|
|
|
Click here for: |
NOVEMBER 2000 HOME COMING It is evident that the Class of 1954 has entered a new phase of its appreciation of its heritage and the manner in which it celebrates its various comings-together. In the light of both a dismally performing football team and predicted uncomfortable weather - an unprecedented number of '54s journeyed to Hanover, including many first-time faces. Your editor spent the weekend in the confines of the Greenwich hospital and is grateful to Cousin DICK BARKER and the many phone-in well-wishers for providing a complete picture of the revelry. The pre-parade conviviality was its usual warm and spirited. 1954 still gets a special reaction from the crowd during the parade. When our banner came into sight, the volume, cheers and applause of the on-lookers increased measurably (and BILL WHITE wasn't even there, doing that unseemly rabble-rousing he does so well). With the specter of the bonfire tragedy at Texas A & M last year, The Dartmouth was full of speculation as to the future of the bonfire in Hanover. A great deal of attention was paid to warning students about "doing nothing stupid", like the unusual propensity to touch the burning pyre. The fire went off as scheduled and the Monday morning sub-headline read "Despite Safe Bonfire, Weekend Arrests Still Up." The engineering goes on, but so does adolescence. The Saturday morning Class meeting had a massive agenda and was captioned with the major theme of "Connect with one another at frequent focused events throughout the year." Secretary DON BERLIN urged Classmates whose addresses and/or email addresses have changed to notify him or the Newsletter Editor so that updates can be supplied regularly to the Class and to our webmaster, PERRY DAVIS. The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine will go to an every-other-month publishing schedule, prompting an after-the-fact decision by the Newsletter Editor to pump out his efforts in the intervening months. This morphed into a discussion of Class finances. Everyone gets the magazine and newsletter - an unacceptable percentage of the Class pays dues, etc., etc. The notion of emailing the newsletter proved unpopular with those needing the tactile contact with the missive and later analysis lead the editor to threaten self-destruction if the Greencard were to be eliminated. President LEWIS then, in his inimitable fashion, took the opportunity to explain the increase in the dues to cover our support of the Rockefeller interns and the athletic sponsorship. The assemblage, tiring of the discussion, nodded in agreement. Head Agent RICK HARTMAN bragged on the outstanding Green Derby performance of the Class - a class record for non-reunion giving to the College. 70% participation and $10,000 over our target. He explained that the solicitation process now relies less on volunteer classmates and more on a centralized approach by phone and letters from the Blunt Alumni Center. Former Trustee PAGE, as he is wont to do, injected himself at this point, stressing the need for increased alumni giving to support the growing need for student programs, services, plant upkeep and maintenance. The next capital campaign will likely be targeted in the area of $1 -$1 .5 billion. In the absence of PETE KENYON, a discussion of Class projects went a little into the ether. The Class of 1953's $10 million 50th reunion gift project was thought to be nice but fairly mundane (no "vibes"). President LEWIS mentioned the idea of adopting the Class of 2004. Had the newsletter editor been present, he would have mentioned the past adoption of another class that went absolutely nowhere, despite a gush of advice and wisdom from our goodselves. VP JAY DAVIS put forth an idea involving a blending of the old and the new in the Baker/Berry library. The annual tradition of BOB ADNOPOZ asking for nominations for the waning number of Class of 1954 awards remaining was observed. This is a serious and valued aspect of our Class that bears significance to the awardee and those around him. Give it some thought and call Bob. JOHN GILLESPIE monopolized the discussion for twenty minutes, exhorting the uninitiated to hie themselves to the holiday luncheons in New York and Boston -mailings probably now received. These are truly gatherings of good cheer and just ooze what we are all about. Separate from the meeting, but on the same topic, BILL GROVER has exerted Herculean efforts to inaugurate a mid-Atlantic '54 holiday luncheon in Baltimore on December 15. Judge NORM VEASEY will put forth some good thoughts and the crab cakes are the best in the area. Classmates in the area have been notified (reservations were due by November 27th.) Plaudits to Bill's broadening of the geography of the Class's observations of the festivity of the season. His off-beat life pursuits are contained in the message: "I'll be gone approx. Nov 12-23 to get on ship in Barcelona Nov 14 via mil. air (I hope), etc." The Class "Athletics Report" was a mélange of tongue-in-cheek commentary on skiing, golf and the harassment of fish. JIM ADAMS, to welcoming applause, regaled those assembled with his description of condor-sized black flies, illegal fly-casting techniques and the off-beat ways some of our classmates use to attract fish. JOHN HESTON was cited for his suspected radioactive implant. The fishing will continue. Contact DICK LEWIS for he-man fishing and DICK PAGE for something called "couples fishing". JAY DAVIS, as previously announced, has arranged ski trips to Haystack, Jan. 21/23 and Aspen, March 5/9, including a joint dinner with '53s at MEAD's Crystal Palace. PETE SCHENCK neatly moved to California and foisted the Florida golf outing on BOB OSMOND (posmond@worldpath.net). See prior newsletter for details. Prior to all this athletic palaver, JERRY GOLDSTEIN distributed bags of "heirloom '54 apples". Our reporter pronounced them "good eatin"'. Vice President JAY DAVIS was commended to his position partially because of his proven ability to mobilize people to recognize their needs and to work positively toward meeting those needs. "Connecting" has become a by-word under his tutelage. The next event is at the Battlefield Bed and Breakfast in Gettysburg April 22/24. Call Jay for details. Recommended reading is "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara. Also, www.gettysburgbattlefield.com. Just when the group thought he was finished, Jay proposed the idea of a 7Oth birthday party in New Yor~ The maestro of New York events, JERRY GOLDSTEIN, offered to begin investigating possibilities. Contact Jerry with wild ideas. The "let's go do something" portion of the meeting concluded with DON BERLIN and DICK PAGE popping the idea of an overseas '54 trip. Stayed tuned. Trustee Emeritus PAGE posited that the state of the College was exceptional and that the dynamics in process would lead toward the evolution of the institution into continued prominence in education and the shaping of adults for leadership in the twenty-first century. The pregame luncheon set-up -Bloody Marys and food - has degenerated into a College-sponsored tent affair in front of the gym. The lack of proximity to rest rooms and the cold/damp environment may have been designed to divert attention from the impending football encounter with an opposing Ivy League team. The comfort of Leverone is sorely missed. You might want to drop a note to Alumni Affairs (in Blunt) about this sad treatment of the Great Class of 1954. The dreariness of the tent was brightened by a visit with DOTTIE HTCH who had journeyed north to see many of her '54 friends The game, as the past, is prologue. Prognosticators bemoan the lack of a base upon which to build future teams. However, the Phoenix ~ rise from the ashes After the brief Memorial Field interlude, the partying continued at the perennial Faculty Lounge site. The warmth and comfort of the place was welcomed by MARY & ALEC GREY, SHELIA & WAYNE WElL, LINDY & DICK LEARY, LYNDA & PETE SCHENCK, MARYANNE & BARRY COX, NICOLE & DICK DANFORTH and ANNE & DANA LOW among others. Award chair BOB ADNOPOZ rose to present the first 2000 Qass of 1954 Award to SEAVER PETERS. A popular choice, Seaver responded with remarks that were both droll and wry. Joining in the applause were adopted Classmate CARRIE PELZEL, JIM CONLIN, AUDREY & DICK LEWIS, DAVE MARTIN, JOIE & DON KELLER, GINNY & JOHN POPE and IRENE & BOB CLARK. SALLY PETERS beamed appropriately. The group then rose as one and proceeded to the piece de resistance of the weekend - dinner at the Montshire Museum in Norwich - a JOHN HESTON production! The setting itself belies the food. Perhaps the event can be repeated for those of us that were not able to attend. In order to finish the mentioning of Classmates present, here is the remainder of the roster: JOAN & JiM ADAMS, SANDY & JOHN GILLESPIE, PATTY & BOB OSMOND, JANE PAGE, BILL GROVER, BRYCE BASTIAN, ANNE & RICK HARTMAN, BARBARA & DON BERLIN, BETTY HESTON, BRAD BORDEN, TONY KANE AND SONJA, LYNN & ART RAUCH, CAROL & HARRY ROBINSON, MARGE & DICK TROWBRIDGE, JAY & MARTHA DAVIS, ROSEMARY & DAVE MANDELBAUM, SHELLY WOOLF, DOROTHY & JERRY GOLDSTEIN, JUDY & DAVE MCLAUGHLIN and the 7 grandchildren of the Gillespies, Pages, Berlins and Shelly. Comes dose to equaling our record-breaking attendance at our 25th. Connecting!! A little thing like a broken knee in a cave in Vietnam is not something to dissuade a '54 like CAROL MULLINS from dragging STEVE back into the fray, including a three -gorge foray on the Yangtze River and sidetrips to Cambodia, Laos Northern Thailand and Myanmar. This adventure accounted for the Mullins' (only) second miss of Homecoming in twenty-seven years. Steve, prior to his love affair with Dartmouth, was a senior at one of the best-known huge high schools in the country -New Trier in Chicago. No fewer than eleven '545 derived from New Trier - Steve, PETE DAVIS, NED HOBAN, STAN JOHNSON, LARRY KELLEY, BOB O'NEAL, BILL PITNEY, DOUG SMITH, JACK SMITH, TED WELDON and KEN ZWEINER. Of the 350 graduates, three of the aforementioned attended their 50th reunion and were prominent in their participation. Steve's comments probably reflected the experiences that most of the '54s had in celebrating their 50ths - the out-of-shape jocks and less-than-gorgeous vamps of 1950 - all of whom, however, still had the spirit, drive and jazz that made the Class of 1950 special. The trio of DICK TROWBRIDGE, DANA LOW and PETE BARKER (out of 192 grads) were the studs at the Summit High School (NJ) celebration. Your newsletter editor foolishly expanded his journalistic efforts into a newsletter for his classmates and has been conned into continuing and running the 55th gathering. NICK DEAN has authored a book, SNOW SQUALL, about the 1-year sailing career of a ship in the mid-l800s. The bow was recovered in the 1980s and a section of the book is penned by the researcher, Dr. David Switzer. Nick is particularly pumped up by the enthusiastic advance proffered.
IN MEMORIAM / JOHN HOWARD RENNER Following graduation, it was the usual grueling effort to earn an MD from George Washington University in 1958. He chose GW for his medical training because of its emphasis on Family Medicine. While there, he ran the outpatient facility - an experience which led him to the "people oriented" pursuit of rural health delivery research and education. After eleven years of family practice in a small Virginia community, he and Diana moved to Wisconsin where he established the Department for Family Medicine and Practice. During their time in Virginia, John actually made house calls in a Ford pickup - a renaissance doctor. He was vociferous enough about his strong beliefs that he attracted national attention and was featured in newspaper articles and television appearances, including Oprah. His concept of Certified Patients, those who can demonstrate a proper absorption of sufficient knowledge about health, gained support in many medical arenas. In later life, John took on the role of debunker of medical fraud on the Internet. He moved into prominence with a certain glee, as he publicly denounced those who attempted to advise the public about health improperly. A month after his death, your editor heard an episode of "Healthwatch" on a local CBS radio station that highlighted the advice and voice of Dr. John Renner. He was certainly one of those magnificent classmates who used their medical training to improve the world. Condolences have been communicated to Diana and their children Andrea and Craig. Those '54s who took an interest in JOHN STEEL's Assembly race in San Diego have received John's description of what happened. Against the odds of a Democratic wave, John was "dirty-tricked" two days before the election with misinformation that deepened the downside. With one win and two losses under his belt, Doctor John has decided that smelling the roses has an infective appeal. SUELLA is pleased. Regardless of whether you agree with John's politics, he deserves our respect and admiration for taking the shot. By the time you receive this newsletter, the Presidential election will likely have been settled. However, in mid-November, it seemed appropriate to contact classmates in the Florida combat zone for comment CHARLIE MORRISON posited that he was two counties distant from the fray, but if Bush won, Harbour Ridge made it happen, having gone four4o~ne for Dubya. Charlie suggested that DICK GATES, in Palm Beach County, was a likely suspect in the confounding of voters. Upon being contacted, Dick opined that people of moderate intelligence should have been able to understand the ballot, but added the observation that the ballot put forth in the newspapers was specific, but did not display the location of the holes! Recognizing the practicalities of the situation, he suggested that, had the dose vote been in Fargo, there would be far less press interest, given the lack of the finer aspects of life in the Dakotas. Dick's accounting firm "merged up" and, at his advanced age, he finds the dynamics of the flurry of dot-com enterprises fascinating while continuing to manage his three offices. He then proceeded to put the entire blame for the political debate on the other '54 in the county, HERB GILDAN. Maintaining the newsletter's laissez-faire dictum, the editor determined not to disturb Mr. Gildan's nap and left the blame-setting to the Class at large. In the current topic of 50th high school reunions, CHARLIE mentioned seeing DON WOODWORTH and BOB MCGRATH at the semi-centennial gathering of those released into the world from Laconia High School in 1950. BARBARA BARKER was scheduled to have her pesky hip fixed on November 29th. The Class's best wishes go out to her with a wish for speedy recovery. In DON BERLIN's column in a recent issue of the Alumni Magazine, he cited the marriage, on July 1, 1955, of DON DESCOMBES to one Elizabeth Barker. This created a major stirring of the Barker-related clan in the Class, now numbering seven. Before any proper ceremonies could be organized to welcome BETTY into the inner circle, DEKE threw cold water on the notion by advising that he had married the gorgeous Betty ~. Deke's new email address is ddescombes@fdriver.com. JAY DAVIS's new email address is jdmd@valley.net Please add it to your Class directory. For those who keep multi-year calendars, please note that JOHN GILLESPIE has reserved the Pillar House in Boston for the December 11,2001. The SCHENCK's move to California began in 1988 when PETE got LYNDA to agree to move from Minneapolis to Tampa on a "test basis". The test is over. Having sold their boat, it was Lynda's turn to make a geographical suggestion and her dream was California. Their tale reads like a ridiculous television script. They flew west, found their dream house, priced 30% below market, bought it, flew home and sold their Florida house for its asking price - all of this in one week! New address: 1412 Shoreline Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93109; (805) 9634508; Prsd@aol.com. Congratulations! At his 50th in Dublin, NH, Pete caught up with DON AUSTERMANN, his old roommate.
1954 CLASS AWARD Few athletes have had the opportunity to blend their love of collegiate competition with their deep respect for the institution of learning that provided the impetus for their intellectual emergence into adult life In 1979, you wrote: "For the past twenty years, I have had the best employer, the finest and most fun jobs and lived in the most fascinating part of the country imaginable". As Director of Athletics for Dartmouth College, you led, shaped and revitalized virtually every program dealing with the manly pursuits of competition and physical conditioning. You are much admired and envied for the career you were chosen for and what you did with it. A high school hockey veteran from Melrose, MA, you carved a typically varied niche at Dartmouth - an Economics major, a brother of Phi Gam, member of the Press Club and AFROTC. Atypically, you starred on the ice) a front line puckster who was one of the "monopolizers of scoring", a ferocious attacker and the elected captain of the squad some of the building blocks to your later prominence in sports leadership. Election to the Sphinx Society attested to the esteem in which you were held. As the Dartmouth correspondent for the Boston Globe, you learned the basics about what matters to the fans and what balances must be observed in the larger realms. During your life in Hanover with Sally and your four children, your activities were certainly not constrained to the athletic side of the College. Among the myriad assignments you accepted were: member of the Dartmouth Health Council, freshman class advisor, chair - Council on Budgets and Priorities for Compensation, member -fraternity study group, member - Trustee's Committee on Educational Affairs and Facilities, advisor to both Phi Gam and Sphinx and member/counselor/secretary/etc. to a wide range of College functions. As a thoughtful and caring local resident, your enthusiasm for improving things led you to the Hanover Recreational Committee, Finance Committee, School Building Committee, School Board, Improvement Society, Lebanon Airport Authority, Mary Hitchcock and a dozen other time and energy-consuming good works. Then, beyond the Hanover line, it has been the ECAC and NCM committees too numerous to list, topped by receiving the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Award from the organization's New Hampshire chapter. Two off-beat contributions to the Class are memorable: your gravelly narration of "The Wearers of the Green" film, and bringing us The Balloon Man, our first adopted classmate. You are a man who brings us extraordinary pride and we are happy to present you with The Class of 1954 Award.
October 2000 Dick Lewis, President |