Author: classnotes

Glad to have heard from so many aged but active members of the Class of 1954. I’m Dan Resnick, your current class secretary, scribbling away after Bob Carey stepped down. Bob did a remarkable job in his decade or more as our class secretary. About 40 of you sent in news during those years (see classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu/tag/1954/). He was the happy recipient of news about awards and prizes, projects in the making, vagaries of retirement, successes of grandchildren, arrival of great-grandchildren, hobbies and pastimes ranging from gardens and fitness to labor on memoirs, and an astonishing amount of travel. He fielded and shared, too, the difficult messages announcing deaths and sickness. In the last decade he heard directly from Dave Walden, Terry Hatter, Bud Johnson, John Binswanger, Ken Davenny, Dave Hodgin, Curt McLaughlin, Len Stolba, Shep Johnson, George Ray, Dick Matthews, Marty Feins, Bob Gruskay, Bob Montstream, Rod O’Connor, Dr. James J. Yashar, Norm Stuessy, Carl Bufka, Chuck Davis, Ken Davenny, Jeff Lockhart, Dr. Jules Schwaber, Bill Drury, Bob Schnuer, Al Flynn, Bruce Storms, Ben Cope, Bob Muir, George Klein, Ed Dewey, Marshall Umpleby, Charles “Jim” Landesman, Art Dexter, Hal White, Art Spada, Eric Cone, and Bill Christopher. Let me share with you the updates we received in November.

Terry Hatter, from the United States District Court, married to Trudy for 64 years, now has a great-granddaughter and is expecting his first great-grandson in the spring. He wishes us all the best, and we congratulate him on his expanding family.

Bud Johnson reports to us from Westchester County. He and Lynn have just moved into a senior living campus in Rye, near New York City. He is close to most of his children (some are in Florida and California) and four of his eight grandchildren, a medical center, the Union League Club, and Winged Foot Golf Club. Sounds like a great choice, Bud.

Marty Feins, ever eager to see classmates again, wants to know how many plan to attend our 70th Reunion, May 23–26, 2024.

David Hodgin, long dedicated to advancing public space for the arts in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, reports that one of his big projects, a Cultural and Performing Arts Center, is up and running. For 14 years Dave spearheaded this project for the Scotts Valley Community Theater Guild (svctheaterguild.org), creating this performance space from an old roller rink. He also developed the first Alfred Hitchcock Festival: (hitchcockfestival.com). Hitchcock was a 30-year resident of Scotts Valley. The next festival is scheduled for March 8–10, 2024. Although still enjoying work on community service projects, he says that at 91, he is ready to pass along that responsibility.

Your scribe reports that Dan Resnick has no big projects in the pipeline, but thinks that, as the psalmist wrote, “my cup runneth over.” He has been married for 65 years, has six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, has traveled widely, and is living comfortably and independently in a middle-sized city with great theater and music, medical care, proximity to family, and the pleasures of nature. A local wag has described Pittsburgh as “the Paris of Appalachia.” As a sometime resident of Paris, Dan couldn’t agree more, but is happy to hunker down in the foothills of the Appalachian chain.

For those who have not read the fall class notes that are only in digital form, know that our 70th was attended by Joe, Mel, and Woody. Please contact me to identify.

Jerry Zackin and his wife, Sandy, toured southeast Asia ending up in Australia, his seventh continent visited. He has two great-grandsons in Portland, Oregon, prepping for Wesleyan, 2038 and 2040. Their parents and grandparents are Wesleyan alumni.

A year and a half in an independent living facility is comfortable and convenient.

Please let me hear from you.

Jack Murray corresponded: “I am still here on in this earth in, to me, the remote year 2023 of the new millennium. Why? I don’t know. They say it’s genes, and not even this is likely. It’s certainly not from the way I’ve lived. It is most likely from residing in beautiful Santa Barbara and having so many good friends here. I send good wishes to the few other members of the Class of 1952 still alive, and think, with much love, of the many good friends from my class and the other classes I shared my happy years at Wesleyan with. I cherish, too, the great education I got back in the mid-20th century and the great professors who had such a lasting influence on my life. Again, thanks for everything.”

Seth Rosner wrote about the existence of a Class of ’52 “Gang of Five” that coalesced sort of by accident a good many years ago and consisted of him, Charley “Rogo” Rogovin, Kim Zachos, Bill Wasch, and Hal Buckingham, and their wives. Their first (very informal) meeting took place years ago in—where else?—Saratoga Springs for a lunch. It was so much fun they decided to do it again near Rogo’s digs in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Then, the Gang of Five members began departing and he believes he is the last one of the Gang left standing. He is heading for his 93rd birthday on the next Insurrection Day, still enjoys driving his two Ferraris, and he’s over the moon, happy in a life, madly in love with Judith, the most splendid woman he’s ever met. He further reported that they both flew to Rome, which she had never visited, saw the sights, and boarded the Queen Mary 2 for an 11-day crossing of the Atlantic and home. Only bad thing was he had a mild case of COVID-19 that kept him semi-restricted to their state room. . . . Bummer!

Only current serious impact of my/our age(s) is a problem with balance, walking with a cane or grabbling (gently) onto his beloved. He closes with the thought “that those of our classmates with us will recall I’ve always been a bit unbalanced, eh?” Looking forward with glee to our 75th Reunion.

He also asked me about his roommate at Wesleyan, John R. Tobi. Unfortunately, I found his obituary. John passed on April 3, 2021, at the Amie Holt Care Center in Buffalo, and is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and two sons, Donald (Barbara) and Steven (Patty), and four grandchildren, Jaclyn, Jacob, Harrison, and Emily.

I also received news about the passing of Ron Daniel on December 16, 2023, in New York City. Ron was a former Wesleyan trustee and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Wesleyan in 1988. More details to follow in the next issue.

Dear ’51ers,

You are letting the class down.

Here is the latest from super-loyal Barney Kathan. Barney gets to all events—he represents us well, and he still has his historic red blazer:

“I attended the Wesleyan alumni reunion in May 2023, along with my house guest, Don Schellhardt ’71, and discovered in the alumni procession that I was the second oldest alum in line, following a graduate from 1948 in a golf cart with his caregiver and walker. It was good to meet Leah Carlson at the Film Studies Center, where there is an annual award given in memory of my daughter, Nancy Lee Kathan ’76. My publisher is doing a second edition of my book, American Holy Days, with the addition of a section on our newest holiday, Juneteenth. Also, DreamBooks Media Professions would like to turn my book into a documentary movie, and I am working with them on that project. That’s all for now. —Barney”

Jean and I gave up the car last spring, so miss the campus events but watch for news sent regularly by the college.

And best in this New Year,

Biff

Please share your news with your remaining classmates by sending updates to classnotes@wesleyan.edu.