CLASS OF 1970 | 2024 | FALL ISSUE
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Aloha, everyone. We live in interesting times. Who would have thought that we would see a presidential campaign like the one we’re in, with the first incumbent president since 1968 pulling out of the running, with RFK Jr. throwing his support to the Republican Party’s nominee, and with a mixed-race woman (married to a Jewish guy) in a position to become the country’s first female president?
We’ll begin with news from Howard “Howie” Borgstrom, perhaps the first time he makes an appearance in the column. He wrote, “Not too much news here in Virginia. My wife, Carol, and I are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this month, first with a family dinner and then with cake and refreshments the next day, after church with our faith family. I keep busy with yard work here in Alexandria and at our ‘farm’ on the Shenandoah River. Plus, during inclement weather, I am actively dostadning, a Swedish word which translates ungraciously as ‘death cleaning.’ We have lived in the same house for 47 of our 50 years, more than enough time to accumulate stuff. My father left me a slide projector, screen, and two huge containers of slide carousels covering back to WWII! I am also the primary caregiver for my wife, who has been diagnosed with FTD (the same form of dementia as Bruce Willis), so the materials I discover in dostadning have to be explained, as if the first time, to Carol.”
Had this a while ago from David White: “Okay, after a long lapse: I was invited by the New York Public Library’s Performing Arts Library to do an oral history concerning my life and 28-year performing arts producing career at New York’s Dance Theater Workshop. It encompassed six hours of comprehensive interviews, now digitally archived at the library, as well as a camera recording. The interviews should be available online (assuming you really don’t have anything else to do). The 10 years I later spent in a similar role on Martha’s Vineyard as artistic director of The Yard performance and educational center remains to be covered. I retired from there in 2020.
“I want to add a shout-out to Steve Talbot and his collaborators on the success of the documentary, The Movement and The ‘Madman.’ I worked with Steve, Dave Davis, and others from Wes’ progressive forces of 1969/1970 on portions of that film made at Wes, covering the 1969 March on Washington against the Vietnam War and supporting the civil rights struggle.
“Of course, we former student activists are intensely observing a new generation of passionate activists as they both act and learn through a new (and often unruly) protest movement. Despite unacceptable violence toward Jews, Muslims, and other groups, this is indeed a moment of societal self-education—as it was five-plus decades [ago].” David invites you to join him on the Threads social platform. He says, “So far it’s a refreshing, progressive, content-strong, nonevil place.” He’s also on Facebook.
Russell Bradshaw wrote in April, and I don’t see his note in the previous column, so here goes: “I retired after 30 years teaching, associate professor Lehman College CUNY. Now live in Stockholm, Sweden, with my wife (of 50 years), Gunilla. Presentation on social ‘influence processes’ at the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) in Barcelona in July: ‘You’ll See It—When You Believe It’: The Role of Belief in Cult Recruitment.”
This note from my KNK brother, Gerry Cerasale: “At our age it’s time to retire. 😂 I’m still enjoying my time on the Eastham Select Board. However, I’m continually amazed at the ‘pressing’ issues that citizens raise. Eastham is in the midst of facing a state mandate to put in sewers and [a] wastewater treatment plant, covering new bonds for installing a new water system (before 2020 there were no fire hydrants in town), and paying its part of a $170 million high school; and the pressing issues from many citizens are pickleball courts and usage and dog walking. I’ve learned that many times it’s the little things that count.”
Had this brief note from Peter Ratner in New Zealand: “I think you have my news.” Indeed, I do, because Vera and I got to New Zealand (via a quick stopover on Christmas Island and two days in Fiji) for a truly unforgettable 19 days of exploring on North Island in June. Peter’s been there since the early ’80s, practicing law. It’s an amazing country. I truly can see why my father fell in love with it in 1947 when his naval ship, damaged in the ice in Antarctica, was towed there, “forcing” him to spend a month on South Island. All I can say is that I wish I had visited Aotearoa a long time ago. But back to Peter: he’s retired and married to a lovely, retired nurse named Carol, with a blended family spread from New Zealand to London to Australia. He and Carol are great fonts of information about New Zealand, great tour guides, and great hosts. They have a gorgeous, historical house in Greytown, over the mountains from Wellington. They unfortunately are selling it and returning to Wellington full time. (But fortunately, a daughter lives near the Greytown house.) Cheers! “She’ll be right.”
After a long pause, I heard from Corey Rosen who says, “I am still working (mostly as a volunteer, close to full time) for the organization I founded 44 years ago, the National Center for Employee Ownership. We will grow to 23 staff by the end of the year. We focus on research, information, meetings, and outreach to help encourage more companies to share ownership broadly. This May, I was one of the featured guests on Freakonomics, which did an hour-long podcast on the subject.”
I hear frequently from Jeremy Serwer, the Brooklyn Cowboy of northern Connecticut. Here is an email that he sent to a group of classmates: “Life really does have some simple pleasures. I always wanted to ride a horse in a parade. This year’s Memorial Day was my third straight doing so, representing America’s oldest theft detecting society—The Woodstock (Connecticut) Theft Detecting Society, founded in 1793. I’m the treasurer, as well, and a designated ‘pursuer’ per the original society constitution: It’s the pursuer’s job to posse down and catch (primarily) horse thieves.
“Fortunately—and perhaps gratefully—there are no covenants in the society’s constitution prohibiting Jewish guys from handling the money, which goes to paying the costs of chasing thieves, etc. Today, it’s all symbolic: We have an annual luncheon in January, read the constitution (called for in the constitution), collect the 25 cents dues, and have a guest speaker—for which my connections to law enforcement folks have been invaluable.
“Wouldn’t the Woodstock founders (12 of them, from Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1684) be surprised; [the newspaper] picture below contains the proof. The other rider is one of my farm neighbors who also serves as a pursuer. The cowboy garb is off by a century, but often requested and welcome. And I was tempted to wear my six-guns . . . for which very few would have cared, but alas, open carry was outlawed in Connecticut earlier this year.
“The parade lasts about 10 minutes (a quarter mile), so you can’t blink. They follow it with speeches honoring veterans, those lost in wars, a firearms salute, music by the Woodstock Cornet Band (ongoing since the 1850s), an occasional low-altitude U.S. Air Force flyover (amazing how they time those), and we hang out on the town green for kids to come and greet the horses.
“I finish up with a quick gallop the length of the green back to the horse trailer. Fun in the country, and my idea of at least one retirement gig.”
Gordon Fain sent a great email to encourage attendance at the reunion in May: “Here’s a quick note to recommend our May 2025 Reunion in person as an economical weekend with a great variety of in-person informal coffees and receptions; film and lectures; and interactions with current senior and young scholars. Also talking with a woman Fulbright Scholar from India, a young unicyclist from Connecticut, and alumni from classes of ’67 through ’69 was great for me and my wife, Lila. Dave Freedman ’69 invited me [to this year’s Reunion weekend], and I enjoyed it so much I came back a second day. Good hotels on Main Street Middletown and in Cromwell. Alumni Affairs keeps costs fair, with many free venues. If you want golf or farm market fruit, they are near at Lyman Orchards, Middlefield. Bradley International Airport–Hartford is one hour by car and easy drive.”
Robert Stone (aka “Stony” and “Robert Mark Stone, the Trumperick master”) recently visited Nantucket with family. Photo with wife, Nancy Baxter.
Finally, I am glad to report that the trio on O’ahu are great dinner companions. I was fortunate to be able to get together with them a few weeks back. Great company, great minds, great conversation. Here, from right to left: Elbridge Smith, Bill Tam, Peter Kalischer, and myself. (BTW, I didn’t suddenly widen 35%. That’s lens distortion.)
OK, so you all be well. Write if you get work and meantime, hang by your thumbs. (Good job if you get that reference. We need some more B&R in our lives.)
RUSS JOSEPHSON | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754