Tag: 1968

Let us here plunge willy-nilly into the Reunion, noting only that while I made a point of circulating, I know I missed dozens of classmates and apologize: Ted King—a surgeon unable to practice his art for some time due to a stroke—spoke to the class on doing what you can. Andy Gaus was there—editing and other literary endeavors in the Boston area. Steve Carlson, a lobbyist from Sacramento, looked 45. Said the chaos in Washington is great for business. Everyone wants him to assure them that the End Days are not upon us.

Talked to Eric Conger about the meaning of life and the structure of reality. He spoke for many of us when he said his kids were his biggest achievement: Eric and Stuart Ober performed a play—set in a jail cell filled with deep references—that Eric wrote and performed with Bob Helsel 50 years ago. (Eric said it was as slap-dash and juvenile then as it is now). Speaking of deep references: enjoyed seeing Mark Taylor—taught at Williams for years (and still living there) but now at Columbia—as he actually understands all those philosophers with whom I struggled during my div school phase.

Bill Carter was there, down from Hanover; remains active in international development through an organization he helped found back in the day. And Chris Palames was there with his wife—from Northampton. His life-work has been to enable independent living among those who might be viewed as handicapped. My Judy takes any chance she can to corner John Lipsky (recently retired from the IMF) for scuttlebutt about the world’s stage. Bleak.

Paul Jarvis, a Chicago-area psychologist in private practice, followed someone’s good advice: If you are going to marry an academic, make sure they are the author of a standard text that goes into multiple editions. Their kids are Carleton grads—a Minnesota school a lot like Wesleyan but a little better. Eric Blumenson is very happily still at Suffolk in a position that has no responsibilities and no compensation—writing and doing the kinds of things Eric always does. Talking about getting out of Boston winters to Santa Monica.

I caught up with John Steele, an architect/builder who has enjoyed his last 31 years in Burlington, Vt. Cap Cline is a physician whose work-life and retirement has been in the charming, historic town of Frederick, Md. Chris Thomas has a sweet story: He and his wife returned to their hometown of Meadville, Pa., where he was a primary care physician for 35 years. Don Logie, a retired Hartford-area insurance exec, got an alumni service award. Involved with Toastmaster’s and lobbying Wes to reinstate a public speaking requirement.

Chi Psis normally do not embrace the likes of me, but Wig couldn’t restrain himself. Barry Edwards, who worked in finance, was in from Portland, Ore. I’d give him the prize for the best head of hair. And Bob Knox, a still-practicing lawyer and still-running through the forests of Marin County, would garner my award for the most minimalist head of hair. Bob was a hockey player, on the same line as Peter Corbin, a renowned painter of fishing and wildlife scenes from Millbrook, N.Y., whose blonde/white hair has gone gray/white and looks great.

Frank Phillippi got an alumni service award for his many efforts on our behalf. A semi-retired journalist/reporter/videographer/blogger, he’s had fascinating career with stops at the Watergate hearings, Dukakis’ campaign, Kiplinger’s and the Newseum. I heard a lovely anecdote about Michael Roth ’78 from one of you and met him. Super-smart and personable; seems to be doing his level best to keep the place chugging along.

I must turn from celebratory frolics to more serious matters: In January, we lost Oliver “Rawley” Thomas; in April, Steve Kidd; and, in June, Ken Almgren.

Don Logie remembers Rawley, his KNK brother and sophomore year roommate, as a good basketball player and always interested in financial matters. Thus, it was no surprise that, after a degree from Carnegie Mellon, he chose a career in finance, working for the Boston Consulting Group, and the food distributor SuperValue outside Chicago.

Steve was drafted and spent two years at the Pentagon, followed by a stint at Brookings, then Wharton, some time at Cooper and Lybrand, and then to smaller consulting companies in the Washington area, where he specialized in federal financial accounting systems. Moving to Arizona five years ago to be near his only child and very much enjoying the Southwest, he suffered a series of medical setbacks after a fall. His wife, Elizabeth, observed “he died as he lived, quietly and with great dignity.”

Ken was devoted to his Swedish culture, gardening, and his show dogs. Noted for his accepting demeanor, humor, and style, he was a naval corpsman and then communications officer at Subic Bay and aboard the USS Waddell. He held a master’s in economics and, after moving to Annapolis in 1980, was the CFO of Arinc and then the National Association of Broadcasters for decades before retiring.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

We lost Geoff Gallas in June of 2016 and Doug Wachholz in January of 2017. Geoff held a master’s from Harvard and a doctorate from USC. He worked for many years in the Philadelphia area in court administration—much of that time as dean of the National Center for State Courts, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of judicial administration at all levels nationwide. Wink Wilder and I were recently talking about bouncing about the country the summer of 1967 and enjoying Geoff’s hospitality in Palos Verdes, Calif. Captain of our swim team, he was then a classic southern California lifeguard. [A graduate of Syracuse’s Maxwell School, Wink actually found the California lifestyle so to his liking that, after a couple of years in Washington, he spent his banking career—and still lives—in Pasadena. Retired and a widower, he summers in Maine near one of his kids.]

Doug was a transfer student from West Point who went on to UVA’s law school and then clerked for a federal judge in the eastern district of Virginia. During the Carter administration, he served in USAID’s Africa bureau and later on with an early renewable energy initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean. (He spoke Spanish and Portuguese.) He then embarked on a career as an international consultant with projects throughout South America. In 1999, he moved to Reno, where he practiced law and expanded his consulting.

Dave Gruol, Dick Emerson, and John Andrus ’67 saw Wes’s basketball team take down then-number four Middlebury. John was a trust officer with several large banks and is now retired in Mendham, N.J., where he served on the town council for over 20 years. Patricia ’79 and Dick Cavanagh are watching their daughter flourish at Bowdoin—a really sweet school these days—where she is stroking the varsity. They live in Chestnut Hill and, after a stellar career, he is “concluding a decade of failing retirement”—chairman of the boards of BlackRock Mutual Funds and of Volunteers of America, a part-time lecturer at Harvard, and a lousy golfer. Just before Reunion, I helped organize and attended a translucent talk on ospreys and menhaden by Paul Spitzer sponsored by the local Audubon Society. Paul said that Ken Kawasaki ’69 and his wife have, for many years. lived near the Kandy Hill Station (a center of life for British tea planters in Sri Lanka since 1846) and is involved with teaching, fundraising, and other humanistic pursuits for a Buddhist monastery.

REUNION (more to follow): Bob Crispin received the Lifetime Achievement Award. We laughed about Bob’s career as Johnny U (for utility) on the baseball team. (The coaches played him wherever there was a need). After some teaching and coaching, he began what became a most impressive career in finance and asset management at Phoenix Life in Hartford. He ended his career as CEO of major chunks—Peru, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Latin America—of the multinational ING Group. A regular commuter to Atlanta and New York as well as a frequent traveler to his areas of responsibility from his home outside Portland, Maine (he’s a place in Charleston for “mud season”). One wife, three “kids,” eight grandchildren, and two labs.

Two highlights of one dinner: (1) Serious talk about the utterly amazing faculty we had and the unbelievable interactions we had with them, and (2) not so serious reminiscences with my two bosom buddies from freshmen year: Bill Smith and Bob Svensk. Smitty, a retired ad executive, is still in Southport mostly chasing five grandchildren under the age of 8 who are also in town.

Lovely lunch with Bob Smith: University of Chicago Law followed by a long and happy run on BC’s faculty and eight years as the dean at Suffolk. Three kids—two in Boston area and one in Montana. Dinner with Terry Fralich and Geoff Tegnell: Terry’s first time back on campus so his head was swimming. NYU Law followed by a change in direction—meditation, time in India and the Himalayas—to become a writer/teacher/speaker. Lives in Maine on—and I’ve been there to check it out—a small piece of paradise. Geoff remains Geoff. I don’t believe in auras but I am sure his is glorious. Social studies coordinator for eight schools in Brookline. Told me Peter Cosel, an attorney and grandfather, is alive and very well.

Bob Reisfeld, fellow PsiUer turned Kaiser psychiatrist, reflected on how widely acquainted I am with the class. To that, I replied it is completely self-serving: When we met, you were the most interesting, able and creative group I’d ever encountered. In the ensuing years, you have only gotten smarter, funnier, and kinder. What is there not to love?

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Locally: “the crew”—Bob Svensk, Harrison Knight, Nason Hamlin, Will Macoy ’67, myself, and Coach Phil Calhoun ’62, MALS’69—reuned in Middletown in early October. Enjoyed amazing weather, one another, a couple of rows by those who still can, and interacting with the present coaches and rowers. After which, Judy and I recovered with a week in London. They may no longer have an empire, but it is still a lovely town.

Crew is too hard to do for a coach you respect. You gotta love the SOB. Thus, it was a particular pleasure for Judy and me to have a long lunch by the river with Phil and his wife, Janet. Phil was at Wes for 10 years, leaving as the University’s secretary. After which he did an array of things (e.g., in Tom Ridge’s cabinet in Harrisburg, a partner in a micro-brewery, a vice-presidency at Franklin & Marshall), produced two wonderful daughters (for whom I babysat), and encouraged rowing wherever he went. Keeps in touch with Colin Campbell. Janet, in response to the painful loss of her mother and a sister, wrote a searing memoir, Rabbit Warrior, which was published by a small Pennsylvania press. As I like to keep appearances/illusions/half-truths firmly in place, it was not an easy read.

Harrison told me one of our buddies, Bill Currier ’69, retired from his partnership at White & Case’s Washington office and is seeing if he has a novel in him.

Shortly after Maria struck, Joe Kelly Hughes ’67, a former SEAL, went to Puerto Rico as a FEMA volunteer.

Sam Davidson has an exquisite art gallery in Seattle and hosted a Wesleyan event there last fall. Gordon Fain ’70 is a Yale Law School graduate who never left the area: the grandfather of seven, very active in his temple and a thoroughly good guy. Wendell Wallach, chair of Yale’s Technology and Ethics Working Research Group, moderates a seminar open to all, which some friends of mine have attended for years. They speak highly of Wendell, who was just on a European lecture tour.

I caught up with John Kepner, a Penn Law grad who worked and lived in the Philly area as a healthcare attorney, and then, he moved out of the legal role and into executive and consultant positions—most notably with Penn and The Holy Redeemer’s health systems. His specialties were strategy, new ventures, and building relationships. His website (fenwaymanagementadvisors.org) has short splendid essays related to his work and point of view. Both he and his wife, Mimi, are very involved with inner-city social service programs and both enjoy getting away to their place on the Vineyard. They have three sons. The oldest is the lead baseball writer for the Times. The other two (Amherst & Yale) are Austin-based and making music together as Full Service.

In May, we lost Steve Horvat, and, in October, Peter Margolius. Steve was a good clutch hitter, the catcher and co-captain on the baseball team. Dave Losee noted that under Steve’s leadership they used to eke out good seasons from so-so teams. After four years in the U.S. Army, Steve went on to Northwestern’s Law School and a distinguished career in insurance. Most notably were his years in a range of top positions, including general counsel, with Franklin Life, mostly in the Chicago-area. He loved golfing and vacationed and retired to Hilton Head. He was part of our Dick Emerson, Ray Solomon, Charles Ahern, et al golfing group, and there are plans for a memorial tree on campus. (Contact Dave Gruol; davidgruol@aol.com if you wish to contribute). One classmate remembered Steve as “quiet Indiana strong.”

Peter “marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., volunteered for Vietnam, ran into burning buildings, and would do anything for a dog.” In Vietnam, he served in intelligence and earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal. After law school, he spent several years in Japan as a Naval JAG officer. In 1979, he went into private practice in Catskill, N.Y., where he served as a volunteer fireman, and, most proudly, as town justice from 1997-2014. Additionally, he served Greene County as a prison prosecutor and first assistant public defender. “Peter was a talented marksman, military history aficionado, and staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. He loved The Three Stooges (Curly was the best)…and could quote every line from Casablanca.”

Ostensibly, our Reunion celebrates the time we went through together in Middletown. But, in truth, we also went through the 1950s together and are going through the 2010s together (though not in physical proximity). And my thought is that we would all do well to come back May 24-27 to mark, celebrate, and give thanks for everything.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Locally things have been quiet. Our place is so resort-like, we don’t do much in the summer. We look into the woods, but our condo complex is on the water and has a lovely pool. So Judy swims laps while I schmooze with our venerable neighbors. (It seems you have to be 90 to be a friend of mine these days.) I was not as diligent as I should have been in rehabbing after my foot surgery and have recommitted to a special gym, an exercise regimen, et al.

Believe it or not, I rarely go to Wes and haven’t walked on Main Street in many, many years. Well, I did so recently and was absolutely stunned by its transformation. I’d heard that young people were going there as if it were a destination. But I didn’t believe it—until I saw it with my own eyes. The college bookstore recently partnered with what I consider Connecticut’s best independent bookstore and relocated to Main Street complete with a very cool restaurant. When you return for your 50th (May 24-27)—and you are coming, right?—you must check out more than just O’Rourkes (recently named the state’s best diner).

Nason Hamlin seems to be doing well, as every time I reach out he is traveling. First it was Spain, then the UK. An internist who spent most of his career in an underserved, rural town in Connecticut—yes, they exist—while his wife, Erica MALS’91, taught and “deaned” at Hotchkiss. When she got the opportunity to head a school in Seattle, they moved west and he joined UW’s faculty. They had always planned to retire to the San Juan Islands (well, west of Seattle: there are no traffic lights, loads of whales and from which, on a clear day, you can almost see Russia) and that is just what they did. Apart from their travels and children, I think their garden provides them with most of their excitement.

Brian Frosh, Maryland’s attorney general, made national news when he, along with D.C.’s attorney general, sued the president for illegally profiting from his position. Dave Webb is surprised at his becoming a committed snowbird (winters in Florida; summers on Cape Cod). He is leading a busy retirement with family involvements, visitors galore, and a lot of biking. He and Barb enjoyed a visit from Jo and Bill McConaghy who just sold his very successful Boston-area signage company. (As I recall, Williams was one of his clients.) He is staying on as a transitionary boss for two years without the hassle of ownership.

I caught up with Bill Johnson who, after getting his doctorate in economics at MIT, joined UVA’s faculty where, apart from visiting stints at Stanford and Chicago, he has lived happily ever after. Still teaching, his specialties are wages, wage differentials, and income inequality, so he is much in demand. His wife, Sarah, is Wellesley ’69 so they celebrated her 30th college reunion at the White House (and were hoping to do the same for her 50th). Traveling while they can, they have done genealogical research on their families in Europe and hit all 50 states. Bill talks of retiring to Manhattan, but his proposal isn’t getting traction with Sarah, who is an attorney, retired from an administrative post at UVA’s law school. They have a son in Alexandria who does data analysis for AC Nielsen.

Boisterous has always described anything you do with Brendan Lynch and our recent conversation was no exception. A lifelong Hartford-area guy who retired when MetLife took over after a 37-year career at Travelers (as president of asset management for institutional markets). He keeps his hand in things by serving on “real” boards—the kind that pay you and fly you to fancy places. But he is golfing regularly and—along with Mimi, his wife of 48 years—devoting a great deal of time and energy to an array of charities, mostly focusing on the (enormous) needs of Hartford’s inner-city youth.

He reports Kevin Dwyer, a real estate attorney, has gone California, complete with kids who swim like fish. He sees Kink Terry, a high-end commercial realtor, Frank Leone ’71, an East Hartford attorney, and Frank Waters ’70, who has an insurance agency in West Hartford and is a very successful girls’ high school basketball coach.

Ric Voigt lassoed Brendan into helping out with the Reunion—something there is still time for you to do. (Contact George Reynolds at greynolds@sandepointefunding.com, Stuart Ober at ober@stuartober.com, or Sandy See at alexander.h.see@gmail.com). And if you ask me, a college 50th is—like a total eclipse—a once in a lifetime deal that you miss at your peril.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Business first: Our 50th Reunion is coming up. I know I will be there, but am not so sure about you (May 24-27, 2018). Stuart Ober (ober@stuartober.com), Sandy See (alexander.h.see@gmail.com) and George Reynolds (greynolds@sandpointefunding.com) continue looking for guys willing to help out.

Local: I had an urge to continue walking, so I used this winter to get my right foot reconstructed. Made me house-bound which, especially in view of the great and amazing things seizing our nation, left me glued to the tube (in deep denial, watching countless Law & Order reruns). Judy, as her just desserts for steadfastly seeing me through, went to a French immersion program near Nice in March. And in May, we took my hobbling to Ireland for 10 days. There we spent two days with an erudite and entertaining Irishman whose granddaughter Beatrix Herriott O’Gorman ’19—would you believe it?—is studying film at Wes. Loves it.

I had a chat with Tim Polk’s widow, Lucy. She and the kids are managing. Still teaching in St. Paul. Taken up golf. I met Wesleyan’s Imam, Sami Abdul Aziz, and his wife. Bright, personable couple who are the center of a vibrant community. Report good support from the administration. Harrison Knight polished up his pickle ball game in Bonita Springs last winter. Paul Spitzer was the subject of a lovely magazine article in Cornell’s Living Bird. Michael D. Terry ’69 was very explicit that “you do not take me or yourself too seriously” as he continues to write about his cancer journey. His treatment center, Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, is using some of his material in their outreach. Bob Runk ’67 has always impressed me as a particularly good-natured guy and I’ve attributed his good vibes to his love for music. Well, it continues. Check out his new stuff on iTunes by searching for “Bobby Runk” and “RunkRock.”

Wig Sherman—whose good cheer and gossip over the years has made him your unacknowledged associate class secretary—and I caught up recently. After Wes, he served in ‘Nam in the Army working with IEDs—a most unenviable assignment. Then Wharton, and a very successful run on Wall Street. Mid-life two things converged which changed his course: second thoughts about his career, and the prolonged illness and ultimate death of his daughter, Whitney, at 13. He then got a master’s in education and planned to teach in his hometown of Wilton, Conn., but instead got approached about joining the Board of Education, which he did. (That precluded his teaching in town.) He toiled mightily and with distinction on the Board (“more hours than I ever put in on Wall Street”). As its chair, he addressed the graduating class several years, most thoughtfully ruminating—as the son of a gas station owner—on the meaning and obligations of affluence to the high school’s graduates in this very upscale town. In Vero Beach for the last five years, Wig keeps up with a lot of brothers from the Lodge. Ralph Boynton ’69 lives in his complex, and Bob Newhouse is planning to move in.

I caught up with John Mergendoller, a southern California native, now in the Bay Area. (There was a picture of him online and he looked both well and very California.) After Harvard’s School of Ed, he did his doctorate at Michigan and enjoyed a Fulbright in Geneva. Most of his career was with the Buck Institute for Education, an outfit that works face-to-face with 15,000 educators worldwide each year, advancing project-centered learning. John is quite involved with music, playing acoustic guitar and mandolin in groups. His wife, Jessica, has a doctorate in anthropology and taught at UCSF’s medical school. Their son, Jacob ’11, lives in Brooklyn and works in the tech world, while their daughter, Julia ’07, works at Berkeley’s Latin America Studies Center. He keeps up with some of his Beta brothers: Frank Phillippi, Bud Bourke, Bob Knox, and Dick Cavanagh.

Brian Frosh, a Columbia Law School grad, is Maryland’s attorney general. An April 11 article in the Baltimore Sun opined that he “doesn’t have an A-list air about him. But late in the afternoon on the General Assembly’s final day, he was greeted like a celebrity when he walked onto the floor of the Maryland Senate. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas ‘Mac’ Middleton threw an arm around him. Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Chairwoman Joan Carter Conway kicked up a foot, and all three smiled broadly for a photo. ‘We love our A.G.,’ Middleton said.”

The occasion for the article was that Brian had “emerged from the annual 90-day [legislative] session as one of the major winners.” Drawing on ties he cultivated as a 28-year member of the General Assembly representing the Silver Spring area, Brian succeeded in gaining for the attorney general position itself a considerable boost in power. In this newly empowered role, he is expected to defend Maryland’s reformed money bail system, to fight against sharp pharmaceutical price increases, and for the rights of emigrants. Though a trusted figure in Maryland politics, he has ruled out a run for higher office.

In closing, I’d note I am writing this on May 26 and, if everything goes as it should, we will be together next May 26 celebrating our 50th—which to my mind, leastwise, is a big deal. Humor me and show up.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

I’ll open with the observation that I am unaware of a lot of energy swirling around our upcoming 50th (May 24-27, 2018), though maybe—as I have stated that I do not wish any leadership role—I am not entitled to make any such remarks. However, three of our classmates, Sandy See, alexander.h.see@gmail.com; Stuart Ober, ober@staurtober.com; and George Reynolds, greynolds@sandpointefunding.com, would appreciate your help in making the 50th into more than a pedestrian affair. Consider contacting them.

After three years, I am still not able to distinguish retirement from an extended vacation. However, I took a break from Yale football this September, and Judy and I spent a week at Chautauqua—a lakeside Disneyland in western New York for mature culture vultures. There we had the good fortune to share some quality time with Paige and Dale Lott ’56. He is a landscape painter and geographer, retired from the New Jersey university system, in the midst of a very active retirement in Poultney, Vt.

In August, Laurie and Bob Newhouse were thrilled with the arrival of their first grandchild, Robert Hayes Newhouse (“Hayes”).

Bill Nicholson’s daughter is SMU bound. Jeff Talmadge’s website, WeNeedaVaction.com, which is largely a family enterprise, celebrated its 20th year and is thriving. He and Joan are devoted to the Red Sox, their kids, their seven grandchildren, and are planning a trip to Cuba.

In October, Boston’s Head of the Charles Regatta was run for the first time in, I believe, 26 years without a “founder’s” crew from Wesleyan—my ‘mates. However, Wes was well represented—the women beat 27 other crews to win their event. And during the course of the weekend, the David Crockett ’69, a beautiful eight, formally joined Wesleyan’s fleet. (The varsity rowed in it last spring and dubbed it “the Crockett Rocket.”) Wife Kitty, son David, and daughter Cordelia (lovely folks all), spoke of Davy’s vibrant and expansive spirit, as did Coach Phil Calhoun ’62 and Captain Will Macoy ’67.

On Election Day, not everything went the way I would have liked, but it had some nice moments nonetheless. My state senator is Ted Kennedy Jr. ’83—a personable and effective legislator—and he was at my polling site when I voted. We spoke of his son, a freshman, who is rowing in the second boat, and his daughter, who graduated last May and is now a doctoral student in physics at Columbia. A small town pol, Ted actually called a dear friend of mine in town, David Ramos ’05, and asked for David’s support personally. When I told Ted I was ’68, he just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

As a meathead oarsman out of Psi U with a preppy veneer, but not the capital, I have largely muddled through life. Being your secretary allows me to chronicle some most fascinating people, and, regretfully, we have lost two recently: David Berry died at his home in Brooklyn in December. A playwright and screenwriter, he won an Obie for distinguished playwriting for his first play, G. R. Point, which depicts soldiers in the Vietnam War in a sympathetic lens and ran on Broadway in 1979. (He started writing this as a novel until his then-wife urged him to make a play of the material.) Best known for his stage play and 1987 screen adaptation of The Whales of August, which was inspired by his Maine childhood and starred Bette Davis, Vincent Price, and Lillian Gish, he enlisted in the Army in 1968, but was discharged so he could serve as guardian to his younger siblings after his mother’s death. After the success of his plays, he continued writing while teaching at several institutions including the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Conn., and most recently the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Bill Ochs was a scholar, performer, and passionate teacher of traditional Irish instruments—specifically the tin whistle, wooden flute, and uilleann pipes—who was a pivotal figure in the renaissance of this musical tradition. His work was furthered by an MFA from Sarah Lawrence, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a 40-plus year involvement in the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. He is the author of The Clarke Tin Whistle, which sold 250,000 copies. A resident since the 1970s of Hell’s Kitchen, he and his long-time partner, Margaret Vetare, shared a house in the Hudson River Valley. A political activist, Bill devoted enormous energy to some congressional campaigns. Also, he was exhilarated by the outdoors and was an avid swimmer, hiker, cross-country skier, and birdwatcher. On the trail or in the canoe, he always wanted to see what was around the bend.

Lloyd Buzzell | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360

Local news first: Judy and I celebrated our 70th birthdays and 44th anniversary and were recently musing how convenient it is to still be in love. When she noted that this may be more a matter of habit than conviction, I wasn’t taken aback. I can’t be choosy, as anything I get is more than I deserve. However, all this makes us newbies. We hosted Barbara and Dave Webb for a couple of delightful hours on our deck and Dave recounted verbatim the line he used to sweep Barb off her feet at an eighth-grade sock-hop. (He used to share it with his students at Choate in the hopes it might work for them, too.) Dave has kept in touch with a great circle of friends from Wes and reported seeing Paul Jarvis in Chicago while visiting his son, a realtor. They hadn’t gotten together in a while, but Tim Polk’s passing made them—as it should you—realize there are some things you should not put off to next year.

One of the benefits of my job is that I sometimes get into wonderful e-mail exchanges. Bob Svensk ’fessed up to watching a PBS special on Janis Joplin and recalled when she came to Wes. It was Brian McCoy’s first big deal as college social chairman. In a joint deal with Yale—Friday in New Haven and Saturday in Middletown—for $2,500 each at the behest of her agent, this unknown California singer was booked to introduce her to the East Coast. (Brian established the date as March 9, 1968.) After the performance, several of the brothers invited her back to DKE where she swilled Jack Daniels and ate pasta glop without utensils ’til dawn.

I think it’s quite something to look back and consider that, at this point, most of us are grandfathers and she, long gone, has been given her own stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. While I never spent a night in the company of such a character, I—like you—have memories of all sorts from back in the day and it’s for that reason I plan to spend May 24 to 27, 2018 at my 50th Reunion. Sandy See [seescape@verizon.net], Stuart Ober [ober@stuartober.com] and George Reynolds [greynolds@sandefunding.com] continue looking for guys to help out with things.

I caught up with Eric Conger in a call that proved to be an insight into a life in the theater. After Wes, he attended Hartford Seminary until the lottery graced him with a good number. Then he, along with Bob Helsel, revitalized a summer stock theater in Ohio. (Bob pulled a bad number and joined the Navy while Eric continued there for four years, gaining some notice as a director.) Earning his Equity Card after five more years in regional theater, he came to New York and landed a contract on the soap, Another World. Additionally, he spent almost 20 years as an actor at respected venues like Hartford Stage and Princeton’s McCarter Theatre. He countered this gig-to-gig lifestyle by saving like crazy and getting into some real estate ventures. But, by the early ’90s, he wanted to stop traveling and switched into doing voice-overs, commercials, and industrials.

Since 2008, he’s focused on being a playwright and, in 2010, experienced what he described as a “dream experience.” His play, a comedy-drama entitled The Eclectic Experience, was produced at Philadelphia’s 1,200 seat Walnut Street Theatre for a sold-out six-week run. One night Andy Stone hosted an Eclectic reunion that drew 60, at which the guys loosely depicted in the play mingled with the actors playing them in the production. Eric has had two dramas produced at smaller venues and is working on a new project with the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He lives in Weehawken, N.J., with his wife, Gayle Humphrey. Their daughter, Sophia, is making films at Ithaca College and their son, Davis, is entering George Washington. Like many of us this year, Davis is keenly interested in politics.

I spoke with Dave Gruol in August. After a brief flirtation with New York banking (and these were times when bombs were going off and management trainees protested the war during lunch), he hitchhiked through Europe for three months. During that period, he arrived at an American military base at 2 a.m. to see Steve Horvat and was let in and directed to Steve’s barracks. (Reminds me of the time, as a kid, a pilot asked me into the cockpit to help fly the plane.) Always interested in photography, he returned to the States and took a job with a tech wizard doing various commercial projects. In 1980, he went off on his own doing mostly product photography for smaller outfits. (One choice assignment was for a chain of Caribbean hotels.) All the while, he did personal work in black and white; series on boxers, jazz musicians, and a lot of New Jersey urban landscapes many of which are not far from his home in Morristown. Married later in life, his wife, Joan, is involved with the Thomas Nast museum. In good health and very happily self-employed, he is not contemplating retirement. Every summer, he gets together with a wonderful bunch of classmates— Steve Horvat, Dick Emerson, Craig Dodd, Peter Hardin, Jacques LeGette, Ted Ahern, Ray Solomon, and Ron Schroeder—for golf and tall-tales.

Last summer, I inspected Dave Losee’s new digs in Camden, Maine. Apart from the fact his front lawn does not overlook Penobscot Bay, it was perfect. Los—a pitcher who, by his own admission, was no Whitey Ford—most appreciatively remembers Dave Gruol as his center-fielder who would snag anything not put into permanent orbit. Finally, Rich Kremer ’69, one of my all-time favorites, is up in Vermont. A superb golfer back in the day, he is back at it with a particular eye to special courses.

LLOYD BUZZELL | LBuzz463@aol.com
70 Turtle Bay, Branford, CT 06405 | 203/208-5360