Class Notes | 1960s

Dear classmates, more welcome news:

Amertat Cohn (né Fredrick): “At Herbalife Nutrition was recognized as a leading distributor worldwide. Still playing basketball and participated in a 60-plus tournament in Hong Kong, representing Malaysia. Photographs exhibited at the Montserrat Gallery in NYC and finishing a documentary, SunSeed, The Awakening. Completed Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Training and doing presentations to raise climate change and global warming awareness. Met recently with Swami Chitaitanya (né Bill Winans), now a major public advocate for improved cannabis laws in California.”

Bill Brooks: Emeritus professor of music, University of Illinois, co-editor of a collection of essays about music and World War I, published by the University of Illinois Press. Also, professor of music, University of York, England, and senior research fellow and series editor, Orpheus Institute, Ghent, Belgium.

Major Moise: “After two years in Washington, D.C., we decided to move back to California. Our move east was to be near the kids and grandchildren, who all live in the D.C. area. While that was great, the humidity and winters proved to be too much for my health. Now semi-retired, and wife Lexy works 30 hours a week. My company has a two-year contract with NIH to develop a smart phone app to assess chemo brain in cancer patients.”

Rod Gay: “Spent 25 years living and teaching in Vermont and then worked for a Swiss electrical engineering company. Then on to Reno for five years for work and skiing then back to my hometown, Winchester, Mass., to help out my parents who both reached their mid 90s. Elected to the housing association, which oversees the housing needs of our local senior citizens. Play tennis, golf, and ski. Fortunately, my sister and family reside in Silverthorne, Colo., where I visit to ski once the snow flies!”

Dutch Seigert: “Two full-time jobs: lawyer in NYC and professional poker player in Atlantic City on weekends. Wife is ‘okay’ with the poker if I return home on Sunday in time for Evangelical Presbyterian church services.”

Clyde Beers: “Retired 10 years ago. Do not miss my work as an actuary. That has been replaced by family, gardening, and painting. Followed the example of our daughter by starting a vegetable garden. Some of our plantings: Bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, kale, rhubarb, and four varieties of potatoes. Our salads now have more zing to them!”

David Osgood: “Now retired, which is clearly a life-changing, paradigm shift. On the board of the local mosque and volunteering with interfaith organizations. In touch with Bill Turner, George Adams, Larry Carver ’66, and David Griffith ’66.”

Steve Halliwell: “Wife Anne and I live in Irvington, N.Y., where we raised our two kids. For 10 years involved in two fine-art investment funds. Buy museum quality works and rotate them to the homes of investors over the life of the fund. Now introducing a way to safeguard fine art via a chip on the work. Spent much time in Russia, and write occasionally on Russian money laundering for Reuters and other outlets.

“In contact with Robert ‘Woody’ Sayre in Paris, who taught literature at the University of Paris and continues to publish, and Bill Hunt, professor emeritus, St. Lawrence University, and writing on George Orwell and Catalan politics. See Bill Blakemore in NYC. At Peter Kelman’s birthday party, saw Jim Frost, astrophysics teacher in New York. We see Ted Dreyfus, teacher at The New School. Finally, Tony Schuman, dean of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, is featured on YouTube announcing a major donation to the school.”

Peter Babin: “Life is good for wife Barbara and me! We are Hawaii residents, living on the Kohala coast, but spend several months on the mainland visiting our kids in Las Vegas; Boulder, Colo.; and Clancy, Mont. Our health is generally good and we stay active. I continue to focus on residential and commercial property development.”

Jerry Mellilo: “Lalise and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in July. After more than four decades at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, I am ‘gliding’ to retirement. We look forward to visiting family and friends across the globe, and activities with our 6-year-old grandson, Simon. His dad, our son, Ted, is a history professor at Amherst. Plan to garden more and, in the winter, sculpt in my wood shop. Professor Risley introduced me to wood sculpting, and I am forever grateful to him. On the science side of things, I will volunteer at the National Academy of Sciences and teach and mentor student projects in MBL’s course in environmental science for undergraduates from liberal arts colleges, including Wesleyan.”

Jim Stewart: “Celebrated last year 50 years practicing trusts and estates law. Two eldest granddaughters have turned 8 and identical twin grandchildren turned 5; enjoy working and no plans to retire; taking up pickleball with racquetball. Two daughters, both trust and estate attorneys, one Wesleyan ’00 and one Trinity ’03.”

Philip L. Rockwell | prockwell@wesleyan.edu

There always seems to be something going on, other than the task at hand when I sit down to prepare my notes each quarter. It’s Labor Day and I’m concerned about Hurricane Dorian that is spinning in the Bahamas and threatens the southeast coast of the U.S. I’m sitting here in my condo in Savannah, Ga., concerned about my trailer in Central Florida. Oh well, I can’t get anywhere sharing my concerns.

I have an update from Mike Ehrmann after 19 years in Pittsburgh, with his wife, Esta, having just moved to Jersey City, N.J., to be close to their son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren. He texted, “During my time in Pittsburgh, I was president of the Squirrel Hill Historical Society, the largest neighborhood historical society in the city. On May 14, when I ran my last meeting as president, the Pittsburgh City Council issued a proclamation celebrating my leadership of the society and named this date ‘Michael Ehrmann Day.’ In October the local neighborhood planning organization for Squirrel Hill is naming me as a ‘Treasure of Squirrel Hill.’”

Lou D’Ambrosio shared some news: “My family is doing fine. Elder granddaughter just graduated from Vassar in June, now working in Seattle. Oldest grandson working in Denver, graduate of the University of Colorado. Wife Christy is still working as a psychologist (hooray!) and still lovin’ it (another hooray!).” He had lunch with Edgie Russell and enclosed a photo. I noticed what a great smile Lou has. Finally, Lou closed by texting, “Just lovin’ everything. Still singing! Waiting for offer from the Yankees to sing the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium!”

Karen and Chris Chase decided in early 2018, for various reasons, to move to a continuing care retirement community in Hanover, N.H. Chris added, “There is much here to enjoy: Dartmouth adult education, concerts, opera, lectures, trail hiking, etc. There are also political action groups. I leave the politics to Karen. I’ve gotten back into singing and, new experience, am part of a poetry writing group. Having extra time sure helps the revision process! More prosaically, I’m in the process of preparing a lecture on pidgin and Creole varieties of English.”

He concluded, “Regrettably, I do not think it likely Karen and I will be able to attend Reunions in the future. I’m sure the discussions would be interesting. When we were at Wesleyan the world seemed so potentially positive. Maybe that was simply a youthful take on things. That’s not the impression of things that one has now. And I don’t think that it’s simply a case of o tempora o mores.”

Roger Montgomery reported, “I am alive and well in London but am lucky to be alive. Suffered a stroke in May 2017 but was rescued by the fantastic U.K. National Health Service which had me in hospitals for three months absolutely free. Also lucky to have survived four years in Viet Nam where colleagues such as Peter Hunting ’63 (Alpha Delta Phi) died. Went on to become a Southeastern Asia expert, consultant to World Bank and Asian Development Bank through a U.K.-based consulting company (Hunting Technical Services). After retirement continue to live in London where I spent six years at the London School of Economics pro bono in the Asia Research Centre. Any Wesleyan alumni most welcome to stop by for a cold one at 25 Belsize Crescent NW3 5QY. We bend the elbow at 7 p.m. sharp.”

Brian Murphy and wife Ginny are well and currently living in Los Gatos, Calif., near their two daughters. They spend most of their time hiking, birding, and traveling to places to view wildlife. They just got back from trip to Congo to see lowland gorillas, forest elephants, and forest buffalo as well as other wildlife. Fun!

TED MANOS, M.D. | ted_manos@yahoo.com

We will be seeing less and less of James Ferguson now, as he is successfully losing weight—over 40 pounds! Perhaps some remember that Jim was a football player back in the day. But now he is a serious fan of soccer, having turned most of his seven grandchildren into soccer players. He did this simply by telling them how dangerous football was even for young players. In the case of one small grandson he pointed out that his size would matter far less on the soccer field, which the boy has found out to be true and is now happily playing soccer. Jim likes to “write stuff.” Following a request from one of his two granddaughters, he wrote a short story. He’s also written two screenplays.

As we both served in the Army as well as in Special Forces in South Vietnam, we talked a lot about that. Jim said he generally did not feel comfortable in groups but that the most comfortable he’d ever felt in a group was with his Special Forces A-Team in Vietnam. “I may or may not have liked every single man, but I knew if something happened to me, someone would come to help.”

Jim Miller closed the Armstrong Department store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1990. Founded in 1890, his family, had owned and run it for 100 years. For several years thereafter Jim had an Island Inkjet franchise, eventually quitting after writing out his 10,000th work order. He is now involved in various service clubs and is treasurer of his local homeowners’ association. He gardens a lot and, while still in high school, he got very interested in his own sound system and has more or less been upgrading it as ever improving equipment comes on the market. He and Marlene, his wife, enjoy the local performing arts (ballet, theater, and opera) and see lots of performances at their excellent community theater of both local performers as well as groups passing through. They have three children—two daughters, 55 and 52, and a son, 50­—and five grandchildren, ages 8 to 25.

After WesU, Tom Buxton went to Carnegie Mellon Business School and came out determined to “play with the big boys,” i.e. get a job with a seriously large company, which he did. Twenty years ago, after 32 years with Boeing, Tom retired. While there, he was part of the team that developed both the 767 and 777. Tom’s wife, Terra Anderson, also worked at Boeing. She worked internally coaching and training executives. While both are retired (he in 2000 she in 2004), both were very, very upset and embarrassed at the news of the serious problems in the 737. Tom recalled reading People of Plenty by David Potter in a humanities class at WESU. He feels it is right on now and that we are endangering the earth’s future and may well run out of vital resources. For that reason, he is developing his large farm on Whidbey Island to grow all the basic varieties of food resources Tom and his wife have two children, 45 and 42, and two grandchildren, 5 and 7.

Byron S. Miller | tigr10@optonline.net
5 Clapboard Hill Rd., Westport, CT 06880

Robin Cook just finished his 37th novel, and says that this year he will be attempting a new challenge of movie and TV producing. He writes, “Maybe in the course of my efforts I’ll run into Bruce Corwin, who undoubtedly learned a thing or two in the Hollywood world.”

On his Wesleyan experience, he says, “In order to get into medical school I stuck with those easier chemistry, math, and physics courses where getting an A was possible if you made it a point to spend the time to learn the material. With those harder courses—like writing or literature—one could spend weeks writing a paper and have no idea whether it would result in an A or an F.” He adds, “In many respects I wish I could go back to Wesleyan now that it has great writing and film courses.”

Robin makes another reflective point about the Wesleyan environment. He says his sophomore son is considering transferring out because he feels that the school “is so liberal that it cannot tolerate opinions to the contrary from fellow students and faculty alike.” Robin comments, “If true it’s too bad, as college should be the time to debate and question one’s beliefs.”

Not to turn the notes column into a philosophical debate forum, but I’m wondering if other classmates whose sons or daughters went to Wesleyan had similar concerns.

Walt Fricke continues racing his Porsche SC, officiating at races, and editing his Porsche Club rules. He says this involves often driving “a medium-duty truck pulling a 42-foot trailer, combined weight just shy of 26,000 pounds.” He is active in working on “coming up with non-invasive tests of engines and transmissions for forbidden improvements to performance.” He had to recover for two months from breaking his pelvis skiing last spring.

DAVID FISKE | davidfiske17@gmail.com
17 W. Buckingham Dr. Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

A question was posed to the Class of ’61 membership dealing with the future as we all foresee it, particularly in relation to advice for our grandchildren. Emil Frankel provided his predictions as follows: “We don’t have grandchildren (or children, for that matter), but my message to my grandnieces and -nephews and to your grandchildren is one of cautious optimism about the survival of the basic norms and values of American democracy. I wish that I could be hopeful about the quality of their physical lives. The catastrophic risks of climate change and environmental degradation seem irreversible and are already having effects on our lives. It’s hard to imagine how different (and unpleasant) the lives of our grandchildren will be. Sorry to be so gloomy.”

Emil continues: “Kathryn and I are living quietly in Washington D.C. I remain engaged in transportation policy issues, although at a reduced level, as a senior fellow at a small transportation policy think tank here in Washington, the Eno Center for Transportation. I continue to visit Wesleyan two or three times a year for various meetings and to attend the annual lecture on Jewish culture and history that we established at Wesleyan in my parents’ memories 35 years ago. Those lectures are always a source of great pleasure and interest, and provide me with the opportunity to reconnect with Wesleyan friends, faculty, and staff.”

An unexpected response came from Richard Poulton who wrote: “I doubt very much that you will remember me, but I had the privilege of being the Englishman who won a one-year overseas student scholarship in 1957-58, before returning to Cambridge in the U.K. and a lifetime of teaching. My year at Wesleyan was hugely enjoyable and extremely formative; I have been grateful ever since. My very best wishes to anyone who might remember me.”

Travel has played a significant role for a few classmates. Jack Mitchell writes: “Last summer Linda and I took six of our adult grandchildren plus a girlfriend (including Lyle ’16 and Dana ’18) to Australia for two weeks. First Sydney, then diving on the Great Barrier Reef, the rain forest, then Ayres Rock. A dream family fun trip of our lifetime. Three meals together every day. We shared and learned so much!”

Phil Rodd claims: “My wife and I just got back from 24 days touring Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. I wish I had something more exciting to tell you.”

A final comment comes from Pete Drayer: “I have been retired as a judge for three years. We still have our house in the Poconos in the same community where the children of Hank Hilles have a house. We have two wonderful daughters. One of them is divorced, and has two children. Hope things are well with you.”

Respectfully submitted,

Jon K. Magendanz, DDS | jon@magendanz.com
902 39th Avenue West, Bradenton, FL 34205

Congratulations to Dan Freedman who is co-recipient of the 2020 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for the invention of supergravity, a deeply influential theoretical blueprint for unifying all of nature’s fundamental interactions. He will share the $3 million prize with collaborators Sergio Ferrara of CERN and Peter Nieuwenhuizen of Stony Brook University. Dan is an emeritus professor of applied mathematics and theoretical physics at MIT while currently a visiting professor at Stanford University.

Since 2008, Bruce Dow has been working as a psychiatrist (psychopharmacologist) on Cape Cod with a program for assertive community treatment. Their team consists of one psychiatrist plus nurses, social workers, and psychologists. They provide outpatient care for 80 clients referred to them by the state department of mental health, due to serious mental illness and heavy use of state services. They are salaried employees of a nonprofit corporation, Vinfen, funded by state and federal contracts.

Bruce lives in Osterville while his girlfriend, Rae Edelson, lives in Jamaica Plain and runs a studio arts center in nearby Brookline. They get together on weekends either at her place in winter or Bruce’s in summer. Several years ago, Bruce and Rae became couple friends with Dan and Miriam Freedman. Rae and Miriam were classmates at Barnard (’64). Social contact between the couples is less frequent because the Freedmans currently live in California.

Nici and John Dobson sold their condo in Big Sky, Mont., and moved to a small home in Ocala, Fla. They appreciate their new location in a warm climate that is closer to family.

Adrienne and Roland Bassett celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. Their three sons, daughters-in-law, and grandkids all live nearby, and they see them almost daily. They have survived their share of major illnesses, medical treatments, and surgeries. They enjoy traveling a lot. This year they finally checked off their 40-year-old wish list item of touring Israel. They report that “life has been good to us.”

The highlight of my summer was being a participant in Orcas Summer Camp where we contra-danced on each of three successive evenings. At this event, some of us play music while others are the dancers or callers. During the day we are free to swim, canoe, or explore picturesque Orcas Island. It was a fun communal celebration in the Pacific Northwest.

Our 60th Reunion will take place in May 2020 so consider making plans to attend the event.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Tony Mohr wrote, “The thought of retirement crosses my mind, though I’m trying lots of civil cases—malpractice, business disputes. I edit Gavel to Gavel and look for ‘judge’ stories. I’m still publishing personal essays and short stories. Beverly and I cruised Singapore to Dubai. No rain and calm seas. Always happy to hear from anyone visiting LA.”

Mac Thornton said, “I transferred to Stanford as a junior and continued in their law school with Ed Hayes. A 30-year enforcement career included time at the DOJ and HHS. I left during the Bush II era for 13 years of private practice. I’m a whitewater addict and founded the Potomac Conservancy and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. Molly and I have two terrific children from Russia, now 17 and 18. I have fond memories of Wesleyan.”

From Bob Berkowitz: “The Reunion book warmed my heart. I’m still at CHOP and Penn School of Medicine, where I care for children and research their psychiatric disorders. The science and liberal arts at Wesleyan helped me as a person and physician. Barb and I celebrated our 49th.”

Bruce Snapp wrote in: “Here is a long overdue update for me. I have been considering attending the Reunion but cannot because of health issues. I am recovering from the lingering effects of a partial paralysis of my arms and legs cause by cervical stenosis. I had successful surgery in January, but recovering from the effects of the stenosis has been a slow process. Here is a short history. After graduating from Wesleyan, I went to the University of Michigan to study economics. While at Michigan, I met the love of my life, Jeanne Moss, and we were married in 1971. I finished my PhD. in 1974 and accepted a job in Washington with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1984, I left to become a consultant and expert witness in litigation involving antitrust and economic damages issues. I finally retired in 2015. Jeanne and I have been living in Alexandria, Va., since we moved to the Washington area. We have two daughters, Emily (40) and Juliana (37), who have turned into world travelers. Emily, who is a physical therapist, is married with two children. Six years ago, Emily and her husband, Devin, who is an E.R. physician, decided to spend a year in New Zealand but got hooked. They have been living in New Plymouth, New Zealand, for six years now and are thinking about applying for citizenship. Juliana, who is a psychiatric social worker, worked with disadvantaged women in Cambodia for six years before recently returning to the Washington area. I think this is enough for a starter. I can’t believe how fast those 50 years have gone by. Thank you for doing such a good job keeping everyone up-to-date on our classmates.”

Ted Sanderson “retired as the executive director of Rhode Island’s Historic Preservation Commission. I approved $2 billion to protect 2,500 sites. I continue to work as a member of Providence’s Historic District Commission. Carol and I live in Providence, celebrated our 50th, and have three grown children and three grandchildren.”

Pete Arenella “appreciates, in retirement, the lazy guy I am. I’m a self-taught moral philosopher who won some teaching awards at BU and UCLA. Son David suffered brain damage at birth but leads a happy life. Daughter Katherine is a clinical psychologist working with PTSD patients. Wife Mia taught me to be a good parent. She is a certified court interpreter, a great artist and mother, and the most impressive person I’ve ever met.”

Stu Blackburn retired to “Brighton, England, where I write novels, three so far. I loved every minute of the Wesleyan experience, except the football losses.”

Charlie Morgan was “on Senator Baroni’s defense team during Bridgegate. He’s in prison. Tough stuff. I’m confident he was railroaded. I’m suing the Mayflower Descendants for multiple violations of Massachusetts law. Some wins but still work to be done.”

Ken Elliott, who “exchange taught in the Czech Republic, is anticipating a 2020 retirement. My goals—friendship, home life, volunteerism, and learning. I research college teaching methods and aging in place in rural settings. Friends are always welcome in Maine.”

Bill Runyan “remembers freshman year at Wesleyan, enjoying dorms, soccer, and impressive teachers. I needed co-education, so I went to Oberlin, where I earned a degree in psychology/sociology and captained the soccer team. My psychology doctorate from Harvard led to a UC Berkeley career, 1979-2010, teaching psych and social welfare. Wife Mary Coombs teaches psych and counseling at USF. Williamrunyan.com lists some publications.”

Hugh Hoffman “did IT work for 40 years at Northwestern Mutual Life. I’m auditing classes at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee—English, psychology, anthropology, and theater. Wife Robin helps run Scholastic Book Fairs, which supports our live theater addiction.”

John de Miranda wrote, “I’ve been married 36 years. I’m semi-retired, still doing some teaching, consulting, and research. A tobacco investigation project took me to Warsaw. That, and alcohol and drug problems, are my research focus. Our son pursues a social work license. I completed nine Wesleyan candidate interviews this year in the San Mateo area.”

Tom Earle said, “My wife and I are retired. We plan to travel but not right away. We were on Oahu in the fall to help family.”

Steve Mathews’s “children and four grandchildren all live in Nashville. Travel plans include cruising the New England coastline and portions of the Lewis and Clark Trail. Nashville hosted the NFL draft. We love the Titans and Predators and hope the Titans rebound. Nashville has much going for it—quality of life, cost of living, low taxes, and strong educational institutions. We will soon celebrate 50 years here.”

Doug Bell loves his daughter, her husband, and their entertaining 2-year-old. “I continue to develop hemp and CBD projects in Uruguay but would like to retire in 2021. I’m in touch with Harry Nothacker and Steve Hansel. Hoy’s Boys are an amazing bunch.”

John Boynton wrote, “I’m alive and in good health. Have lived and worked in Manhattan, Jeddah, London, Seoul, and Hong Kong. Right now, I’m in Cleveland with the Townsend Group. Son John Jr. works for the Shorenstein Group in San Francisco and his brother Tyler owns an oral surgery practice in Sonoma. Ex-wife Ellen died in April and twin Ralph in 2018.”

Love,

Charlie Farrow | charlesfarrow@comcast.net
11 Coulter Street, #16, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 

I heard from one of my favorites, Jeff Talmadge, with whom I shared so many cups of coffee that we were both disqualified from Phi Beta Kappa on that basis alone (not that we ever had a prayer). His biggest 2018 news is celebrating his 30th anniversary with Joan—marked by their annual trip to Kennebunkport—and the multitude of joys received from their raucous hybrid family. While it is not like they just hung around the Boston-area following their beloved Patriots and Red Sox, 2018 was a quieter year than 2017 when they visited both Cuba and Africa. An English major who slid into computers (at his mother’s suggestion as I recall), he ended up founding/running a service (WeNeedaVacation.com) that helps travelers find accommodations on Cape Cod that has passed on to the next generation. He helped Carol and Bob Ziegenhagen (Bay Area residents) celebrate their 50th by attending a gathering at their Northfield, Mass., summer place last year.

Bill Van Den Berg continues windsurfing through retirement, getting down to Bonaire (from the State College, Pa., area) for big chunks of time for its optimal conditions. Bill is a good guy but I learned at Reunion that his partner, Helen Dempsey, is a stitch. They did some spelunking in Bonaire and Bill did some climbing in Nevada.

I did Wes on the five-year plan (and I expect that, based on these notes, some of you may feel I have never fully graduated) and the good company of Rich Kremer ’69 was one of the highlights of that final year. We spoke recently. A retired doc who advocates small-town living, he splits his time between Norwich, Vt., and Williamsburg, Va., and has four wonderful “kids” finding their diverse way through life. Like myself, he needs supervision, and his wife Andrea finds time to provide it when not teaching at Dartmouth. An ace golfer in his day, he’s still out there. He is in touch with Nick Browning ’69 and Walter Abrams ’69, both North Country golfers.

Locally: Judy and I enjoyed brunch recently with Chris and Gary Wanerka ’62, a free-thinking Eclectic and a still-practicing, legendary pediatrician back from a cruise to French Polynesia. Judy’s grandfather was a Zionist who exited his village as the Cossacks entered, but didn’t make it to Israel until his 80s. Not wanting to repeat this pattern, Judy went on a most marvelous tour with a friend. I had lunch with David Ramos ’05, a musician and my son’s best friend from high school who keeps me up on all things millennial.

It was reported that Maryland’s attorney general (our Brian Frosh) was dismayed when his emoluments case against the president was referred to a three-judge panel comprised of all GOP appointees. My old Kent buddy, Dave Losee’s career was as a Connecticut attorney involved in environmental issues. His idea of a fun retirement? Get back into the game! To that end, he just took and (miraculously) passed the Maine Bar.

I reached out to Wig Sherman: In Vero Beach, and a little haunted by the deaths of two roommates/brothers (Cal Hay and Jeff Arnold), he arises at 5 a.m., walks two miles, and reads the paper by the time the sun comes up. Keeps his doctors surprised with good health. Though divorced, he is good friends with his ex and very close to his children (they all gather for Thanksgiving). His oldest daughter was married recently but says he is too young for grandfatherhood.

Kink Terry died of complications from Parkinson’s in April. A lifelong member of Hartford’s Asylum Hill Congregational Church. He was a fine athlete: captain of his Kingswood baseball team who played baseball and soccer at Wes. A goalie, his shutout record stood for years. After Penn’s Annenberg School of Communications, he worked in the media before shifting to a distinguished career in commercial real estate with the Farley Company. A Hartford boy through and through, he gave back with a wide array of community involvements. I liked that his obituary was accompanied by a picture in which he looked exactly the way I remember him: red-haired and freckled, twinkle in his eye and sporting a mischievous smile.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Classmates,

Not much news this time around. As the recent scandal unfolded based on bribes paid to get faux student-athletes into elite colleges, I found the following quote by Jerome Karabel to be worth pondering. Karabel, whose B.A. and Ph.D. degrees are from Harvard, now an emeritus professor of sociology at Berkeley, is the author of The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (Houghton Mifflin, 2005), a 700-page exposé of the ways that Ivy League colleges have quietly tinkered with their admissions formulas over many decades. In response to a question about the scandal, Karabel had this to say: “It shows the extraordinary weight given to athletic talent and the remarkable latitude given to coaches to select the people whom they want for their teams if they meet very minimal academic standards—including at elite colleges. And what I think is not well known is that the weight of preference given to athletes far surpasses the weight given to underrepresented minorities or, for that matter, legacies. It’s the weightiest preference of all the various preferences.”

Like I said at the end of my last set of class notes, which was about two classmates and John Perry Barlow ’69, all three of whom had died relatively recently, “Hang in there, and send me stuff.

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

How many Wesleyan classes can boast a renowned entomologist? Ours can, Andy Moldenke. Andy and his wife, Alison MA’66, “retired 10 years ago from Oregon State University where they have spent most of their careers after getting their biology PhDs from Stanford.” “Both of us,” Andy writes, “are still actively teaching at OSU, Andy advising several grad students and working with Citizen Scientists on Entomology and Forest Ecology high in the Cascade Mountains while Alison is tutoring foreign graduate students in English. After a number of years of globe-trotting to Australia, South Africa, Chile, and the Far East we are now pretty much centered in Corvallis, Ore. Andy has even donated his beetle collection with thousands of species to the museum at OSU. Our son, Kelsey, is an urban planner currently under contract to the Quinault Indian Nation (in nearby Washington) to plan the move of their settlement from the seashore to a nearby site safe from tsunamis and rising seas due to climate change (flooding is already occurring due to sea-level rise). Andy’s most fun comes with leading field trips in the mountains and continuing field research on pollination and bee ecology.” A distinguished career continues.

“Things are great here,” reports Richard Stabnick, here being West Hartford where Dick lives with his wife, Cheri. “Still practicing law full-time. The firm specializes in worker’s compensation defense. We do about 60 percent of all the defense work in the state. We are a midsize firm with three senior partners and five junior partners (including one daughter) and six associates and 25 support staff.” Cheri and Dick have “one grandson by our second daughter who is a school teacher in Connecticut,” and Dick, who gets “back to Wesleyan often as I am in court in Middletown once or twice a month . . .” spends “most of my free time working on or about the yard here in Connecticut and in Rhode Island (three acres on the beach is a lot of work). Play golf but handicap is going up from five to now nine! Need to play more but grandson prevents that.”

Rob Chickering and I have known each other since fifth grade in Sherborn, Mass.,” writes Harold Potter. “We both went to Framingham High School . . .” Recently, Harold had “lunch with Rob and his wife, Rhoda . . . in Montpelier, Vt. Toured the state capital before lunch. The hallways were teeming with earnest legislators. Democracy in action. Heartening when contrasted with Washington. Rob is still playing tennis and shoveling snow.”

You will recall that Bill Dietz and his wife, Nancy, visited Hardy Spoehr last year. Recently Peter Spiller did as well, Hardy reporting that they “had a wonderful time—a bit of a reunion on the water!” Hardy ends enticingly with this: “an invite for more ’66ers to visit us.”

Congratulations go out to Alexander Blount whose book, Patient-Centered Primary Care: Getting from Good to Great, will be published by Springer in July and is already available on Amazon.” Unlike many of us, Sandy’s “latest news is about work rather than retirement adventures. After 20 years in mental health settings and another 20 years of teaching physicians and psychologists to provide patient-centered team-based care in primary care settings, I left UMass Medical School at the age of 70 to be a professor in a graduate school, training psychology doctoral students to work in primary care. I am cutting back to focus full-time (or my version of it) on consulting and training.” Donald Craven also continues his important work “at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., which is merging with Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.” As Don points out, “Still lots of work is needed on education and prevention and early treatment of infectious diseases.” As for forthcoming books, Jeff Nilson, is seeking an agent to publish his first children’s book, which begins captivatingly: “Name’s Picky. I’m a grass pickerel.I’m shaped like a cigar with fins. I have a big mouth and a nice smile. I have daggers for teeth, and they give everyone in the pond nightmares. I’m the scariest fish in the pond. And the loneliest. To be less scary, I eat only plants—pond grass, lily pads, water lettuce. Very tasty. But there are two problems:I have to floss all the time. And still no one likes me.” Can’t wait.

As for retirement, Douglas Robins may hold our class record, Doug writing: “On June 1, I will celebrate being retired for 30 years. I used to work at Hartford Financial Services in Hartford. Currently, I am still busy with a lot of community service work, and I occasionally volunteer at our local Canton Historical Museum. I enjoy riding my bicycle around northwest Connecticut and nearby Massachusetts as much as I can. In September, my partner Joe, our dog Sammy, and I are planning a vacation trip to Colorado. It will be a first for Joe and Sammy. I haven’t been there since just after I retired in 1989. Places I am looking forward to revisiting are Silverton, Ouray, Aspen, Leadville, Estes Park, Fort Collins, and of course New Raymer.” Hope to see Doug, Joe, and Sammy in Rico.

Reports on two “bucket” lists. Bob Dearth “has been working on my ‘bucket list’ of salt water fish to ‘catch’ and was successful this past November with a charter boat out of Bud and Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida. The 189-pound swordfish, caught 1,600 feet down in the Gulf Stream 25 miles south of Islamorada provided lots of wonderful meals. My Blue Marlin catch still eludes me although I have three different strikes that could have resulted in the fight of a lifetime, but they all failed to hook up. I’ll keep trying . . . I have my oldest grandson graduating high school next week. Pretty exciting too.” Essel Bailey writes: “If you have a bucket list and do not have the Galápagos Islands on it, I urge you to consider it. The history of science and evolution started with Darwin’s visit to this volcanic plateau/island group in 1834 and has continued to evolve and amaze over time; the animals do not know fear of people; they have unique characteristics and the guides are terrific. Menakka and I went with a child and 12-year-old grandchild and the enthusiasm for snorkeling/swimming with turtles and seals and fish were exciting for all, as were the amazing and unique mammals and birds. A new book The Genius of Darwi’has a great history and continues the story into the 21st century.” Essel, it’s on the list.

I found Howard Brodsky’s talk at our 50th Reunion about his work with CCA Global Partners, which he co-founded and serves as its chair and co-CEO, inspirational. Other have as well. On May 19 the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire will honor Howard with its 2019 Global Leadership Award. As the news release tells us: “CCA Global is a national and international leader and trendsetter in cooperatives. Building on their people before profits vision and model, the company helps family businesses effectively compete with large businesses by pulling them together under the cooperative model. Brodsky’s mission has always been to help entrepreneurs succeed in an unpredictable global market by providing them with the scale and innovations they need to survive.” Congratulations, Howard!

LARRY CARVER | carver1680@gmail.com
P.O. Box 103, Rico, Colorado, 81332 512/478-8968