The Lion, Retired

After almost five decades as a member of the New Hampshire House, the Governor’s Executive Council and the New Hampshire Senate, and as a candidate for governor, D’Allesandro has retired from public office.

He graduated from UNH in 1961, with life lessons learned and lifelong friends made here. Then this kid from East Boston set out on two paths: one as an educator and another as a public servant. Some 64 years later, he sat down to chat with UNH Magazine in the kitchen of the Manchester home he and his wife Pat ’61 have shared for 53 years. He shared stories of UNH football and political friendships — he recalled a phone call from Hillary Clinton when he chose not to run for reelection and the way Al Gore reached out to him when one of his brothers passed away — and he remembered similarly strong UNH relationships too. Here’s an excerpt of that kitchen conversation:

You walked away from a football scholarship at Colorado to be closer to family. What were your expectations of yourself when you arrived at UNH? I had $600, and I put that in the bank in Durham and used it to pay for my tuition. And I bought a meal ticket. So I worked at the Commons; I was washing dishes and serving the food line. And my expectation was: Hey, I was here in college and going to make a go of it, and get myself going to get myself through. I had great interactions with the workers at the Commons; believe it or not, as I went on in life and went into politics, those women aided in my campaign when I ran for public office.

What did being a Wildcat, as tight end and captain of the football team, teach you about yourself? I worked out with the team because in those days, transfers were ineligible to play. I had to establish myself as a player. I think I did pretty well and was able to practice with the varsity, almost like a noncombatant. It was really like a family … you were able to drop into the athletic department, talk to people, get acquainted with them. I was a captain, co-captain my senior year, and the role was to watch the team, keep the team going, keep everyone thinking in the right direction. I had a great, great group of players. People became my life-long friends; I’ve always said life’s all about relationships.

You’ve said you had a unique experience during the 1960 presidential campaign. Can you tell us what happened? So here we were on campus and John F. Kennedy was running for the presidency and visiting UNH. I couldn’t get into New Hampshire Hall [where he was speaking]; it was loaded. Every person in the world wanted to be there to listen to him. So I went around to the side of the building; I lifted up the window, got on the windowsill, jumped out into the stairwell — and there’s a hand reaching out to me. The guy says: ‘Hi, I’m John Kennedy.’ I said, matter-of-factly: ‘Hi, I’m Lou D’Allesandro.’ I found it to be, obviously, very exciting. It was a time in my life when I was excited about politics. Another step in my political journey was having a wonderful teacher, Marge Williamson, who taught Discussion and Debate. She really looked after me, and it kind of helped me.

We, as adults, are the sum of our parts. What parts of your life were most significant to you? The right thing to do — and the most significant — was going to UNH, because I found a place where I fit nicely, and things went well for me. But the people I’ve met through the university, relationships I gathered, were very helpful in my life. Those relationships couldn’t have been created if I wasn’t at UNH. UNH was the key.

Given UNH’s influence on your life and your political career, what is your advice to current UNH students? Take advantage of everything the university has to offer, both academically and socially. Create relationships. Lifelong relationships are very important. As my brother, Paul E. D’Allesandro ’62, would say: “It was the best four years of my life” — and I agree. It was, in many ways, the best four years of life.