The train from 30th Street in Philadelphia takes 22 minutes and transports a woman back in time. There she meets her favorite Quaker historical heroine, a founder of the place she's bound.

Again, I might add. Catching up with Lucretia Mott, the greatest woman before the Civil War, is always a pleasure. As a speaker on the program, it was my job to explain the lady whose portrait arrested me as a student: "Don't Be Fooled by the Bonnet." Just sayin', this lady was reckoned a force by Frederick Douglass and John Quincy Adams.

Really, the whole journey spun me round in a revolution.

Swarthmore College's 150th birthday celebration was in full swing under the stately oaks that shade Magill Walk as I approached the main building, Parrish Hall. My freshman year dorm. But the key I was handed was to a room in Wharton Hall, my senior year dorm, where the courtyard faces the tennis courts. Perfect. The campus buildings are named after Philadelphia Quakers who stood staunchly against slavery. They were all friends of Lucretia and James Mott, who got together with Baltimore Quakers like Martha Ellicott Tyson and founded the coed college in 1864, while the War raged on. A vote of confidence in the future.

All alumni were invited to the sesquicentennial. Elegant white gazebos on the emerald green lawns made the place so festive. Never had I seen a throng of two to three thousand in such a good mood. There were no strangers. Generally a studious bunch, some Swarthmore students who were shy, late bloomers are markedly more adept socially than way back when. The "Quaker matchbox" lives — meaning, people often marry their college sweethearts at a remarkable rate, higher than most. This trend is still in full force, though now few students are Quakers who belong to the Society of Friends. With only three to four hundred in a class, the college is an intense hothouse.

At my talk, I emphasized that Mott's spontaneous speaking voice was her power, so we have to imagine her presence. How rare it was to hear a woman speaking on the burning issues of the day — and indeed an anti-abolitionist mob nearly burned down her house in the 1830s. Former President Adams invited her to speak to Southern slaveholders in Congress on emancipations a rare distinction. Her light shone when the country was in the dark. She fused anti-slavery with championing women's rights in 1848 — the first to do so. To Mott, the two were as one.

OK, I know, I know, the lighter side: seeing three beaux of mine, reminded me I didn't spend all my time curled up with a book on Lucretia. I also alighted upon family friends from California, such as sprightly Jane in the class of '64, a political science professor. Young Robert Fain from Mansfield, Ohio, who just graduated with history high honors, came to my talk. I used to play tennis with his father in Wisconsin summers.

The class of '64 reflected on the tumult of the '60s and the curveballs life had thrown. A distinguished federal judge, Jed Rakoff '64 spoke at the Collection in the Crum woods amphitheater. He said public figures should not fear speaking at college graduations. Then he asked a friend to play guitar as we all sang, "We Shall Overcome." The melody made me happy — and the gathering knew the verses: "We shall live in peace," and so on.

Two professors were recognized at the end of their teaching careers. English Professor Weinstein is headed to live on an island for his next chapter. I took a one-on-one directed reading from him on Proust, Joyce and Faulkner — about as smart as I'll ever get. We talked about time and aging.

On Saturday night, there I was at the dance party by the rose garden, under a gazebo. I stayed way past midnight, outside time.

The invisible skeins tying us together — the friends, classes, faculty, founders during the Civil War, the past and the future — met in sparkling moments. The oldest alumna present was 100 years old, class of '34. How honored I was to shake her hand.

That's what makes a community feel round.

To find out more about Jamie Stiehm, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.