Letters to the Editor

The Grinnell Magazine reached a new high with the Spring 2023 issue by generously featuring the careers of George Drake ’56 and national cancer authority Craig Henderson ’63. A “bonus” was the story about Black student “pioneer” Edith Renfrow Smith ’37. Who’d have thought it?

I was a student at Grinnell, a few years behind George Drake, but certainly knew of him and admired him. He was a smart, handsome, outgoing man, full of ideas and kindness, a man who left a lasting impression.

Reading Melanie Drake’s article brought back fond reminiscences of my friendship with George. I met George when he first assumed his Grinnell presidency. I became SGA president the same year, 1979–80. I had a weekly “chat” with him regarding students, the campus, and whatever was on our minds. As Melanie expressed, George was always interested and present.

Melanie also mentioned the great sense of humor George had. I can attest to that, too. When I first met George, I was a bit nervous and unsure how to address him. After I had referred to him at least a half a dozen times as “President Drake,” he looked at me with his friendly smile and said in his easygoing voice, “Well President Kramer, you can call me George. And if it’s okay with you, I’ll call you David.” The tension immediately disappeared, and we had plenty of laughs after that.

George was a great man who lived life to its fullest, while giving so much back. Most of us could never fill his shoes, but at least we had the opportunity to meet and attempt to emulate a man who shined as a humane, intelligent, hardworking, service-oriented human being affecting so many people in so many positive ways.

Thank you, Melanie, for reminding us of what a great man your father was. Thank you, George. May you rest in peace.

That Professor Sheila McCarthy conducted a 36-student class in the fall semester of 1980 as an engaging, affirming, and challenging discussion still stands out — over a lifetime of working and studying at colleges — as the ideal way to teach college students. Modern Russian Literature had so many students that fall because Sheila was a popular and caring professor who would rather adjust her teaching style to 36 students than cap the class at a smaller, more Grinnell-like number. 

I started the course with a passion for Dostoevsky and left it transformed by the unforgettable ways McCarthy brought us into the literary world of Russia in the 19th century. I still remember her telling us the significance of Ivan Karamazov’s devil speaking in French and how Turgenev was derided by his literary peers as more European than Russian. I also remember being very sad when the class came to an end, the way that you are sad when you know you have experienced something special that may never happen again. 

It is hard to imagine a college professor anywhere who was better than McCarthy at conveying passion for her subject, at pacing and communicating its complex material in clear and vivid ways, and at showing a genuine interest in each of her students. 

I was sorry to learn of her passing and wanted to pay tribute to her life by sharing these memories that have lived on for more than 40 years.