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A Lively Alumnus at 102 (and 11 Months)

Dr. Harry Neel of the Class of 1928 confesses that he doesn’t get around like he once did, he is using the cane that his son has insisted upon, and a friend describes him as “just a lively person.” Those are just a few of the revelations in a wonderful feature story about Harry that appeared this past Saturday (April 5) in the Albert Lea Tribune, the newspaper serving Albert Lea, Minn., a city of about 19,000 located 90 miles south of the Twin Cities. Harry is going to turn 103 next month and was the first of Albert Lea’s “centarians” to be featured in a special series the Tribune is doing. Reporter Sarah Stultz describes Harry’s journey from Florida to North Carolina to Virginia for college and Maryland (Johns Hopkins) for medical school and ultimately to Minnesota where he joined the Mayo Clinic as a fellow in surgery in 1936. Four years later he relocated to Albert Lea and has lived there ever since. Be sure to check out the slide show of images, including shots of Harry’s W&L diploma and his 75th W&L reunion hat (it’s misidentified as his high school reunion but the Trident is unmistakeable.)