By Jane Leitzman ‘69
Bill Laumann ’66 might be a relative newcomer to the role of class officer with four years of service, but he definitely stands out as resourceful and creative.
When Bill noticed the lack of information about his class in the Gustavus Quarterly “Class Notes” section, he contacted Philly Kauffmann (whom he didn’t know at the time). She told him that his class didn’t have a communications officer and proceeded to offer him the opportunity to fill that role, and the rest is history.
Bill shared a number of good ideas at last fall’s annual Class Officer Day. Bill uses the College’s archives to search for articles about his classmates published in past editions of the Weekly and the Gustavian and includes that information in his class letters. As a class officer, Bill says, “I really enjoy reconnecting with people I haven’t seen for a long time or didn’t know before.”
Bill also uses pictures that he finds or receives from his classmates as an important part of his letters. “When you get to be our age and have people you haven’t seen for a long time, you wonder what they look like now,” Bill says. During his class’s highly rated 50th reunion last spring, he found that he “didn’t recognize a lot of people—until they spoke. Their physicality had changed but not their voices.”
A little bit of Bill’s background, in his own voice:
“I’m a 1962 Brainerd High School graduate. I arrived on the GAC campus in 1962, (one of 375 others), in awe of the school, but wondering how I was ever going to pay the exorbitant expense of $1470. Many hours of washing dishes for the iconic Ma Young solved the problem, and, four years later, I was one of 257 proud members of the class of in 1966 to receive a diploma. With my education major, I spent 30 years teaching art, physical education, and health (in Hoffman Estates, Illinois as well as in Mankato and Albert Lea, Minnesota). My teaching was interrupted from 1969–1972 when Uncle Sam requested (demanded) my service in the Army. After my active duty time, I returned to the classroom, but also extended my military service part-time with the National Guard for another seven years.”
Bill and his wife have two daughters, one of whom is a Gustavus graduate (’96). In 2003, they moved to St. Peter to help babysit grandchildren in the area. “We have been very pleased with the move, which has enabled us to become a big part of our grandchildren’s lives. We also enjoy living in a college town with the functions and services Gustavus provides.”
Bill, thanks for your service to Gustavus and the class of 1966!