Tag: 1971

Aloha, classmates! Here is the longer version of your class note for this issue of the alumni magazine—more than twice as long as the 800-word magazine limit. Thank you for these wonderful notes.

Bob Yaro writes, “I retired 10 years ago from my day job in Manhattan, where I ran an urban policy group, and five years ago from teaching urban planning at Penn. I continue to engage in efforts to build high-speed rail in the Northeast and across the U.S. and to rebuild New York’s Penn Station. And I’m in my sixth year as chairman of the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island—reflecting my lifelong passion for classic boats. My wife, Susan (Smith ’72 and Wes 12 College Exchange), and I are headed to Nantucket and the Vineyard this summer on our newly restored wooden powerboat, where we plan to visit Blake Allison and his wife, Lindsay, at their place on Chappaquiddick Island. We delight in having our kids and four grandkids (ages 6–10) all close to home in Guilford, Connecticut —but unlike many of you who’ve lived all over the world, we’ve only gotten 21 miles from Middletown in 55 years!

From Stephen Ferruolo: “Time flies. . . . We are just back from Stephen’s (Wes ’20) graduation at SLS (Stanford Law). It was an impressive celebration, somewhat overshadowed by recent events. As much as the speakers tried to be encouraging to the new law grads and to inspire them to resist and not capitulate (as the nine prominent law firms have done), there was a clear sense that we are in uncharted territory, and no one knows where this all will end. Most evident was that there are likely to be many fewer international students at Stanford (and other U.S. universities) in the years to come.

“I have nothing much to report, other than Stephen’s graduation and that I have decided to continue to teach full time for a while longer. I continue to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of Kuwait International Law School and was in Kuwait in May for a board meeting.”

Warren White says, “I recently joined a VMHC tour of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is celebrating the 250th anniversary in good style. The tour included Elfreth’s Alley, possible work site of my indentured, 1745 immigrant-ancestor Joseph Wilkins Marshall. The Bellevue Hotel provided very comfortable lodging and while someone mentioned this was the origin of Legionnaires’ disease in 1976, it did not occur on our trip.”

C. B. (Kip) Anderson writes, “It’s been a long time. I always enjoyed our encounters, whether as fellow students or as alumni. Life is weird. I alternate now between fooling around with my three grandchildren and falling back on my longtime bad habits: gardening, writing poems, drinking single malt Scotch whisky, and cultivating cannabis. About the last, I must admit that it was much more fun when it was illegal, but its legalization is about the only thing I have good to say about Massachusetts.”

From Phil Rauch, “Officially retired the end of January 2025 after two years of ‘of counsel.’ We are spending the summer/fall in our house in Vermont, where I am volunteering, hiking, fishing, and playing golf. Also spending more time with the grandchildren. Still on the Wesleyan board but will go off next year. Still traveling a fair amount—last trip was to Morocco.”

And from Andrew Glantz: “Greetings from Scottsdale. Roberta Adams, my wife of 39 years, and I continue to enjoy life and work here in Arizona, although Roberta is retiring in January. She has been the director of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant at Phoenix Children’s/Mayo Clinic since 2002. I’m still making furniture and teaching furniture making and design. I taught at the Wendell Castle Workshop in June, as I did last year. This is an amazing school, situated in Wendell Castle’s old studio. We spent three weeks in April in Australia, most notably on an island in the northwestern part of the Great Barrier Reef, a great snorkeling and diving area. I’m in the throes of renovating our kitchen—we have been here for over 20 years, and it has just made it to the top of the list. Lots of changes and destruction and great fun. Come on out and visit!”

John Schimmel writes: “I had the opportunity to visit Bob Wienner in hospice before brain cancer took him from us in June of ’24. (His obituary can be read here.) Bob was pretty thoroughly nonverbal by then but, blessedly, he could still laugh. We did a lot of that, especially on the day our Wesleyan roommate Jeff Waxman ’70 joined us. And speaking of Jeff, I just learned that we are going to be in London at the same time in August, great news since we don’t get nearly enough time to visit. Jeff will be visiting his son. I’ll be in the UK for work for most of the summer (I’m still producing narrative content for Cloud Imperium Games, and I’ll be seeing a first cut of a generative AI film I’m producing), but then my wife and two of our three kids are meeting up in London at the start of a much-overdue holiday for Maureen and me: London for fun; Manchester, so she can see the game studio; Edinburgh for the theater and fringe festival; Dublin for more theater. Our youngest has been living with us as she solidifies her transition out of college and into the workforce, but she’s looking to move out soon. Empty nest awaits us.”

From Katy Butler:“I’m not sure I’m transitioning. I still cling to my identity as a writer and often get up at 4 a.m. to write, though it’s harder to find publishing outlets, due to my age and changes in the media landscape. (I think I already let you know I was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2025 for an article in Tricycle, the Buddhist magazine.)
Exercising has become a half-time job, necessary for my survival and ‘healthy aging.’ I have to follow the advice in my own book (The Art of Dying Well). I swim three times a week at a community pool and just started weight training at the local community center. My energy isn’t what it was: I take a nap every afternoon or I’d fall over like a redwood tree. I have returned to my earlier infatuation with Zen and joined a local sitting group.

“In the meantime, my relationship with Brian Donohue, my second husband, continues to deepen. His touch gets more tender, I grow more honest and open, I get along better with my two stepsons, and we both get happier, more self-aware, and more grateful.  We are both in awe of what’s possible so late in life. We aren’t rich, but we’re lucky enough to have no money troubles and no debt and to live in a beautiful place, two blocks from a Whole Foods. (You should see the camellias in the backyard when they are blooming in late winter!)

“We have updated the upstairs bathroom and added grab bars. We know we should add a walk-in shower downstairs but find it too daunting! Projects I would have rushed into decades ago with little anxiety are emotionally harder now. 

“Brian continues to lead sing-alongs once a week in a memory care unit—they respond to him more and more by the week. It’s a ministry, a calling, and the source of a little income. I am working on a memoir of growth and healing, still trying to slim it down and figure out what the ‘plot’ or elevator speech is and mindful that it can’t include everything about my adult life but the kitchen sink. I have lost my hotshot New York agent over this project, which she abhorred. It’s a labor of love, not a money project.”

And a non-transition note: From the proud poppa, a press release from Steve Leinwand about his son, Ethan ’05:

Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation

Ethan Leinwand brings a powerful and deeply authentic voice to the world of early American piano music. Specializing in barrelhouse blues and St. Louis-style piano, Ethan’s performances are a raw, rhythmic, and riveting celebration of a tradition that helped shape the foundations of jazz and ragtime. His unique blend of musicality, storytelling, and historical depth makes him a standout in today’s traditional music scene. 

Based in St. Louis, Ethan is deeply immersed in the city’s rich musical legacy and has become a leading voice in preserving and promoting its distinctive sound. He is an active member of Friends of Scott Joplin, a St. Louis-based organization dedicated to honoring the legacy of the King of Ragtime. Through this work, he also helps organize and host the monthly Ragtime Rendezvous, a community-centered event that brings musicians and fans together to celebrate ragtime and early jazz. 

In addition to his work as a performer and advocate in St. Louis, Ethan serves on the Board of Directors for the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation, where he plays a key role in supporting the festival’s mission and artistic direction. His involvement reflects both his passion for the music and his commitment to ensuring its future.

Whether he’s delivering a gritty blues number, an energetic stomp, or a soulful slow drag, Ethan captures the heart of a bygone era with integrity and spirit. His music is alive with character and history, and his performances leave audiences feeling as if they’ve stepped back in time—and discovered something timeless. 

We’re proud to welcome Ethan Leinwand back to Sedalia, where his artistry, leadership, and dedication to community continue to make a lasting impact on the ragtime world. 

That’s all for this time. Keep sending those emails on how you are progressing in this life. Take care and peace!

Aloha! Here is a more extensive and unedited notes and pictures I received from our classmates:

I’m sorry to report the passing of Dave Reynolds, as was reported in the class note for 1967. His friend, Ned Preble ’67, wrote: “Dave Reynolds ’71 died on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at his home in Hampden, Massachusetts, after yearsof illness stimulated by Agent Orange during his service in Thailand. His wife, Heather, his son, Nat, and his wife, and Dave’s sister were with him. He and I stayed in touch from September 1963 until he died. He was a doctor, having pursued his MD and career conscientiously, from postgraduation through his ER tech job in the army, more pre-med courses and health care jobs. There will be a celebration of life October 6, 2024, featuring Steely Dan music. I will never forget his wise laugh and his broad shoulders that once kept NYC subway doors from closing on me.”    

An obituary can be found here.

Jay Resnick sadly reports David Foster died on September 2, 2024, of pancreatic cancer. An obituary can be found here.

Sorry to report that I also learned of the passing of our classmate, Robert Wienner, on June 26, 2024. His obituary can be read here.

Stephen Ferruolo: Re: “Work to Do After the Election” by President Michael Roth. Steven says: “I have never been prouder to be a Wesleyan graduate.” Here is the link to the letter from President Roth, written last November: Work to Do After the Election.

Katy Butler:

“Dear Friends,

“I am writing to share my new, very personal article, published today in Tricycle Magazine called ‘Abortion and the First Precept; Understanding Abortion as the Alleviation of Suffering.’ This is my own story of two pregnancies and my ‘choice,’ as I saw it, between abortion and ruination. 

“Only now, since the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled a national right to abortion, have I thought back 50 years and examined my actions in the light of the precepts and my values. I offer a moral defense of abortion by situating this commonplace, difficult event not in an ideal universe but within the lives of real women, including mine.

“I hope you enjoy it and pass it on to anyone you think might find it helpful.

“I am grateful to Tricycle for lifting their paywall. Please feel free to forward this free link to anyone who might enjoy it, and feel free to share it on social media.”

I recommend downloading the article and read it. It is very illuminating.

Ed Swanson sends a poem and thoughts:

‘Tis twelve nights before Christmas
(Where has the time flown?)
And I’ve finally decided
To jot some words down.

Each year I play poet,
Or at least give it a try,
So I can playfully tell you,
And without any lies, 

That I find you quite special
And I want you to know
That I treasure your friendship
(Even when it don’t show).  

There’s a glow in my heart

As I remember each one

Of my family and friends

And the good times—such fun!

This season’s quite special

And the time’s flying by

So I’ll wish you these words

Ere it’s time for good-bye:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Ed says, “Slowing down but still working and still loving the weather of California versus Connecticut; not looking forward to the next four years; great memories of Wes.”

Alan Epstein writes: “Hope you and your family are doing well and thriving. I do have some news to [share,]my wife and I switched homes with my son, Aaron ’01. He now lives in our large house in Pasadena, and we took over his apartment, one mile away, in order to downsize our living experience. He is a very successful ob-gyn physician/expert in maternal fetal care with four offices in Los Angeles area.  My other son, Seth, is working for me in the lab half a day, and then in the afternoons, he is a coach for the La Canada High School baseball team, where he also gives lessons. Both are happy, which is a real positive. My granddaughter is now applying to college and is hopeful that she will get one of her first choices. On a very positive note, my wife has now been declared free of cancer five years after diagnosis with ovarian cancer and treated at City of Hope Medical Center. I am still working full time at USC Keck School of Medicine and am excited with my research there. I am close to completing studies on a universal tumor vaccine and an oral treatment to quench major mechanisms of tumor-elicited immunosuppression. When both treatments are used together, we see complete regression in triple negative breast cancer mouse models. I am now working to get these products into a start-up company and hope to do the first clinical trials here at USC. This research will be the culmination of my research career, and I am very hopeful that this work will be a substantial contribution. Thanks so for relaying this into your notes. All the best.”

David Barrett ’71, MAT ’72: “I am years into retirement now, devoting my time to civic work in Hartford, where I have lived more than half a century (transitioning into a tidy condo after my wife passed away. Didn’t need a big house and garden any longer.) I am chair of the Board of Directors of Hartford Public Library and also serve on a Hartford Foundation for Public Giving committee that awards community grants in Hartford. Both are rewarding volunteer opportunities.”

Dave Lindorff: “No transition yet. This year is different and exciting though, as my wife, Joyce, is on a year’s sabbatical leave, which she’s taking at Cambridge University. She’s been named a fellow at Clare Hall, the only graduate-level college in Cambridge and is a visiting professor of Early Keyboards at the university’s Department of Music. I am along as spouse, and it’s the perfect opportunity to do more research and update and expand a paperback edition of my latest book, Spy for No Country, that came out in hardcover in December 2024. I’m getting access to six file drawers of teenage, atomic spy Ted Hall’s writing and correspondence that was discovered last year in the family home by his surviving daughters as they were clearing it out to put it on the market. The files were found after their mother, Ted’s widow, died a year ago last June; [they were] in her bedroom closet. I’m hoping it will be a goldmine of insights into Ted’s thinking during his spying and in the years afterward. We are thinking about finding a way to stay here with [my wife] continuing as the music department’s harpsichord teacher, and me continuing with my journalism. We’ll see. . . .”

Ian Hunter: “Both my daughters have gone into academia. One teaches at Boston College, the other at University of New South Wales (Sydney). Both teach statics. Two grandchildren so far, both boys. Have yet to retire but getting closer.”

Scott Gilbert and Anne Raunio ’72 moved to Portland, Oregon, to help raise their granddaughters. Scott, a developmental biologist, says that retirement is like metamorphosis: some structures grow, some structures are jettisoned, and some structures are repurposed. Now without an office, he writes his books from his granddaughters’ playroom, watched over by Barbie and several Disney princesses. “Best wishes!”

William H. Boulware:“Hello, Neil. First, thank you for keeping the lines of communication open all these years for our class. I’m in relatively good health, but still my body often reminds me I’m getting old, especially my short-term memory. I need a new hard drive for my brain. Does anyone out there know where I can find one? And I always thought getting older [meant] I would have fewer responsibilities, instead I seem to have more. I blame my wife.”

Jay Resnick: “Transitions in my life: The most significant transition was the death of my beloved wife, Judy Sarubin, in August 2023. Sending you best wishes for a healthy and happy 2025.”

Anthony Wheeldin: “No real news, but I did want to thank you for serving as class secretary for all these years.”

Bill Bruner: “Not much has changed for me as I’m still practicing medical ophthalmology here in Cleveland half time, transitioning to full retirement at 90! I have four grandchildren ranging from two to eight years old. I’m still married to my wife, Susan, and it will be 50 years this coming June. We have a small vacation home on an island here in Lake Erie called Kelleys Island. We call it a ‘poor man’s Martha’s Vineyard’! Best greetings to all my classmates and hope to see you all at our 60th Reunion! I’ll try to make that one!’

Dick Scoggins: “I am living in Los Angeles with my wife and my daughter and her family. My son and his family live 10 miles from us. Quite a change after my wife and I lived in England for 16 years. Lots of Wesleyan people out here in the industry. My son graduated from Wesleyan and that is what led him into the TV/movie industry out here. Quite a journey!”

Jeff Mojcher: “Nothing special to report as yet, but soon to retire!” Jeff, write some more! We have not heard from you in a long while.

Malcolm Cochran: “After seven years of extensive renovations to property I bought in 2017, my lifelong dream of having my studio and living together has materialized. I celebrated on October 5, 2024, with an open studio and a poetry reading by my friend of 59 years, Wesley McNair. Family and friends totaling more than 65 attended on a glorious warm, sunny, fall day. I capped off the month with a two-week trip to Italy to research compositions at an archive of music composed in the WW II concentration camps that I will adapt for an upcoming installation project.”

Above and below are three photos from Malcolm’s open studio held on October 5, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.

“Thank you for serving so long and diligently as class secretary—Malcolm Cochran.”

Greetings and aloha, 1971 classmates,

Here are the transitions I received:

Don Schellhardt was wondering if transitions meant “passing on.” Emphatically, NO, but those will be duly noted. We decided at our 50th to address in the class notes changes in our lives as we progress through our eighth and ninth decades and beyond (if we make it that far). So, inform us all on what transitions you are making in this life.

Don also writes, “After living in Northern California for five years, I grew weary of high rents and missed the gentle beauty of the East. Now I live five miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line. . . .  I am also seeking opportunities to speak in public about mental health issues.” (Don Schellhardt, new contact information: 90 Manor Drive Apartment #103 Hagerstown, MD 21740; holyokerange1124@gmail.com; 203/312-3921.)

George Lehner (galehner@gmail.com) received the President’s Award at the White House Correspondents’ Association. George served as the association’s counsel for 18 years. You can read more here: WHCA award.

John Hester and wife, Elaine, visited Warren White in Richmond, Virginia, in July, in between tours of Japan and the Dalmatian Coast. Warren is a volunteer prep cook for Feed More, a 34-county/city community feeding program, and volunteers for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. The late Rick Ketterer ’69 was remembered as John’s Delta Tau Delta brother and the articulate tour guide who introduced Warren to WesU in fall 1966. (Warren L. White, 1025 W. Grace St., Apt. 515, Richmond, VA 23220–3634; 615–678–9146; warrenwhite1949@gmail.com.)

For the second year in a row, Bob Yaro sailed his wooden Herreshoff sloop to Martha’s Vineyard where he rendezvoused with Blake Allison at his home on Chappaquiddick Island. Blake took the helm for a sail on Nantucket Sound and also led a guided tour around Chappy. And Blake’s wife, Lindsay, served dinner on the deck overlooking Edgartown Harbor.

Dick Scoggins “here in Glendale, California, since 2020, after 16 years in England working with a mission agency that focuses on the Muslim world. Before that I was a pastor (believe it or not) at a church in Warwick, Rhode Island. I went to graduate school at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and ended up surprisingly finding Jesus. While I was in England, my two children moved out here to Los Angeles to get in the movie/TV industry.  So, once we were done in England, we moved to Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles. My son, Nathan ’99, is also a Wesleyan grad. Quite a journey and still evolving as I became convinced in England that we needed to have a multigenerational family model. So, our daughter and her husband live with us with their three kids, and my son and his family live 10 miles up the road from us. Quite a journey!”

Joe Summa asks if this is transition news. YES!  “I’m still practicing labor and employment law in Connecticut and [am] still heavily involved with inner-city basketball programs for youth.  In terms of Wesleyan news, however, I have just been informed by the athletic department that I will be inducted into the Wesleyan Hall of Fame on November 1, 2024. [Here is the link: 2024 Hall of Fame class] It has been great hearing from former teammates and friends and hopefully will reconnect with more over the next few months. Thanks.” (Joseph B Summa, Summa & Ryan P.C., 228 Meadow Street, Suite 303, Waterbury, CT 06702; office: 203–755–0390; cell/text: 203– 597–7440.)

Dave Lindorff says: “About to begin an exciting adventure. My wife of 54 years (we married in a tree on Foss Hill at sunrise in June 1970 with friends on other branches) [and I] are about to head off to Cambridge University for Joyce’s nine-month sabbatical as a fellow at Clare Hall (where we’ll be living) and a visiting professor of early keyboard music in the music department. While she is performing and doing work on a book, I will be free to pour through six newly discovered file drawers of materials belonging to Ted Hall, the teen atomic spy at Los Alamos who gave the Soviets the entire schematics for making the plutonium bomb used on Nagasaki. I am hoping over that period to receive newly re-declassified FBI files on both Ted and his older brother, which should be worth a new update chapter in the paperback edition [of Spy for No Country]. There should also be lots to write about from the UK, which is moving left while most of the rest of Europe—and possibly the U.S.—moves right.”

C.B. “Kip” Anderson writes: “It’s been a long time, especially due to the fact that I was unable to attend our 50th. Transitions can suck and be beautiful at the same time.  A little about mine:

“My semi-retirement from the business of gardening has allowed me to spend a lot more time on reading and writing poetry. But, dammit, my most compelling preoccupation is associating with my three grandchildren. There you have it. If you would like to read some cutting-edge formal poetry, then just send me your land address and you shall have it.” (cbanderson49@gmail.com)

My transitions: Bought a townhouse in La Jolla, California, across from UCSD. Still living in Kauai. So, I guess I have a new definition for bicoastal. Working for a biotech company developing a new drug for HPV+ induced cancers (head and neck, cervix, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and anal). A surprising increasing number of these cancers despite the vaccine for HPV, especially in 50-year-olds and older (partially related to sexual practices and can take 20 years to develop). It fits in with my previous work in new cancer drug discovery and also development of antiviral drugs. Now a project putting the two into one drug. It’s fun and keeping me occupied.

This week as I write this, I have experienced the transition of the other kind. Two friends in one week passed on beyond the rainbow. It seems peculiar that our brains stay young and make us, or maybe just me, think I am 50 but the body says no, much older. But I am dealing with that. Good exercise, an Oprah diet, travel and friends in many places, that’s the stuff of life. We should enjoy it while we can because when it stops, as Tim Walz says, “then we can sleep.”

Until the next Wesleyan alum magazine time, aloha all, and keep the news of transitions coming.

Aloha, here are the emails I received for this time.

Alan Epstein writes: “Hope you and your family are doing well. I am still working full time at USC and am involved in two new start-up companies that will keep me pretty busy along with university work and a constant stream of students being trained in the laboratory. My son, Seth, is working part time in the lab with me and then coaches high school baseball and loving it. My other son, Aaron ’01, is now in private practice and has an active, four-office, OB-GYN [group] where he practices maternal fetal-care medicine for high-risk pregnancies. Busy like most with four grandchildren ages 9–16, which mostly keeps my wife very involved. Not much more to add except that I recently completed the best Indian Head cent collection, which is a lifelong hobby of mine that enables me to get my mind off research and make new friends. Looking forward to seeing the next issue of Wesleyan Magazine to see how everyone else is doing. All the best.”

From Dick Scoggins we hear: “Hopefully this is our last one. We moved from England to Los Angeles in 2012 after 20 years in the UK working with a mission organization for Muslims. Our son (Nathan Scoggins ’99) and his family had moved to Los Angeles in 2000. They live about 10 miles away from us. Our daughter and her husband had moved out here in 2005. They have three children and live with us in a multigenerational home. While I was in England I was struck by the fragmentation of family and felt that we needed to move back to the USA with our kids in order to build an extended family network. I continue to work in person with people here, and also online with people around the world, focusing on character building and building strong families.” 

And from Anthony Wheeldin: “Retired from the bench in August 2023.  Still work part time to cover various calendars leaving lots of time for grandchildren, family, and fun.”  

Sadly, a transition from Jay Resnick: “Tough year for me. My wife was diagnosed with cancer and died five weeks later on August 30, 2023. I am continuing to learn Yiddish and just finished my first semester of Latin. Zay gezunt (Yiddish: ‘Be well’).”

John Schimmel sends this: “Biggest transition for us: my youngest is finally graduating her five-year college program. One friend translated that news as, ‘You’re getting a raise.’ Other than that, no major changes. Still married to Maureen Donley, still producing narrative content for Cloud Imperium Games and for my own projects, still teaching in UC Riverside’s Low-Residency MFA Creative Writing program.” 

Mike Yamashita: “Sorry, Neil, I’ve been flat out on multiple assignments since Lil and I met you for that memorable evening at your island paradise.

“Hokkaido: Made great progress on my book on Japan, getting the weather I wanted— two weeks of heavy snow. Hokkaido is normally the snowiest place on the planet, this year being the exception up until the blizzards we experienced in late February. The book will focus on my love affair with Japan from the first visit on a ‘roots’ trip after Wes graduation in 1971, to my first story for National Geographic on Hokkaido in 1979, up to the present, revisiting the 10 National Geographic magazine stories and three books I’ve done on Japan—working title, Full Circle. 

“North Vietnam in March: Shooting for a Chinese cell phone company, capturing seasonal change from winter to spring in a country that loves flowers. Flowers were everywhere on the streets of Hanoi in February and March for Tet and International Women’s month celebrations, when bouquets are traditionally gifted. More photography for OPPO in Brazil in May. 

“My retrospective book on China titled, East Meets West, is in the final layout stage, to be launched in June. It will be the first in a five-volume series entitled A History of China Through Foreign Photographers’ Eyes, mine covering the last 40 years to the present. 

“Next trip: Leaving for Venice for the Biennale on April 17, with major events celebrating the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo’s death. A new edition of my book on Marco Polo is being published in Chinese, and a traveling exhibition is touring Italy. If anyone is in the Liguria Region in the vicinity of Genoa, please stop by Castelnuovo Magra; [it is on] display till October 13.

“I also have some speaking engagements coming up toward the end of this year and next in Des Moines and Kansas City. I will keep you informed as we get closer to those dates.  

I am an umbraphile! My fifth total solar eclipse was done on April 8, 2024, in Lake Placid, New York, the day after my birthday. It all started as a kid in Boston (number one)—cloudy, only experienced darkness. Number twp was in Oregon; number three in Chile; and [for] number four, I traveled to Antarctica and only saw darkness, but obviously a trip of a lifetime. And now the great North American eclipse and, of course, I had to find totality not just 99%. Totally lucked out in that it was a clear day but the moment the moon finished eclipsing the sun (or moon ole sol) it clouded up. But a total eclipse is so extraordinary and magnificent. Love it. So now off to the next one . . . more on that later.

Aloha for now. Send more transitions.

Aloha, Class of 1971,

Continuing with the theme of transitions, unfortunately some are sad. Michael Zuckerman writes, “Yesterday would have been my 45th wedding anniversary with my wife, Evelyn, who died this past March 13.”

David Lindorff writes, “My wife, Joyce, an early keyboards performer and professor at Temple U, and I, an investigative journalist, had contemplated a few years ago slowing down our work life and focusing only on things we found compelling—[her] on performing, recording, and research, and me, on important stories only—when family events intervened along with the pandemic. In any case, we ended up with our son, his girlfriend, and her 6-year-old daughter living in half our home. Meanwhile, our daughter (three years ago) had a son with her partner in the UK where she’s a professor at Oxford. So, now we are grandparents—hands on often enough, with a now adoptive “granddaughter,” who lives with her birth father in Philly, and on Zoom with our grandson in Didcot, just outside Oxford. We never did slow down, as Joyce decided not to retire, and I’ve wound up busier than ever with a film (now in theaters and online) and a book just out that I have to start hustling with book events and interviews. We’re loving it all, it turns out. Just gotta stay healthy and fit. . . .”

From Dick Scoggins: “My wife and I are living in Glendale, California, with my daughter, her husband, and three kids. My son, Nathan ’99, and his wife and three kids, live 10 miles up the road. Quite a journey to get here: Rhode Island, England, and finally California. Still active in missionary work focused on Muslims; quite an active area with the new dynamic of the Arab world. Still using the insights I gained at Wes!”

From Jim Rizza: “It’s been an interesting year here in the Sonora Desert of Arizona. Once again, this year set a new record; hottest ever. And the heat was deadly.

“Several of our plants, trees, and bushes perished despite extra watering and fashioning nursery-cloth shades where we could. Increasing watering time was a hard decision because of the intense, persistent drought here. Our concrete garage floors had to be jackhammered up and replaced because of the combination of tree roots tunneling under the slab looking for water and the shrinkage of the expansive soil as it dried out. The heat placed so much demand on our heat pump that one of the bus bars in our electrical breaker panel fused. Cooling would have been lost in the house in 119-degree Fahrenheit heat for three days until a new panel could be installed, but I was able to jerry rig some temporary wiring to keep the heat pump functioning during that time.

“Our hot water heater is situated in the three-car garage, where temperatures often hovered around 120 degrees this summer. It failed and had to be replaced even though it was only two years old.

“Irrigation for lawns, trees, and shrubs worked overtime and parts failed. Throw in some costly, nonheat-related appliance replacements, premature heat-related tire wear on our cars, and a few other events, and it has been quite a year. It has certainly kept me busy working the problems and writing checks. We find it hard to understand why political polls show the impacts of climate change at nine of the top 10 concerns among voters. Incredible in fact.”

Laurence Mark notes: “I recently produced two films for Netflix: an animated movie musical called Vivo, in 2021, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, with songs written by him, and a new version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, in 2022, starring Emma Corrin (who played Princess Diana in The Crown). In other words, have lately been feeling like a ‘full-service’ producer, traveling from one extreme to the other—going from a fun family film to classy soft-core porn. An unusual, wide-ranging journey.”

And finally, Michael Brewin comments he: “is thankful for having survived a dramatic year.” He suffered a stroke, then later fell and smashed his skull, resulting in two emergency brain surgeries. Michael then spent months doing daily physical therapy (balance, walking, fingers). A longtime environmentalist and a veteran of educational, cultural, community, and other nonprofit boards, he was also recently appointed by the mayor and city council of Tigard, Oregon, to be the new water commissioner for the greater area’s district, serving 75,000 residents, and thousands of area businesses, workers, and customers/clients/guests.” Michael has resumed his music and writing projects too!

As for me, spending time in San Diego. Seeing Stephen Ferruolo, professor at USD Law School, and Nancy Binkin, who will be celebrating her three-quarter century mark with a big blowout in Piedmont, Italy!

More next time. Aloha!

Aloha, classmates. Here is the recent news from those who emailed me with their transitions or news. Enjoy.

Nancy Binkin writes: “Love the new column! I saw that you are spending part of your time in La Jolla. Let me know if you ever have time to come over for dinner. I’m in Talmadge (San Diego), which is usually only about 20 minutes down the road, and I love to cook.  We could also see if Stephen Ferruolo and his wife wanted to come.”

Nancy, Stephen and I have gotten together several times to talk and reminisce about old times and discuss new times. In fact, me the science guy will be lecturing a class of Stephen’s at USD law school about biopharmaceutical companies and regulations. Should be interesting.

Blake Allison asks to change his email from his old email at Dingman Allison, which is no longer in service. Please use his new email: Blakeallisonarch@gmail.com. He also tells us that he and Bob Yaro met. “Bob took a break from his battle royal with the Army Corps of Engineers and sailed his beautiful wood cruising sloop Iolanthe, a replica Newport 29 designed in 1914 by Herreshoff, to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, where he and [I] were able to rendezvous, as [we] had planned last year at the reunion. A memorable sail on Nantucket Sound and a sunset visit at [my] Chappaquiddick Island home ensued. Bob’s choice of designer for his boat is no accident, as he is the head of the board at the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island.”

From Andy Glantz: “Thanks for continuing to do this thankless task. I am not undergoing any transition, save the slow and ineluctable slide toward the abyss—which I have managed to hold at bay, at least for the time being. Can you mention that I spent two weeks working on a kitchen on the Big Island, I will have moderated a panel discussion at a large trade show (AWFS) in Las Vegas on July 24, and will be teaching again at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking in September. Otherwise, life is good and Roberta and I are thankfully healthy and whole. Love to hear from classmates: andy@zenith-design.com.”

And transitions from Katy Butler: “I’m having the strange experience of NOT writing a book, NOT living in my head, and not feeling guilty about not writing a book. Instead, I’m living in the material world: pulling out the Makita drill my late father gave me, hanging mirrors and curtain rods, buying an orbital sander to refinish two beautiful Japanese end tables I found on the street, and fixing (or, rather hiring people to fix) our weathered deck and tippy paving stones. (More to come: repainting, reroofing, bathrooms, etc.)

“I successfully remodeled the kitchen two years ago, knocking out a wall and bringing in light. Now I’m pondering how to bring more Arts and Crafts touches into our 1970s blocky spec house. I have a lot of overdue nesting to do. Brian and I finally married a few years ago, after two decades of cohabiting, and finally I feel this house is really ‘ours’ rather than ‘his.’  The work transition was tough. I spent months in a liminal COVID and post-COVID space, with my speaking engagements dried up and the book project I had in mind shot down by my fancy New York agent Binky Urban. I theoretically wanted to write, but on the rare occasions that I did, the work depressed me. But now that I have given up thinking I can both write and remodel at the same time, I feel joyous.

“After decades in a male workaholic headspace (my father’s realm), I’m exploring the female. (My mother was an extraordinarily beautiful woman, a gifted amateur artist, and as anyone who visited their home in Middletown can attest, a fabulous designer and manager of home. Her taste was mid-century modern, but fashionable as it is now, I lean towards coziness, half-inch trim, the not-so-big house, and the work of Christopher Alexander, and the Arts and Crafts movement.)”

Katy Butler is author of Knocking on Heaven’s Door (A NYT Notable Book) and The Art of Dying Well. And see LA Times op-ed: “Harvey Weinstein and the Ritual of Degrading Women in Court”: http://www.katybutler.com/author/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Katy-Butler-LA-Times-121922.pdf

Grant Hawkins writes: “I hope all is well. I retired from the Marion Superior Court bench last September after almost 22 years. In December I had a knee replaced and on the theory that anything worth doing was worth overdoing, I overstressed during exercises. I am almost healthy enough to get active in the community.”

And from Anthony Wheeldin: “After 32 years as a lawyer and 12 years on the bench, I am retired as of August 2, 2023. I recently listened to a symposium featuring Professor Richard Slotkin . . . as impressive was he was in 1969 when the late James Horton ’71 and I had a tutorial with him on Mark Twain.”

A literary work from Jonathan Kramer: “The second edition of my world music textbook, What in the World Is Music? has been released by Taylor and Francis.  It’s dedicated to Wes icon David McAllester. Nearly 20 years in the research and writing. Now transitioning into old age, but still teaching part time (emeritus) at NC State. Got a few kinks but basically sound.”

Well, that is all the news sent to me. For me, spending time on Kauai and fixing up my new townhouse in La Jolla. Interesting job when you actually get a new place but have nothing to move into it. An air mattress for a bed seems like life after college. Hmmm, another transition but backward I guess. 😊!

Keep your news coming.

Aloha, Class of 1971! Here are your most recent emails to me about your transitions and other items. Enjoy!

Fran Pawlowski said: “Wow! The online format is practical, the written comments are extraordinary, and the design is exquisite. Your entry was particularly interesting to read. You sort of ‘retired’ then were resurrected and went back to work!

“On my end, I retired from teaching and serve as first officer to my wife as we participate daily in the lives of our 14 grandkids—ages two to 22.  All live close to us, our home reminds me of Grand Central Station, and I feel I am experiencing one of the best parts of my life right now!”

Fran’s pet project idea for MoCon: “ideas which have been vibrating through my head for several years. Let me proceed this way: 1.) MoCon Hall was born in 1962, I believe, and died in 2012;  2.) If my math is correct, the Hall existed for 50 years.

“I have no idea how many thousands of Wes students passed through its doors during that half century for meals, concerts, dances, meetings, and so on. The design was magnificent, the layout was practical, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows were visually striking and offered panoramic views as well.

“Even though the building is gone, its memory is not. My concept basically has two parts and the first is easy. The University should have a stone monument ( 5 feet high, 10 feet wide?) erected on the site the Hall occupied. Designs for the monument could be solicited from Wes graduates, employees, and faculty. A committee could be assigned the task of selecting the design. The University would not bear the cost because the donations would come from Wes graduates, employees, and faculty.

“The second part is more complicated. There are a lot of materials on campus ( letters, copies of the Argus, yearbooks, photos, etc.) which would provide a wealth of information about the Hall. My idea is that this material could be developed into an online program which could be accessed by computers from anywhere in the world. Secondly, I envision a walking tour on the site of the departed Hall with 10, 12, 15 stops or more, perhaps arranged in a downward/upward circular pattern. I am sure you remember the steps leading down to the Hall’s front doors?  At each stop along the way, visual and verbal Hall information would be available and accessed electronically. There is a bountiful amount of information stored on campus—probably in more than one location—to select from. A committee could also be selected to determine what information to include and perhaps the visual tour information would be changed/rotated three or four times a year?

“That’s it, in a nutshell. I suspect that this idea has been raised and discussed during the past half century. I further suspect that nothing has happened so far for a variety of reasons. However, the need to create an ongoing memory of the Hall is obvious: the Hall itself has been demolished, but its 50-year existence ought to honored for future generations of Wes students, workers, and faculty members.”

Malcolm Cochran writes: “I am hopeful that a notice about my most recent work could be published….  It is a major project, and in many ways is a culmination of my five-decades-long career since graduating from Wesleyan.” While not true a transition, it is the culmination of things he has done. https://www.instagram.com/mhcochran/;

https://columbusunderground.com/art-review-a-truly-miraculous-experience-at-requiem-jr1/

Mary O. McWilliams’ comment on my transition post in the online edition: “Neil, you’re a Renaissance man—medicine, design, biotech, and poetry. Thank you for sharing your gifts with your classmates and for pioneering in palliative care, another important calling. Best wishes to you!”

John Cuddy writes about his transition: “I had observed that when you retire that after six months of catching up all your delayed projects, you can wander aimlessly without purpose.  So, I started to teach accounting as an adjunct at Towson University. I really enjoy working with the young folk, trying to introduce them to business, including a sense of responsibility and ethics, as well as how you can make a potentially boring subject fascinating. And then there is the home front, with gardening, catching up all the reading I want to do—have enough books to last until I am 135, and being my wife’s help desk as she teaches home and hospital students via Google Meet.  But of course, can’t stop there—we decided to learn Irish and have been in a class for that since last fall. Interesting language. Our first goal was simply to pronounce signs and names correctly. Now I am trying to do a dual-language reading of Alice in Wonderland and looking forward to seeing The Quiet Girl when available for free streaming. Of course, aging has its fun moments—we took turns with health issues from October 2020 to early 2022, which kept us close to home. But COVID did help us find a different parish and we have become pretty active in our religious life, which of course forces me to read theology.

“By the way, I am with Alan Epstein on revisiting the classics from freshman humanities. In retrospect, that is a course that has stuck with me more than any other.

Slàn go fòill.

Lawrence Madlock ’70 writes: “Just wanted to say hello for Yvonne (MAT ’72) and me. She is retired from public health but works very hard as a volunteer. I’m still doing volunteer work in addiction medicine and clinical care about half a day a week. We’ll start back traveling soon.”

Warren White “thought Professor Thornton Page’s 1967 students might find it interesting to remember the required nighttimetour of Van Vleck Observatory given the recent discussion of UFOs and the sightings of Chinese balloons.” Warren shares a link to an article about Professor Page, which includes photos of him. In 1966 Page was interviewed, along with Carl Sagan, by Walter Cronkite about UFOs. Sagan, by Walter Cronkite about UFOs. https://underctskies.wordpress.com/category/thornton-l-page/.

And last but not least, check out the March 2023 National Geographic issue. Photographer classmate Michael Yamashita’s photo is featured there.

Thanks for reading and send more emails.

Aloha,

Neil