Tag: 1965

Class of 1965 35th Reunion Memorial Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Michael Ivy ’20, Indianapolis, IN

Classmates, I hope your holidays were merry and bright and that 2017 has started well for you and your families. Nice recent greetings from:

Steve Badanes sent a great photo of him and his partner on a beach somewhere in the Seattle area. She’s giving him a big hug midst a sea of driftwood! Steve sent this as he was on his way to his annual Yestermorrow School class in Vermont. He leads groups of young people in the fine art of community building. They conceive of, design, and then build everything from gazebos to recreation areas and cabins—all for public use and made with sustainability and the environment in mind.

Mary Ellen and Dave Dinwoodey are enjoying their grandchildren and are fit and active. Enjoyed seeing them at the resounding football win in Williamstown in the fall.

Joining us at the game were Prudy and Bob Barton. They are well and in the process of getting out of the “farming business.” They have a lovely place, Sky Dance Farm, in Lanesboro, Mass., not far from Williamstown. In Prudy and Bob’s holiday message they write: “We are clearly in the autumn of our lives. Change is constant, even as we enjoy the fruits of continued life work. Our health is good, our offspring and spouses are wonderful, real people…The farm is for sale, our lake cottage sold last month.” Over the years, they’ve raised chickens, sheep, et al, and have wonderful dogs and cats to boot, all on hundreds of verdant acres. Their children—Molly ’00, Adam ’04, and Eliza—are flourishing and have produced three grandchildren, to the delight of Prudy and Bob. Looking at the photo of Prudy and Bob, I’d say autumn looks pretty darn good!

Ellen and Ted See sent a lovely message and picture of their five young grandchildren. Quite a fun and active group! Also, nice to hear from Marilyn and Bill Trapp who are well and enjoying their lives in Lacey, Wash.

Julia and Amertat Cohn sent a wonderful message, which will end this edition of class notes: “We wish that your journey for 2017 be filled with even more success, inspiration, and of course good health and LOVE so we can become better examples for our world.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

Dear Classmates, thanks to those responding to the request for news!

Class conveners Mark Edmiston and Hugh Wilson write: “Although we have nothing planned for Homecoming 2016, we hope to meet at Reunion 2017. We’d like to consider the following opportunities for the class to pursue:

• East Africa safari trip centered on Kenya combining sightseeing with time at Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO).

• Cuba trip focused on higher education and the opportunities for ’65 to assist students there. We also talked about a $100,000 scholarship endowment to fund a Wesleyan student’s study in Cuba.

• Fund the compilation of a directory of alumni willing to mentor students in various ways.”

They add, “These are not mutually exclusive and feedback is encouraged. Also, detailed information would be available at the meeting.”

Bill Trapp writes, “Marilyn and I, the three kids, and eight grandkids are all doing fine, and I am headed out this morning for a round of golf. Could it get any better? We are enjoying some crisp Pacific Northwest fall weather and will soon drive to Southern Cal to visit friends. I certainly wish I could be there for Don Russell’s induction ceremony. He means a lot to all of us who were lucky enough to have had him for a coach and mentor. We will never forget his kindness and patience!”

Bob Block writes, “After retiring in 2011 following 36 years with the department of pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine, I am now an emeritus professor and chair. I served the American Academy of Pediatrics as president-elect, president, and past president between 2010 and 2013. Since then, I have been spending more time with my wife, Sharon, and my woodcarving hobby. We are enjoying our three grandchildren who live nearby.”

Bruce Patterson writes, “I’m semi-retired. My wife, Martha, who is fully retired, and I bought a condo south of Sarasota last year after the horrible February 2015 in the northeast. We spent five months there last winter and had a ball. Just about every night we walked to Casey Key Beach to watch the sunset. Fabulous! While home in Stamford, Conn., I still do marine surveys, and am now doing one for the Darien Police Department. Both our kids now live in Stamford, so we’re very lucky. Our son works for a hedge fund in Old Greenwich and our daughter is a buyer for T.J. Maxx.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

Dear Classmates: Here’s the news that’s fit to print:

Congratulations to John Hall, who has been elected by the alumni body as a university trustee! Mark Edmiston, Stew McConaughy, Bill Blakemore and now John are the members from our class to serve in this prestigious role. Anyone who knows John will agree that he’s a fine choice and will do an outstanding job.

John Vrooman and his lovely wife, Deborah, were great hosts to me and a friend during a recent trip through South Carolina. They live in picturesque Conway, close to Coastal Carolina University, where he and Deborah have made enormous contributions for nearly 50 years. Although both are retired from formal teaching, coaching, and counseling duties, they stay very involved there. Coastal has grown from a small two-year community college in the mid-’50s—operating out of public school classrooms at night—to a highly respected university with nearly 10,000 students on a beautiful 630-acre campus. John and Deborah have been on that journey much of the way. Also, the handsome new baseball field is named Vrooman Field and John has been inducted into the university’s athletics hall of fame. This is in recognition of his achievements as head baseball coach, where he recorded 345 victories, six consecutive Big South championships, and the university’s first NCAA regional appearance in 1991 at Florida State University. John also served as director of athletics and is professor of history, emeritus. Since John retired, the baseball program has continued to achieve impressive results and, as this is being written, CCU has just shocked the baseball world by upsetting North Carolina State, LSU, Florida, TCU. and Arizona to win the NCAA Division I championship in Omaha. Congratulations, John!.

While a number of us are in retirement, Grant Parr is closing in on seven years as physician-in-chief of the Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at New Jersey’s Atlantic Health. Grant preciously served as chair of cardiovascular services at Morristown Memorial Hospital, now a part of the Atlantic system. The Institute performs more heart surgeries than any other hospital in New Jersey.

New class co-conveners Hugh Wilson and Mark Edmiston hosted several profitable meetings over Reunion & Commencement weekend in May. Classmates present included Hugh, Mark, John Hall, Dave Dinwoodey, Kirt Mead, Tom Elliman, Win Chamberlin, and yours truly.

Hugh reports: “Our meeting began with a presentation by Kennedy Odede ’12 on the Shining Hope for Communities school for girls (SHOFCO) that he founded in a slum suburb of Nairobi, Kenya, where Kennedy grew up. This was a WESeminar sponsored by our class and was open to the entire community. Kennedy described the success of the school, which is about to graduate its first eighth-grade class, several of whom will then spend a year at Loomis Chaffee or Miss Porter’s School in the U.S. From our discussions, it sounded as though SHOFCO (shofco.org) would welcome a visit by a group of us to the school in the future. They would also welcome introductions to other private boarding schools in North America that might be interested in providing scholarships for these girls.

“We then walked across campus to a room in the new Boger Hall (the old squash courts). John Hall reported that the class has raised approximately $4.1 million and should be able to reach our goal of $5 million. We were also told by Barbara-Jan Wilson that 102 Wesleyan families have donated greater than $1 million each and that 12 of these families are parents, not alumni. This leads all other schools in NESCAC and is a testament to the quality of education that current Wesleyan students feel they are receiving. Furthermore, Wesleyan admissions were the most competitive they have ever been, with just 17 percent of applicants being admitted.

“Our next agenda item was discussion of Wesleyan’s exchange program with the University of Havana. Two members from Wesleyan’s exchange office informed us that between one and three students have spent a semester at the University of Havana during each of the past three years. The program (CASA) is run by Brown University with several other Ivy League members. It was suggested that our class could endow a summer internship for a Wesleyan student for $100,000, a possibility that we felt was worthy of further consideration. We also raised the possibility of bringing Cuban students to Wesleyan, but this seems to be legally more complex at present.

“We also discussed helping to create a database of Wesleyan alumni who would agree to be contacted by undergraduates for counsel on careers in a wide range of fields. Please provide any feedback on the subjects of a trip to East Africa and SHOFCO, support for Wesleyan internships in Cuba, and the database project to Hugh (hrwilson@yorku.ca) or Mark (mme663@mac.com).”

Many thanks, Hugh (and Mark!)

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

Class of 1965 35th Reunion Memorial Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship

Nadezhda Georgieva ’16, French Studies, Government

Dear Classmates, As noted in my recent request for information, Mark Edmiston and Hugh Wilson, new class co-conveners, are seeking input for class activities and advocacy going forward. The plan is to establish an infrastructure to sustain the energy and involvement created by our 50th Reunion. You’ll be hearing more about this from Mark and Hugh, but we’ve already decided to use the existing Reunion and Outreach Committees as means to jumpstart our efforts. Of course, everyone’s help and ideas are welcome! So, don’t hesitate to contact them (mmedmiston@icloud.com and hrwilson@yorku.ca ) with your thoughts.

Heard recently from Bill Trapp, who, with wife Marilyn, enjoys life in the great state of Washington (Lacey). Bill is a retired insurance executive and for years they lived in West Hills, Calif. An outstanding athlete and baseball player at Wesleyan, he is a big Cardinal baseball fan and he and Marilyn will travel once again to Tucson, Ariz., this spring to root on Mark Woodworth’s (’94) talented charges.

John Dunton writes: “The Reunion was “a terrific weekend, and I’m still amazed and astonished that Los Wombatos were awarded Joseph’s Robe—I could not have been more dumbfounded. That meant a great deal to me and to all the guys…. You can also offer the gratis services of Gary and the Wombats for nonpolitical fundraisers—we will go nearly anywhere nearly any time we can all clear our schedules to have an opportunity to play. I don’t know how many gigs we have left in us, but I was extremely pleased with our performance at Wesleyan and think it demonstrates we can hold our own for a while into the future. I’d like to continue to do this as long as we are all physically and emotionally capable of getting ourselves to a gig and getting people to tap their feet, get out of a chair and get sweaty. We just don’t want to do retirement home concerts….yet.”

John also wants us to know about Intervac, a wonderful program that involves reciprocal acts of hospitality with folks from other countries. John and wife Carol have hosted a number of families from Europe at their home near Boston and in 2015 they visited some of those families. They plan to continue to have the “favor returned” in the 2017. For more info: Homeexchange.com

From Ralph Jacobs: “We hope to be back on the East Coast in 2017, and will do our best to make connections with you and others from Wesleyan whose friendship we cherish.” Great news, Jake, and we look forward to seeing you! Jake and wife Holly live in Long Beach, Calif.

Dick Travis writes a very nice note: “Thank you for all you and others did to make our 50th Reunion so well organized and wonderful. Evelyn and I were unable to attend due to many diverse commitments including the culminating activities of our first grandson’s (Christopher) graduation from high school. But thanks to the blog and summary of activities, I feel that I was there. Christopher is now a freshman at the College of William and Mary, from which his father, Eric (my son), his mother Becky (daughter-in-law), and Erin (my daughter) all graduated. Just as when our children were there, we take every opportunity to visit Christopher in historic Williamsburg, as it is less than a three-hour drive from Harrisonburg.

“After retiring as a professor emeritus of health sciences at James Madison University, I took a two-year program to become an authorized lay preacher in the Shenandoah Presbytery. From January through June this year, another lay pastor and I are providing worship services to two churches in West Virginia. I leave a little after 7:00 a.m. for the 1.5 hour drive over three mountains to the Circleville (WV) Presbyterian Church worship service at 9:00 a.m. Then, I have a 25-minute drive to the Seneca Rocks (WV) Presbyterian Church service at 10:30 a.m. So they have told me to keep the sermons short. As I drive over these beautiful mountains, I have some quiet time to think about how we all have been blessed to have education and service opportunities in our lives. I am also reminded that we are the sum of our experiences and certainly those of mine at Wesleyan were very vital in my maturation process. Many thanks to classmates and professors at Wesleyan for being so important in my life.”

News from Dave Osgood: “After 25 years working and living in Egypt, I came back to the U.S. in July of 2013, retired, and settled in Nolensville Tenn. My four adult children are on their own and doing well, and I have two younger boys still in college. I’m finding retirement extremely enjoyable after years of work pressure. I have, however, been involved, on a part time basis, in interfaith activities since my return to the U.S.”

Fred Newschwander sends a list. He’s trying to wear out his hip prostheses; is a serious practitioner of YOLO; continues to add to his James Herriot stories before he forgets them all; and travels. Trips included Botswana, for a 10-day-on-horseback tent safari in June 2014, and Antarctica in December 2014, with five days in the peninsula region, where he ate meals with folks from the National Science Foundation in D.C., as well as from the McMurdo Station and a USCG icebreaker skipper. “Fascinating,” he says. His seven days last June in the Galápagos on MV Evolution were “also awesome!” He has two trips upcoming: Cuba in March 2016 and Iceland in June 2016 on a 10-day self-guided camper tour.

Tom Elliman has a good suggestion: “How about a mini-reunion in Boston or Portsmouth for us northern New Englanders? Maybe invite ’64 and ’66, too.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

Dear Classmates, Spent a memorable day in Middletown and New Haven earlier this month. Wes football alumni were asked to be part of a morning meeting with recruits and their parents. This was organized by new head football coach Dan DiCenzo to show prospective students and their parents the kind of support and mentoring that are provided to players by alumni. The students and parents I met were impressive and they seemed impressed by the commitment of alumni to the football program and to the players.

Then I was pleased to participate in a Salute to Service luncheon and program for veterans, including a large contingent of vets from Middletown (it was Middletown Day—free admission for all). Also, on the field were the Posse Students, current undergraduates who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, attending Wesleyan under a special program. Then, prior to the game, led by a colorful band of bagpipers, this rather diverse crew of veterans took to the field to be recognized by a large crowd.

How different from the mid-to-late ’60s!

The football game was exciting, as a very young Wesleyan team was edged out by a talented Middlebury squad 28–25. But, watch out, despite losing 26 players to graduation (most of them starters) the Cards have lots of talent, great coaching and spirit. They will continue to be tough to beat.

This day was wrapped up at Yale Field in New Haven, when the baseball Cardinals were hosted by the Bulldogs in a night game to commemorate the 150th anniversary of their first-ever intercollegiate baseball game—Wesleyan at Yale in 1865! Wesleyan lost that one, but won the 2015 edition 6–3 in 10 innings!

Speakers included Yale Law School graduate Faye Vincent, former major league baseball commissioner, Wes baseball coach Mark Woodworth ’94, and Jim Dresser ’63, who along with the president of Yale, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Prior to the game, all Wesleyan and Yale former players took the field to be recognized, and the Cardinal players returning outnumbered the Elis four to one. Included in that group were Pete Sipples ’64 and Bill Needham ’63, and it was a pleasure to reminisce as we watched an exciting Cardinal victory. (Very similar, in fact, to our come-from-behind win on that field, 10–9, 51 years earlier!)

Glad to have the following to report:

Fred Newschwander wrote a wonderful letter to the editor on Foss Hill memories, appearing in the magazine issue prior to this one. (If you missed it, you can find it online at magazine.wesleyan.edu/2015/09/15/foss-hill-memories/.)

Dick Travis wrote a thoughtful note and it was good to hear from him. He is professor emeritus, health sciences, James Madison University, Harrisburg, Va.

Carl Hoppe from Beverly Hills, Calif., writes: “My wife, Diane, and I are taking four weeks off to have time at the beach and then travel to Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. We continue to have busy practices when we are in town, which is usually. Our youngest is out of the nest, having just graduated from Vassar. She got a job with NIH eight days later—we got a raise! (She was accepted at Wesleyan, but turned it down.) The older two girls are long gone outta here and well established. Despite a few more bodily glitches, I still manage to get out for tennis two to three times a week. Life on the left side of the map is good.”

Grant Parr writes: “I certainly enjoyed seeing so many of my classmates at our 50th Reunion. A particular treat was getting to know some classmates even better than when I was on campus…. Continue to work part time as physician-in-chief at the Gagnon Heart Hospital at the Morristown [N.J.] Medical Center. In late August and early September I spent several weeks fly fishing with friends and at a dude ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyo., with my family. Helen and I will spend a good bit of the winter in our second home in Boca Grande Fla. Life is good!”

Mike Borecky is a full-time staff physician with the Department of Justice in NYC, providing care to 3,000 inmates. An important and demanding job, to say the least! He wrote a humorous note about a bizarre Western Civilization course we took as freshmen. Yes, Mike, I remember it!

Bill Brown writes: “It was great to see everyone, though lots of people did not attend. The weather, food, and drinks were great. Peter Kelman and I still e-mail occasionally. A best-selling book when we arrived in 1961—was Black like Me. It told of the racial tensions in the South at that time. A sitcom on TV today made reference to that famous book—which sold five million copies. I was reminded of our trip to Tuskegee in March 1963. The other 11 Wesmen stuck together for meals—and attended meetings in that town—to discuss racial problems. I was criticized for mingling with the Tuskegee students and attending their student activities. But, looking back after 52 years, I’m glad I did. I still remember students and events. And the ideas we shared from two different parts of America. Are things any better in 2015? That’s a question Peter has asked, in a recent e-mail.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we danced, we told stories and said things about ourselves not said before—in short, it was an extraordinary Reunion!

Many thanks to the committee who put it all together and to the 93 classmates—a 50th Reunion attendance record—who returned to our beloved campus.

The university honored a number of our own:

Hugh Wilson: Distinguished Alumnus Award for his remarkable achievements as a mathematician, philosopher, biologist, chemist, physicist, researcher and professor.
Mark Edmiston: Outstanding Service Award for his many years of service to Wesleyan as a trustee and alumni association leader.

Rob Abel, Don Crampton, and John Hall: Wesleyan Service Award for sustained service to the college as fundraisers, alumni club leaders, donors and admission volunteers.

Joseph’s Robe, the ’65 award for meritorious service to the class, was presented to: Gary and the Wombats (John Dunton, Steve Flance, Brooke Jones ’64, Leon Robinette ’64 and Richard Smith), and to Reunion juggernauts Dave Dinwoodey and Bob Barton. (To further sway the judges’ votes in their favor, The Wombats put on a spirited performance on Friday night and we all danced like it was 1965 once again!)

The festivities, which began on Thursday, featured a nice mix of seminars, time for socializing and sports (some of us played golf, tennis, and basketball), and space in the schedule just to relax and walk the expanded and beautiful campus. We also had three enjoyable banquets: a Kickoff Reception/Dinner on Thursday evening; the President’s Reception/Dinner in our honor on Friday, featuring Michael Roth’s ’78 remarks on the state of the University and his vision for its future; and Saturday’s celebratory Class Dinner with Professors Anne and Nathaniel Greene, and Wendy and Karl Scheibe; Coach Don Russell and his son, Andy; long-time administrator John Driscoll ’62 and his wife Gina; and special guest, Linda Burton, widow of Mike Burton.

Seminars and panels featuring the ’65 family included: “Butterfield 2020” organized by Bob Barton, which explored the reasons Wesleyan went from one of the wealthiest colleges in the country to the verge of financial crisis in the 10 years after we graduated.
“Our Times” was an interactive discussion among classmates moderated by Tony Schuman concerning the turmoil of the ’60s—the civil rights movement, Vietnam, the social revolution—and its influence on our lives.

“Skills for the New Economy,” a WESeminar organized by Kirt Mead examined the skills that Wesleyan grads will need in a new economy dominated by technology and rapid change. Presenters included Kirt, who consults throughout the United States and Europe on business leadership and strategic planning, and Molly Barton ’00 (Bob’s daughter), who is a leader in digital publishing.

“Architect as Artisan and Community Activist,” was a WESeminar presented by Steve Badanes regarding his decades of work in community-based architecture and design. Steve is a noted speaker, author, itinerant designer/builder and the Howard S. Wright Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington.

“Global Warming: What the World’s Climate Scientists and Policy Leaders Now Know, Fear, Hope and Plan,” moderated by Bill Blakemore, featured classmate Jerry Melillo, along with Wes Professor Gary Yohe, a leading climate-impact economist. Bill began writing about global warming for ABC News in 2004, and Jerry chaired all three government National Climate Assessments and served as environmental adviser to the President.

(In this regard, a number of classmates attended an informal meeting afterward to discuss ways to encourage University initiatives, such as focusing endowment investments in cleaner energy rather than fossil fuel companies. For more information, please contact Woody Sayre; Robert.Sayre@u-pem.fr

Another major highlight were the three “’65 WesShorts” sessions designed for classmates—scripted or not—to speak briefly about their lives, professions, passions, families, and reflections on their Wesleyan experience. They were organized and moderated by Bob Barton, Hugh Wilson and Tony Schuman and were extremely varied and entertaining. (Most of them were filmed and will be available to the class online—details to be announced.)

Ron Young came back and spoke several times with eloquence and passion. Ron left Wesleyan to pursue a career in civil rights, world peace, religion, and education. He developed a lifelong relationship with Professor John Maguire and met the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on numerous occasions. Here are excerpts from a message he sent to the class following the Reunion: “Warm thanks for welcoming me in the class, despite my not graduating until 1986…. Connecting and reconnecting with many of you, experiencing Wesleyan’s wonderfully diverse community, learning in the Wes Seminars…. listening to the WesShorts…were incredible and very emotional for me. Reading the Remembrances about guys I knew and others I didn’t brought tears…

“Given how significantly my taking off from Wesleyan affected my life, I don’t regret what I did, but I do have a much deeper personal appreciation for what I missed.”

Ron wrote a memoir concerning his work in support of civil rights, opposition to the Vietnam War and efforts to foster peace among Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, entitled Crossing Boundaries in the Americas, Vietnam and the Middle East.

In addition to the Reunion committee, individual kudos to: Rob Abel and Bob Barton for producing a marvelous 50th Reunion class book;

David Dinwoodey, editor, and the many contributors for their efforts in putting together the touching Remembrances booklet containing personal memories of deceased classmates;

Don Crampton for his tireless and long-time work on the class’s support of the Wesleyan Fund and his committee, for their efforts, as well;

Hal Gorman, Bill Knox, Mike Maloney and Hugh Wilson for their donations of some truly fine wine for our enjoyment throughout the weekend;

Peter Kelman, expert in Web communications, who spearheaded the critical effort to locate lost classmates and to urge all to attend.

Now, thanks to Peter’s ongoing wizardry, coupled with Bob Barton’s wes65stories website, we are well-positioned to build on the relationships renewed and begun at our 50th. And, later this summer, all of us will receive the Class Book Addendum, and those who missed Reunion will also receive the tribute to deceased classmates and Peter Whiteley’s fabulous ’60s CD. (Thank you, Peter! I listen to it all the time!)

This will not be our last class gathering or Reunion! We have a great opportunity to continue to make new friendships, renew old ones and engage each other in beneficial ways for years to come. So, save Nov. 6–7 (Homecoming), the dates for our next get together. Details to follow!

The big news remains our upcoming 50th Reunion and hope everyone will make the effort to be there! Even for a day, it will be worth it, I’m sure. In the course of the Reunion planning and outreach we’ve received a lot of information on classmates, much of which will be in our Reunion book (to be distributed at Reunion) and in the addendum to be distributed later.

Here are a few tidbits:

Gar Hargens writes: “Great to read about the work going into our Reunion. Thank you all. I still have my head down, cranking out the work. Unfortunately, several large projects may be peaking in late May but I hope to join you. The two ($4 and $30 million) are both trying to meet LEED, Passive House, and Living Building Challenge standards. As Bill Blakemore and Jerry Melillo address global climate change, I’d be glad to comment on what’s happening (or not) at the local project level.” Gar is president/owner of Close Associates (architects) in Minneapolis.

From Peter Babin: “After graduating from Wesleyan, went to law school, and then briefly practiced law before time in the military. Then I migrated into the world of commercial property, casualty and health insurance. Positions held include: vice president, risk management, May Department Stores, St. Louis, and CEO for insurer sponsored health/HMO plans in Denver; Dayton, Shreveport, and Helena. Retired in 2005 as CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Montana. Married in 1972 to Barbara Ellen Makinen, have three daughters and four grandchildren (with a set of twins ‘in development’). Currently living about half of each year on the northwest coast of the Big Island of Hawaii, and the remainder on our small ranch south of Helena. Have kept my hand in business with property development activities in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Hawaii. Unfortunately, I’m unsure if I can work around scheduling conflicts with the 50th Reunion, but best to all and thanks for the memories!”

Bill Brown writes: “Mr. Excitement never left town. I ride by Wesleyan every day. In our senior year—February 1965—I was hired by the state of Connecticut, to teach emotionally challenged children at Connecticut Valley Hospital. I stayed for 32 years and retired at 53, in 1997, the day before my first granddaughter was born. Had fun babysitting her and her little sister, for years…. I was disappointed to see that Dean Barlow left Wesleyan when we did. He was the most important faculty member for me. The Argus cover featured me receiving my diploma from him at graduation time—the shortest graduate at 5 feet, 3 inches, and the second youngest. They should have chosen the student behind me, handsome Donald Brown!”

Bruce Patterson writes briefly: “Still married (tolerant wife). Two kids. Son lives in Stamford, daughter lives in NYC, so our plans are to stay in Stamford for the time being. Semi-retired. One day a week at West Marine. Rest of the time self -employed as a marine surveyor (seasonal in New England). My hobby is sailing.”

Update for Carl Calendar: After receiving his doctorate, Carl became a teacher and has been dean of humanities at Brookdale Community College on the Jersey Shore where he has worked for 44 years. Carl says: “Teaching the students in a community college has always been my passion—I love the diversity.”

He and his wife, Jody, have two sons, Bart, 46, in Montpellier, France, a journalist; and Shane, 29, an attorney in New Jersey. They live in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Moultonborough, N.H., where they spend summers and a few winter weekends. Jody is the editor of the Asbury Park Press.

In the 1990s, Carl worked for the State Department in Singapore, Malaysia, and Borneo, doing training for journalists. In 2005, he walked 204 miles on the Camino de Santiago on a pilgrimage to the grave of St. James.

Carl’s best Wesleyan Memories: “touch football and volleyball before dinner, party weekends, sensational teachers, and wonderful students who taught me as much as the professors.”

Marsh Cusic writes: “I’m retired from medical practice and the Navy and spending more time with our family farm in Illinois. Wow, farming has really changed over the years. It’s sure not ‘Old MacDonald’s Farm’ anymore. The challenge is to operate a business with a heart for the land. I crossed paths with John Hall, Don Crampton, and other Class of ’65 members at the Chicago area WesU alumni event last fall. I’m still a big bike rider and will do the 460-mile RAGBRAI Iowa ride in July, the GRABWAAR 480-mile ride in Wisconsin in June and a 120-mile Illinois ride in September. Our three kids and five grandkids live in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so we keep busy trying to keep up with them. Georgeanne (Conn ’67) and I look forward to catching up with ’65 classmates in May.”

From John Wilson: “After 25-plus years at the University of Arizona, I retired in 2010. Now, my adventure-action novel is in draft, and I met an agent who said she wanted to see the first 50 pages. I love learning to write and am even beginning to understand sentences. Potential for further entertainment is infinite.

“Linda and I met 50 years ago on Halloween at The Sancho Panza in Monterey. Fifty years. Most of you were seniors, I was a Spec 4 at the Defense Language Institute, and the coffee shop later became a Thomas Kinkaid gallery. Our Sancho Panza gets a few inches starting paragraph eight at theava.com/archives/21180. Linda has been a movement educator for over 20 years, and I have the best posture and easiest movement I’ve had since I was five years old. That’s cool but a long story.

“Last year, Heidi and I took our first daughter-father trip of any length: a week in Nashville. We walked to music, history, and Nash Trash and drove less than 40 minutes to the Parthenon and the site of the Battle of Franklin, and we got on well as fellow travelers. I must have been a good person in a prior life to get this trip. Heidi is still a preferred and student-centered high school English teacher and teaches a film class.

“Life is good and often fun. Avoid the front page and/or TV news and treasure your friends and the things you like do.”

From Bob Schmidt: “In October, Susan and I hosted Betsy and Tom (The Aleman) Elliman, Joan and Fritz Faerber, Tim Lynch and his lovely Rose at our Cape Cod cottage in Chatham, Mass. Joining us were Chris and Paul Lapuc ’64, who live full time in Chatham. We had a rollicking good time! On Saturday afternoon, we went to a Bluegrass Festival at Truro Vineyards of Cape Cod Winery. We sampled in earnest the wines, which were quite good. A few weeks later at a planning meeting for our upcoming 50th and Joseph’s Robe presentation we were treated to Truro wines that Hal Gorman hauled out of his car trunk. Turns out that Hal is the attorney for Truro Vineyards and is on their board of directors. Hal has offered to supply more wine for our Reunion—and gratefully, I say, ‘Bring it on, Hal!’”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

The big news remains Thursday, May 21–Sunday, May 24, 2015-—our 50th!

A growing group of us are formulating plans, and we are eager to include everyone who’d like to be part of that activity. Just let me know and I’ll pass on your name to Dave Dinwoodey, who is serving as our convener.

In that regard, we had a very well-attended and productive meeting on Sept. 30 at John Hall’s law firm in New York City. In attendance were:

Rob Abel—Ophthalmologist, teacher, author, and educator. Rob has founded a vitamin company; he is helping start free eye clinics in low-income communities; and he is also helping to foster peace among Palestinians and Israelis. Rob planned to come to Homecoming and our 50th Reunion planning sessions instead of his academy of ophthalmology meeting, where a lecture on three ophthalmologists-turned-mystery writers was to be presented. The three ophthalmologists: Arthur Conan Doyle, Robin Cook ’62, and Rob!

Bob Barton—Retired fund development professional/consultant; now, mainly farmer and senior basketball star, along with teammate Jay Clapp.

Bill Blakemore—Still at ABC News after nearly 50 years covering the Vatican, volcanos, wars, politics, and just about everything. Also, he’s doing a great deal of lecturing and writing on global-warming and its effects.

Win Chamberlin—Nearly-retired NYC real estate developer; involved in Community Services Society in NYC and other charities, including rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. Wife Lee is retiring from her work as an attorney for NYU Law School.

Don Crampton—Retired insurance executive in Chicago, but still does some consulting. Also, tireless Wesleyan Fund leader for our class.

Dave Dinwoodey—With law and teaching careers behind him, he is now back working full-time with a smaller law firm and enjoying it. However, he and Mary Ellen make plenty of time for four Boston-area grandchildren, travel, biking, and racquet sports.

Mark Edmiston—Career in publishing now has him founding a digital food magazine. Has served on Wesleyan’s Board and recently finished his term as chair of the Children’s Aid Society of New York.

John Hall—Senior partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. Spending time with the firm’s associates helping low-income defendants in Alabama and Texas. Very involved with several nonprofit schools in NYC. Stays in shape biking and hiking with wife Annie; recently returned from China and Tibet.

Kirt Mead—Now with Leading Edge Forum in London. Firm’s mission is teaching high-tech folks to communicate with business folks.

Tony Schuman—For past 35 years professor of architecture, New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. Specializes in solutions to community challenges and is very involved in the Newark community.

Hugh Wilson—Professor emeritus, York University, Toronto. Specializes in vision and brain function and imaging. Wife Fran also retired professor. Both travel widely and are still working on research papers, books, and speaking engagements. Also, wine experts! (Hugh was ill, so participated by conference call.)

Bob Leonard—Professor of Theater Arts at Virginia Tech, as well as part of our outreach team. He is also director of their MFA program and primary adviser in the stage management, directing, and public dialogue MFA programs.

We discussed programing for Reunion, such as seminars on global-warming and its effects. Looks like Jerry Melillo, presidential advisor, will be able to participate, along with Bill Blakemore and others from the Wesleyan family.

A main focus will also be plenty of time just to reconnect with classmates and to discuss whatever comes up! Our Outreach Committee is active in contacting everyone and encouraging everyone to return.

There are Wesleyan seminars being scheduled in Chicago (12/2/14), Boston, New York, and Los Angeles on various topics for our class (and other alumni in the area). Stay tuned for your invitation.

Further to the Reunion, our Outreach efforts are resulting in some good conversations and information concerning the activities of our classmates such as John Hall’s contact with Drew Hult. Drew hopes to attend the Reunion, which is great to hear. He is married to Kaye and has three children, two sons and a daughter; the sons are married and have produced four grandchildren; his daughter is single. Drew is a CPA in Huntington, N.Y., and enjoys his work very much.

Had a terrific visit to Chappaquiddick (Martha’s Vineyard) over Labor Day weekend at the home of Brad and Dick Morash ’64. Joining us were: Marie and Mike Angelini ’64, D. Anne and Rick Atherton ’64, and Arlene and Rusty Messing ’64. (I was included because they needed an underclassman to beat on!) Judging from the levels of activity and engagement of everyone in the group, it’s clear there is lots of achievement, energy, and involvement post-50th.

In October, the Hartford Courant carried a story on the great coaching achievements of Bob Michalski. In 38 years (1967–2005) as head coach of cross country and track at Xavier High School in Middletown,Bob’s teams won 58 state championships and five New England titles! Amazing, particularly because these were two sports he did not participate in himself in either high school or college. Congratulations, Bob!

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu 860/693-1832

One of the benefits of living in Connecticut is being able visit our beloved campus on a regular basis. That was the case on a beautiful day in early April when I watched the Cardinal baseball team beat Williams 4-1. (The next day Wesleyan traveled to Williamstown and swept the Ephs 7-2 and 12-2.) During the game in Middletown, I had the pleasure of chatting with head football coach and athletic director Mike Whalen ’83, and head baseball coach Mark Woodworth ’94 (and his lovely wife, Robin ’97). Both Mike and Mark are doing a superb job, but always need our help in letting them know of outstanding student-athletes in our communities for whom Wesleyan would be a good fit. No need to do any recruiting: just give them a name and they’ll take it from there.

At the game also had a good chat with fellow Deke Pat Dwyer ’67. Pat was a standout football and baseball player and was the first of three brothers to graduate from Wesleyan, the other two being Kevin ’68 and Tom ’72. Pat’s son, Dan, didn’t get the memo and ended up at Williams where he was an outstanding quarterback, golfer, and student. Dan now practices law with his father and Pat proudly proclaims, “I now work for him!”

John Dunton sent a great holiday letter. Here are a few excerpts: “2013 included a lot of family and travel. To escape the cold winter we traveled to Belize and Guatemala on a small ship tour, visiting Mayan ruins, snorkeling and touring the countryside. Later, we gathered with two sons, their wives and five of the grandchildren and went skiing in New Hampshire, a gift of my mother to the family.

“Our 1973 Volvo 164 was driven to two Concours d’Elegance shows. Our second Concours appearance was at a very prestigious show in Saratoga, N.Y. We were surprised she was accepted: ‘Lucille’ was really out of her class; to the left was a 1952 Jaguar roadster and to the right was an Aston-Martin DB4, collectively worth perhaps $600,000, but she showed well and had many admirers. She also won ‘People’s Choice’ in class for the second time in three years at a Boston show.

“We took a 10-day trip to Memphis, Tenn., and saw Elvis Presley’s house (Graceland); Sun Studio where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison got their start, and Stax soul music museum, a very interesting place to visit. We then went to Little Rock, Ark., and visited with the drummer in my band (yes, you can find YouTube clips by searching Gary and The Wombats; we were filmed at the 50th reunion of the band). In Bentonville, Ark., we visited the spectacular Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and we also visited Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs—a simple but elegant wood-and-glass place of great beauty, peace and serenity. Christmas found us along the Main River on a river­boat cruise from Frankfurt to Nuremberg.

“For Carol it was another year of work; somewhere in the future she will agree to retire. I continue to work as well; Carol’s singing continued, with participation in concert performances with several groups, including singing the Canadian and American national anthems at Fenway Park.

“We’re looking forward to meeting more friends and experiencing more travel in 2014. Our big trip will be a boat journey which the tour company calls ‘In the Wake of the Vikings’ from Copenhagen to the islands off the coast of Scotland. We will then tour Scotland.”

For a great article by Steve Badanes on the value of his Wesleyan education, click on “This is Why” on the Wesleyan home page, and scroll down until you see his Fremont Troll. Wesleyan invites each of us to write a paragraph or two on why Wesleyan was important in our lives—something to consider!

Steve Rhinesmith has his own company and is also senior adviser at Mercer Leadership Development in Chatham, Mass., a firm specializing in professional training and coaching. Steve earned his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh and has been a leadership consultant with numerous major companies around the world. He is the author or co-author of four books and 30 articles on leadership development. Steve has many years of senior international management experience, including 15 as president of the AFS International Student Exchange Program and Holland America Cruise Lines. He also served for 10 years as a senior leadership consultant to the World Bank and was President Reagan’s coordinator for U.S.-Soviet Exchanges with the rank of U.S. Ambassador.

Bill Trapp (and wife Marilyn)—Wesleyan’s greatest baseball fans—recently went from their home in West Hills, Calif., to Tucson to watch the Cards play four games during their Arizona spring training trip. Bill’s still a top producer at his insurance agency, but finds time for golf and even plans to play in the alumni game at Wesleyan in May. At that time, the college will be honoring the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, including Jeff Hopkins ’66. Jeff was an outstanding baseball and football player and was drafted by the New York Yankees.

Finally, had an exchange of e-mails with Tom Elliman (The Aleman) around a recent speech in Portland, Maine, by Morrie Heckscher ’62, chairman/curator of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Morrie’s keynote address (a big success), was part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of Greater Portland Landmarks, a nonprofit of which Tom is a trustee. Tom noted that “as students of Art Professor Sam Green, Morrie and I were joined by Paul Stevens ’59, a local architect and great­grandson of John Calvin Stevens, a nationally known architect.”

Asked Tom about his career and life and he replied: “I retired from Ford Motor Co. (Ford racing program—12 years) in 2006 and by October, Betsy and I had left Detroit in a 20’ RV for a trip around the perimeter of the country. Seven months and 17,000 miles later we landed back in Maine which was our target. Along the way, at church in Santa Barbara I accidentally re-connected with Denny Bacon ’68, whom I had not seen since Commons Club days nearly 40 years earlier. Anyway, we bought a house overlooking Portland Harbor and immersed ourselves in a community we had lived outside of in the ’70s and ’80s. Much different being in an exciting small city. Tons going on, and we have tapped into most of it. My major focus has been Greater Portland Landmarks (and related preservation activities), where I am scheduled to become board chairman in the fall. Lots of Wesleyan folks around here, as you can imagine. In fact we have a Commons Club mini-reunion here each year around Labor Day. Our two girls both live along the Connecticut shore and we have four grandchildren whom we see as often as possible. We love to travel, and since moving back have visited Italy, Australia, Scotland, Israel, and Russia. Plus we like to hang out in Key West, too. Looking forward to our 50th!

Chuck Hearey writes: “Living in Orinda, Calif., and working full-time as chief-of-pediatrics at the area Kaiser-Permanente facility. I thoroughly enjoy my practice and administrative work. We have accomplished a lot in setting quality care and access standards and increasingly are being looked upon as a national model for health care delivery. I was also appointed to the medical advisory committee for the statewide California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school athletics…. Had my second knee replaced and feel great—even have enjoyed playing some doubles and light skiing. Two of our three children (Ray, child psychiatrist, and Katy, marketing/architect) have moved back to California with their spouses and live nearby. Sarah works in fashion design in New York City. Dede is still working part-time in school law, and we are enjoying our three darling grandchildren.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu 860/693-1832