Tag: 1960

In June family and friends held a luncheon to celebrate the lives of Dick Huddleston and Charlie Smith and to dedicate the Huddleston Lounge in Downey House and the adjacent Smith Patio so that they would be forever memorialized on the campus they loved so much. The mood was bittersweet, as Barbara-Jan Wilson remarked, and celebratory. Spouses Lindsey Huddleston and Rita Smith spoke of how much Wesleyan meant to their husbands. Alan Wulff read a list of the 34 classmates who have died since 1959. Bob Williams, Tom McHugh ’59, Dave Hohl, and Chuck Olton reminisced about our days on campus in the ’50s.  It’s only fitting that these two close friends and extraordinary Wesleyan fundraisers were honored together.

Dave Larrouy expressed his sadness at the passing of Dick and Charlie. Dave and Maxine are enjoying his 25th year of retirement from Ford.

Nici and John Dobson had a wonderful month in the Dingle and Connemara areas of Ireland. It was great fun for John to return to the land of his heritage. He reported that their vacation home in Virgin Gorda received significant damage from Hurricane Irma, but parts of it are still standing.

Dan Nebert and his wife, Lucia Jorge, have retired to Charbonneau, Ore., which is mostly a retirement community enclosing three nine-hole golf courses. His career in medicine, pediatrics, genetics, and genomics now spans 57 years and is still going on. As a physician-scientist, he is semi-retired (still spearheading a genetics training grant at the University of Cincinnati). Congratulations to Dan on receiving the R. T. Williams Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. In addition, he was notified by the Google Scholar Citation Committee that he is among the “Top 640 Most-Cited Scientists/Authors” in all fields of study, from 1900 to the present.

Jack Fowler continues as senior research fellow at the Center for Survey Research at UMass Boston. Jack has made significant contributions concerning social research methods, medical outcomes, and medical decision making. He was selected this year to give a heritage interview for the American Association for Public Opinion Research which provides insight into his career. It can be viewed here.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

I was deeply saddened to learn that Charlie Smith passed away in May after a long illness. Charlie was our class agent for many years, and we are indebted to him for his tireless efforts on our behalf. We will miss his kindness, unfailing optimism, hu-mor, and deep engagement with the world. He was a sociologist who specialized in social theory and economic sociology. He held several professional institutional roles, including faculty member (Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY), long-term editor of the Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, department chair of sociology, and dean of social sciences (Queens College). He was also active in his synagogue. He is survived by Rita, his wife for 53 years, daughter Abigail ’92, son Jonathan ’94, four grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother. Before his passing, Charlie was informed that our class scholarship had been renamed the Charles W. Smith Class of 1960 Scholarship Fund in his honor.

The passing of Dick Huddleston in January was a significant loss to our university community. He was class secretary and agent, and a director of development at Wesleyan. The following appears in the published obituary: “Dick dedicated his life to his family and supporting nonprofit institutions which provide educational opportunities for youth and adults. His love of his children and grandchildren was expressed by his playful character and ability to think ‘outside the box.’ He successfully shared these gifts in his career helping children and adults all over the world. A passion for travel and exploration of different countries and cultures was a constant theme in his life, motivating him to study six foreign languages, live abroad, become an airplane pilot, and learn to cook excellent Italian food.” He is survived by Lindsey, his wife for 56 years, children Kathy and Michael ’90, four grandchildren, one brother, and one sister. The Richard H. Huddleston ’60 P’90 Wesleyan Scholarship has been established in his honor.

In June family and friends held a luncheon to celebrate the lives of Dick and Charlie Smith and to dedicate the Huddleston Lounge in Downey House and the adjacent Smith Patio so that they would be forever memorialized on the campus they loved so much. It’s only fitting that these two close friends and extraordinary Wesleyan fundraisers were honored together.

Rick Garcia is president of the National Academy of Economic Sciences of Bolivia. In May, he appointed internationally known Dr. Francis J. Ayala as honorary fellow because of his extraordinary contributions to a better understanding of the interconnections between evolutionary biology and economics.

Mark Lischner’s daughter, Lori, teaches special education in San Rafael, Calif. His son, Benjamin, is a physician in Norway. In 1971, Mark started a group practice in Sacramento in pulmonary and critical care medicine. The office now numbers over 30 caregivers. He plans to continue “until stopped by physical disability, dementia, or death.”

Gil Seeley is teaching a course in world music  at the Jewish Community Center in Tucson, where the new director of arts and culture is Barbara Fenig ’11.

Carl Syriala died on Nov. 12, 2016, in West Barnstable, Mass. He was an aquaculture expert and served as the treasurer of the local fire department for 15 years.

In retirement, Paul Tractenberg directs projects designed to improve educational equality. Rutgers Law School presented a major program honoring his 50 years of work in the field. Paul and Neimah enjoyed their annual New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day festivities with their four grandchildren. They went to Florida in February to share a good friend’s “special birthday,” and on a small boat cruise in May to the Mediterranean side of Italy and France.

Bob Williams wrote in: “We maintain our great Wesleyan relations with Marilyn and Mickey Levine. I am active with a flourishing Midcoast Senior College and editor of their newsletter; the layout man is Burr Taylor ’61. I also enjoy my friendship with another Russian historian, Phil Pomper, recently retired from the Wesleyan faculty, and my barbershop singing with the Uncalled Four.”

Alan Wulff wrote in: “I had a great reunion with Dave Boesel. Dave is involved in many things, most notably fervent, active work in the political arena. Dave is a black-belt martial arts expert and was elected president of the American Ju-Jitsu Association.” Alan visited Wesleyan in May and had dinner with Bing Leverich ’59.

I am happy to report that I am now back home. It is a blessing that the left ischium of my pelvis has healed well. I was at Mt. Baker Care Center from Jan. 1 through Mar. 4, where they prepared me with physical and occupational therapy for reentry into my normal surroundings. It was good to resume driving and restart activities such as yoga, contra dancing, and hiking. In addition, I visited the Wesleyan campus with my niece Liz in April and was impressed with the activities taking place on Science Saturday.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Class of 1960 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Joseph Ellis ’19, Manhattan Beach, CA

Your dedicated class secretary, Sal Russo, writes, “On Dec. 29, I was severely injured while descending on a ladder from the roof of our house. I broke both my nose and pelvis. In that one instant of time, my role of caregiver for my wife was dealt a severe blow. Fortunately, our friends were a great comfort and help to Judy. In addition, our children, Amy and Alan, who both live in Seattle, worked diligently to place Judy at High Gate Senior Center. I hope both of us will find healing in our lives.”

Congratulations to Dave Potts for winning the 2016 Homer D. Babbidge, Jr. Award “for the best study of a significant aspect of Connecticut history.” His book has received critical acclaim from a variety of sources. Dave, have you begun researching for volume three yet?

Bob Williams and Ann have been singing in The Highlands Chorale, with two concerts a year. Their holiday performance was met with an enthusiastic response by a full house. Bob is also singing in a quartet, perhaps appropriately called “The Uncalled Four.” Nevertheless, they have a devout following at the Highlands. He is having great fun!

Gill Seeley wrote in: “I will be conducting the Port Townsend Community Orchestra, in a program of works by Sibelius, Thompson, Mozart, and Copland at the end of February. I will also conduct the Rainshadow Chorale, also part of Port Townsend, in their May concert, in which I will premiere my new work for choir, Native American drum and flute on a text by my wife, entitled Morning Rabbit. Incidentally, the 40-member chorus consists of mostly retired folks, but they have great work ethic and spirit. I am thrilled to be making live music again after over 50 years of conducting concerts.”

Ed Stein wrote in: “I’m still here. In a few days, I’ll turn 81, which might make me the eldest in our class. Still working, trying to make Chortles, mini-mini chocolate chip graham crackers, a school and household name across the country. Also, doing crossword puzzle solving sessions with seniors at assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Plus, doing some puzzle construction. Will have another New York Times puzzle on President’s Day, Feb. 22, with the theme of Presidential Trivia.

“Wife Addie retired from teaching second grade in New Rochelle, N.Y., after 28 years. She loved it! That is, until teaching became more about test scores. That’s got to change. Daughter Sharon heads up a signage company with husband Tom. Some clients include Greenwich Hospital, the New York Knicks, and Pepsi. And daughter Jamie works in a special marketing group for Hershey’s.”

John Duell wrote in: “Trish and I, with our two families (10 total) celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with a weekend in London in early November. All of us enjoyed a performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, together with some excellent food. Looking forward to three weeks in Madeira in January.”

Rick Garcia, president of the Bolivian National Academy of Economic Sciences-ABCE, attended the Bolivian Conferences on Development Economics in December. The conference promoted the exchange of research experiences among Bolivian and foreign economists working in the in U.S. and European universities. While there, Rick gave the Silver Pin award to the best paper of the conference, written by Mauricio Tejada of the Alberto Hurtado University of Chile for his paper “Sources of Gender Wage Gaps in Latin American Countries.”

Sadly, Dick Huddleston passed away on Jan. 15. We will be following up with more information and reflections on Dick in the near future.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Editor’s Note: A heartfelt thank you goes out to your class secretary, Sal Russo, who worked diligently on collecting and compiling class notes while in a rehabilitation center to recover from his fall. We wish Sal a speedy recovery.

John Berry wrote the following: “Our daughter, Clay Berry, returned from Russia last year after spending two years as the treasury attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow with numerous trips to Kiev, Ukraine. This spring she was appointed a deputy assistant secretary of treasury, the department’s highest non-political position, with responsibility for Europe, Russia, and all the former Soviet republics. Meanwhile, my wife, Mary, continues to row competitively with the Vesper Boat Club in Philadelphia—a substantial commute from our home in Alexandria, Va. She will be rowing this fall in the Head of the Charles Regatta and plans to compete in the International Masters Regatta next year in Bled, Slovenia.”

Ed Chalfant wrote the following: “Not much going on. Nice lazy summer, with trips to North Carolina and Maine to help with the lobster crisis. Winkie is doing a lot of really good painting with acrylics and showing locally. I am working on a theology and set of liturgies for end-of-life issues and events. Continue to hold services every week at our little ’start-up mission’ which is able to give about 75 percent of offerings to mission outreach partners due to really low overhead and generous people. Both of us are very well and just celebrated 57 years of marriage this week.”

Dan Freedman is retired completely from MIT after a multi-year phase-out. Dan and Miriam now live in Palo Alto, Calif., near their two children and granddaughter. Although retired, he works nearly full-time in the physics department at Stanford. This is the 40th anniversary year of the discovery of supergravity, and his original paper (with two co-authors) was honored in June by celebrations at the Majorana Institute for Physics and Culture in Sicily and at CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. Dan also presented lectures describing his research at the Supergravity: What Next? Workshop held in September and October at the Galileo Galilei Institute for Theoretical Physics in Florence, Italy.

In March 2016, Peggy and Dave Hale traveled to Croatia, where they cruised down the Dalmatian coast, with stops in Montenegro and Albania, to Athens. A bus tour took them to Olympia and Delphi.

Congratulations to Jay Levy for receiving the 2016 Global Citizen Award from the Global Interfaith AIDS Alliance, an international organization that does pioneer work against HIV/AIDS in Africa, particularly Malawi. During the last three decades, Jay has investigated the mechanism of HIV infection and has contributed to the development of anti-retroviral therapies. In response to sad news in the last issue, Jay recalled that he, along with Wink Adams and Powell (Al) Johns, were among the few who lived at Soest House the first six months of their freshman year. Jay recalls that “it led to a real bonding of that group. It is with great sadness to us all that Wink now joins Al with his passing. Their spirit and memory will always be with us.”

Bob Sade edited The Ethics of Surgery: Conflicts and Controversies (Oxford University Press, 2015). Most of the authors of the articles are surgeons, giving a real-world cast to the discussions and arguments; the exchanges are enriched by an admixture of lawyers, sociologists, philosophers, and others with expertise in ethics.

Charlie Smith is the author of What the Market Teaches Us (Oxford University Press, 2015). Rather than attempting to explain and predict how the market functions—a futile endeavor—this book focuses upon the rich teachings that the market offers us for dealing with ambiguities and unexpected and contradictory happenings.

Bill Walker is the author of Danzig (Create Space Independent Publishing, 2016), a novel of political intrigue set in Central Europe in the 1930s. Richly atmospheric, it is gripping historical fiction in the grand tradition that has received rave reviews. Bill has a website at authorwilliamwalker.com that describes the book and provides a convenient link to buy it from Amazon in electronic or print forms. You are encouraged to read the novel and then to submit your review.

On a personal note, one of the highlights of my summer was taking part in the annual ferry boat contra dance in July. An enthusiastic 150 dancers, along with caller and musicians, took a regularly scheduled Washington State ferry round trip from Anacortes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. It was great fun, especially when the ferry encountered strong currents that tipped the dance floor!

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

This column begins with the sad news that Wink Adams died on March 19, 2016. He spent the last eight months of his life in the skilled nursing unit of The Glen at Willow Valley in Lancaster, Pa., where he received kind, loving, and compassionate care. His last job before retirement was to train salespeople to sell investment products for MetLife. Wink loved the beach and water at Cape Cod. He also derived great pleasure from his collection of classic cars. He is survived by his wife, Carroll, son Richard ’85, and daughter Tracy. On behalf of the class of 1960, I express our condolences to his family and friends.

Another sadness for our class is the death of Herm Golnik on Oct. 12, 2015, after a short illness. While teaching and coaching at Monson Academy in Monson, Mass., and later Middletown High School, he received his master’s in education from the University of Hartford. He attended Vanderbilt Law School and received his JD in 1967. Throughout his career he worked for a series of financial institutions in New York City, Detroit, and Orlando that included American Express, National Bank of Detroit, and Sun Banks of Florida. He also worked for Chrysler at their Eight Mile Plant as a tool and die maker and taught in the Detroit Public School System. After retiring, he moved back to Middletown, where he occasionally was a substitute teacher. He enjoyed politics and baseball and loved the New York Yankees. Herm was predeceased by his son Alexander. He is survived by his sons Karl, David, Jonathan, Benjamin, daughter Katie, and their respective spouses. He leaves nine grandchildren. On behalf of the class of 1960, I express our condolences to his family and friends.

Roland Bassett wrote: “Adrienne and I are truly blessed. We travel a good bit, just back from a tour of India, and Adrienne is headed back to Europe with a grandchild in June. I am (almost completely, but not quite) retired from my law practice. We still live in Galveston, along with our three boys, our daughters-in-law, and all of our grandchildren (except for those who have headed off to college), but we also spend a good bit of time watching pine trees grow on our small tree farm in East Texas.”

Bill Murphy wrote the following: “I’m happy to add a few lines to the notes since recovering from a second hip replacement is restricting my other activities. I’d rather be in school, but the doctor has grounded me temporarily. I continue to teach at Hanover High School where I started in 1961, but now it is only two courses. I have the satisfaction of teaching some bright juniors in a course called Contemporary American History, which I sometimes call the course of my life, since it begins in 1941 and comes up to today. I also include Wesleyan in the course as I push the students to try to determine what causes change. The big question is why did the Civil Rights Movement come when it did, and the little question is why did EQV and other fraternities at Wesleyan challenge their discriminatory clauses—a question that I tried to pursue at our 55th Reunion. Many good discussions have resulted.”

The history of Wesleyan University (1910–1970) written by Dave Potts has gone into a second printing and has been assessed in the premier journal for reviews of books in American history as “a genuinely enjoyable read” with extended sections that are “page turners.” The reviewer goes on to observe: “The second half of the book is a gripping account of the struggle to realize” President Victor Butterfield’s “distinctive vision of what a liberal arts college should be.”

Gil Seeley wrote: “I have re-invented myself, so to speak, living in Port Townsend, Wash. Will conduct the Rainshadow Chorale in the spring concert and am teaching my world music/poetry class. It’s called ‘a Victorian seaport and arts community’ by the chamber of commerce, but for me it is a place where there are an extraordinary number of retired folks who have done fascinating things with their lives. I highly recommend a visit to Port Townsend, as you will not be disappointed! Cheers.”

Paul Tractenberg wrote the following: “I retired as of Jan. 1, 2016, after 45-and-a-half years of law professing at Rutgers Law School in Newark. My wife, Neimah, and I recently moved to a new condo townhouse. The impetus for the move was to have a place with a first floor master bedroom—just in case—even though walking stairs isn’t an issue for either of us yet. In fact, I still do bicycle rides of 30–50 miles and sometimes more. Retirement from law teaching doesn’t mean the end of projects about which I care deeply. To the contrary, the time I’m not spending on teaching and attending to faculty business is largely being consumed by project work. To accommodate my major project, I’ve created a new nonprofit organization known as the Center on Diversity and Equality in Education (CDEE) and, to my gratification, have received a number of generous grants to support my work. As the new organizational name suggests, my work continues to focus on improving the educational opportunities for children, and especially low-income children of color. The project is centered on the Morris School District, a consolidation of predominantly white, upper-income and suburban Morris Township and predominantly black and Hispanic, lower-income and urban Morristown. This merger, which took place in 1971 by order of the state commissioner of education, produced one of the most diverse school districts in New Jersey despite opponents’ claims that it would trigger massive white flight. In late June, we head out to our house in Hampton Bays and look forward to a summer of sun and sea. We hope that our grandchildren will join us before and after their summer camp (and their parents can come along, too). So, all in all, life is good. We wish our classmates and their partners the same.”

Class of 1960 Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Fund

Joseph Ellis ’19, Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Bruce Dow is still working 20 hours per week as a community psychiatrist on Cape Cod, where he has a home near the ocean. He published his first book last year, Dream Therapy for PTSD (Praeger Press, 2015), and has a second book in progress, on the newer antipsychotic medications for schizophrenia. His partner, Rae Edelson (Barnard ’64), runs an art program (Gateway Arts) in Boston for people with mental disabilities. They shuttle between their two homes. Bruce has three grandchildren (in Seattle and Denver), and she has four (in Chicago and Washington, D. C.), so they travel around the country as well.

Rick Garcia is the current president of the Bolivian Academy of Economic Sciences (ABCE). See the Newsmaker for his update.

In February 2015, Peggy and Dave Hale escaped winter with two weeks in Chile and Argentina where they visited ranches, wineries, and a microbrewery. They heard interesting talks on a variety of cultural and historical topics, and took a tango lesson in Buenos Aires. In September they flew to eastern Europe where they boarded a ship on the Danube River to visit Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary. They experienced four folk dance groups, castles, cathedrals, and much talk about the miseries of life with communism.

Bob Mortimer wrote: “Mimi and I moved around quite a bit in 2015. We were in France for three months in the spring and then again in the fall. As our research interests center around France and its former colonies, we are always happy to see friends whom we met throughout the francophone world. It’s always a little bit ‘Afrique sur Seine’ for us (to quote the title of one of the earliest African films). In June our daughter Denise ’93 brought her kids (who are in a French-speaking school) to Paris to confirm that there really is an Eiffel Tower and no end of bookstalls filled with Tintin. During the fall we were too close for comfort to the terrorist attacks and the rise of the ultra-nationalist Front National. There was a Dickensian feel to our visits: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’ We also visited Jordan with its magical sites of Petra and the Wadi Rum desert, but the regional chaos and Syrian refugee crisis weigh heavily upon that country. Only Iceland, where we stopped off for a week in June on our way back to Boulder, seemed a refuge from the world’s troubles.”

Chuck Olton has published a book, Heroic Vision: A Story of Revolutionary Art and Politics. Anyone interested can learn more at heroicvision.net. Chuck and Barbara have been dividing their time between a home on Shelter Island (a community of 4,000 in winter and 25,000 in summer) and an apartment on lower Fifth Avenue, where they have lived since the early 1990s. They plan to sell their island house soon and will move to a retirement community, but they are not giving up on New York yet!

I am sorry to report that Bob Votaw died Jan. 26, 2016, in Farmington, Conn., after an extended illness. He majored in biology at Wesleyan and then received a Ph.D. in microbiology from Case Western Reserve University in 1964. He was a member of the faculty at Case Western until his appointment in 1966 as associate professor of biochemistry and director of Multidiscipline Laboratories at the soon-to-be built University of Connecticut Health Center. During his tenure with the UConn Health Center, Bob was instrumental in the design of the multidisciplinary labs and the medical school’s first microbiology curriculum. Later he also served as an assistant dean of medicine and led the development of the school’s first computer-based education program. After retiring from UConn, Bob was an alternate energy project developer. An excellent researcher and teacher, avid outdoorsman, gardener, gourmet cook, gun enthusiast, and historic preservationist, Bob lived for more than 35 years in Farmington. He was married to the former Joye Lynn Dickens in 1961. The couple divorced in 1988. He leaves behind his three children and his close friend Norma Hartley. On behalf of the class of 1960, I express our condolences to his family and friends.

Ann and Bob Williams are passionate about their involvement with The Highlands Chorale, which performed another December holiday concert with selections commemorating Christmas, Hanukkah, and the winter solstice. Bob has gotten increasingly involved in the MidCoast Senior College, where he both teaches (last fall’s offering was Six Spies in the Shadows) and serves on the board. He also edits their newsletter. His history of Topsham (Topsham, Maine, from the River to the Highlands) has been well-received. His most recent book (Stealing Van Gogh) follows the intriguing story of the painting “Night Cafe” from 1888 to the present.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com

2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

Ed Chalfant continues to enjoy an active retirement with bridge, reading, and directing a start-up mission out of Christ Church in Ponte Vedra, Fla. Winkie has emerged as a graceful painter in acrylics who shows her work locally and also plays bridge. They returned again to Maine this past summer to help ease the surplus lobster crisis.

Ira Sharkansky wrote the following: “More than a few indications of age, but the body keeps going with some physical activity, and other parts with the excitement that is never far from these fingers. I’ve stopped writing professionally, but the Internet provides an outlet for my blog, and my use of it to help me understand. There’s a small audience, and I’ve acquired a number of Internet friends. For a look at my Window on Israel, see jpost.com/Blogger/Ira-Sharkansky.”

Bob Williams wrote the following: “Ann and I welcomed our first granddaughter, Amelia Michael Enos, in June. Sad news was the death of my stepbrother, John Vinton ’63, in July. Still having lots of good conversations with Marilyn and Mickey Levine and hoping to cheer on the Cardinals at Bowdoin around Halloween. I am singing with our Highlands Chorale and trying to get a quartet together that can compare with the incomparable Reunionaires. Two weeks at our camp on Kezar Lake has centered us again.”

Bob mentioned the importance of getting centered. For me that involves hiking or contra dancing or yoga, all of which are readily available in Bellingham.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com

2700 Kentucky St., Bellingham, WA 98229

We were welcomed to our 55th Reunion by the sound of the bells of old South College. Dave Potts presented a WESeminar, “Only Yesterday? Wesleyan in the ’60s,” that was based on his recently published book, Wesleyan University, 1910-1970: Academic Ambition and Middle-Class America. At the Wesleyan assembly and annual meeting of the Alumni Association, Dave received the James L. McConaughy Jr. Award, which recognizes a member of the Wesleyan family whose writing conveys unusual insight and understanding of current and past events. In his acceptance speech in the chapel, Dave pointed out the stained-glass windows that commemorate past presidents and important benefactors to the university.

Myles Standish received a Distinguished Alumnus Award for his accomplishments at the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he created and continually improved high-accuracy planetary ephemerides (orbital positions) that are vital to the successful navigation of planetary spacecraft. Those ephemerides are now the world’s standard, providing data to virtually all of the national almanac offices, astronomical researchers, and observatories.

At our class banquet, I led the singing of “Sentimental Journey,” which captured our feelings about attending the Reunion. That was followed by “Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight” which reminded us of those fabulous party weekends. The singing of some traditional Wesleyan songs was a fitting ending to the banquet. My thanks to Charlie Smith and Brittany Richard, our liaison on the Wesleyan campus, for all their planning that made it a successful 55th Reunion.

On the day after the class banquet, my extended family had a reunion in Cromwell at the home of my niece, Liz Pulling. With both college and family reunions, it was a memorable trip to Connecticut.

Chris Campbell wrote: “I recently read a narrative about a young woman who slips and falls concussively against a large boulder. She is diagnosed as suffering from either mild aphasia or dissociative amnesia. The main result of this situation is that she has great difficulty in speaking normally. Her mind is alert, but in trying to express herself she tends to use a steady stream of synecdoche, a figure of speech which the Greeks described as using a ‘part’ for the ‘whole’ or vice versa. I was inspired by that odd condition, and began looking for everyday examples of synecdoche in contemporary English. A very common example of synecdoche is the use of ‘wheels’ to mean an automobile or ‘packing heat’ to mean carrying a firearm. These days we say ‘plastic’ when we mean a credit card. Hippies customarily said ‘threads’ to mean clothes. Most of us will say ‘pigskin’ when we are thinking about football. Now I am trying to build a large collection of modern-day examples of synecdoche. If any classmate can think of an example, I would be pleased to receive it at crc@navpak.com. If I am able to build a big enough list, I will write an article about this interesting figure of speech.”

John Berry wrote: “My wife, Mary, and I are just back from two weeks in Greece, with a week spent on Crete, where we stayed in a 500-year-old house in the ancient port town of Chania, built by Venetians when they controlled that part of the world. Our daughter, Clay, who is the Treasury attaché in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, was there with her husband, Bikas, the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative in Russia, and our two granddaughters, ages 3 and 7. After their two-year stint in Moscow, this summer they will be back living close to us in Alexandria, Va., where we have lived in the same house for 45 years. For months Clay has been traveling regularly to Kiev because of the U.S. involvement with the beleaguered Ukraine. Earlier we spent Thanksgiving in Seattle with our son, Michael, a senior software manager for Adobe Systems, and his wife, Catherine Berkenfield, a professor at Bellevue College.

“Mary, a writer, has also become an excellent photographer. Two years ago a portfolio of her pictures of the Salar de Uyuni, a huge salt flat in Bolivia, won first prize in the fine arts division of an international competition, the winners of which were on display for weeks at the National Geographic Society museum in Washington. Meanwhile, she continues to row competitively, both sweep and sculling, and did so in the Head of the Charles Regatta each of the past two years. She plans to be in an eight again this fall at an international masters competition in Belgium.

“I continue to write regularly only for a quarterly magazine, International Economy, but also enjoy occasional free-lance jobs as they come along, such as book reviews for USA Today. And I’ll be at our 55th in May.”

John Dobson wrote the following: “Nici and I continue to love Big Sky, Montana! In early September, however, we traveled to the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, Surrey in England, Normandy, Paris, and then back to the Connemara Peninsula, Ireland. Several days after our return to Montana, we ventured on to Kauai, Hawaii, for 11 days. In mid-October, we joined Caren and Dick Gorenberg in Durham, for our 50th Duke Medical School Reunion. Our fall travel was capped off by six weeks at our home in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. It seems like a lot of travel in a fairly short length of time, but we both thoroughly enjoyed each trip. We are now back in Big Sky and are fully embroiled in a great ski season!”

Jim Dover is active in the Bridgton Senior College, both as an instructor and board member. The highlight of 2014 for Jim and Sue was the trip taken to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They visited Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire Valley of France for about two and a half weeks. They were then joined by two children and their spouses, along with three grandchildren, for a week in Annecy, their favorite town in the French Alps, and a final week in Interlaken, Switzerland.

Peggy and Dave Hale spent 12 days in Panama. In addition to transiting the Panama Canal on a small boat, they visited a number of places where traditional activities were happening. They made candy from sugar cane, corn, and cheese tortillas, along with traditional hats and dresses. They enjoyed a home-hosted meal in an Embera Indian village, where Peggy got a tattoo. Dave swam in the Pacific, kayaked on Lake Gatun, and briefly joined two traditional dance groups.

Wesleyan University: 1910–1970: Academic Ambition and Middle-Class America by Dave Potts has been published. It’s a sequel to an earlier volume that covered the period 1831–1910. Dave gives an unprecedented level of attention to the board of trustees and finances. These clearly related components are now introduced as major shaping forces in the development of American higher education. Extensive examination is also given to student and faculty roles in building and altering institutional identity. Threaded throughout is a close look at the waxing and waning of presidential leadership. All of these developments, as is particularly evident in the areas of student demography and faculty compensation, travel on a pathway through middle-class America. Within this broad context, Wesleyan becomes a window on how the nation’s liberal arts colleges survived and thrived during the last century. Dave says: “The fastest way to get a hard copy edition at the most competitive price is via the Wesleyan Press/University of New England Press website using the 30 percent discount code: W301.”

Stanley N. Katz, lecturer/professor, Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, wrote this review: “This superb follow-on to Potts’ first volume on the history of Wesleyan University maintains the exceptional quality of its predecessor. College histories tend to puffery, but this one is a solid, critical, and knowledgeable account. Potts here establishes himself as one to the finest historians of higher education, and Wesleyan gets the sort of history a great institution deserves.”

Oscar Lanford III died Nov. 16, 2013, after a battle with cancer, at the age of 74. After his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan, he received a Ph.D. from Princeton in 1966 in quantum field theory. He began as assistant professor and later became professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. This was followed by professor of physics (1982-1987) at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques in France. He moved in 1987 to the department of mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and retired in 2005. He continued teaching at the Courant Institute until 2012.

Oscar was an expert in quantum field theory, statistical mechanics, and dynamical systems. His publications were influential to the development of mathematical physics. He was the recipient of the 1986 U.S. National Academy of Sciences award in applied mathematics and numerical analysis and he received an honorary doctorate from Wesleyan.

Oscar is survived by his wife, Regina, and their daughter. On behalf of the Class of 1960, I express our condolences to his family and friends.

SAL RUSSO | salandjudy@hotmail.com
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