The glue that held us together

A group of women from the Class of 1975 — Mary Birmingham Wilfert, Betsy Carroll-Crist,  Marie Brown and Justine Browne Hager — came to their Golden Flyers induction ceremony during Reunion Weekend with a purpose: to honor a dear friend.

The ladies took up an entire row at the ceremony held in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, and they brought with them a tribute: a large picture printed on poster board of a woman’s face, Linda Hughes ’75. Hughes died in 2020, before she could be inducted as a Golden Flyer. 

But, these women felt she needed to be with them in spirit as they received the honor.

“She was the glue that held us all together.”

“She was the glue that held us all together,” said Wilfert, who held Linda’s image throughout the induction ceremony, opting for a shorter handle at the 1975 and Golden Flyers’ class party while the friends shared stories about Hughes. 

“We were all in Marycrest our freshman year,” Carroll-Crist ’75 began.

“Fourth floor, to be exact!” Brown ’75 chimed in.

The women split into two housing groups during the rest of their time at Dayton, spending their senior year on K Street and Lowes, but their first-year bonds stayed strong.

“Linda made sure we stayed in touch and spent time together after graduation,” Hager ’75 said.

The women maintained a messaging group chat together and held semi-annual reunions in each other’s hometowns in addition to reconnecting at their alumni reunion parties every five years.

The women were all smiles as they spoke about their friend and raved about the strong female friendships formed at Dayton that lasted through one bathroom shared among seven girls on K Street.

“We didn’t get ready like you guys do now,” Brown joked with me, a rising junior.

Hughes’ legacy of kindness, fun and community-building carries on through these women, who are confident in many more celebrations and reunions in the years to come.