A 'hidden gem on the Eastern Shore' revealed

In the spring of 1959, Lawrence Golub and Roy Ans graduated from high school in Valley Stream on Long Island, N.Y., and chose colleges to attend. Golub and Ans had known each other from grade school. While Golub went to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Ans chose to attend Washington College - a very small college with only 500 students, and less than two percent were Jewish. The college, referred to as the "hidden gem on the Eastern Shore," was nestled in a very small town called Chestertown, on the eastern shore of Maryland.

Founded in 1782, Washington College was the first college chartered in the sovereign United States in 1782, the first college established in Maryland, the 10th in the U.S., and is named after George Washington, who donated 50 guineas to its founding.

While Golub chose a large well-known university, Ans decided on Washington College because it was small. The high school he and Golub attended was probably among the largest high schools in the United States back then, he said, and he wanted something smaller that was within a reasonable commute to Long Island.

"It was a most welcoming place. I liked it," said Ans.

However, at Washington College Ans encountered "culture shock." There was no awareness of any Jewish traditions. Living on Long Island, in an area where the population was mostly Jewish and Italian, the schools adjusted their schedules in preparation for the Jewish holidays. Shortly after the fall semester started, Ans was faced with the dilemma of what to do at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. "Why aren't we off on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? And where do we go?" he questioned.

The closest synagogue was a Reform temple, almost an hour away in Easton, Maryland, which is where he and a group of other Jewish students went.

Ans discovered a Jewish Student Fellowship that had been started at the school a few years earlier. It had not been sustained, so he and a fellow student who had attended Yeshiva reactivated it and Ans became the president of the Fellowship.

At the end of their freshman year, Golub realized he needed to crack down on his studies. At UNC there were too many distractions and he asked Ans what he should do.

"Why don't you come here? There is nothing to do but study!" Ans told him. Golub accepted the wise counsel and transferred to the college.

This was the early 1960s and Maryland was considered a Southern state. Another "culture shock" for Ans and Golub was that as beautiful and quaint as Chestertown was, it was also segregated. Ans realized how severe the segregation was there after he befriended a young Black man named Tommy. "Want to go to the movie with us?" Ans asked him once. Tommy declined because he would not be able to sit with them in the theater.

"This opened my eyes," said Ans. "It shook me up. The unfairness."

Ans began to fight for minorities because "it was the right thing to do," he said.

After completing his third year and required courses, Golub left after the spring of 1962 and went on to dental school at Georgetown University. Upon completing his studies, a tour in the Air Force, and additional specialty training, he settled in Orlando and set up his dental practice.

Ans graduated in the spring of 1963 and went on to medical school at New York Medical College. After completing his residency, Ans established his OB/GYN practice in South Florida and continued his financial support of Washington College.

Several years later, the Washington College Development Department contacted Ans and invited him to chair the annual fundraising campaign for two years. This developed into student recruitment. He was then invited by the president of the school to join the Presidential Advisory Committee. He met with Jewish students, inquired of their needs and how the committee could help them. The answer was a Hillel House on campus.

It took several years of working with the administration at the college, but finally on April 27, 2012, under the leadership of then College President Mitchell B. Reiss and a specially appointed fundraising committee, the Roy P. and Nan Ans Hillel House was established. It is a student-run organization and an affiliate of Hillel International.

On the Washington College website, it states, "Spanning seven decades of alumni participants and the Chestertown Havurah, the Campaign for Hillel created and established the Hillel House on the Washington College campus, ensuring that current and future generations of students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and friends would have a place to gather and enjoy vibrant programming and activities that celebrate Jewish life."

In addition to the Hillel House, the Campaign for Hillel continues to provide an endowment for activities, programs and lectures connected with Hillel House.

Also, in addition to his dedication to making Hillel House at Washington College a reality, Ans established the Roy Ans Fellowship in Jewish-American Studies, which offers a $2,500 stipend for a sophomore or junior completing a research project related to the Jewish-American experience in any area of study offered by Washington College. The fellowship also provides a $1,500 stipend to the faculty supervisor of the project. This fellowship is open to students of all religious backgrounds and beliefs. The fellowship is administered by the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture and is made possible by the generous support of Roy P. ('63) and Nan Susan Ans.  

Ans' years at Washington College molded and shaped him. He became a warrior for the underdog, an advisor of multi-cultural programs, and strongly involved in the recruitment of Jewish students to the school.

Ans' active and financial involvement also molded and shaped the college. Today the college is home to 1288 students, with 70 Jewish students (5.4 percent of the student body). It has a vibrant Jewish-American studies program as well as a Holocaust studies program. Through Hillel, a community-wide Passover Seder is held annually. This year's Seder adapted the 1969 Freedom Seder, emphasizing how everyone must work together to champion the voices and stories of all people.

Ans is very proud of bringing Hillel House to the Washington College campus. "I accomplished something," Ans said. "I did what I was supposed to do in my life - make a difference."

Years later, while driving in Fort Lauderdale, Ans saw a "Washington College" sticker on the back of a car. Pulling alongside of the car, he beeped his horn, gave a thumbs up sign and rolled down the window. The woman driver rolled down her window, told him her son was in his second year at the college and said, "You're Dr. Ans and you delivered him!"

Were it not for Dr. Lawrence Golub, Heritage would not have heard about Dr. Roy Ans and the major restoration of Hillel House on the campus. "I've always been impressed with all he has done," said Golub of his friend, "and I was pleased to support his efforts when called upon and I did."

Today, the Roy P. and Nan Ans Hillel House is the center of Jewish life at Washington College, the "hidden gem on the Eastern Shore." It is still the goal of Ans to reveal this "hidden gem" to many more college-bound students and to keep alive the ongoing work of the Hillel House.

For more information about Hillel House at Washington College, you can contact Susie Chase, vice president for Advancement and Alumni Relations, at schase2@washcoll.edu

For more information about Washington College, visit its website at http://www.washcoll.edu.