Class Notes | 1950s2014/07/032014/12/03

CLASS OF 1959 | 2014 | ISSUE 2

Further adventures of the “Great Class of ’59”: Tim Day has retired from Bar S Foods, which he built and ran for years. He continues to be deeply involved in the U.S. Marine Corps. Tim has helped in the organization and funding of a chapel at Marine Corps Headquarters and has established scholarships at Harvard Business School for marines who are promising entrepreneurs. The Marine Corps will be installing a plaque honoring Tim’s service at the Mt. Soledad Veteran’s Memorial in La Jolla, Calif. on May 3, 2014. Congratulations, Tim! A high honor indeed.

In the “who knew” department, your intrepid reporters have identified a shy and elusive artist. A good football player and a better golfer who thought about the professional ranks. He worked in real estate and investments before taking up the paintbrush. After 9/11 he wished to pursue something he truly enjoyed and chose landscape painting. His love of golf and “old style” course architecture promoted an artistic awareness that has been financially rewarding. He has painted some of the most famous holes on the country’s most renowned courses. He has added duck and quail hunting scenes in South Texas as well as wildflower landscapes to his repertoire. This reporter has seen a portfolio of his paintings and they are good! We speak, of course, of Steve Pyle.

Having infiltrated Wesleyan’s board of trustees, Charlie Wrubel writes of an eye-opening experience regarding the operations of our University. The Trustees are diverse, energetic, and intelligent (would one expect elsewise?) and are actively engaged in the discussions and decisions that make the Wesleyan experience first rate. He is pleased to be on the Board and to represent our “age group.” It’s a generational thing!!

Skip Silloway reports that he and Molly spent some of October and much of November in Argentina and Chile seeing the sights of Patagonia with three favorite traveling partners. Two days in the old part of Buenos Aires, a wonderful example of the colonial era. The core of the city is very appealing. Next they went to Bahia Bustamante, on the Atlantic coast, which is a marine nature preserve. The ranch is devoted to sheep and the collection of seaweed, which is an ingredient in innumerable products shipped around the world. Next, on to Ushuaia, at the bottom of the continent. From this point, hiking and wildlife viewing. Next to El Chalten with more hiking, fabulous views of Mount Fitz Roy and a glacier walk complete with crampons and a bit of Bailey’s and glacier ice. A wonderful interlude at a small hosteria, the only guests in a charming oasis-like place. Next, Torres del Paine for more hiking and glacier viewing. Lastly to a wonderful small hotel in Santiago, another charming former colonial city.

Mary and Dave Eklund are back from Washington State, where they spent the night with Susan and Tom Young on Whidbey Island. He tried to convince Tom to stay longer at the Reunion beyond honoring Fred Stone and the baseball team! Dave and Mary will be here and then on to Nantucket Island, where they have had a home for years.

Irwin “Sonny” Barnet is about to retire as a partner of Reed Smith, with whom he merged his firm, after 50 plus years of practice on the West Coast. He is coming East for a board meeting in NY, planned too far ahead to be able to stick around for the 55th. We’ll miss him. When his wife answered the phone and I asked for Sonny, she said “You must be from the ancient past! Nobody has called him ‘Sonny’ for years.” Got that right!

Bob Berls can’t make it back. He is a keen fisherman, fellow member of the Anglers’ Club of NY and revered past editor of the Anglers Club Bulletin. Bob has fished here, there, and almost everywhere around the world. He still wants to get out west this summer, but health problems are slowing him down.

Dave Britt reports (after a paragraph of strong disclaimers) that he is leading a couple of discussion groups on US foreign policy options on world issues. We sure need his help! He learns a lot, enjoys getting folks to talk, and no one has yet walked out. Dave continues to serve on the Board of Children, Youth and Families at the Institute of Medicine, which addresses health and development issues facing kids and families. Dave is also on the boards of other nonprofits that help kids. Sue and he continue to work through their bucket list; last fall, a cruise up the Amazon and this spring, back to Botswana and Victoria Falls for photo safaris. Two grandkids in college, including one freshwoman at Fordham, rowing varsity crew (thereby proving that genes are not destiny). He is walking a lot, playing geezer tennis, swilling Chardonnay, watching sunsets, and feeling lucky.

Weg Thomas writes that he and Peg could not make it back to Reunion because of a granddaughter’s graduation from Wake Forest the same week. He has just opened a show of 30 of his photographs at the Volo Bog State Natural Area in Illinois. It will be up until the end of May. The gallery is sited on the only “quaking bog” in Illinois! Hope it doesn’t quake during the show.

Hugh Lifson, another of our artistic sons, has regretted Reunion as he has been given an opportunity to paint for a week in Gubbio, Italy. Good decision, Hugh!

Sue and Bert Edwards have returned from a 10-day cruise as part of their 50th anniversary. Bert has heard form Carol McGrew, a de-facto member of the Class of ’59 and wife of Ed “Dusty” McGrew, that they regretted missing the 55th. Dusty has not been well and is hoping to get back home soon. He and Carol were married on June 20, 1959, so it is 55th all over the place. We send our best to them both and will raise a glass to them at Reunion. Bert seems well-rested and ready to lead the class in contributions to the WAF.