Page 12 - NJC Newsletter 2014-Spring
P. 12
R.I.P.
NJC Founder,
Leonard Wilde
1912-1965
10
There once was a gentleman named Leonard Wilde to whom NJC alumni owe an enormous debt of gratitude. He was the man who envisioned, founded, and served as principal of our beloved school, Neuchâtel Junior College.
Once when describing the pace at which a year at the College passed, Leonard Wilde wrote of “a pleasant sense of timelessness,” which he attributed to the intensity with which students explored, learned and matured over the course of the year. With this comment, Mr. Wilde identified a paradox of the NJC experience with which we are all familiar: it was a time in our lives seemingly never to end, and ending far too quickly.
Though most alumni did not have the pleasure of meeting this interesting figure, we can each claim to have a little bit of Leonard Wilde within us. We each shared his adventurous spirit, since, like him, we agreed to leave our respective worlds to set off for what was to be one of the greatest journeys of our lives. Thank you, Mr. Wilde, for dreaming of Neuchâtel Junior College for us.
‘‘Reprinted from Neuchâtel Junior College The First Fifty Years: 1956-2006’’
Neuchâtel Junior College Magazine
