A00483 - The Spiritual Connection With the White Angels
Freddie,
I found this article concerning your mom and your dad.
Freddie, love knows no color and your parents appear to have had a very loving relationship. Freddie, I am the steward of the Memorial List. And the story of Carroll and Beatrice Hollister is, in my mind, a story that needs to be told.
At the last Memorial Service, I had a special tribute to Carol Holt Miller, Mount Holyoke Class of 1975, and her mother Nancy Holt Miller. Carol was my girlfriend for a brief period in 1972, during my freshman year. After freshman year she took me home to meet her family. She came from quite a nice loving family. I think if things had continued, we would have stayed together and gotten married. But in the Summer of 1972, I had a "Calling" and pursuant to the Calling, I was to serve the black community, first at Amherst and then forever. To do so, I had to break up with Carol because she was white and that would have undermined my efforts to serve. At least that is what I thought.
I served the black community until I graduated in 1975. During my first year at law school, I tried to reconnect with Carol, but she had moved on. However, while we did not resume our romantic relationship we became penpals. For the next nine years we wrote to each other about our various adventures. She fell in love with a guy from Bates College and married him. I fell in love with Sparkle and married her. She had a son and I did too. Life went on... until it didn't.
Carol Holt Miller died on September 20, 1984. Her mother wrote to me and explained what had happened. I wrote back to her. My letter was very touching. So much so that her mother, Nancy, quoted from it for the annual Christmas newsletter, the Miller Monitor. That was the beginning of a 30-year correspondence with her mother.
I paid a special tribute to Carol because a year after she died she paid me a visit. On the anniversary of her death, she came to me to let me know that she was doing fine and to ask me to let her parents know that she was okay and that she was thankful for the efforts in raising her son. Her parents had taken him in after her death because his father had issues. I was stunned by this visit and sent her parents some flowers but did not say why.
The next year, her parents and her son came out to California to visit their older daughter in Sebastopol. They invited me to bring my family to see them while they were here and I even joined them when they went the next to tour San Francsico. During their visit I was struck with how well her son and my son got along with each other. They really seemed to enjoy each other's company. It was as though there was a bond of love that had been passed down to another generation.
Seeing the two boys prompted me to write Nancy after they had returned to Illinois. I wrote and told her why I had sent the flowers. I wrote that I hoped that I did not upset her with my report of Carol's visitation. Nancy wrote back and said that my letter was the third such letter had received. And that one of the visitations Carol had made was with minister who presided over her funeral service in Maine. Reading Nancy's letter stunned me.
Freddie, love knows no color. And love transcends even death. Carol's visitation forty years ago made me certain that there is something beyond this life and that I can never forget that. So for this our 50th Class Reunion year and our 40th Spiritual Reunion Year, I felt compelled to pay a special tribute to Carol and also for Nancy who passed away ten years ago. Freddie, their spirits are still with me today. Just as the spirits of Beatrice and Carroll are with you still.
As long as I am the Steward of the List, such spiritual connections will be honored.
Happy Holidays to You and Your Family. We still have much to be done.
Skip
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at 07:42:32 PM PST, freddie bryant <freddiebryant@yahoo.com> wrote:
Ahhhh thanks so much Skip!
Our address is:
3215 Arlington Ave. Apt 4G
Bronx, NY 10463
And yes, Carroll Hollister was my father. He passed during my freshman year. He was Caucasian and a great man and musician with a long career. I'd love to talk with you about him and my mother.
I don't think it's necessary to add him to the list, even in an honorary mention. I don't want to deal with any push back from anyone. He and my mother did play in Buckley Hall for his 50th reunion. I was turning pages. I remember going to President Ward's house.
And guess what? We're flying out to Bolinas TOMORROW! 😄 We'll be there until Dec. 26. I'm sure you're busy during the holidays but if you want to come beforehand for lunch that would be wonderful. Otherwise, I'm way overdue trying to book a tour in June or July next year. If you have any leads please let me know.
Thanks,
Freddie
On Tue, Dec 16, 2025 at 22:30, skipjen2865@aol.com<skipjen2865@aol.com> wrote:Freddie,I am doing my Season Greetings Cards for this year and wanted to send you and Heather a card, but I could not find your snail mail address. If you would like to receive my card please send me your address. I would love to add you to my Holiday Card List.Also, while trying to find your snail address, I ventured over to your Amherst Alumni Directory listing. I did not find your address, but I did notice that you are listed as the son of Carroll Hollister, Class of 1922, who also was a noted musician. Is this listing accurate? And was Carroll Hollister African American? Even if he was not, should I add him to my List? It appears that he left an extensive musical legacy ... and that one part of that legacy is you.Give my regards to Heather and let me know when you might be back this way again. I would love to have a reason to venture over to Bolinas again.Happy Holidays my friend!Skip
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