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JULY 2001
A-A-AND THE GRANITE OF
NEW HAMPSHAH......
With the month of July, DON BERLIN and I begin our eighth year of bringing you news of classmates, news of the Class, news of the College and assorted items of frivolous nature. When we accepted these responsibilities in July of 1994, we naively proclaimed that we would strive to mention every classmate within our likely ten years of service. At this writing, we are still short by 104: 35 grads, 27 non-grads, 25 deceased and 17 who have declared themselves Not Interested. Many of those we count as "mentioned" have been cited merely as "present at X affair" or in the fine research work done by Don on what we were doing back then, after graduation, etc. However, in the area of such Class statistics, we have learned that the only people truly interested in them are us! Alumni Fund participation and Class dues are another matter. Now - think about this. Do you want the only ‘54 mention of you and yours to be a nicely written obituary, or do you want to take the minimal time required to jot a few notes on the enclosed Green card a give a wave to some old friends? Everyone had at least one friend. Do it right now - dig the card out of the wastebasket and scrawl a few words.
President DICK LEWIS has called a meet of the Class officers and Executive Committee for November 6-8 on Cape Cod. Among a host of topics, we will be discussing the reconnecting process and plans/process for our 50th reunion in June 2004. The men who are slated to attend are listed in the masthead to the left. If you have ideas and opinions to offer, contact one of us and it will be included.
Speaking of Green cards, here is material from the many recently received.
In response to DICK PAGE’s observation that pretzels were more expensive than beer in Poland, an unsigned card bearing a Middlesex/Essex, MA postmark asks: "Do you realize that deernuts are under a buck?" Nice opener.
STEVE FAST: "Just finished a 3-year term as Alumni Councilor for the Dartmouth Alum. Club of LA. A tremendously rewarding and stimulating experience. I am convinced the College will remain among the very best. I am sure the Student Life Initiative (SLI) will represent a major achievement in the 21st century. I was on the Admissions Committee and came away with a deep appreciation for the work this office performs." Steve joins over two dozen ‘54s who have served on the Alumni Council. His West Coast location required an extra chunk of dedication for the semi-annual trips to Hanover for meetings.
While many find the need for excitement satisfied only with travel to exotic locales, DICK FRANKLIN provides a fine example of discovering the acres of diamonds in our own backyards: "Wife and I treated our 7 offspring and spouses, plus 24 grandchildren, to a cruise up the River Hackensack in the Garden State of New Jersey. Warm weather. Many bulrushes. Meadowlands were alive with rats, but strangely non-odoriferous. We men stopped off at the Bada-Bing Strip Club for a couple of hours while our women, girls and underage boys visited a strip mall and took in a PG movie. Later, refreshed, we all boarded the scow for an uneventful return trip to Harrison, NJ. A most stimulating and titillating voyage. Highly recommended." Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it
Dr. JOHN and NATALIE FENN have signed on for the ‘54 cruise of the Greek Isles "in celebration of our mutual septuagenarian status." Then some delightful news: "On another note - related to Yale-New Haven Hospital, the medical staff contributed funds for a portrait of me to commemorate my 11 years as Chief of Staff and 42 years in the hospital in one capacity or another. Although it has been 8 years since I retired, my unveiling and ‘hanging’ was celebrated with a nice group of colleagues, friends and family. In addition to being truly honored, there is a certain vicarious feeling of remaining within the institution to which I devoted my surgical and administrative careers. Old roommate BOB ADNOPOZ was present and helped me enjoy an event which too often occurs posthumously." John was in charge in 1993 when your editor had a graphite mitral valve installed and gave assurance that the heart-lung machine would, indeed, be plugged in.
In answer to opinions on the "new" approach to fund-raising, BILL GROVER indicates a thumbs down. He felt the few calls he had from students were "lethargic and uninspired" with little prompting to kick in. He misses the personal contact from classmates and feels that a return to that approach would be both welcomed and more productive. Bill’s dancing feet have carried him on cruises up the Baltic to Saint Petersburg, to Berlin and back to Dover. Again -don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it!
Phenomenal note from DICK SHELLEY: "Celebrated my ‘Dartmouth Glee Club graduation’ by participating in the International Church Choir Music Festival in Berne, Switzerland in late June. Forty of us from dinky little New Bern, NC (named after Berne, home of our Swiss founder) took part. This was our first time singing with a full symphony orchestra, plus 500 voices from all over the world. 80÷ year-old Sir (knighted by the Queen) David Wilcocks conducted the 2-hour program." Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Happy smiles on the faces of MORT and JUDITH GALPER: "After four years of winter rental, we decided to take the plunge and purchase a permanent place in Palm Harbor, Florida. Returned to Bedford, MA after an uneventful dosing. Excited about being able to escape the wintry blasts at our convenience and the short commute to the Class golf outing. Hope to see classmates seeking a ‘warm’ welcome. 3875 Pheasant Court, Palm Harbor, FL 34685. No phone yet. Returning there in mid-December."
HOWIE ARONSON: "Everything still going well with MARGE and me in New Canaan, CT. We are planning a trip to Prague and Poland in July and August. Marge has an art meeting and I’ll tag along for the Pilsner and kielbasa! Son Miles is in Boulder, CO with the First National Bank of Colorado and doing well. I’m still active flying the ‘little ones’." Howie hopes to make some of the reconnecting activities in the next year.
JIM BOWERS: "My wife and I will be returning to China in the beginning of August for another year of teaching, this time as a foreign expert in Business English. We’ll be in Shanghai at the PCEC Science & Technology Management College. 139 Yu Yao Road, Shanghai, China P.R.. I’m not sure we’ll have an email address there. Since the last time we were there, we had to leave on 48 hours notice after the Tiananmen Square massacre, we’re hoping this time to find some changes for the better although our most recent emails from the college have been held up a week to ten days so they could be scrutinized by the security forces before being sent on. We’ll see. Anyone passing by is welcome to drop in." Fascinating, challenging and, maybe, dangerous. Best of luck to Jim and JYTTE. A far cry from Spearfish, South Dakota.
DOUG HOSKINS admits to a possible short term memory aberration relative to his email address. Please change the entry in your 1954 directory to hojodo@msn.com. Doug and JOYCE continue to hold forth in the hamlet of Shiremanstown, PA.
The ever-peripatetic BOB MOWER forwarded a delightful photo of his youngest grandson, Lee Robert Hall, in what looks like fourteen acres of bluebonnets. He’s looking for advice or suggestions about being in Kiev and the Ukraine while adopting a sister for Lee. Bob posits that he would be happy to be involved in the 1954/2004 project for students who might be considering Fine Arts/Antiques as a field. He’s been wandering amongst the ancient for some forty years.
The spirit and drive of MILT KRAMER lives on in Hanover with the annual award of the Milton Sims Kramer Group Award, now in its 46th year. For 2001, MOSAIC was selected. The organization is one which does a fine job of bridging the vast array of cultures and ethnicities which are now an integral part of the Dartmouth Experience. A few phrases from the citation: "providing a supportive forum for community members who are of biracial, bicultural, multiracial and multicultural backgrounds; topics such as identity, the dilemma of choosing one ethnicity rather than embracing a complexity of identities; dating at Dartmouth, etc.; the ‘Race and the Greek system’ event packed Alumni Hall." Dean Larimore’s letter indicates a contribution of $750 to MOSAIC’s account for further good work. Milt would have been pleased.
JOHN GILLESPIE just had a banner sales week and moved 7 copies of "Vox Clamantis and Dessert", the best-selling cookbook from our 40th. The inventory of the limited-edition second printing is waning, so get your orders into John or your editor ($31.50, including shipping).
Cape Cod D Club President~ DICK BARKER chaired their 45th annual dinner at the Dan’l Webster Inn last June. 70 showed up! LO-YI CHAN kept the group enthralled with the multifaceted dynamics of campus planning within the confines of the opinions of faculty, students, administration, town, alumni, etc. Revelers included the CHRISTOPHEs, DUNC ROBERTS, MILKEYs, WOOLFs, and the Cape Cod BARKERS.
From RIP COFFIN: "Headed to Detroit in 10 days and will stay with BOB FLOOD for a night before doing some business the next day. He tells me that he is serving as a park guard for a neighborhood playground in his spare time.
CAROL and I will be in California for a week in August with JANE and PAUL DABNEY, then we’re taking a trip to Italy in September. In a weak moment I agreed to co-chair a committee that is planning the Interim Ministry Network’s 2002 conference next June on the outskirts of Baltimore - with that plus helping provide training for folks who want to go into interim ministry and my consulting work, I seem to keep pretty busy. Peace."
In May, DICK PAGE issued a blanket invitation to ‘54s to attend the
dedication ceremony for the crew shell the ‘Jane 0.", named for JANE and
one of eight oared shells the Pages have endowed in perpetuity. Jane was honored
for her years of contributions to Dartmouth (including the maintenance of Dick).
Jane is seen anointing the Jane 0. with expensive champagne below. See
the back page for the free-loaders.
More from BILL GROVER. This time, it’s cemeteries. While visiting the Holywood Cemetery in Brookline, MA as part of a professional tour group, Bill encountered DICK LEARY. Following his retirement as Brookline Town Manager, the town fathers approached him and blackmailed him into assuming the management of Holywood and St. Joseph’s cemeteries. Dick enjoys the job and is a knowledgeable guide. Two of his "guests" are Rose and Joe Kennedy. Bill is directing/setting up a tour program of the Mt. Auburn cemetery in Cambridge.
In conjunction with the announcement of the Trustees’ Principles a few years ago, President Jim Wright blurted out that it "might be the end of the Greek System as we have known it." The New England press, the Daily D, the students and many alumni had a ball with the (honest) opinion! Since the gaffe, with only minor tweaking by the administration, the students have been doing it to themselves. The Beta house has been derecognized, followed recently by Zeta Psi for the publication of an obscene newsletter. Chi Heorot (Chi Phi), Psi U and Theta Delt have maimed themselves and, on May 29, the Greek presidents determined to dissolve the Coed, Fraternity, Sorority Council (CFSC). On the other side, the administration, without prior consultation with student leaders, announced on June 23rd a policy prohibiting "outdoor alcohol". They even admitted the error of not laying the groundwork in a preannouncement email to alumni leaders. Reading the Daily D is exhausting these days and one has to occasionally shake oneself to remember that the prime purpose of attending Dartmouth is to gain an education.
JAY DAVIS has supplied a complete update on the addresses of TOM TYLER. Grab your directory and enter: ttyler@LocalLinknet; home - 55570 Indian Lake Rd., Dowagiac, MI 49047 - tel (616) 782-7865.
IN MEMORIAM
We have learned of the passing of four of our classmates over the recent year and a half. Our Project Coordinator, PETER KENYON, has arranged for the contribution of a book in memory of each of the men in Baker Library. We are diminished by the loss of our classmates.
William Edmond Dutton
We were notified by Bill’s brother, Richard ‘51, that he had died of heart disease on January 26, 2000 in Detroit. Bill came to Dartmouth from South Orange, NJ and the Northwood School. He was an all-around high school leader and athlete, serving as student council president, captain of the basketball and ski teams and a letterman in football and baseball. After rooming with CHUCK KOIVUN in Russell Sage, he determined to get his military obligations out of the way and left in early 1952 for service as commander of an ordnance maintenance company. He returned to campus and graduated with the Class of 1959. He had a satisfying career in the paper business, getting his basic training with Scott, then taking over as President of Smith-Scharff Paper in Decatur, IL in 1973. His entry in "Reflections" shows a smiling man in plaid pants in the company of Mickey Mouse. Bill is survived by four children.
James Burke Fisher
Jim’s passing was discovered through the College’s sweep of Social Security records. He died from a sudden blood dot in New York City last October 25th. At Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, his interests ranged from football to the paper to dramatics to student government. In Hanover, he roomed with DWIGHT KETELHUT (dec) and ANDY GUILLIANO. The records reflect a man of broad interests with the capacity to both lead and create. A History/Philosophy major, he counted Delta Tau Delta, the DOC and the Undergraduate Council among his involvements. Election to Green Key was a feather in his cap and his future pursuits were foretold by his Editor-in-Chief slot of the Jackolantern. His reddish-blond hair gave him a look that separated him from the standard ‘54. Jim’s career, as recounted in two editions of the newsletter, was in the field of publishing - senior positions at all the major "houses" and active involvement with an number of off-beat authors including Vincent Price, Ayn Rand, Colette and William Styron. In "Reflections" he listed his first wife NATHALIE and no children. Jim showed up at the New York holiday luncheon in 1998, still a member of the Graduate Faculty of the English Department at George Mason University (UVA). He showed up again in 1999 and was badgered into supplying a life history and a wonderful story of his initial contact with wife ROBIN and the subsequent arrival of twin boys. Unfortunately, Jim was bedeviled by manic/depression, a condition which was worsened by his being thrust into the position of "key mentor" to multitudes of company employees following post-takeover massive staff reductions. His symptoms worsened to the point where he lost his beloved Robin and the boys. Robin has remarried and reports that 14-year old Mason is pursuing writing in Europe while musician Bradley, among other things, has become an accomplished repairer of church organs. A brilliant and troubled man, Jim’s life became a tragic one. Lastly, he was our first newsletter editor after graduation and, typically, was named the head of the editors’ association.
Kenneth Maurice Pulley
Ken died on April 25th after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. Ken Pulley was the penultimate "good guy" in all aspects of his life. Coming out of high school in Bethlehem, PA, he roomed with two other products of industrial communities - CLINT GAYLORD and JOE KEENAN. In addition to winning academic honors, he had led his school as president and captain of the football and wrestling teams. At Dartmouth, he compiled a rich experience which included Beta Theta Pi, a Masters from the Tuck/Thayer program, Phi Beta Kappa and marriage to JOAN Straka in his senior year. Clint mentioned that Ken’s love of debate would keep him up all night, arguing philosophy with HAP WINSLOW and DANNY McCARTHY. He wisely finished his football career at three years to dedicate his energies to heart, home and the books. Like many a Tuck/Thayer graduate, Ken emerged from school to dive into the nascent information and data-processing revolution. The bulk of his career was spent in the management of the discipline at IBM, Tyler Refrigeration and Clark Equipment. During an eight-year stint in South Bend, Ken and Joan adopted three children and dove into life-long participation in Catholic school education. Community involvement as a responsibility of the businessman was his favorite topic and a page-worth can be read in "Reflections". Late in life, he accepted a part-time position as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Lima, OH and, after getting a growing number of houses built, declared: ‘This is truly a great ministry and it’s like starting a whole new career." Defined the man.
Richard Edward Armstrong
Dick died May 3rd, losing a battle with cancer. DOROTHY FITCH received the news from his daughter, Amy. Dick’s retirement as a Navy Captain provided him with the care of a VA hospital near his home in Palo Alto. Typical of ‘54s from Southern California, Dick’s writeup in the Green Book reflected no activities in his Pasadena high school. Some quirk of administration put him into 111 Gile with JOE MESICS and GEORGE VOSS (dec), enough to try the patience of Job. In addition to being a brother of Delta Tau Delta, the Corinthian Yacht Club and NROTC, Dick, for some reason, was a Russian Civilization major. For relativity, read page 71 of The Aegis, under Russian Club. With an MBA from UCal and a year at Harvard, he spent the bulk of his career in finance-related positions in the nuclear, construction, electronics and food industries. JANE predeceased him by several years. They were the proud parents of three children and opted for a suburban life to provide a family-oriented environment. As life-long residents of the Bay Area, The Armstrongs were strong proponents of community involvement. In four mentions in recent newsletters, Dick listed LUKE CASE, BEAVER NASH and TOM KELSEY as friends visited. In claiming his ‘78 Mercury as the Class’s oldest car, he called upon TOM HARRINGTON to verify. DAVE RANSOM specifically thanked him for assistance on the memorial service at our 45th - his first return to Hanover since graduation. An interesting man that drew people to him.
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Joan Pulley asked whether she would continue to receive The Alumni Magazine. Glad she asked. All Class widows continue to receive both the magazine and the newsletter. Under the Class Presidency of JERRY GOLDSTEIN, all wives were made members of the Class and we are more than pleased to keep you within our family, plus, news from you is always welcomed.
