AMHERSTAfter a year of cancellations, rescheduling and virtual events for graduates, Sweet Briar College on Saturday celebrated the first traditional commencement ceremony held by a Lynchburg-area college or university in two years.
Though a bit different from normal with three guests per graduate and mask requirements, the event marked the area s first college commencement of 2021 and the first in-person ceremony since before the pandemic.
With many holding onto their caps during sporadic wind gusts, more than 60 graduates collected various degrees over the weekend.
The Albemarle Pipes and Drums Band played from the end of Quad Drive to where they met students at Benedict Stairs. Students followed behind the band as they led into Upper Quad where commencement was held outdoors.
After a year of cancellations, rescheduling and virtual events for graduates, Sweet Briar College on Saturday celebrated the first traditional commencement ceremony held by a Lynchburg-area college or university in two years.
Though a bit different from normal with three guests per graduate and mask requirements, the event marked the areaâs first college commencement of 2021 and the first in-person ceremony since before the pandemic.
With many holding onto their caps during sporadic wind gusts, more than 60 graduates collected various degrees over the weekend.
The Albemarle Pipes and Drums Band played from the end of Quad Drive to where they met students at Benedict Stairs. Students followed behind the band as they led into Upper Quad where commencement was held outdoors.
May 6, 2021
Dorothy B. Venter
SOUTHBURY – Dorothy Barnum Venter, of Southbury, died peacefully in her home at Pomperaug Woods on April 27, 2021. She was 107 years old, and she lived an incredibly rich and meaningful life.
She was born six years before women were granted the right to vote, a right she never took for granted. She saw Civil War veterans march in parades as a child, survived two pandemics and two world wars, attended college during the Great Depression, and witnessed many world-altering events over the last century.
Born in Naugatuck to the late Earl M. and Louise Hendrickson Barnum, she was a graduate of Naugatuck High School and Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She shared 45 very happy years with her beloved husband, the late Cmdr. Josiah G. Venter, U.S. Naval Academy, 1912.
Dorothy Craig (Barnum) Venter
September 7, 1913 ~ April 27, 2021 (age 107)
Dorothy Barnum Venter, of Southbury, CT, died peacefully in her home at Pomperaug Woods on April 27, 2021. She was 107 years old, and she lived an incredibly rich and meaningful life. She was born six years before women were granted the right to vote, a right she never took for granted. She saw Civil War veterans march in parades as a child, survived two pandemics and two World Wars, attended college during the Great Depression, and witnessed many world-altering events over the last century.
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Born in Naugatuck, CT to the late Earl M. and Louise Hendrickson Barnum, she was a graduate of Naugatuck High School and Sweet Briar College in Virginia. She shared forty-five very happy years with her beloved husband, the late Cdr. Josiah G. Venter, US Naval Academy 1912. Together, they presided over an ever-expanding family from their home on Johnsons Point in Branford, CT, where she was always active gard