| ALUMNI Class Notes 1950s |
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From the Winter 2006 Andover Bulletin 50 ABBOTTove Dithmer Osterberg 10 Bayberry Ln. Rye Brook NY 10573 914-937-2470
50 Eric B. Wentworth 2126 Connecticut Ave. NW, Apt. 32 Washington DC 20008 202-328-0453 ebw@bellatlantic.net
PHILLIPS How about enjoying your 73rd birthday at the Taj Mahal? That’s what George Beatty did back in October with his wife, Noelle ’50.
“Noelle and I had a superb time,” George writes, “on a recent three-week journey to India and Bhutan that we took on our own, using local guides who’d been lined up for us by an Indian travel group. Highlights included clear views of the Himalayas that we saw while flying both to and from Bhutan; a colorful Bhutanese archery contest where the contestants shot arrows into an 18-inch bull’s-eye 150 yards away; tracking a wild tigress for 40 minutes in Ranthambore and sighting rare birds in the Keoladeo Sanctuary; a cooking lesson involving a dozen different spices; countless close-hand urban encounters with cattle, vehicles, and humans of every description; exposure to abysmal poverty and extravagant wealth; the Taj Mahal on my birthday; the famous bas-relief sculptures at Khajuraho; and a night on the Ganges at Varanasi, the holiest city of India, to celebrate Diwali, which is the Hindu Festival of Lights and a major Indian holiday. All in all, an extraordinary experience.”
Another traveler, Jerry Schauffler, reported in November that he and his wife, Barbie, had just returned from their first foray into Latin America via an art trip sponsored by their local museum. Jerry wrote, “Our journey took us to Brazil, Argentina and Chile with a side trip to Easter Island (Chilean, though 2,500 miles distant!). A huge high point was a chance encounter in Buenos Aires with ‘Cuerpos Pintados,’ an extraordinary exhibition of 100 mural-size photos of nude male and female models whose bodies, as though each was a canvas, had been painted by 45 Chilean artists. Some were very thought provoking, some wonderfully amusing and others nearly impossible to decipher. (Are those two kissing faces really the opposing halves of someone’s backside?!) This good fortune was then capped by an evening in Santiago with Roberto Edwards, the fascinating creator of ‘Cuerpos Pintados,’ who began his massive project way back in 1981, is about to begin a world tour with it, and says ‘maybe’ it will come to the United States ‘eventually.’ What a pity if our uptight society can’t handle this tour de force!” (Note from class secretary to Addison Gallery: Bring it to PA!)
Bruce Kaiser wrote that he traveled to South America last spring and spent “about four days in the Peruvian Amazon, eight days in the Sacred Valley of the Incas (including Machu Picchu), four days on Easter Island and 10 days on the Galapagos Islands. ... It was a great trip. Took 2,700 pictures and edited to 1,600. Will share with any interested parties.”
For his next excursion, added Bruce, who retired three years ago after 46-plus years with DuPont, “I plan to spend about a month in Africa on safari and with the mountain gorillas.” Closer to home, Bruce said he takes his six children (ages 41 to 54) with spouses, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren each July to the Outer Banks: “We usually get 22 to 26 people. Fortunately, we are all good cooks.” Bruce also said he was updating the values of artworks he has collected for personal enjoyment, and finding numerous “pleasant surprises.”
If Bob Goddard is off doing errands when you phone him at his Hampton, N.H., home, you may hear his recording, “Bob’s Bar and Grill, where the elite meet to eat.” No, Bob has not found a new calling as a restaurateur. But he has other pursuits. Bob was recently honored by the Dalton Club, a gentlemen’s retreat in an historic house in Newburyport, Mass., for his gift of new furniture for the club’s parlor. Bob is also a director of the Hampton Rod and Gun Club, where he made another gift that funded a clubhouse addition.
We received encouraging medical reports from two classmates just before Thanksgiving.
From Bill Gonzalez: “My radiation treatment was completed, and it looks like it may have arrested the spread of the melanoma to areas behind the eye and especially to the brain. ... I am now waiting for the eye to heal from the radiation to next have a cataract Lasik treatment to recover eyesight in the right eye. Aside from the above, all’s well in Orlando, Fla.”
And from Caleb Woodhouse, after open heart surgery last spring: “The rehabilitation and the overall recovery are going very well: I can’t believe how good I feel now, not that I felt that bad before the ‘event’ occurred. Many workouts and much brisk walking and high hopes of tennis.”
On a sad note, however, we must report the deaths of classmates David Pingree on Nov. 11 and Byron Harvey on Dec. 20. See the “In Memoriam” section for their obituaries.
51 ABBOT Connie Hall DeNault 37 Green St. Marblehead MA 01945 781-631-9233 dkdenault@comcast.net
51 George S.K. Rider 42 Woodland Dr. Brightwaters NY 11718 631-666-5576 jennyrdr@aol.com
PHILLIPS Stop the clock, or at least slow it down a little! Our 55th Reunion is now more than a blip on the radar screen. Nat Reed called to fill me in on October’s Leaders’ Weekend. It was crowded with events helping to prepare for next June’s reunions.
Joe Mancini apparently never learned the lesson about volunteering: “Don’t.” He did, and will be contacted shortly by Nat—marching orders to follow. Anyone interested in lending a hand, please call Nat at 978-526-1648.
Nick Thorndike kindly forwarded an article that appeared recently in his Harvard class newsletter: “Last spring, the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association (NH&RA) proudly announced the establishment of the J. Timothy Anderson Awards for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation. The Timmy Awards were created in memory of Tim, who was a singular figure in the rehabilitation business.” Last May was the first year the awards were presented. The ceremonies took place at a dinner held at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel for the NH&RA spring forum.
Emily and Ozzie Ayscue visited Marge and Tom Dove in Vienna last September. The Doves are both retired from foreign service. They live in a rooftop apartment, the deck of which looks out over the Vienna skyline, with St. Stephen’s Cathedral and other spires and landmarks clearly visible. Marge and daughter Hilary traveled to Bhutan at the foot of the Himalayas in November. While the distaff Doves were in Asia, Tom was in the U.S. visiting Ozzie and Emily. Hilary received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in four years. Her doctorate was in genetics. She is currently studying patent law in Germany and will marry in Poland next summer. The couple will live in Munich.
The Ayscues attended the wedding last summer of nephew Quincy Ayscue Jr., son of Ozzie’s late brother Quincy ’53. The ceremony was performed by Episcopal priest John E. Hayes ’63 on Playa del Carmen beach near Cancun, Mexico. Also attending was cousin Dr. Robert Renner ’60. Ozzie remains busy counseling clients. He has not mastered the art of saying “no” and is still active on a number of boards.
Ed Nef also attended Leaders’ Weekend. He has recently sold the school he founded in Mongolia to the lady who has day-to-day responsibility for running it. Ed leaves shortly for China, where he will be discussing teacher training with authorities in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. He looks forward to events halfway around the world and will join some Andover faculty and alumni in Beijing. He still owns three foreign language schools in the Washington, D.C., area—two specializing in foreign languages and one in English—a joint venture with American University emphasizing teacher training skills.
Last summer, Ed took his two grandsons, ages 5 and 7, and their two friends, also boys 5 and 7, plus the parents on a trip to Ulan Bator. The highlight was an excursion to northern Mongolia, 10 miles from the Siberian border—21 hours by plane, two days by jeep and two days on horseback. Great stuff for show-and-tell when the kids got back to school! What an experience!
Nov. 29, 2005, promptly at 10 a.m., Nat Reed convened a telephone conference call with Pat Gerety and Nancy Imbriano of Andover. Joining in on the call were Bob Doran, Tom Regan, Connie DeNault ’51, Bill Duffy, Frank Yatsu, Doc Castle and yours truly. Absent from the call were Dick Kapelson and Nick Thorndike.
Our fund-raising goal has been set to generate enough money to increase the Tom Regan Scholarship Fund from $97,000 to $250,000, which constitutes a half scholarship to be added in to the years ahead. Tom’s talents in the teaching of English and his administrative skills in running the department span four decades. As classmates and friends, we feel that commemorating Tom’s contributions to Andover represents a fitting goal for the Class of ’51 and for the fortunate students whose lives he touched.
The reunion kicks off Thursday, June 8. Our headquarters will be Bartlet Hall. Rooms will be available on Thursday night. Tentative events include a golf tournament on Friday morning followed by a lunch at the North Andover Country Club. Saturday activities will include a tour of the Addison Gallery led by the new director, Brian Allen, followed by two afternoon panel discussions featuring classmates. The panel subject matters are yet to be finalized, but will be chosen from: “Medicine and the Challenges of the 21st Century”; “Foreign Affairs as We Go Forward”; and “Educational Shortcomings: New and Possible Solutions.”
We will be relying on each of you to help. If everyone makes five calls to friends, relatives, dormmates or teammates, the number returning will swell. Details about the phone tree will follow.
Stay tuned, and stay well. June 8-11 is just a short time away. Mark your calendars!
52 ABBOTMary “Molly” Edson Whiteford 503-636-0980 Dave@Spectracolors.com
52 Stephen Charnas 212 High St., NE Albuquerque NM 87102 505-242-8050 stevecharnas@swcp.com
PHILLIPS I am sorry to report news of the death of our classmate John Vail. I won’t repeat here the account of his interesting and productive life, which was described in the fall 2005 class notes. I also regret to pass on the news that Aubrey Goodman has not been well.
On a happier note, Henry Cooper unexpectedly found himself appearing before the cameras in the Hollywood film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. In Henry’s words, “The film starred Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett and me, not necessarily in that order. I had an eight-second, one-line role, about five minutes into the movie. You missed me if you blinked at the wrong moment. I got the part because my daughter Molly was working for the film’s producer. The film was shot in Rome, and when I visited her there she said she was in the middle of a flap over a scene where the Bill Murray character was going to be interviewed by a New York television talk-show person. The actor playing the part of the interviewer had flown in from New York, checked into his hotel then had a stroke. (He totally recovered two weeks later.) Molly said there was no way the actor could make it to the shooting two days later. Quick as a flash, I volunteered, ‘What about your old man?’ ‘Oh, Daddy,’ she said, waving her hand dismissively.
“The next morning the phone rang in my hotel room. ‘Remember that part we talked about last night?’ Molly asked. Molly took me out to the film studio, Cinecitta. One dressing room door had a blue star and the name Bill Murray below it. On another door was a big blue star and the name Henry Cooper below it. The rest is movie history—and a demonstration that when opportunity knocks, even if you are 70, you should swing the door wide open. Molly later wanted to make it clear that she’d had nothing to do with my selection. Apparently, when the crisis occurred, a friend of Molly’s had said to the director, ‘Molly’s dad is in Rome. Why don’t we get him?’ And they got me.”
On Oct. 14-15 about 15 classmates and many spouses or companions enjoyed a mini-reunion organized in Boston by Ed Selig. We hastened through the rain and darkness of Friday night to the comfortable apartment of Del Alberts on the Boston waterfront, where Del had a buffet arranged for us. On Saturday morning we hastened to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on the Fenway (in more rain) for a docent-led tour of that amazing art collection. Saturday evening saw us boarding the good ship Henry Longfellow for about three hours on the Charles River and Boston Harbor, cocktails in hand and feasting at a buffet supper, and we were treated there to performances by our musical stars Geoff Brittin and Lloyd Farrar on the trombone and flugelhorn. Other classmates present for all or part of the weekend and not previously mentioned above were Mike Bromberg, Don Falvey, Hugh Fortmiller, Paul Jameson, Peter McIntyre, Bob Page, Bill Reeves, Joe Ross, Ralph Stuart, Joe Wennik and David Slavitt.
Several poets and teachers from our days at PA appear in David Slavitt’s new book of essays on poetry and poets titled Re Verse. In the book, Dudley Fitts, David’s teacher in his PA senior year (1951-52) is given admiring attention. David recalls: “All of Fitts’ students were in awe of him, as I was, despite the fact that he was extraordinarily kind to me and very patient. I would appear every few weeks at his house in Hidden Field with a sheaf of poems the thickness of which would now represent a year’s work, and he would give me tea and go over my efforts, line by line. In the book David writes about talent: “In an unexamined way, I suppose I must have believed that all you had to do was have talent and maybe a little common sense, and you would eventually go on to succeed in writing or painting or composing or whatever it was. After all, all the biographies I read as a small boy worked out to nothing less than grandeur, even if posthumous.” David notes that when he got to Yale, the English department there let him do pretty much whatever he wanted because, as one professor told him, “You are one of Fitts’ boys.”
Classmates, please note that my e-mail address has changed to stevecharnas@swcp.com.
53 Patricia Eveleth Buchanan 9 The Valley Rd. Concord MA 01742 978-369-6838 Pebl35@comcast.net
ABBOT Audrey Taylor MacLean sent this note from her home in Houston just after Hurricane Rita had rampaged into Texas: “Just to update you, we had no problem with Hurricane Rita. It went east of us, and we didn’t even lose power. I feel for the people in East Texas and Louisiana, however. To update you on my travels, I took a trip on the Delta Queen with my sister in April, which was a treat. We went from New Orleans to Memphis, seeing plantations, battlefields and, of course, Graceland, but the most fun was just being on the old boat. I guess it won’t be pulling into New Orleans again for a while. In May our son was married in Cary, N.C., outside of Raleigh. It was a wonderful chance for a family reunion. We are spread all over the country, so we need events like weddings to bring us together.” Audie and her husband spent most of the summer in Canaan, N.H., and were planning to return in the fall. “We can’t resist October in New England,” she added.
Connie Weldon LeMaitre and her husband, George, spent two weeks in October in Japan, combining business and the pleasures of sightseeing. Among the many snapshots she shared with Ellen Smith and me at one of our catch-up luncheons were scenes of young schoolchildren queued up for class and dressed in bright green pinafores. Those costumes reminded me of something Miss Ritchie might have said to us (certainly the Gargoyle contingent) on our way to gym class: “Straighten your ‘pinnies,’ girls!” From congested urban streets to gardens and shrines swathed in mist, Connie’s pictures were fascinating to see. As for Ellen, she was heading off to Costa Rica in December with family and friends to celebrate her brother Hugh’s 70th birthday. I hope to have a bit more on that in the next Bulletin.
As I write these notes, I am embarking on the second week of my full retirement, and I have to say it feels like heaven. Sometimes a small temblor has to occur to clear the inner cobwebs—in my case it was the company I worked for choosing to make a “reduction in force” which jolted me into realizing it was about time, after all, to find out what lay around the bend. Every time I had peeked around that bend I had backed off, unhappy at the thought of losing touch with my second family, but also unsure about whether I’d be able to fashion a new routine for myself. Perhaps I’ll find that a routine isn’t even necessary. Right now the novelty of one day following another without schedules or deadlines (excepting the due date on class notes) is pure bliss.
I would love to hear from you, especially those of you who haven’t been heard from for a very long time.
53 Randy Heimer P.O. Box 694 Wainscott NY 11975 631-537-7717 212-396-2363 (Work) 212-737-9379 (Fax) rander007@aol.com
PHILLIPS World events can sometimes overwhelm the specifics of individual lives and render the purpose of this column to the margins. Hurricane Katrina was just such an event. The storm’s devastation and horror are still unimaginable except to those who experienced them firsthand. The few reports from classmates who did make it through were generally positive. To those from whom we haven’t heard, we wish the very best, and hope, too, for the safety of their families.
Responding to a Shelby Tucker inquiry, Bill Wiegand, who lives in Metairie, La., reported that he evacuated to Columbia, Miss. Bill was one of the lucky ones when he returned home to find his condo intact with only 1.5 feet of water in his office. He says he’s doing OK. Shelby spoke of his hometown roots of Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian, Miss., as having been “exterminated.” Indeed, it was Mother Nature’s version of a holocaust. Skip Kimball escaped unscathed and writes, “Lafayette got only 15 minutes of wind and rain. In fact, [wife] Linda and I left for Silverton, Colo., and Steamboat Springs the day before the hurricane hit New Orleans.” Skip spent most of his vacation watching the event on TV, as most of us did.
Tad Girdler writes but for the second time since graduating from Andover, but assures me he does read the column, to wit, his remarks about the summer Bulletin: “I’d like to offer some comfort on being 70: Everything bad in your life happens between the ages of 10 and 70. So, for those of us who have already hit that milestone, relax. It’s all downhill from here!” I must say, I haven’t read such insightful, philosophical musings since H.L. Mencken. Tad was also kind enough to regale this writer with a personal account of a Carson Parks encounter in the mid-’60s which I can’t reproduce here, unfortunately. I can add that George Bixby, Mary and Ken Sharp, and Joan and Stu Ogden were all present at a “celebration of Carson’s life” held at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, Fla., in late November. George reports that it was a splendid affair and a fine tribute to the man.
Another timely communiqué from a seldom-heard-from classmate, John Poppy, tells of his being “lured out of my stay-at-home ways” by none other than Paulette and Bill Kaufmann with an offer to stay a few days with them in their Rome apartment. “You will love Rome,” Bill wrote. “It is full of enthusiasm—just like Paulette. Ancient—just like me. And it’s got all those Roman things lying around. The food is lovely (better after 9 p.m., when all the Americans have finished eating).” “Correct on all counts,” says John, “and what made a 10-day ‘Italian sampler’ in September sweeter than any gelato Rome can offer was Bill and Paulette themselves; casually generous hosts, good students of that old country, wry and affectionate docents for a friend who had not been there before. I did love Rome and Florence—as if I’d saved Italy for late in life.” Closer to home, John is executive editor at a travel magazine that’s expanding its reach to AAA members across the West. Most importantly, he likes it and the people he works with. On occasion John heads up to Seattle to be with his close friends Francie and Fred Wardenburg. Fred is retired, which allows him “quality” time for his 36-foot Catalina and those jaunts up and down the coast with John from Baja California to Canada.
I had occasion to prevail upon Norton Wright for a little art world counseling recently and got up to date on Nort’s latest. He writes, “Movie production continues apace with two scripts I hope to shoot back-to-back in Florida, starting in February. In my dual career, as ‘Grandma Moses of New York Abstract Expressionism,’ I continue to create mega-size canvases that I sell through the Schomburg Gallery in Los Angeles. And, finally, running being a metaphor for life, I’ve entered the Brentwood, Calif., 5K race as well as the Santa Barbara half-marathon in November.” He confesses that his times have slowed over the years (really?), but in his 70-plus division he says the competition is light, and “most of us try to run fast enough to avoid being ticketed for vagrancy.” My vote for the fittest of the fit amongst the great Class of ’53 are: Joe Mesics on two-wheelers; Nort Wright on his own wheels; and, of course, Tom Shoop on his golf cart. Be well, all.
54 Nancy Donnelly Bliss 31 Cluf Bay Rd. Brunswick ME 04011-9349 207-725-0951
ABBOT Since Martha Belknap “retired” in 2000, she now has four part-time teaching jobs, including teaching English as a second language to Mexican women, music in two Montessori preschools, yoga to the elderly, and piano lessons in her home. Martha looks forward to having her two books for children reprinted as one volume in early 2006. She writes that she and husband Bill are “healthy and happy and love visitors at our home in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.”
Griermoen Smith Catledge has moved to an assisted living community in Lynchburg, Va. She wrote that it is “a beautiful place, full of great, educated people.” Griermoen needed to make the move due to painful back and legs from 30 years of lifting as an occupational and physical therapist.
Lucy Morley Clarke volunteers at a hospital in Attleboro, Mass., and also has enjoyed trips to Ireland and Washington. Gail Husted Ehrhardt moved to Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., “a glorious area” near Birch Landing, she says.
Joan Wheeler Kaufman sends greetings to all and was sorry to have missed our November gathering; her son from Alaska was visiting at the time. Sandy Liberty works as office manager in a real estate office in Wolfeboro, N.H. Another grandchild was expected in December 2005.
Sue Larter Lingeman remains active in the area of art and continues to be on the Artist Association Board of Directors on Nantucket Island, Mass. I saw Lucy Lippard briefly during the summer in Georgetown, Maine, where she enjoyed sailing and time with her son’s family.
Jackie Wei Mintz writes, “I am enjoying my new-found drawing and oil painting, as well as my Web site design. The classes are great in contrast and are enlivening and refreshing.”
Francie Nolde, who continues to be a big help to me by keeping in contact with classmates by e-mail, is busy devoting her energies to support Deval Patrick, Democratic candidate for governor of Massachusetts.
Getty Furst Stewart is well and has offered to have anyone come and visit if you are near the narrows area of Annapolis, Md. The Stewarts have a boat to accommodate overnight guests. Getty wrote, “My memories of the 50th are still uppermost in my mind, as I have already asked Gail Husted Ehrhardt to stop by here to pick me up for the 55th.”
Sylvia “Sam” Thayer had a full and glorious summer with children and grandchildren, time at Moody Beach in Maine and a family gathering of 35 at Sam’s mother’s home. Sarah Harrington Williams enjoys hearing about classmates. She keeps very busy managing her farm for a variety of animals.
I talked with Judy Prior Blair and Doris Niemand Ruedin, who are well and busy with their many interests and families. I also had a surprise call from Audrey Synnott, who loves to hear from any classmates and sends her love to all. Audrey continues with her various projects and also would like to compile some of her meditations and reflections into a book.
Several classmates traveled during the past summer and fall. Jane Munroe Barrett and husband Bill went to South Africa as well as taking a three-week bike trip. Marion Badoian Emmanuel and husband Gus went to Australia and Tasmania. Cornelia St. John Lewis said she and her husband, Charlie, took “a fabulous cruise down the Elbe River in East Germany.” Peggy Moore Roll and husband Jack traveled in Europe and have trips to Mexico and Israel planned for late 2005 and summer 2006. Winnie Johnson Sharp and husband Joel also had a trip to South Africa. The Sharps are building a home in Colorado and planning for retirement next June.
The class gathering in November near Portsmouth, N.H., was another great success. Ten of us met at Sam Thayer’s home for a time to visit and to share news from many who were unable to attend. We walked (reminiscent of our Abbot walks) to a nearby restaurant for lunch, where there was never a lull in conversation. Plans are in the works for a mini-reunion on Cape Cod in May 2006. Take care, and thanks for your notes and calls.
54 Louis J. “Skip” Elsas II, M.D. Univ. of Miami School of Medicine P.O. Box 016820 (D820) Miami FL 33101 305-243-7105 305-243-7254 (Fax) lelsas@med.miami.edu
PHILLIPS Greetings to the great Class of PA ’54 from a survivor of Katrina, Wilma and even the delta force winds of 2005. Andover was a role model for us all as the academy responded to the New Orleans disaster by matriculating eight boys and 10 girls for the full school year (or until they choose to return to their reopened schools). See the Andover Web site for information about this relief effort: www.andover.edu/news/KatrinaUpdate.htm.
Many classmates reported on their life’s journey. Doug Ayer, his wife, Lynnie, and their “Labradoodle” cruised aboard their motorsailor for three months before returning to their home in California. Doug now winters in Sonoma County, near his grandchildren, and offers both healthcare and money manager advice as well as social capital via his e-mail address: doug@ayer.net. Doug thanks and applauds Steve Wilson, who arranges lunch for classmates when they visit New York City.
William “Spike” Bragg forwarded a doctored photo depicting G.W.B. catching striped bass on New Orleans’ Royal Street following the Katrina floods.
Mort Downey reports that he finally has a granddaughter. She lives in Bermuda, which constitutes an added attraction for visits. Mort has three grandsons as well. He continues to work as chairman of P.B. Consult. Mort traveled to Beijing and London in September, thus missing hurricane season.
Bob Feldman responded to meeting my bachelor son, Jake Elsas ’85, by pointing out that Bob’s two adult daughters were not available, but Bob’s daughter Hannah, age 18 months, is a great conversationalist in some as yet undeciphered language.
Jon Foote remained untouched by the hurricanes in sunny Arizona, where he is working on two architectural projects, playing golf and tennis, and “spectating” his wife and daughter as they show cutting horses. They continue to keep their Montana horse ranch up to speed.
Barker Hickox continues to promote jazz artists and make CDs. He plans to be in Palm Beach for New Year’s Eve, barring further bursts from Mother Nature.
Bill Martin has two new grandsons: Alex was born in August; and Bill’s daughter, Ginny Martin Rand ’85, gave birth to Rory in October. Bill says that Hugh MacMillan’s marriage in July was an outstanding event, and that the young couple now lives in Palo Alto, Calif.
Ken MacWilliams continues an amazing career in leadership and management that includes the healthcare field. I queried him on what he thought about rebuilding New Orleans. He sent back an eight-point memorandum that I hope he shares with the governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans. His wise thoughts may provide a solution to the dilemma of maintaining New Orleans history while preserving both natural wetlands and commercial and economic needs. His vision is of a regional development that includes the historic district, but with a new center built on high ground for residency and administrative offices and ports kept open. All is connected by rapid transit.
As always, Kent McKamy keeps in touch with us. He relates that there are many pilots in our class, including himself. Jake McMichael and Doug Ayer were pilots as well as Hort Smith, who was a helicopter pilot. John Nichols continues to train pilots. John flew for Pan Am and has retired to Paris (see photo). Kent hosted a lunch with Joe McPhillips visiting from Tangiers and Bob Vail from Canton, Ohio. We all remember Bob in Shakespearean drama. From Kent’s notes, Bob tried formal acting as a profession, then went back to the family business, industrial packaging. Kent also reported on New York physicians Bill Stubenbord, who retired from transplant surgery, and Bernie Ackerman, who continues his institute for dermatopathology and lives in a triplex on 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.
Tom Rose foresaw the hurricanes and sold his Miami condo and dock at peak prices before Katrina. I look forward to his December visit to Miami. He sent a photo of three classmates from Stowe House (circa 1955), 50 years older and in Paris.
Peter Taylor and his wife, Janilyn, celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They live in Mystic, Conn., and enjoy their five grandchildren. Peter now volunteers with the Coast Guard Auxilliary and may be heard on the SOS radio in New London. He has retired from radiology at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut.
Roger Whitcomb took the fury of Wilma at his Singer Island, Fla., home. Roger says that 30 percent of the vegetation is gone and 60 percent of what remained is now brown, but, on an “optimistic note,” blended well with the color of the water. Wife Nancy and I hunkered down in our Coconut Grove, Fla., home and had a very similar experience, requiring a generator for power and cell phone communication for over a week. However, blue sky, shore breezes and sunshine have returned with rapid regeneration of flora and fauna. All is well in sunny South Florida.
Dan Woodhead can only type in lower case, because he is recovering from right shoulder replacement surgery. He is right-handed. Commiserating classmates can contact Dan through his e-mail (dwoodhead3@earthlink.net).
Warm regards to you all, stay safe and keep in touch,
55 Elisabeth Oppmann Farwell P.O. Box 767 Libertyville IL 60048-0767 847-367-7622 eofarwell@aol.com
ABBOT I’d hoped to see Louise Stephenson Haldeman at reunion in June, but she said she “just couldn’t.” Louise sent a letter full of news: Husband Chuck, two sons, three granddaughters, her 95-year-old mother living in Pennsylvania, plus a farm in New York State and active participation in local community affairs all keep Stephen on the run!
Jeanne Skillin Moore can’t run—she sails! A letter in August, before she and her husband set off for Prague, then to Turkey, where they chartered a bare boat, filled me in. They planned to sail up the Turkish and Greek coasts, skip to Croatia to take another bare boat then sail the Dalmatian Coast. In summer they used to live on a 46-foot sailboat, cruising New England to Newfoundland; now they charter their vessels and find European waters delightful.
Gail Baldwin Whipple joined a chorus of praise for Nancy Eastham Iacobucci, past class secretary, for her dedication and loyalty to our class. Hopefully, on our spring wanderings to South Carolina, husband John and I might catch Gail in North Carolina.
Gail’s note led me right to Sally Watrous Schumacher, who’d just opened my note and had a call from Gail! That’s almost Abbot overload! Sally and her late husband, Jim, used to have a feedlot and raised registered cattle in Malta, Mont., in the north-central part of the state, 40 miles from Canada. Sally worked in a welfare office as a social worker for 33 years. Later, Jim was the county extension agent and an adult education teacher. After Jim died, Sally really shifted careers, becoming a museum curator for seven years! Now she’s more relaxed: reading, gardening, etc. She has three children: Julie in Colorado, Sara Lee in Billings and, not far from us near Bend, Ore., is Patrick in Klamath Falls. Maybe when Sally’s visiting Patrick, she and I might get together? My husband and I have wheels and a couple of guestrooms, too. Sally hasn’t seen or heard from Sue McGuire Morgan, who is said to be in Whitefish, Mont. Sally thinks Sue is a social worker.
From another Western classmate, the subject is familiar: water, as in “rain water.” Cynthia “Nicky” Knox Watts, sweltering in the dry heat of this summer out in Santa Fe, N.M., says they have water rationing due to many years of drought, and things do look sere indeed. She laughs, though, with newcomers often expecting to see lush lawns and vivid green fairways, forgetting—or not realizing—that Santa Fe is in a “high desert.” High, dry and cold!
Nicky’s envying me in the cool green of Oregon’s coast. My husband and I are in central Oregon when we’re not here outside of Chicago. Sunriver, Ore., is 20 miles south of Bend, east of the Cascades, and ’twixt them is our high desert: 4,300 feet high; dry—only 6 inches of rain this year—and cold. Temperatures can and do freeze any night of the year.
An e-mail arrived from a really “old” friend, remembered so well I could sketch her face this minute: Nancy “Nicky” Ogden Keller. Those of us who were three- or four-year girls will remember Nicky; she was at Abbot for only 1952-53. Nicky, if I’ve got your bio wrong, correct me; I’ll make sure it gets into these class notes. Nicky came to Abbot from Havana; her parents returned there before the revolution, but what happened to them I don’t know. I wondered where Nicky was, but I was not a letter writer then, and never kept up the way some of our classmates have. You can imagine my excitement as I opened an e-mail from “nkeller”! My grandmother’s maiden name was Keller; it could have been from a long-lost cousin. Better, it was from this truly long-lost school chum! She says she did not go back to Havana, but went to live with her grandmother in Natchez, Miss., and graduated from high school there in 1955.
Oh, these notes, letters and e-mails have such power: Faces flash across my inner eye, I hear voices, and the memories come in a flood. Husband John has rolled his eyes. He certainly did when I told him we were having company at our cottage in Downeast Maine. Mary Ann Yudicky Goodrich and I had spent some real “talk time” at reunion, and when she said they summer in Stockton Springs, we decided to continue reuniting in Maine. What a pair Mary Ann and John are! If there had been a few more of you with us, oh, what a time we would have had!
There has been such a response to my letter! I never doubted you would respond so splendidly. Thank you! Not all the news I received could fit into these allotted 800 words, but there is a spring edition to come!
55 Tom Lawrence 1039 1/2 Sweetzer West Hollywood CA 90069 323-654-0286 yogi@earthlink.net
PHILLIPS Class Secretary’s Worst Nightmare: I made reference last issue to John Adams’ wife, Linda. Oooops! Linda is John’s former wife; Brenda is his current wife and also mother of his young son Nicolas. A jittery call to John a day after it was impossible to remedy the error resulted in the welcome news that all the Adamses involved are good friends and no repercussions were anticipated. Whew!
Rail expert David Gunn got home for the holidays when the Amtrak board handed its president a pink slip on Nov. 9, in a move The New York Times headlined on its editorial page as “A Disgraceful Signal at Amtrak.” What followed was an unstinting encomium of Dave’s years at the throttle. It was generally conceded that he “greatly increased ridership, improved management and upgraded equipment,” but the board felt he was “moving too slowly.”
Dave’s reaction: “Obviously what their goal is, and it’s been their goal from the beginning, is to liquidate the company.” The furor had not abated a week later when a House subcommittee questioned whether the Amtrak board even had a legal quorum when it took action.
Few of us at the 50th Reunion came away expecting to see Brian Claxton again, and many of us, noting his frailty, suspected the extreme effort he made to be at the event. And indeed, Brian passed away in Littleton, Colo., on Oct. 16, the day after his 68th birthday. Friend and reunion caregiver Mike Bell engineered a conference call a week later, which included Brian’s sons, his former wife and several classmates, including Mike West, David Harrison and Jon Weisbuch. There in spirit but technologically or chronologically unable to hook up: Dil Cannon, Charlie Helliwell and David Gould.
After Andover, Brian attended MIT, earning a master’s degree in electrical engineering. He began his career with General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., as an engineer, but an early interest in computers ignited his lifelong work with systems development and computer programming. He was heavily involved with the early development of electronically linking cash registers and store inventory systems. His work in point-of-sale technology combined with developing scanner technology eventually grew into the computerized sales and inventory control system used by nearly all retail stores today.
His work involved extended stays in Italy consulting with Olivetti, and a move to Phoenix, Ariz., in the ’80s. In 1989, he decided to pursue opportunities in the Denver area and finished his career as a systems analyst with JPMA, a point-of-sale programming support company near Denver.
Brian regularly attended the symphony and was well versed in all aspects of classical music. He amazed friends by routinely identifying a piece of music after hearing only a few measures, and was often able to identify the conductor and the orchestra as well.
Brian Claxton, without even trying, probably had a more profound effect on my life than any of my other classmates. The nickname I have carried with me for 53 years may have been given me by fellow Eaton Cottagers Gerry Jones, Art Kelly and Perry Lewis, but their choice of a sobriquet was the result of a photograph Brian took of a 15-year-old prep that they swore looked more like a New York Yankees catcher who notoriously might have had difficulty with the PA entrance exam. Over the years I have wondered where life might have taken me without that snapshot and the handle it inspired.
A memorial was held at Mt. Auburn Cemetery Garden in Cambridge, Mass., on Nov. 12. The class was represented by Jon Weisbuch, who studied and socialized alongside Brian for eight years at PA and MIT.
Brian is survived by two sons, David of Brookfield, Conn., and John of Framingham, Mass., and a daughter, Rebecca Brignoli of Port Townsend, Wash., as well as seven grandchildren. I trust they know how much Brian will be missed.
Back to reunion coverage next time. ... Y.
56 Susan Waterous Wagg 8 Cutting’s Corner Hanover NH 03755 603-643-4665 timothy.j.wagg @valley.net
ABBOT Jane Tatman Walker has been in touch with a number of classmates. David and Betsy Powell turned up at Jane’s house in Indiana (Crossroads of America, says Jane!) in July for an overnight visit, and in September Jane and her husband, Frank, had dinner with Anne Woolverton Oswald and Linda Jones Matthew ’54. Jane was looking forward to a visit from Sheila Prial Jacobstein and her husband, Dick, who live in Knoxville, Tenn. They were all planning to see quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts football team play, since Manning is a Tennessee and Indianapolis favorite. When Jane e-mailed, she and Frank had just returned from a lovely trip to Europe to see their granddaughter Alyson, who is a junior at Denison University in Ohio and is spending a semester in Florence, Italy. Then they spent an enjoyable two weeks cruising in the Mediterranean, which was fine until the fishermen in Spain went on strike and blockaded the Spanish ports. After two extra days at sea they finally made it back to Barcelona, their disembarkation city, but sadly saw only their hotel and the airport there. However, they did make it back to the U.S. safe and sound.
Margaret Roth Brown’s son George graduated from Carnegie Mellon last May and got himself an internship in Amman, Jordan, for July and August. It was a wonderful experience, since he was the only American in a group of 40 interns from Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Then he started graduate school at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy and Management. When Katrina hit, George took some time off to join up with a Quaker group doing work in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Eleanor “Boaty” Rulon-Miller York e-mailed to say her son John was involved in theatre in Portland, Maine. I hadn’t alerted the class notes editor in my last notes that Boaty’s son was in the Maine Portland, so she moved him across the country to Oregon. Luckily for Boaty, he is in fact close to home. Boaty was looking forward both to our reunion in June (chomping at the bit, she said) and to taking off for Vero Beach, Fla., in January. Winter snow blowing in Maine does not appeal. She also said she had received a clipping from her sister concerning Louise Coffin Downes. Miss Coffin was my corridor teacher my first year at Abbot, so I certainly remember her well. The clipping noted that she is well into her 90s and had just retired from a local music group. Boaty did not say where Miss Coffin was currently living, but I’m sure we all remember her, if not as a corridor teacher, as a teacher of physics and biology at Abbot.
Phoebe Estes Bryan, who as you know worked so tirelessly on our reunion yearbook, also managed to be involved with a family foundation that established the Windridge Community Park in Jeffersonville, Vt. It has seven and a half miles of carriage trails open to the public for recreation, including horseback riding, hiking, biking, snow shoeing and cross-country skiing. She also told me her youngest son, Beckner, had had a successful sugaring season last year, producing some 8,400 gallons of Windridge Farms Maple Syrup. It’s a beautiful part of Vermont, so if you haven’t been there, I recommend a visit.
The Waggs went on an interesting trip in September with the Society of Architectural Historians looking at the architecture of coastal Maine from Castine to Corea. We had never spent much time in Maine and were fascinated by buildings ranging from those in historic and beautifully preserved Castine to early modern works by George Howe, the Philadelphia architect, and Edward Larabee Barnes (Haystack Mountain School of Crafts). In October, needing a grandchild fix, we flew to London for a week. If you have young ones to occupy, we recommend the children’s zoo in Battersea Park, which, while small, is full of enchanting creatures including meercats (my favorites), a very noisy kookaburra bird and some equally noisy otters. Who knew otters could be noisy? These were special ones from Australia, we think.
56 J. Timothy Holland P.O. Box 15069 Chevy Chase MD 20825 202-550-6084 Jtimothy.holland@verizon.net www.pa56.org/reunion
PHILLIPS Funny thing about our upcoming reunion. Due to serious searching in all corners of the country and beyond, classmates who had been “lost” have been found. Sounds almost biblical. (Joe DiMaggio could not understand Paul Simon’s question, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” “I’ve been right here the whole time,” Joltin’ Joe said. Do you know who won the World Series in 1955? I’m expecting Tom Burke does.)
Years ago I visited Jim Philbrick and his wife, Virginia (Ginger), at their home in New Jersey. Then they moved to Connecticut and I found them again. But then they “disappeared.” I mentioned that to Phil Bowers, who has turned out to be the Grand Master of search engines, asking him to let me know if and when he found Jim. I got a call from Jim last week. (Thanks, Phil.) Jim and Ginger have retired to White Stone, Va., where “life moves at a leisurely pace,” Jim said. “Here on the Chesapeake Bay, fishing is getting better by the day as the large sea-run fish are starting to enter the bay.” How many of you have fished for rockfish? We agreed to tell some fish stories at reunion. And I want to find out more about his life in submarines after graduating from Annapolis. And more.
I mentioned that Pete “Tank” Herrick and his wife, Fran, live not too far from Phil in Shallotte, N.C. Both have military, Annapolis and other connections. I want to listen in.
Dick Parks found Jim Nowak living not too far from him near Seattle. Jim and his former roommate Gerry Rawlings (also not really lost) spent some time with Ed Wingert and my former wife, Jean, and me at Maxl’s, a great German roadhouse in North White Plains, N.Y. I had found Jim and talked with him a few years ago when he was still living in Alaska doing engineering work on major electrical plant constructions. He had bought property in Washington State, his home, and planned to retire when a major project was finished. It was, and he did.
Speaking of Rawlings, do you guys remember the huge snowstorm we had in January-February ’56? A few intrepid souls from the third floor of Bartlet flew out windows, landing in the soft and inviting drifts behind the dorm. That is, until Rawlings, after landing farther from the building than anyone else, was heard to say quietly, “Oh, oh,” from deep in the snow. Seems that he had nearly lost his future family from one of Dr. Chase’s “Stay off the grass” signs.
I’ve been looking through our yearbook from 49-plus years ago and finding too many pictures of boys I never knew. I want to meet them now that they are men. I’ve made a list.
There are many other boys on those pages I pretended to know but could never ask the questions to find out. Perhaps I was too dumb to know the questions. I may have been incurious. Another reason might be that I/we were teenagers. (You think?) Perhaps I didn’t ask the questions I knew to ask because it was likely I’d have to answer the same questions. I couldn’t do that.
Stories. Stories old and new. And connecting with who we were to connect with who we are. I’m looking for fish stories. For adventure stories. For family stories. For baseball stories. For lies that are truths. And vice versa. That’s what the reunion is all about for me. That’s why I’ll be on campus to talk to men I hardly knew as boys.
By now you should have received your reunion packet, including thumbnail bios, pictures and a calendar of events. Because some classmates have asked, yes, there will be AA meetings in the lower level of the Chapel. Contact me for times. I hope everyone who will have received this packet can and will be there.
I’m writing this at the end of November ’05, so events will have overtaken this column. As of now, 130-something classmates have said they’ll be on campus this June. That’s a lot. About three-quarters of us. And there will be more. I know that because, for some reason, I’m not on the list of attendees. It’s probably because I’ve been lost.
So, see you on campus this June. Please don’t run away just because I have a clipboard.
57 Mary Carter Staniar 695 Monument St. Concord MA 01742 978-369-9492 mstaniar@aol.com
ABBOT Are you still surprised that we could possibly be approaching our 50th Reunion? It is fun anticipating being together again. Huge thanks to everyone who is working hard to make this come about.
Back in March ’05, Louisa Lehmann Birch prepared a delightful lunch for some of us lucky recipients. Jody Bradley Bush, Carolyn Cooper Bird, Beverley Lord, Louise “Glee” Wooldredge Wieland, Libby Horan Edgerly, Hope Hamilton Pettegrew, Mimi Ganem Reeder, Dinah Hallowell Barlow and I so enjoyed catching up and hearing reunion plans as they are evolving. Mimi, Dinah and Penny Holbrook attended a planning meeting in Orlando, Fla., with Andover ’57 representatives. They had a great time and have come up with some super ideas!
Carolyn Gaines Ruckle and Mary Wellman Bates are working on an art exhibition and are hoping to get a huge response from all our talented classmates! Carolyn reports, “I have been enjoying this phase of my life immensely. Having been unready and unwilling to retire, my husband and I embarked on a new mini-career in the antique business. We bought a charming old building in Sarasota, Fla., that houses an antique shop and have been immersing ourselves in old stuff for the past four years.” After the meeting in Orlando, Mimi, Penny and Dinah visited Carol and Marion ‘Bunny’ Pearce, who was staying with Carol. Carol’s husband said the noise of their laughter was deafening! Carol adds, “We all spent an evening with Mary Wellman Bates. ... I was so impressed with my classmates and the fascinating things they are doing! The friendships I made at Abbot are still an important part of my life, and I am anxious to reconnect with the people of my past.”
Dinah Hallowell Barlow writes, “I had a great summer in North Haven, Maine, where I’ve spent summers since I was a small child. There is always ready-made company in all the cousins and old friends. John and Jody Bush were there with children and eight grandchildren. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing from more and more classmates as we near our 50th Reunion. Louisa and Lucinda ‘Lulu’ Sulzbacher Cutler have done a beautiful job of organizing the bio sheets and have high hopes that everyone will write something inspiring about her life. With the annual fund and our collective desire to match Elizabeth McGuire Enders’ gift, we have a big challenge ahead!”
Dinah continues, “Mimi and I hope to organize regional contacts from our class so that we might stay in constant touch as we near this landmark. Please let us know if you are willing to make some connections with classmates by phone! In July I had lunch with Joy Partridge Crisman, who teaches English at a private school in Oakland, Calif., as she was visiting her stepfather in Andover. It was Joy and my first meeting since graduation from Abbot, and it was so interesting to exchange stories.”
From Florida, Lucy Beebe Tobias writes, “After 23 years with The New York Times regional group as a senior staff writer and columnist, I retired in March 2005 and promptly moved on to freelance writing for magazines. I also started a Web site for my columns. ... My longtime goal has been to write books. ... Now that is going to be a reality. University Press of Florida has accepted my proposal for “50 Great Walks in Florida,” so lace up your walking shoes! [See the Web site www.saturdaymorningswithlucy.com.] Otherwise, on the family front, I spent a month (August) on the West Coast seeing all three sons, two granddaughters and my sister.”
Lynne McLaughlin Moughty writes, “Things are pretty soggy up here. I was so pleased to have planned a trip to the West Coast in September so I could get back in time to enjoy another spectacular New England fall, and the only thing that has fallen has been rain! … My West Coast trip was a Lindblad Expeditions Lewis and Clark cruise out of Portland, Ore., up the Columbia and Snake rivers. ... Got to kayak in one area and got a kick out of a jet boat ride up to the Snake across rapids. Magnificent scenery and fascinating going through all the locks. … I even got four good days up in the Seattle area, where I visited with son Ken and his wife. I’m off to visit daughter Beth and family in Oakland, Calif. … Otherwise, I’m up to my usual stuff: good kayaking this summer, tennis all year, choir, Friday knitting group, some volunteer work at a church thrift shop, occasional driving for caregivers and helping out at concerts, etc.”
Mimi Ganem Reeder writes, “I’ve traveled quite a bit—to Turkey most recently—and am enjoying family and friends, and exercising so that I can keep enjoying this good life.”
And from Paula Slifer Zandstra: “My son in Atlanta, Ga., and his wife had their second child in September—my fourth grandson! And my son here in town and his wife are expecting their third child in January, a girl! I now have a part-time job at Land O’ Lakes (about a half-mile from my house) as a ‘food evaluator,’ just a fun job that gets me out of the house.”
57 Gee Johnson 2110 Heritage Lane N. Richmond TX 77469 281-341-5416 281-558-1901 (Work) 281-558-1186 (Fax) gjcluins@sbcglobal.net
PHILLIPS Whenever I think about our class and classmates in particular, words such as outstanding, marvelous and phenomenal come to mind. We have two examples that surely measure up. This last October George Whitesides was the recipient of the Welch Foundation annual award in chemistry. The Welch Foundation is one of the most prestigious nonprofits in the country, concentrating in the area of chemistry. This is a terrific honor that comes after a career of great contribution. Our second example comes from Tom Terry and Arkie Koehl. These classmates are putting together a book of classmates’ biographies which will be published for our 50th Reunion, and you can see their terrific efforts at the following Web site: http://andoveralumni.net/classes/1957/. You may have received or will soon receive the questionnaire and request for your biography and photo. So, check out the Web site, plagiarize what you will, and submit your effort as soon as possible. But you will see what a great product this is.
We received a nice note from John Holbrook, who has been retired from his law practice for over two years. John said he had a fine time at his SAE fraternity reunion at Stanford last year and looks forward to a 50th. His real turn-ons are “chasing his youngest son, Mike, who is rowing at Cal, and trying to keep up with seven grandchildren.” By contrast, Lance Odden has come out of retirement to be with a firm that specializes in managing endowments for charitable organizations. Really enjoyed visiting with Lance at the N.Y.C. dinner, where he told us that his wife had told him he flunked retirement.
In the “Do You Remember?” department, how many recall Radio Free America? Peter Sprague volunteered the following: “I believe that the box spring under my mattress was the antenna. We did an occasional D.J. show, comedy, etc. I don’t remember who rigged up the transmitter. Despite my later career in electronics, I don’t think I could have done it at that time or even this time. It took the Feds about six months to find us, despite the broad hint of “Radio Free America” taking place in America House. I don’t remember any grim discipline. Perhaps it all got lost in all my other disciplinary problems. It was fun, didn’t do any harm and mildly outraged the authorities.” Beautiful!
Always nice to hear from Arturo “Chico” Valldejuly, who said that retirement is going to be put off for another couple of years due to the expansion of the mall. Recouping well from his open-heart surgery, Chico said he was playing some morning tennis and swimming laps in the afternoon. Also comes a good report from Nick Gaede, who is fully recovered from lymphoma and has resumed his law practice full time. Nick said that he and wife Jo Anne really enjoyed Switzerland last summer, where he was teaching, then meeting his kids and two grandchildren in Italy. Unfortunately, not everything is coming up roses for Rick Merrill, who took a horrible fall down his basement stairs, sustaining a severe brain injury. Recently there has been some improvement, and Rick has been transferred to a rehab facility. You might want to send him a note or card at East Hospital Unit (Room 284), Lakeview Rehabilitation Center, 1710 Sharp Road, Waterford WI 53185.
This last fall we had two wonderful area dinners: the first in N.Y.C., led by Kay and Leo Ullman, and the second in Washington, D.C., hosted by Tom Fox. In New York it was great to see Dale Lindsay. Ron Campbell, Mike Mahoney and John Finney, along with Betty and Scotty Marsh, came in from New Jersey. Lance Odden, dividing his time between Vermont and N.Y.C., showed up, as did Bill Cox from San Diego. Kim Pendleton was in town and dropped by for dinner. Meanwhile, in Washington, Jim Bell came down from New York, as did Kay and Leo Ullman. This time Kim Pendleton brought his wife, E, while Don Wallace came from Philadelphia with his wife, Maria Brown. It was great visiting with Tom Bissinger and Lewis Neisner, as well as the Washington connections, Greg Wierzynski and also Diane and Phil Olsson. Dan Tracy, coming from Hartford, couldn’t miss this one, as his son Geoff owns and runs the restaurant, Chef Geoff’s, where we met. What makes these dinners fun and exciting is reminiscing with people we haven’t seen in some time, like Dick Seymann, who came up from the Virginia shore, and John Hansman and wife Jean. We hadn’t seen these two fellows in some 48 years.
We’ll be holding a bash in Boston this next spring, but in the meantime have a safe and healthy holiday season. All the best.
58 Parry Ellice Adam 33 Pleasant Run Rd. Flemington NJ 08822-7109 908-782-3754 momad1@patmedia.net
ABBOT Joan Foedisch Adibi is winding down her massage therapy practice to spend more time with husband Siamak and their travel adventures. They spent from May until October at their home on Chappaquiddick Island, Mass., where she became very involved in the affordable housing issue. Their three children are all single and on the East Coast. One is an artist in N.Y.C., another a sailor in Portland, Maine, and the third a Ph.D. candidate in public health in Boston.
Also, please note my new e-mail address: momad1@patmedia.net.
58 Dermod O. Sullivan Smith Barney 590 Madison Ave., 11st Floor New York NY 10022 800-468-0019 dermod.o.sullivan@smithbarney.com
PHILLIPS Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), the English philosopher, once said, “To play billiards well is the sign of a misspent youth.” I’ve strenuously maintained that billiards is an honorable pastime, both as recreation and as an introduction to science and mathematics. From the diamonds around that green felt, through the haze of tobacco smoke, through the darkness beyond the glare of the hooded table lamps develop the rudiments of angles, cosines and tangents that form the foundation of mathematics and physics.
Senior year, a group of us were let in early to the billiard and pool facilities in the dungeon of Benner House by a sympathetic “Benner Bill” to spend hours practicing our angles and corner shots. Rufus “Pete” G. Clay was, by my declaration, the best billiard player amongst those miscreants. I believe the wisdom imbued around the green table was responsible for his skills in the sciences. I remember Pete winning the prize of dinner at the Andover Inn after his math teacher challenged the class to solve a particularly difficult math problem. Pete went on to distinguish himself at Yale, majoring in mathematics with a minor in physics.
Pete was from Ft. Worth, Texas, and, after college, he followed his family’s footsteps into the oil and gas business. He worked briefly with Champlin Oil and Gas. He then started, and ran for 20 years, a magazine called Performance, a trade journal on live entertainment, a sort of buying guide for talent.
Since the 1970s, Pete has had an additional focus—as an inventor. He lives in Los Alamos, where the government had abandoned the development of an ultra high-temperature rock-melting drill to be used in their quest for geothermal energy. Pete hired an engineer to help him pursue this technology, only to halt it himself later. This led to further work with the engineer to develop new kinds of geometric solutions to compression. A flash idea in 2000 has led to an engine design which is vibration-free with exceptional high efficiency at lower temperatures. The initial application would be in power plants where the design may be capable of generating 10,000 horsepower in a unit that weighs as little as 200 pounds.
Patents will follow, and then the class will have at least two patent holders: Pete and Pat Gorman. Pat’s patent is for his new technology for floating structures, described in my summer column.
Pete has a daughter, Hilary, who graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a son, William, who recently graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and is now in graduate school in physics at Stanford.
Charlie Brennan tells me his two daughters will shortly make him a grandfather twice; first, from Julie Brennan Jacobs ’89, a lawyer with Kirkland and Ellis in Washington; second, from Laura Brennan Feeley, an engineer with Vollmer in New York.
Peter Bienstock lives in Princeton, N.J., and is still involved in real estate in the Hudson River Valley region of New York. He is actively involved in the Arts Council of Princeton, an organization dedicated to promoting art to the residents of the town, with art fairs and concerts for teenagers. Peter is also involved with cultural activities in the Hudson River Valley, where he runs the Web site for the Friends of the Hudson Valley (www.hudsonrivervalley.com).
Georgetown University announced that Ed Rice will join the coaching staff as assistant track and field coach for the 2005-06 season. He will concentrate on the field events, specifically the shot put and discus. Ed has been head boys’ coach, director of track and field, and a math teacher at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., since 1969. Prior, he had acted as Episcopal’s athletic director for 11 years and had two stints as head football coach.
Ed has earned the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce outstanding teacher award as well as the 2004 Gerald R. Ford Football Award as an outstanding high school football coach. Ed graduated from Boston University, where he was a point scorer in several regional championships in the hammer and was named Senior MVP. At Andover, Ed was the national record-holder in the 16-pound hammer and a three-year letter winner in track and field, as well as team captain. He also played varsity football, where he earned all-Northeast honors.
Ed’s wife is Betsy, a teacher at St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes in Alexandria, Va., where she is also the head volleyball and assistant track and field coach. They live in Alexandria, Va., and have two children, Adam and Christine, both teachers, and two grandchildren.
Gil Bamford reports from his winter headquarters on Orchid Island near Vero Beach, Fla., that he and wife Gail have arrived in Florida for the winter. They live at Sea Oaks, a very active tennis community with many nationally-ranked seniors, where Gil plays doubles every day.
59 ABBOT Nathalie Taft Andrews 502-459-5715 dulcie@iglou.com
59 David Othmer 4220 Spruce St. Philadelphia PA 19104 215-387-7824 davidothmer@aol.com
PHILLIPS On Oct. 27, Tom Stirling hopped the Honolulu-Boston red eye with three fresh orchid leis, bound for a gathering of Andover volunteers—admission reps, class secretaries and agents, and others—and a party to celebrate Dick Goodyear’s 16-year tenure as an Andover trustee. The leis went to Barbara Chase, Dick and his wife, Carmen, all of whom wore them proudly throughout the retirement festivities, which did not, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) include Tom’s and my mini-roast: “In fall 1955, just weeks after Albert Einstein’s death, Dick Goodyear enrolled at Andover. Coincidence? Maybe.”
A tale from New Orleans: Jim Bailey, who lives in Baton Rouge, writes: “My wife and I were luckily at our mountain home when Katrina hit—no real damage in Baton Rouge, but the failure of our state and federal officials to adequately respond is almost beyond belief. Louisiana is likely to become a protectorate of Texas.” A few days later he added, “After the e-mail, I discovered that I needed bypass surgery. It went well, and I am back at work part time—which many would say described my previous efforts.”
Steve Washburne, unlike so many of us who collected stamps as kids and then gave them up, is now, having retired as a professor of chemistry from Temple University here in Philadelphia, back at it. He’s actually been back at it since his professorship gave him a lot of flex time at home to take care of son Matthew in the ’70s. Now he travels quite a bit to stamp shows—seven or eight trips across the Atlantic in 2005 alone—representing a major Spanish company specializing in collectibles.
Steve Bradley, Harvard Business School professor, has co-written a book about the future of broadband. His wise conclusion is that it will change the way we live dramatically, but that anyone who claims to know exactly how and at what rate is likely to be greatly embarrassed.
Given that it’s only some 1,200 days away, Artie Rogers and Hank Higdon hosted a lunch in New York in October regarding our 50th Reunion. It was a great opportunity to catch up with classmates. Hank is still active in the executive search business at the highest levels (i.e., corporate) and farthest geographic reaches (e.g., Dubai). Garrett Kirk, who after Harvard Business School worked for Dillon Reed for many years, is now on his own, managing, among other things, hotel holdings in Florida. He is also active in a number of nonprofits, including ballroom dancing. Mike Bassett, a retired investment banker living in Connecticut and Florida, teaches, occasionally, international finance at Northwood University in Palm Beach. Dan Moger, a lawyer, unfortunately failed to convince his daughter, also a lawyer, to join his firm, even though he offered to call it “Moger and Father.” Damn! How can you turn down an offer like that? And Pete Foote, happily retired from 36 years at Morgan Stanley and Dillon Reed, spends a lot of time with his and wife Nancy’s 9-year-old son, Christopher. Pete also runs a small money management firm in Westport, Conn., and plays lots of golf.
And speaking of the reunion, from the other side of the Atlantic, Liz and Chris Glover are planning to be there, and, when he comes, he won’t be smoking. He is still fishing, however, and would love to hear from anyone familiar with trout fishing in Montana or Idaho (CWMGlover@aol.com).
Although a notice appeared in the obituary section of the last Bulletin, news of Dave Rogers’ death on Aug. 6 came too late for the class notes. After bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Missouri, Dave practiced law in Columbia, Mo., for 35 years. He volunteered for many civic and community organizations, was active in Republican party politics, was a fixture on radio station KFRU’s “Morning Roundtable” and wrote “This Week in Local History,” a column for the Columbia Daily Tribune. Dave and wife Genie had been married 40 years and had five children.
Spurred on by Veterans Day, Tom Stirling began an e-mail conversation with several of you who had served in the military. I’ll report on those exchanges in the next notes, but urge anyone who has not already chimed in to do so, either to Tom (T.Stirling@hifamlaw.com) or me.
On the off chance that you missed the first half of this column (or, more likely, have already forgotten it!), our reunion is a mere 1,200 days away. Flag June 11-13, 2009, be at Andover, and more importantly be in touch with John Doherty, Artie or me with thoughts and ideas about what you’d like to do, programs you’d like to see and how you’d like to help (with events, entertainment) to make this reunion simply great! |