A few beautiful souls with unique skills and gifts meet and meld. Sometimes Life brings together different people who resonate. Ideas flow. Creations get born.

The Crown College Essay of 1968 was the product of a flurry of concentrated energy, imagination and love for our college. Like the spontaneously-written words that serve as the yin to the yang of these fabulous, candid snapshots of living moments we experienced at a young, impressionable age.

The Photographers—Henry Chu, Ed Haskell, and Mike Newman
The book began with three photographers and their beautiful works of art. They gathered up their best – the shots they felt most reflected the spirit and character of our college. They saw our world with artists’ eyes and developed their prints in the solitude and darkness of their printing labs.

Then they shared them with all of us. Their images were reflections not only of people, places and events that spilled forth from our first year at Crown College; their images were reflections of themselves – each one with a unique style, sense of beauty and skill-set.

We were a small group of people, but our hearts were directed at the goal of REMEMBERING. We did not want to ever forget that first formative year of life as a college student in a very special place and time.

The Business Manager—Janet Keremitsis
Janet had the brains and instincts for organizing and arranging logistics for getting such a book printed. She was key to its success.

The Staff—Judy Baxter, Ann Sorensen, and Diane Suechika
Judy, Ann, and Diane worked tirelessly to put together the elements of the book in a pleasing way that truly reflected our first year at CROWN. They provided encouragement, support, technical expertise and – most important – the warmth of friendship and camaraderie.

The Advertising Photographers—Greg Ward, Vester Dick, Thomas Babb, and Craig Michalak
The bread and butter ad sales that paid for the project were generated by these wonderful MAD MEN photographers of pretty girls on expensive cars, patrons agreeing to be photographed in a popular Barber Shop as their whiskers were trimmed and pates were dusted, even some of our faculty browsing through racks of engineering supplies and trying on beautiful suits at elegant men’s shops.

A Shy Ansel Adams Doppelganger—Al Lowry
Note Al’s beautiful photographs sprinkled discretely among the adverts at the end to artfully fill in ad space: lovely nature shots of A DANCING LEAF dangling from its branch and FOUR MUSHROOMS – both with astonishing detail and sensitivity.

The Production Staff–Carol Birck, Barbara Ironmonger, and Connie Michalak served together to pull the project from concept to reality. Their contributions, and those of the Ad Photographers, were vital, equal components of our team.

Alchemy
It simply was a mysterious intersection of human beings drawn together by a shared purpose. They transformed elements into a new form, and it became something precious.

My heartfelt gratitude to every one of you who helped realize a shared dream. We helped one another create a legacy for all our classmates to remember.

Stay strong and take good care of one another. Keep faith in what humankind can do when they are united.

FIAT LUX!

Click here to read the Crown College Essay of 1968.