The ceremony was a simple one. Barefoot under their beloved weeping cherry tree, the couple renewed the vows they had exchanged 49 years earlier. Their two daughters and their families, along with their Davis & Elkins College family, surrounded them with love.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, this week’s column celebrates love on the D&E campus—past and present. Cupid’s arrow has found its mark on many students over the years and continues to do so today.

Winding the clock back to 1971, two young freshmen braved the winding mountain roads to Elkins, West Virginia. Little did they know, their decision to attend Davis & Elkins College would not only shape their futures but also ignite a love story that would last a lifetime.

Charlie Hehn’s path to D&E began in the Philadelphia suburb of Sharon Hill. A recommendation from his father’s secretary, a D&E alumna, swayed him to become a Senator. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Westhampton, NY, Suzanne “Froggy” Hallock had joined a friend touring prospective colleges. The moment she set foot on the D&E campus; she knew she had found her collegiate home. Little did Charlie and Froggy know, their decisions to enroll at Davis & Elkins would forever change their lives.

As their first semester was ending, Charlie borrowed a motorcycle from a classmate and invited Froggy on a date. They drove to the Elkins airport where Froggy recalls they sat, talked, and laughed. The evening culminated in an invitation to the Sigma Phi Epsilon Pajama Party, and as they say, the rest is history. Two months following graduation in 1975, they were married.

Nearly fifty years later, Charlie and Froggy often reminisce about “that little college on the hill” that brought them together and gifted them with lifelong friendships. From their home in Toms River, NJ, the Hehn’s have hosted three D&E reunions, most recently welcoming 73 classmates and spouses to the Jersey Shore from across the United States and even the Virgin Islands. These enduring bonds of love and friendship, forged on the sacred grounds of D&E, proved strong enough to bridge both time and distance. It was only natural that they chose to renew their vows surrounded by the very friends who witnessed the beginning of their love story.

Proclaiming they were the best years of their lives, Charlie and Froggy wrote the following as they reflected on their alma mater: “Davis & Elkins College is more than an institute for learning. If you allow it, D&E will show you how special it is…The friendships that were made here were and remain so special. We are all (our classmates) just about 70 now, and when we are together it seems as though we are 18 again. D&E is special. Take time to let it be that for you.”

With gratitude for Charlie and Froggy’s journey that came together at D&E, there are countless other stories of enduring love and lifelong friendships. From 1975 to 2025, this “little college on the hill” changes lives. Thanks be to God!

The journey continues….


Chris A. Wood
President
Davis & Elkins College