Born in Florida and raised by his grandparents, Harry Gramling (1938-2022) graduated from Geneva High School in 1957. He worked for James Richmond at Firestone Tires in Geneva, then in 1971 opened Gramling's General Tire Store on Lyons Road for a brief time. Harry was a machinist at American Can’s Fairport location until 1985. He and wife Marcell owned a tire store near their Border City home until their retirement in 2003. Harry moved on to full time pastoring at the church he founded in 1980, First Love Church of God in Christ. He became Bishop of the church in 1998 which is headquartered in the former Border City School. Photo courtesy of Mark Gramling.
Born in Florida in 1948, Lillian Williams Collins moved to Geneva in the mid-1950s. After graduating Geneva High School in 1966, she began her career as a secretary in the Office of Publications at HWS Colleges in 1967. Lillian did much more than her official title, supporting students, getting involved in the Office of Intercultural Affairs, and connecting the Colleges with the community. Her unofficial title as “Coupon Queen” stemmed from care packages and welcome baskets she gave to students and community members, and mentoring others on her savings techniques.
Lillian retired in 2011 as a senior research specialist in the Office of Advancement Services. She was honored in 2017 with the HWS Trustee Community Service Award (pictured) and had a study carrel named after her. In 2008, the Afro-Latino Alumni Association at HWS established an annual prize in Lillian’s honor, a means of supporting an HWS student of color who demonstrated a commitment to the Geneva community. With the financial help of family and friends this annual award was endowed in 2011 as the Lillian E Collins Endowed Scholarship Fund, which supports academically qualified junior or senior year students from historically underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds.
In the Geneva community, Lillian was the first recipient of the NAACP’s Mary Ann Mallard Award in 1995. She has been a long time supporter for many non-profit organizations and served on the boards of Historic Geneva and the Geneva Human Rights Commission. In 2006, she received the Martin Luther King Committee Community Service Award. Photo by Kevin Colton, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 2017.
Originally from Florida, Clyde Mathis (1913-2010) moved to Geneva in the 1930s after meeting Richard and Margaret Roenke in Daytona. They asked if he would be interested in cooking or butler work for them. Clyde’s brother Richmond had previously come to Geneva when he was hired by the Roenkes, so Clyde agreed. He met his wife Mildred Linzy in 1936 when he was visiting his brother who had married Millie’s sister Pearl. Clyde and Millie returned to Florida to get married in 1939, traveling between Florida and Geneva for work, before returning to Geneva in 1945. He worked as a cook at the Sampson Navy and Air Base, a job that he took pride in doing.
Clyde later worked at the American Legion, Twin Oaks Restaurant, and for Hobart and William Smith Colleges as a chef (pictured). About his job, he said, “Working at Hobart College kept me young. I still get letters from Hobart students. During my years as a Chef, my purpose was not only to feed the hungry, but to feed their soul by listening to them and to help them look at ways to solve their problems.” Clyde became involved in the Geneva Men’s Club, the Salvation Army, and was one of the founders of Happiness House.