SEPTEMBER 23, 2026 – During one of the dinner gatherings at our 50th college class reunion back in May, my freshman year roommate reached out to greet me. I was overjoyed to see him. “Jim Molleur” hadn’t been on the attendee list that had circulated shortly before the three-day event, and thus, his presumed absence had prompted disappointment; after all, he lives in southern Maine, not more than an hour drive from Brunswick.
What ensued was another one-minute truncated conversation to mix with the other hundred all-too brief exchanges I had with people at the reunion. After brief pleasantries and spousal introductions, I managed to fire off a question: whether Jim and his wife would want to visit us—this fall, perhaps—at our Wisconsin “camp.”
What prompted the invitation, and what I’ve associated with Jim over the past five decades, is one of our earliest exchanges as roommates. In asking me about life in Minnesota—where I lived, what my surroundings were back there—I mentioned our family’s lake cabin in northwest Wisconsin. “Oh, you mean you have a camp,” he said.
To me, the word “camp” meant a campfire and a tent. “No, it’s not a camp,” I said. “It’s a cabin.”
“Yeah, a camp,” Jim insisted.
In good humor we went back and forth on this until Jim explained that what we Upper Midwesterners call a “cabin” (Minnesotans) or “cottage” (Wisconsinites) is called a “camp” by Northeasterners. Fair enough, but forever more, I labeled Jim a “camper,” and I pictured that label on his name tag when we shook hands at the reunion.
We’re now three days into a five-day reunion at the Red Cabin. Our wives, it turned out, wound up with scheduling conflicts, so Jim and I have been talking (and laughing) non-stop to each other. A retired lawyer, Jim and I, a not yet retired lawyer, have had plenty to discuss professionally, but our conversations have covered so many other common interests.
In recent years I’ve reconnected with more classmates; at the reunion, of course, I interacted with more. Now I get to add Jim Molleur to a growing list of classmate-friends who exemplify all the benefits of a liberal arts education. In hanging around him for these past three days, I realize that I need to step up my game. That recognition of “need,” however, is matched by the energy and inspiration to do so.
I’d always respected Jim. In college he was smart, cordial, even-keeled, quick to laugh, hard-working, and determined to make something out of life and its opportunities. But add 50 years of experience to what he was and where he stood at commencement, and Voila! . . . the world is a much better place because of his many contributions to it. Among his other positive attributes, Jim has inspired me to expand my horizons; to follow his keen interest in the study of art and history; to care better for those in need; to carry forth with heightened enthusiasm; to see “wide” when looking at life and to think “deep” when viewing the world. (Cont.)
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© 2026 by Eric Nilsson
