HOTSHOT

Name: Marty Honeman
Class Year: 1943
Major: Home Economics, minor in Biology
Current Occupation: Retired

1. Favorite Hill memory as an undergraduate
Meeting my husband who was a captain of the basketball team in 1941. We married in 1943 and have since been married 58 years.

2. Favorite Hill weekend activity
The fun time spent in the clubroom with my sorority sisters. Also, walking down to Margaret and Earl's for 5 cent sodas and 15 cent ham salad sandwiches.

3. Name someone from WMC, whether a fellow classmate, professor, or staff member, who has inspired you. Why?
My roommate who I lived with the last two years of college, Janice Horsey. She was a good student who was also a Home Economics major, who helped me and motivated me scholastically.

4. Do you return to visit the college often?
Yes, I live right down the road from the school. I enjoy walking up to and around the campus a few times a week for my exercise. I also attend events such as Reunion Weekend. My youngest son, Gary graduated from WMC in 1977. He too met his wife here, Mary, during his matriculation. (Editor's note: Her husband gave her a gold Volkswagon Beetle for her 80th birthday and she has been known to bring it for a "test drive" or two around campus to show off her new car.)

5. A strong tie to the Hill...
What's interesting is that my husband and I keep in touch with many "WMCers". We just got back from Europe, where we traveled with former classmates. How many colleges are there that have alumni that stick together like this?

Click here to to see Marty and her "Bug"...

When Staci asked me to write a goodbye address, all I could think about was amazing shape the Gold Bug has taken over the last two years. So I hope you won't mind if I take a moment to reflect on the short history of the Gold Bug online newsletter.

The Gold Bug actually began as the Young Alumni Newsflash, a brief email that listed the alumni events every month. After about six months the audience of about 50 got hungry for more, so I began to search for a new format. But first, the online newsletter needed a catchy name - something that would really connect our alumni back to WMC. After doing some research on the College, I noticed that the first student newspaper was the Gold Bug. The Gold Bug has long since been retired and replaced with new newspapers like the Phoenix, which is the voice of students today. And then it clicked...why not name the alumni online newsletter after the first College newspaper? It was then that the Gold Bug was reborn.

Next on the agenda was to build a strong online newsletter, so I contacted the Phoenix to request abstracts of news and sports articles. Soon, the Gold Bug took shape in a plain text format featuring WMC news, sports, and alumni event information on a bi-weekly basis. Within months of releasing the Gold Bug, our loyal audience had grown three times to over 150!

Now, here we stand, over two years later with loyal Gold Bug virtual audience of over 600 alumni worldwide; some as far away as Alaska and as close as Westminster, Maryland. The Gold Bug also boasts new colorful web graphics and is completely student written and published each issue. So alumni are getting the scoop on WMC from people actually living the same experience they lived hopefully not too long ago.

So that's it for me. Truly, it has been a wonderful experience publishing the Gold Bug, but now I'm making the transition from staff to alumni volunteer. The Gold Bug staff along with the Alumni Office staff will take the Gold Bug to its next evolution. Happy reading and best wishes!

WMC Alum Sets the Field Ablaze, Scoring the First Touchdown for her Team
by Staci L. George '03

Editor's Apology: This article was supposed to appear in the last issue, however, something went astray in cyberspace. We apologize for this error.

WMC is ablaze with many talented and widely known alumni, but most of you may have known that already. Gina Schnell '94 is one such catalyst, as she and her team The Baltimore Burn toss around the pigskin in the Women's Football League (NWFL). Her team is one of ten teams in the League.

A few days after this interview was conducted, the Alumni Office got word that Schnell had scored a 75 yard touchdown, the first offensive touchdown for her team.

Schnell, a WMC Phi Sigma Sigma alum and former member of the WMC women's lacrosse team, majored in sociology with a special focus on criminal justice, and is once again learning what it means to be a part of a team.

"I enjoy belonging to a team of motivated women, [where] everyone is putting their individual talents together to create the team," she said. "I have met a lot different women that I may not have ever met otherwise."

Schnell decided to try out for the Baltimore Burn because it was "something new" and gave her "a chance to use my athletic abilities."

This wide receiver and kicker of extra points declares the first home game of the season as her favorite moment. A huge crowd of about 850 people--including her husband Chris (WMC class of '95), her 4-year-old son Kieran, her 1-year-old daughter Cierra, and her in-laws--were in the stands. Schnell said she felt so proud when her name was announced during her introduction and she ran out to the field to accompany her teammates.

She named Barb Horneff, dean of the first-year program, as the person who has inspired her the most because, "She has taught me to believe in myself and to never give up."

She also said that the biggest thing she learned in college is how to budget time and all the joys of being "independent." While in college, she juggled many college activities including athletics and sorority events, and the scholastic element of college life. Currently, she juggles running a house and spending time with her family who reside in Reisterstown, running, lifting weights, and being part of the Baltimore Burn.

As an alumna, she keeps in contact with her some of her sorority sisters and other classmates, and enjoys returning each fall for Homecoming.

Read more about the Baltimore Burn...

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
Good-bye Virginia!!! uh...hello Kentucky???? We are so close to being out of the Appalachians SO CLOSE We got in Kentucky on Sunday. We rode ninety miles Saturday with lots of mountains. Sunday night we had some visitors at our campsite, from 10:30 until midnight we were trying to protect our food from the raccoons that had stolen our bread and rice cakes. So much for getting a long good night's rest. The days are getting hotter so we have to ride in the morning, take afternoon breaks and then finish in the late afternoon-early evening. Yesterday we just happened to pass a water park and stopped in. The news was doing coverage on how hot it was and we thought we had a pretty interesting story so we went up to the reporter and she put us on the news. Things are going pretty well overall, we are trying to make up for the time that we lost but we don't want to miss seeing the country. We are probably going to end up going to Oregon, instead of through the desert, and then down the pacific coast to San Francisco. It adds some miles but we won't have to go through a couple of days where it is ninety miles and absolutely no services or shade. Also, Kentucky people are worse than Virginia drivers and they have no patience. ARRGGGHHH!!! WE are thinking of you all and love to hear how you are doing. Keep the messages coming...

THURSDAY, JUNE 14
HELLO EVERYONE--GUESS WHAT!!! NO MORE APPALACHIANS!!!! We are now done with the Appalacians and even closer to coming home!!! We stayed in a place called Booneville last night. We rode sixty miles today. It is just beginning to thunderstorm here. Ninety degrees....thunderstorms....ninety degrees....thunderstorms....weather--make up your mind. Hopefully it will be pretty flat up until the Ozarks in Missouri, and they are just steep, not too big. We both got bit today by bugs, they were all over the place. We are in Berea right now and they have Berea College with 1500 students and a pretty big campus. Bigger than WMC (not including the golf course). We were in the middle of absolute nowhere and did not even see a gas station for at least forty miles. We are having a good time and I think more rejuvenated now that we are done with the APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS. Hope to hear from you!..

TUESDAY, JUNE 19
We are 12 miles from state #4, Illinois. We are having a great time still. We met up with another cyclist, Jen, and she was looking for people to ride with because her group was going to slow--ha, we are fast riders. We are keeping on track now, doing about 65-70 miles a day. We should be home around early August. We are definitely going to Oregon. It will take a little longer but we will be safe and healthy. People coming from the West say that the scenery is incredible and all the stuff here is boring. I am kind of excited. Gosh--I cannot believe we have been on the road for this long. The Rockies are just around the corner. We have to hit the Ozarks in Missouri first but we should be there around Thursday or Friday...

SATURDAY, JUNE 23
WE ARE WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI !!!!! Right now we are in Cape Girardeau, MO. We had to go off route because once again our bikes are having problems. I can quote about 7 bicycle shops now "You don't have the right bikes for touring." Oh well. The girl, Jen, is still with us, and she's okay. We stopped in Chester, IL before crossing into Missouri. It is the birthplace of Popeye and has the prison that serial killer John Wayne Gacy stayed. Nice, eh?? This Cape Girardeau place is pretty nice; it's the biggest city that we have visited. I think it has a small New Orleans feel to it. We hope all of you are doing well and would really like to hear back from all of you.

TUESDAY, JUNE 26
Hello all--I was really hoping that I would not have to do this. Unfortunately, Steve and I have to end our trip. We have had a feeling this might happen with all the problems we have been having with our bikes since Virginia. We did not want to spend an insane amount of money on bikes and the bike dealers told us that we would be fine and have no problems. Well, we have spent an insane amount of money on going to bike shops at least once a week, a lot of times twice. GIANT (the brand) could help us out but after the paperwork and everything, we could not receive the bikes until August (maybe next year). The biggest thing all the bike shops said is that going over the Rockies could be possible if we went to a bike shop at least twice a week because of all the stress on the bike. Don't get me wrong, we have great bikes, just not for touring the country. I am terribly sorry and I hope all of you enjoy your summer.

Talk to you later, Steve and Shell

Check out more info on Heroes for Hopkins.
More updates from Shelley and Steve next issue.

Alumni Orioles Bird Bash 2
This sold out event is only days away. Forgot to get tickets this year? Don't worry the Gold Bug will be there getting pictures and the full scoop, since you missed the game, be sure not to miss the next issue of the Gold Bug!
Details on the Bird Bash...

More info on the September 9th Ravens Bird Bash #2 is forthcoming. There will be a pregame party before the Ravens take on the Bears - stay tuned for more details!

Be warned, this is not the show for those who have a laughing phobia or fear the sudden attack of the giggles. Joking Apart is a Britsh comedy by Alan Ayckbourn, its jokes are pure British wit, and as an American, what I find amusing is trying to figure out if something was meant to be a joke or if the joke was on me and there was no joke--that I laughed at the wrong moment!

That said, sit back, relax, and pretend you are in the understage of Alumni Hall watching the play unfold.

Joking Apart has a cast of eight talented actors who portray eleven characters (huh, you say...well, one actor, Nell Teare, plays four different girls. One of the jokes is that this guy Brian keeps changing girlfriends, but they all look alike). Anyhow, the two main characters are Richard (Brad A. Makarowski) and Anthea (Dana Parker Benninson). A priest named Hugh (Ryan F. Bergeron) and his wife Louise (Carolyn K. Castiglia) move in next door in 1989 and are still living next door to them in the present day. Sven (Ryan Murray) and Olive (Jeanne Favara) make several long journeys to visit Anthea and Richard. And then there is Brian (Will Woodrow) who after several years is still in love with Anthea and can do nothing but settle for an unfilling dating life.

As I sat there, I must have laughed every twenty seconds. If not, I worried that something may have gone over my head, thus missing the punchline. Oh an let me know if Hugh steps in the water during Act 1 Scene 2. I could not figure out if that was a part of the blocking or a mere accident he played off of.

Directed by Elizabeth van den Berg, a Western Maryland College theatre professor, the play deals with many larger social concerns. In her director's notes, van den Berg notes that such domestic problems and interpersonal issues of the characters include neediness in relationships, coping with failure and envy, and escaping from potentially destructive relationships.

That said, it should be reminded that even in the theatrical realm, problems do exist and when they do, a sense of humor and laughter is just what the doctor ordered.

Don't wait until July 4th to see fireworks (a.k.a. Bangers to the Brits!) Come celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with Anthea and Richard. They may even let you taste a bite of their homemade soup. Don't worry, there are no actual explosions inside Alumni Hall, just special effects at their best. Stick around after intermission and party with Anthea and Richard on Boxing Day. Be sure to save some laughter for the jokes and events that happen at Debbie's (Nell Teare) 18th birthday party.

But most of all, be sure to interrupt the laughing and dose of the giggles to give a round of applause at their curtain call.

Hurry, there are only two show dates left: June 30 and July 1. All shows start at 8 p.m. and tickets are $16 for adults and $15 for senior citizens/students.

Tickets for Joking Apart and other Theater on the Hill performances can be purchased at the Hill Box Office: 410-857-2448.

Look for the next issue of the Gold Bug on Friday, July 13, 2001.