CLASS OF 1964 | 2023 | FALL ISSUE
As your new class secretary, I extend appreciation for the messages from the three classmates below and unashamedly beg the rest of you for more in the coming months. There are no milestones too small, no reflections too revealing—your classmates want to hear them all. Given life’s calendar, our opportunity for reporting is shrinking rapidly. So, don’t tarry.
Brett Seabury wrote: “Wesleyan started my journey to become a ‘lefty.’ Two of my three daughters went on to Wesleyan too. Liz was a French major and Carrie was an American studies major. After graduating from Wesleyan, I went on to graduate school in social work and later a doctorate in social work at Columbia University. My formal education was broken up with another kind of education—three years in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I do not think I can be blamed for losing that war because the Viet Cong never invaded Myrtle Beach or Charleston, even though General Westmoreland was a Carolinian. I spent the next 35 years as an academic at the University of Maryland and University of Michigan. There must be some kind of underlying defect in my career choices to work at two U of Ms.
“During my years at Michigan, I was able to pursue an avocation in sustainable farming: producing grass-fed beef, chickens, sheep, goats, eggs, maple syrup, and raw honey that were sold at local farmers’ markets. At Wesleyan we were required to take many tests upon entering and exiting, and I remember my Kuder Preferential Test score that placed me highest in farming. After four years at Wesleyan, this test showed an even higher score in farming, which upset my parents who paid tuition all those years. When I look back after 60 years, I’m amazed at the accuracy of the prediction of this test. “I am presently involved in trying to get marinas and boat owners to considered electric boats and electric motors in their recreational boats. Though the Plug Boat Directory shows that most electric boats are made in Europe, the industry is growing here in the USA and Canada. One of the first electric boats was demonstrated at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. Today, many of the electric boat manufacturers are in Florida and California, but the industry is spreading across the USA. I hope we can stop the destruction of our planet for our grandchildren’s sake before it is too late. You can view my efforts at: protectmichiganinlandlakes.com.”
Steve McQuide reported: “While I really wasn’t prepared for the Wesleyan experience, I became a scholar of sorts in law school. I married June in the summer of 1967, and those student deferments caught up with me: three years active duty (infantry OCS, Korea).
“I practiced law in Albany, New York, for 35 years, active in local politics and the Rotary Club. June and I raised two fine boys, and now enjoy traveling in retirement, especially our skiing months in Utah, and our three grandchildren. I gave up drinking years ago, and am content, although I am concerned about the stark division of today’s populace along ideological lines. Intelligent discussion and kindness seem rare.”
David Skaggs, a former Colorado congressman, contributed: “After breaking a hip in a fall while planting strawberries in our garden in April, I am happily recovered with a new titanium post in my right femur. If you ever need a hip replacement, the anterior (not posterior) procedure is the way to go.
“I haven’t quite shed all political activity and am now focused with a group called Citizens to Save Our Republic. The mission is to disabuse folks of the surface appeal of the No Labels effort to field a ‘moderate, independent’ presidential slate. Our polling makes clear that a third-party ticket as proposed by No Labels, i.e., candidates for president and vice president—one R and one D—would pull more votes from Biden than Trump and in a predictably close election, ensure another term for Trump. You can decide if that’s a good idea.
“Hope we’ll have a good turnout for our 60th Reunion next spring.”