However, it had one advantage over every other dorm: You had a single room with no roommate. Within our Nittany, it was a tremendously tight group. I was there my junior and senior years, and my memories were amazing, because you made the best of it and everyone who lived there was happy to be there. Rather than having one roommate, it felt like you had 20. Those throwback dorms were a memory that we carry with us forever.

Bob Wolff ’77 Bus
Moorestown, N.J.

 

 

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