Victor Galassi (1917-2004) attended New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton from 1935-1938 where he was the Varsity Sports Manager and participated in other school activities. He attended Rutgers in 1939, then entered the military. After WWII, he joined the New Jersey State Police where he retired with the rank of major.
Vivian M. Rolandelli (1911-2003) graduated from New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton in 1930, and was a teacher for 47 years at Elementary School No. 1 in West New York, New Jersey.
Founded in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, The College of New Jersey is the oldest teacher training college in the state and the ninth oldest in the nation. Originally located in downtown Trenton, the college expanded academically and physically, and later moved to suburban Ewing Township in the 1930s.
Over the years, the name of the college has changed to reflect its expanding mission.
New New Jersey State Normal School, 1855-1908New Jersey Normal School in Trenton, 1908-1929
New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton, 1929-1937
New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton, 1937-1958
Trenton State College, 1958-1996
The College of New Jersey, 1996-present
Jessie R. Turk (1920-2009) graduated from Montclair State Teachers College in 1942, then obtained a master's degree from Oberlin College and doctorate from Columbia. She was a Professor of Geography at Trenton State from 1947 to 1982. An oral history interview with her in 1991 is available to view at https://www.njvid.net/show.php?pid=njcore:17492
Head of the Department of Biology at New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton.
Instructor of Speech at New Jersey State Normal School in Trenton.
Iona Jean was born on September 18, 1914 to Howard A. (1875-1966) and Dolina MacKay Fackler (1874-1948). Iona graduated from the New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton in 1937. She received her Master’s from the Teachers College at Columbia University in 1941. During World War II, she volunteered for service on June 29th, 1943. She entered as an Ensign and was later promoted to Lieutenant and finally Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Navy, where she met Ensign (later Lieutenant) William Creed Myers (1916-2009). Iona and Creed married in December 1945 in the Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church. They had four children: Howard Carl, Dolina Jean, Hellen “Holly” Holland, and Frances Fackler.
Soon after graduating from the State Teachers College, Iona joined the Alumni Association and began her long board membership starting in May of 1938. She gained a paid position as Executive Secretary with the Association in June of 1939. In 1941, she lived on campus in Ely House and later, Allen House as Resident Advisor. In 1943, she asked for leave of absence for the duration of the war and six months thereafter to join the U.S. Naval Reserve, WAVES. In 1946, she formally resigned as Executive Secretary of the Alumni Association.
She was the 14th Life Member of the Alumni Association, having received the title in 1955. That year, she returned to the board after leaving for 9 years to raise her children. Through the years, Iona served on every committee the board has had through 1989, but the most important to her were the Investment Committee, then Annual Giving, and finally, the Alumni Scholars. She never served as an officer on the board because chose to serve as an officer in other local groups which took more of her time. In total, she served the Alumni Association for 41 years.
Elizabeth Bodine (1880-1964), was a graduate of the Model School Class of 1898 and Bryn Mawr College. She taught at Trenton Junior High School No. 3 and was an English teacher at Trenton High School. After retiring from teaching, she became a librarian at Trenton Public Library. She was a founding member and honoree of the Trenton College Club (which later became a branch of the American Association of University Women) and served in a variety of civic, cultural, and historical organizations around Trenton. She lived with Gertrude Scudder Bodine and her brother Joseph Bodine throughout their marriage, and then moved with Gertrude to Morrisville, Pennsylvania after Joseph’s death in 1950. Elizabeth died on January 14, 1964.
Louise E. Woodruff Bush was born in 1887 to David Woodruff and Francis or Frances Demond in Morristown, New Jersey. She attended the New Jersey State Normal School where she was president of the Gamma Sigma literary society and studied the Kindergarten course. She graduated in June 1907 and began teaching in East Orange Schools. She married John A. Brokaw in 1914, who died in 1918. She married William H. Bush (1881-1954) in 1924, and a few years later they settled in Chatham, New Jersey. She remained active with Trenton State alumni groups including Gamma Sigma Nu throughout her life. She died in 1963.