Class Notes | 1960s

Walt Odets sends, “Hello and good wishes from San Francisco.”

Jerry Martin is “depressed by the approach of his 50th high school reunion. Will probably retire and join the ultra senior golf tour. Until then, Milton, Melville, and Shakespeare inform my life.”

John Mihalec is back from two weeks in Vietnam. “Saw Bridges of Madison County, a new Jeff Richards’ musical.”

Ed Hayes remembers Brad Rainer “as a wonderful guy, with a ready smile and zest for life, who loved music and was always the first to know the newest great sound. My focus on anti-gun violence activities, particularly the Yellow Tape Project. We hosted the cyclists from Sandy Hook.”

Bill Sketchley writes, “Too many people dying too young. Brad and I were in high school together. Even 75 is young for a man. Have a new wheelchair mini-van and a great massage therapist. Life is looking up. No complaints, plugging along, and glad to be in warm weather with great neighbors.”

Paul Melrose says, “Looking forward to our 50th. Had dinner with Wendy and Fred Coleman in Madison, Wis., which is likely to be our retirement home.”

Steve Broker is “deeply saddened by Brad’s death. Kind, generous, great contributor of time and energy to Wes. Led an exemplary professional and personal life. I looked forward to seeing him at Reunions.”

Tony Mohr writes, “Brad and I worked on the Argus together. A good man. I try lots of cases in Superior Court, am vice chair of the Ethics Committee of CA Judges Association, and teach civil procedure at Southwestern University Law School.”

Rip Hoffman says, “I roomed with Brad second half of freshman year. Met his family one Thanksgiving. Really good guy—we reconnected at the 40th. I’ve retired to Westport and do some church consulting. Saw Fred Coleman at a YMCA conference in Silver Bay, N.Y. We agreed we both look great for our age.”

From John Wilson, “All is well—knock on wood.”

John Bach is “Friend in Residence at Friends Meeting in Cambridge and the Quaker chaplain at Harvard.”

Ron Reisner “attended two Wesleyan basketball games this season. In November I was at the Herb Kenny Tourney with Dick Emerson ’68, Pat Dwyer ’67, and Steve Knox. In November I caught the game at Baruch College. The team, young and energetic, lacked outside shooting, but will be better next season. The ’60s Dekes are supporting Coach Reilly’s excellent basketball program. At the June golf outing, we should have Emerson, Dwyer, Knox, Pat Kelly, Jack Sitarz, Fran Spadola, Bob Woods ’70, Andy Gregor ’70, and Craig Masterson ’70. The spirit of the Wesleyan athletic program is phenomenal; remember the Little Three football title this past fall. The facilities are far advanced over our era, and the university feels alive, thriving, and well worth the visit.”

From Mike Fairchild, “I’m active in photography and video production. Susie is in several dance troupes. Son Scott ’00 helps run the League of Conservation Voters in DC. Daughter Marnie, U–Vermont, is assistant to the deputy director of Amnesty International. I did a two-week trip with Scott to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Varanasi. Marnie had spent time there in college. We saw the school she attended and met her host family. I learned a lot about Indian culture and history and will produce an AV of our journey.”

Peter Arenella writes, “After teaching law from 1975–2013, at Rutgers, Penn, BU, and UCLA, I retired. With three daughters in school, I needed more money than law professors are paid. I play the stock market to pay for their educations. My wife is a certified court interpreter who also does medical and psychiatric interpreting. If I ever really retire, I will write a novel based on my wife’s life, how love and family can transcend whatever obstacles and tragedies life offers.”

Doug Bell is “reminded it is a short stay. May we all look back and reflect that we lived as kind, generous, and productive a life as Brad. We continue raising investments for our Grasslands Fund and will acquire a fourth Uruguayan farm this summer. Carolyn is busy with Pilates and presented at the South American Pilates Conference in Buenos Aires. Daughter Jessica is about an hour away as assistant director of student affairs at the 45K student U. of South Florida. I remain close to Curt Allen ’71 and correspond with Harry Nothacker and Steve Smith, a Kauai boy doing forestry there. All blessings, Godspeed.”

Darius Brubeck, Matt Ridley, Wesley Gibbens, and Dave O’Higgins are the Darius Brubeck Quartet, just back from South Africa, now touring England with a show, “Jazzlands.” The concerts include hits from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, which globalized jazz in the 1950s.

Peter Jones says, “For those at Wes during the munchies-enhanced ’60s, O’Rourke’s steamed cheeseburgers were an icon. Cookscountry.com has a recipe for this ultimate burger.”

Peter Pfeiffer writes, “Time is taking its toll on our class. After 40 years of logging Maine’s woods, I’m publishing a book next fall. Hard Chance: Tree Farming in Troubled Times explains my occupation. Maine Authors Publishing is the publisher. A related video will be on Kickstarter. I’m looking at four feet of snow, sub-zero temperatures. Yikes! Starting to get nervous.”

Jim Adkins still doctors halfdays and plays trombone at night. “Will be at adult band camp during Reunion and later see Bob Kayser and Mike Fink, former roomies. First grandson born, total now three.”

Jeff Richards writes, “Peter Cunningham, Richard Lopatin ’70, former roommate Pete Michaelson ’71, Todd Jick ’71, President Michael Roth ’78, and Teddy Kennedy, Jr. ’83, came to opening of All the Way. Then Blithe Spirit opened in London. April saw The Realistic Joneses in New York. I think I like my work.”

April 1st. Snowing. Had snow on the ground forever. Daughters moved—Annie to Yardley, Pa., Liz to Chapin, S.C. We would like to live closer to them. We’re gathering Deb’s short stories for publication. I’ve cleaned the barn to re-open the art gallery. Our doors are always open to classmates.

CHArLIE FARROW |charlesfarrow@comcast.net
1 Cold Spring Rd., East Haddam, CT 06423

Johns Hopkins University Press published Cut These Words into My Stone: Ancient Greek Epitaphs, translated by our own Michael Wolfe who has been flying high but, until now, under the radar of yours truly. A little research revealed he has focused largely on bringing an understanding of his Muslim faith to a wider audience. Highlights include a string of publications (novels, essays, travel accounts, and verse) and writing awards; founding and operating a publishing company; co-founding an educational media company; producing a number of documentaries for PBS, some of which were broadcast world-wide through National Geographic International; hundreds of interviews for regional and national radio and television broadcast; and hosting a show on Nightline that was nominated for an Emmy and a Peabody. Based just east of Monterey in San Juan Bautista, Michael has traveled throughout Africa, taught at Andover and Exeter, and lectured at schools like Harvard and Stanford.

Ray Solomon, dean of the Rutgers School of Law­–Camden, has been named to the newly created role of provost for the Camden campus. Under his leadership as dean (in which role he will continue to serve), the school opened a $37 million classroom building and greatly expanded its clinical and pro bono legal programs. His wife, Carol Avins, is an emerita professor of Slavic Literature at Rutgers. Their older daughter, Claire, is working for a small foundation in New York that funds innovative Jewish educational projects and their younger daughter, Jess, is traveling during a gap year before starting Goucher College.

Ray was also kind enough to tell me more about “the Gardner Open”—a golf fellowship of Ted Ahern, Dave Gruol, Pete Hardin, Jacques LeGette, Steve Horvat, Craig Dodd, Dick Emerson and Ray, which has been playing for three or four days each July since 1968. Named after their first venue in Massachusetts, they have been playing with a steadily increasing membership at rotating locations up and down the East Coast. From all points on the campus: Pete, Dave, Jacques, and Steve were all on the baseball team; Craig, Pete, and Ray were all on the same floor of Hewitt 9; and, Ted and Pete were classics majors. Steve retired after many years as general counsel of a life insurance company in Chicago and now lives in South Carolina. Pete retired from the Air Force and then taught classics in Newport News, Va., from which he is now retired. Ted recently retired from the Classics Department at Boston College, which he chaired for many years. Jacques works in Atlanta with an architectural firm as a project manager. Craig has been practicing matrimonial law for many years in north Jersey. Dave lives near Craig and is a photographer. Dick is an attorney in Danbury.

While I knew Tim Polk at Wes, it was not until I moved to New Haven to attend divinity school that we became close. A couple of years ahead of me at divinity school and a lot smarter, he would school me in theology during the week and in football on Saturdays at the Yale Bowl. Thus, it is with a note of particular sadness that I learned from his wife, Lucy, that Tim’s early-onset Alzheimer’s has progressed to the point that he needed to go into a nursing home to meet his needs.

I heard from Lynn Coe ’69 who recently retired after practicing law for 41 years first in Seattle, then in Chicago, and finally in Boston doing municipal bonds for healthcare organizations. He was with Jones Day, a huge international firm, since 1996. Self-described as “one of Hoy’s Boys outliers, married to a Smithy for 45 years; two sons: one a doctor (Dartmouth ’00, Yale Med ’06) and the other a lawyer (Wes ’06 and Kent Law ’11). Likes to hunt, fish and travel;” politically conservative; and happy to see Wes win some football games.

I must tell you belatedly that Robert Blake died of a heart attack as he returned from his daily jog on Feb. 9, 2013. Clearly one of those fascinating classmates I should have known but did not, I will excerpt from his Washington Post obituary: He moved to India when he was 11, to Tehran, and back to India for high school. He earned a PhD in economics from Michigan and moved to the DC area, working for the U.S. Treasury in various international affairs departments for 15 years before taking a job as a development economist at The World Bank. He concentrated on Africa, a continent that he grew to love deeply. (Bob believed economic development was pretty simple: empower women.) Following postings in Cameroon, Uganda, and Madagascar, he retired to Arlington, Va., in 2009. Survived by his wife, Claudia, of 44 years, he discovered the joy of child development in retirement, spending a great deal of time with his grandchildren.

Locally: Judy and I moved out of New Haven two years ago to Branford, a nearby town on the shoreline. Since then, I have discovered one of the town’s features/leading citizens are Chris and Gary Wanerka ’62. Gary is a most amiable and legendary pediatrician who specializes in allergies. They live in the woods on the other side of town and he is now working just enough to underwrite their vice—worldwide travel.

I have been teaching young men at a maximum-security prison for almost 10 years. But, in the fall, I was put back into a classroom with 16 feisty felons after tutoring the past few years, and that change in assignment put things outside my comfort zone. So I packed it in. (After which, I sat down with my financial planner to see if I could afford to retire.) I have no grand plan and know I need to think about reinventing myself. But for now I am on my stationary bike most days, went off to Costa Rica with dear friends, reading a lot, and marveling at having all day every day be mine.

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

I used Wesconnect to send an e-blast to all members of the class for whom Wesleyan has an e-mail, asking for info. In that e-mail I also asked what event remains most vivid in your memories. I mentioned that a vivid memory for me was learning about JFK’s assassination (I was in Downey House). The responses have been fascinating—some brief, some detailed.

Not surprisingly, Kennedy’s assassination was also a vivid memory for many of those who responded. Mike Feagley remembered learning about Kennedy in the following way: “When someone on campus told me in my third month at Wesleyan that ‘the president has been shot,’ I wondered at first why anyone would attack Vic Butterfield. I got a bit less stupid as time went on and Les Gelb broadened my perspective.”

George McKechnie wrote this about the assassination: “The JFK assassination was a turning point in my life. I heard the news while dissecting a fetal pig for freshman biology. My fantasies of becoming a surgeon were quickly deflated, and I began to think about studying human motivation and personality—which I later did.”

Dave Garrison put the death of JFK in the larger framework of the five years he spent getting his Wesleyan degree: “My graduation was delayed by my year abroad in Spain. JFK was killed in the fall of my first year, then Martin Luther King in the spring of my last year, and RFK two days before my graduation. The speaker was Leonard Bernstein, who was a close friend of the Kennedy family, and he was grief stricken. Having my college years bracketed by assassinations left me, even at that age, with a sense of the fragility of life.”

Brian Sichol wrote: “Certainly JFK’s death. Got in a car and attended the funeral with Cliff Arnebeck, John Murdock, and Dave Cadbury. A moment in history.”

For a few who wrote, the moment in history they recalled had to do with Wesleyan football. As Mike Klein put it, “winning the Little Three football title in 1966 was Incredible.” Andy Barada was more specific: “One memory was being at Williams for a historic football victory! I have a splinter from there somewhere in the house. If my memory serves me correctly, our mutual friend, Ollie Hickel, caught the winning TD pass.”

Jeff Hicks did not refer to a historical football moment, but wrote about a more recent encounter he had with the football team in November 2013 (the team was on its way to winning the Little Three): “Was asked to give a talk to alumni, students, and athletes about the ‘pursuit of Excellence in Learning’ and how students differ now in terms of learning skills. This lecture was initiated by Mike Whalen, current football coach, and a person who, along with President Roth, has changed the culture regarding athletes and athletic success at Wesleyan. I had the opportunity to address the football team at their new practice field and both my brother (Peter ’72) and I spent the evening at dinner with Coach Whalen and Riley discussing the successes they were enjoying. Most importantly, the next day at the football game, which 6–7,000 people attended, was an incredible display of Wesleyan pride, spirit, and pure joy in being together watching history being made. The field behind the stadium was filled with cars, tents, venues serving food, drink, and selling Wesleyan wear for all in attendance. The crowd was passionately committed to Wesleyan and hopes that continued success with support will follow. Great to see some of the old boys at the DKE house and all the incredible facilities that the students today have at their disposal.”

Bill Vetter recalled working with Upward Bound students during the summer after his junior year, and described some memorable moments, including the following: “One Saturday, we took about six cars and drove to the mountains in New Hampshire. In my car, about four of them were in the back of the station wagon playing poker, trying to look bored. We finally got to the park where we could ‘climb’ the mountain, really just a couple of miles hike up a path, but up above tree line where the views were spectacular. The kids said they didn’t want to take the hike. They preferred staying in the car playing poker. The man who ran the program (sorry I don’t remember his name after 48 years) said, ‘Fine. Out of the car.’ He locked it, and the rest of us started up. Grumbling and griping, the reluctant four trudged on. As we got higher, the trees started to thin out, and one could sometimes glimpse a distant vista. The reluctant ones started to get excited. The higher we went, the faster they climbed. At the end, they literally ran up the path, jumping and shouting about how great it was. The memory of seeing them experience something so freshly has never left me. I learned a lot more that summer—about the poorer parts of Middletown down near the river; about government programs; about kids whose exposure was so small that they had never been to either Boston or New York City. It lifted me upward, I’m sure.”

And Bob Callahan sent a number of vivid memories. Here’s one of them: “One from my freshman year stands out as the metaphor for Wesleyan during the Butterfield years: I was passing the Chapel and heard beautiful organ music. I went inside that dark and welcoming sanctuary and was there alone, listening to E. Power Biggs practice in advance of a concert. A kind woman came in and sat with me, kind of amazed that a student would be inside the chapel on a gorgeous day, one that called for frisbee, touch football, or softball. We had a nice chat and then she invited me to visit her at home. It was Kay Butterfield, the president’s wife, and I visited with her and the president for an afternoon. Where else does that kind of thing happen?”

There’s more, including some news about those who wrote, but Bob’s question, “Where else does that kind of thing happen?” seems like a good place to end for now. More next time.

Richie Zweigenhaft | rzweigen@guilford.edu

Aloha all. Hope summer is treating you well. First, our apologies for not recognizing sooner the passing of our classmates Guntis (Gus) Lemesis and Jon Mekeel last year. Our thoughts go out to both familes. Gus with his wife Susan lived in Alpharetta, Ga., where he served as vice president for Scientific Atlantic, Inc. At Wes, Gus was a member of Alpha Delt and very active in things music as well as basketball, baseball, and cross-country. Jon made his home in Essex Fells, N.J.

Wes alums continue to do great things. I regularly see Bill Tam ’70 who serves as our state’s water tsar within the State Department of Land and Natural Resources. He also sits on the board of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which is planning a epic around-the-world voyage in two fashioned Polynesian double-hulled sailing vessels to call attention to the importance of our oceans and their resources. One of these canoes, Hokule`a, has sailed across the Pacific from the U.S. continental West Coast, to Alaska, Japan, and throughout the Pacific over the past 35 years and is a legend among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans/Alaska natives. You will be able to track these canoes and their sail on hokulea.org/world-wide-voyage. They left on this four-year voyage on May 17th; first stop, Tahiti. School children around the world are following this effort and so can all of you seventinarians; it’s never too late!

By now you all know that we took the Little Three Championship in football last season. Well, folks, we’ve just taken the Time Magazine’s Little Three Challenge as well! In the April 7, 2014, edition of Time (page 8), the magazine ranks graduates from “hundreds of schools” in terms of the relative influence of their alumni (I would guess ‘in the world’). The results:

Wesleyan vs. Amherst: Wesleyan alums are 1.11 times more influential than Amherst alums (56.5 compared to 50.8)

Wesleyan vs. Williams: Wesleyan alums are 2.03 times more influential than Williams alums (56.5 compared to 27.8)

If you want to do more comparisons go online: time.com/collegerankings

Finally, I know, classmates, you are out there and doing good things. Please let us know what these things are and drop me an e-mail or a card. I have a new e-mail, having recently joined the ranks of those of you with expanding “honey-do” lists after retirement. Our final thought proverb comes from the Cook Islands:

Ko te kata te vaerakau putuputu o te kopapa. Laughter is the constant medicine of the body. Let us all take this to heart and get at least one good laugh in every day. A plea for news…I know all of us are moving towards the big “R” (retirement), if we’re not already there. Please let us know what you are doing or plan to do (besides joining us all for the 50th in a few years. We need your thoughts to augment our ‘honey-do’ lists…e-mail me.

Hardy Spoehr | hspoehr7@gmail.com
1833 Vancouver place, honolulu, hawai’i, 96822
808/944 8601

One of the benefits of living in Connecticut is being able visit our beloved campus on a regular basis. That was the case on a beautiful day in early April when I watched the Cardinal baseball team beat Williams 4-1. (The next day Wesleyan traveled to Williamstown and swept the Ephs 7-2 and 12-2.) During the game in Middletown, I had the pleasure of chatting with head football coach and athletic director Mike Whalen ’83, and head baseball coach Mark Woodworth ’94 (and his lovely wife, Robin ’97). Both Mike and Mark are doing a superb job, but always need our help in letting them know of outstanding student-athletes in our communities for whom Wesleyan would be a good fit. No need to do any recruiting: just give them a name and they’ll take it from there.

At the game also had a good chat with fellow Deke Pat Dwyer ’67. Pat was a standout football and baseball player and was the first of three brothers to graduate from Wesleyan, the other two being Kevin ’68 and Tom ’72. Pat’s son, Dan, didn’t get the memo and ended up at Williams where he was an outstanding quarterback, golfer, and student. Dan now practices law with his father and Pat proudly proclaims, “I now work for him!”

John Dunton sent a great holiday letter. Here are a few excerpts: “2013 included a lot of family and travel. To escape the cold winter we traveled to Belize and Guatemala on a small ship tour, visiting Mayan ruins, snorkeling and touring the countryside. Later, we gathered with two sons, their wives and five of the grandchildren and went skiing in New Hampshire, a gift of my mother to the family.

“Our 1973 Volvo 164 was driven to two Concours d’Elegance shows. Our second Concours appearance was at a very prestigious show in Saratoga, N.Y. We were surprised she was accepted: ‘Lucille’ was really out of her class; to the left was a 1952 Jaguar roadster and to the right was an Aston-Martin DB4, collectively worth perhaps $600,000, but she showed well and had many admirers. She also won ‘People’s Choice’ in class for the second time in three years at a Boston show.

“We took a 10-day trip to Memphis, Tenn., and saw Elvis Presley’s house (Graceland); Sun Studio where Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison got their start, and Stax soul music museum, a very interesting place to visit. We then went to Little Rock, Ark., and visited with the drummer in my band (yes, you can find YouTube clips by searching Gary and The Wombats; we were filmed at the 50th reunion of the band). In Bentonville, Ark., we visited the spectacular Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and we also visited Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs—a simple but elegant wood-and-glass place of great beauty, peace and serenity. Christmas found us along the Main River on a river­boat cruise from Frankfurt to Nuremberg.

“For Carol it was another year of work; somewhere in the future she will agree to retire. I continue to work as well; Carol’s singing continued, with participation in concert performances with several groups, including singing the Canadian and American national anthems at Fenway Park.

“We’re looking forward to meeting more friends and experiencing more travel in 2014. Our big trip will be a boat journey which the tour company calls ‘In the Wake of the Vikings’ from Copenhagen to the islands off the coast of Scotland. We will then tour Scotland.”

For a great article by Steve Badanes on the value of his Wesleyan education, click on “This is Why” on the Wesleyan home page, and scroll down until you see his Fremont Troll. Wesleyan invites each of us to write a paragraph or two on why Wesleyan was important in our lives—something to consider!

Steve Rhinesmith has his own company and is also senior adviser at Mercer Leadership Development in Chatham, Mass., a firm specializing in professional training and coaching. Steve earned his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh and has been a leadership consultant with numerous major companies around the world. He is the author or co-author of four books and 30 articles on leadership development. Steve has many years of senior international management experience, including 15 as president of the AFS International Student Exchange Program and Holland America Cruise Lines. He also served for 10 years as a senior leadership consultant to the World Bank and was President Reagan’s coordinator for U.S.-Soviet Exchanges with the rank of U.S. Ambassador.

Bill Trapp (and wife Marilyn)—Wesleyan’s greatest baseball fans—recently went from their home in West Hills, Calif., to Tucson to watch the Cards play four games during their Arizona spring training trip. Bill’s still a top producer at his insurance agency, but finds time for golf and even plans to play in the alumni game at Wesleyan in May. At that time, the college will be honoring the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, including Jeff Hopkins ’66. Jeff was an outstanding baseball and football player and was drafted by the New York Yankees.

Finally, had an exchange of e-mails with Tom Elliman (The Aleman) around a recent speech in Portland, Maine, by Morrie Heckscher ’62, chairman/curator of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Morrie’s keynote address (a big success), was part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of Greater Portland Landmarks, a nonprofit of which Tom is a trustee. Tom noted that “as students of Art Professor Sam Green, Morrie and I were joined by Paul Stevens ’59, a local architect and great­grandson of John Calvin Stevens, a nationally known architect.”

Asked Tom about his career and life and he replied: “I retired from Ford Motor Co. (Ford racing program—12 years) in 2006 and by October, Betsy and I had left Detroit in a 20’ RV for a trip around the perimeter of the country. Seven months and 17,000 miles later we landed back in Maine which was our target. Along the way, at church in Santa Barbara I accidentally re-connected with Denny Bacon ’68, whom I had not seen since Commons Club days nearly 40 years earlier. Anyway, we bought a house overlooking Portland Harbor and immersed ourselves in a community we had lived outside of in the ’70s and ’80s. Much different being in an exciting small city. Tons going on, and we have tapped into most of it. My major focus has been Greater Portland Landmarks (and related preservation activities), where I am scheduled to become board chairman in the fall. Lots of Wesleyan folks around here, as you can imagine. In fact we have a Commons Club mini-reunion here each year around Labor Day. Our two girls both live along the Connecticut shore and we have four grandchildren whom we see as often as possible. We love to travel, and since moving back have visited Italy, Australia, Scotland, Israel, and Russia. Plus we like to hang out in Key West, too. Looking forward to our 50th!

Chuck Hearey writes: “Living in Orinda, Calif., and working full-time as chief-of-pediatrics at the area Kaiser-Permanente facility. I thoroughly enjoy my practice and administrative work. We have accomplished a lot in setting quality care and access standards and increasingly are being looked upon as a national model for health care delivery. I was also appointed to the medical advisory committee for the statewide California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school athletics…. Had my second knee replaced and feel great—even have enjoyed playing some doubles and light skiing. Two of our three children (Ray, child psychiatrist, and Katy, marketing/architect) have moved back to California with their spouses and live nearby. Sarah works in fashion design in New York City. Dede is still working part-time in school law, and we are enjoying our three darling grandchildren.”

PHILIP L. ROCKWELL | prockwell@wesleyan.edu 860/693-1832

I have been working on our class 50th Reunion committee and would like to acknowledge those classmates who have spent months working on the Reunion with e-mails, conference calls, idea sessions, and many hours reflecting on how quickly the time has elapsed.

We have been led by three co-chairs, Frank Judson, Steve Oleskey, and Bill White. Frank has been awesome in leading our conference calls and you can see that as a physician in the field of infectious disease, he has learned to share his ideas and opinions particularly in being a leader in his medical community in Colorado dealing with the HIV epidemic. Success has been realized with HIV treatment and protocols, and I can see where Frank Judson has been a contributor.

Steve has complemented Frank’s leadership with his attention to detail and his attorney training to lend concise suggestions and keep the committee on course. Bill adds his organizing skill to our leaders and his commitment to seeing the Reunion achieve success serving classmates who find their way back to Wesleyan.

Others involved with the committee include Steve Baker, Clark Lambert, Edgie Russell, Bill Medd, Nick Puner, David Skaggs, and Don Ware. I was editor for the class book, which will be available at the Reunion, but I contacted Peter Sipples many months ago and he did most of the work putting things together. He lives in the Connecticut area and his availability has been invaluable in reviewing all the elements displayed in the publication.

Michael Palmer was a member of our crew but his untimely death was an unwelcome reminder of our vulnerability. I have communicated with Michael over the years and we were pointing to the 50th Reunion as a significant milestone. He will be sorely missed.

Fred Motz missed the opportunity to submit to the 50th Reunion book, because we had an incorrect e-mail address for him. He sent what he would have submitted—which we’ve excerpted below. (The full version is on the Class Notes web site: classnotes.blogs.wesleyan.edu). He also adds, “I was only at my Reunion for one night but I very much enjoyed walking around the campus and seeing my friends who were there.

“The past 50 years: I went directly from Wesleyan to the University of Virginia Law School from which I graduated in 1967. In 1968 I clerked for a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In September of that year Diana Gribbon (whom I met at UVA) and I were married, and she has put up with me ever since. We have two wonderful children and two grandchildren, who brighten our lives. After unsuccessfully trying to become a Marine, I joined a law firm in Baltimore, then became an Assistant United States Attorney, and later rejoined the same law firm. In 1981 I was appointed as the United States Attorney in Maryland, and in 1985 I was appointed as a United States District Judge by President Reagan. I have served as a District Judge since that time, and I have enjoyed every minute of the job. Longevity has provided the opportunity to be on several national committees and to try many interesting and complex cases…

“Memories of Wesleyan: Being a member of a talented and fun-loving team that put Wesleyan on the lacrosse map. Listening to Ray Charles in the Harriman Hall room I shared with Dick Colton and Gary Cook. Friendships—and attempting to develop the capacity to be alone. … Observing how old the members of the class of 1914 appeared when they led the reunion parade. Being grateful not so much for knowledge that was imparted to me but for being taught to try to ask good questions.”

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

Bob Gelardi is on the board, and chair of the Charity Relations Committee, of the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation in Miramar Beach, Fla. In 2013, the charity donated nearly $1.4 million to a dozen charities supporting children and was ranked as the #6 Charity Wine Auction by Wine Spectator, which Bob wrote, “for a small town known as ‘The Luckiest Fishing Village in the World’ isn’t bad.” He urges anyone interested to check out the website dcwaf.org

Dave Hedges reports that in February, Betsy and Ted Hillman and Janet and Phil Calhoun flew down to join Ann and Dave at Dave’s place in Naples, Fla., and “they were all glad to escape the cold and snow of up north.” Dave explained, “It was a reunion of the boat charter we three couples took in the British Virgin Islands eight years ago when we were younger and more agile. We enjoyed lots of fun, laughter, relaxation, and too much good food. Always good to get together with good friends from our Wesleyan years.”

Bob Saliba retired Jan. 1st after 47 years of practicing law. Bob practiced estate law in Morristown, N.J., and was the author of numerous publications on estate law.

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

Recent literary contributions from classmates have enhanced this class notes report, providing us with sufficient and gratifying updates. Pete Dybwad shows his own personal ecstasy, writing: “Life remains great. Still working, because I love what I do, and still living in Berkeley, because it’s 70 degrees outside in mid-March.”

Who could have guessed, as your class secretary is scratching away at his viola while viewing the audience before him, that a familiar Wesleyan face would appear? In his own words: “Bob Johnson writes that he has seen Jon Magendanz several times in Venice, Fla., as a violist in the remarkable Venice Symphony. A man of many talents, Jon contributes his musical talent to this renowned southwestern Florida symphony of more than 70 instrumentalists. Bob is also planning to see Jan Westerman, in Long Beach, Calif., during a visit to California later this year. Bob and his wife Suzanne live seven months each year in Nokomis, Fla. (just north of Venice), and the other five months in Pocahontas, Pa. (Two American Indians maidens—quite a coincidence.) They are both members of their Florida church choir, where his wife also solos and assists in directing as requested. He is vice president of his country club and is co-chairman of Men to Men, the organization for men with prostate cancer, providing support, guidance, and education. This September, Bob and Suzanne are planning a 16-day safari trip to Tanzania and Kenya, after which Bob will have visited 48 countries (mostly on business). He reports that ‘retirement is good. Only those who do not go outside their doors are not busy and active. Here’s to the future!’”

Terry Allen just cannot seem to capture the concept of retirement. In apology, he writes: “I know I should be retired, but I am now running three companies (Terry’s Tips, Da Vinci Body Board, and Coffee Can Investing) and just finished writing a book called Coffee Can Investing: Why Everything You Believe About Financial Planning Is Probably Wrong (in 2014).” Terry plans to take two two-week hiking trips in Europe this year, because he cries: “Otherwise, I’m just bored. Life is good!”

Dan Elliott writes: “Great time in the past year visiting my daughter, Maggie ’06, in Boston while she pursues her juvenile justice PhD at Tufts and my niece, Jessie Morris Adams ’04, and her husband Bryan ’04, in Nashville, while Jessie pursues a Vanderbilt PhD. Other (non-Wes-kid) visits have been to Germany where my son, Tim, works for Fuji Health Systems assisting roadside bomb victims from Iraq and Afghanistan; my son, Peter, in Nashville as a Vanderbilt athletic trainer and my son, Dan III, who is Obama’s chair of the Surface Transportation Board. Old age is fun with all of these accomplished progeny.”

Nancy and Paul Dickson’s son, Alex, was married last July 4th to Caitlyn Schnure. “Wesleyan celebrants at this wonderful event,” writes Paul, “included Tim Bloomfield, Doug Evelyn ’63, and Brian Murphy ’64. Alex’s brother Andrew Dickson ’95 was the officiant who performed the wedding ceremony.” Paul’s latest book Authorisms—Words Wrought by Writers was published by Bloomsbury USA on April 23, 2014, William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday.

Robert Hammond writes: “Still enjoying retirement, seven months in Florida, five in Rhode Island. Carol and I are enjoying Vermont’s late snow. We Nordic (cross country) ski on community trails that cross our back field, and Alpine (downhill) at Pico and other areas. We have a seasonal ‘camp’ in the Adirondacks.”

George Little provides us with a multi-faceted update: “I retired from clinical medicine when I reached 40 years of attending call as a pediatrician/neonatologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. I miss the clinical and teaching team care of babies and their parents, but not the night and weekend call. It was time to step aside for those younger. Carol retired from her clinical and faculty position as a child development specialist. We are now enjoying our first grandchild and commuting to Oregon from Vermont to provide granny-care. Ellis was born in October. His mom is a pediatrician. I continue to have more than enough to do and am very involved in global pediatrics through and with the American Academy of Pediatrics. Helping Babies Breathe (HBB), a neonatal resuscitation program for resource limited areas is my main focus. I’m bookending my career in Malawi, where I served as a Peace Corps physician in the 1960s and now mentor the HBB program there. I’ve been to many countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. Carol and I have done training together in Mozambique, Sudan (Khartoum), and Kenya, as well as Malawi. Bob Carey, Jack Woodbury, and I, along with spouses, have enjoyed getting together since our last Reunion. We’re planning on Montreal via the Adirondacks this summer. I see Dom Squatrito and Carla quite regularly. Enough. Thanks, Jon, for getting us to submit info.”

Classmates’ submission of material that did not appear in this column’s publication will appear in the next issue. Thank you for your patience and please, keep writing.

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

Sue and Jim Dover went on a 10-week trip to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway from mid-April to June 2013. They were on a riverboat at tulip time in Holland and Belgium and later took a maritime cruise along the coast of northern Norway. Jim is working on a Shutterfly book that will document their travels and that will be useful for reliving the experience in their “old age.”

Chris Campbell wrote the following: “When I was a kid there was a radio announcer in Providence called Ernie Anderson (1923–1997). He was very funny and was a really popular radio personality. He did not stay long in Providence before being lured away by WHK in Cleveland.

“One of the songs that Ernie often played is etched in my memory and it comes back whenever I read about persistence in the face of enormous difficulty. The song was the sound of a military bugler during a charge. Every time he sounds the charge, his bugle is struck by a bullet or some other missile. For a moment there is no sound, and then the bugler sounds the charge anew only to be struck down again and again and again. The music becomes more and more ragged, but the charge continues through the song’s fade-out. The bugler seems almost impossible to halt and the listener gets the feeling that the bugler is indeed damaged but unstoppable. Every time Ernie Anderson played that song I laughed, but I also got a strong sense of how important it is to keep chugging ahead because none of the alternatives seems any better.

“After 65 we all become bugle players, charging into a fresh battle each time we step out of bed in the morning. It is what we do because the alternatives are dismal. Damaged or not we charge into battle because we never live so well as when overcoming something that could do us in.”

The 5th Bolivian Conference on Development Economics was hosted by Universidad Pravada de Santa Cruz de la Sierra on Nov. 14 –15, 2013. It was attended by about 330 persons (a 64 percent increase compared to last year) from 13 countries and consisted of three keynote lectures, a round-table discussion on energy, and 50 contributed research papers. The Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences selected the best papers at the conference and was represented by President Enrique Garcia-Ayaviri.

The following message was received from Mario Damiata (mddamiata@aol.com): “My father passed away on the Wesleyan campus in June 1960 when he went into sudden cardiac arrest. He was an employee of the university at the time. I am writing to try and locate the two seniors who were on campus that day and tried to revive him. After all of these years I would like to express my gratitude for their efforts. I am sure those involved will remember the incident. Could you please pass along this message to members of the Class of 1960 in the hope that those students might still be alive and may contact me. Thank you. P.S.: I was accepted into the Class of 1970 but elected to attend another college.” Please contact Mario Damiata if you know anything about this incident in June 1960.

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

The Hon. Judge Leonard Edwards, now retired, writes: “I had lunch with Bill Needham recently. Very interesting. He is involved in a gold-digging project in Colombia. We had a great time. He is a bundle of energy and very jolly, hugging everyone in sight. He says he’ll be a billionaire when the project gets going!” (Alumni Office take note!) But further info on Len, somewhat disquieting: As a somewhat belated wedding gift, I gave Len and his wife Marcia a fine, Liberty jigsaw puzzle depicting their home state, California. I had found that they were fellow jigsaw puzzlers. They were delighted and apparently agreed to only work on it together. Well, it was with shock that one morning Marcia discovered that someone had slyly snuck in and had been working on the puzzle during the night! Hell to pay! Accusations! Flimsy denials! All leading to total caving. Decision: as it was not a felony, only a misdemeanor, Marcia was granted equal, solo catch-up puzzle time. Peace restored. I must add that it pains me to drop a dime on a fellow classmate like this.

From the L.A. area, Lew Whitney says that he has “nothing exciting to report.” Of course, at our age, that’s probably a good thing. He was sorry to miss our 50th but a pre-existing one month trip to France got in the way. His missing the 50th was somewhat made up for, as he attended the Pre-Reunion gathering down at Bill Roberts’ place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Lew is semi-retired now and will fully retire in March. He will probably continue as he is now doing, with some consulting and design work on the side, which he says he does “for wine money.” Lew got into sailing at 7 with his dad. In ’84 he got this first boat and has had many since, most in the 40-foot range. In his current 40-footer, Ventana, he and his wife of 20 years, Toby (“a wonderful sailing partner!”) frequently sail the 20 miles out to Santa Catalina. Last year they spent 36 nights aboard Ventana, generally moored off Santa Catalina. You might recall Lew’s picture of himself in our Reunion Book, paddle boarding, something he had taken up relatively recently. After getting over the falling-off part of the learning process, he now goes for long paddles up and down the coast. He says that in the past it was very common to see lots of sharks along the coast and on the way out to and around Santa Catalina. But the Asian love of shark fins has led to the shark population being decimated, which has led to an ecological crisis as unchecked seal populations are now overrunning the shores, taking over docks as haul-out spots and climbing onto any moored boats they can get up onto. He says for a long time now he hasn’t seen a shark large enough to eat him on any of his frequent paddle board trips. Lew and Toby have four children between them (he was divorced and she was widowed) and five grandchildren aged 1–15 years. While he does not race himself, he used to do a lot of exciting crewing on a friend’s steel-hulled, 54-foot race boat, working as a grinder opposite one of the bigger and stronger youngsters, thereby making Lew’s job easier. He vividly recalls the frantic start of one fleet race when they lost their steering and rammed the Committee boat.

Robert Gallamore writes: “My book co-authored with my Harvard mentor, American Railroads: Decline and Renaissance the 20th Century, will be released by Harvard U. Press 6/2/14!” (You can read more about it at HUP or Amazon websites under his name.) “This was a 15-year project, the roots of which were in my study of economics and government regulations of industry under Prof. Joseph Palamountain and Prof. Richard Miller at WesU. It brings together material from my academic studies and teaching, a first career in government, and a second with Union Pacific in NYC and Omaha.”

A tidbit of info on the son of a former stalwart of Chi Psi, Jim Reynolds. His son, James IV, has been a Major League baseball umpire since ’99. He graduated from the Jim Vans Umpire Academy in ’92, taught there for three years, and then worked his way up through several levels of minor leagues to the big leagues in ’99. Since then he has umped four Divisional series, two ALCS series, and an All-Star game. Not bad for a kid who didn’t follow his father to Wes, though he did at least go to another college in Connecticut, UConn. The elder Jim now lives with his wife, Nancy, in Gilbert, Ariz.

Walt Donaghy sent in some sad news: “Jim Mattson passed away quietly in his sleep 7/22/13. He was with his family (children and grandchildren) on a family vacation in N.C., when he died. Jim and I were roommates all four years, members of Sigma Nu/Kappa Nu Kappa, and lived on the top floor of our fraternity house our last three years. We’ve been friends ever since the fall of ’59, our freshman year, when we were assigned to a double room in Andrus Hall on Foss Hill. Jim ‘Matt’ played football (halfback and punter) freshman through senior year. A few years ago he was told that he’d held the punting record at Wes until very recently. Of course we had to have some serious losing games then to establish a punting record—too many ‘3 and outs.’ Matt wrote a very nice, brief and modest bio for our 50th Reunion Book. He couldn’t make it to the Reunion because his grandson was playing in a very important baseball tournament that weekend. As always Matt had his priorities right. Family comes first. He will be missed.”

BYRON S. MILLER | tigr10@optonline.net
5 Clapboard hill rd., westport, ct 06880