CLASS OF 1969 | 2026 | SPRING ISSUE

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From Jim Dreyfus: “We spend most winters in Miami. Great to be out of the cold. Wes has had two historically great football seasons in a row. Sorry we didn’t get to see a game. The Giants and Jets are awful. Great turn around for the Patriots. Stay well and in touch.”

Bill Eaton wrote, “I met my wife, Janet, 53 years ago in Madison, Wisconsin, while I earned a PhD in sociology. We spent five years in Montreal where I taught at McGill. After five years at the NIMH in D.C., I worked as a teacher/researcher in mental health for 40 years at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I chaired the Department of Mental Health for 12 years. I developed a one-page screening scale for depression disorder (CESD-r) that’s available on the web (cesd-r.com/) and has been translated into 15 languages; and edited a textbook, Public Mental Health, which was recently translated into Chinese. I have published 400 articles and chapters, written or edited eight books and monographs, and have a GPS h-index rating of 120. I retired in 2023. In retirement, to cope with boredom, I published a novella, Outward Bound. We live in Kendall Crosslands, a Quaker retirement community in Pennsylvania, in a country setting that includes lots of trees and deer. I make noise in a band called Sweet Potato Fries, reminiscent of my involvement in the Wesleyan jug band, Vulgar Boatmen. I enjoy supporting Michael Bennet ’87 for governor [of Colorado].”

Rob Pratt said, “I’m just finishing up,with four years and seven trips to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific, in developing solar, energy efficiency, and rural electrification projects with my most recent company.” Despite current energy policies, Rob is encouraged by the “progress that’s been made in the renewables, efficiency, and climate sectors over the past several decades. Companies and nonprofit organizations I’ve founded have developed/financed/implemented more than $500 million in hydro, wind, solar, energy efficiency, and policy projects while working in over 50 countries, so I take some comfort in that.

“My career in clean energy has been fulfilling and rewarding, and I take satisfaction in knowing that I’ve made at least some difference in founding/co-founding four companies and four non-profit organizations that have developed, funded/financed, and built/implemented renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability, climate, and policy projects in many parts of the world.

“Vickie and I moved to Exeter, New Hampshire in 2019, which we’ve greatly enjoyed; [it’s] an hour from our daughter and her husband in the Boston area, and an hour from our cruising sailboat in Maine.

“Since we are getting up there age-wise, I’m now moving on to my latest gig . . . that is, talking to college students in not only discussing the global clean energy transition, but to urge them to consider a career in renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate, sustainability, and clean energy entrepreneurship. As you know, Wesleyan has the Patricelli Center for Entrepreneurship, and I’m offering to speak to Wes students in the coming semester, which should be fun. . .  [College students are] an enthusiastic and appreciative audience!”

John Bach “is still Quaker chaplain at Harvard and lives a charmed, gifted life of social activism. Happy New Year. GO WES!”

Jim Drummond shared that he is “still practicing criminal defense in the Austin area, and my wife, Deborah, flourishes in her hypnosis practice and quantum health healing techniques (QHHT). Good health all around. I have been in touch with Cliff Saxton ’68, Jeff Richards, and Bruce Hartman with some regularity. Cliff has just published another book and is dividing his time between Missouri and Virginia. Jeff just won his ninth producer Emmy in NYC, and Bruce published his 12th novel and was invited to the Western Writers Awards Banquet in Lubbock, Texas.” Jim has eight grandchildren, four to 21 in age. “They are all athletic and way above average (apologies to Garrison Keillor). Our children are even more prosperous than ourselves, as is the natural course of evolution. None of us experience drama or trauma. We are truly an obnoxious lot.”

From Frank Putnam: “Best regards to all surviving ’69ers. I just published my fourth book, Old Before Their Time, describing the results of our 35-plus year study of the effects of sexual abuse on child development. The title says it all—we found numerous examples of accelerated biological aging from neuroendocrine stress response systems, to precocious puberty, to epigenetic changes in their DNA. (I characterize the book as a primer on child sexual abuse disguised as a memoir.  It has gotten pretty good reviews so far. I’m now doing a lot of podcasts and learning about this whole world.) Personally, I’ve lived a remarkable 13 years diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and learned that one has to make the most of every day.”

Ed Hayes wrote, “Hope the New Year is off to a good start for you and your family. . . I have started a late retirement that I hope allows time for learning to play the guitar and Spanish, at last! An activity before that has been working with a neighborhood group that celebrates our old D.C. community by restoring and colorfully painting rusty call boxes and inserting information about significant accomplishments. They look good. Warm regards to everyone.”

Ken and Viskha Kawasaki sent from their Buddhist Relief Mission, “Happy New Year. A good leader should be able, honest, upright, gentle, humble, frugal, tranquil, prudent, and courteous.”

Peter Arenella is still in a small, rural village in Mexico with wife, Mia. He says, “family wise, I am blessed.”  His adult children are doing well in California—his son, David, lives in an adult group home and “holds down a part-time job. My daughter, Kat, married her partner last year and is teaching graduate students at a private LA university who want to secure their PhDs in clinical psychology. My only real complaint is that I can no longer walk even for a short distance because my right knee replacement has failed and both knees are very unstable. So, I spend all my days watching great films and posting on X.”

Bob Dombroski inquires, “Prior to my arrival at Wes U, while in high school across the river, I heard a rumor that Bo Diddley had stopped at a bar in Portland prior to a fraternity house party gig . . . anyone still around to confirm this distant memory?”

Charlie Morgan has published another book: Truly Dumbfounded, Dismayed, and Delighted is “laced with humor and numerous cartoons [and] covers such vast topics as advice from my father and grandfather, perspectives on achieving success, and law school, lawyering, and courts. Also included are observations about life, marriages, and children, some hilarious and some shocking, along with observations about human behavior overall. (My first book, The Guarantees in the Massachusetts Constitution Imposing a Duty on Massachusetts Courts to Grant Standing to All Persons in All Actions, Including Derivative Actions by Private Parties with Respect to Charitable Organizations, has had some modest success.”

Charlie has received some nice reviews for his new book. Author Leigh Rivers said:

“As a writer, I’m struck by how deftly you balance laughter with reflection, the hilarious with the heartfelt. The inclusion of cartoons to illustrate the humor adds such a personal, inviting layer a visual nod to the idea that life’s lessons often arrive with a smile, even when they also carry a sting. Your journey from grandfather’s wisdom through courtroom realities to the intimate revelations of family and human behavior feels like an open‑handed sharing of what matters most: how we learn, how we love, and how we keep our sense of wonder intact.”

And Publisher’s Weekly noted:

“The title captures the spirit of this playful memoir from lawyer Morgan, author of a weighty tome about the intricacies of Massachusetts State law. Rather than deliver a straightforward autobiographical accounting of his life, Morgan instead offers a series of brief anecdotes and vignettes, many comic, loosely grouped around themes such as women, awkward moments, and philosophical musings. These prove refreshingly free of doctrine, revealing a mind open to possibilities. . . .  Takeaway: Lighthearted memoir in anecdotes of law, life, love, and learning.”

It’s light, then it’s dark. I look across the edge of a vast wetland to the holiday lights at the Monkey Farm, a much-loved Old Saybrook watering hole. The cookie bars I made earlier are inedible. I chisel them from the Pyrex.