Today on MadisonOnline

The Madison Experience in 1961

Liz Sollenberger ('61) shares her Madison memories during Spring Reunion 2006

By Karen Doss Bowman

Liz Sollenberger at the Madison Confessional

Liz Sollenberger at the Madison Confessional

When Liz Gough Sollenberger ('61) was a student at Madison College in the late 1950s, she and her classmates helped to influence Virginia state politics by rallying for a new building to relieve cramped dining facilities on campus.

"I just felt like I was part of history being made," Sollenberger says.

Playing politics

In those days, she explains, students had to sign up for seats in the dining room in Harrison Hall, and there simply were not enough seats for everyone. Those who didn't sign up in time to secure a permanent seat were called "floaters," she says, and during mealtime, "They had to float around, wait until everybody was seated and sit somewhere that somebody was absent."

During one particular meal, she recalls Dean of Women Mr. Wilkins announcing, "I don't care what we have for lunch tomorrow, I want everybody to be here."

The next day, as instructed, the entire student body showed up for lunch, forming a long line of "floaters" who had nowhere to sit. The students were surprised to see that Wilkins and other professors were there with members of the state legislature's finance committee, who determined where to allocate precious monetary resources. The state dignitaries were surprised to see such a crowd.

"When you're in politics, you play politics," Sollenberger says. "That's how we got money from the state finance committee to build Gibbons Hall."

Teacher, church organist, choir director

Though Gibbons Hall [now known by students as D-Hall] was built after she graduated, Sollenberger, a music education major, had opportunity to eat meals in the building when she returned to the university to pursue a master's degree, which she earned in 1975. A retired teacher whose career spanned 34 years, mostly in Shenandoah County, Va., Sollenberger continues working as a church organist -- which she has done for more than four decades -- and choir director.

Enduring JMU spirit

Sollenberger, who returned to JMU for her 45th class reunion in April, was impressed by the expansion of the physical campus since her days at Madison College. Though the campus and its programs have changed significantly since her era as a student, the spirit of the student body is the same, Sollenberger says. Today's Dukes seem just as proud as she and her classmates were.

Giving back to God

From inspiring professors like Lester Bucher and Leeotus Morrison, Sollenberger says her experiences at Madison prepared her well for teaching and being a church musician. Her job as organist and choir director at Woodstock (Va.) Presbyterian Church still involves teaching, as she works with singers who range in musical skills from novice to expert. Serving as a church musician, she says, is her way of giving back to God the talents with which she was blessed.

"When Bach wrote his music ... at the top of the music, he wrote, 'To God Be the Glory,'" Sollenberger says. "As a church musician, that's what you remember. You don't do things for your glory, but you do them for God's glory."

Facing life's challenges

Sollenberger's public school students ranged in age from elementary to high school, and at various points in her career, she taught general education classes, as well as music and Spanish. Teaching got her through one of the most challenging experiences of her life -- the death of her husband Ted when she was just 32 years old. She was left with full responsibility of raising their two young daughters, Katie and Mary.

"Whatever life hands you, you pick up and move forward"

"Whatever life hands you, you pick up and move forward," Sollenberger says.

Reaping the rewards of teaching

Perhaps there was healing for Sollenberger that came from teaching young children and watching them learn and grow. "After you've taught a person, they're always your child," she says. She still runs into former students around town -- one repairs her shoes and another used to give her annual flu shots -- and she enjoys hearing about their families and careers. She's proud of the role she played in their development and "to take them where they are, either through knowledge or musical skills, and take them farther down the road than they were when I started out."

Read a "Reunion Interview" with Liz Sollenberger ('61) in the Fall 2006 issue of Madison (Page 60).

Would you like to share your Madison memories in a reunion interview? If you are attending a reunion in April 2007, contact Madison magazine at madisonmag@jmu.edu, or call (540) 568-7520.

Editor's note:

Liz Sollenberger shared her Madison memories during her 45th class reunion on campus. Don't miss Spring Reunion Weekend 2007. The Classes of 1937, 1942, 1947, 1952 and 1957 are invited to "Bluestone Reunions" April 20-21, 2007. Learn more at www.jmu.edu/alumni.