Alma mater matters

If Calvin college's nerve center is in the Spoelhoff administration building, its collective memory may reside in the building next door. There, in a teacher-style coffee room with walls of vanilla cinder block, Calvin alumni and emeriti gather to trade tales every morning at 10 a.m. Though the adjacent rooms and hallways are newer and well-kept—30 feet away students study before a huge fireplace in an open and contemporary carpeted space—this tiny lounge, with its institutional steel coffee urn and mix-and-match schoolroom chairs, looks purposefully untouched.

Attendees at this morning's gab session include Calvin President Emeritus William Spoelhoff, a lanky 90-something whose eyes are lively behind thick glasses, and librarian emeritus Conrad Bult, 70ish, who looks a little like a tall Orville Reddenbacher. Though the two are clearly old friends, Mr. Bult addresses Mr. Spoelhoff by title.