Tag: 1957

George Willauer writes that he and Ed Porter realized a summer dream when Ed came from Nova Scotia to visit him in Lyme. It was a cultural weekend, with a trip to New York to see La Boheme at the Met, a new exhibit at MOMA, and the Cloisters. A special treat was a drive to Wesleyan to see the new Pruzan Art Center.

Here is a picture of Allan Kalb and his new toy, a recumbent trike. Next fall he plans to travel the Erie Canal Bikeway from Buffalo to Albany with his two sons, two grandsons, and a cousin. That’s over 300 miles! He must be in great shape for a nonagenarian-to-be.

Ken Travis reports that he and Janice have made it through another year and remain in “good shape for the shape they’re in.” They are impressed with the parenting skills of their grandchildren.

Mark Feldman and Mimi celebrated New Year’s Eve by babysitting their grandcats while his daughter, Ilana ’91, traveled. He’s grateful to be here with enough energy to bother the Supreme Court with opinions on issues he worked on in government in centuries past.

I got an email from Bob Anderson, who invited me to cull from his annual letter to family and friends. His youngest son, Peter, lives with him and does a lot of interior work, although Bob does up to two hours of low-level yard work on clear days. No cane or walker yet. He may decide this year to move to some place with less work and flatter ground.

Ric Winslow retired two years ago from teaching at Iona College. Although he lives alone, he is surrounded by several generations of family. He says he is in awe of the amount of history that people our age have lived through and continue to witness. 

Betty and I drove to visit our daughter and her grandchildren in Maryland over Thanksgiving. It was an arduous trip. The traffic in the D.C. area is unbelievable, but everyone up there seems to take it in stride. Here is a picture of me and our identical twin great-granddaughters.

Ken Travis is enjoying life in the Pacific Northwest, although he still has some New England withdrawal symptoms. In August he and Janice celebrated 65 years since they tied the knot in the Wesleyan chapel. They recently welcomed two additional great-granddaughters to the fold. 

Ed Porter sent along a picture of his latest acquisition, a 23-foot gaff-rigged yawl that even has some space below deck. He’s a regular sight sailing on Penobscot Bay in Maine. Ed hopes all our classmates had a fine summer.

For the past 31 years Jack Goodhue has written about 400 columns and feature-length articles for a business magazine. Those days are over, as he and the mag have agreed to call it quits. It was fun, but now he and Jane have more free time to enjoy life in Wilmington, North Carolina. They are another couple with great-grandchildren, living in Texas and California.

Jack also wrote to notify us of the death of Norm Miller this past July.  After his retirement from Tulane University, where he was a professor of Spanish arts, Norm moved to Tucson, Arizona. He served as a docent at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Jack, Norm, and Trent Sorenson MA ’58 were the trio who absconded with the Douglas Cannon on a dark and dreary night just before our graduation. If you get back to Wesleyan, Jack’s scrapbook on the theft is in the Olin Library’s archives. 

I heard from Mark Feldman, who just recovered from a nasty bout of pneumonia. He’s thankful for that and grateful to the loving women in his life. Mark promises to let me know if he wins the lottery. 

Gordon Wilmot may have topped us all with four great-grandkids. He and Marilyn plan to celebrate their upcoming anniversary by flying to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and staying in a VRBO for a week. They’ll stop for another week in Key West, on their way back to Rhode Island. They go somewhere every November for their anniversary and again in March for their birthdays. 

We’ve had a few remote birthdays in our family. Our youngest grandchild, who now lives in Missouri, turned 8 in June. Halfway across the country is a long drive! Next time we’ll fly. Then in July our daughter and great-grandson had birthdays, two days apart. Hers ended in a zero. Naturally, we drove to Maryland for the occasion. 

Until next time, stay well. 

Bob 

Not much to report from our classmates in this issue. Maybe next time will be better.

I did hear from Al Kalb. He’s still healthy enough to swim regularly and has no restrictions on other activities. Just does them slower than he used to. I know what he means.

Dick Cassie writes that he is five years removed from the state of New Jersey and living in Newtown, Pennsylvania, with his very significant other of 12 years, Suzy Maguire. He wonders if it’s not too early to start thinking about our 70th Reunion in 2027, when we’ll be in our early 90s. Along those lines, it would be well to make sure the Alumni office (alumni@wesleyan.edu) has your current mailing and email addresses.

Gordon Wilmot says that he and his wife, Marilyn, spent eight nights in Newport, Rhode Island, during which time they celebrated their birthdays. Gordon also writes that he wishes Wesleyan’s Democracy in Action program [that happened on campus this past spring] had presented a conservative perspective to go along with its liberal leanings. 

Bob Anderson has largely retreated into his art making and gardening, while speaking out in church and community for a saner world. He is currently reworking a journal sketch from a medieval monastery he once visited on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. See a bit of his work on the internet at www.guemesislandart.org. Bob expresses good wishes and continued collegiality to all our classmates.

Betty and I are well in Hilton Head. Things are gearing up for the annual PGA golf tournament we have here. Traffic will be congested, to say the least. If you’re interested, watch it on TV. Some say CBS airs the show, but others say it’s our Chamber of Commerce that does it all.

Until next time.

Bob

Bob Anderson sent me a copy of his seasonal letter to family and friends. He lives in Guemes, a small island off the coast of Washington, halfway between Vancouver and Seattle. Bob keeps busy working on multiple new or unfinished art pieces, winterizing his landscape between rains, downsizing, and making short on-island trips for Sunday services. You can see some of his interesting artwork at www.guemesislandart.org.

Ed Porter writes he has acquired a small yawl that may become his summertime hermitage from which he can contemplate the world, and the future for our children and grandchildren. Sounds like a worthy goal.

Gordon Wilmot and Marilyn just got back from nine relaxing days in a nice Vrbo house in Beaufort, South Carolina. They’re both doing fine and trying to get the most out of their golden years.   

I also heard from Hal Ochsner. He recalls pledging Psi U and working over the years with Ken Travis on a variety of fraternity projects. 

Mark Feldman had no news for me this time, other than a mild case of COVID, but with all the Israeli-Hamas protests on college campuses these days, he is glad not to see Wesleyan in the news. I concur; from what I read, any demonstrations at Wes have been thoughtful and peaceful.

Betty and I traveled to Cape Cod in September for my 70th high school reunion. There were only four others from my very small class in attendance. One was my junior prom date (still pretty), and another was a football teammate. We had a great time for two nights, eating fresh lobster and reminiscing. The only downer was coming back on Connecticut I–95 in the rain. Below is a picture of the beautiful Cape Cod Canal, which flows very near the house where I lived as a teenager. 

Until next time, stay healthy.

Bob 

In late May Gordon Wilmot and Marilyn flew from Providence to Portland, Oregon, to enjoy a cruise up the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The daily informational meetings brought back everything they had forgotten about Lewis and Clark and their contribution to our history.

In last year’s fall issue, Mark Feldman mentioned the oral interview of his experiences as an attorney in the D.C. area, including the State Department. It has now been published as a book, entitled Footnotes to History, Law and Diplomacy. You can find it on Amazon and read it on Kindle for only $4.

A sad update is the passing of Ed Porter’s wife Elaine, after 59 years of marriage. Ed and his two sons are trying their best to adjust to life without her at their side, but it’s difficult. Condolences to all the Porters.

George Willauer and his wife went to his 70th high school reunion in Philadelphia. Having attended the school K–12, he was “a lifer.” Despite canes, walkers, and one wheelchair, all eight people there had a memorable time.

I got a long note from Hal Ochsner. Although he spent his senior year, followed by med school, at Indiana, his memories of Wesleyan and his Clark Hall roommates are strong. He moved to California in the 1960s and still practices medicine there, despite the leukemia he treats with infusions. Hal is our class agent, and you’ll probably be hearing from him later this year.

Ken Travis writes that a conversation with friends over dinner some 45 years ago led to student exchanges with a remarkable French family that culminated this year with 16 Americans attending a lovely wedding outside Paris. Four generations of French and American families partied most enthusiastically. Ken and Janice are about to celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary. He wishes all the best to the ’57ers.

I just learned that Jack Braitmayer died last July. He grew up in Marion, Massachusetts, and went to Tabor Academy there. A successful businessman, he also served as a trustee at both Tabor and Wesleyan. Jack loved boats and sailing and was a huge supporter of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Condolences to all the Braitmayer family.

This spring Betty and I took a road trip up the East Coast. We spent a week at the time-share we own in North Carolina. (It’s for sale, by the way.) Then to Maryland where we got to see our great-grandson and his identical twin sisters. Finished by visiting cousins, nieces, and nephews in Virginia Beach, where we got married almost as long ago as the Travises. Great time.

Stay well and try to beat this heat.

Bob