Nugents host E/395 reunion in Illinois years ago
Dr. Tim and Jeanette Nugent hosted a reunion Sept. 11-14 for E/395 members in Champaign IL.
Prior to his retirement, Nugent was on the faculty of the University of Illinois and was responsible for the handicapped program which he developed and maintained at the university.
He developed the program to permit handicapped students to obtain a college education. The program is the largest in the country and has spread throughout the world. He is an authority on the subject and has appeared before the Illinois Legislature and the U.S. Congress testifying on behalf of the program. The university has more than 36,000 students.
Nugent opened the university to the E/395 group and they traveled in Champaign MTA buses. They visited a Japan House and participated in a Japanese tea ceremony. The group toured the coliseum including the dressing rooms for Broadway shows, and visited the stadium, which seats 17,000.
They visited the handicap facilities, toured the Krannert Art Center, and toured the football stadium where they took group photos in the middle of the field.
Nugent organized an exhibition wheelchair basketball game exclusively for the E/395 guests. There were 25 students who participated. The students introduced themselves and told where they were from.
Two memorable students included a senior from Australia who said his parents had visited only once because of the long trip. He had been home once, because it was a long trip and difficult for him to travel. He will decide soon whether to stay in the U.S. or make the long trip home.
Another young lady who spoke perfect English said she was paralyzed from the waist down and was there from Finland. She is studying to be a doctor.
The E/395 group stayed on the same floor at the Chancellor Hotel and also had a war room on that floor.
Those E/395 members attending included Bob and Emily Wright, Harry and Margaret Krieger, Walt and Jean Gregonis, Bill and Doris Daley, Bob and Mary Jane Koch, Ken and June Reed, Bud and Ann Romig, Ken Truckenbrod, Taz Nelson, Jim and Laura Johnson, Cary Williams, and hosts Tim and Jeanette Nugent. Lindo Rondini's daughters, Donna Oyaski and Densie Rondini also attended.
Jeanette Nugent prepared dinner at their home for the group and a farewell dinner was held at the Old Lincoln Hotel.
