CLASS OF 1974 | 2020 | ISSUE 2
The 50th Reunion is May 23-26, 2024. Reunion news and find out about regional events can be found at wesleyan.edu/classof1974. Join the committee and work on outreach, programming, or fundraising. Questions or want to get involved? Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 at klynch@wesleyan.edu or 860/685-5992.
June Jeffries ’75 noted the passing on April 11 of Peter Greene, M.D. For many years Peter was her family dermatologist. His ex-wife and June worked together, and their families spent many holiday dinners and other good times together. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in Washington, D.C.
Nan’l “Nate” Winship continues to own and operate a small farm growing vegetables and berries in central New Hampshire. As the growing season gets underway, this promises to be a very busy year as more people seek out locally grown products. It has been great to welcome Wayne Forrest ’74, MA ’77 and Tom Frei on visits to Tanna Farm, and he got over to give John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80 a man-hug at a campaign event in a nearby town last year.
Monique Witt reports in two parts. First is from mid-January. “We’re still building the new sound space in East Williamsburg and finishing four discs, including Ben’s new sextet album (Nebula Project), which will soft drop in February and officially drop in June. Dev is in L.A. for NAMM, launching the Solarium pro-audio monitors; Ben is touring throughout the Southeastern states, then through Europe, starting in Italy, back to the West Coast, and finally Canada. Steve and I, the same.”
….and now (mid-May):
“We are sheltering in place in Manhattan (Ben, Steve, and me) and Greenpoint, Brooklyn (Dev and Jenn). Ben’s U.S., Canadian, and European tours have all been pushed forward a year, so he is working with Concerts in Motion, doing daily live streams for shut-ins, hospitals, and similar organizations. Additionally, he does a weekly jazz live stream and a number of Zoom concerts for the venues at which he was booked. Steve’s working way too hard still but from home, and I’m doing board work (intensive staying up to date on pandemic regs), but Ben’s teaching me to cook, and we run every day in Central Park (masks, gloves, and social distancing). Ben and Dev are mastering the fourth album scheduled for release in July. Hope everyone is keeping well.”
Carolyn White’s news: “I have transitioned over to Zoom to teach the NAMI Family-to-Family class and it is going better than expected. We might just continue using Zoom. It beats having to deal with traffic every Thursday evening. I am looking forward to a new grandchild for 10/10/20 (good date!) who will be stateside. I have two adorable grandchildren in Toulouse, France, but, the question is when will I feel comfortable enough to travel to France to see them? Skype and Zoom will have to suffice for now. I hope everyone and their families are able to stay out of harm’s way.”
Peter Welcher’s updates: “I’m still working, for a network consulting company I and others started, (Chesapeake) NetCraftsmen. Now over 70 employees are busy during COVID onset supporting remote access for hospitals and government sites in Maryland-D.C. area. Plan to retire in next couple of years. Our kids are all employed at the time I write this. Paul works for USDA doing foreign service work, back in D.C. after three years in Thailand. Alison works for the State Department in D.C., Africa desk. Emma manages a team of six doing marketing for a large bank among others. Gwen is on a product marketing team for LifeStraw. No grandchildren yet.”
Wayne Forrest writes, “2019 and 2020 have been tough years in my household as my wife Jean has had serious medical issues. Multiple surgeries and countless anxious moments have been mixed with incredible closeness and unity of purpose. It was hard to miss our 45th Reunion last year as it fell on a surgery day. We felt the love from many classmates who knew the reason for my absence. COVID-19 has been a blessing in disguise as it has kept Jean away from the infected New York public hospital where she worked and me close by her side. The virus shut down all my extracurricular musical experiences in the orchestras and bands where I play tuba. Hopefully the summer brings them back. I stopped commuting to Manhattan in early March, but where I live (Westchester County) quickly became a hotspot. Thankfully, of the dozen or people I know who caught the virus all, except one, made it through.”
“Discovering the All Trails app has allowed my wife and I to plan hikes nearby that at first were uncrowded but have now become increasingly populated by people who don’t move over and don’t wear masks. But the best social distancing activity for us has been riding our pedal-assist e-bikes. You still get a great workout on these ‘cheaters’; they give you no excuse to not go out for an hour two up and down our hilly Hudson Valley terrain.
“Meanwhile I am still managing the American Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (AICC) as well as its non-business correlate, the American Indonesian Cultural and Educational Foundation (AICEF). AICEF has been collaborating with Wesleyan to amplify the Javanese gamelan music program, providing funding to allow the university to engage a dance teacher. We’re also supporting Lloyd Komesar’s Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival connecting it to a film festival in Bali. With AICC, I began a campaign to get much needed N95 respirator masks to doctors all over Indonesia.
I have to say that although I have many problems with Facebook’s ad-driven business model, principally, their lack of transparency and accountability for perpetuating lies and falsehoods, it remains a welcome place to connect with alums and classmates. I really appreciate reading the thoughts and goings on from Nate Winship, Pat Mulcahy, Bill Burton, Naaz Hosseni ’74, MA’75, Lyn Lauffer, Tom Alexander ’70, MA’77, Michael Mininsohn, Tom Kovar ’76, Neely Bruce, Sal D’Alessandro ’72, MALS ’96, Mark Masseli, Todd Jick ’71, Nat Needle ’76, Jack Freudenheim ’79, Tom Ross ’67, PhD ’85, Alan Feinstein ’70, Harold Sogard, Arthur Fierman, Leslie Rudden ’77, Joseph Getter MA’99, Curt Steinzor ’77, and others.
“Finally, the virus has pushed us apart but also closer together. I am seeing family and friends on Zoom I would not have seen in years in-person.”
Howard Shalwitz reports, “After four decades, in September 2018. I stepped down from the artistic leadership of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. I feel both lucky and a bit guilty that I did so before the pandemic—although my successor, Maria Manuela Goyanes (Brown ’01), is carrying on with exceptional energy and vision: woollymammoth.net. I’m happily ensconced with my partner of 40 years, Jeanette Reitz, at our home in Alexandria, Va. Continuing to do some fundraising for Woolly, teaching, gardening, chipping away at a book about theatre, and starting a multi-year project to connect new American theatre leaders with their counterparts in Poland. It’s been exciting to read about classmates like Joan Braun who are involved in supporting their local theatre companies, especially with the challenges ahead!”
John Shapiro reports, “I am currently camping out in our home in Westchester, N.Y., with my wife, Shonni Silverberg ’76, my older son, Zach, and his fiancée, my younger son, Nathaniel, and his girlfriend, and two dogs! We are all well, but I’ve had to cancel my son’s wedding for the time being.
“Given that Shonni is a doctor at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, and my son is a legal advisor on medical ethical issues at New York Hospital, we have been very caught up with the challenges surrounding the coronavirus. My younger son meanwhile had to cancel what would’ve been his third off-Broadway production.”
Sharon Purdie | spurdie@wesleyan.edu