Alumni Sunny Days, Lake Swims, and Ice Cream: Your Summer Memories Stories You May Like Which Reunion Activity Are You? PhD Student Aims to Help Others with Speech Disabilities Which Traditional Cornell Event Matches Your Personality? We asked you to reminisce about spending the warmer months on the Hill—and in true Cornellian fashion, you delivered By Beth Saulnier Did you arrive in Ithaca just before the beginning of fall semester and move out in mid-May? Did you do that year after year, throughout your studies on the Hill? If so, you’ve missed out on a delightful truth known to a lucky minority of Big Red alumni: your college town is an absolutely awesome place to spend the summer. Yes, you may have—we very much hope you have—come back for Reunion in June or taken a course at Cornell’s Adult University. Perhaps your Senior Week was blessed with warm and sunny weather; trust us, May isn’t always a source of meteorological joy around here. Maybe you returned for Homecoming on a gloriously golden September day. That’s all excellent. But actually spending the summer in Ithaca—getting to savor the place when it’s not only much less crowded (as it is in the depths of early January, say) but warm and sunny is something truly special. In early July, the University posted on Facebook soliciting alumni memories of summers at Cornell—and got some 150 comments, with respondents reminiscing about everything from lake swimming and local ice cream to the frankly marvelous surfeit of parking spots. Spending the summer in Ithaca—getting to savor the place when it’s not only much less crowded (as it is in the depths of early January, say) but warm and sunny is something truly special. Here’s a sampling, accompanied by vintage photos of campus and its environs in summery weather, sourced from Cornell’s Rare and Manuscript Collections. (Submissions have been edited and condensed.) As we noted in our recent stories featuring other images in this vintage batch—click the following links for part one and part two—we're assuming that most were actually taken on warm days during the academic year. Still, the sun-soaked vibes are downright delightful. Do you recognize anyone in these photos? Do you see your younger self? Let us know in the comments below! “Summer 1995: lived at 122 College Ave. The days felt endless, like they do when you’re a little kid. Gorges or the lake and then an evening shift bartending at Rulloff’s.” — Kristie Johnson Poggi ’97 “Experiencing the hiking trails, watching the trains roll by, birding, and swimming.” — Matthew Press ’20 “Watching fireworks from the top of IFD Station 9 in Collegetown.” — Jeff Parnapy ’92, MAT ’97 “So many from the early ’80s. Purity ice cream (bittersweet), Flat Rock, Stewart Park, sunsets at Sunset Park, riding my bike from Collegetown to waitress at Friendly’s, driving around Cayuga Lake and finding hidden gems like Ludlowville, walking down Watkins Glen gorge—and again, Purity ice cream!” — Katharine Johnson ’82, MBA ’84 “Getting married at Sage Chapel followed by a reception at Taughannock Inn.” — Chris Coffin, MILR ’83 “Watching Some Like It Hot on the outside patio of Willard Straight, sipping some wine and hanging with fellow grad students.” — Erica George Hitzhusen ’99, MAT ’02 “Sitting on a rock in the flowing waters of Fall Creek at Flat Rock. Still a favorite thing to do on a hot day.” — Paula Amols ’75 “Going out on Cayuga Lake, swimming in Cayuga and in Beebe Lake. How beautiful it was in the summer, sitting near one of the waterfalls looking out over the countryside. Eating at any restaurant along the lake.” — Jehu Martin ’65 Skinny-dipping at the reservoir. Burton Miller, DVM ’81 “Stayed in Ithaca for the summer of 1992 to manage the sports department at WVBR. Worked on the air five days a week and managed the payroll, which was $125 a week, as I recall. Had some great talent with me and we played some softball. Sublet an apartment at the bottom of College Avenue. Best summer of my life.” — Whit Watson ’93 “Skinny-dipping at Second Dam. Maybe a hundred people on a nice summer day, and a beautiful and safe place to swim.” — Doug Finch ’67, BA ’68 Picking fruit during the day to make daiquiris at night to go along with our endless Scrabble game. Elizabeth Browne Saenz ’76 “Summer 1980: road-tripping from Ithaca to NYC with the Glee Club Hangovers (and our dates) to entertain an alumnus and his guests.” — Jon Wardner ’79, BS ’80 “Warm breeze in the evening, Fourth of July fireworks and concert at Schoellkopf, walking around the Cornell Plantations [now the Botanic Gardens].” Stories You May Like Which Reunion Activity Are You? PhD Student Aims to Help Others with Speech Disabilities — Jose Amador ’82, PhD ’90 No air conditioning. Joe Hendrick ’74 “Best days ever—took incredibly interesting, fun classes and worked at the Chapter House at night. Sailing lessons sprinkled in for good measure. Glory days for sure.” — Sushil Singh ’89 “Working in Minns Garden and helping plan and plant the Big Red Barn gardens. Hard work, but so rewarding. Then going to Flat Rock to cool off.” — Tracey Nichol Austin ’85 “Hosting two of my closest friends during my postdoc year (I got to go to Cornell twice!) and taking them to Six Mile Creek and on a wine tour of Seneca Lake.” — Andrew Hostetler ’91 “Suntanning in the gorges, or sangria at CTB!” — Echo Anne McCollum ’10 Meeting my hubs! Also, Flat Rock and my summertime job at the test gardens. Janet Young Cerilli ’78 “Summer ’81: pig roast with live band and fireworks party at Rancho Deluxe on Snyder Hill.” — Mark Stenzler ’82 “Riding the polo ponies through the countryside!” — Kristin Oswick ’99 “‘Camp Cornell,’ which was enjoying the area without the pressures of schoolwork.” — Amy Jacobs Skonecki ’79 "Big Red Barn happy hour." — Michael Oak ’07, MPS ’07, MPS ’09 “Learning how to windsurf on Cayuga Lake.” — Kathryn Pruzinsky Macaulay ’91 Running through campus in warm, sunny weather in the evenings. Roger Yerdon ’79 “Golf at CAU—will be there next week!” — Maria Yurasek ’71 “Walking to campus in the cool early morning from Collegetown to the Ag Quad and my TA job.” — David Levine ’80 “Being able to park on campus.” — Margaret Willers ’67, MBA ’71 “Exploring the parks, waterfalls, and swimming holes in the area. What a delightful summer!” — Charles Stockdale, MBA ’80, JD ’80 “Working at RPU dining / Cornell Catering over the summer (two years). We had fun.” — Andrew Muir ’85 “Playing touch rugby on North Campus.” — Melinda Dower ’78 “Taking a full-semester courseload so I’d be able to actually graduate the following spring.” — Jeremy Rosenberger ’94 (All images courtesy of Rare and Manuscript Collections.) Published August 4, 2026 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Chime In What Undergrad Social Life Taught Me about Founding Companies Cornelliana The Cornell Club Is a Big Red Oasis in NYC Students Course Explores Nabokov as Writer and Butterfly Aficionado