Spring 2025 / Features

In Memory of Donald F. Bletz H’20, Ph.D.: The Lasting Legacy of a Decisive Leader

By Sandra Huffman ’86

All photos provided by the C. Elizabeth Boyd ’33 Archives.

The Wilson College community mourns the loss of Donald F. Bletz H’20, Ph.D., interim president from 1979 to 1981 and professor emeritus of business and government, who passed away on January 13, 2025, at age 99. Often noted for his organized, calm, and practical leadership, Bletz shared these traits with his students, and he exhibited them as president.

“Dr. Bletz stepped up to lead Wilson during one of her most challenging moments, and we are grateful for all he did to help Wilson through that pivotal time in her history. His love for Wilson and her students was a part of his DNA. The Wilson family joins me in mourning the loss of this outstanding leader,” shared Wilson President Wesley R. Fugate, Ph.D.

Bletz joined the Wilson faculty as an associate professor of political science in the fall of 1975 and for two years worked part time as assistant to the president. He took on a pivotal role after the near closing of the College in 1979 when he accepted the position of acting president immediately following the court reversal of the decision to close in May.

As acting president, Bletz met with every constituency at the College to plan and, in November 1979, the Trustees appointed him interim president for a term ending in June 1981. Nancy Adams Besch ’48, Trustee Emerita and former chair of the Save Wilson Committee—the ad hoc committee of the Alumnae Association that filed the court petition to stop the closure—said “Don was such a force at Wilson from the moment he stepped foot on campus! He filled the role of Interim President during a challenging time and did so with grace, wisdom, and an unwavering commitment to the students, faculty, and staff.”

Left to Right: Photo from the 1979 Conococheague yearbook, and articles from the Public Opinion newspaper, May 29, 1979 and November 5, 1979.

Bletz spent much of his time in the president’s office rebuilding the College. After the initial announcement of the closure, half the faculty accepted other appointments, some administrative offices stood vacant, and the College was operating with a large budget deficit and a depleted endowment. Admissions activities had ceased, and only two-thirds of the student body returned for the fall semester. Bletz hired a new administrative team that worked closely with the Save Wilson Committee on admissions and fundraising, and he reestablished a working relationship with the Presbyterian Church of the USA.

Dr. Bletz minutes after leaving the May 1979 Board meeting in which he was asked to serve as acting president. Photo by Gretchen Van Ness ’80 who ran into him outside Norland Hall and took the photo without knowing what had just taken place. From the 1980 Conococheague yearbook.

The rebuilding process also brought opportunities. New majors were added to the curriculum, including economics, business administration, dance, communications studies, veterinary medical technology, and equitation management. Certificate programs in equitation and athletic coaching were also offered. Bletz helped create the Wilson equestrian program when he encouraged his friend, Colonel Alfred “Bud” Kitts, an award-winning rider, instructor, and international judge, to develop and strengthen what was then called the equitation program. (Bletz knew Kitts from their joint time at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where they both served their last Army tours of duty.)

From the 1989 Conococheague yearbook.

“Dr. Bletz was one of a kind in the classroom – engaged in open conversations with his students, shared his personal experiences, had a practical approach, and as down to earth as they come,” said Cheryl Wilhite Green ’78.

Working in private higher education was a second career for Bletz, who enlisted in the U.S. Army the same day he graduated from high school in 1943 and served in Europe, northern Italy, Korea, and Vietnam. He received a military education at the U.S. Army Infantry School and Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the National War College. He also spent the 1971 academic year as an

Official presidential portrait.

Army Fellow at the Harvard University Center for International Affairs. His nonmilitary education included a bachelor’s in history from the University of Omaha, a master’s in international relations, and a doctorate in international studies from American University.

His military career included several faculty assignments, and it was this teaching experience that led him to seek a position in civilian academia. He retired after 32 years of service with the rank of full colonel in 1975. His son Michael said, “My father committed himself to teaching and was fond of Wilson and her students. He was proud to be a part of the College.”

Bletz continued working at Wilson when his interim presidency ended in 1981, teaching full-time and serving six years as head of the business and economics department. The Board of Trustees recognized Bletz for his service as president when they established the Trustee Award for Distinguished Service, the highest non-academic honor presented by the College. Mary-Linda Merriam Armacost, president of the College from 1981 to 1991, said “Dr. Bletz was serving as Interim President when I was selected and arrived as president. I remember him saying to me, ‘Mary- Linda, I will support you and (will) stay out of your way.’ And he did! What a gentleman and a scholar! I remember him fondly.”

Patricia and Donald Bletz on the porch of Norland Hall.Upon his retirement from Wilson in 1995, the College established The Donald F. Bletz Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award is presented annually to three members of the current faculty in recognition of their dedication to Wilson College. Deborah Austin, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and associate dean of academic advising, who joined the Wilson faculty in 1985, said “I have the utmost respect and admiration for Don Bletz. When I started my career at Wilson, I found him to be a strong role model. He offered guidance and encouragement. I appreciated his insight and perspective on issues raised at faculty meetings. It was clear why he served the College well as the interim president. The annual teaching award could not have been named in honor of a more deserving faculty member.”

“I had Dr. Bletz for many classes, and I still share stories of his classes with my students,” said Mary Catherine Nicolette Keating ’89, modern world history high school teacher in Va.

From the 1977 Conococheague yearbook.

At the 2004 Reunion, Bletz received the Alumni Association of Wilson College Faculty Award for his contributions during and after the near closing. The AAWC also named him an Honorary Alumnus in 2020.

He and his wife, Patricia, who died in 2012, were married for over 63 years. His granddaughter, Caitlin Kennell Kim, graduated from Wilson in 2004 with a major in women’s studies.

“Don will be truly missed. But his positive influence on the Wilson College community, and for those of us who were lucky enough to know and work with him closely, will always be remembered,” said Besch.

Processing Life with Roses and Bees

By Sandra Huffman ’86

When Philip Lindsey, M.F.A., professor of fine arts, first thought about applying for a sabbatical, he knew he wanted to continue his work on the language of non-objective painting, which he has been pursuing for over 25 years. His mother had died during the summer before he applied, so he was already exploring ways to include the themes of grief, illness, death, and reconciliation in his art. His mother’s illness and death had been a long and difficult journey for Lindsey and his family, which made him realize that his work needed also to explore his relationships with both of his parents. When his sabbatical was approved for spring 2024, the work he ultimately created invites viewers to engage with the emotional narratives embedded within each piece.

“Art is a marriage between what is in the artist’s heart and what is in the artist’s mind. I’m trying to find a space where I can explore both,” said Lindsey, as he described his paintings and drawings created during spring 2024. Fifteen pieces of this work were curated for an exhibit in the Cooley Gallery of the John Stewart Memorial Library from July 2024 through January 2025. The exhibit, titled “Passages: New Work by Philip Lindsey,” presented a profound exploration of loss and grief through the lens of contemporary art. Curated with help from the Wilson Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) students in residence during the summer 2024 session, the exhibit provided an interdisciplinary way to showcase Lindsey’s sabbatical journey.

Lindsey said he wasn’t really trying to make many pieces during his sabbatical. Instead, his goal was to work on several things and look for a way to tie them together. The first painting he worked on was based on the last photograph he took of his mother, a companion piece to a portrait he painted of his father when he died a few years earlier. Both paintings feature the subjects in front of landscapes created by the artist. “My parents loved the outdoors, liked to go outside. My father was a scoutmaster for 60 years. I was an Eagle Scout. My brother was an Eagle Scout. The outdoors were very important to us. I thought that would be a great setting for him.”

The collection also includes a self-portrait that Lindsey said wasn’t part of his sabbatical plan, but during the winter months he had seen several self-portraits by the artist Käthe Kollwitz that inspired him to consider working on one himself. He started by sketching a few mirror-portrait drawings in his studio which led him to tackle a large-scale oil on canvas that features the artist and his paintbrushes.

As Lindsey continued to work through the semester, he dove into abstract painting. “The heavy work was about grief and sort of finding one’s way through loss. That kind of went into the abstract,” said Lindsey. During this time, he started writing letters to his parents; sometimes deep and personal letters, and other times simple birthday wishes or messages to say he was thinking of them. These letters were added to the abstracts but were eventually painted over. Lindsey explained, “With these paintings, we see what’s left, and there are paintings underneath that I obscured.” The text is there, but no longer entirely visible, which is a reflection on the loss of his parents.

A piece of her and what once stood
Once stood as a vibrant token of love and of life
A dedication to this earth
Now fades to black in the misty static of loss
The waking numbness of my grief
My sight and smell obstructed by a blizzard flurry
Cold exposed hands stinging

Your thorns ripped from my fist
I tend to my unhealing wound
In anticipation of Spring
April or June’s warm kiss
Ushering your bloom
Waiting to see you again
Hoping to see her

— Taylor Santoro ‘25 M.F.A.

Slowly, slowly the joys come back
I carry her in an unfamiliar way
As memories fade from helpless to strong
Life passes, time passes, anger builds and surpasses
Part of life as we learn
No more pain, but for who
A sign here, a butterfly there, she is watching
Guiding
While the family uniting
She is whole once again
I’m left to shake the pain
To reconcile

— Bailey Grayson ‘25 M.F.A.

“I made a number of other paintings dealing with grief and loss, looking for private symbols with roses. My mother grew roses, so as a boy, I was charged with taking care of the roses, pruning them, flipping the beetles off them, getting pricked by the thorns, and, of course, scolded by my mother when I didn’t attend to the duties I had been assigned. And so, it became a valuable and important symbol and metaphor for me.”

Another symbol he incorporated was bees. For the last few years, Lindsey often found dead bees on the floor of his studio. At first, he swept them up and threw them away. Eventually, he started saving them. Lindsey chose to add the dead bees to several diptych paintings he made of the roses, mixing them into his paint and attaching them to the surface of the canvas. By including the bees in his mourning process, Lindsey created a symbolic link to life and death. He said, “There is an ephemeral quality to the bees, which which is underscored by our own temporary presence in the world.”

As nature often serves as a backdrop for personal reflection and healing, Lindsey progressed to landscape work as he moved closer to the end of his sabbatical. “The opportunity to paint outside gives me a chance to tap into something that is peaceful,” said Lindsey. “The landscapes are usually these quiet farm scenes, and I just love that. I love the peace that comes with being there. My mind can be quiet, and I focus on the atmosphere, the temperature, the color, the form of the landscape. And it’s a great opportunity to step back and reflect and just focus on what’s in front of me.”

Overall, Lindsey ended up creating over 100 pieces of art during his sabbatical. Selecting which pieces would be included in an exhibition became a unique collaborative project for Wilson M.F.A. students enrolled in the curation and dramaturgy course led by Joshua Legg, M.F.A., dean of the school of professional and graduate studies. The students met with Lindsey to discuss his work, and each student selected one of his pieces to analyze and interpret. The student writing was included in the exhibit and the gallery catalog to create a more personalized experience for the audience. Legg said, “Some of it is creative non-fiction, some of it is poetry, but all of it gives us a really personalized and unique lens to view the individual pieces and then the entire collection from what ends up being a very cohesive perspective.”

Every tear.
Every hug.
Every fall.
Every kiss.
Every song.
Every laugh.
Every dance.
Every, every, every.
A gift of every love I left from me to you.

— Lydia Young-Green ‘24 M.F.A.

As Adam DelMarcelle, assistant professor of graphic design, described the show, “There’s a lot of reconciliation happening in this space. A lot of this work is this conversation that [the artist] is having with himself to reconcile the past with where he’s at now and where he’s going in order to move forward.

Looking through the vast windows of grief takes you into passageways of conflicting feelings. What does one feel when grieving? How do we convey that grief of a loved one when blind love isn’t reciprocated? Sitting by watching the yellowing of a soul dissipate into deep circles of love bruising purples. Reds mixing with rages of oranges exuding feeling of anger and resentment. Take all these feelings and cover up the words that express how I felt for you. Words that I wanted to say but couldn’t get out. Peer into the juxtaposition of the light and the darkness.

— Candis Taylor ’24 M.F.A.

Engaging with History: The PHA Experience

By Sandra Huffman ’86

Connecting with people who work in archives, museums, heritage management, archaeological jobs, and even corporate roles that draw from historical knowledge can reveal the expansive career opportunities available to history students. One way to meet all these professionals is to attend the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Historical Association (PHA), a regional professional event focusing on Pennsylvania and mid- Atlantic history.

Assistant Professor Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon, Anne Wolfrum ’27, Jeremiah Loyer ’27,  Matthew Line ’25, Assistant Professor Maxine Wagenhoffer, and Ciji Holthaus ’22 MET, ’24 MH, attended the PHA conference in October.

This supportive environment also enables students to showcase their work, receive constructive feedback, and build valuable relationships that can serve as a foundation in their future careers. According to Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon, Ph.D., assistant professor of history and ancient world studies, “For students to be able to make those connections, to take the initiative, to expand their networks, it gives them the benefits of what they would get at a larger college or university, while also allowing them to enjoy the benefits of what they get here at Wilson.”

This year, Rock-McCutcheon attended her third PHA conference held October 10-12, 2024, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which centered on “Identity and Politics in the Mid-Atlantic.” While her experience as an ancient Greek and Roman scholar did not lend itself to her presenting at the conference, she was able to help by organizing the student research section of the program. Rock-McCutcheon and Maxine Wagenhoffer, Ph.D., director of the Hankey Center for the History of Women’s Education and assistant professor of history, encouraged several Wilson students to present at this year’s conference. Three undergraduate students summarized their findings visually on posters in the student research section organized by Rock-McCutcheon and one graduate of the master’s program made an oral presentation during a session on “Patriotism and Identity in the Second World War.” Wagenhoffer also presented during a separate session.

The PHA conference not only enhanced student confidence, but it also allowed these Wilson students to engage in a collaborative way with their professors and their future profession. Rock-McCutcheon explained, “The conference is a really good chance for students to meet people from a wide range of professions so they start to get an idea of what they might want to do (with their careers).” Long-term, she hopes that more history students regularly attend the PHA so they can progress each year from observing to presenting. She said, “Last year, we took five students and this year I took four students, but they all gave presentations. I see bright things in the future.”

“Wilson College and Its Effect on the Civil Rights Movement”

Jeremiah Loyer ’27 came to Wilson to pursue a degree in secondary education, but he found greater fulfillment as a history major and now aims to work as an archivist. He serves as treasurer of the Wilson history club and as a student employee at the Hankey Center for the History of Women’s Education. He enjoys attending Wilson’s traditional events and learning about the College’s history.

For his project, Loyer researched the activism of Wilson alumnae Pat Vail ’63 and Judy Walborn ’63 during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, both locally and nationally. He conducted his research primarily in the archives, using resources like the Billboard magazine available online. He expressed interest in continuing to research Wilson’s history and possibly exploring more alumni stories. He is especially interested in graduates from the 1880s.

“Queer History in Franklin County, Pennsylvania”

Anne Wolfrum ’27 demonstrates a diverse academic journey, initially opting for equine studies and later shifting to chemistry due to her father’s experience as a biochemical engineer. Ultimately, Wolfrum’s decision to major in history, complemented by minors in chemistry and ancient world studies, highlights the interdisciplinary nature of her education and her passion for archive work and preservation.

Wolfrum researched the social and political atmosphere in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area and revealed complexities involving the queer community’s history and the implications of being open during the mid-20th century. She used resources available at the Dickinson College archives and found support through connections made during the PHA conference, including a valuable contact for further research on queer history and its intersection with women’s rights and the civil rights movements.

“Native Americans of Pennsylvania: The Cultural Protection and Conservation of the Susquehannock- Conestoga People”

Matthew Line ’25, a history major with a minor in ancient studies, transferred to Wilson from Hagerstown Community College. His PHA project was the first part of his senior thesis project which focused on general history of the Susquehanna Native American tribe prior to European contact. Line has always been interested in indigenous communities and has worked with the Student Conservation Association (SCA), a national organization that helps organize support for underfunded national, state, and city parks. Learning about indigenous communities in a nearby park led him to consider a senior thesis project to design a framework for a Wilson College land acknowledgement statement.

“Women of Wilson College: Wartime Response During World War ||, 1941-1945”

Ciji Holthaus ’22 MET, ’24 MH is a mother of four who returned to college while her husband was in the Marine Corps, completing multiple tours in Iraq. Despite earning a degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, she faced challenges in obtaining certification because of frequent relocations. Finally, when her husband retired, she enrolled in the Teacher Certification Pathways program at Wilson, where she earned her teaching certification in 2018. After a few years, she returned to Wilson to earn a master’s in educational technology and later came back to complete a second master’s in humanities with a concentration in history and material culture. She currently works as a social studies teacher at Fannett Metal High School.

At the PHA conference, Holthaus presented findings from her master’s thesis that focused on what Wilson College looked like during World War II, which stemmed from her personal experience as a military spouse during wartime. “I was doing all the family things, but there were times when I felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” she explained. So, she wondered what Wilson women were doing during the war.

Holthaus used the digitized archives available through the Hankey Center, especially the Wilson Billboard newspaper, as her primary source to paint the story about what the College’s women were doing during wartime. She also analyzed the Gettysburg College newspaper for the same time period in order to make a gender comparison between the two campuses.

What she found was that Wilson was creating leaders out of women in the 1940s. Gettysburg had minimal news about any Red Cross work, while at Wilson, the Red Cross opened a workroom. “Women signed up for hours. They knit bandages for troops and started out with bundles for Britain before the U.S. got involved, but when we got involved, they amped it up,” said Holthaus. She found that the work on campus was so successful because 90% of Wilson’s students in 1942 were involved in the Red Cross.

For Holthaus, the supportive nature of Wilson continues today as she credits current faculty and administrators with helping her follow her passions while still balancing family and work. “I’ve gotten so many opportunities from working with Wilson and that might also be why I keep coming back,” she said. Holthaus aims to continue her research and studies, including a potential doctorate.