The Personal Touch
Bartley on Frost
Reprinted from the Spring 1980 edition of HCC's Alumni Bulletin, an issue dedicated to George E. Frost, HCC's first president, upon his retirement as the college's first director of the college's Alumni Association.
By DAVID M. BARTLEY '54
For the past 34 years, George E. Frost has been connected with Holyoke Community College. Indeed, for most of that period, he symbolized what the Holyoke Community College experience was all about for many of us.
George was father, teacher, counselor, and friend to thousands of young men and women. By college age, we begin to be masters of our own destiny. However, it was great to be part of HCC because, if you needed help or guidance or just plain encouragement, George Frost was there to help you:
"Yes, you will make it" ... "Keep up the studies" ... or if it was a math question, "See me in my office at 5."
George Frost gave a precious gift – that of himself – to those who needed it. He treated HCC as an extension of his family. The care, respect, joy, and, yes, sadness found in our family affairs was all part of this remarkable man and his generation of service and love for HCC.
The stability and greatness of an institution depends on its foundation. George Frost has given to HCC a legacy of educational excellence. The phrase "the personal touch" embodies the feeling George Frost gave to HCC students.
I was one of thousands who experienced his special presence during the important formative years, and it made me realize what a great teacher could mean in the life of a college student.
Born and raised in Holyoke, David M. Bartley '54 was president of HCC from 1975 to 2003.
PHOTO: David M. Bartley '54
