In honor of Older Americans Month, we are sharing a profile of a 100-year-old alumna of Adelphi University.
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| Sylvester at the Freeport Memorial Library. |
When Belle Sylvester ’33
attended Adelphi 80 years ago, students roller-skated to class.
“It was like a club,” said
the 100-year-old coordinator of classical programming at the Freeport (New
York) Memorial Library. “It was a lot of fun.”
There was more space to
roller-skate then, with only three buildings on the brand-new Garden City
campus, which opened in 1929. Sylvester arrived a year later at age 15, completing
her psychology degree in just three years. She also studied French and German,
receiving medals for her work in both languages.
In addition to her studies, Sylvester
brought music to Adelphi’s weekly chapel services. “We didn’t have an orchestra,
but I organized a trio,” she said. Sylvester selected the pieces the trio would
perform and also played the violin, which she continued playing until just a
few years ago.
“It was really a wonderful
three years,” Sylvester said of her time at Adelphi. “We had wonderful
professors. And there was a lot of camaraderie going on. The people at Adelphi
made a very close-knit community.”
Sylvester’s 100th birthday
last October coincided with the 23rd anniversary of her being hired to
coordinate classical music programming at the Freeport Memorial Library.
She told Newsday
at the time, “It’s no big deal that I’ll be 100. A lot of people are
doing that. But that I’m still working, well, that
might be unusual.”
She was similarly modest and witty when AU VU caught up with her in January, musing “I
can’t believe that I have reached the age of 100 and some things still stick in
my mind.”
Her recollection is remarkable, and, as
she shared her past, it became evident that she has fashioned a memorable life.
After Adelphi, Sylvester
pursued a master’s in psychology at Columbia University and later studied
cryptography at Brooklyn College. “I always loved figures,” she said.
“When I took [the course], I had the highest rating that they ever
had.”
Sylvester never used her degrees
professionally, instead taking time to raise her two children and pursue her
love of music and dance. She organized a quartet that performed for many years,
and she also took part in folk dancing.
“Folk dancing was one of my pleasures,”
she said. “I did it for years with the same partner. We used to entertain at
the Russian Bear [a nightclub]…they would give us vodka and lots of food.”
In
her years at the Freeport Memorial Library, Sylvester has arranged numerous
classical music concerts, ranging from chamber music trios to world-famous
harmonica players.
“I
love what I do,” she said, explaining why she has yet to retire.
Sylvester
is loved as well. She can hardly cross the library without receiving a flurry
of smiles, hellos and even hugs from her co-workers.
This article appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of AU VU.
