Class Notes | 1960s

Dear Classmates,

Thank you to the following who kindly responded to the recent request for news:

Charlie Bassos: “Daughter, Christi Bedan, is a vice president for the Tampa Bay Bucs. She has been awarded a Super Bowl ring and an Emmy. The Emmy was for a series with Brady and Gronkowski on the Bucs website. My five grandchildren: one 12 and the others six and under, all brilliant and all beautiful! Life is wonderful: 43 years of marriage; warm weather in South Carolina, golf twice a week, and survived a heart attack and small stroke.”

Bob Barton: “I’m hanging in there and fortunately playing a lot of tennis. Major Moise is recovering nicely from shoulder surgery. He says he starts hitting golf balls again in two months. Jay Clapp just completed the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh on an 80-plus basketball team (3-on-3 half-court). He was injured in the qualifying games prior to the nationals, but went to Pittsburgh anyway, hoping he would recover enough to play, but could not. Nonetheless, his team made it all the way to the bronze medal game and lost in a valiant effort.” (Congratulations, Jay!)

Bob MacLean: “In touch with Phil Russell, John Dunton, and Ralph “Jake” Jacobs. Jake and I get together at the annual Laguna Seca Raceway in California, where he knows every driver and car history. A great reunion! This year was my 60th year as a private pilot, having upped my credentials along the way to air transport pilot, certified flight instructor/instrument, while owning a Pilatus PC12 for charter; now it just ferries me between Palo Alto, California, and Aspen, Colorado, where I have worked part time at Aspen Snowmass ski school for the last 17 of 47 years as a certified ski instructor.”

Steve Badanes: “Life is good here on Whidbey Island. I’m still teaching our Neighborhood Design/Build Studio every spring at UW (ndbs.be.uw.edu), but the end is in sight and I might hang it up after this year. We got used to not traveling during the pandemic and it’s gotten pretty hard to get me to leave my studio here in the forest, especially this time of year. I sold my place in Vermont to the caretakers and retired from my summer gig at the Yestermorrow School, so I get to stay in the Northwest year-round.”

Clyde Beers: “Summer all good: family, friends, sports, and a wonderful trip to WES U to see our granddaughter, Libby, graduate. Then to Grand Cayman with our daughter Susie’s family. And then our traditional exciting Fourth of July with (self-exploded) fireworks. Gardens started slow, but with some rain later, everything’s blooming. Golf and tennis fun but challenging, with back and neck soreness helped by physical therapy.”

Carl Hoppe: “As I ‘mature,’ I continue half-time the practice of clinical and forensic psychology (family law). At other times, I play doubles tennis regularly, swim at the beach or at the nearby club pool, and walk our 14-pound dog with my wife, Diane, also a psychologist in part-time practice. Health is good enough for us older folks, but they don’t make memory like they used to!”

Gar Hargens: “Turned 80 in April. Missy and I celebrated at Franconia Sculpture Park like we did for my 70th with kids and grandkids and many friends. When I turned 60, Missy said: ‘Architects don’t get good ’til they’re 80, so why not keep going?’ So, I kept working. Latest project is for a Grammy-winning composer on Enchanted Island in Lake Minnetonka. Alpha Delt roommate Bob Leonard and I enjoy keeping in touch. He’s found a Celtic chapel(?!) he wants us to look at in Vermont.”

John Hall: “Daughter, Samantha, just gave birth to identical twin boys, Archer Ray and Rhodes Herbert Diaz. These are grandchildren eight and nine for Annie and me, but who’s counting.

“Continue to see Kit Laybourne ’66 on a regular basis and have re-engaged with my old roommate, Jim Bernegger.  After the reunion last fall, Mike Maloney and I have discovered many interests in common, including our Irish heritage and the challenges and opportunities brought by immigration. Annie is well on a new set of knees. Son, Jeremy ’92, a writer is on strike. Clear to me that he can’t/shouldn’t be replaced by AI. But that promises to be an epic struggle.”

Arthur Rhodes: “Am spending golden years with famous and brilliant designer wife, Leslie Claire Newman (www.SpaceInteriorDesign.com), among blended families: my daughters in Illinois, ages 53 and 51, and their three children each (ages 12 through 21); and Leslie’s three sons in Houston, Texas, and Mandeville, Louisiana, ( ages 46 through 49), and their five children (ages one through 11). Have totally separated from patient care after more than 50 years in academic medical practices at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Time flies taking care of two homes (Illinois and Louisiana) and visiting family. Leisure pursuits include daily walking, gardening, and photography (see Instagram account under my name or PapaZaydeh.”

As your new class secretary, I extend appreciation for the messages from the three classmates below and unashamedly beg the rest of you for more in the coming months. There are no milestones too small, no reflections too revealing—your classmates want to hear them all. Given life’s calendar, our opportunity for reporting is shrinking rapidly. So, don’t tarry.

Brett Seabury wrote: “Wesleyan started my journey to become a ‘lefty.’ Two of my three daughters went on to Wesleyan too. Liz was a French major and Carrie was an American studies major. After graduating from Wesleyan, I went on to graduate school in social work and later a doctorate in social work at Columbia University. My formal education was broken up with another kind of education—three years in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I do not think I can be blamed for losing that war because the Viet Cong never invaded Myrtle Beach or Charleston, even though General Westmoreland was a Carolinian. I spent the next 35 years as an academic at the University of Maryland and University of Michigan. There must be some kind of underlying defect in my career choices to work at two U of Ms.

“During my years at Michigan, I was able to pursue an avocation in sustainable farming:  producing grass-fed beef, chickens, sheep, goats, eggs, maple syrup, and raw honey that were sold at local farmers’ markets. At Wesleyan we were required to take many tests upon entering and exiting, and I remember my Kuder Preferential Test score that placed me highest in farming. After four years at Wesleyan, this test showed an even higher score in farming, which upset my parents who paid tuition all those years. When I look back after 60 years, I’m amazed at the accuracy of the prediction of this test. “I am presently involved in trying to get marinas and boat owners to considered electric boats and electric motors in their recreational boats. Though the Plug Boat Directory shows that most electric boats are made in Europe, the industry is growing here in the USA and Canada. One of the first electric boats was demonstrated at the 1893 Chicago World Fair. Today, many of the electric boat manufacturers are in Florida and California, but the industry is spreading across the USA. I hope we can stop the destruction of our planet for our grandchildren’s sake before it is too late. You can view my efforts at: protectmichiganinlandlakes.com.”

Steve McQuide reported: “While I really wasn’t prepared for the Wesleyan experience, I became a scholar of sorts in law school. I married June in the summer of 1967, and those student deferments caught up with me: three years active duty (infantry OCS, Korea).

“I practiced law in Albany, New York, for 35 years, active in local politics and the Rotary Club. June and I raised two fine boys, and now enjoy traveling in retirement, especially our skiing months in Utah, and our three grandchildren. I gave up drinking years ago, and am content, although I am concerned about the stark division of today’s populace along ideological lines. Intelligent discussion and kindness seem rare.”

David Skaggs, a former Colorado congressman, contributed: “After breaking a hip in a fall while planting strawberries in our garden in April, I am happily recovered with a new titanium post in my right femur. If you ever need a hip replacement, the anterior (not posterior) procedure is the way to go.

“I haven’t quite shed all political activity and am now focused with a group called Citizens to Save Our Republic. The mission is to disabuse folks of the surface appeal of the No Labels effort to field a ‘moderate, independent’ presidential slate. Our polling makes clear that a third-party ticket as proposed by No Labels, i.e., candidates for president and vice president—one R and one D—would pull more votes from Biden than Trump and in a predictably close election, ensure another term for Trump. You can decide if that’s a good idea.

“Hope we’ll have a good turnout for our 60th Reunion next spring.”

This is my first class note since becoming Class Secretary. I have the dubious privilege of being, as you all know, Class Agent as well, so you can expect that I will be asking you for both news and donations.

I am succeeding Jan Van Meter, who sadly passed away unexpectedly, just after beginning cancer treatment, in August 2022, news of which only reached Wesleyan recently. Jan had a varied and interesting career, ranging from service in the navy to CIA intelligence analyst to assistant professor of English, among other things. He retired as a senior public relations executive. His full obituary is published in the most recent copy of the Wesleyan Alumni Magazine.

It is with sadness that I report the recent passing of our classmate, Thomas Spragens, on June 1. Tom had a distinguished academic career at Duke, from which he received his PhD in 1968. His obituary can be read here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/heraldsun/name/thomas-spragens-obituary?id=52246604.

Our 60th Reunion was well attended. The weather was, for once, cooperative, and it was a pleasure to see that everyone had aged gracefully. Despite geographical separation, and the increasing infirmities that age is visiting on all of us, I hope that we will have a sizable contingent at our 65th.

My initial request yielded two responses; I can only hope that future reminders will generate more news. Your classmates do care about what you are doing and where you are.

Fritz Henn writes that he is “still moving about.” He recently returned from Paris, as a granddaughter rowed for the United States in the World Rowing Championships. Her crew won the first heat but finished fifth in the finals—a good result, as the U.S. does not have a national team. Fritz traveled with his son, also a Wesleyan graduate. “Met friends and ate well.”   

Alex Aikman reports: “Ruth and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in October 2022. In September of that year, we marked our 30th year together. In many ways, little has changed or happened in many years in the public side of our lives. The private side, however, has had some challenges as well as highlights. Our four children are happily married and successful in their chosen fields, albeit none living nearby. We now are great-grandparents, which is special on its own. Ruth has made these years wonderful, interesting, and loving. Best thing I’ve done since graduating in ’63. 

“At the end of March this year, we moved from California to Medford, Oregon. We both felt it was time to go even though Ruth, born and raised in California and having spent most of her life there, will always think of herself as a California girl. The move has had its challenges, as do all moves, but we still feel it was the right decision.”

Like probably all of us, Alex is retired. After a brief stint in a law firm, he moved to court administration. “I was able to work for about 45 years in court administration in state courts, with most of those years as a management consultant, to trial and appellate courts across the nation. I have written the leading book on ‘the art and practice of court administration’—also the title—and have contributed to a book that may replace mine as the leading book, which we hope will be published in the first quarter of 2024.”

Two noteworthy outdoors accomplishments top off this report. First, Richard Dranitzke undertook a one-week hiking trip to the Faroe Islands, followed by a second week touring parts of Iceland with his daughter and her two children. The Faroe hike was listed as four out of six in difficulty by its organizers, and despite age‑related concerns expressed by his family, Richard reports that “being the rational, slightly stubborn fellow that I am, I had to go. . . . Faroe Islands are one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!” His photo of himself against the scenic Faroe backdrop confirms this and although conceding that the event was quite challenging, Richard humorously described himself as the best hiker in the group at the final dinner at the end of the trip. 

In another impressive adventure, Walt Fricke “was invited by a friend to join a party canoeing the Horsethief-Ruby Canyon stretch of the Colorado River. After uncovering my canoe from its repose under a tree and confirming that it could be carried on my small SUV,” Walt found “the water was an order of magnitude higher than on my previous trips, and in its one rapid, I got unceremoniously tossed out of my position in the stern by a fierce cross current and swam the rest of the rapid. Fortunately, the canoe didn’t dump, and all ended well.” Kudos to both Richard and Walt.

In a more worrying report, Bruce Menke relates that his youngest son, who holds an MIT PhD in computer science and works for Google, has been slowly recovering from three spinal fractures sustained when he was struck by a large SUV while in a protected Boston crosswalk. Thankfully, after many weeks in a wheelchair followed by assistance with a walker, a full recovery is eventually expected. In other news Bruce and his wife Karen “continue to fight the good fight” for Democratic causes in Athens, Georgia, both with letter writing campaigns and by hosting a fundraiser that brought in nearly $8,000. Their two other sons and a daughter-in-law are all having highly successful careers as tenured professors at the University of Georgia, two in English literature and the other in genetics.

John Hazlehurst reports that despite losing a position with the collapse of his longtime employer, Colorado Publishing, he and wife Karen continue to produce their successful visitor magazine, Colorado Fun, and further have accepted new positions with the weekly Pikes Peak Bulletin. “Otherwise, life goes on and I’ll soon be joining my Colorado Springs High School classmates for our 65th reunion. There will be about 50 of us, and we’ll all be wearing large type name tags.” John further reflects that “our days at Wesleyan seem so distant—and much to my surprise, neither of our Colorado senators call me for advice. They’re both nice kids who graduated from Wesleyan. How did we get so goddamn old? Here we are, ‘Livin‘ after midnight,’ as the song goes.”

In a somewhat related vein, Steve Trott writes that contrary to the “golden years” myth, “Well, big surprise. North of 80 ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be. . . . But the good news, I guess, is that the combined ages of our putative presidential candidates, if understood in IQ terms, is off the charts.” Steve deplores the country’s polarization, “hearing all the time from the pundits that ‘Americans want divided government.’ What? This mess?  I think that’s rationalizing incompetence into a strategy.” On the personal side, he and Carol are still in California where “this place is crazy expensive . . . maybe just crazy period. Downtown San Francisco is now a homeless encampment . . .  and parts of downtown LA are nearly as bad.” Steve concludes by thanking Bob Hunter for “continuing to keep my NATO thinking on the right track.”  

Len Wilson writes there is “not much new in my world. Staying active with YMCA alumni groups, nationally, internationally, and local, and editing a newsletter that goes to over 20 countries and keeps me busy scrambling for interesting articles. . . .  I continue to play pickleball several times per week and would like to find a partner over 80 that would make for a formidable doubles team. Joyce continues to enjoy painting when we have some spare time without company at our shore home. Looking forward to learning how our other classmates are faring and funning.”

In a very sad note received just before going to press, I learned of the passing of Stan Scholl in Madison, Wisconsin, this past July 13. His obituary may be found here: https://www.prattfuneralservice.com/obituaries/Stanley-J-Scholl?obId=28433897.

Unsurprisingly, as we increasingly find ourselves among Wesleyan’s oldest surviving alumni, our news and notes tend to focus largely on issues related to aging. As a concluding note in this context, I have recently been appointed as the oldest “citizen member” of an Older Adults Advisory Committee established by my local regional government. I expect (hope) to receive far more advice from this position than I can give and will try to keep you posted on any useful or promising results.

The response from classmates for this Class Notes publication has been excellent.  Terry Allen is in the starter’s box with the following: “In January 2023 I sold the last of the 20 companies I had started since Wesleyan. I wouldn’t have had to start so many if more had been successful, but I enjoyed the challenges along the way. Recently, Debbie and I acquired a license to farm cannabis in Vermont. She is the grower, and my focus is marketing. We are having a ball! We both play tennis every week and take overseas hiking trips once or twice a year, plus visit our seven widely located children and nine grandchildren.”

          Bob Owens reports that he is “doing reasonably well” after experiencing a minor stroke two and a half years ago. He bemoans the fact that he is no longer driving, but expresses his gratitude to his life partner, Barbara Morton, and to volunteer drivers in his community transportation program, allowing travel to appointments and even a future road trip from Denver to New York City, making it possible to visit his granddaughters.

John Alvord provides this update: “Marie and I are still living in Las Vegas (home of the Stanley Cup–winning Golden Knights) and enjoying retirement. We finally sold our house and bought a condo. I don’t miss the outside work since someone else now does it. I hate to see what has happened to our country and fervently hope it can be fixed. I just heard that Pete Drayer passed away last year. He was my freshman roommate, four-year fraternity brother, and a groomsman at our wedding. Pete was a very highly regarded judge in Philadelphia and will certainly be missed.”

Jack Mitchell tells us about his serious, yet successful, eye transplant operation performed last spring. “Bacteria were eating my membrane over the cornea, which was extremely painful. The surgeon removed the membrane, cleared the infection, and then inserted a donor’s membrane.” Now completely pain free, Jack resumes his tennis and his devotion to his family clothing business. He adds: “I’m excited to announce the addition to the business of my oldest grandson, Lyle ’16, a past graduate of Wesleyan and of Columbia Business School.”

While teaching ceramics at a boys’ camp, Russell Mott questioned a class of 10-year-olds, “How old do you think I am?” to which most replied 70-plus, while others said 60 somewhere. The answer most appreciated by Russell was “I can’t count that high!” Russell also mentions a 14-year-old lacrosse goalie wishing to follow his dad, who played lacrosse for four years at Wesleyan. “Shout-out to Nate Osur, Tommy Patton, and our class who started lacrosse at Wesleyan in the spring of 1959.”

Limited space allotment requires that only a portion of Emil Frankel’s informative and extensive update is enclosed in this Class Notes publication with a promise of his remaining comments to be revealed in the next edition. Emil writes: “I was on campus for Reunion & Commencement weekend and participated in meetings of the trustees and trustees emerita. There was some discussion of what Wesleyan’s response would be to what was then seen as the inevitable (and has since occurred) decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions, a core element of Wesleyan’s pathbreaking admissions policies for over 50 years. President Roth stated then—and repeated in his subsequent statement announcing the end of legacy admissions—that Wesleyan would remain committed to building and maintaining a diverse community and would continue and expand its efforts to do so within the limits of the Supreme Court decision. A wonderful surprise during the annual march of the alumni was to be greeted by Jim Thomas’ son. Since I was the only one in our class present, and carried the Class of 1961 flag in the parade, I was the one to benefit from a wonderful conversation with the son of one of our great classmates.”

Robert Hausman reports: “I am still in touch with Glenn Hawkes, Emil Frankel, and Bob Wielde. Bob also adds in free form:

“In the midst of my dotage I am asked for some news.

May I be excused by claiming the blues?

Since WesTech has done away with legacy,

it leaves my grandson leg-less in misery.

“I am content in my senior condo. I walk an hour a day and then lift weights for 15 minutes. All my family is close by. I am a new great-grandfather. In my junk, I found a directory for our freshman class. If you want to see what you looked like in ’58, I will sell it to the highest bidder. The same with a Commencement program I found, if you want to see what prizes you won.”

Lastly, Russell Mott wrote recently to tell say that Joe Powers passed away in mid-September. Russ said, “Joe and Maria had moved back to the Washington, D.C., region from New Mexico a few months ago, and they were living in northern Virginia when he died.” Condolences to his family and friends.

Respectfully submitted,

Jon

Nici and John Dobson experienced 32 wonderful summer days in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.

Jim Meyerhoff is retired from his position as chief of the Department of Neurochemistry and Neuroendocrinology at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is currently a faculty member in the Psychiatry Department at Uniformed Service University of Health Sciences where he continues to investigate medical neuroscience that is relevant to injuries that are experienced by those in the military. He is grateful for the superb biology courses he received while at Wesleyan.

I have joined an informal group led by K. C. Sulkin, MAT ’65. After walking together, we go to a nearby Whole Foods for coffee and conversation.

I am saddened by the passing of Will White ’61 in January 2023. He began attending Wesleyan with our class in fall 1956 and received his bachelor’s degree with a major in geology in 1961. Our families developed a close relationship that was fostered by those special years when all of us were living in Colorado.

Charlie Ingrao said, “Kathy and I focus on Third World travel. One hundred eleven countries off my bucket list. Our tour guide in Gambia was Momodou Ceesay’s ’70 younger brother.”

John de Miranda’s son Colin is a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. “We will visit him in July and look for property in Mexico. I continue to teach at UC San Diego in addiction research.”

Jeff Richards “is as busy as ever. Did Ohio State Murders with Audra McDonald, Pictures from Home with Nathan Lane, and projecting a revival of August: Osage County with Wes alum Bradley Whitford ’81.”

Darius Brubeck “prepares for late spring launch and tour for a memoir, Playing the Changes. I will see Wes people at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club when my quartet plays. Keep talking about retirement but. . . .”

Roy Willits and his wife “went fishing in Alaska. Travel is a major focus, though health concerns can change plans. When working, I enjoyed writing code and mentoring new programmers.”

Steve Knox and his wife live in Asheville, North Carolina. “Both our daughters and their families live within walking distance of us. This is a liberal oasis. Sizeable sums are set aside for potential reparations. After my years of law and civil rights, Asheville is a good place to retire.”

Bob and Jane Watson still enjoy seeing patients in their psychoanalytic practices. “Daughter Joanna has opened a clinical psych office near us in NYC. Her husband attends NYU Medical School. Our son operates a tourist business in Cartagena. We celebrated my 75th in Italy and learned that Dan Jones is in NYC and Venice.”

Pete Pfeiffer wrote, “Thanks for keeping track of this dwindling herd. Gordon Holleb, engaging and compassionate, passed away after a long, debilitating illness. I will miss him. Solastalgia, my current take on Maine loggers, is on Amazon.”

Dr. David Siegel received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “This award is based upon scholarly accomplishments, social activism, and community involvement.” 

Ken Elliott said, “In my Maine town, population 1,400, I’m on the Aging in Place and Broadband Committees. Solo aging and the study of the Japanese language are avocations. I’m looking forward to some immersion studies soon and Japan’s excellent hiking trails.”

Harry Nothacker eulogized Doug Bell ’70, who passed away this spring. “Doug and I were close friends over the past two decades. Our annual meeting was in Florida, where Doug was a successful entrepreneur. He was a wonderful person, and we will miss him.”

Charlie Morgan “is in the publishing queue at West Publishing for his book Guarantees in the Massachusetts Constitution. . . . Life continues to be an adventure.”

Tony Mohr’s memoir, Every Other Weekend: Coming of Age with Two Different Dads, rose to #1 in its Amazon category. “I’ve enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame.”

Harold Davis “is well. We visited Nice, Cannes, and Nuevo Vallarta, while enjoying family and friends. I’m participating in photography shows and selling a few.”

In early March Peter Cunningham was interviewed by David Remnick for the New Yorker Radio Hour about long-forgotten photos of New Jersey taken by well-known French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. (Peter was Cartier-Bresson’s assistant for a documentary.) You can listen to the full story here:

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/tnyradiohour/segments/jersey-cartier-bresson

Jim Weinstein “career coaches, sings, and travels—France, Italy, Iceland, Ecuador, Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Dominican Republic in the last year. I maintain regular contact with Bill Currier and Steve Mathews, who are both healthy, happy, and fully engaged in their lives.”

Stu Blackburn’s new novel, All the Way to the Sea, is available from Amazon.

Ken and Visakha Kawasaki’s Buddhist Relief Mission is bringing food to widespread areas of Sri Lanka where there are nutrition problems.

Nick Browning: “My wife [Rebecca Ramsey ’75] and I are living for three months this spring in a condo we own in Fort Collins, where our daughter lives with her husband. She had a baby at the end of January (our first granddaughter after five grandsons) and we’re both reveling in the best compensation for aging, which has been the joy of grandkids. We moved a couple of years ago from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Vermont, just outside of Woodstock, and have loved living up there. We’re both psychiatrists and have discovered we’ve been able to work quite well remotely, which seems very fortunate because it’s allowed us so much flexibility. Our life with family and friends continues to be wonderful and rich, but at the same time, we worry endlessly about the larger world.”

We’re just back from a poetry reading at the senior center. Elsewhere, two banks failed. Russia and Ukraine destroy each other. The Sox shine in the Grapefruit League. Basketball and hockey approach their playoffs. Read Pete and Stu’s books.

Google: florencegriswoldmuseum.org. If you’re in the Old Saybrook area, don’t miss it. We have lots of guest passes.

I remember the quick and the dead: Bill Eaton ’69 saying he wanted to be a professor because it wouldn’t interfere with his afternoon naps. Going to a street fair in Mystic with Phil Calhoun ’62, MALS ’69, his wife Janet, and their young daughters. Nat Greene finishing his high-speed lectures on the minute. Virginia Kimball-Cooke dancing with Bill Smith at a reunion of Uranus and the Five Moons. Playing house ball with Sandy Blount ’66 and many others. (The only game we lost was to an assemblage of Amherst All-Stars.) Bill Barber—a gentleman and a (Rhodes) scholar—giving me a B even though I got sick in the middle of his final and couldn’t finish. Long conversations with Geoff Gallas’s mother when visiting Geoff and Boo Gallas ’69 (two classic Southern California surfers/lifeguards) with Wink Wilder in 1967. On that same trip, Will Macoy ’67 and I bumped into Geoff Tegnell in Haight-Ashbury. Jim Weinstein’s ’69 love of opera. George Creeger assigning Henry James’s The Golden Bowl saying he hadn’t read it himself and should. In time, when I told him I’d given up on it (too long; too dense), he acknowledged having trouble keeping up with his own assignments. Dave Losee reminding me, on multiple occasions, I’m something of a crackpot. (It is not like he doesn’t have his quirks).

I saw Bob Carter ’70. We suffered through a harsh boarding school together and shared improbable antics on the Upper West Side in 1971. From whence he went on to a Mexican road-building crew in Wyoming, graduate school, a white-collar career, a full and happy life in Newton. Presently volunteering with an organization that helps seniors stay in their homes. Two boys: a doc and a forest ranger. One of Raquel Welch’s early roles was as Jerry Martin’s ’69 babysitter. At the holidays, I got a touching miniessay from Wig Sherman on our time of life. In his holiday card, Bill van den Berg mused on getting older and said he’s volunteering with an organization trying to reform the antediluvian rules of Pennsylvania’s state legislature. Dave Garrison ’67 reported having a blast playing his euphonium along with 640 other players at a Kansas City Christmas event, the largest gathering of tubas in the country. With a doctorate from Johns Hopkins and a string of varied publications, he taught Romance Languages at Wright State in Dayton for 40 years. Married to a poet/novelist/lawyer, he was Ohio Poet of the Year in 2014 and has just published his sixth book of poetry, Light in the River. I particularly liked a line from a piece called “Men at Seventy”:

They have a lot to remember,

more than they have to look forward to.

Reading through his volume, I was struck by how much courage it takes to be a poet.

We lost Steve Berman in January to lymphoma. A committed Jew, Steve introduced Sandy See to shicksas, matzo, and Manischewitz. Sandy remembers him as a bright, warm, gangly guy who would walk about with a serious look until he made some wisecrack with wild, wide eyes and huge laughter that shook his shoulders. After two years in Cali, Colombia, he spent a distinguished career as a pediatrician at Denver’s Children Hospital involved with global pediatric health; as a one-time president of the American Academy of Pediatrics; as an author of a basic text; and as a beloved mentor.

Personally, this summer will be two years in assisted living and I’m here for the duration. While my overall health is quite good, after some falls and breaks, I can’t walk and need help with daily tasks. So, it is the right place for me. Pleasant enough provided I  keep my expectations modest. Did a couple of op-eds for The New Haven Register. (One on the politicized Supreme Court and the other on the problems with financing higher education through student loans). Judy is nearby and visits regularly. My being here allows her a semi-normal life. (She even went to Morocco.) Overall, it is what it is.

Around the time of MLK Jr. Day, The New York Times published a front-page article about the likely effects on colleges if, as expected, the Supreme Court overturns affirmative action. Before I read the article, I saw the accompanying photo, a familiar view—the back of Olin Library, from the football field, scene of many a commencement (and many a walk across campus). The article focused on Wesleyan because it had been one of the first of the elite colleges that sought to diversify its all-male and almost all-white student body, an effort that really began during our sophomore year when Jack Hoy ’55, became dean of admissions. Almost as soon as I had read the article, I received an email from Ted Smith asking if I had seen it, an email that he sent to a bunch of classmates and that led to a series of shared, nostalgia-filled emails written by Harry Shallcross, Joseph Brooks Smith, Karl Furstenburg, Dave Garrison, Wayne Diesel, and Jim Kates. Some recalled Martin Luther King Jr.’s visits to the campus (King spoke at Wesleyan four times in a seven-year period, including a talk in the chapel in 1963 and another in McConaughy in 1966). I remember that when King spoke in 1963, Ron Young ’65 gave a fiery and eloquent introduction of King (actually Young introduced John McGuire, then an assistant professor of religion, and McGuire introduced King).

I was glad to be on Ted’s email list. My guess, and my hope, is that periodically there are similar exchanges about many topics among small groups of our classmates (the brothers at Chi Psi or EQV, baseball players, the guys who rowed crew, thespians, ethnomusicologists, or those who wrote for The Argus. . .).  An article in a current psychology journal is titled “Reliving the Good Old Days: Nostalgia Increases Psychological Wellbeing Through Collective Effervescence”; you’ll have to read it to see what they mean by “collective effervescence.” These reminiscences of King’s talk in McConaughy confirm what the title of a 2017 article in The Wesleyan Argus claimed after McConaughy was torn down: “Gone but Not Forgotten: A MoCon Retrospective.”

More from the nostalgia department: I had a phone call from Don Stone, and we talked about Jewological matters (unlike me, a Jew who had no choice, Don, after growing up gentile and flirting with Quakerism and various other goyish denominations, became a “Jew by choice”; he is a member of a progressive synagogue in the Bay Area). We also reminisced about things Wesleyan, including how we came to choose it. Among the things I learned, or once knew and forgot, were: 1) Don roomed with Reuben (Johnny) Johnson freshman year; 2) he was in CSS; 3) his older sister, like mine, went to Mt. Holyoke (his sister became the president of Sarah Lawrence; mine won a Pulitzer Prize). Don claims that he is having trouble remembering nouns (join the club) but that he does fine with adjectives (and expletives).

Two items from the Wesleyan Blurb Department (or maybe the Wesleyan Old Boys’ Blurb Network, or maybe the Wesleyan as Social Capital Archives).  #1. I wrote a blurb for Claude (“Bud”) Smith’s ’66 new book, Gauntlet in the Gulf: The 1925 Marine Log and Mexican Prison Journal of William F. Lorenz, MD. The book is based on the experiences of a prominent early-20th century psychiatrist who, in 1925, sailed a boat that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. He and his crew subsequently spent time in a Mexican prison and he kept a journal based on this experience, which Bud explains, analyzes, and reproduces in this book (Shanti Arts, 2023).  Among other things, I said in my blurb that it “reveals an insightful and engaging storyteller as Claude Smith recounts and deconstructs this fascinating story.”

#2. Larry Carver ’66, wrote a blurb for my new book, Guilford College, 1974–2020:  Sort of a Memoir in Two Parts (Half Court Press, in cooperation with Scuppernong Books, 2023). Larry actually wrote a real review of the book for a real academic journal, and I chose some of it for the blurb, including the following: “In remarkably engaging, well-written prose laced with wit, good humor, and insight, Zweigenhaft also contributes importantly to our understanding of how the increased attention on the campus to Middle East politics, especially the conflicts between Israel and Palestine, affected Guilford and higher education in general, 1974 to the present, and to the challenges currently confronting small, liberal arts colleges.”

Full disclosure: My blurb for Bud was not my first blurb for a Wesleyan friend. For the late great Jim McEnteer’s 2006 book, Shooting the Truth: The Rise of American Political Documentaries (Praeger, 2006), I blurbed: “McEnteer has written a lively, insightful and much-needed analysis of the re-emerging genre of American political documentaries.” I meant every word of it, for Mac’s book and for Bud’s book.

Bud Smith has done it again, publishing another book; Bud edited and wrote a foreword to  Gauntlet in the Gulf: The 1925 Marine Log and Mexican Prison Journal of William F. Lorenz, MD. The inimitable secretary of the Class of 1967, Richie Zweigenhaft, reviewed the book, writing: “Gauntlet in the Gulf reveals the adventurousness of William F. Lorenz, a prominent early twentieth-century psychiatrist who, in 1925, was forced to abandon a fishing vessel smack in the Gulf of Mexico, only to be imprisoned with his shipmates in the Yucatan. It also reveals how innocent individuals traveling internationally can become caught up in geopolitical animosities. Finally, it reveals an insightful and engaging storyteller, as Claude Clayton Smith deconstructs Lorenz’s fascinating journal. When the Ruth strikes a reef, Lorenz’s leisurely, lyrical account, takes a stunning and dramatic turn.”

On the subject of books, David Luft’s The Austrian Dimension in German Intellectual History (2021) is now in paperback. This past January, “[a] colleague in Poland invited” David to give a lecture in Poznan, and he spoke on “writing Central European intellectual history. My friends in Europe suggested that, since I would be there anyway, we could create a workshop on the changing forms and meanings of Romanticism in the 19th century and after. I spoke to the workshop on Romanticism on January 23.” Harold Potter and his wife Lee have been traveling as well, Harry dropping me this note: “Lee and are at Logan waiting for our flight to Paris. Then on to Morocco.” Thomas Hawley has been receiving visitors at his home in Carmel-by-the-Sea. “Not too long ago we got together with Cliff and Michelle Shedd and Bill Boynton and his very nice female friend for a lovely evening together. And before that, Sandy Van Kennen and his son paid us a visit, which was just great.” Another West Coast classmate, Clark Byam, is “still alive and been retired since end of 2021 after 49 years of practice. Hike along in hills where I live [Pasadena] and play golf. Invested in stock market and so far reasonably happy with results.” David Griffith, who is about to retire from a distinguished career as a lawyer in Colorado Springs, writes: “Our family is fine. I’m in pretty good shape and looking forward to fly-fishing and nature photography and seeing the summer again, waking up to the mountains and rivers. I’m about to retire from law practice after 52 years. I’ve been writing stories from law and life . . . some true, others I’m not sure if the stories are true or lies or dreams recalled from mixed memories. Old habit of Griffith men to tell a good story and exaggerate or tell outright lies to make the story better.”

Dan Lang in “August . . . began a three-year term as a member of the Board of Governors at King’s University College,” London, Ontario, Canada, “a liberal arts college much like Wesleyan today. . . . ” At a recent board retreat, “maintaining faculty quality” was discussed. The phrase caught Dan’s attention. “Maybe it was the notion that King’s and Wesleyan are what we today call ‘selective liberal arts colleges’ that triggered a recollection of where I had heard the phrase before: Victor Butterfield in his address to the entering class, and in a little booklet—The Faith of a Liberal College—that we all received in our orientation packages. I still have a copy and looked. There it was on page 19, ‘responsibility for maintaining a faculty of quality.’” Dan doesn’t think much will come from such a discussion; “in Canada academic senates and faculty unions give the idea short shrift as a role of governors.”

Bob Dearth, “a car nut” who “can’t accept aging gracefully,” writes, “Instead of throwing a big, six-figure sum at a new high-performance Corvette, I have gotten the bug to preserve one of the late ’50s/early ’60s piece-of-art automobiles that came out of Detroit as I was growing up.

My latest focus is on a ’61 or ’62 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible. These were huge tributes to chrome and options that were being added all the time to the cars being designed in Detroit. I’ve bought a shell of a ’62 that now seems to need more dollars to restore than I bargained for and I will likely turn to one already restored and finished . . . not to be a trailer queen but to drive and enjoy while we can still buy premium gasoline. I still remember the 17-year-old date I had as a senior in high school whose dad worked for GM and who had a ’62 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible as his company car and who let us take it out on dates, especially since the bucket seats and console kept us a respectable distance apart as we drove.”

We end with a celebration of the life of Frank Burrows who died on February 2. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. His daughter Lauren writes that Frank “died peacefully at home. As was his nature, he remained cheerful and in good spirits until the very end.” Rick Crootof, who knew Frank well, visiting him at his home in Florida, writes: “Frank was a giant in our magnificent 50th Reunion class book, itself a giant love fest to our class. I am so glad he was able to join us for a reunion or two after the 50th.” John Neff wrote to Lauren: “I’m not surprised to hear that he was cheerful and in good spirits. I have only the most affectionate and smiling remembrances of your dad over all these years. Apart from Middletown I visualize him most in Faulkner territory there in Oxford. Or at a parting breakfast or lunch at our 50th when passing on to him a skinny red, white, and blue regimental tie acquired from J. Press in 1965–1966 for our tongue-in-cheek ‘secret society’ F.S.S.S. (Fraternal Society of the Self-chosen Seven) whose ritual greeting was ‘fssss-sss.’ All good times. Not least his quarterbacking our last reunion book with all the incredible Argus and other documentation—a labor of love.”

Dave McNally shared with Lauren this reminiscence: “Your dad was ever cheerful and good spirited, and always a pleasure to be with. And I will never forget, sitting at a round table at one of our class reunions (I think it was the 40th or 45th) when I noticed that my wife Michelle kept staring across the table at your mother Carol, and vice versa. It turned out that they had shared a house off campus when both were undergraduates at the University of Minnesota. Talk about small world! I was glad that Frank passed away peacefully (may we all be so fortunate). And may you fully celebrate his life even as you mourn his passing.”

As Rick wrote to Lauren: “I think we can all agree that you are an honorary member of the Class of ’66, however distinguished that might be! Thanks for keeping us informed, Love, Rick.” Amen.