HAIL YALE: 62-year college reunion drought ends
Former Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Hughes received a long-time-coming visit from two former colleagues during five days this past week.
Hughes hosted two of his fellow Yale University graduates from the class of 1952. It’s been 62 years since all three men have gotten together.
While there have been phone conversations between them since their Yale days and two of the three have seen each other since that time, the gap in time has widened beyond compare for all three “Yalies” to hold a reunion.
“We got on a mutual telephone call and said we have to get together while we are still breathing,” said Hughes, who was instrumental in establishing Fort Myers Beach through Town incorporation with his contributions to the Town Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code.
Visiting Hughes was Dr. Horace MacVaugh III, a retired admiral of the Navy Reserve (Medical Corps USNR) and cardiovascular surgeon, and Jack Harrison, a “true” Dupont executive as a chemical engineer who also holds a Masters in financial accounting.
“It’s extremely special to sit down and finally find out about our families, our children and our grandchildren,” said Hughes.
The three Yale graduates met freshman year on the New Haven, Connecticut campus and eventually chose each other as roommates. They all belong to the same fraternity – Chi Phi – known as the oldest national social fraternity in the country, founded in 1824.
Hughes and MacVaugh III do see each other at Yale’s reunion most every five years, but Harrison has not been able to attend any of those get-togethers since graduation. The class of 1952 actually held a reunion in New Orleans this past year, but Harrison could not attend that affair as well, so Hughes decided to put more pressure on him at that point.
“He told me he wasn’t going to live much longer, but it doesn’t look to me like he is going to die tomorrow,” said Harrison.
Hughes did admit to visiting Harrison at his residence in Amelia Island, when his wife, Ann, was still alive and at a wedding in Chicago 20 years ago. In fact, Hughes was in Harrison’s wedding party prior to that.
But getting all three men together proved to be quite the feat, more than six decades until fruition.
One of the first tasks of the reunion was to go on an airboat ride in Everglades National Park.
“I’m glad to get off that alive,” quipped Hughes.
With a 65-year reunion for Yale looming in 2017, here’s hoping all three men can get back to their alma mater at the same time.