Correspondence—Monmouth Magazine

Gaga for Guggenheim

W e received several letters in response to our request for stories about Monmouth’s historic Guggenheim Memorial Library (“Looking Back,” Spring/Summer 2024). Don’t miss this issue’s and be sure to share your stories at magazine@monmouth.edu.

It was April Fools’ Day, 1967. My fraternity brother, Joel, came by on a small moped he had borrowed from a friend of ours (Bob McAllan ’69, whose name now adorns a campus building) and asked if I wanted to go for a ride. I said we should check out the Guggenheim Library, not for books but to maybe meet a girl. As fate would have it, I did catch the eye of a beautiful, brown-eyed, longhaired young lady named Ellen. She and I struck up a conversation, and I hinted to my friend that all was good, so he departed. Ellen gave me a ride back to my apartment, where I made her lunch, and when she left, I noticed a taillight was out on her car. I called her dorm floor later to tell her about it, which gave me a plus in her eyes.

Ellen and I dated for the rest of the semester, after which she went back to New York and I to North Jersey. On June 6 that year, I was called to active duty with the U.S. Navy. I called Ellen and told her of my approaching service time. She said we could write each other, and when I got overseas, we did—every day for almost two years. When I changed duty stations to Virginia, I came home whenever I could. Once my service ended, we got engaged, and I returned to Monmouth to complete my degree while Ellen (now my fiancée) started working in New York. She and I have been married 54 years and are parents to two girls (one of whom, Jennifer, received her master’s from Monmouth in 2000) and have two granddaughters (one of whom, Emily Stein, is a first-year student at Monmouth).

The Guggenheim Library has changed greatly over the years, but it will always have a warm place in my heart.

—Frederick S. Gruber ’70

Back in 1964, in addition to being a repository of fine literature, the Guggenheim also had a world-class collection of music. During my second semester at Monmouth, my major mandated that I take an “appreciation course” in either music or art. I chose music. The course was taught by a former high-profile big band leader named Tommy Tucker. His syllabus, which he handed out at the beginning of the semester, clearly stated that our final exam would include a listening section in which we would be required to identify various pieces of classical music ranging from Gershwin, Prokofiev, and Haydn to Mozart and Beethoven. Luckily, the Guggenheim had recordings of all the required pieces to be identified, as well as a soundproof listening room where my new wife and I spent the day after Thanksgiving taking notes and listening to some of the most majestic music ever written. Thanks to those recordings and that sound room, I passed the course with flying colors—and, in addition, gained an appreciation of classical music, which was the objective of the exercise in the first place.

—Jeff Wolber ’67

When I arrived at what was then Monmouth College in 1988 as a junior faculty member, I was focused on writing my first novel. The library looked so inviting a location in which to write, so when summer rolled around, I walked over from Woods Theatre (which at the time was called the Guggenheim Theatre) and found myself on the second floor of the original building. I spread my notes across a large wooden table and took the liberty of opening a window, inviting the ocean breeze to whisper into my ear while it carried the surf’s salty scent onto my page. I returned to that spot day after day, all summer long, writing what would become my first novel, “A Wing and a Prayer.” I sat at that same desk when I penned the following book, “Makoona.”

It’s difficult to think of a more fitting place to write environmental fiction about ocean creatures and habitats than the second floor of the Guggenheim Library with the window open to the sea. The Guggenheim is not just a place where literature is shared; it’s a place where literature is born.

—John Morano, Professor of Communication

Remembering a Hoops Hero

The magazine you produce is second to none, and I anxiously await the arrival of each and every issue. However, I must admit that the first item I turn to every time one arrives in my mailbox is the “In Memoriam” section near the back page. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I have been in my 80s for a few years. Oh well.

One small thing I would like to point out: I noticed the name of Ray Tomaszewski ’60 among the most recent list of alumni who passed away. I think it deserves to be mentioned that Ray was the first 1,000-point scorer in Monmouth’s illustrious basketball history. His high, arching jump shots from the corners of the frontcourt—worth just two points back in those days—were a thing of beauty, something not to be forgotten.

I dug up a yellowed, undated clipping of a Newark News story that ran after the last game of Ray’s collegiate career. It mentions that he led the Hawks to an 86-55 victory over Cooper Union. Ray finished with 1,001 career points, and I might mention that points 1,000 and 1,001 came with a minute and one-half left in that game. Not only that, Ray led the team with 23 points that day—even though he had to drive through snow from his home in South Amboy, New Jersey, and was five minutes late getting to the game, which was held at Convention Hall in Asbury Park.

While the Newark News article does not say explicitly that Ray was the first Monmouth player to score 1,000 points, I can assure you beyond any doubt that he was. I served as Monmouth’s (unpaid) student director of sports information during that period and was the sports editor for The Outlook. Among the old, dusty remnants in my possession from the early 1960s, I found a Nov. 30, 1961, copy of The Outlook that has an article about a game against the alumni team. It mentions that “Ray Tomaszewski is the only cager to score over 1,000 points in his collegiate days.”

—Chuck Hassol ’61A

Bruce, Baltimore, and Monmouth Pride

I had a fantastic experience seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sept. 13. Even though I am originally from Asbury Park, graduated from Monmouth University in 1971, and saw Bruce around the area from time to time, it was my only time at a concert. Lots of fans loved my poster (pictured at right)! I had been told that Bruce gives a truly great show, and it was. He, Stevie, Jake, and all his many other musicians and vocalists were so amazing! I’m glad that the University is caring for his Jersey Shore legacy.

—Roberta (Graham) Berlin ’71

Calling All ’60s Grads

Why are alumni from the 1960s often missing from Class Notes? Many of us who attended Monmouth then are still alive—I am one of them! I’m grateful to the speech and drama department for helping create my 50-year acting career. All hail the late Lauren K. Woods and his wife, Ellen ’93M (still thriving).

—Bill Cwikowski ’67

Editor’s Note: We hear you, Bill! Sixties grads (and all you other Hawks as well)—don’t be shy. Share your stories, milestones, and memories with us at magazine@monmouth.edu. We’d love to hear what you’re up to.

More WMCX Memories

Although I very much enjoyed those who wrote about their memories of WMCX to honor the 50th anniversary of the station (“Transmitting Memories,” Fall/Winter 2023), I wanted to clear up one small error concerning the broadcasting of live sporting events. In one of the letters, it was said there were no live sports broadcasts on WMCX until 1984. I attended Monmouth from 1976 to 1980, and there were indeed broadcasts of Monmouth men’s basketball games during these years when we broadcast on 88.1 FM. We broadcast most home games from Boylan Gym but never broadcast road games. I was the play-by-play announcer for most of those years. We also did a pregame show called “Kornegay’s Corner” with the men’s head basketball coach at the time, Ron Kornegay ’69, ’74M. If my memory serves me correctly, we might have even also broadcast the one New York Knicks exhibition game they played at Boylan every year, usually against the Nets. Of course, the Knicks’ training camp was held at Monmouth for many years in the 1970s and 1980s. I just wanted to clear that minor item up. I really enjoyed those who reminisced about WMCX.

—Dan Stern ’80