JULY 2003

Click here for:

JULY 2003

TAKE HEED ....... PART 2

Good news - the heeding is proceeding exceedingly well. Gee, whee and pleeze keep it up. Apologies to Doctor Seuss ‘25. Each of the projects whined about in the June newsletter bear some further mention, both clarifying, expanding and even some light where there was darkness. In the classic tradition of tweaking the editor established by DON AUSTERMANN, Las Vegan HUGH ROBERTS suggested that things might have proceeded more smoothly if I didn’t use words like “communicating” and if I avoided gaffes like “data is flawed” versus “data are flawed.” A communication was forwarded to Hugh, suggesting what he might do with his clever proof-reading.

The 50th Book

To date, 25 Classmates have requested copies of Bill White’s instructional letter and it was delivered via email. The service is still available, even by snail mail. The result is that Wayne and Bill now have over 100 submissions in hand. Some thoughts from Bill:

-the “tentative” June 30th deadline served its purpose, prompting a surge of submissions. Keep working at it and get your sketch in. With close to 580 of us out there, think how badly you will feel, reading about guys you remember if you are not in there along with them.

-joining in is important - not for setting records, but for the Enjoyment Quotient. I had the experience of checking out old friends in the 1953 book and there is a rush when you turn to the page and there he is! Photo and a recitation of life. Don’t disappoint your Classmates - and yourself - by not making the effort.

-the number of new participants who were not in Reflections reflects the special nature of this milestone in our lives. Join them!

-it is not necessary to submit your write-up in more than one format.

-Keep in mind that a separate, DICK BARKER-type, directory will be produced with addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, etc., so make sure that you include the data. Without new information, it will be assumed that the data in the 45th reunion directory is still correct.

-If anything changes between now and the end of the year, e.g., additional grandkids, send the update to Wayne and Bill.

-If you did not send a photo with your sketch, please locate one and send it.

The editor as been copied on several submissions and will excerpt them in future newsletters.

Housing

JOHN GILLESPIE has been successful in negotiating a deal with The Comfort Inn in White River Junction. Penny Abair, Manager, is offering us the following:

Thursday evening: 75 rooms @ $109 single, $119 double. This will be most convenient for those coming early and planning to move into a dorm room ($39 a night) for Friday and Saturday nights.

Friday-Saturday nights: 20 rooms available @ $159

ACT NOW if the Friday/Saturday stay is of interest. Call Comfort Inn at 802-295-3051, ask for Penny and mention Dartmouth 1954. Penny works 7am to 3pm .

Email Addresses

First, if your name was listed in the June newsletter, it means that I do not have an address for you.

Then, when I ventured out to the Independents, several Classmates informed me that they had been fraternity members. Since my only source was the 1954 Aegis, you didn’t get counted if you were not in it. Many reasons - medical school, military service, financial problems, discipline, etc.

Then, on a different note, a few took umbrage at the fraternity/independent approach as an inferred slight to those who didn’t belong to a house. Wrong! It was an obviously efficient way to go and, on the other hand, some of the most creative ‘54s were independents. So go figure.

The names below are those for which no workable email address comes to the surface. Please lay one on me if you have one, or conversely, let me know if you do not have one:

Dave Bartlett,

Bob Bean

Don Berwick

Lew Brackley

Sam Bradley

Wil Bryan

Frank Carey

Tom Clarke

Jim Colby

George Csiky

Al Edmundsen

John Fairfield

Jim Gentile

Greg Graml

Lyon Greenberg

John Herrmann

Sinclair Hitchings

Dick Jennison

Stan Johnson

Ed Keller

Dick Kolbe

Lee Lane

Dave Lee

Dave Lewin

Ed McHugh

Serge Maltzoff

Joe Pritchard

Nels Putnam

Ed Quinn

Bob Rafelson

Dave Ransom

Charlie Reed

George Robinson

Harry Rockefeller

Dick Rogin

Kehn Schramm

Geoff Talbot

Chuck Tannenbaum

Don Wagner

Dick Watt

Frank Weiser

Chuck Westcott

Hank Willard

Don Woodworth

At this writing, over 320 email addresses are in hand. Contact the editor for the addresses of old friends and reconnect.

Reunion

JOHN GILLESPIE, DICK PAGE, DICK LEWIS and PETE BARKER will have met in Boston by the time you receive this and will have made certain determinations. Since we are all at a stage in life where we can make decisions about events a year hence, we will likely be coming to you for your “reunion intention” soon, along with indications of interest in the Basin Harbor extension. Say YES! Then remember it.

Idea. To get up to speed on today’s Dartmouth , why not take a year’s subscription to The Dartmouth? Might shock you a little - today’s students are far more out-spoken and are not shy about voicing a wide range of opinions. You will get it in the mail, sometimes in clumps of many editions. Send $60, payable to The Dartmouth, Inc. at 6175 Robinson Hall, Hanover, NH 03755. Tell ‘em you want the paper for a year. Then, write an occasional letter to the editor .....

Midwest Weekend

Cut-off for most events is August 29, so if you have interest in joining this exciting ‘54 gathering hosted by STEVE MULLINS and TOM TYLER, contact Steve at Steve.Mullins@Mindspring.com; (847) 866-8887. Couples on board so far are:

Adnopoz Belcher Berlin Case Coffin Collimore J. Davis Dean Fast Grassey Gray Hartman
B. Johnson Kelsey Mandelbaum D. Martin N. May Migley Mullins Nolin Murane Osborn Osmond D. Page H. Robinson Tyler Winnick

Post-Reunion Cruise - The Dalmatian Coast

Insert page included with mailing. All but three cabins have been reserved, so contact DON BERLIN or JOHN FENN immediately if you have interest. If there are over-subscriptions, a lottery system will be put into effect.

Mini-Reunions

(write them down, please)

      Homecoming - October 24, 25
      Post-game and dinner at Outing Club!
      Holiday lunch, Boston - December 9
      Holiday lunch, NY - December 11

Note: we need to see more Boston-area 54s at this event to warrant its future

The news from the earth-girdling class is aplenty:

PETER ROBINSON spent a year in Australia and has returned to home base in Norway with a planned interim month’s visit to the states.

Col. LEVI GOLDFARB is one of the many regular communicants with Tucson-based TOMMY THOMPSON. He listed off the many Phi Sig brothers he remembered with fondness.

CHARLES (“PETE”) DAVIS is a passionate and dedicated member of the Search and Rescue Team in Crested Butte, CO. He serves as a board member and leads the campaign for fund-raising. Pete and his companion, Lou (Lucille Beckman) have been in the mountains for over 7 years following a move from Burlington , VT in 1996.

BILL WHITE heralded the enormous success of the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams this year. For the first time in the College’s history, both teams made it to the NCAA championships. Incredible spirit and results!

Professor Laurence Radway passed away May 7th at the age of 84. A popular Professor of Government, he became an active politician in New Hampshire after we knew him. During his 1972 bid for the Senate seat of Norris Cotton, he walked the length of the state with a campaign of “clean, fresh and competent leadership”. He served two years in the NH House and, as State Democratic Chairman, he hosted the likes of John Kennedy, John Glenn, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter and Morris Udall during their various quests for office.

In a Boston Globe featured article titled “More Than Words - from a Rembrandt print to a letter by Houdini, the BPL shows its rarely seen collection of culture”, our own SINCLAIR HITCHINGS has a third-of-a-page photo, grinning ala Cheshire Cat as he holds a Toulouse-Lautrec print. Clearly a man who revels in his work, Sinclair is the “keeper” of the prints in the Boston Public Library. The event was a gala display of the library’s most popular treasures and Sinclair was quoted as saying: “You can’t have this stuff and keep it under wraps; these treasures were not accumulated in the spirit of King Croesus - they were accumulated under the banner of education.” The eyebrows continue to give the curator a most impish look.

In May, SUELLA STEEL, John’s life mate, won the singles and doubles national titles for the 60 & above women. While the singles went down to the wire, she breezed through the doubles without even breathing hard. Congratulations!

STAN and BETSY ROSENBERG celebrated his entrance into his eighth decade with a five-week trip to Australia and New Zealand . “Missed the Gulf War and managed to beat SARS back to the USA !”

At the 50th , we will have GEORGE and SYL HITCHCOCK with us only in spirit. They will be in Italy with the Hilton Head Choral Society for the first half of June 2004. Sounds like a great gig! George has taken a vow to make, at the least, our last reunion. Sounds ominous - wonder who will be there...

A Hood Museum brochure for an exhibit, “Seeing the Unseen” speaks of the intricacies of four photographs which follow the genius of Henri Cartier-Bresson. One, entitled “Milk Drop Coronet” a gelatin silver print by Harold Eugene Edgerton, was donated by BARBARA and ROBERT LEVINE. Edgerton, the first inventor of the stroboscope, caught a drop of milk in midair as it plummeted toward a milk-covered plate. You have seen it. “Ascribing to the idea that motion destroys form, Edgerton uses his stroboscope to provide us with a new set of eyes through which to view the world.” Bob and Barbara have been generous in their donations of artwork to Dartmouth .

Moving from the sublime, The Dartmouth published a most readable 8-page insert on beer. Just imagine what you would do if your editor told you to come up with a whole section dedicated strictly to beer. It’s quite readable, from the terminologies associated with beer to the history and to the philosophy of beer. Just think, if we had had this exposition, would we have still gone and thrown firecrackers onto Pudge Neidlinger’s front lawn?

A recent wedding announcement in The New York Times celebrated the wedding of Maribel Bastian to Aaron Sandowski. The daughter of SUE and BRYCE BASTIAN, Maribel is Dartmouth ‘96 cum laude and once made a fine presentation to ‘54s at a Homecoming dinner from her perspective as an assistant at the Hood Museum .

The memory of MILT KRAMER is kept alive through the annual awards to individuals and groups who show their mettle in helping their fellow humans. The individual award went to Rebecca Melissa Heller ‘05 for her tireless commitment to the people of the Upper Valley - the “Good Neighbor Taxi Service” and a mentoring program involving the contributed efforts of her fellow classmates. The group award was shared by “area” and the Xi Lambda Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. “area” firmly established a “happening” venue for social events, e.g., a summer show of sophomore art, a show of loosely define portraiture and a political art show show in conjunction with Martin Luther King, Jr. week. AKA was recognized for its exceptional involvement in the student community relative to diversity, sexual awareness, women’s solidarity, etc. The awardees are determined by the Dean in consultation with appropriate observers of the passing college scene.

Errors in the newsletters are one of the most productive sources of mail - BOB PRICE: “While others may be willing to trade DICK LEARY to the Phi Gam house 50 years later, I am not among their number. Dick was, is and forever will be a Deke.”

JACK DONAHUE also claims Dekeness while BILL BULLEN raises his hand for Beta.

The JOE MESICS “Back To Basics” movement of shunning email now includes JOHN PEMBERTON, DAVE THIELSCHER, BOB PRICE, NORM KASPARSON, BOB GLUEK and BOB MOWER. Hope they have indoor plumbing ...

GARY ROSENTHAL still works in “the Hat business” in Dallas . He feels that it keeps him off the streets and out of his wife’s hair. “Expecting 11th grandchild soon, although none of the family lives near.” More reasons for great travel.

MEREDITH JEAN MYSERIAN will be at the 50th reunion! A fine signal that we welcome and encourage all widows of our classmates to join in on both the fun and the memories. Jean will come up from her grandson’s graduation from Phillips Academy a week prior to our blast. A cruise to Panama was followed by painting marshes, dunes and flowers on Cape Cod , then it’s down to Longboat Key in Florida . Good health helps make life good.

From TED GASTEYER: “LOIS and I just got back from a wonderful trip (cruise and land) to Alaska . It is a huge state - the people were friendly, the fresh salmon was fabulous and we actually got to see Mt. McKinley (only 10-20% of people can see it.)”

The 50th Book sketch for JACK CHRISTY has been dutifully sent to the guys with a promise to “do better for the 75th.” Jack is considering joining the highly popular ‘54 ski group.

Suspiciously, some Classmates use their wives’ email addresses. Probably different reasons for this. (1) Can’t be bothered, (2) Don’t understand, (3) controlling wife or (4) Federal Witness Protection Program. BOB WOODBERRY is in this group, while Dr. DICK DEANER is putting us on probation with BEV’s address and will check for increases in spam and money dunning for Dartmouth . May well make Hanover in June 2004.

While most of the ‘54s still working are physicians, attorneys and guys in the hat business, JACK FELDMAN continues in the heady world of banking - President and CEO of the First Commerce Bank in California. Record profits and growth make it a pleasure. Jack and KAREN just returned from “two week Windstar cruise, Malta to Venice , with stops in Sicily , Greek islands and Croatia . Train from Venice to Florence and then proceeded to leave a wine deficit in the Tuscany region for the remaining week. Fortunately Karen did the driving.”

LARRY and MARIE RUSSELL are thumbs up for the 50th.

After 25 years of coaching and umpiring girls’ and boys’ softball in Vista , CA , BILL PIERCE has finally hung up his glove and mask. The knees got to him at last. As an afterthought, Bill plans to retire from Computer Sciences Corp. after 28 years. We’ll see him next year on the Green.

Out of Hampton , VA , BOB and SALLY CANESTRARI “continue to spend the majority of our time on a boat. We just completed our 10th trip on the InterCoastal Waterway and have logged some 30,000 miles on the sailboat Sally B. We are currently moving to a powerboat, but will maintain out contact with sailing with the acquisition of a J24 sailboat. This is to spend time with the grandkids who are avid sailors. Life is good.”

JON and KATIE MOORE will be with us saluting 50 years “Insh’Allah”.

Benny JABARA, the little kid, son of RON and CAROL, will matriculate next fall at Penn State . Time flies!

JERRY and JANE SMITH “..sold our home in Burr Ridge , IL last fall and are building a new home in Lake Geneva , WI . Since March 1997, we have been spending 4-5 winter months in Palm Desert , CA in our trusty motor home ‘Big Bird’ (a Blue Bird Wanderlodge). In Palm Desert we keep busy with golf, bridge and are leaders of a local hiking group. We’re about to embark on our fifth annual salmon/halibut fishing trip to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska . This year we will add a trip to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory to visit friends, one of whom is an active gold miner. Probably will not make reunion.” No moss growing on the Smiths ....

LUKE CASE on BILL JENKINS: “Spoke with Bill the other day and pushed him to do the 50th Book submission. He can’t remember where he put the instructions, so I sent him mine. After a seven-year struggle, he regained control of the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation. Forty years ago I calculated that the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation then bore the same ratio to the Mexican economy as did the Rockefeller Foundation to the US economy. Because the Foundation is the operating head of the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla , Bill finds himself President of the University with 8000 students. I told him that the job of the President of a University is to put and keep a roof over the heads of the faculty and the faculty’s job is to teach - period.” Great phrase-maker, that Luke.

Former campus media mogul (Columns Editor of The Dartmouth and Executive Editor of Dart) LARRY MAMLET brags about his daughter Robin’s recent appointment as Dean of Admissions at Stanford University . Larry somehow parlayed his English major into an MD in Psychiatry, a specialty which he practiced with college students.

GEORGE HASKINS is “upset and concerned that only 20 percent of the alumni body voted for the next member of the Board of Trustees. How can we criticize if we don’t participate?” Good point - take heed. On an upbeat note: “I had a hole-in one (157 yards with an 8-iron) on the Ocean Winds course at Seabrook Island , SC on April 1 (no fooling). This is where we have our winter condo. My wife had a hole-in-one there last fall on the Crooked Oaks course (104 yards with a 4-iron). I wonder how many Classmates have had the excitement of getting on an d in in one.? “ Let’s find out - notify your editor.

Just as PAUL WISDOM got settled into our records as being in Hamilton , Montana with an email of bigsky.com, he checked in for 50th Book instructions from Dolores , CO with an email of frontier.net. When queried about it, Paul (and JANE) replied: “The Dolores address is as permanent as it ever is for us. We’ve been here for two years, but our nomadic natures are strong. We will see everyone next June.”

lest any of us forget, Mr. CASWELL reminds us that he is “PARKER” or “CAS”, but not Francis or Frank (his grandfather and uncle died years ago.) As “PETE” BARKER, I have a true understanding of the problem.

Once more on housing. JOHN GILLESPIE attended the 1953 50th to take notes: “The dorms that we will be assigned next year are the newest at Dartmouth . Directly across the street from where our Class tent will be. They are a far cry from the buildings in which we lived 50 years ago. I was assigned a big room on the third floor of Andres with a full bathroom and shower. These dorms are air-conditioned. Remember next spring when you receive the application from the College to send it back immediately , insisting on a private shower and stipulating special needs. A good deal for $38 a night and you don’t have to move your car.” Listen to The Chairman.

DAVE MCLAUGHLIN was presented with an honorary degree at the graduation ceremonies at Colby-Sawyer College . It appears that we have finally overcome the Colby perception of us as cavemen.

Headline in The Dartmouth : “Phi Delt on Track to Re-Recognition. At this point, the house is technically a “colony” on a trial basis. This emergence is from the ashes of de-recognition in 2000.

HUGH and PHYLLIS ROBERTS continue to be the Class greeters for Las Vegas . BARBARA and BOB LEVINE were there in March with their “kids”. The Roberts laid out a Vegas breakfast, then conducted a guided tour of the Red Rock Canyon Conservation area. Dr. BRUCE and WANDA LAFOLLETTE are new to the Las Vegas scene, so maybe the hospitality chores can be shared.

Noting STEVE MULLINS’ claim to have visited all seven continents, DICK PAGE stepped up with a “me too!” and asked whether we have any other Classmates that are the far-traveled.

MIKE BIGGS: “Bohemian Grove begins in two weeks and I’ll be in one of the shows, whose MC is none other than a guy who baby-sat me and brother at camp in 1944 - Merv Griffin.

Pete Barker
PGBarker54@aol.com
(203) 661-7611