Grinnell Connections

The Lambs and Nyhart in a group photo, arms around each other

Left to right: Cliff Lamb, Norma Lamb, Bonny Neyhart ’75

I always look forward to reading The Grinnell Magazine and am often touched by the “Grinnell Connection” stories. What follows is a brief piece concerning the chance meeting of three people whose connection to Grinnell spans three generations:

Taking a break from helping her friend Michael move into his recently purchased house in rural northern California, Barbara (Bonny) Neyhart ’75 set out to introduce herself to the neighbors. Bonny’s persistence was rewarded by what has become a close friendship with Grinnell-connected neighbors Norma and Cliff Lamb. Over the few years since their meeting, Bonny, Michael, and the Lambs have often gathered to watch political debates, share meals, and support one another during power outages, fast-moving wildfires, and mandatory evacuations.

Norma attended Grinnell in the early 1950s as an exchange student from a historically Black college. Norma remembers that she had to travel from Grinnell to Des Moines to find someone capable of styling her hair and that many of her sheltered Grinnell dormmates were puzzled when Norma’s skin tone didn’t lighten after she showered.
Cliff, a retired psychiatrist and musician, is a Grinnell “chip” whose father, Arthur Clifford Lamb, attended Grinnell in the earlier half of the last century.
 

Author Info: 
Bonny Neyhart ’75
Davis, CA
United States
Issue: