Tag: 1949

Let’s see, what can I write about for the next issue of Wesleyan. Oh, I know, how about “the Last of the Mohegans,” better known as the class of ’49. A group of us, namely Dick Gibbons, David Knapp, Chip Stone, Bob Wylie and I who, I firmly believe, are among the last few of the class of ’49 still alive, are attempting to induce remaining class members to come to Wesleyan for the 65th Reunion. Of the group I was required to contact, few were still alive, only one came to the phone, two responded through another party or his wife. None committed. I don’t blame them. We are all quite old and I for one, have a very “hairy” health history and, I am 89 years old—and some are older.

In spite of the difficulty involved, Audrey and I are heading up there from Florida to our old home state of Connecticut, where we will spend some time with a son who lives in Darien, Conn., and a son in Grafton, Vt. My wife had knee replacement surgery nearly four weeks ago and I informed her that she’d better be mobile before we go north. She threatened me with her cane.

I did receive a letter from a fellow Alpha Chi Ro member, Dan Collister ’50. Dan was one of the “gang” at the Downey House, where he worked beside my brother, “Hap.” He watched my brother’s and Janet Ablehauser”s love affair grow into a marriage. Sadly, both are deceased now. The couple that ran the Downey House, “Heidie” and Enid Heidemann, were a very special couple and often had many students visit their home. Dan lives in Gates Mills, Ohio, but also has a place in Kiawah Island, S.C.

William C. Brooks |williamcbrooks@comcast.net
9 Willow Pond Rd., Amelia Island, FL 32034

Frequently I have a dearth of material to write about unless my “boss” at Wesleyan, Cynthia Rockwell, comes to my aid. She has done so on this occasion. She sent out a plea to classmates on my behalf and I have two responses, one from a teammate and one from a fraternity brother.

First the frat brother, Nat Hathaway: As I recall, (he did not verify this), Nat lives in a retirement community in Phoenix, Ariz., called “La Sienna.” He tells me he is 90 years old, and, I observe, he still has an active and fertile mind. He is currently giving talks to his community neighbors about Thomas Jefferson. The issue presently being discussed is the “Sally Factor.” Many of us will recall that Jefferson was accused of fathering children with a slave, Sally. I thought this issue was resolved and the families identified but Nat describes it as “quite a mystery” that has to do with the “Y” chromosome. Sadly, Nat’s wife, Lu, passed away two-and-a-half years ago.

I told Nat in a response to his e-mail that I recall going to a fair in Middletown, Conn., with him and Lu when she suffered an attack of asthma. I suspect that is why they settled in Arizona.

Bob Wylie, my teammate, came through with a short autobiography. He and Karen have been married for 61 years and have four children and six grandchildren. Bob was marketing V.P. for three companies, Celanese, Hoehst, and World Courier, LTD. During his business career he attended the AMP course at Harvard and, after retirement, got his master’s degree in economics at Western Connecticut State University. Bob lives in Greenwich, Conn., where my brother Hap’s family and my family grew up. Bob has been active in town government, with the Congregational church, and on the board of various business and civic associations. He has been a political consultant and manager of a number of campaigns. Karen was a real estate broker for 30 years in Greenwich and is now a docent at the Bruce Museum. She is also the recipient of the Carnegie Medal for a heroic act many years ago. She saved the life of a boy who fell through the ice on a nearby body of water, risking her own life, as I recall.

As some of you may recall, Bob and I were teammates on the track team. Together we made a happy duo for Coach Fritz Martin as he could usually figure on 12 to 16 points from us toward the final score at each meet.

David Richards, the author of a series of books about a naval captain in the British Navy during our revolution and which I wrote about in the previous issue of Wesleyan, has sent me another of his publications called Pollen in the Wind. It is described as “a collection of short stories of developing Western United States during the 1800s.” Again, I found it fun reading and would recommend it for easy reading, unlike Charles Krauthammer who uses such “big” words one needs a dictionary nearby (see his Things That Matter), but whose politics I admire.

William C. Brooks

9 Willow Pond Rd., Amelia Island, FL 32034

williamcbrooks@comcast.net