CLASS OF 1968 | 2025 | SPRING ISSUE

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Nason Hamlin wrote last fall to say earlier in the year there was a gathering of crew alumni: “On May 9–10, the founders of Wesleyan crew gathered for their annual row in Middletown. Crew was restarted by members of the Classes of ’67 and ’68. At our 25th Reunion, Lloyd Buzzell suggested that we gather every year to row, and a tradition was born. We raced every year in one or more Head races, including the Head of the Charles, Head of the Connecticut, and Head of the Housatonic. Our last competition was at the Head of the Charles in 2015, 50 years after we first competed in that event. Since then, we have gathered every year at Wes to row with undergraduates and have a celebratory dinner. This year Bob Svensk, Harrison Knight, John Lipsky, Joe Kelley Hughes ’67, Bill Currier ’69,and Igot out on the water twice in perfect weather conditions. Our coach, Phil Calhoun ’62, watched us from the launch. At the dinner we were joined by Phil and Janet Calhoun, Judy Buzzell, Lloyd’s widow, and the men’s and women’s coaches and co-captains. It was a memorable event, and we are all grateful that crew has kept us fit enough to enjoy an invigorating row on the river. Coach Calhoun was inducted into the Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame in November.”

Ken Kawasaki ’69 writes that his wife, Visakha, and he are in Sri Lanka. After graduation, he was exempt from the Vietnam draft because of a metal plate in his leg from a childhood accident. He married Visakha, who is from Flint, Michigan, went to Japan as an ESL teacher, and stayed for nine years. Their return to the U.S. took one year through Asia and Europe, during which time they realized that they were Buddhist. They spent one year in the States, searching for a way to get back to Asia. Then two years with a State Department program for Indochinese refugee camps in Thailand and the Philippines. Then back to Japan to teach English in a Buddhist high school for 16 years. After six years in Flint, they moved to Sri Lanka, where they expect to stay.

Paul Spitzer contributes that following graduation he made a personal appeal to his Connecticut draft board—that his osprey–DDT studies were a form of national service. He got it and quietly enrolled in Cornell grad school to do quality science. That 1970s decade based in Ithaca made him a scientist and a humanist. In 1974, at age 26, with the war about over, he went to Bharatpur, India, to study the Siberian crane—a Soviet endangered species—with the ICF founder, the late Ron Sauey. So that was his “alternate service” in Asia—conservation biology in a benign culture, pretty much on his own terms. 

Paul sent in, too, this appreciation of Ken. He said, “Ken was ’68, but with diversions such as COL Paris he graduated in ’69. But I claim him for us!!!”

“Ken and his wife, Visakha (née Christine), have been resident teachers, translators, and fund-raisers at the Buddhist Relief Mission in Kandy, Sri Lanka, a tropical ‘hill station’ at 3,500′, for many years.

“I receive their periodic newsletters. The current one, penned by Visakha, has more edge than Ken’s voice. In Garrison Keillor’s immortal statement: “The women are strong, and the men are good-looking.” My long-ago happy memories of my classmate are of a whimsical fellow with a poet’s disposition. As we strolled campus, Ken might shift from his feet to his hands—and still remained somewhat mobile. I associate this memory with springtime. One of a kind, in my experience. At Wesleyan, Ken was Outward Bound from Ohio. He spent his sophomore year at the COL program in France. On his return, I welcomed him for a weekend visit with my family in Old Lyme. I took him out on the splendid Joycean strand at the mouth of the Connecticut River, sharing this favorite nature/spirit place of my youth. He spotted rich clusters of Blue mussels along the [Long Island] Sound shore, exclaimed “Moules!,” and gathered them to share with us. At home, he cooked them in his special cream sauce. Now in those days the river was quite polluted—we were scared of hepatitis and avoided local shellfish. But we didn’t have the heart to deflate Ken’s creative ecstasy, so we made sure they were thoroughly cooked, and nibbled carefully.

“Later on, we shared residence time on the top floor of Harriman Hall, a nice sanctuary for independents. Ken had found Japanese friends: They enjoyed musical soirees with shakuhachi, koto, and green tea. Not surprisingly, Ken went on to work as an English teacher in Japan. Perhaps this was his strong exposure to Buddhism? I lost track for many years, then learned he and Visakha were working for the Buddhist Relief Mission in Flint, Michigan. That is a chapter I do not know. But for many years now, I have received their newsletters from Kandy. I think my gentle old friend has achieved enlightenment.”

John Mergendoller writes that in December he welcomed his third grandchild and first Brooklyn baby, Ayla Jane (pronounced “eye-la”), born to son, Jacob ’11 and Ali Zelisko. 

Bob Knox writes that he spent the month of December flying to Salt Lake City, North Carolina, and Massachusetts to spend the holidays with his far-flung family. He is enjoying immensely the reconnections with Wesleyan classmates through their bimonthly Zoom calls. 

As the magazine was going to press, we learned of the passings of Hal Skinner and John Kreitler. Our sincere condolences to their families and friends.

BOB KNOX | bob@robertfknox.com

JOHN MERGENDOLLER | john.mergendoller@gmail.com