It was a long drive leading up to Mayflower Hill on a chilly morning of November 3rd,

1971.

The road to the Colby College campus in Waterville, Maine was covered in a thick fog from the

previous evening, the kind that seems to settle from the sky all the way to the ground, as though you're walking through a cloud.

A marine forecast probably would have warned of low visibility on the coast that day,

but inland, a jogger on an early morning run could see

the unmistakable form in the woods all the way from the winding road. The November 4th, Colby Echo describes the scene.

It was about 35 feet from the road down a slight embankment

near the pumping station at the sharp turn in Mayflower Hill Drive.

Those from the Waterville area or familiar with Colby College can picture the

embankment well. The edge of campus just past the Osbourne House, where the president of the college resides.

Though this November morning scene was 50 years ago last month,

the memory within the community remains. For some, this foggy morning

discovery is little more than folklore. For others, it's visceral. I'm Kylie Lowe and this is the case of Colby College student Catherine Murphy on Dark Down East. I'm going to driving through the downtown Main Street of Waterville, Maine in 2021,

it's difficult not to notice the extent of the construction and revitalization occurring all over the city.

Older rundown buildings are receiving a facelift, and new shops and boutique hotels are popping up all over.

This is in large part due to the small liberal arts school overlooking Waterville, Colby College. With only 2,000 students today, Colby was and is the

quintessential mini-Ivy, all brick buildings clustered amongst the pine trees.

As a member of the community for buildings clustered

amongst the pine trees.

As a member of the community for 200 years,

2021 is not the first time that the college and the city

...