Another year and another chapter in the remarkable continuum that is Princeton and the Cap and Gown community that is within the greater Princeton community.
I was on the back porch at Cap following the P-Rade, when Dennis Normile, our club steward, came bursting out and said that one of our Cap members from the Old Guard had stopped by. I went directly to the crowded front hall and found Ollie Langenberg '35. He had hired a car to drive him to the club, and had a young step son-in-law at his side, and was truly delighted to be back at Cap for a visit.
With the tumult of a packed clubhouse swirling around us, our conversation was challenging but I had time to hear some of Ollie's stories from an earlier era at Cap. He wondered if the "Thursday Club" still existed. I mentioned the "21 Club" but he dismissed that. He then got a devilish grin and said it had to do with prohibition and, as I understood it, there was a group that made the illegal hooch for use over the weekend starting on Thursday at lunch time. And so the beat goes on.
I have thought since of the 27 year difference in age. From 1935 to 1962 is a big gap. It is the same as from 1962 to 1989, about the first year I became
involved as Grad Board Chair. And those "kids" seemed so young then. Should I make it to my 75th Reunion, I hope one of the kids from the Class
of 1989 is around to listen patiently to some of my old recollections - under the 1962 Skylight in the new stairwell that joins the old and new
buildings. In 27 years there will not be old and new buildings but only one building, completely assimilated as a part of the very best club on Prospect Street thanks to a lot of effort from a lot of people with foresight.
When I returned to the porch and a conversation with Denny Keller '63, we noted Ollie Langenberg is listed as a contributor to the campaign from 1935. Now that Bill Selden '34 has died, that makes Ollie Langenberg our oldest contributor.
Cheers to all,
Michael Mathews '62
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