Fletcher Parsons and Jeff Jones

Language:

English .

Biographical / historical:

I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Fletcher Christian Parsons '26, and I am currently majoring in Economics with a minor in German Studies. I come from a small town on the eastern shore of Maryland called Easton, roughly an hour and a half from Washington, D.C. I also spend a lot of my life in the Florida Keys, visiting family down there. While at home, in Florida, and at school, I enjoy fly fishing (especially in the Keys), golf, and cooking. Growing up in a small town, I was surrounded by a few Hampden-Sydney alumni, who ultimately made me comfortable attending an all-men's college. I chose HSC because some friends came with me, and it seemed to have a nice mix of social and academic life, which I believe I have taken advantage of. My freshman year, I lived in Cushing and have lived in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house for the past 3 years. Other than Phi Gam, I have been involved in Ducks Unlimited, the Fly-fishing club, the German club, the Center for the Study of the Political Economy, and the Hobbie Scholar program.

I am happy to meet you; it is my pleasure to be part of this wonderful project as we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of our cherished institution, Hampden-Sydney College. Thomas Bailey, in his The Amercian Pagent textbook, lists the nice Colonial colleges. I would strongly argue that since the Colonies were not fighting for Independence until July 4, 1776 there are ten Colonial colleges, with Hampden-Sydney being the tenth. I live in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, a town about 30 minutes east of Manhattan. I applied to both Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon Colleges and was accepted to both and chose Hampden-Sydney. Fifty-plus years since my graduation in 1975 I have absolutely no regrets over my choice of Hampden-Sydney and would choose it again in a heartbeat. Some highlights of my undergraduate days include living on Campus, traveling to/from Hampden-Sydney, always saying hello to everyone you met on Campus and the glorious eagle by the flag pole at Death Valley. All freshman were required to live in a dorm and were assigned to either Venable or Graham Hall. I was assigned to Venable Hall, room W-11. The only showers were in the basement, where there was one large shower room. Winston Hall held the dining commons while the bookstore was on the lower floor. Traveling from New Jersey to Hampden-Sydney involved taking a Florida-bound Amtrak train from New Jersey to Richmond Broad Street Station, transferring to the Greyhound station and taking a Greyhound bus to Farmville. There was a two-hour layover between train and bus and the bus, taking the most circuitous route, took two hours to get to Farmville. Once in Farmville, I needed to walk to the Longwood College two high rise dorms where I would hitch a ride to Hampden-Sydney. Since Freshmen were not permitted to have cars, we needed to hitch a ride to/from Farmville. Going to Farmville, one would stand by College Church and get picked up; on the return, one waited my the Longwood high rises.. We were told at orientation that you say hello to everyone you meet on Campus. That is how I met Lt. Col. Gus Franke and because of that encounter went on to major in Mathematics. I'll be happy to provide many more details about my association with Col. Franke and his lasting positive influence on my life in our later conversations. The third highlight is the magnificent eagle on the football field by the flagpole When I was back at H-SC this past Spring and Fall I was surprised few know of its historic past. Our eagle was one of 22 that originally sat on top of the Pennsylvania Station in New York City before it was destroyed in the mid-1960's. More on this in our conversations as well. I completed my degree requirements in December, 1974 so I could attend Longwood College in the Spring of 1975 as a male day student to complete my Professional Semester in Education. This included 10 weeks of student teaching at Breckinridge Junior High School in Roanoke, Virginia. Hampden Sydney would not give us credit for this professional semester and the idea of taking more than four years to earn a bachelors degree,, in 1974, was unthinkable. I returned home to New Jersey; earned a Masters Degree in History, with a concentration in Colonial and Revolutionary History; taught in a Catholic High School for five years; earned a Maters Degree in Mathematics; taught one year in a K-8 elementary school; then 31 years in a two-year college. After retiring in December 2017, I was bored and missed teaching so I returned to teaching in the spring of 2020, first at a local community colllege and then at Rutgers University where I am still teaching today. Along the way I was a National Park Ranger at Morristown National Historical Park and served as a docent on Amtrak trains as part the the National Park Service's Trails and Rails program. From 2004 to 2024 I was a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for my town and a neighboring town. Well, this was supposed to be brief, but I hope you find it intersting. Allow me to close with my favorite quote, from Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who perished in the Challenger explosion in January, 1986 as it pretty much sums up what I love to do: "I touch the future, I teach."

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