Tag: 1989

Jonathan reports on the 25th Reunion:

We kick off the 25th Reunion report with a big thank you to Phoebe Boyer, our class representative, and our entire Reunion committee, without whom this weekend would not have been the great success it was. It was great to see her and her husband, Todd Snyder ’84, at all the events and making sure everyone was well-outfitted with their drawstring bags.

Like many others, my weekend started sitting in traffic along I-95. Poor David Milch had to spend 90 minutes in the Stamford train station waiting for me, but after I picked him up, the next 90 minutes of traffic was an opportunity to hear about his delicious daughter and his work as program coordinator for Wesleyan’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance.

Thankfully, the traffic was a distant memory by the time we made it to WesWings, with 100 or so classmates, for a gathering graciously hosted by Ed Thorndike. Thank you, Ed; I can’t wait to get my family up there to sample the tasty-looking menu.

Some observations from that event include: Dina Goldman is working in film in New York, and raising her son with her longtime boyfriend. David Williams brought the entire family along—wife and three children—all of them seemed to be enjoying themselves almost as much as David, who had a big smile on his face all weekend. Andy Nakahata and I reminisced about the importance of family and how the memory of a small event can be enduring. Norm Beaulieu shared with me the truly inspiring economic and community development work he is doing in Africa through his organization, Villagecorps. Norm also extolled the beauty of the Maine coast, a sentiment shared by Cecilia Johnson Guecia, who recently moved there. Indy Neidell had come with his lovely girlfriend from Sweden, where he has been living for many years now. He also clued me in on an upcoming album he’s releasing with his band, the Southside Stalkers. I also learned that night that Jennifer Levine continues to make LA her home base while she “traffics in storytelling.”

After things wound down, a good crowd made its way over to the ’92 Theater to enjoy a concert headlined by our very own Dave Keller. Later, back at the bucolic Rocky Hill Sheraton, Hellura Lyle and I closed the hotel bar (outlasting a raucous wedding party) by waxing nostalgic about living and growing up in New York City. I also want to thank Hellura for introducing to me to Allison Downer—how did we not meet earlier?

Saturday started with the requisite pilgrimage to O’Rourkes. Julia Randall Brock joined us after a brisk four-hour drive from her new home near her old home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. She recently relocated there from Vermont with her husband, son, and daughter, and is now providing OB/GYN services to medically underserved communities.

After we wrapped up our high-calorie meal, we turned our table over to Stephanie Dolgoff, Michele Chase, Susan Paley, and Jennifer Levine. Stephanie is navigating raising twin girls in New York City; Michele recently moved from Seattle back to the Bay Area; and Sue has been very involved in building Beats Audio to be the hot brand it is today.

Making our way over to Foss Hill, we found the 1989 contingent to be in full force.

Katy Storms regaled Kelem Butts and me with her tales of gum smuggling in Singapore, where she lived for two years with her husband (in the US Navy) and their three sons. They are now in the DC area, where Katy also teaches writing instruction in the military. Kellem is in Dallas, Texas, with his girlfriend of 19 years, and recently started a new job with a foundation that funds drop-out prevention programs nationwide. Jason Weinberg and I reminisced at length about the number of Stuyvesant HS folks who also went to Wesleyan. He’s back in the City now after many years in LA, so I’m looking forward to meeting his beau and their twin sons. Oona Metz was down from Cambridge, Mass., where she’s living with her wife and their daughters. Alex Aron was up from Brooklyn, N.Y., where she lives only blocks away with her husband and their three kids. She drove up with my old housemate Arthur Halpern, who was sharing photos of his son that he is raising with his partner in Brooklyn. Kate True and I also swapped stories about being parents of daughters who are rising seniors considering Wesleyan.

No sunny afternoon on Foss Hill is complete without tossing a Frisbee. For this, I was fortunate that former Nietzsche Factor buddies Phineas Baxandall, Rob Featherstone, and Chris Zurn were present. Rob is a cinematographer in Beacon, N.Y., where he lives with his wife and their 8-year-old daughter, who already knows she wants to be a veterinarian. Phineas Baxandall is in Cambridge, Mass., with his son and daughter, who, coincidentally, also wants to be a veterinarian. Chris is also in Cambridge, raising his son. Not sure about his future career plans.

As the shadows lengthened across Andrus Field, there were moments when it felt like the day would just last forever. But eventually, like our time at Wes, it was time to move on.

The next stop was Beckham Hall (née Fayerweather) for our class dinner. Ethan Vesley-Flad led us in a beautiful moment of silence to remember our fellow classmates who have passed away. Then David Milch and Michele Barnwell were recognized for their service to our class over the years. Extra shout out to Michele who, as senior class secretary, has been a pillar of support and a fountain of energy helping this rookie get up to secretarial speed.

Formalities having been dispensed with, our class got down to some serious chatter, drinking, and eating. Well, it would have been serious if Leeeza Robbins’ daughter had not been keeping everyone entertained working the room with her knock-knock jokes, and generally charming the crowd. Her primary instigators for this activity were Josh Sirefman and Natalie Dorset. Leeeza, with these two guiding your daughter, her fortune is assured. Garry Schumacher was fresh from a concert earlier in the day that featured, among other pieces, a woman rubbing a balloon against her arm to create sound—er, music. Ah, Wesleyan. Around this time, I finally got to thank Dar Williams in person for raising my cool level significantly in my adolescent daughter’s eyes. I also spotted Matt Coan, Jim Lukowski, Mike Charlton, and others, chatting with their old football coach, Mike Whalen ’83.

When the dinner finally ended—read: “free bar closed”—the troops made their way to the large tent for the all-campus “end of the world as we know it” party. Oh, those poor graduates, if they only knew how true that statement is….

Words fail me here—best google “Class of ’89 Dance Moves” on YouTube instead.

For me, the evening wrapped up with a visit to the falafel truck alongside Alpha Delt, where David Milch, Adam Long, Sandeep Wadhwa, and John Hlinko waxed incoherent and giddily about the weekend.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten more people and conversations than I’ve listed here. My apologies for the oversights and inaccuracies. At least, you got me on the south side of 50—by our next Reunion you’ll be lucky if I remember anything at all.

See you at the 30th, everyone. Book now.—JF

Michele adds: So glad Jonathan wrote everything down as it was happening around him. I, on the other hand, remember nothing and should be chewing on ginkgo biloba like it’s a pack of Skittles. No.Memory.What.So.Ever. It’s getting bad y’all. Good news is I do remember some things. Like feeling that everyone looked so doggone great and I had so much fun! So awesome to see sir George Cabrera! Nice to chat up Clarence Williams at WesWings. Nice to grab photo ops here and there ,too—especially with a good handful of my beautiful and accomplished frosh hallmates including Lynn Alberding. Got to see Reggie Jenkins (and his adorable offspring)—he’s still good ole Reg’! It was fun to catch up and break bread with my former fellow Intown inmate, Laura Flaxman. Laura and I were roomies for the weekend. She is doing very well back in Cali. Had great conversation with the ever-so-lovely Amy Randall. Got to see Stu Berman at Reunion and post-reunion in LA for dinner. Nice to catch up with my fellow Foss Hill-er. There were so many more faces and it was great seeing every last one. P.S. A warm loving but real side-eye to Melinda Weekes, Jacqueline Wheeler Lee, Denise Hill, and Marilyn Selena Davis, too! My girls, whom I missed seeing.

There is no perfect segue here…On a sad note, our classmate Anthony “Tony” Stephenson passed away and we received a most moving e-mail from our classmate Kevin Majewski about him: “Tony became a close friend during college. Although it became less frequent as the years passed, I always looked forward to hearing from him since graduation. Tony was a skilled writer, and it was through his writing that I was able to enjoy the sharp wit and self-deprecating humor which he was known for at Wesleyan. He was a talented athlete, competing for both the Wesleyan football and baseball teams. He could often be found shooting baskets in the gym when he was not at a formal team practice. Tony was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and an accomplished history major. He always carried with him a unique perspective and sly grin which I will miss dearly. We can all be appreciative of the experiences we shared with Tony, and never forget our classmate who brought joy to many of us.” Well said, Kevin.

And again, there’s no perfect segue here… Sincerely hope to hear from those not mentioned here already. It would be great to send us a shout and let us know you’re doing all right. Be well, y’all—MB

jonathan fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com 

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

By the time we’re reading this, our 25th Reunion party weekend is over. The highlights (lowlights?) from our great gathering (the ones you volunteer to share 🙂 with us will be included in our next column! Til then, we’ve got exciting news!

Our classmate Jodi Wenger recently moved from Vermont to Newton, Mass., with husband Stuart and three boys—12, 8 and 6. After 12 years at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center as a pediatric hospitalist and spina bifida doc she took a job with the Comprehensive Care Program at Boston Medical Center—a place that offers a primary care medical home for children with complex medical issues. “Stuart and I continue to support our amion.com, a website to post physician call schedules created using our software.”

Jessica Glass completed a documentary, The Fuentidueña Apse: A Journey from Castile to New York for The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 28 mins; 2013. It can be seen at: metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/collections/med/fuentiduena-apse.

She was invited to screen it in Spain at the XIIIth International Archaeological Film Festival of the Bidasoa last November, where she honeymooned with her husband of three years, Dave Raymond ’87, also the audio engineer for the film. They are back in the States, splitting their time between NYC and their sheep farm in South Windsor, Conn. Yes, I said SHEEP FARM y’all. Love our Wes peeps. Go, Jessica and husband!

For our classmate Tullan Spitz news of Nelson Mandela’s death brought back memories of the late 1980s on campus. Among those memories, she cites the popularity of West African dance and drumming courses, the student protests geared toward forcing the administration to divest from South Africa (which it ultimately did)….and more! She writes: “In the spirit of respect for a place that expanded my cultural horizons and helped shape my values and ideals, here are my notes…” Tullan has interacted with many of our classmates/friends recently. Here’s what they’ve ALL been up to, Tullan’s own words:

“I have been on the West Coast since 1991, first in San Francisco and currently in Portland, Ore. I am married to Andrew Robin and have a stepson, Nick (23) and a daughter, Astrid (7). I work at Oregon Public Broadcasting in the National and Educational Media department. Coincidentally, I report to VP Dave Davis ’70.

Despite residing in a hinterland, I have some long-time friends nearby. Suk Kim is VP and General Counsel at a technology company in Portland and is married to Amit Singh. Their two daughters (Téa, 11 and Juni, 7) are good friends with my daughter. I can also report that Julie Eigler ’89 is alive and well and working as a trauma nurse at Oregon Health Sciences University and for a hospice service. In summer 2012 Julie married John Goff here in Portland, an occasion that lured Julie Cluett ’90 and Kate True from the East Coast. It was great to see them both. After many years living abroad, Julie Cluett is back in the States, somewhere in Massachusetts. Kate has visited Portland often, and for the wedding brought her three daughters (Ona, 16, Flora, 14, and Tess, 9). Kate has a flourishing portrait business in Boston and this work and her other fine art has appeared in many shows in the region.

“I have been in touch on and off with my frosh and senior year roommate, Lynn Slobodien, who is a teacher in Minneapolis and has a son, Cecil, who turns 8 this month. I recently had occasion to reconnect with David Gimbel through my work on an archaeology project. He is married, living in New York, and has a new baby, Inés.

“My sister, Leslie Spitz-Edson ’86, her husband Mike Edson ’87 and their kids Guthrie (16) and Sigrid (almost 13) visited the great Northwest this fall and we took them up to Timberline Lodge at 6,000 feet on one of our local volcanoes, Mt. Hood. Leslie is working on a novel and Mike is a Web and new media strategist at the Smithsonian Institution.” Tullan would love to hear from folks!

Lara Balter lives in Wellesley, Mass., with her husband Steve ’90. They have four children, two in college. Their oldest daughter is a senior at Bates majoring in geology; their son is in his freshman year at Wake Forest. Lara says her son has “no major yet, but he’s on their golf team and enjoying that,” and life is “a bit calmer with two out the house.” Their 15-year-old daughter is a sophomore and their 12-year-old daughter is enjoying 7th grade. Husband Steve co-manages some funds at Fidelity with Chris Galizio ’90.

After a stint back working 80 hours a week Lara is now “enjoying driving in endless circles with her girls to and from school and visiting the two who have left the nest.” Way to go Lara!

Vermont-based soul and blues singer/guitarist Dave Keller is celebrating the release of his new CD, Soul Changes. Keller recorded the CD in Memphis and Brooklyn, with some of the finest soul musicians alive: Al Green’s original backing unit, The Hi Rhythm Section. Renowned guitarist Ronnie Earl has called Dave’s newest work: “One of the best records I’ve ever heard.” Umm, that’s pretty cool!!! If you all are looking for more information on Dave and his music visit his website davekeller.com.

Til next time, y’all!

jonathan fried | jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com

MICHELE BARNWELL | fishtank_michele@yahoo.com

Thank you SO much for your service David Milch! Welcome to our new guy, Jonathan Fried. Yay!

Sooooo many updates, we speed-wrote… .

Stephanie Dolgoff, now “happily divorced,” is hanging with her twin tween gals—while her Formerly Hot book has been optioned by Lions Gate!

Joel Jacobs is studying barefoot massage and has begun acting lately even though he’s still got his day-job practicing environmental law in the California Attorney General’s Office.

Rabbi Jennifer Feldmen-—Kehillah Synagogue of Chapel Hill, NC.—proudly shepherds a congregation that includes quite a few Wes alums. She’s even officiating a Wes wedding in Latin America!

Vermont-based soul and blues singer/guitarist Dave Keller is celebrating the release of his new CD, Soul Changes—recorded with Al Green’s original backing unit, The Hi Rhythm Section!

We heard from Jaewoo Choo, who lives in South Korea working as a professor of Chinese foreign policy at KyungHee University. Jaewoo is married to James Rhee’s cousin. He and his spouse have a 14-year-old son.

In Jericho, N.Y., Jeffrey Naness is a partner practicing labor and employment law for management at Naness, Chaiet & Naness.

This past November Dr. William “Rob” Spencer won his second term as a Suffolk County (N.Y.)legislator.

Robin Allen McGrew is living in Athens, Greece, with husband Wes, their 15-year-old son, Nicholas, and daughter Susanna.

Dr. Jim Vincent has been running his own real estate appraisal firm for 15 years. Meanwhile, he still keeps up with theater.

Ellen M. Richard Tan has caved to our peer pressuring (Yay us!) and given us the good news that she is “happily gay-married (to quote Colbert) to Dorothy Tan, with one marvelous girl pitbull dog, Sophie.”

Phineas Baxandall is living in Cambridge, Mass., along with kids 14 and 12 with his partner, Sarah. He left academia about a decade ago and still does a fair amount of research as part of advocacy to close corporate tax loopholes.

Paul M. Gallo and his wife, Katie, just welcomed their second daughter, Kelsey Jordan Gallo, this past November 4th.

Kevin Heffernan just moved from Northampton back to Boston, Mass., where he is a housing lawyer for the State. He has two boys ages 2 and 5.

Jeff Brez has moved to the United Nations Secretariat in New York, where he works with the creative community (TV, film, etc.) and NGOs to promote UN priority issues and foster social change. He is married to Adriano Monti.

Holly Adams is dusting off her passport because—guess what!—she and her husband are officially empty nesters, y’all.

Marit Larson and Adam Sobel are still in New York with their two boys Eli (15) and Sam (12). Adam is a professor of atmospheric sciences at Columbia; Marit is Director of Wetlands for the NYC Parks Department.

Anjulika Chawla has been living in Rhode Island since September 2011 and writes: “Met my guy here, and 11 years and four kids later we have gotten engaged on April 1st of 2013. It may take us another decade to actually get married, but you are all welcome to come when it does happen!”

Jonathan’s updates here:

Kim Slote lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with her two children. Victoria Shestack Aronoff started nursing school, after a decade of grant writing. She lives in Maplewood, N.J., with her two children. Mark Seasholes has been in Hong Kong for the past five years, with his wife and daughter. They are in Austin, Texas, for the year. He saw Michael Mahon around Halloween for some barbecue, live music, and a UT football game. Bob Sutherland owns and manages several Sutherland Lumber stores. He lives in Niwot, Colo., with his wife and two daughters. Edward V. Colbert III is a partner with Looney & Grossman in Boston. He has a wife, two children, and at least five pets. He coaches hockey, and plays in a league with John Brais ’86 and Ted Galo ’85. Robin Smith is now vice president and general counsel for the Americas/Pacific Region of the US subsidiary of LEGO Systems, Inc. She reports that Dar Williams’s performance at Homecoming was “fabulous.” Evan Heimlich taught a World Religions course at Norco College in Southern California. Katey Miller Goldberg and Steve Goldberg celebrate 27 years since dating as sophomores! They live in Greenwich, Conn., with their three children. Steve is a senior portfolio manager at Citadel Asset Management and Katey works part-time in commercial real estate. David Levine visited Ricky Kotler in Baltimore, where Rick is a doctor in the managed care division of the Baltimore VA hospital. He lives in Columbia, Md., with his wife and three kids. David, an investment banker for middle-market companies, lives in Chappaqua, N.Y., with his wife and two kids. After many years teaching art history at Swarthmore, Janine Mileaf is the director of The Arts Club of Chicago. Matthew Coan lives in Mill Valley, Calif., with his wife and three kids. He co-founded Presidio Benefits Company in San Francisco. He was at Wesleyan’s first Little Three football championship in 43 years with Norm Beaulieu, Jim Lukowski, Mike Charlton, Adam Rohdie, Andy Lacey, Jim Regan, and Greg White ’87.

Since last reunion, Abby Smuckler Lotwin has married, had twins, left her long career in educational publishing, and moved to the ’burbs. She recently got together with Ladeene Freimuth, Colleen McKiernan, and Rachel Wulf Silver. Andrew Manning is a research geologist in Denver, Colo., is married, and has two daughters. He was inspired to see Wesleyan Earth and Environmental Science grads and faculty at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America. John DiPaolo is a deputy assistant secretary for policy in the US Department of Education. He and his wife have one daughter. Janine Mortimer is in the Dominican Republic, enjoying the sunshine as the marketing manager for Occidental Resorts in the Caribbean.

See you at our 25^th (gulp) Year Reunion!

Jonathan Fried and Michele Barnwell
jonathan.l.fried@gmail.com
fishtank_michele@yahoo.com