Dick and Doree did not go to college together, but they met and married in the same school year that they each graduated. Doree graduated from Mt. San Antonio Junior College with an AA degree, and Dick graduated from Claremont Men’s College with a BA degree in Accounting. The graduations took place in June 1951, the month after they were married.
The above photo was most likely taken during Dick’s time in college. We have no photos from the graduation events or portraits of the grads. What we have instead is a lot of wedding photos – probably a lot more important!
This card may be congratulating Dick on his graduation or on his wedding – it’s not clear. But I recognize some of the names here, since they remained Dick & Doree’s friends for many years. We would see them when they came to our home for the bridge club. The bridge club members included Norm Anderson, Dick Secord, Arnold Binney, Alan Koch, and Don Votaw – along with their wives, of course. At the bottom of the card are signatures of Dick’s dad Harold (A.H.) and uncle Clayton (E.C.).
Above is the program from Doree’s commencement. If you click on the image, you’ll be able to read her name in the list of students. Note that she was not able to get them to put her married name in – she was listed as Doree Martin even though the wedding had already taken place.
This is the only evidence I’ve ever seen of my dad singing in public. It’s the men’s glee club (yes, in those days all men’s choirs were called “glee clubs”) at Claremont Men’s College in March, 1950. Dick is in the second row, center. Other recognizable faces are Don Votaw, standing just behind and right of Dick; Dick Secord, next to Don on the right; and Norm Anderson, front row third from right.
This photo is in poor condition, but it’s the only one we have from Dick’s college life. He is seated on the left in the card game. Norm Anderson is directly opposite, second from right.
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