Memories of Cook

My favorite place of all is definitely Passion Puddle because of the many times spent studying, hanging out with friends, or even just spending time alone looking up at the clouds and imagining what doors would open for me upon graduation.

— Sandra Boero (née Loeffler) (CC'89)

The delight the first time I visited Cook—I was so amazed to see a farm and the animals. Who knew something like this is exsisted so close to suburban/urban northeastern New Jersey?

— James Nichnadowicz (CC'83)

Definitely Passion Puddle, hanging out studying and later seeking best management practices to mitigate runoff and eutrophication.

— Martha Maxwell-Doyle (CC'83)

I met my wife the first day at Cook. Been happily married for over 46 years, proving that you got more than a great education at Cook.

— Bruce Clarke (CC'77)

Ag Field Day at Passion Puddle and the Food Science first-floor classrooms where I would hide and study after hours!

— Doug Hatler (CC'86)

Although Passion Puddle is a close contender, I think that the Cook Campus Center and the Trough were definitely the favorites. My roommates worked at the Trough and brought back huge subs at the end of the night to feed their hungry roommates and I worked at the front desk, mainly selling newspapers and stamps and answering questions about various topics on campus.

— Maxine Fox (née Minoff) (CC'87)

I recall walking by the student center in 1994 and reading a banner that read "Come see the Internet!" They had PCs set up and some folks showing you how to type a URL and see gen1 webpages.

— Chris Kerr (CC'95)

I think Cook campus is a magical place. I loved every single minute of my time there. I loved the Newell apartments, and I loved going down to the farm and wandering about. Three years in a row, my roommates and I "adopted" a sheep for Ag Field day and for two years we took home the First Place blue ribbon!

— JoAnn Bertelo (CC'83)

I enjoyed checking out all the student organization tables and booths on Ag Field Day. I remember getting an invitation to pledge Alpha Zeta in my campus mailbox. The rest was history and I got to meet some great people and become more involved on campus than I already was! I also enjoyed putting out the Green Print every week.

— Kristin Tangel (CC'09)

Hiking in Helyar Woods in all seasons, and learning to appreciate the biological diversity of an old-growth forest. The great "streak" event of Spring 1974...from Woodbury Hall to the Douglass Library, over the suspension bridge and back. Over a hundred participants and media from all the NYC TV stations.

— Richard W. Dixon (CC'77)

For my work-study program, I worked for Dr. Raul Cabrera. He was conducting fertility experiments on roses. I vividly remember walking across campus to the greenhouses early in the morning, mist rising from the fields, pigs stirring down the way. To me it was magical.

— Patricia Tyler Dixon (CC'01)

The education offered [at Cook] was an awesome experience. I learned life lessons regarding teamwork, overcoming adversity, and becoming a lifelong learner. I recall how hard it was to leave after graduation because those four years were truly special.

— Maxine Fox (née Minoff) (CC'87)

Passion Puddle, Newell and the Cook Student Center are all favorites. I also fondly remember playing intramural hockey at the Rec Center.

— Uta Vorbach Steinhauser (CC'99)

Before the New Jersey drinking age changed to 21, the Cook/Douglass Pub that was in the Douglass Student Center was always packed on Thursday nights.

— Cindy Rovins (CC'79)

Dean Locandro cooking deer in the pizza ovens in the student center; Beer trucks at Ag Field Day.

— Glen Thomas (CC'87)

I remember the Student Advisors who quickly and efficiently moved us into our freshman dorms. I remember how excited I was to become a student advisor and eventually served as president of the group one year.

— Uta Vorbach Steinhauser (CC'99)

Passion Puddle—It was always a relaxing place to go and all my stress would melt away as I walked by and saw the ducks swimming in the pond. I remember walking around it during freshman orientation.

— Rosalie Bertero (CC'02)

I was in the first class entering Cook College in 1973. I still remember seeing the Newell Apartments for the first time. Six students to a two-bedroom apartment. The apartments had been rushed and when I leaned on the kitchen table, the table-top fell to the floor. Those were the days!

— Bruce Clarke (CC'77)

I must admit, I liked the Cook/Douglass Pub, but Passion Puddle takes the cake. Swimming across Passion Puddle with George Walczyk and John Brooks and ending up in Dean Locandro's office, ha ha.

— William Mandry (CC'77)

I met my wife through the classes we took together: dendrology and botany and forestry field camp. I remember paddling a canoe with her at forestry field camp, and hiking too. We have been married for 39 years.

— James Nichnadowicz (CC'83)

When I was a student from 1979 to 1983 there was a community garden out in the middle of what is now horse pasture and close to the woods. It was a very quiet place where you could escape the stress of student life.

— James Nichnadowicz (CC'83)

The journey from Passion Puddle to the Newell Apartments, because the bus always stopped there forever at 1 a.m.!

— Alicia Six (née MacDonald) (CC'08)

A favorite event was Ag Field Day! I recall pony rides, cockroach races, and all the wonderful farm animals. I attended every year in college and have taken my kids many times...later even when one of my sons was a student at Rutgers.

— Sandra Boero (née Loeffler) (CC'89)

Before it became a regional family attraction, Ag Field Day was an intimate college event. Some of the activities, like the tug of war over the puddle and the cigar-extinguishing activity have gone by the wayside.

— Cindy Rovins (CC'79)

My first Ag Field Day, 1978, bright sunny day, and having Faculty v Student Tug-of-War OVER the Puddle! The day finished with a beerfest (you could drink at 18) at the gym. $10 got you a commemorative mug and all the beer you could drink!

— Tom Struble (CC'81)

Always to this day, I think of Ag Field Day as the best experience. I remember the meetup at the Round House for Animal Selection Night. One year we had a heifer and we came in last place. The next year we had a pig named Honey B Baby and we got Grand Champion!

— Tom Struble (CC'81)

I was a manager at the Cookie Jar. I enjoyed working there.

— Henry Singer (CC'83)

Relaxing and socializing around Passion Puddle between classes.

— Eugene Hamilton (CC'78)

My Starkey apartment was a place of peace for me.

— Catherine Harrison (née Gagliardi) (CC'92)

I met my husband at Cook our freshman year, but it was not until our sophomore year when he lived downstairs from me in the Newell apartments that I actually took notice of him. I was taking entomology that fall and needed to make an insect collection. He brought me an enormous grasshopper and proudly presented it as a gift. I was smitten! We were married in September of our junior year in the Gardens.

— Wendy Wolverton (CC'77)

So many great people and professors. Ag Field Days. Doc Hamilton and Roy DeBoer classes! Cook College Council. Cook Field House and Intermural Sports.

— Martha Maxwell-Doyle (CC'83)

No one has seemed to mention Woodbury Dorm, dedicated for Cook students' housing, and the crazy good times that went on there from Fall of 1973 to Spring of 1974!

— John Brueck (CC'74)

The entire campus was a wonderful place to walk and enjoy the scenery. I fondly remember the Cook Campus Center, where we would gather to watch sporting events on the large-screen TV (before those became commonplace). I remember eating an ice cream and watching the famous "Miracle on Ice" there in 1980 when the US men's hockey team defeated the Russian team. The place went wild.

— Gail Seigel (CC'83)

Mounted patrol is still my favorite job I've ever held!

— Rachel Waltzer (CC'10)

I worked in the on-campus Cook-Douglas Tavern for its first three years back when the drinking age was 18. Door checker/bouncer to bartender to assistant manager. Low wages, even lower tips, and all the beer you could drink...and sometimes all that you could carry back to your Newell apretment. Crazy times.

— Tom Quinn (CC'77)

I met my future wife, Sue, as a co-worker at the Cook-Douglas Tavern. We got married years later at Rutgers Chapel and had one hell of a party/reception at the Log Cabin on the Cook Campus. Still married and having fun 40+ years later.

— Tom Quinn (CC'77)

No matter the major, we all learned to relate our field of study to agriculture and the environment. It's not obvious in student transcripts, yet almost every class included those themes. Math 101 at another school might be just math, but at Cook it was infused with an understanding of how math can help us observe nature, feed the world's population, and preserve the planet. I'm a statistican and still have my undergraduate statistics textbooks filled with examples of agricultural experiments.

— Meta S. Brown (CC'80)