CLASS OF 1959 | 2019 | ISSUE 2
“You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely!”
–Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
The 60th Reunion of the Great Class of 1959 was a spectacular treat, and we broke the record for attendance at a 60th along the way!
Things really got rolling on Friday at the lunch under the tent behind Russell House (Honors College). The day was glorious, the food was good, and three tables of classmates had come to begin the celebrations in earnest. There was ample time for registration before the next Friday afternoon event at the Silloway Gymnasium honoring the 1959 basketball team, the first Wesleyan basketball team to make it to the NCAA tournament. Dick Cadigan and Dick Wenner, co-captains, and teammates Joe Mallory and Dave Hohl ’60 accepted the banner on behalf of the team. They were saluted by Mike Whalen ’83, athletic director, and Joe Reilly, men’s basketball coach. It was a fitting tribute to this extraordinary team in the wonderful setting of the Silloway Gym, bedecked with banners and gleaming varnished floors. We also heard from Andrew Daggon ’20, a current military veteran scholar, about his experiences at Wesleyan as a 28-year-old. There are pictures of the event below.
There was a well- attended late afternoon cocktail party hosted by President Michael Roth ’78 on Andrus Field to honor Barbara Jan Wilson on her retirement for her great service to the school followed by a 1959 reception in Wasch House.
Dinner Friday evening was fairly casual. The 1959 Eclectics carried on a tradition of having a dinner downtown at Luca. We were around 20 in number with wives, some children and grandchildren, and special guests Loni and Al Haas ’56, and Mr. and Mrs. Wolfram Thiemann. Dinner was accompanied by some lusty singing and storytelling.
Saturday dawned a lovely day. The class had a memorial remembrance at 10 a.m. for our classmates who had passed away, led by Rev. Dick Cadigan. He began the memorial with a reading from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, and reflected on knowing those departed. The class read the names out loud in unison, 77 in all, remembering each one, and closed by singing the alma mater in harmony!
A quick but delicious boxed picnic lunch was followed by the parade which got off about 11:30 a.m. You will find parade pictures below.
Our boys showed well as they marched behind a tremendously enthusiastic, if slightly aged, Dixieland band. The march was quite short, fortunately, and north rather than south, to the Crowell Auditorium, where the Alumni Association meeting was held. High spots for us were serious awards for Bert Edwards and Ed, our stalwart class agents and a brilliant talk by Thomas Kail ’99, director of Hamilton.
The memorial service for classmate Doug Bennett began in the chapel at 1:30 p.m. A block of seats had been reserved for the Class of 1959 on the left side of the chapel just under the plaque we had given in his honor. It was a lovely service, with Doug’s brother, John, three grandchildren, and his son, Michael ’87, painting an indelible, and appealing picture of the man. The Wesleyan Spirits sang two lovely hymns, and chamber musicians played at the beginning and end of the service. We were all honored to be there. The Bennet Family graciously thanked the class for the memorial plaque and the Bennet Endowment Fund in a note on the program.
Our class dinner followed in Doggon, the old squash court building. The space has been transformed totally, and we dined in great comfort in a charming room big enough to hold all our gang. Dave Darling, our Reunion chair, led the proceedings with style, in the face of a sound system which looked brand new but just would not work. Once turned off, Skip spoke with great affection about Doug and presented Donna Morea ’76, board chair, with a replica of the Bennet plaque. We all toasted Barbara Jan Wilson again, and she and Dave gave Skip Silloway and John Spurdle touching Wesleyan Service Awards.
With three ex-Jibers present (Moody, Steiner, and Vander Veer), it did not take much to get the place rocking, 1959 style! You can just imagine how brilliant the singing was and how long it lasted! What fun. Dinner was followed by the All Class Sing led by Bill Moody next door on the steps of North College.
Nice note from Ted Bromage: “Joan and I enjoyed the programs and found conversations with classmates I had not known well most rewarding. Now in our 80s, we are who we are, and not too worried about who we will become!”
Dick Cadigan wrote, “Fabulous time, great conversations, well-organized weekend. Looking forward to our 65th!”
Jerry Doolittle said, “Haven’t been back for years. I had no idea of the scale of change nor the impact of Doug’s Presidency. It felt great both to wander alone in places of the past, and to visit with Classmates. Very glad I came.”
Wolfram Thiemann, all the way from Germany, wrote, “Thanks so much for the great event, which I was allowed to participate, even only as a foreign scholar. It was the first time I attended Reunion, now the 60th one. I am grateful to have taken the opportunity to visit my one-year alma mater which had given me so much for my future life. And what a blessing to meet so many of my former mates back at Wesleyan . . . I was stirred to be given the title Eclectic member.”
Hugh Lifson, decked out in a bespoke blazer and Wesleyan patch at Reunion, wrote: “Gratification of my nostalgic cravings was the main reason I came back. A walk along Brownstone Row, even without the ivy was special. General agreement about the debt we owe Vic Butterfield for finding the most amazing teachers in the nation and getting them to Wesleyan for us: Professors Shorske, Brown, Caspari, Shattsneider, Rudich, Mink, Winslow, and many more.
“We were able to share the memories of our deceased classmates, particularly Doug Bennet. His son, Senator Bennet, gave a eulogy reminiscent of the Kennedy speeches. Two other events stood out: The Weseminars, particularly the one on prison education, and the All Campus Sing led by our own Bill Moody and the Class of 2019!”
One bit of particular sadness: Dave Mitchell passed away this spring. He had a terrible battle with cancer. Al Brooks, who played tackle next to Dave, used to feed him bits of Hershey Bar before our games to keep him from being sick from nerves. We will miss Mitch!
Don’t forget to do two important things: Join the Olin Society before it is too late; and support the 1959 Bennet Endowment if you have not done so already. The two are not mutually exclusive, and Mark Davis (mdavis@wesleyan.edu) at Wesleyan can help you take care of both.
Skip Silloway | ssillow@gmail.com; 801/532-4311
John Spurdle | jspurdle@aol.com; 212/644-4858