CLASS OF 1956 | 2016 | ISSUE 2
Can you believe it? Sixty years! We’ve had Ike, Jack, Lyndon, Dick, Gerald, Jimmy, Ron, George, Bill, W., and Barry since we left those ivied walls and storied halls. Yet 22 of us, most accompanied by spouses, managed to make it back to Middletown for our 60th Reunion in May. Not too shabby. Don Ritt and Fred Boynton both came from La Jolla, Calif., where they never see each other. Getting them together in Middletown was rather special. Also from the Golden State was Jim Hartnett. Out from the heartland came Bob Runyon (Nebraska) and Tom Plimpton (Indiana). Larry Labrie (North Carolina) was our southernmost reuner; Gary Miller (Maine) our northernmost one. Sandy Mendelson (Maryland) and Jim Wagner (Virginia) ventured north from the Capital District. Max Roesler and Walt Ebmeyer (Pennsylvania) and Al Grosman and George Chien (New Jersey) represented the Mid-Atlantics. The rest were from Massachusetts (Harry Barr, Dick Boyden, Bill Horrocks, and Jay Jenkins) and the home state, Connecticut (Phil Crombie, Al Haas, Andy Mason, Dave Thompson, and Phil Trager).
For this observer, it was a grand weekend with highlights galore. Examples:
• Parking in the Usdan lot without a placard. We were waved right in and told to ignore the 15-minute limit. If that doesn’t say “Welcome back,” I don’t know what does. (My placard reached our mailbox in New Jersey about the same time we hit Middletown.)
• Peeking at the full moon through Van Vleck’s giant ’scope and showing Bill Herbst, who led Wesleyan’s eclipse tour in 1999, pictures from our six subsequent totals. (And learning there from Bill Horrocks about his distinguished ancestor, Jeremiah Horrocks (1618–1641), a pioneer of English astronomy. Look him up!)
• Telling tales about the good old days to members of the music and art faculties—as if they don’t hear the same stories every spring!
• Being whisked around the campus in all sorts of conveyances.
• Sitting in on the gamelan workshop. Our daughter, Judith Chien ’84, played in it as an undergrad, and we had just seen one in Indonesia. We declined to participate when we were told that we would have to lose our shoes (not a problem) and sit cross-legged (big problem). Incidentally, we skipped the WESeniors luncheon for the gamelan. Heard that President Roth’s talk was spot on.
• Viewing Phil Trager’s latest photography project and hearing him tell about it.
• Don Ritt leading an impromptu “Gimme a W…” cheer in Usdan’s Marketplace.
• Transporting Jim Wagner and his wife, Betty, to and from the far reaches of the Wesleyan empire, a hotel in Wethersfield. Unfortunately, neither of us signed up in time to get dorm rooms.
• Walking through the Lodge, courtesy of a band of alien invaders. Actually they were Alpha Delt alums who were temporarily domiciled at the former Chi Psi residence because there was no room for them in the inn (i.e. the Alpha Delt house). Remarkably, none of these alien creatures had green skin or two heads. They looked astonishingly just like real people!
• Hanging with Don Ritt.
• Wondering just how long it would take to wipe off the 3000 or so wet folding chairs set up on Andrus Field for Sunday’s Commencement.
• A delicious dinner, followed by heartfelt camaraderie and some serious and not-so-serious talk. Sandy Mendelson spoke about the remarkable developments in cardiology that have taken place over the course of his career. Don Ritt told how he got into gastroenterology (it took guts) and his current work in and urgent concern with palliative care. Bill Horrocks took us back to 1896, and how the 60 years before we graduated stack up against the 60 since. What will transpire over the next 60?
Thoughts about Reunion from Jim Wagner: “It was truly a great pleasure to participate in the 65th Reunion of the Class of 1956 and see so many classmates again. My wife, Betty, and I decided it was too much of a hassle to fight the traffic all the way from northern Virginia to Middletown, so we went via a combination of Greyhound and Peter Pan busses, taxis, and Uber. There is definitely something to be said for leaving the driving to someone else!
“Highlights for us were seeing both yet another and completely different fascinating exhibit of Phil Trager’s photography and senior thesis art projects by graduating students, hearing three other graduating seniors give oral presentations of their senior theses projects in the College of the Environment that sounded as good as many a master’s thesis at MIT, and seeing the 100th anniversary exhibit at the Van Vleck Observatory, complete with a peek at the moon through the 20-inch refractor telescope.
“With four independent adult children and four young grandchildren nearby, we stay happily involved. During the past five years since our 55th Reunion, we have enjoyed renewing our interest in art by taking classes at a local senior center. We also enjoy occasional concerts in the area, as well as an annual pilgrimage to the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, where one can hear quality performances not only of Bach but of other great composers.
“I still take weather observations in the back yard and continue to be active in church, keeping alive my interests in science, music, art and a faith-oriented life. My Wesleyan liberal arts education encouraged and helped develop all these interests. God willing, we hope to see you all at the 65th Reunion in 2021.”
And from Dick Boyden: “I was struck by the differences of the Wesleyan of our time and the Wesleyan of today, as I saw countless students with their heads bowed to a myriad of electronic devices.
“The Wesleyan of 60 years ago numbered 740 men. Most of us were in fraternities or eating clubs, where personal interaction was the norm. Our interaction of necessity was face-to-face with our peers and it was also the expectation. We did learn to go beyond our initial visual or quick impressions of our classmates that were often wrong. We matured to a greater understanding, affection and acceptance of our differences.
“Our classes were small, our struggling opinions were valued, and we grew in understanding, knowledge, and creative thinking, thanks to the fine group of faculty that President Butterfield had assembled. I was a history major but several courses outside of that realm—such as geology, music appreciation, and humanities—have lasted far longer and have been recalled much more often in my life. Most of us could say we had a place or places in the ‘sun’ of Wesleyan, areas where we shone within a particular organization, academic area, sport, fraternity or club.
“Over the intervening six decades I have learned that to nourish the special associations of our years has required caring and contact. When those are given by us ‘the fires do still more brightly glow.’ How fortunate we are to have gathered again to sing the old songs and renew friendships, casual and close, even though we might have had to sneak a quick peak at a name tag to remember a face or friend. Hoorah for the Red and the Black.”
On to 2021! We ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
Addendum: The saddest news: Frank Avantaggio, our forever president, died Feb. 8, 2016, in Damariscotta, Maine. Reunions weren’t his thing, but the Class of 1956 was always close to his heart. We’ll miss you, Ollie.
Bob Runyon | rrunyon@unomaha.edu
George Chien | gchien@optonline.net