CLASS OF 1958 | 2014 | ISSUE 3

Well, my latest plea elicited 15 responses. Ezra Amsterdam is still Distinguished Professor of Cardiology and Master Clinician Educator, at the School of Medicine, UC–Davis. And he continues to play tennis every weekend and is still a loyal Yankees fan.

A long note from Roger Van Tassel covers the 56 years since we graduated. He studied chemistry at Tufts and completed a PhD in chemistry at Northeastern U. He then continued as a scientist, retiring as director of the Environmental Effects Division, which studied the effect of the environment on military systems. His avocation has been motorcycles. He has been riding steadily for 50 years. With his partner, Judy Love, he rode out to Colorado and New Mexico in 2012 and this February rented a motorcycle to spend two weeks touring New Zealand. He and Judy now live in the Charlotte area of North Carolina. He continues to explore the South, but also enjoys trips to New England and travel abroad.

Dan Woodhead follows the Bay Area baseball teams, he praises the Oakland As and believes the San Francisco Giants are hopeless. No details,but Dan reveals Bob Hayes has written a book on Themistocles, the Greek hero.

Dave Epstein, the publisher of Western States Jewish History, a quarterly journal now in its 47th year has created a Virtual Museum in the cloud for your computer called the Jewish Museum of the American West, which tells the story of Jews in the American Wild West.

Bart Bolton is hoping to arrange a round of golf for Charley Denny, Ed Kershner, himself and me next February or April in Naples. We’ll play the senior tees, maybe only nine holes. Bart is working on a 60th reunion for his small high school class.

Tony La Cava retired after 25 years as director of a center for independent living. And he celebrated his 32nd anniversary with his partner, Cliff. Tony has children in Massachusetts, California, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Art Geltzer has retired from the private practice of retinal surgery, but continues research on his NIH grant at Brown Medical School, looking into the treatment of macular degeneration. Anyone interested in this subject can contact him at Clinicaltrials.gov. Art continues close interaction with Mel Cote and his wife, who is an accomplished artist. Art also sees Dennis Allee, who is a highly skilled potter. Art will be going to an academic conference in Chicago at the end of October. In November he is off to Berlin and Vienna; in March it will be Rome and Tuscany.

Bill Higgins has just about retired from his psychology practice and from teaching psychology at the local college. Sadly, he has had to give up golf due to two ankle replacements and a sore shoulder. He still travels: Montana last year and Charleston, S.C., this year. He has been married for 42 years and his three children are in Denver, Asheville, and San Francisco.

A brief note from Bill Barnes assures me he is alive and well and very anxious for our 60th Reunion. Bob Furber, a California resident, spent August and the latter part of July “rolling around New England.” He traveled from Middlebury to Wesleyan with a pause in Newington, N.H., for the Furber Family Association’s Reunion and Dedication. The trail there will be renamed the “William Furber Ferry Way Trail.” In September he will attend his 60th high school reunion in Plainville, Conn.

I received a note from Ruth Newman telling of Warren Newman’s passing on July 6, 2014. His death was due to pancreatic cancer.

Dave Schalk assured me he was alive and well, but had no news of even minimal interest to the class of 1958.

Toni and John Corkran made only one trip this year, to see their oldest grandson graduate from South Kingston, R.I., high school. They returned to North Carolina through New Jersey and Delaware. They conclude their travels with two days of camping on the Outer Banks of North Carolina including to Ocracoke Island. John wants to thank all classmates who donated to the Wesleyan Fund this year.

Often a note loses impact when edited, so Burr Edwards’ note in full: “Before spending a few weeks at our French house (hoping the roof is intact) and then returning to Kenya, we are now (end of July) in London recovering from my godson’s wedding in Somerset. His bride was a friend of Kate Middleton and he went to school with William, so they were both in attendance. Very posh and traditional—more than Yank and Finn (my wife) republicans (small “r”) can usually manage! The best man (also from Kenya) did manage very well, considering his future sovereign was listening and laughing.”

Kay and I are flying to New Hampshire next week and hope to meet Dick Goldman for lunch at the Andover Inn in northern Massachusetts. Kay and I are acclimating to summers in southern Florida. I do not mind a steady diet of 92 degrees and playing golf at least three times a week.

Thanks for the e-mails.

Cliff Hordlow | Khordlow@gmail.com