Tag: 1959

Skip writes: Greetings. We begin with a summary of the original Class of ’59 that arrived at Wes in the fall of ’55. This summary is thanks to Paul Hadzima, who prepared it after our 65th Reunion in May 2024: 202 arrived in ’55; 159 graduated in ’59; 88 were still alive at our 65th, at which nine were in attendance. Wesleyan’s records may be at fault for several pluses or minuses, but this is a pretty good summary. I can probably answer simple questions about the lists.

Marty Weil was first to reply. He sent greetings to all with the closing line from a famous Christmas poem: “And to all a Happy Holidays.” He is still “doing it” at The Washington Post.

Tim Day had just returned from Park City. One of the few of us who is still skiing. He continues to support the USMC by sending marine officers to HBS and the Advance Management Program. He reported he and Sandy are in good health and living “the good life.”

Herb Steiner reported the birth of grandchild number 12. He and Ellen planned to enjoy winter in Delray Beach, Florida. He recently caught up with Joe and Nan Vander Veer, who were in Ridgewood, New Jersey—Joe’s hometown for a Ridgewood Symphony concert and Herb’s efforts with his clarinet.

Bob Hydeman checked in. He and Judy are in their 62nd year of marriage. They have two children and five grandkids; ages of all range from 60 to 22. All grands have college degrees, four have graduate degrees. Great-grandkids are next. Judy has become a great artist, and Bob is working with a small tech company, helping with its marketing. Never idle!

Charlie Huchet ruminated about his 16-year-old granddaughter who is “in love” for the first time and wonders if it is too soon to consider marriage; a 21-year-old granddaughter at George Washington University worries about being arrested for demonstrating about the trans issue. Despite these issues, he is confident these kids will “turn out great.” He loves reading, cooking, writing cranky letters to the local rag, serving on the local planning commission, and tilting with his blunted lance at the neanderthals. Laughing with Charlie Wrubel and Tom Malamud ’60 fills the rest of his time.

Joe Mallory spent Christmas week in LA with his family. He has three grandkids at Dartmouth, but presently they are in Peru, Japan, and London. Another grandkid is in Ojai, California. I agree with Joe on his recalling where he was when at that age. He had never been anywhere but Philadelphia and then Middletown. Very similar in my case. We thought about jobs in spring of our senior years; his grands already have job offers from junior summer jobs. 

Molly and I traveled to Alta, Utah, for our annual kids and grandkids skiing week.

Alan shares: Tom McHugh’s widow, Anne, wrote from Hillsboro, Oregon, that “This has been a quieter year marked, unfortunately, by the loss of altogether too many family members and dear friends. Fortunately, my health remains well.” Anne continues to settle into her life, very much enjoying the Pacific Northwest and being near to at least some of her family. After Thanksgiving she was looking forward to going to San Antonio, a city she always wanted to visit, with two friends from her retirement home. 

Walter Burnett wrote from Cockeysville, Maryland, that he is in an active community with many new friends and opportunities for enjoying life and following his interests in public policy, genealogy, bridge, and the natural world. As he has for the past 16 years, Walt spent this past summer traveling 5,700 miles, the highlight of which was time spent in Crested Butte, Colorado, with members of his family.

Greetings to the great Class of ’59. In this issue of Class Notes we are reporting on several events that are collective rather than individual.

First, our 65th Reunion. For various reasons, only a few stalwarts were able to attend. They were the Messrs. Steve Kaplan, Ed Murphy, Joe Mallory, Alan Brooks, Ted Fiske, Paul Hadzima, Joe Vander Veer, Herb Steiner, and Skip Silloway. Those of you who were unable to attend missed an absolutely sparkling spring weekend on the Wesleyan campus. Blue sky, moderate temperatures and humidity, and the spring green showed off the many trees planted over the years. It could not have been better. We enjoyed the many events Wes had planned for us including the class parade, the Alumni Association meeting, and the awarding of athletic prizes at the gym. And just walking on the campus in all its splendor was a plus. The best for us was the informal class memorial service for those in the class who passed away. The names of our deceased classmates were read out by Skip with a pause after each for a comment or remembrance. All present regretted how few we remembered. It took about an hour, and everyone appreciated it. (Last winter Wolfram Thiemann wrote from Bremen, Germany, to express his great regrets at not being able to attend our 65th Reunion due to his restricted mobility. He was sorry to hear about all the unrest on U.S. campuses and hoped Wesleyan was handling it well. Wolfram closed by saying how much he was thinking about and missing his Wesleyan classmates.)

Second, the effort to remember classmates raised questions about numbers. How many joined Wesleyan in the fall of ’55? How many graduated? How many are still alive? And so forth. Fortunately, Paul Hadzima was there, and he answered all those questions and more. There is some question about the accuracy of Wesleyan’s records, so Paul had to make several “adjustments”: 202 of us arrived on campus in the fall of ’55; 152 graduated, while 47 did not. There were 94 on a list of deceased that Wesleyan prepared, but Paul determined that 28 did not belong on that list for various reasons. Thus, 66 of our graduating class by this 65th Reunion were deceased. Of the 152 who graduated, 88 are still with us, although not all are able or willing to travel. Airports, plane rides, etc., are hard work!

Third, a report on the Class of ’59 record of donating in this reunion year. Of the 88 still going strong, 46 donated in this year: $164,241 was raised for Wesleyan’s greatest need (this means donating through WAF), and $307,988 was raised for other support (this means to specific efforts such as scholarships or a specific athletic team). Overall, $1,316,869 was raised for our toral reunion gift (this means our total for five years).

And, lastly, a postscript from Alan:

            “Diminished in numbers but not in spirit, the MidCoast Maine ‘reunioners’ gathered for the eighth year (it could be more; we kinda lost track) at Joe Mallory’s lovely home in New Harbor on September 12. 

“Joe prepared his signature dinner of Chicken Marbella for Dick and Linda Cadigan, [my wife,] Marie-Pier Brooks, and me. It was quite tasty! Kudos to the chef! Following [the] mandatory discussion of our medical challenges, there was talk of family, friends, Wesleyan, and, of course, the great Class of ’59.

“We hope to continue the tradition and to pull Bob Chase, one of the original members, back into the group.”

Walt Burnett wrote that after 34 years, he has come down for the last time from his North Carolina mountain, having closed on his home there in July 2023, and is now comfortably ensconced in his independent living residence at Broadmead in Cockeysville, Maryland. Walt said he has gotten involved in several activities at Broadmead. He also enjoys the Baltimore Symphony and Everyman Theatre and serves as a board member of the Broadmead Chapter of the Maryland Continuing Care Residents Association. Walt has kept up with his traveling this past year, though largely family oriented, much of which centered around a big family reunion on Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. Walt also worked in a visit to Wesleyan.

In December, Alan Brooks caught up with Tom Young at a basketball tournament at Berkshire School, where Tom taught for many years. Tom related how he and Dave Darling regularly visited Fred Stone, their baseball teammate at Wesleyan, after Fred had his debilitating stroke. Tom sent Alan a packet of wonderful testimonials of Fred from his funeral service in February 2023. (Fred’s obituary can be read on the Portland Press Herald website, pressherald.com).

Marty Weil reports in from The Washington Post where he is an editor. He is glad to have us doing the editing of elements of the “woke” phenomenon. He allows he may or may not come to the reunion. How is that for taking a stand?

We heard from Charlie Huchet. Still living in the same house but now all on one floor. Getting to it, however, requires 29 steps up to the front door. He is cutting back on his many community activities but remains active in Friends of the Library and local politics. He has just applied to run for the local planning commission. That doesn’t seem like cutting back!

Bob Waterhouse updates us on his move to Venice, Florida, in 2018. He describes it as “kind of ‘winter reverse’ via air-conditioning. Not doing much but my days are full.” We imagine many of us might report the same experience.     

Herb Steiner reports the “gift” of two stents as presents for his 86th birthday. Sounds like all is well as he is in rehab, but he had to cancel a European boat trip. Winters in Delray Beach, Florida, for four months starting in December. Biking, pickleball, and walking are activities he hopes will be in his rehab program. Reading and daily violin practice are brain-healthy activities. Hopes to come to the 65th. Regularly sees Bob Ogren, Tim Martin, and Joe Vander Veer.

We heard from Tim Day, writing from Jackson Hole. He and Sandy are almost done “downsizing,” as many of us have done. In their case, this means maintaining their three locations: Phoenix, La Jolla, and Jackson, but moving to condos or managed properties. A glass of wine or two sees them through the many choices that have to be made. Tim is active—three days a week in the gym—but admits to needing a bit more sleep as a result. (Don’t we all?) His initiative to send marine officers to Harvard Business School continues. He has now sent 75 marines to HBS, 24 of whom are general officers. That is a great contribution!

We all miss John Spurdle.

Greetings from your Class of ’59 scribes. With John Spurdle’s passing, Skip has asked Dick Cadigan and Al Brooks to join the Class Notes and Class Agent team. John and Skip combined those two offices upon the retirement of Ed Murphy and Bert Edwards.

We have heard from Walt Burnett that he has sold his mountain home in North Carolina and has settled in a lovely independent living facility in Maryland. Walt maintains the travel schedule of a “much younger man,” having logged over 7,000 miles this past year through the north central states, and this summer will do New England and Maine for a family gathering on Monhegan Island, followed by a visit with Alan Brooks in Boothbay Harbour, Maine. Sounds great!

Jerry and Martha Doolittle write of moving from their home of 47 years to a residential community in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Their new home is only 10 miles from their former home, so the change may not be so difficult.

Speaking of Al Brooks, he is competing in the shot put at various senior events, winning three gold medals this summer. He says there are very few competitors older than 80, so he is aiming at the “younger guys” but admits to beating fewer of them as time goes by.

A freshman roommate of Skip Silloway reports in, perhaps for the first time, on our more famous mate, Marty Weil, who is the longest tenured employee at The Washington Post. Does he have any influence on Jeff Bezos?

Herb and Ellen Steiner recently spent a few days with Tim and Sybil Martin in Scotland, Connecticut. Herb is also in touch with Joe Vander Veer and Bob Ogren. Herb and Ellen are major FaceTime users, in an effort to keep track of 11 grandchildren. Well done with that.

Received a long note from George Holzwarth who is still working! He is an emeritus professor at Wake Forest in the physics department because “that’s what I like to do.” George’s wife, Natalie, is also a faculty member but she works full time! George requests classmates write to him at gholz@wfu.edu about our experiences in our freshman year with our world-class professors. He endured Professors Rosenbaum, Brown, Green, Cody, and Schorske.

Tim and Sandy Day continue their various involvements and travels. They recently returned from Israel where they walked the path of Christ with their pastor—”a very moving experience.” They continue to actively support the marine corps by providing education for members of the officer corps; they support animal rescue; and provide service dogs for the compromised marines. They also support Tim’s alma maters, among them Wesleyan, with support for the fitness departments, where the strength and fitness part of the athletics department are beneficiaries.

Owen Tabor wrote in response to our last Class Notes issue, suggesting a comment on the recent legacy decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. He feels that “legacy” should not qualify an unacceptable applicant but legacy and loyalty are tied together. To refuse to consider what a legacy family contributes, denies the University the history, community, character, and flavor that it wants to trade on when alumni support is sought. (NB: Individuals from legacy families are still most welcome to apply to Wesleyan—they are not being denied the opportunity to be a future member of the Wes community.)

And, finally, breaking news from Al, who reports that “on September 14, just in advance of Hurricane Lee, the seventh annual MidCoast Maine reunion took place. Sadly, the original band of brothers has dwindled down to six of us which includes Dick and Linda Cadigan, myself and my wife, Marie-Pier Brooks, and Joe and Wendy Mallory, at whose lovely home we gathered on Pemaquid Point. However, the group received a surprise phone call from another member, Anne McHugh, wishing she could be with us.

‘The evening included dinner of swordfish, prepared by Linda, and much eclectic conversation ranging from AI to affirmative and legacy action, to the evolution of the Earth, to how best to pick a president, to sports, of course, and even to astrophysics! (Mallory showing off his smarts.) We also talked, of course, of our 65th Reunion coming up and the momentum building for it—’59ers are starting to line up.”

One more reminder: Our 65th is next year, May 24 and 25. Put it on your calendar!