George Street Athletics building: gone. College Inn: gone. Goodie House restaurant: gone. Many of the buildings my wife, Pam, and I were familiar with at the College are no longer around, but one place that still is and will always be around, no doubt, is Randolph Hall.
Both geology majors, Pam and I met on a field trip with Dr. Jim Carew to the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Not only did we find great examples of Pleistocene carbonates, but we also found love, and have been married for 34 years.
We spent a lot of time at other locations on campus, but to us, Randolph Hall is the bedrock of our undergraduate life. Some of the first classes we attended were held in the third-floor classrooms, which featured wooden floors and desks, windows that opened onto the Cistern Yard and chalkboards.
The ground floor of Randolph Hall was Administration and Registration then, so we also spent time there making class changes. The Veteran’s Administration office was there as well, so that was another reason for visiting, since I was a Navy veteran when I entered the College in 1977. Every semester required that I spend some time visiting the VA officer. Another fond memory I have of Randolph is the time my fraternity (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) became a recognized chapter with a ceremony in Alumni Hall.
Finally, there was the grand procession down the stairways to the Cistern Yard for graduation. Sitting there among the live oaks in front of Randolph Hall with its beautiful façade and columns is something we will never forget and are reminded of every time we visit the College from our home in Leesville, S.C.
Randolph Hall truly is like our home away from home at the College.
– Paul Bergstrand ’81 & ’84
Paul Bergstrand ’81 & ’84 also earned a marine biology degree at the College. He and his wife, Pam ’83, both worked as geologists for the State of South Carolina before recently retiring.
