If These Walls Could Talk

Hi all! It's been an exciting week for us with our athletes back on campus and officially starting fall preseason workouts! Classes also started yesterday so the players are keeping busy with that. We'll have more on the start of preseason soon, but first a little glimpse into my world off the court ...


If houses could talk, what a tale my small, 2-bedroom cape would tell!

After weathering the storm created by two rambunctious sons, two dogs and one saintly grandmother my old house deserved to be pampered. It should have been stuffed with flowers, Martha Stewart seasonal crafts and fragrant candles. The smell of baked goods should greet every visitor.

But alas such an existence was not in the plans. The departure of the boys opened up a new, unexpected chapter for me and the house. There were coaches, administrators and friends whose lives landed them in Hanover with a job and no place to live. I had room and they were in need. Thus a Dartmouth Athletic commune was established.

Instead of baked goods we have big pots of stew. Flowers would obstruct the view when we all squish together at the table. The smell that greets one when the door is open is a combination of gas fumes from the cars in the driveway and fabric softener from the perpetual use of the dryer. Watching the cars maneuver in and out of the driveway is a spectator sport of which I am an all star. I can get any car out of my driveway at anytime.

No complaints from me though, I know I am lucky. I have had an amazing assortment of people stay with me — coaches, trainers, sports information and administrators have all spent short periods of time at my house en route to college housing. Our prestigious alumnae have gone onto to wonderful careers as doctors, lawyers, educators and titans of industry, yet oddly enough, these remarkable women prefer air mattresses on my floor to hotel rooms. Every time they visit is a wonderful trip down memory lane.

Today, the commune bid farewell to Erin Rewalt. She has waited patiently to get into her college-owned house. I know she is thrilled to have a place of her own, but she will be missed. After all a house is at its best when it is full.

-Coach Wielgus