By Anne McClure Furry, ‘56
Growing up in Glens Falls, New York, my musical growth was guided by Maurice Whitney, a wonderful composer, musician and teacher who was educated at Ithaca College. He encouraged me to attend Ithaca College to study Music Education. I shall be forever grateful for that advice! I applied and was accepted with a small scholarship, and arrived at Hilliard House in early September, 1951, full of excitement and high expectations for my studies and dorm living. I was fortunate to have a wonderful senior room mate, Marge Watson, whose warm friendship and help guided me in my transition into the college environment.
The “campus” for the college at that time was distributed in buildings scattered from State to Court Streets and Aurora to Cayuga Streets with dorms on Buffalo, Seneca and Cascadilla Streets, but I never felt that IC was a “disconnected” campus. Many of the courses and activities were centered on Dewitt Park where the Music Building and the Little Theatre were situated. Women students ate at the Dining Hall located on the corner of Tioga and Buffalo Streets. We always ate the evening meal in our dorm group with our House Mother presiding at the head of the table. At these gatherings, we formed friendships and shared the news of the campus. Dorm life was great; we had freedom to move around the halls without worrying about who might see us! The one inconvenience that I recall was the fact that there was only one phone on the first floor which served all residents; I lived on the second and third floors in the two years I was there - a lot of running up and down stairs to take calls!
The greatest pleasure in attending IC was the realization that I was studying the subject matter I loved with fellow students who were as engaged as I in learning about music! I recall many professors with fondness and admiration, too many to list here. These professors demonstrated a passion for teaching and communicating with their students that epitomizes the IC experience. One, Howard Rarig, invited a few of us to his home on Sunday afternoons to play our minor instruments in ensembles. There was a consistent atmosphere of camaraderie and encouragement in the pursuit of teaching and learning among faculty and students that was all inclusive and bonding. I always felt I could access my House Mother, Mother Albee, and the faculty for advice.
I met my husband, then a junior at Cornell, at the Hilliard House Open House in the fall of 1951 and was married after he graduated in June, 1953. I completed my studies and received my Bachelor’s degree in January, 1956, with the help of Doctor Dillingham, who approved an interest free loan for me. I shall be forever grateful to him for this support.
My husband and I remained in Ithaca where he became a professor of agricultural engineering at Cornell, retiring after 42 years of teaching and serving his final four years as department chairman. I taught vocal classroom music for twenty years, serving 14 years as music coordinator/teacher in the Ithaca City School District, and 14 years as Deputy Mayor and Mayor of our village of Lansing. We have three children. I am grateful for the opportunity Ithaca College has given me to practice a most rewarding profession in the stimulating, educational community of Ithaca. As I look back, I realize that the opportunity to study at IC has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. My husband and I are participants in the Friends of Ithaca College which provides scholarship support to IC students.
