CLASS OF 1959 | 2020 | ISSUE 2

Greetings to the Great Class of 1959! Your scribes are hoping that you are behaving yourselves and looking like masked bandits. Talking about bandits, the Class of 1960 is again trying to assert that it is the fulfillment of Vic Butterfield’s dream of the “Ideal Wesleyan Class.” A distinguished member of the Class of 1960, not surprisingly, made this assertion. (The final evidence: 60th Reunion attendees for the Class of ’59 was 33; while the Class of ’60 had a mere 29 expressing serious interest).

Bob McKelvey reports that working from home was fun at first but now seems like spending time in a high-class jail. He moved his office off the beach in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy to a posh location inland, which is now quite useless.

Ted Fiske reports that he and Sunny are safely ensconced in their Chapel Hill retirement community, and he has recently achieved a new first. Sunny produced a pair of scissors and asked Ted to cut her hair. All seemingly went well, but it looks like it was a one-way deal. Ted has developed a new coping strategy. The days of the week are now to be known as “thisday, thatday, otherday, someday, yesterday, today, and nextday!”

Wolfram Thiemann writes, “Since our last visit to our splendid 60th Reunion, the highlight of our lives has been Wen and my visit to Croatia. She left China for the first time in 1989 to study at the Oceanic Research Institute in Split, former Yugoslavia. It proved to be a really nostalgic and warm rendezvous for her. The rest of the time has been spent in Bremen enjoying my extended family of three generations living in Western Germany’s Rhineland.”

Dave Britt cannot hold back! “My creative juices have fled all known jurisdictions and were placed in a blind trust some years ago. So far, the trustees have noted no activity or interest. To report: Nada, Zippo, Snore City—and those are the highlights! I wear my mask and gloves for shopping (it turns out that my cape confuses people). I see people practicing safe distancing, but finding ways to get out safely and be together. Neighbors, friends, family gather round, as we can. Perhaps more important, we’re gaining some human respect and feeling for the folks who help us survive day-to-day, but cannot afford to lose even one hour’s work, and have no safety net, no health care, no financial resources. We ’59ers are certainly fulfilling the ancient and ambiguous Chinese toast ‘to live in interesting times.’ Silent Generation or not, I think we contribute beyond our numbers! ‘Go Wes,’ old man, ‘Go Wes.’”

Molly and Skip Silloway said goodbye to their home in Salt Lake City and moved to a retirement home in Northern California to be near their grandson. “Hope he is looking forward to it as much as we are,” said Skip.

Sandy, Rosie, and Tim Day are doing well in Arizona. Tim said, “Turned 83 on May 10 and feel pretty good for an old fossil! I survived some heart surgery in early March. Sandy (with nurse’s training) has been a saint in keeping us going, and safe. I had hoped to be wise when I reached this age, but wisdom remains elusive for me. I cannot say whether or not it is safe to open the economy, but do know that the virus’s impact, this unforeseen crisis, has been without precedent. In many cases, the losses will be for good, and the ‘new normal’ will be far different than our life in 2019. Our new puppy, Rosie, broke her little leg and was in a cast for seven weeks.” A difficult time in our history, says Tim, but this too will pass!

Reporting from hard-hit New Jersey, Charlie Wrubel talks of Zooming for all kinds of activities, online training, Pilates, Spanish lessons, and family visits. Food deliveries and takeout are keeping the wolf from the door.

Herb Steiner wrote, “We had a mini-Sigma Nu ’59 reunion on Zoom. Present were Bob Waterhouse, Tim Martin, Joe Vander Veer, Bob Mann, and I. Good to be in touch with old friends.”

Dick Cadigan and Weg Thomas have been keeping our spirits up, Dick with the neologism winners from the Washington Post, and Weg with the quarantine edition of “The Longest Time.” Cads is particularly dangerous now, as he has found a new hearing aid that actually works!

Dave Clemens particularly liked “The Longest Time.” “So well done, creative—loved the use of a Lysol container for percussion. In another era, we could have done a rendition by the Spooky Seven (the famous Eclectic octet, a singing group which included classmates Cadigan, Clemens, Spurdle, Moody, Wenner). Such an abundance of creative, humorous, and inspiring videos making the rounds.”

Skip Silloway | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/532-4311 

John Spurdle | jspurdle@aol.com; 212/644-4858