Bridgewater State University
Bridgewater State University
A Graduate of the Class of 2026
and His Love for BSU Baseball
Just a day or so ago while scrolling through YouTube we came across a video - only about seven minutes long - that has just been posted by Trey Yesu, '26, who was a four-year member of the BSU baseball team.
It's a high-quality production that captures his memories of Bridgewater State and, more specifically, his gratitude to his teammates and coaches for providing him with so many treasured experiences.
In a university of our size, and on a campus that's so large, it's refreshing to know that so many of our students (and alumni) find that special group - a club or an organization or an athletic team - with which they connect.
And, often, that special group is forever how they identify themselves in combination with their alma mater.
To see the video, please click on the link below:
Watching Mr. Yesu's video, we decided to see if we could see how long the game of baseball has been played at Bridgewater.
We known that Albert Gardner Boyden, class of 1849, recalled playing a game
while a Bridgewater student that involved a stick and a round object.
And historians tell us that the first official game of baseball in the U.S. was played on June 19, 1846, in Brooklyn.
So when did Bridgewater State Normal School field its first baseball team?
A bit of research says it was 1894, although it may have a been a year later, according to sources.
In any case, the gentlemen below would know the answer because this was
our baseball team in 1898:
The young men of '98 are assembled on the front steps of the Normal School Building, whose front door faced today's Art Building.
We'd know something more of them but the school's first yearbook wasn't published until 1899.
By the way - and this has nothing to do with the rest of the story - but June, 2026 is proving to be an unusually warm month for New England, and, back in their day, if you asked them to talk about "air conditioning" you would get a blank stare.
"Air conditioning" wasn't invented until 1902 for industrial purposes and didn't reach the average American home for decades.
In their day, classes at Bridgewater State Normal School continued through most of June, with Commencement near the end of the month.
We can imagine just how uncomfortable it was for everyone.
Men - students and faculty - were expected to dress formally for class, with jackets, ties and starched, stiff white collars.
Likewise, women were always attired in long dresses, hems to the floor.
Anyway, thanks very much for Mr. Yesu for guiding us to this topic.
Finding His Voice Far From Home
We're grateful to Ms. Heather Harris Michonski of BSU's Office of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications for sending us this article that she authored about Mr. Karl Badiola, seen above with President Clark.
"When Karl Badiola, ’26, moved to the United States from the Philippines at just 15 years old, he did his best to adjust," she wrote.
"Despite his excitement about living in a new country, he underestimated how difficult the transition would be — especially being away from his parents, learning a new language and culture.
"For example, he was accustomed to standing up to answer questions in class, but when he did so here, he said, 'I saw the confused looks on my classmates’ faces.' ”
"He said he often felt lost, particularly when learning to speak English. 'A lot of times when someone is learning to speak English in a classroom, they appear slow or shy, but the reality is it’s because they have to pause and think about how to translate, ' ” Mr. Badiola said.
. . . "He brought his dream to Bridgewater State University, where he recently earned a degree in early childhood education and childhood studies," Ms. Michonski wrote.
Mr. Badiola explained: “I knew from my research that BSU offered one of the best education programs, and can say confidently, after four years here, it really is.
"The faculty, the work we do, it all sets you up to have a solid foundation, for you to become a great teacher,” Mr. Badiola said.
Further, wrote Ms. Michonski, "While at Bridgewater, he was initially going to sign up for an English as a Second Language course, but retired Professor Lou Ann Falls recognized that he was more proficient than he realized, and she suggested he be a tutor instead."
Remembering the Extraordinary Dr. Benjamin Spence, '59,
Professor Emeritus of History
We are saddened to report the passing of Dr. Benjamin Spence, '59, in Florida this weekend.
Dr. Spence was much beloved by his students - he was awarded the Horace Mann Award for his superior teaching skills - and in a career that stretched across nearly 40 years he was a rigorous scholar and a warm, caring professor of renown.
In retirement, he wrote 10 books about the history of the town of Bridgewater and collected thousands of historical notes about BSU, working closely with Dr. Orson Kingsley, head of archives and special collections at the university.
We will miss his gentle humor and remember his long, long association with the university to which he spent most of his life serving.
Our thanks to our colleague Dr. Thomas Turner, professor emeritus of history,
for letting us know.
Back in 2005, we recorded a series of interviews with Dr. Spence about the town's history. One of those segments can be seen below:
Dr. Spence in the Class of 1959 Yearbook at
then-Bridgewater State Teachers College
A native of Fall River attending Bridgewater in the year before the first men's residence hall in the modern era opened (later Scott Hall), we can see from his yearbook entry that Dr. Spence made the most of campus life.
Memory Lane: A Salute to Martha Newell
and Tildon Upton, Who Met and Married Here
We are, of course, so caught up in our modern world it's good occasionally to look back in time.
Doing so helps remind us how far we, as a university, have come in our approaching two decades of history.
Thus, we use this space often to look back across the decades and today we share a story we posted originally in May of 2021 about Martha Newell and Tildon Upton.
We would know nothing about them but thanks to the university's Office of Archives and Special Collections - and its Director Dr. Orson Kingsley - we know a great deal.
Martha and Upton met at Bridgewater in 1857 - four years before
the start of the Civil War - and they were the co-editors of The Normal Offering, our very first student newspaper (The Comment didn't come along until 1927).
The Offering was a hand-written document which was read aloud once a month at an evening meeting of a social group.
And they also later married, becoming among the first of so many who have "met and married" at Bridgewater State, including President Clark, '83, and Carrie Kulick Clark, '85, G '92.
If you take a moment to glance at our 2021 article, you too will know the story of Martha and Tildon at Bridgewater State.
Next edition: June 22nd