What was your favorite outdoor activity at UVA?
As temperatures start to rise across the country, we asked alumni: What was your favorite outdoor activity at UVA?
“Listening to the real bell ring every hour in the chapel pulled by hand by an employee who sang out loud in a wonderful voice as he carried out his job of picking up trash on the Grounds.”—Whitman “Pete” Cross (Col ’54, Grad ’59)
“In the mid-1960s, trying to avoid Poe, a faculty member’s pet crow, who hung around Alderman Library begging bites of donuts and nipping your ankle if you didn’t comply.”—Dorothy Potter (Grad ’66, ’00)
“Reading Pablo Neruda against one of those beautiful large trees on the Lawn in the spring.”—LuAnn Maciulla McNabb (Col ’79)
“The running track by the baseball stadium, especially at night at Thanksgiving where it was all to myself to run without a shirt in late-November rainy weather.”—Saahil Nanavati (Col ’08)
Alumni cited O-Hill as a favorite spot to get outdoors. Susannah Allen (Educ ’26), pictured, loves mountain biking there, as does Jessica Worsham (SCPS ’21). Lawson Wijesooriya (Col ’02) reminisced about stargazing at the top.
“Walking the Grounds every day and observing Jefferson’s architecture and landscapes.”—Steven H. Hochman (Grad ’70, ’87)
“Walking down the Lawn and just taking in the history and beauty. Of course, the tag football game between the School of Nursing and the architecture school was fun, also.”—Mary Alexander (Nurs ’70)
“Walking from the Rotunda to the Old Dorms.”—Lucius Clay (Med ’79)
“Participating in graduation day exercises on the Lawn, both as a graduate student and later as a faculty member.” —Thomas Pitt (Grad ’76, Darden ’81)
“Playing quidditch in the amphitheater! I’ll always remember a bunch of us running around with Swiffer Sweepers as broomsticks and one person running through the pavilion gardens as the golden snitch.”—Katie Yankoski (Col ’10)
“I recall solitary, late-night walks on the balustraded wings of the Rotunda. I strained to see the darkened Lawn, walls and gardens, and I swore I could feel the spirits of those attending the University before me—perhaps the result of a beer buzz, or fresh cool air playing on an otherwise crowded mind seizing a moment’s pleasure at simply being there.”—G. Robert Jones (Col ’69, Grad ’80)
“I loved to run to Chris Greene Lake from my Lambeth Field apartment. We would only do it though if we knew that there was someone also going that would give us a ride back. It did happen once or twice that we had to run back. The run back was not a great memory, especially if we had enjoyed a few beverages at the lake.”—Pete Polonsky (Com ’82)
“Intramural sports! I remember lots of soccer, touch football, softball and ultimate Frisbee.”—David Thurlow (Col ’80)
“Spending countless hours sitting at the Colonnades with my roommate Diana (Stanton) Geraghty (Nurs ’94), talking about life, school, boys. It was such a peaceful and beautiful location, especially at night.”—Jennifer (Thornton) Farrar (Com ’94)
“Getting in a pickup basketball game down in the Dell behind the Old Dorms.”—Michael Margolit (Col ’81)
From the 1960s to present day, alumni from every generation noted Frisbee as a favorite outdoor activity. Some were more organized than others. Says Richard Garner (Col ’89): “Playing Frisbee golf on the Grounds was the best! My friends and I would tee off from the steps of the Rotunda and work our way down the Lawn, looping behind Old Cabell and the amphitheater, ultimately back up the Lawn to the Rotunda. The course layout was developed before our time, but we took it to the next level by setting up our own tournaments complete with trophies and a winner’s jacket!”