Reflections Magazine Issue #71 - Spring 2010 | Page 7

Campus Feature

anything like that. There were two kinds of
feelings I had: one was the excitement of
seeing the school again; the other is when
you’re in this rain, which is just relentless.”
Cross-country bicycling is nothing new for
the 67-year-old grandmother. She and her
husband have completed numerous similar trips, including a recent 500-mile trek
through Northern Ireland.

Angela O’Neill Bidlack ’64

The rain was relentless. But so is Angela
O’Neill Bidlack.
It was supposed to be a glorious, pictureperfect return to Siena Heights for the 1964
graduate, who was making her first visit
back to campus in more than 40 years.
Instead, it was an inglorious, drenching,
dreary day more suited for late November
somewhere in eastern Europe rather than
early October in lower Michigan.
However, it was a triumphant return nonetheless for Bidlack, who over five days bicycled nearly 300 miles from her home in
western Pennsylvania to Adrian to participate in Homecoming Weekend festivities
at Siena Heights.
Despite the inclement weather during the
final leg of the journey, a small-but-enthusiastic group of Siena students, faculty and
staff organized by SHU Director of Alumni
Relations Jennifer Hamlin Church were there
to greet Bidlack and her husband, Earl Benner, as they rolled down Siena Heights Drive
at approximately 2 p.m. Oct. 9.
“I was overwhelmed,” Bidlack said of the welcome reception she received, complete with
balloons – and umbrellas. “I didn’t expect

“You wouldn’t attempt a ride like this unless you were a conditioned cyclist,” Bidlack
said. “When we first started I thought five
miles was a really long way to bike. You
bike a little. You bike a little bit more, then
you start to see the things you observe on
a bicycle. … It’s a wonderful, wonderful
way to see a country and meet the people
who are there.”
When deciding to make the trip to Siena
Heights via bicycle, she mapped out a travel
itinerary from her home near Pittsburgh to
Adrian, carefully identifying which roads
to traverse along the way. She bicycled as
much as 76 miles in one day, with her husband traveling ahead by van to meet her
at the scheduled stop for the day. Despite
running into some unforeseen obstacles
(road construction and a flat tire) during
the trip, Bidlack said things generally went
as planned.

Marilyn Smith Zimmerman ’59

Marilyn Smith Zimmerman didn’t arrive on
campus by bicycle, but her return to the
Adrian campus was no less special.
The 1959 graduate was visiting Siena
Heights for the first time since she received
her degree—celebrating her 50th class
reunion during Homecoming Weekend
Oct. 9-11.
“We moved 20 times and I was never around
the area,” said Zimmerman, explaining her
reasons for not coming back to Siena before
this year. “I tried to get back for the 45th
(reunion), but it just didn’t work out. I was
most anxious to come to this one.”
She said she recognized parts of campus,
although she admitted “I don’t know where
I’m going.”
“I’ve heard it was a beautiful campus, and
it is an understatement,” said the retired
business teacher who has four grown children and eight grandchildren. “It’s grown,
and it’s just as friendly.”

“We enjoy it very
much,” said Bidlack,
who retired after a
35-year career as a
financial advisor.
“If you’re walking,
you can smell the smells and see the sights,
but you can’t cover much ground. If you’re
in a car, you’re zooming along, but where
do you park? You can’t stop on a dime.
When you’re on a bicycle, you kind of combine the best of both worlds. You can really
feel the environment. When you stop, you
stop. And you can cover a fair amount of
ground in a day.”

However, reconnecting with her classmates
was her primary motivation to return to
Siena. “They’re just a very special class,” she
said. “Everybody got along.” Marilyn is seen
above (left) enjoying homecoming with
classmates Nancy Bradford Leflar ’59
and Rochelle Bellegarde Weaver ‘59.

Usually on such trips, it’s more about the
journey, not the destination. However, this
time, returning to Siena was a special moment for Bidlack.

“I think everybody should have to take character ed,” she said.

“It’s a totally different feeling,” she said of
her impressions of today’s Siena Heights,
which was an all women’s college when she
attended. “I’ve talked to some of the alums
whose children attended (Siena Heights)
recently, and they’re talking about the differences. I’m impressed. I think they’ve taken
the good parts of the school when I was
there and expanded to fit more in the real
world. … That just shows that somebody
has a lot of foresight.”

Zimmerman was one of 13 non-Catholic
students in her class. Instead of taking theology classes, she took character education,
taught by Sister Leonilla Barlage.

She also remembers the trips to local restaurants and the pinochle games – as well as
the strict rules of dorm living during those
days, including nightly bed checks and
afternoon study. “It was an altogether different world,” she said.
Zimmerman and her husband, a retired
Army officer, currently reside in the Upper
Peninsula and spend their winters in Texas.
She said she enjoyed her visit to campus.
“It’s wonderful,” Zimmerman said. “I’m glad
to be here.” u
Reflections Spring ’10

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