Our 35th reunion will take place June 13-16—which is less than four months away. Because of that nasty pandemic, we didn’t get to have a 30th reunion, so this will be the first time we’ve all gotten together in 10 years! Of course Joel Newton’s and Chris Newton’s law of Dartmouth reunions states that the depth of joy experienced by reunion attendees is directly proportional to the number of alumni who show up—the more, the merrier! Thus, this month, I asked ’90s who have already decided to attend reunion to write messages to the rest of our class, encouraging them to register. Here are your messages. Dave “Danger” Sherwood writes, “By now I think everyone’s heard about blue zones—places where people live longer due to strong community and healthy diets. Strong community is one of the greatest predictors of our health and happiness as we get older. In a similar light, Dartmouth is a green zone for all of us—the community we forged in 1986 still nourishes us to this day and gathering as a community in June will serve to strengthen that community. Live longer. Be happier. Come to reunion! And green is way cooler than blue…or brown…or crimson.” Megan Hammond writes, “Come, because if Covid taught us anything, it is that our greatest treasure is having a sense of community with people that matter to us.” John Stouffer writes, “Pretty simple message to friends on the fence: I’ll go if you go!” Josh Vogel writes, “Going to our 20th and 25th reunions dramatically reduced the power of my recurring nightmares about my actual college days. Ever since attending, even when I have missed the entire class, it’s time for the final and I can’t even get to the room to take it. Thanks to reunions, now at least I usually have my clothes on, which is so much better! This could happen for you too! Come to reunions and exorcise your demons!” Rob Crawford writes, “Contrary to popular belief, I am an introvert, not an extrovert. I have a slight fear of large gatherings such as college reunions. However, my experience at our 25th reunion revealed to me how important it is to overcome ‘reunion hesitations.’ At the conclusion of our 25th reunion, as I began my drive back home, I started bawling like a baby. Deep sobs. Why? I suspect it’s because those two and a half days in Hanover helped me rediscover the greatest rewards of life: relationships with other humans and personal growth. Plus, seeing close friends and friends I’d lost touch with and spending time with people I hardly knew when I was at Dartmouth revealed to me just how much of who I am was shaped by my four and a half years at ‘the College on the Hill’ and just how much of my heart will always be in Hanover. I suddenly realized the truth expressed in the lyrics of two Dartmouth songs I’ve sung countless times: ‘Dear Old Dartmouth,’ ‘Though ’round the girdled earth they roam, her spell on them remains,’ and ‘Dartmouth Undying,’ ‘Dartmouth—the gleaming, dreaming walls of Dartmouth—miraculously builded in our hearts.’ So, if you’re on the fence about attending our 35th reunion, it’s time to come down, down to the river. See you there!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “If the new president of Dartmouth College, Sian Leah Beilock, were to meet with you one-on-one and ask, What do I need to know about Dartmouth? what would you tell her?” Here are your responses. John Aronsohn writes, “I would tell President Beilock that it’s time for Dartmouth to truly ‘lead.’ The Call to Lead was all about raising money and obviously that’s important for the College’s ability to grow and to stay competitive but I’d like to see more of what Sian has already done on mental health, for example, where she pulled together a group of former surgeons general to move the national discussion forward. Secondarily, I’d like to see Dartmouth look beyond the Ivy League for best practices on everything from admissions to alumni management. I’m excited about the fresh perspective and approach that Sian is bringing to our college.” Jack McBride writes, “I would tell President Beilock, ‘We care.’ Every member of the Dartmouth community—students, faculty, alumni, parents—cares deeply about Dartmouth College. We view the College as a home, family, guide, caregiver. We care about Dartmouth and the people who are a part of Dartmouth. We care about the students and their need for both education and nurture. We care that Dartmouth College remains a vibrant and active place for learning and growth. I had the opportunity to listen to President Beilock speak in person three nights ago. I am pleased to report that she already understands my answer from her talks with other people and that she has taken to heart the special nature of our college.” Eric Spencer writes, “The next building project at Dartmouth has to be renovating undergraduate dorms.” Gary Katz writes, “Dartmouth is a place that is ‘becoming.’ For its first 200 years it was the greatest college in the world. For the last 25 years it has been in the process of ‘becoming’ a second-rate university. My hope for you is to prevail over the inertial forces pushing this great institution to grow to the point of its own incompetence and demonstrate the profound impact a truly outstanding (and focused) college can have on its students, faculty, and the world.” And here’s some class news: Matthew Kelley writes, “My 2-year-old loved her inaugural journey to a Dartmouth football home game with my wife and me in early October. Our little girl especially enjoyed the band and the cheerleading squad! What a pleasant surprise it was to bump into an old teammate, Jason Lichstenstein, outside of Lou’s the following Sunday morning. Jason looks great and is lucky enough to reside a mile from campus.” Congratulations to Julie Clugage,whose nonprofit, Team4Tech (team4tech.org), was awarded an AARP Purpose Prize. Team4Tech helps people in under-resourced contexts around the world build the skills they need for high-quality employment. During the last decade it has supported more than 50 nonprofits with $19 million in grants and pro bono consulting services. And congratulations to Mel (Schneeberger) Robbins, who was recently included on Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list. The Mel Robbins Podcast has reached listeners in 194 countries and averages 1.5 million weekly downloads. Her channel on YouTube receives some 800,000 viewing hours per month and reaches close to 2 million subscribers. Mel is also the founder of the production company 143 Studios, and her two bestselling books have been published in 41 languages.

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Recently, I asked ’90s, “What book from your Dartmouth academic career comes to mind first?” Here is Part III your responses: Jeff Buchsbaum writes, “The first is The Iliad. I read this freshman fall in a required seminar with the title ‘Memories of War.’ The second is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, juxtaposed in the same class. Our professor was amazing and the class was designed to push us to realize that writers had been trying to educate their audiences on the horror of war so that it would not be repeated. To this day I still think about those books and that class.” Heather Block writes, “Things Fall Apart—of course.” Karen Behling writes, “Things Fall Apart—of course.” Dan Fuchs writes, “The one and only Things Fall Apart! Wait—did we actually have to read the book for it to count?”

William Boulware writes, “I remember Things Fall Apart, the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Of the books I read while at Dartmouth, Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman? is memorable, not necessarily for the content but for the version of the book we read in freshman English called Aren’t I a Woman? As a child of North Carolina, I was exposed to this book in my home. I slowly raised my hand to challenge the correction of the book’s title and was then compelled (asked) to read aloud with my Southern drawl. Ah, memories.” Jeff Bedell writes, “Paradise Lost—and falling asleep in Sanborn trying to keep up with the reading assignments.”

Scot Paterson writes, “Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe, which I read in the class ‘Rise of the Novel.” It’s a perfect example of the rise of the trashy novel, and it’s a page-turner.” Basia Nikonorow writes, “The Color Purple. I read this in an excellent, memorable literature class focused on Black female authors taught by the legendary Professor Cook. The movie never lived up to the book. In fact, it’s one of the few movies I’ve ever walked out of in my whole life.” Satin Mirchandani writes, “The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. It was released at the beginning of junior fall, and it ignited all kinds of controversy, including the fatwa by Khomeini. The printers of the book were in such a hurry, they shipped the books without trimming the edges. I called the bookstore and when they confirmed they had one last copy available, I asked the gentleman on the phone to kindly hold it for me. He asked me for my name. I spelled it out for him: S-A-T-I-N. Long pause…‘You’re kidding, right?’ ”

Ann (McDevitt) Miller writes, “War and Peace from a Tolstoy class our Sophomore Summer.” Sebastian de Atucha writes, “Hard Times by Studs Terkel. I read it in a freshman seminar with Blanche Gelfant. She taught this book so well. It’s a long book about the Great Depression that obliged me and my classmates to spend hours buried in the stacks, living through those hard times. It was like a two-day silent meditation retreat focusing on how shitty things can be. Unexpectedly uplifting.”

And finally, congratulations to Heidi Julavits on her most recent book, Directions to Myself: A Memoir of Four Years, which has received extremely positive reviews in numerous major newspapers and magazines.

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Recently, I asked ’90s, “What book from your Dartmouth academic career comes to mind first?” Here is Part II your responses. Anne Sundberg writes, “I have so many that left a lasting impression on me: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Tin Drum by Gunther Grass, Lillian Hellman’s Three, and of course Huis Clos, by Jean-Paul Sartre (thank you Julie Davis and Henry Todd). I was just up in Hanover with Ricki Stern ’87 for a screening at Dartmouth Film Society of a recent project of ours—we met with the Women in Media group—and I had a fun glimpse of Kate Harrison and Margaret McCrudden Rightmire ’92.” Quincy Vale writes, “Instantly I think of Things Fall Apart. First, it’s a great book; second, every time I hear the song Wild, Wild Life by the Talking Heads and the line where David Byrne sings, ‘Things fall apart, it’s scientific,’ I immediately flash back to that book and pre-freshman fall. And it is a wild, wild life, by the way.” Ashley Kaiser writes, “For me the most memorable book was Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. It stands out because I thought it was going to be awful and difficult to read and instead was really fun to essentially learn a new language (Middle English) and to read it out loud and feel what it felt like to speak 700 years ago; it was funny to the point of making me laugh out loud (loudly) in Sanborn Library, which was embarrassing in a very delightful sort of way; and, despite being a great work of literature that’s entertaining and funny and has provided great insights into what life was like for normal people during those times, it’s one of the most banned books in history. I wanted to call attention to it here, given that we live in times when people are still banning books.” Tony Jones, whose email signature says “writer, theologian, outdoorsman” and whose essays can be accessed at https://jonestony.substack.com, writes, “A Canticle for Leibowitz, which I read in a class called ‘The Science Fiction Novel’ taught by the late Noel Perrin. That class launched a lifelong interest in science fiction, and I’ve read that novel several times since.” Lauren Kehoe writes, “I would say The Sky is Grey by Ernest Gaines because of how it made me look at simple things from the perspective of someone without my advantages in life. In these wacky times, I feel like it should be required reading.” Carrie (Cogswell) Connelly writes, “A number of history books from professor David Lagomarsino’s classes still line my shelves (many about the Armada!). However, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, with The Monkey Wrench Gang and multiple Tom Robbins novels close behind, first leapt to mind in response to your question. Clearly, my peers had as much, or more, influence over my reading choices as my professors! Thanks in particular to freshman-year partners in crime Deb Blunt, Tamar Schreibman, and Kasie (Henderson) Nolan!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What book from your Dartmouth academic career comes to mind first?” Here is Part I your responses. Jessica Silver writes, “Things Fall Apart, of course, because it was the first book I had to read for college and I was so nervous!” Kyrie Robinson writes, “Jews Without Money was the book for my freshman seminar. I was wholly unaware of the stereotypes about Jewish people and wealth. I had grown up singing along with Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof as pretty much my only entree into Jewish culture and stereotypes. I still remember the professor probing the class about the title of the book and having no earthly idea what she was talking about.” Michael Cohenuram writes, “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test for Bruce Nelson’s freshman seminar, ‘The History of the 60s.’ ” Wendy Whitcomb writes, “Paradise Lost, from ‘English 5.’ This was the first time that I had to read something that felt completely over my head. And it was probably one of the few times that I had to resort to CliffsNotes to gain a minimal understanding of the material and scrape together a paper where I felt I had no idea what I was talking about—not a great feeling when you’re starting college and wondering if you belong there. I’m glad things got better the next semester.” Laurin Grollman writes, “I wish I could say something more erudite came to mind, but nope—the Over the Hill face book, which I still use as a reference.” Deborah Greene-LaRoche writes, “Definitely Don Quixote, parts 1 and 2 and the spurious sequel—all part of a memorable Cervantes course I took as part of my Spanish lit major. I especially loved the metafiction of Part 2.” Susan Hirt writes, “Professor Henricks’ new translation of the Tao Te Ching, which he taught to our class even before the book was officially released. Though I did not major in religion, I appreciated his elucidation of Taoism and its poetic foundation text. What a privilege to explore so many diverse topics and be guided by the best scholars in their fields.” Jonathan Weatherly writes, “El Principe Destronado (The Dethroned Prince) by Miguel Delibes, which I got to read during my language study abroad program in Granada, Spain. Such a cute story of a first child who is dethroned when his younger sibling comes along. By the way, my daughter, Madison ’19, tells me her reunion is the same time as ours, so I look forward to seeing you all then.” Mark Sternman writes, “Before exams in one of the freshman year semesters, I read the novel On the Beach by Nevil Shute. Greatly moved by the dramatization of life after nuclear war, I eventually pursued a master’s in international security policy and a career in arms control before moving to Boston and working on domestic policies.” Judi Cassel writes, “Pierre; or, the Ambiguities by Herman Melville. Instead, we should have read Moby Dick, which was a favorite pandemic read of mine. Tom Thompson, what do you think?” David Jacobs writes, “I still haven’t read Things Fall Apart.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Here is Part II of your responses to the question, “What is something you didn’t get involved in or do at Dartmouth that, if you had a second chance, you would get involved in or do?”

Josh Vogel writes, “I have two kids in college and think about this a lot. I wish I had gone to more plays, more musical performances, more dinners, more professors’ office hours, and more classes!” Parker Karnan writes, “I would have played more golf at the course and skied more at the Skiway. I’m really not sure if I have ever woken up before 8 a.m. in New Hampshire. Maybe I would do that a couple of times, as well.” Jeanhee Kim writes, “I have a 17-year-old daughter applying to colleges now. The funny thing is that I told her one of my regrets was I never tried to play water polo—something I saw students doing at Dartmouth—and somehow my speaking those words convinced her to try it! She was on the girls’ water polo team a few days later and played a whole season for the Chinese Swimming Club in Singapore, where we were living at the time, in 2020-21. A small regret, I know, but how satisfying it was to see my flesh and blood try it, enjoy it, and compete in it!” Karen Hartwig writes, “For the past 25 years I’ve hiked three to five days a week near my home in the Oakland Hills [California], usually with the two different pairs of dogs I’ve had during that time. I’ve thought often that I would have enjoyed being involved in the Dartmouth Outing Club.” Nina Kushner writes, “I took good advantage of the academic and extracurricular opportunities Dartmouth provided, but I do wish I had taken at least one economics course, really learned a second language, and learned to ski! I also wish I hadn’t taken calculus my freshman year. Math is not my strong suit. Add in dark, cold, winter mornings, and the class tanked my GPA.” Jenn Scott writes, “I knew nothing about camping, hiking, and kayaking, and I pretty much avoided anything that could be construed as exercise while at Dartmouth. I was always intrigued by the Dartmouth Outing Club, but I felt too intimidated to even investigate how to participate. If I could have a second chance, I’d definitely get involved in that! Now I enjoy those activities and regret I didn’t start sooner.” David Clark writes, “With the lifts and snow so accessible at Dartmouth, I should have learned how to ski and snowboard (which I have encouraged my kids to do). Growing up in Florida did not offer those opportunities. Buddy Teevens may not have agreed, but I should have taken advantage. Thanks for asking this question, as Nicole (Smith) ’89 and I reflect on it often.” And some news from John Christmas: “My thriller novel KGB Banker, cowritten with William Burton McCormick, won two awards in 2022. The book was inspired by my whistleblowing against a Kremlin money-laundering bank. The book was named ‘Best Conspiracy Thriller of 2022’ by Best Thrillers and won the Royal Dragonfly Award for best novel (across all genres) for 2022.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s: “What is something you didn’t get involved in or do at Dartmouth that, if you had a second chance, you would get involved in or do?” Here is Part I of your responses.

Andra Bowditch writes, “After high school I did a gap year overseas and I literally did not get the memo about freshman trips. I wonder, in a parallel universe where I signed up for a trip, what I would have learned and what friends I would have made and how that would have changed the trajectory of the next four years and perhaps my whole life. (Although maybe I would’ve tripped over a tree root, gotten concussed, and flunked out freshman fall, so perhaps I actually dodged a bullet!)”

William Boulware writes, “Dartmouth track and field was my extended family. I opted to stay on campus and run rather than study Spanish in Spain and marine biology in Costa Rica. I have a great life and have had amazing experiences, but I wonder what other joys or traumas I could have endured had I pursued these two interests while at Dartmouth.”

Lauren (Waller) Smith writes, “I would take a gap year or two and grow up first. I went to college at 16, and I didn’t have the maturity or confidence to take full advantage of the opportunities Dartmouth offered. My 20-year-old daughter went to college at 18 instead of 16 and was one of the oldest kids in her class. Watching how the extra two years of emotional maturity allowed her to develop a firm sense of herself and how that has allowed her to maximize her college experience makes me wish I’d had those two extra years as well.”

Roth Herrlinger writes, “I would get out into nature way, way more than I did the first time around. My inclination was to stick around campus when we were in school. Nowadays, I so appreciate time outdoors, solo or with family and friends.”

Bill Rexford writes, “Do I dare say more pong? We all have good friends who are now gone. If I could I would have lingered longer with them, looked them in the eye a little longer, and stretched those moments out now that I know how precious those moments were. I regret not spending more time with those who have passed and try to do better for those that are still here—so, more pong.”

Kyrie Robinson writes, “Dartmouth Outing Club no doubt. I have no idea why I didn’t get involved with it in the first place. I love to hike and camp.”

Brad Drazen writes, “I took two fantastic art history classes during senior year and realized that I may have missed my calling. If I could do it over I would have majored in art history!”

Kyle Davis writes, “After traveling from L.A. (the ‘Big City’) to Hanover (the backwoods of New England) the thought of traveling abroad terrified me, so I didn’t do a language or foreign study abroad. It is the one regret I can point to in my entire life (not just at Dartmouth). As a consequence, however, both of my kids studied abroad and I got to live vicariously through them!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “If you were asked to teach a master class on any topic of your choosing, what topic would you choose? Here are your responses. Kristin Jacobson writes, “My master class would be ‘Making Your Health Insurance Work for You, Especially for Mental Health.’ ” Ali Long writes, “ ‘Live Now, Give Now: How Giving Back Improves Your Life’ (intentional, personalized philanthropy).”

Michael Keller writes, “ ‘Surviving and Thriving in the River Cluster: A Freshman’s Guide to Saving Up for Dorm Damage Fines.’ ” Bill Rexford writes, “I have acquired a lot of wisdom in areas I hope I have to never tap into again, from plumbing to electrical, but I think I have expertise in how to coach coed middle school flag football to nascent athletes. Happy to share this with any who may find themselves someday in such a situation. The wisdom was hard earned.”

David Rosenberg writes, “ ‘Wine Tasting and Appreciation Without the Snob Factor.’ ” Scott Patterson writes, “ ‘How to Teach Young Kids Long-distance Running.’ RunClubMenloPark.org is the second nonprofit I’ve founded. Ruth Bossler is also on the board of directors.”

Mark Sternberg writes, “ ‘The Trudeau Trials: Views on Federal Electoral Politics in Canada from a Volunteer on the 2019 and 2021 Liberal Campaigns’ and ‘Ivy League Women’s Hockey: Obstacles and Opportunities to Winning the First National Championship since 1999.’ ” Lauren (Waller) Smith writes, “ ‘How Not to Date at 50-plus.’ ”

Josh Wolf-Powers writes, “ ‘How to Create Problems—and Then How to Solve Them.’ ” Paul Haffner writes, “ ‘How to Handle Mercurial People’—I’ve been dealing with them in a variety of contexts all my life and, while exhausting at times, the success stories make it all worthwhile. I’m lucky to be married to a super-steady spouse who requires no handling whatsoever!”

Kathy Heafey writes, “The master class I am most qualified to teach is ‘Parenting—Transracial Adoption-Style!’ I am still learning, but there are many interesting chapters in the can!” Christopher Farrens writes, “ ‘Selective Small-plot Logging Using Low-impact Techniques’ and ‘Tax Consulting for Cross-border Transactions.’ ”

Hallie Brooks writes, “ ‘Horses: The Key to Personal Growth, Lifelong Friendships, and Financial Ruin.’ ” Ute (Bowman) Otley writes, “It’s a toss-up between ‘How to Destroy a 1-3-1 Zone Defense’ and ‘How to Annoy the Hell Out of Your Husband!’ ”

Kelin (Pickard) Colberg writes, “I would probably teach a master class on the fine art of procrastinating the start of your next career (I am very much in what-next mode now that the nest is officially empty)” and Stig Colberg will teach the embarrassing class titled, “How to Live in Alaska and Not Fly Fish for an Entire Season.”

John Stouffer writes, “I’d like to teach a master class on surfing and, more specifically, reading the winds, swells, and tides to determine where and when to go surfing. I’ve been surfing since high school, did a bit of it in New Hampshire and Maine during college, then moved to southern California after college and have surfed regularly since. I live in Redondo Beach now and currently go three to four times a week, hitting a variety of spots in the L.A. area.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What has that small voice in the back of your head been telling you over and over for years and years?” Here are your responses. Lauren Smith writes, “Sadly, that I, my daughter, and the other women in my life who I love will never have the same rights, privileges, and freedoms as the ones with which men get to walk through the world.” Michael Keller writes, “643-6135, 643-6135, 643-6135.”

Bill Wilson writes, “I’ve been hearing, ‘Go back to Hanover, it has been too long!’ I’ve missed the class reunions through the years, but I did get a chance to go to the 50th Black Alumni at Dartmouth Association reunion this past Memorial Day Weekend. I had a fantastic time and after 20 years it was great to be back on campus. While there I ran into Kelly Green Kahn, Brad Bennett, and Dan Patton.”

Karen Behling writes, “With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade I have been thinking about the first protest march I went to in D.C. in April of 1988. I remember Kathy Heafey marching with the ‘Catholics for Choice’ crew, and Jane Blum and Tom Thompson and I road-tripping together. The voice in my head has been telling me to keep up the fight. I protested in Raleigh, North Carolina, a few weeks ago and will keep fighting so all our daughters have the same rights we grew up with.”

Hallie Brooks writes, “Say ‘yes!’ As we enter middle age, our bodies aren’t getting any younger, and if someone gives you an opportunity to do something fun, say ‘yes!’ Hike Kilimanjaro (Rick Dunham and Rob Norris), meet up with your college buddies from across the country for a weekend getaway, try a new sport (I just tried eventing on a friend’s most wonderful horse loan). Carpe diem, friends!”

Suzanne (Rathbun) Fetter writes, “ ‘Keep going,’ a lesson learned on my freshman year hiking trip at Dartmouth.” Roth Herrlinger writes, “The small voice in the back of my head has been saying, ‘Go to New Zealand. Find what’s there for you.’ I was going to go in 2020, but then…well, we all know what 2020 brought. So I’m going to head over later this year and explore!”

Kyrie Robinson writes, “My inner voice is largely critical and I spend three-quarters of my time telling her to shut up. But I do have another inner voice that tells me to join the Red Cross, Peace Corps, Feed America, travel the world, walk the Camino Trail, or bike across the United States. Basically, go on adventures, because I figure at 52, I’ve got about 25 years of great health before I start to slow down. I have another voice that says, ‘It’s been nine years, maybe you should get out and date again.’ But my twin boys are 19, still trying to launch, so I’m largely staying put until they are a bit more steady on their feet.” Kyle Davis writes, “ ‘This is not the dog talking to you…it’s also not God. Now stand up straight and you need to be better about remembering the names of people you meet and you need to call your mom once in a while.’ (My small voice is part Dale Carnegie and part Nigerian auntie.)”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Recently, I asked ’90s, “Out of all the people whom you’ve never met (living or deceased), who has had the biggest positive influence on your life?” Here is Part II of your responses. Bradley Bennett writes, “That’s easy! Martin Luther King Jr.” Phil Privatera writes, “That’s easy: Jim Valvano. I never even knew who Jim Valvano was until Dick Vitale told me all about him and how he started the V Foundation before he died. From that moment I was hooked. Rarely a week will go by that I don’t watch a video of Jim Valvano speaking. My favorite is his 1987 presentation titled ‘Cutting Down the Nets’ (1987). I learn something new every time, and most of all I learn to never give up on myself or on anyone or anything.” Andy Affleck writes, “Carl Sagan.” Ed Callaway writes, “I have to go with New Yorker essayist John McPhee. Through a lifetime of reading his books, covering everything from a profile of Sierra Club president David Brower to the Swiss army to a massive survey of the nation’s geology as viewed from Interstate 80, McPhee has taught me to dig deep to appreciate the depth and humanity in a wide variety of seemingly obscure topics. My alternate pick is Aaron Lee Tasjan, a songwriter based in East Nashville. He is a relentlessly positive, empathetic, and insightful person who is a recurring inspiration though his songs, such as ‘Success’ and ‘Set You Free,’ and through his Twitter feed.” Peter Pasi writes, “I would say St. Teresa of Kolkata. (I guess she’s technically Saint Teresa of Calcutta.)” Chris McCabe writes, “Mick Jagger.” Josh Vogel writes, “Bjorn Borg, the great tennis player and rival of John McEnroe. As a kid watching them play against each other, I admired how Borg remained calm even in the face of Johnny Mac’s tantrums and I saw how it helped him succeed. I don’t think I was predisposed to be calm as a child, and I wasn’t growing up in a calm household, so I really think I took that from watching him. It has proven to be one of my most useful tools through every aspect of my life.” Bill Rexford writes, “Ken Kesey.” Rebecca Baggett writes, “Toni Morrison.” Scott Patterson sent a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Ute (Bowman) Otley writes, “John Wooden is the most influential person I’ve never met. I picked up a copy of his Principles of Basketball when I got hired for my first coaching job in 1991, and I’ve gone back to it again and again during my 30-year coaching career. His commitment to doing things the right way with a mix of compassion and discipline has been a guiding force in my career as a teacher and a coach.” And congratulations to Walter Palmer, who was honored in March at the Ivy League Basketball Tournament in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as one of the Ivy League’s “legends.” Well deserved!

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “Out of all the people you’ve never met (living or deceased), who has had the biggest positive influence on your life?” Here is Part I of your responses.

Marcus Weiss writes, “What a beautiful question. At this very moment Tony Robbins holds the top spot. In very recent times he helped empower me to pivot my whole life into conscious hope and positivity. (But I can think of an endless list of people, as everyone I come across has impacted me dearly!)” Michael Keller writes, “Neil Peart. If you just think he’s a rock drummer, you don’t know his story and who he was.” Mark Sternman writes, “Paul Farmer.” Lauren (Waller) Smith writes, “The person who first figured out how to make coffee.” Larry Specht writes, “Astronaut Chris Hadfield, author of An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything. A great book about taking every chance to learn a new trick.” Nancy Groth writes, “Paul McCartney and John Lennon.” Christian Henrich writes, “Christ.”

Jen Gittes writes, “This was a hard one, but it didn’t take long for me to decide: Dr./Dame Jane Goodall. Although I haven’t followed her closely or even read any of her books, every time I see, hear about, or am reminded of her I feel proud and hopeful. And it turns out that her latest book is indeed about hope. That one I plan to read as soon as possible. Jane Goodall has been true to herself and to her instincts and interests throughout her life. In the 1950s, while in her 20s, she left England for Africa and entered the male-dominated worlds of ethnology and anthropology with little preparation but with huge interest and dedication. She has experienced all of the joys and traumas life puts in one’s path, including love, marriage, motherhood, higher education, divorce, illness, real danger, criticism, humiliation, recognition, and mind-boggling awards. Through it all she has persevered and remained true to her integrity and to her North Star in her efforts to acknowledge, respect, and protect animals, the environment, and nature in general. She is truly an inspiration and a comfort.”

Scott Facher writes, “Always happy to see your name pop up in my email, Rob. Due to people like you, here’s my response: J.D. Salinger, because I chose to go to Dartmouth hoping I’d bump into him at Lou’s, which never happened. Instead I made friends who continue to bring the greatest joy and inspiration to my life.” Susan Domchek writes, “Rosalind Franklin.” Christopher Farrens writes, “Fred Pillsbury Carleton III. His turn of phrase, ‘The damage is the tradeoff for the fun,” has inspired generations. From raconteur to lonely goatherd, he’s been around!” David “Danger” Sherwood writes, “Bruce Springsteen.” Sam McLean writes, “At the moment I’ll go with Charles Darwin. His discovery of how enormously complex life forms evolve from simple processes both explains life on Earth and provides the conceptual scaffolding for much of what us medical researchers do.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Here is Part IV of your answers to the question, “What’s your favorite album that was recorded after we graduated in 1990 or who’s your favorite musical artist whom you discovered after we graduated in 1990?”

Chris Marlow writes, “Nevermind by Nirvana. It is one of the few times in my life I can remember the moment I heard a song. Nothing special, just driving home to Alexandria from Washington, D.C. It was such a singular moment that I nearly stopped my car to listen to it. That album was so unique and entrancing. And Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morrisette had wonderful songs that slapped one in the face. This album was musically simple, tight, and personal. It expressed an angst, a pain all of us experience. It was raw, powerful, honest.”

Marcus Weiss writes, “Hands-down my favorite album released after we graduated is October Road by James Taylor. I love it so much that I was singing the title song to my unborn first child in my wife’s belly! We have both continued to sing it to our two boys as a lullaby at bedtime to this day (they are 12 and 9).”

Cheryl Shepherd writes,“Coldplay, definitely, and then the Chainsmokers. (Oh, and there’s this guy my daughter likes too—Max Drazen—who may be going places.)” Tom Warren writes, “My favorite album would have to be Sonic Highways by Foo Fighters. The songs were all inspired by the musical traditions and histories of several music cities across the United States.”

Jonathan Sullivan writes, “I’m going to have to go with Dirt by Alice in Chains. It cemented them as one of my favorite bands of all time and though my musical tastes have evolved through time, I keep coming back to this album and this band.”

Kevin Stone writes,“I can’t explain why I am moved to respond, since I can’t remember if I ever contributed to the ’90 news. Lyle Lovett sits high on my list of artists discovered since graduation. His was one of the most enjoyable concerts I’ve attended: listening to Lyle and his Large Band, sitting in a field on a beautiful summer evening in central New York, watching a sunset. I’ve been enjoying his music ever since.”

Jim Wilhelm writes,“The National and their album Alligator. I saw them live for the first time in Seattle in the fall of 2006. A week later I asked my now wife if she wanted to take a road trip from Seattle to Portland [Oregon] to see them live. She said ‘yes’—it was our second date. We got engaged six months later. Since then we have seen them in N.Y.C., Seattle and most recently in Berkeley [California] back in 2019. I love their music and the fact that they are originally from Ohio, like most great things!”

Laurin Grollman writes,“My favorite band since 1990 is Train.”

Paul Haffner writes,“Black Crowes! They saved rock ’n’ roll after the rather hideous decade for pop music that was the 1980s. And Jack White is pretty damn good too.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Here is Part III of your answers to, “What’s your favorite album that was recorded after we graduated in 1990 or who’s your favorite musical artist whom you discovered after we graduated in 1990?” Andy Affleck writes, “The album Laid by the British rock band James. It was produced by Brian Eno and has those ambient touches that make it haunting at times and beautiful at others. And it also slaps, as my daughter would say.” Adam Bookbinder writes,“A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay and The King is Dead by The Decemberists.” Lauren Beiley writes,“Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moby, and Beck.” Brad Drazen writes,“Solo artist: Hozier. Band: Jukebox the Ghost.” (But you all should keep an eye on Max Drazen, Brad’s son…he’s a future star.) David Greenberg writes,“In 2014 I read a little Wall Street Journal feature about a local N.Y.C. artist named Alynda Segarra who writes songs (that seem as though they’ve always existed out in the Americana ether) and sings for a group called Hurray for the Riff Raff. I’ve followed the band for years now and see them live whenever I can. I recommend their albums Small Town Heroes and The Navigator.” Kyle Davis writes,“The Roots, a.k.a. Questlove’s other gig!” Mary (Bachman) DeSilva writes,“I’m unabashedly a total crunchy folky hippy and delight in the album Stand by The Kennedys (not the dead ones).” Tracy Leavelle writes, “Wilco and their album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.Michael Lindgren writes, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco.” Michael Keller writes, “My favorite artist discovered post-college has to be Death Cab for Cutie. Dumb name but amazing band with thought-provoking lyrics. My favorite album by them is Plans.” Lou Mabley writes,“John Prine’s The Tree of Forgiveness and Jason Isbell’s Southeastern. These two guys were really good friends and influences on each other. Losing John to COVID-19 last year was a devastating blow.” Ali Long writes,“Rozzi Crane.” Kristin Jacobson writes, “No song favorites, but I had a big personal accomplishment earlier this summer. I and my two older boys (Connor and Finn) summited Half Dome. It was 13 hours, 21 miles, and 4,800 vertical feet. I am not sure I could have done it in my 40s (I had so many injuries), so I’m very proud to have made it in my 50s!” Hal Holway writes,“When I first heard Nirvana’s album Nevermind in 1992, my world was rocked. I don’t hear it much anymore, but it’s the first ‘new’ music I was into after college and, unlike some music that sort of blurs with ‘before or after Dartmouth,’ Nevermind is firmly on the soundtrack of a later, newly adult era of my life.” Andrew Latimer writes,“I have to say Cake is my favorite artist discovered since 1990. They’re almost too cool, but I just really like their beats and attitude, and I still enjoy their older stuff. (I also really love Bon Iver and Radiohead.)” Jenny (Goldberg) Wood writes,“Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I recently asked ’90s, “What’s your favorite album that was recorded after we graduated in 1990 or who’s your favorite musical artist whom you discovered after we graduated in 1990?” Here is Part 2 of your answers. Allison Berger writes, “Radiohead. Hail to the Thief may be their best album.” Cristina (Infante) Smith writes, “The album that immediately comes to mind is Bruce Springsteen’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. It is a family favorite, especially for long trips in the car. My husband and I heard it for the first time as we sat on my cousin’s porch drinking whiskey at ‘dusk,’ which I put in quotes because we were in Norway that summer for a family reunion and dusk was at 2 a.m. or so. The wonderful folk songs on that album have been the background music for so many of our family adventures. I just love it.” Derek Symer writes, “I’m a pretty big new music nerd and former AM 1340 DJ. I’m going to skip over the grunge bands of the ’90s and the Smashing Pumpkins, which get an honorable mention in my book. Recently I’ve been really grooving on Manchester Orchestra’s new LP The Million Masks of God. However, my vote goes to Jason Isbell. I admire his guitar mastery, lyrical genius, and songcraft almost as much as his dedication to his personal sobriety, justice, and equal rights.” Two days later Derek wrote me a second email: “I’m having my morning coffee and saying to myself, ugh, you idiot! Radiohead, of course. How could you forget Radiohead or Wilco?!” Quincy Vale writes, “One band that is absolutely fantastic is the Finnish progressive band, Nightwish. Their North American tour this fall will be the first live music I have seen since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.” Michelle Brownlee writes, “Maceo Parker. Before he became a solo artist, Maceo was James Brown’s saxophone player. His brother, Kellis Parker, was a professor at Columbia Law School, and I took a music contracts class with him. Kellis talked about Maceo all the time in class, but I didn’t think much of it until I finally had the chance to go see Maceo play a show. I’ve definitely seen him live more than any other artist, at least 10 times. The last time I went to see him, two or three years ago, he reminisced onstage about his law professor brother, Kellis, who died very young, a few years after I graduated law school. Maceo’s tribute to my professor made that show the best of all.” Ute Otley writes, “I am a huge Beyonce fan. Her Homecoming concert is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen or heard in music in a long time. The flirtatious girl power vibe is a winner! In other news, one of my CVU basketball players, Mekkena Boyd, will be playing at Dartmouth this year. I feel like a proud mom sending one of my basketball offspring to my alma mater!” Christian Henrich writes, “Stone Sour.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What’s your favorite album that was recorded after we graduated in 1990—or who’s your favorite musical artist whom you discovered after we graduated in 1990?” I think I received more responses to this question than any other question I have posed, so it may take a few columns to get through them all. Here is Part 1. Kelin (Pickard) Colberg writes: “We, especially Stig Colberg, have become big fans of Slightly Stoopid. Other family favorites include G. Love & Special Sauce (they do some good stuff with Jack Johnson), The Cat Empire, Macklemore, Dispatch, Lumineers, Beyonce, Ali Farka Toure, Stick Figure, OAR, Doja Cat, and Alabama Shakes. Also, here’s a quick family update: Our eldest, a senior at the University of Vermont, is hoping to attend medical school; our middlest will be a freshman at Dartmouth; and I just took our youngest on her college trip. The nest is clearing out, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about that.” Rennolds Ostrom writes: “The Dave Matthews Band. This is literally the only music I listen to (much to the chagrin of my wife, I might add).” Jennifer (Huska) Merriman writes: “An album by Cowboy Junkies, 200 More Miles: Live Performances 1985-1994. I saw them live in graduate school and have loved them and that album ever since. My top-five favorite artists since 1990 would be Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga (who was on a Southwest flight with me from Oakland to L.A. before she became famous), Dave Matthews Band, Snow Patrol, and Imagine Dragons.” Chris McCabe writes: “Definitely Beck, perhaps because he works some Jagger chicken dance elements into his live performances.” Ramzi Nemo writes: “I can’t think of a band I like better than the too-conveniently-named Ivy, which released six albums from 1995 to 2011. The band’s founder, Adam Schlesinger, who was a year ahead of us at Williams, also played in Fountains of Wayne. With Ivy co-founder Andy Chase, he created the iconic theme song for the movie That Thing You Do. Very sadly, in April 2020 Covid-19 cut short his remarkably prolific career in pop, theater, and motion pictures.” Laura (Van Wie) McGrory writes: “I credit my kids for ensuring that my musical tastes didn’t stay stuck in the 1980s. Two of my favorite newer groups—which I like well enough to have seen them in concert multiple times—are Milky Chance and Cage the Elephant.” Mark Sternman writes: “As a lover of most things Canadian, I discovered The Tragically Hip long after graduation. Tight musically and interesting lyrically, the Hip, among its many other accomplishments, spotlighted the unimaginable horrors suffered by Indigenous populations in Canada, a history that sadly resonates for those of us who have lived our entire lives south of the 49th parallel.” Julie Urda writes: “Ben Folds.” Eric Hageman writes: “With apologies to great albums by Lauryn Hill, Nirvana, and Wilco, for my money, Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange is the best album since 1990.” Kerstin (Stanley) Clark writes: “Hi from Calgary (we moved here in 2017). I discovered Spearhead (Michael Franti) post-Dartmouth and make my kids listen to it on drives around the Canadian west.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I asked ’90s, “In what way(s), big or small, has the pandemic changed you (or your outlook, or your habits, or your values, or your self-knowledge, etc.) forever?” Here is Part II of your answers. Deborah Cornavaca writes: “Working in state government throughout the pandemic, it has solidified my conviction to lead with empathy.” Scott Spring says: “Somebody said the pandemic is destined to turn each of us into ‘a hunk, a chunk, or a drunk.’ If I’m honest, I’ve been moderating between all three of these. One habit that’s been great for my mental and physical health is my daily GOOTH (get out of the house) for a 60-90-minute walk.” Christine Smith writes: “The downside: I have a permanent fear of opening my laptop to bad news, my wine habit is well over the CDC guidelines, and I’ve developed a much-lower threshold for tearful breakdowns. On the other hand, I’ve realized that I’m more determined to pursue my goals, virus be damned. Case in point: Early last March we were offered an opportunity to buy the house next door before it went on the market. We live on a lake and had always dreamed of expanding. I remember thinking that I wasn’t going to let some stinkin’ virus get in the way of our family’s hopes and plans. I channel this feeling now whenever I’m feeling blocked or overwhelmed by Covid-19.” Lauren (Waller) Smith writes: “I think the pandemic will cause me to be much more cautious about adding either things or people to my life. This has actually been a kind of nice time because I’ve spent it with the person I love most in a serene space without a lot of clutter. It really would have sucked to spend this much time surrounded by things or people (or both) that I didn’t enjoy.” Carrie Connelly writes: “Covid-19 has reminded me how much I prefer hosting one couple or a person, rather than an entire mob. In the future I’m going to try to stick with hosting intimate but more frequent dinners, where conversations have a beginning, a middle, and an end (and I hope at least some of those dinners will be indoors, and not all by the fire pit). Oh, and yoga—that’s been a healthy, calming addition to my workouts.” Mike Kennealy writes: “Here in Massachusetts I serve in Gov. Charlie Baker’s cabinet as the secretary of housing and economic development. Two conclusions that will always stay with me: the ability of so many actors (state government, local government, the healthcare system, the business community, non-profits, etc.) to mobilize and work together was inspiring to see and continues to this day; and the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on communities of color means that the pandemic has exposed serious inequities across our society in housing, healthcare, economic opportunity, and other areas. We have a lot of work to do.” Dana Weintraub writes: “I got a new job, engaging young girls from underserved neighborhoods and kids with disabilities with sports! Check it out: www.bawsi.org.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “In what way(s), big or small, has the pandemic changed you (or your outlook, or your habits, or your values, or your self-knowledge, etc.) forever?” Here is Part I of your answers. Greg Millett:“If anything, the Covid-19 pandemic is all too familiar. After Dartmouth I returned to N.Y.C., which was being ravaged by AIDS. I remember a botched government response, a city gripped by fear and anxiousness, and being 22 and already knowing 13 people who had died. For many of us in the gay community, Covid-19’s stigma, testing, denial, and politicization brought up so much of what we lived through in what we call ‘the plague years.’ It has not helped that five of my friends and work acquaintances lost their lives to Covid-19 in the past year. As an infectious disease epidemiologist who has had a career spanning the Centers for Disease Control to the Obama White House, I’m grateful for my experience in HIV to provide insight on surveillance and prevention measures—as well as the ability to contribute my published studies to the Covid-19 scientific literature. What I did not expect was our nation’s haphazard and half-hearted response to the pandemic. I hoped that, collectively, we would handle this pandemic better after the mistakes that were made 40 years earlier. Sadly, that has not been the case. What does that say about us?” Kimberly L. Robinson:“This pandemic hasn’t changed me forever. Adversity happens in life. I think people have been so thrown by this pandemic because they thought their comfortable lives couldn’t be shaken and that such a global catastrophe couldn’t happen in the 21st century. I’ve never been under any such illusion. In the short term, the pandemic prompted me to quit my job because I didn’t believe they could keep work conditions safe, plus I was unwilling to expose myself to public transportation twice a day to get back and forth. I was going to leave that job anyway; I just didn’t think it would be because of a pandemic. Now I’m going to try to do something where I can work from home. Of course, starting something new is always a little bit anxiety-producing, but I think I will be okay. I wouldn’t say that what I’m embarking on, in terms of career, will last forever, but I hope it will last a few years and be reasonably lucrative. The truth is that God has been looking out for me during this very trying year, so I don’t have to worry about what will happen tomorrow. This past year’s catastrophe is hardly the first I’ve been through in recent years and I’m still here, by God’s grace and provision. He has been looking out for me since I accepted Him, which was, not ironically, at Dartmouth. (I’ve always told people that Dartmouth is a place that will drive you to one side of the divine divide or the other.) So I just try to do my part each day and not worry about the rest.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I recently asked ’90s, “What’s the best (or most impactful or memorable) book you’ve read during the last three years?” Here is Part II of your responses: William Boulware: “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is a phenomenal read.” Ute Bowman Otley: “Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak, which I finished in the Williams College Bookstore while waiting for a basketball game between my daughter’s Tufts Jumbos and the Ephs. I found myself sobbing in public. It’s that good.” Julie Urda: “Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson had an imaginative plot mixed with exciting storytelling. I was really impressed by how she intertwines the ancient with the contemporary. It introduced me to a new world of Middle Eastern mysticism.” Eric Wellons: Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright. Kyle Davis: “In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson is the true story of William E. Dodd, the first American ambassador to Nazi Germany. It’s a great lesson on how ‘good’ Germans and the rest of the world watched while the Nazis became exterminators of ‘undesirables.’ ” Laurie Isbell Donaghu: “My favorite was The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and my second favorite was The Overstory by Richard Powers.” Jen Gittes: “A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher was dystopian adventure with a satisfying twist. I loved it.” Tony Jones:“Deliverance by James Dickey. A friend recommended it and said it has some of the best hunting scenes ever written, which is true—even if the protagonist is on the hunt for a human. It’s a stunningly well-written book.” Peter Jennings: “Grant by Ron Chernow. I also listened to Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton, which was life-changing as well.” Gary Katz: “A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles had prose so good I held myself to 10 pages a day to savor it. It’s a must-read for anyone who took ‘Introduction to the Soviet Union.’ ” David Sherwood: “July 1914 by Sean McMeekin serves as a stark reminder that we should strive to ensure that our government is competent, transparent, and accountable; the failure to do so can lead to incalculable loss.” John Stouffer: “Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann was a really interesting, true murder story about the Osage tribe in Oklahoma and how the case helped develop the FBI.” Rob Harris: “A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles was beautifully written. Also Black is the Body by Emily Bernard, a collection of personal stories and anecdotes from a Black woman from Nashville. It teaches us much and opens our eyes without being preachy or handbook-ish.” David Janssen: “How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt felt like an intervention or one of those old ‘this is your brain on drugs’ commercials in its context for our politics. But the analysis was somehow comforting. The first step to recovery is understanding the problem.” Mark Sternman:“Roger Kahn’s The Boys of Summer—it’s deep dives into baseball, newspapering, and urban living really resonated with me, as did the stories about visits to retired players, which illustrated the opportunities and perils of aging.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I recently asked ’90s, “What’s the best (or most impactful or memorable) book you’ve read during the last three years?” Here is Part I of your responses. Lauren Waller Smith: “Florida by Lauren Groff.” Paul Haffner: “Last year I re-read Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and it just blew me away. It’s a masterpiece (and funny as hell). Honorable mention goes to Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery—a true story of a grandmother who leaves home to walk the Appalachian Trail on her own with no one knowing—and in tennis shoes.”

Mike Lindgren: “The Doctor of Aleppo by my former roommate Dan Mayland was pretty durn good!” Deborah Cornavaca: “New Power by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms, which I read as I began working for the governor of New Jersey. A great book is a great book. A really memorable book is a great book read at the right time.” Kyrie Robinson: “Nonfiction, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson; fiction, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.” Heather Block: “Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Three times because you have to.” Jonathan Sullivan: “Most recently The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, Educated by Tara Westover, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates are showing me how different the world looks when viewed through the eyes of Black people and the rural poor and helping me understand why we are in this moment as a society. The Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu has been mind-expanding in completely different ways and a welcome escape when the day-to-day is too much.”

Andrew Latimer: “The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. Although, annoyingly, I will also tell you the best-written book I have read during the last few years is Middlemarch by George Eliot—also the funniest! And the book that moved me the most was All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.” Wendy Richmond: “Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, also Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.” Pamela Chandran: “Recently, during a hot, dry L.A. summer, I read The Overstory by Richard Powers (which is, to unfairly simplify it, about the interconnectedness of trees and humans and how humans need trees and how trees very much do not need humans). I would wake up very early and read the book outside on our front porch in the quiet and the growing light. While we have three lovely palms in the front, we do not have the broad-trunked, wide-canopied trees that undergird the book. The book left me with a feeling of an absence. I once again felt the regret of not spending enough time outdoors when I was at Dartmouth, and it only now occurs to me that the book may have played a subconscious role in our decision to move to the Pacific Northwest next month.” Michael Keller: “Telegraph Road by Michael Chabon. Nobody writes like he does. His storytelling is not always perfect, but his use of language is sublime.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Back in late April I asked ’90s, “Please tell us one positive thing that’s come out of the Covid-19 pandemic for you or a member of your family.” Here are the responses I couldn’t fit into previous columns. They will remind you of what life was like back when the pandemic was young. Sarah Lennon: “My family of four’s crazy-busy schedules of music rehearsals, softball practices, board meetings, and other volunteer work have fallen by the wayside, which was disappointing at first. But now we eat dinner together every night, I cook and bake with my daughter, and we play cards and other board games. I’ve traded my 2.5 hours of commuting to D.C. each day for extra workouts. Perhaps best of all is that we’ve introduced the kids to The West Wing and watch it almost every evening.” David Jacobs:“One good thing has been more family time, especially with my oldest daughter, who’s going off to college at Washington University in the fall. Lunch every day together, family walks on the beach, poker night, movie night, creative cooking and baking (you haven’t lived until you’ve had banana mush with chocolate), sitting around the family room while my 16-year-old daughter serenades us on her ukulele—there’s certainly been a silver lining.” Liz Edgar:“I’m realizing I must have made a good choice in marrying James Edgar because we’re getting along fine together here in the house 24/7, teaching from home, just us and the dog. Good practice for retirement?” Kyrie Robinson:“One positive thing that will continue after the stay-at-home rules ease:With no income, I was forced to massively trim our family budget. One fallout is that my 16-year-old boys and I have started doing the yard work and I’m teaching them how to clean the house every two weeks. (I certainly didn’t grow up with gardeners and housekeepers, but as a single mom, I had come to rely on them. Now we all have plenty of time.)Another positive thing is that I reinstated my news diet. Starting two weeks ago, I now set a timer of 30 minutes to scan headlines and read maybe one or two articles. That’s it.” Sophia Neely: “I still love playing sports, so being unable to gather for practices and games of flag football, basketball, and baseball has been very sad for me, especially given my extroverted nature. I have always strongly preferred chasing a ball of some sort to working out at a gym. Yet I have developed a mild addiction to solo exercise at home with no special equipment. I press play nearly every day on a 30-minute ‘Daily Burn’ online workout, not because I love it but because I love having done it.” Phil Privatera: “I am grateful for all the time I have been able to spend with my children (17 and 19). Every night the kitchen turns into the dorm cluster social room, where everyone congregates after working or studying all day to unwind, have a snack, or watch some tube. It inevitably turns into an all-night laugh-a-thon with no one wanting to be the first one to go to bed.” Jessica Silver: “I finally have the time to foster newborn orphaned kittens from the no-kill shelter where I volunteer. They came to me the size of gerbils and needed bottle feeding every two hours around the clock. I am exhausted, but I feel like I am doing something worthwhile. They are adorable (2 weeks old now), and I know I will remember this experience for the rest of my life.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Back in late April, way before our successful, awesome 30th reunion on Zoom in mid-June, I asked ’90s, “Please tell us one positive thing that’s come out of the Covid-19 pandemic for you or a member of your family.” Here is Part II. Ted Carleton: “First time in my life I’ve ever been deemed essential. So, like Carl Spackler, I’ve got that going for me.” Kim Lewis: “I’ve had 42 consecutive nights (and counting) of family dinner with all four of us (husband, son aged 21, daughter aged 18) in attendance, leisurely one- to two-hour dinners followed by all-family clean ups and movie or game nights. No one wanted this drastic change of pace, but Brent and I are cherishing it.” Mark Sternman: “I’ve gotten to grow my first beard since my Edinburgh foreign study program. On a more serious note, I’ve done multiple Zoom calls with Tor Blaisdell, Roth Herrlinger, Jamie Pringle, and Scott Spring. The old banter never fails to cheer me.” Josh Vogel: “Renewed family time has been an unexpected treat. I never expected to once again have us all together, with time to really connect. I find that my children have become mature, thoughtful, caring individuals whose company I really enjoy. Having a taste of retirement has been a nice treat as well. My wife and I haven’t spent this much time together since before we were married.” Quincy Vale: “The ability of humans to adapt to change is truly remarkable. I look at the wrenching change in lifestyles wrought by the global pandemic in a few short months and it makes me hopeful that the collective, global ‘we’ will be able to address climate change in a meaningful manner. The money can be found and invested. The laws and policies can be enacted. The technologies can be repurposed, developed, and deployed at scale. And we can do it quickly and efficiently in a way to minimize loss of life and our natural world. In short, one positive of all this is that it is a good dress rehearsal for what we all need to do during the coming 20 years to manage and mitigate the unintended impact we are having on our home planet. We can do it, and we will.” Jane Blum DeMarchi: “I have to admit I am enjoying spending so much time with my college-aged children. I thought they were gone for good and now I get to eat lunch with them!” Sue Domchek: “At the risk of sounding flippant, given that I work in a hospital and things have been stressful (and I fully realize that the following is a First World problem), I learned how to color my own hair. However, I have no intention of continuing this newfound skill on the other side.” Brad Drazen: “The five of us have really enjoyed reconnecting as a family unit. It’s been a decade since we sat down at the dinner table consistently, and we’ve found a great sense of comfort in being together. I believe one of the positive, long-lasting results of the pandemic will be that nuclear families will remain stronger and more cohesive for years to come.” Gary Katz: “The one positive thing that has come out of the Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders are the Wednesday night ‘virtual house meetings’ we have been having on Zoom with the Sigma Nu ’90s, including Bruce Sacerdote, Quincy Vale, Todd Eagle, Brian Mittman, Rob Fasciano, Bob Galindo, Chris Farrens, Jon Ezrow, Mike Kanarick, and Matt Hemry. I’m embarrassed to admit, though, that given our age we have adjusted the start time from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “Please tell us one positive thing that’s come out of the Covid-19 pandemic for you or a member of your family or one life-adjustment or habit change you have made that you expect will continue as we all ease into the new normal.” Many of you responded; here is Part I. Michelle Brownlee: “The big plus for me has been connecting with old friends via Zoom or FaceTime. I’ve had get-togethers with friends from college, high school, and the town I grew up in. Also, I’ve been leading an effort for several years to get our school district to move to a later start time for the high school, which starts classes at 7:20 a.m. When online learning started up, they scheduled high school classes to start at noon. My two high school students are loving their new schedule!” John Banks: “Since our son and daughter have had their senior spring on campus in Hanover canceled, it’s been wonderful for my wife and me to have them home with us before they start their next chapters in other cities after graduation.” Ute Bowman Utley: “The best thing to come out of this pandemic is that we have had an unexpected seven weeks of having all three of my college-aged children under the same roof again. We’ve become puzzle masters, played a ton of cribbage, and watched all kinds of shows on Netflix and Prime. Added bonus: I’ve upped my tech game by 1,000 percent with this shift to online learning. Teaching high school government over a computer is a challenge, but I’ll be better for it once we get back into the classroom.” John Kornet: “Our daughter, Rachel, is home from college. I’ve wished for this since the day she left two Septembers ago, but not like this. Her brother graduates tomorrow from University of Michigan and, alas, we will not be there. No hugs of congratulation, no senior art exhibition, no ceremony, no dinner out. They will find another time to do it but I keep thinking about our own 1990 graduation and what it would have been like to be ripped from the campus two months before. I had enough trouble leaving when we were supposed to leave! Highway robbery.” Amit Malholtra: “I’m here in Washington, D.C. with Jane Varner Malhotra, where I can report that in a world that has been so up-ended that a negative (test result) is a positive, we’re doing well. After steadily sending one child after another off to college for the last few years, we suddenly find our house full again with almost all of them. Everyone is either working or learning at home, but fortunately all are holding up. We’re also cooking a great deal more together, and I’ve already run through my repertoire a few times during the past few weeks.” John Sucke: “My partner, Peggy, and I have had a chance to try out new recipes during the pandemic. For example, polenta with chicken broth and cheddar cheese or rice porridge with black rice, dates, and bananas. Perhaps Covid-19 will unleash a new generation of chefs for the 2020s!” David Clark: “A habit that I will hold onto will be doing and appreciating the little things that you do with your family. Now that my kids are older, they are busy with work, college, and their social lives, but we have managed to do more family puzzles, workouts, walks, bike rides, games, cooking, do-it-yourself projects, movie nights, etc. I pray that all of our classmates, their families, and friends are safe and have a successful opening of their cities. I’m hoping we will be able to return to the Big D in 2021 to celebrate our 30th reunion. Stay blessed!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

With our 30th reunion just around the corner (June 18-21—go register now at d90reunion.org!), I asked ’90s to contemplate the following question: “What’s something on your bucket list that you’re at least 50 percent committed to achieving or experiencing or what’s a challenging goal you’re currently pursuing?” Here are your responses. Jennifer (Huska) Merriman: “At age 50 I decided to embark on a new career in wildlife medicine! I am back in school studying to be a veterinary technician and at the same time volunteering and doing internships caring for native wildlife in northern California.” Lauren Kehoe: “I’m committing to travel more, but less for ‘enrichment’ than just stuff that makes me happy. In October I went to Las Vegas to see Billy Idol’s show at the Palms, ride the roller coaster around the New York New York hotel, and eat soufflé in the bar at the Paris hotel while watching the fountain show at the Bellagio out its windows. My next planned bit of happiness travel is to see the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto!” Michael Keller: “Sky-diving. Have been on the tarmac when a flight got canceled for weather, so hoping to get back to it before I start daisy-pushing!” Robin Plager Lapre: “My major ambition is to reduce animal shelter overcrowding by improving access to low-cost spay and neuter surgery in Tennessee. Having spent two years volunteering in rural shelters, I reached the conclusion that the solution to the surplus animal population requires education, incentives, and affordable access to low-cost sterilization. Please consider adopting your next pet. And if you want to save 1,000 future dogs or cats, just spay or neuter the ones you have!” Paul Hill: “I am somewhat more than 50 percent committed to hiking 50 separate peaks with 50 different people in my 50s. I’ve done eight so far. Todd Thayer and I did Hunter Mountain to the fire tower last October. The best part (besides the obvious of getting outside) is catching up with friends and family from different parts of my life, often in a place I’ve never been!” David Greenberg: “For many years I’ve wanted to compete at the World Masters (over age 40) Track and Field Championship, but never have. Wearing a Team USA uniform and competing against the world’s best has a strong appeal to me. But for years the meet has been in faraway places, so I’ve had to skip it. This year the meet is in Toronto, and I’m more than likely going to compete. Just to make my ‘challenging goal’ even more challenging, I’m doubling down by learning a new event: the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The final is August 1.” Bernadine Wu:“I have a ton of bucket list items that involve family and travel and selling my company and living a meaningful, powerful, extraordinary life, but the one real goal I’m out for is this: simplifying!” Jonathan Sullivan: “I am 100 percent committed to drastically reducing my consumption of meat, poultry, and fish this year in an effort to live more sustainably. So far, I’m making good progress. I’m less committed, but still trying, to simultaneously reduce my sugar intake, just because. I’ve been less successful on that front.” Julie Urda: “I am pursuing a lifelong acting dream. I’m taking classes and doing improv. I’ve been in two local children’s plays and I just recorded a voiceover demo. Hoping to turn the latter into an avocation. Stay tuned.” Baeth Davis: “A goal we’re striving for here at our company is 200 new people in our business mentoring program in 2020 with a percentage of the proceeds going to the charities we support.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I asked ’90s, “What is your best memory (from your Dartmouth career) of something that took place outside of Hanover?” Here is Part III. Bradley Bennett: “It was the fall term of my sophomore year, on my language study abroad in Granada, Spain. I remember how nice the people were, how much fun it was to sip full-liter bottles of cerveza on the sidewalk with my new Spanish friends, the beer liberating me to probably speak the best Spanish of my life. I remember being introduced to mayonnaise on French fries and walking to class on cobblestone streets. I remember the wine, the food, the siestas, the beautiful Alhambra palace and the fabulous Generalife garden. I mean, aside from mayonnaise on fries, what’s not to love about Spain?” Lauren Kehoe: “I loved my foreign study program in Toulouse, France, the spring before my Sophomore Summer in Hanover. Some of my favorite memories were of an ongoing culture battle I had with my host father. Early on, I watched Lethal Weapon on TV and told him it was weird because it’s impossible to sound truly pissed off in French. We threatened each other with foods the other found disgusting: He would threaten to bring home escargot, and I would retort that I’d only eat them if he ate some peanut butter. He was unfortunately working at home one day when I walked in the door after an hour-long ride on a hot, smelly bus that crawled all the way to my stop behind demonstrators marching in the streets. When he asked me what was wrong, I told him that in America, we support free speech and the right to assemble, but that if you exercised those rights when people just wanted to go home, they would run you over!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Hey ’90s, our 30th reunion is June 18-21. We don’t have endless reunions, you know; they’re rare events—so register today!

Recently, I asked ’90s, “What is your best memory (from your Dartmouth career) of something that took place outside of Hanover?” Here is Part II. Kyrie Robinson:“I’m in Toulouse with my foreign study abroad crew and it’s raining (France in spring sounded like a glorious idea) and we are all sitting there glumly in our raincoats on a bench, with hours to kill on some field trip or another, and Mary Vogrin says, ‘Qu’est-ce que f**k are we gonna faire?’ and we all completely cracked up. (Mary almost never swore.) I still mutter that phrase to myself when the weather seems challenging.” Parker Karnan: “When Margie Worthington, Colin Tucker, Mike Uram, Matt Greene, and I all piled into Matt’s Cherokee and spontaneously drove to Boston to buy tickets from a scalper for the U2 Joshua Tree Tour concert. We got stuck in traffic and couldn’t find parking, so we arrived just as the concert was letting out. We all bought concert T’s to fake we attended and then drove back to Hanover. Best five hours ever!”

Jen Gittes: “Hiking down the wrong side of a mountain (not the side we had hiked up all day) in Spain, with Kristin Young. Thankfully, by dusk we managed to hitch a ride in a van transporting vegetables back to the safety of our cozy hostel in the tiny, medieval town of La Alberca, where we enjoyed a most satisfying meal of juicy lechon and roasted potatoes.” Cat Shrier: “At the London School of Economics and Political Science I signed up for the debating society—and quickly learned that parliamentarian debate is very different from American forensics. If you’ve ever seen movies in which members of England’s houses of Parliament get up and talk trash about their opponents to the cheers and jeers of their colleagues, that’s basically what it was like. Oh my God it was so much fun!” Cheryl Shepherd: “Freshman summer, July 4th celebration at the U.S. embassy in China. They flew in McDonald’s from Hong Kong because there was no Western anything in the People’s Republic in 1987—it tasted so good! If I recall correctly, members of our Dartmouth crew took on the Marines in a chug-off.”

Michael Keller: “The 1990 Glee Club spring tour took us across Texas on our way to California. Our budget always had us staying with generous alumni or finding appropriate ‘budget accommodations.’ In this particular instance, we found ourselves staying for the night in a set of abandoned and condemned dormitories at the Texas Military Institute (let your imagination run wild and you will be close). Despite being the perfect setting for a prototypical horror-slasher movie, no lives were lost, but it was certainly a fun (in retrospect) and memorable experience with many Dartmouth friends far from campus.” Jay Davis: “One of many wonderful memories outside of Dartmouth was arriving with 30 other ’90s in Long Island Sound during senior spring, after paddling 200 miles on the Connecticut River from Ledyard on Trip to the Sea. Not so great for my thesis, due eight days after we arrived at the ocean, but I have never regretted it.” Jane Demarchi: “Foreign study program in Beijing in the summer of 1988. China was so different then! Nate Emerson, Sue Mooney, John Sun, and I all missed our Sophomore Summer in Hanover. It was a life-changing experience for me and led to my living in Asia for another six years in the 1990s and early 2000s.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

With just more than seven months ’til our 30th reunion (June 18-21), I encourage all of you to return to Hanover for this milestone weekend. I was surprised at how meaningful it was to attend our 25th, and I sense that our future Dartmouth reunions will follow suit. Take a leap and register!

Recently I asked ’90s, “What is your best memory (from your Dartmouth career) of something that took place outside of Hanover?” Here is Part I. Andrew Backer: “During Sophomore Summer Mike Sullivan led Psi U brethren on field trips to various New England locales. One trip, we headed to the coast of New Hampshire, where we went to a…water park. Among the fleet of cars was Dave Yaccino’s silver 1970s-era boat of a Cadillac sedan which, miraculously, sat eight on its leather bench seating. Afterwards a few brothers decided that, being on the coast and so close to Maine, we should go in search of lobster. (Several young men from land-locked states had never had a lobster.) Our idea was to purchase lobsters, then transport them back to Hanover and cook them there. I called my grandparents, who lived close by, and when my grandmother heard the plan, she realized its stupidity and invited our whole crew over. The years obscure my memory of all participants, but in addition to Mike and Dave, Aidan O’Connell, Jimmy Yu, Jon Nordmeyer, Shailan Shah, John Burke,and I(among others) arrived on my grandparents’ doorstep, where we were greeted by my grandfather, Malcolm Tucke Curtiss, Harvard class of ’33, singing ‘Dartmouth’s in town again, run, girls, run!’ My grandfather served the still-bathing-suit-clad Dartmouth boys cocktails, then took everyone out to dinner at the local lobster shack. My grandmother, a matriarch of New England, patiently showed Yaccino, a son of Pittsburgh, how to eat his first lobster; as I recall, she recommended he eat lobster rolls in the future.” Laura Van Wie McGrory: “Sleeping under the stars on a mesa in the Samburu District of Kenya during the Environmental Studies FSP with Dartmouth friends scattered nearby, knowing (or at least imagining) that wild animals were roaming the plains below.” Scott Reed: “During our foreign study program in Berlin, John Luedke and I did 120 mph across the Autobahn in our host mother’s BMW to visit the sea lions frolicking off the island of Sylt, the northernmost point in Germany.” Kim Lewis: “Wonderful friendships forged in the special city of Siena, Italy. I returned to Siena this year with my family and walked up to the front door of my host family’s house. (Unfortunately, they were not home.)”

And in classmate news: Rachael Winfree, a professor in the department of ecology, evolution, and natural resources at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, is one of 21 female scientists in the world (out of 184 scientists total) who made the list of “the most influential scientific minds” in the field of environment and ecology for the decade 2008-18. This list identifies the scientists with the greatest number of publications in the top 1 percent of all papers in their field, based on how often their papers have been cited.

Priya (Venkatesan) Hays, who was elected to the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Medical Genetics, recently published a book titled, Advancing Healthcare Through Personalized Medicine. The book, Priya’s third,provides a unique perspective on the biomedical and societal implications of personalized medicine and how it will help mitigate the healthcare crisis and rein in ever-growing expenditures.

And Emily Hill was recently appointed by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees. Emily is executive director for the Hill Group at Morgan Stanley in Lawrence, Kansas.

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Recently, I asked ’90s, “Looking back at your Dartmouth years, when (or with whom or with what group of people) did you feel the greatest sense of belonging?” Here is Part II.

John Kornet: “When I was sung out of my freshman room by a bunch of Glee Clubbers as a way of telling me I had passed the audition. They are lifelong friends, five of whom I just saw last weekend, not to mention the one I married!” Catherine (Youssef) Kassenoff: “Although my philosophy foreign study program trip to Scotland ranks high on my list of ‘belongings,’ I have to say it was being a River Clusterian. Outcasts on the central campus, we River people had our own brand of fun, from jumping in the Connecticut River on icy Hanover evenings to sharing the same rickety old bicycles to get us to the farthest reaches of campus.”

Laurin Grollman: “My small freshman dorm, North Fayerweather, was amazing. We were an eclectic bunch, but we were tight and appreciated each other’s idiosyncrasies. In addition to my roommates Jane Bieneman and Julie Warren, we adopted Pam Behne (who had a single because her roommate decided last-minute not to show) as a fourth, and then spent a lot of time hanging out with Darwin Brown, Ron Phillips, Ted O’Donoghue, Dave Yaccino, John Kelly,John Kornet, Steve Huang, Tom Stone, Mike Bersick, John Stouffer, Kelin Pickard, Julie Alperin, and others who made the transition into the Dartmouth community seamless and fun. Though we mostly dispersed after freshman year, that group made me feel at home pretty much from day one.”

Alan Ellis: “I felt the greatest sense of belonging at Phi Tau. Like any group of people, we experienced conflict, but I felt a strong and enduring sense of acceptance as a human being.” Chris Henrich: “Dartmouth rugby football club, 60 minutes into any match with Harvard, because you knew they were about to crack wide open.” Phil Privatera: “My freshman trip. Not being an outdoorsman, I signed up for hiking level 3 (or maybe lower; it may have been a negative number). The whole time, Lori Graham had me thinking we would be attacked by bears or something. Well, we never hiked. In fact, we hooked up with a fishing trip and never fished. Essentially, we played hearts for three straight days. I can still see everyone’s faces: Sandy Yusen, Richie Mazzola, Lissa Kane, John Carrol, Rick Muise,and others. Who’d have thought we could make so much happiness doing nothing in the middle of nowhere?”

And in classmate news, I’m pleased to announce two new books by ’90 authors. Benjamin Kwakye’s new novel, Obsessions of Paradise, “chronicles the oft-dehumanizing odyssey of migrants in search of hope and is a tender story of insecure but compelling love.” Kirkus Reviews wrote, “Kwakye’s prose finds the tension in the strangeness of place…a bubbling mysteriousness rooted in desire and longing will propel readers ever deeper into this idiosyncratic story. An oddly compelling tale of two connected couples separated by geography and culture.”

And Marjorie Worthington,a professor of English at Eastern Illinois University, recently published The Story of “Me”: Contemporary American Autofiction. (Autofiction is fictional autobiography.) One reviewer called the book “consistently intriguing and elegantly constructed.”

This past April three Dartmouth alumni were elected to town meeting in Milton, Massachusetts, including our own Angela McConney Scheepers.

And keep your eye out for Melanie (Schneeberger) Robbins’ new TV show, The Mel Robbins Show, which premieres on September 16. Mel (a best-selling author and highly successful speaker) may have millions of fans, but her ’90 classmates were her first fans!

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “Looking back at your Dartmouth years, when (or with whom or with what group of people) did you feel the greatest sense of belonging?” Here is Part I.

Scott Patterson: “I have a very special affinity for the people I met on the Dartmouth College computing network, specifically on the XYZ chat. They still hold a special place in my heart. We have a Facebook group too: facebook.com/groups/dartmouthxyz.” Ed Callaway: “That’s easy: playing music in Deacon’s Close with Flagg Miller ’91, Kelley Bishop ’86, Jim DiCarlo ’91, Jeff Garneau ’88, and P.K. Suk on Tuesday nights at Café Buon Gustaio. Dinner and beer on the house made us ‘professional’ musicians!” David Clark: “No question, walking into a football locker room and getting ready for football practice or a game gave me a sense of place and infused camaraderie that can only be understood when you are on a team and you depend on one another for success. Coach Teevens did a nice job setting expectations for us as teammates and demanding that we respect one another as a unit. That collaboration and connection with one another made me feel that my teammates were like my brothers. We were family! The second is the relationship developed with classmates Rob Summers and Eugene Sims. On gloomy days and nights on the ‘hill,’ having friends to talk to and support me through bad games, a poor grade on a test, or a difficult relationship may seem very trivial but it helped the ‘Florida boy’ through some depressing days. Even though we did not play together, we supported each other through our seasons and remained close friends after Dartmouth. This fall we are planning a visit to Miami for the Dolphins-Redskins game. We are lifelong friends, and this is what I envisioned would happen at a school such as Dartmouth.” Mike Keller: “I can’t give just one response to this question. Equally important to my overall Dartmouth experience were the Glee Club, my fraternity (Sig Epsilon), and my River Cluster family from my freshman year in French Hall (with football, freshman trips, and some specific academic class communities following closely behind). The diversity of these groups was a big part of what made my Dartmouth experience so special. I can’t imagine what it might have been like without any of them.” Mark Sternman: “Taking tea at Sanborn, running the goat trail, or playing in the Marching Band with five people who became lifelong friends (Tor Blaisdell, Roth Herrlinger, Jamie Pringle, Scott Spring, and Marilyn Cummings ’92).” Christine Smith: “My strongest memories of belonging to Dartmouth date back to freshman year and even before. First, when I got in early decision in December 1985 (seriously, ’85?), eager to bolt out of high school, I felt instantly connected as a new member of the ‘Dartmouth family’—whatever that was. And Freshman Week we all belonged. Smart kids with bad 1980s haircuts and high SAT scores and all of us members of the freshman class. Differentiation came later, but at that point we were all one highly charged teenage mass. Many pockets of belonging since then, which include all of the dear friends I’ve kept to date, but those two are the ones that have stuck with me.” Gregg DiPietro: “I felt the greatest sense of belonging around the people with whom I spent a lot of time outside the classroom—the crew team—both men and women. Within that group, ‘the boys in the boat’ (Lou Mabley, Mark Riddell, Karl Benedict, Chris Schmidt, and non-rower Rob Crawford, my Theta Epsilon Alpha house roommates) will always be like family.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

First, a shout-out to Mike Kennealy, whom Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently named secretary of housing and economic development! Next, here is Part IV of your responses to the question, “What are your salient memories of your freshman trip?” Jane Blum Demarchi: “Although I can’t remember our group number or a lot of names, I do remember that Karen Behling was the first person I met at Dartmouth, and I still treasure our friendship.”

Laura Van Wie McGrory: “Senior year, Bonnie Dickson convinced me to co-lead a hiking trip of ’93s. We volunteered for the easiest hiking level, not realizing that would guarantee us the least-experienced (and least-enthusiastic) hikers, coupled with still-challenging terrain. Add to that our inexperience reading hiking maps, and you had a recipe for missed turns and backtracking, 5-foot-3-inch Bonnie carrying a 6-foot freshman boy’s backpack in addition to her own, and a late-night arrival at our cabin with no water. I can still see our whole group standing in a circle and staring at the jug of stream water, counting the minutes for the iodine to finish doing its thing. I also admit that when a freshman girl screamed in the night that there was a mouse caught in her hair, I responded with no pity: ‘At least it’s not a skunk!’ ”

Cheryl Shepherd: “We were sick of eating the food in our packs and, contemplating the ‘Sticky Stew’ for dinner, a few in our group (I think Mark Campo and Richard Morris) left us on some country roadside and hitchhiked to a town. We dined on hot dogs and M&Ms that night and ate so much we felt ill. Another night we slept in a cabin above a field with cows. Kevin Luensmann, who hailed from Iowa, convinced the city slickers that you can cow tip, so we all snuck down to the field after dark. The ensuing chaos was hysterical (in retrospect). Someone shined a flashlight in the direction of a group of cows and we realized they were wide awake and tracking our approach. That was the fastest we climbed a hill the entire trip!”

Kyle Davis: “I recall the story of Ol’ Doc Benton, having green eggs and ham for breakfast, and meeting my first real New Englandah. I literally followed her around to listen to an accent that I’d only ever heard in movies and on TV shows.” Timothy Douros: “I shared a canoe with Mason Sandell and gradually realized I had made a friend for life.”

Julia Weil Lazarus: “Preparing to be independent in college, I went to pick out hiking boots on my own, and I purchased a pair of gray boots that were cute, cheap—and woefully inadequate. I waited nervously for the bus in N.Y.C., unsure how to break the ice with all these sporty looking folks. Then, lo and behold, there was someone with the exact same boots! And that’s how I met Julie Tomasz, one of my dearest lifelong friends. We both got lots of blisters on that trip, but making a best buddy made it worth it. Our two leaders, Boomer and Phil, carried watermelons in their backpacks so we could have a cool treat. We made instant pudding cheesecake in an icy stream. There wasn’t enough room in a shelter, so Julie and I braved the tent with a few other intrepid hikers (fun!), and I recall writing an ode to our leaders to the tune of the marching song from The Bridge on the River Kwai. This non-hiker will always be extraordinarily grateful for a perfect start to my Dartmouth experience!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Drew Jones writes, “I’ve used the system dynamics modeling I studied in my engineering degree to create interactive simulation models that are building ‘grounded hope’ for climate change.” One result is his recent op-ed in The New York Times, “Stopping Climate Change is Hopeless. Let’s Do It.” Sue Domchek, professor of oncology at University of Pennsylvania Hospital Abramson Cancer Center and executive director of Penn Medicine’s Basser Center for BRCA, received the John Allen Blue Award for her work in breast cancer research, treatment, and education.

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

On the Saturday night of Homecoming Weekend, about 40 ’90s and several spouses gathered at the Hanover Inn for ’tails and dinner to celebrate our 50th birthdays. Highlights included a brief performance by Noah Drazen ’21 and his fellow Dartmouth Aires—and, because Noah’s daddy Brad Drazen and I made it a condition of the gig, we got to perform with them! (Cue Glory Days.) During the dinner Cheryl Shepherd and Brad (who co-organized the event) delivered an informal speech on what turning 50 means to all of us. At times hilarious and poignant, they brilliantly captured our collective mindset at this juncture in our lives—gratitude for joyful moments and relationships that have endured, sorrow for dreams and loved ones lost, the evolution of our definition of “success,” the myriad, difficult challenges that 50-year-olds such as us are facing right now, and the special meaning that Dartmouth College retains in our lives.

After dinner Jay Davis,director ofFirst Year Student Enrichment Program (FYSEP), gave us an overview of this remarkable program he directs at Dartmouth—and which our class supports through class dues. (FYSEP’s website summarizes it well: “Through one-on-one mentor-mentee meetings, social events, retreats, and workshops, FYSEP students learn the mechanics of a successful Dartmouth experience while forging a strong peer network that will continue even after graduation.”) And then Jay introduced two ’21s, both the first in their families to attend college, who took turns eloquently explaining the positive impact of FYSEP in their lives during their first-year-plus at Dartmouth. The dinner concluded with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” (to Jay Davis and the rest of us). To all of you who attended, thank you for making the trip! And to all of you who couldn’t make it, we missed you, but you were there in spirit!

Now, here is Part III of your responses to “What are your salient memories of your freshman trip?” (Part IV still to come.) Kathy Heafey: “My memory of canoeing is a little different than Elizabeth Allen Edgar’s [in the July/August issue of DAM]. Being a ‘suburban pool child’ raised by city-kid parents, I had never taken a hike and was devoid of any outdoor skills. Since I was a lifeguard, it seemed I could make the cut for a canoeing trip: so 105F it was! As it turned out (and as Martin Short might say), I was not such a strong paddler. We canoed for miles and miles each day (and portaged too!). I am eternally grateful to Mike ‘Spider’ Lee for picking up my slack. Our route was not linked with cabins, so we slept sans tents in the great wide open (and woke up one morning surrounded by cows!). The see-your-breath-kind-of-cold at night had us huddling close in our sleeping bags. Hysterically, my lifeguarding skills ended up being relevant. We had a last-minute addition to our trip—Maz, a new grad student from Pakistan who mistakenly arrived in Hanover weeks before his classes were to begin. His joie de vivre was infectious, but his swimming skills were non-existent. (Thankfully, I did not need to make a rescue!) After graduation Spider and I each landed in Chicago and lived blocks apart in Lincoln Park. In line for a beer at an epic party at an apartment he shared with Les Morant ’89 and Michael Keller, I met my now-husband. In turn, Spider married a childhood friend of mine. And, happily, I see another trip-mate, Sarah Fjelstul, at least once a month, as we have been in the same book club for more than 20 years.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Here is Part II of your responses to, “What are your salient memories of your freshman trip?” David Sherwood: “I fondly recall singing ‘When It’s Hog Calling Time in Nebraska’ at Moosilauke with Walter Palmer, John Lynch, Scott Mackle, and the rest of my fishing trip crew. It was the capstone to the greatest fishing trip during which we never fished. We spent our days making the ‘Jell-O No Bake Cheesecake’ mixes that prior campers had left behind in Stoddard Cabin. As it was a fishing trip, we were told to pack duffle bags (not backpacks), and I recall it was something like a six-mile hike from the drop-off to the cabin. All of those things, plus the ghost story by Dave Herron ’87 and Walter’s terrifying sound effects outside the cabin, made it a fantastic experience. This spring John Lynch, Caroline Choi, and I caught Springsteen on Broadway, so absolutely lifelong friends were made on that trip!” Julie Tomasz: “My lifelong friendship with Julia Weil Lazarus started not on freshman trips, but about six hours before, on a corner in midtown N.Y.C. where we met in line waiting for the bus to Hanover. We chose seats together, talking all the way to campus, where we were then pleased to learn we were on the same hiking trip—but that I had forgotten to bring a check to pay for it. Julia’s first of many acts of bail-out generosity toward me was loaning me money to pay my freshman trip fee. That generosity continued throughout our years at Dartmouth (and to this day) in so many beautiful gestures of friendship, and notably via her prowess at typing, as she helped me type up countless English and philosophy papers that I dictated to her in a panic at 3 a.m.” Jen Gittes: “I distinctly remember feeling sad, confused, and somewhat angry when people began singing what was then still called ‘Men of Dartmouth’ on the bus ride back to campus. It struck me really hard that our song excluded me as a woman of Dartmouth. I am so glad and proud that the alma mater was officially changed during our time at Dartmouth. On a different note, my hiking trip was all fun, no disasters, but it did make me greatly appreciate the comforts of North Mass upon our return from the great outdoors. And that was back when the dorms were not too fancy—creaky linoleum floors, clunky radiators, and weird lighting, remember?” Andy Affleck: “My favorite memory of bike riding, in general, comes from my freshman trip. We had spent most of an entire morning biking (well, mostly walking our bikes) up a hill (mountain?) and finally came to a sign that read “12% Grade Next 2 Miles.” We all whooped and got on our bikes and flew down the hill. Tears were streaming straight back from my eyes. Cars were passing us, but very slowly so we must have been going at least 50 mph. At the bottom of the hill we all sat by a really cool waterfall.”

And in class news, Benjamin Kwakye, who is vice president and associate general counsel of Global Payments Processing Co., read excerpts of his books at the Goethe Institute in Accra, Ghana, on July 25. Kwakye is the winner of two Commonwealth Prize for Literature book awards for his novels, The Clothes of Nakedness and The Sun by Night. One of Africa’s leading literary scholars, professor Eustace Palmer, describes Kwakye’s most recent collection of poems, Songs of a Jealous Wind, as an “impressive collection that continues to reinforce Kwakye’s claim to being incontestably in the front rank of African writers.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What are your salient memories of your freshman trip?” I think I received enough responses for at least two columns! Here’s Part I. Kyrie Robinson: “Thinking about freshman trips gives me mild PTSD. I called the College in August to inquire about the details of my trip and was informed that I had never actually sent in my forms! The person on the phone said they couldn’t fit me in (which was undoubtedly not true, had I pushed), so I arrived on campus friendless and feeling lonely (though my undergraduate advisor group quickly made things better). Anyway, those are two life lessons I have never forgotten: Send in your forms, and don’t take no for an answer. This is also why I was so happy to meet up with everyone at the Ravine Lodge for our 50th birthday party this past June—I’d never been!” Laurilyn Goettsch Dowling: “So much fun, although when we arrived at Moosilauke and I was reorganizing my backpack, I pulled out my waterproof ground cover (unused, because we all had one and didn’t need them all), and found inside a brick wrapped in foil. Prank, courtesy of some DOC members—though I suspect they didn’t expect the brick to remain hidden for the entire hike!” Elizabeth Allen Edgar: “I got great advice that no real expertise was needed for the more experienced canoe trip. We drifted much of the time, tying the canoes together and using a tarp as a sail on occasion. We had lots of fun kicking back and getting to know each other, and we definitely got to Moosilauke less exhausted than some folks!” Langdon Doty: “Our hike was amazing, but it rained a lot. On the second rainy night I noticed there was a town near our campsite, and I managed to get a couple of volunteers to join me on a pizza run that took about three hours round-trip. Best rain-soaked pizza I’ve ever had.” Rebecca Baggett:“Disaster in some ways, fun in others. I discovered I love challenging hikes but hate camping.” Jack McBride: “We had a blast! Our trip had seven guys and one woman, Amy Fulwyler. When our hike started, most of the guys did pretty well. I was soon sweating, gasping for air, and exhorting the others to go on without me; I told them I’d just lie there and take my chances. Amy didn’t hear any of that—she was already up the mountain. The next day we were nearing another summit, and had stopped for lunch at a clearing with an amazing view. Our leader, Vic Trautwein ’87, remarked that some watermelon would sure hit the spot. He then reached into his pack and pulled out a watermelon to share with everyone. Vic also taught us every Dartmouth song and cheer, which I fear are lacking in today’s trips. Vic was captain of the rugby team, Amy was later captain of the women’s ski team, and I had a 21-swipe meal plan every term.” Mark Sternman: “I mostly recall the rides to and from Hanover for my freshman trip. Mara Leventhal, who grew up in a neighboring town, drove me both ways. She was the first ’90 from outside my high school whom I met, and her graciousness got my Dartmouth experience off to a great start.” Rahul Ranadive:“None. I caught pneumonia a few days before my trip and had to miss it.” Rich Mazzola’s automatic email reply message: “I am currently on vacation and, with any luck, I am busy at the moment reeling in a big brown trout.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I sent ’90s the following invitation: “Tell us about a classmate whom you admired from afar during our years at Dartmouth or whom you admire from afar now.” Here is part two of two.

David Sherwood: “Admiring from afar is distinct from stalking, correct? I just want to make certain I answer the question correctly.” Bradley Bennett: “As a resident of Montgomery, Alabama—the cradle of the Confederacy but also the birthplace of the civil rights movement—I thoroughly admire my classmate, U.S. District Court Judge Abdul Kallon of Birmingham, Alabama. Abdul was the valedictorian at Bladensburg High School in Maryland. After receiving his A.B. in history in 1990, he completed his law degree in 1993 at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After clerking for former U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon in Birmingham, he began working at Bradley, Arant, Rose & White in 1994 and was eventually named a partner in the firm. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009 to succeed Clemon on the U.S. district court, and he was unanimously confirmed in the U.S. Senate. ‘Judge Kallon has a long and impressive record of service and a history of handing down fair and judicious decisions,’ Obama said in a press release.” Mary (Bachman) DeSilva: “I always admired Nancy (Zilvitis) Potter, who played on the women’s soccer team and reminded me of a regal Amazon warrior. As a student I was amazed at how all of the student-athletes could balance team sports and schoolwork. Nancy is married to John Potter, and they and their two children live only a few miles away from our family in southern New Hampshire. It has been a delight getting to know the Potters the past couple of years; just last week we celebrated Lunar New Year together with a Vietnamese friend.” Jay Davis: “At Dartmouth I admired Drew Jones for his obvious commitment to environmental causes long before recycling and sustainability were widely accepted and practiced. And I now admire Kate Wright for similar reasons. Kate is doing superb work as an environmental consultant in Bozeman, Montana.” Peter Pasi: “I admire hundreds of my classmates. I am truly honored and humbled to be in such good company and so proud of what my fellow ’90s have achieved in their professional and personal lives.” Christine Smith: “I secretly admire those ’90s who quietly went about their business during college and grad school, and now—bam!—they are university professors: Jen Ryan, Julie Urda, Bruce Sacerdote, and many more. Twenty-five years ago, who knew?” Robin Lapre: “Mike Lowenthal. Being valedictorian at Dartmouth is no small feat, but Mike caught my eye early on playing the banjo on the Green. He seemed to embody the Dartmouth spirit. His courage and confidence to be ‘out’ in the dinosaur days of the 1980s helped make it easier for subsequent generations of LGBT individuals to freely embrace their identity. Well done, Mike!” Ted Carleton: “At Dartmouth I should have asked out Gwen Pointer. I wasn’t confident enough to take that on! I also wish I’d gotten to know George Cawman better. I liked his energy. And I would never want to run into Melanie (Schneeberger) Robbins in an intellectual back alley without being very well-armed.” And in class news, Jay Benson, formerly COO of Simon Pearce in Windsor, Vermont, has been named the company’s new CEO! Company founder Simon Pearce commented, “An enormous part of the progress we’re experiencing is thanks to Jay Benson’s leadership. It’s been the most successful year in the history of the company, 47 years to be exact.” Go, Jay!

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month, I asked ’90s: “Tell us about a classmate whom you admired from afar during our years at Dartmouth or whom you admire from afar now.” Here is part one of two.

Scott Atwood: “I admire Greg Millett.Although we keep in touch through Facebook, I feel like I admire him ‘from afar’ because he is always traveling the world for his great work on HIV and infectious disease issues. And I admire Brian Sweeney, who lives ‘afar’ away as a doctor in Alaska and is keeping its people healthy. (I admire Jon Sullivan too, but I just saw him, so I can’t say it is ‘from afar.’ But he wanted props.)” Ann Fromholz: “I admire Bradley Bennett for the important work he is doing with the Southern Poverty Law Center and for the fact that he moved his family to a new city to do this vital work. I hope to have visited Bradley and his family in Montgomery, Alabama, by the time this issue goes to print.” Mark Schiffman: “The two people I wish I’d spent more time with at Dartmouth are Abdul Kallon and Sadie Peters. With each, I remember a conversation from senior year wherein I was struck by his or her thoughtfulness and perspective. I came away from those conversations touched by a sense of the warmth, compassion and quiet strength that each possessed.”

Joshua Vogel: “Talking with Walter Palmer at our 25th reunion, I was amazed by his story of standing up as a freshman and questioning why he and his basketball teammates had to sign a contract with the NCAA without any legal counsel. To have that kind of awareness, courage and maturity at such a young age is amazing to me. And then to grow up and get what you thought was your dream job, and to be willing to leave it behind upon finding it wasn’t what you thought, I think is incredibly brave. What a commitment to his principles.” Phil Privatera: “Julie Davis. She was never afraid to be herself. Since I have always been involved on the fringes of production work, I have been asked if I know her (being a fellow Dartmouth grad). It is great to see she pursued her dreams.”

And here’s some classmate news. Quincy Vale: “After being single for about seven years, my long-time girlfriend and I traveled to Tanzania in October 2017 for a trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and a safari in the Serengeti. After six and half days trekking and sleeping in tents with 10 other trekkers and a large team of porters and guides, we reached the summit, and I proposed with a diamond and tanzanite ring I had procured in Andover, Massachusetts, and faithfully carried (like Frodo) on an arduous journey up a volcano. I am so happy she said yes. If she hadn’t, the day-and-a-half hike down and the additional nine days traveling on safari and through Amsterdam would have been really brutal and awkward. Michelle Carlow and I are set to be married this summer!” Adam Bookbinder: “After 18 years in the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, primarily prosecuting cyber-criminals, I ventured into private practice in February, joining the cybersecurity and white-collar practices at Holland & Knight. I expect that there will be plenty to do, trying to protect clients from all of the hackers out there. In January my family spent a great afternoon with Michael Reynolds in New York. Michael is doing well, working as a litigation partner at Cravath, Swain & Moore and living in a great loft in SoHo.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

David Clark,who is head of school at Pinecrest School’s Boca Raton campus in Florida, writes: “The process of turning 49 has inspired me to get back into my 1990s physical shape. See attached.” (He included a weight room selfie that looked like the David Clark who donned a Cincinnati Bengals uniform in the early 1990s). David continues: “Nicole (Smith ’89) and I just celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. Our oldest, Amber, graduated from Bates College and is now a faculty member at our school. Our middle daughter, Autumn, is a sophomore at Wagner College, playing soccer and doing well academically, and our youngest, Ashleigh, is in her junior year at Pinecrest School, running track and planning to be a psychology major. Nicole and the girls have inspired me to take on a few new habits: flavored Java cigars with a nice boardwalk port as a new pastime, weekly beach walks, daily meditation and date nights. Those beautiful Florida days (without hurricanes) have made us realize how fortunate we are to have gone to a great place such as Dartmouth and to have maintained friendships with those people from the College on the Hill!” In November Nate Emerson, who was previously best known for his Aires solo in “Shamma Lamma Ding Dong,” completed a 250-kilometer race (that’s about 155 miles) during a six-day period in Argentina’s Patagonian wilderness. All competitors ran self-supported, meaning they carried their sleeping bag, clothes, food and all required safety paraphernalia on their backs. Nate kept a blog, and the report he wrote at the end of the fifth day (74 kilometers) is epic: “Well that was difficult. I probably would have had to drop out had it gone longer. We started off nicely enough—overcast, high winds. Unfortunately, the course had a 500-meter vertical climb to the first checkpoint and then a 700-meter vertical climb to the second checkpoint. Now, as many of you may have noticed, I am not exactly leading the pack. This means that by the time I got to the climbing, 180-plus pairs of feet had stomped all over the trail, and it was muddy, slippery and technical. After checkpoint two it started to get rainy and windy, but I hadn’t changed into my warm-weather gear. I arrived at a very exposed checkpoint three (gale force winds and horizontal rain) and did the full ‘Formula One’ clothing change in record time. Literally stripped out of all my wet stuff, donned every piece of dry clothing I had and my (already) soaked rain coat and put on rain pants. The Patagonia Nanopuff down jacket was the race saver, and I warmed up by running down the hill. That was just in time for a series of river crossings. After a day of heavy rain these puppies were roaring! No option—I just concentrated on crossing and not falling in. I arrived at checkpoint four cold and tired and 43 km in with another 31 km to go. Checkpoint four was supposed to have hot water, so I was going to eat a full, hot meal on the run. The hot chocolate was hot but, sadly, the water to rehydrate my meal was not hot. Huge bummer! I scarfed down about a third of my dinner, tossed the rest and was off again. The rest of the race was progressively colder and wetter, and I slogged it in to arrive at 11:45 p.m. The race organizers had set up a super-heated tent, and I warmed up and dried out for 30 minutes. Then I stumbled into Tent 7, crawled into my sleeping bag and slept the sleep of a finisher!” Give a rouse for Nate! And read his full race blog at http://bit.ly/2AIbEWt.

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What thoughts have been roused by this milestone year in which we all turn 50?” Andy Affleck: “Fifty? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m turning 23. Again.” Sarah Stearns: “Running into Cheryl Sheppard at the dedication of the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge had me thinking about improving my fitness so that I might feel like hiking Moosilauke at age 50!” Eric Wellons: “After 15 years of vascular surgery I have decided to go back to school for an eM.B.A. My wife also went back to school and my kids are studying for high school so I had to have something to do at night.” Catherine Kassenoff: “Hey—50? Not quite! 2019! I’m still holding on!” Dan Fuchs: “After a 15-year layoff I’m playing ice hockey this fall and hope to make it until March so I can say I played in my 40s and 50s. After that I’ll probably hang up the skates again, as I doubt I’ll be able to walk or stand up straight.” Kim Lewis: “Fifty is just a number. Older is wiser. I have aches and pains in places I didn’t expect. Now I understand why my mother couldn’t stand up straight first thing in the morning.” Theo Gray: “Goal: Do something crazy. Attempt: Get my master’s in cybersecurity at Brown University. Result: Mission accomplished! It is crazy!” Nate Emerson:“Now that I have probably lived 25 percent of my lifespan, I think it’s time to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I don’t want to be on my deathbed when I’m 200 years old saying, ‘I need another few years to finish up.’ So after having my most recent startup in Hong Kong crash and burn in spectacular fashion, I have pursued a year of reflection, mostly while running long distances, lifting weights and doing yoga. Got to bounce a few ideas off of Brooks Preston and Curt Fish while sailing on Curt’s boat in Maine last summer.” Daniel Sheldon: “I just returned from Homecoming with my wife and youngest daughter. As I have only been able to return to campus three times in the past 27 years, my mind still recalls the people and the campus as they were at graduation. I find myself jealous over the experiences yet to come for the current students, as I feel like I should still be on campus, worried about midterm exams.” Christine Smith: “The only ones giving serious thought to my turning 50 are my doctors, who say ‘colonoscopy.’ Still trying to get out of that one, but I guess age doesn’t lie. Otherwise, I’m choosing to ignore the big date, although you may find me at a spa in early April given that I have the perfect reason to go.” Jonathan Sullivan: “One commitment I recently made is to get in better physical shape—feel stronger, less worried about injuring myself—and make it part of my lifestyle. (Having kids who are athletes is a helpful motivator.)” Bill Rexford: “For my 50th I’m hosting some lacrosse medicine games. I have not missed a lacrosse season as a player (minus one when I was hurt in 1989) and this is my 26th season as a high school coach. So I figured if I were going to throw a party for myself it had to involve lacrosse. Nothing better than a huddle with hands in and saying ‘Team!’ on three!” Quincy Vale’sautomatic email reply: “I am out of the office and off the grid, trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro. As they say, hakuna matata.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

Here is part two of your answers to my question, “What is your favorite memory related to EBAs?” John Aguilar: “My favorite memory, meaning my least favorite, was as a delivery guy for EBAs in late 1990 or early 1991. I left the keys in the ignition on a delivery and some jerkoff drove the delivery car headfirst into Occom Pond. It was one of their crappy Chevettes. I was promptly fired but not before being asked to finish out my shift by washing pots and pans ’til 2 a.m. Still, I loved those chicken sandwiches. Their pizza kinda blew, though. C&A had better ’za.” Tom Thompson: “My favorite EBA’s memory is also one of my top Dartmouth memories: Jane Blum, Karen Behling and I had what I remember as a series of dinners there together. It felt fancy, fun and weirdly decadent and it saved my wobbly soul. Whether it was actually just three dinners over four years or a streak of once-a-months senior spring is lost to the mists of time. But I remember it as a regular thing and it was the best.”

John McBride:“Freshman year I learned about the local pizza options from my undergraduate advisor, Jeff Lazarus ’87. He accurately described EBAs pizza by quoting Steve Martin’s character in The Jerk: ‘This is the best pizza in a cup.’ I have thought about that many times over the years when I get served a soggy pizza.” Andy Affleck: “Convincing a friend who was a delivery person to bring us pizza despite the fact that we were outside the delivery radius (on the Vermont side of the river somewhere) because we were unable to drive, it was snowing and we were starving.” Carol Ann Ling: “I didn’t go to EBAs very often with anyone, primarily because I didn’t like trudging through the tall snowbanks from the River Cluster. So I called for the poor delivery dude to deliver me EBAs pepperoni pizzas during blizzards. Then one night, eating secretly solo in my room lest the frat boys next door catch a whiff of my pizza and demand a slice, I contracted such impressive projectile vomiting that even the exorcist would be impressed. Thereafter, the famous chicken sandwich was my blizzard buster of choice.” Paul Haffner: “My dad was a gifted doctor and writer whose lectures were filled with big words. A few days before he passed away in December 2011, as he was struggling for words, he was able to get out through a few concentrated whispers the word ‘escutcheon.’ I heard it loud and clear and looked at my stepmom with shock. She had not heard the story, so I recounted it for her: I was at Dartmouth in 1988 and apparently had bounced a $5.50 check to EBAs for a chicken sandwich. This caused overdraft charges and embarrassment at the bank for Dad. I learned of this when I retrieved a letter from him from my Hinman Box and read it with George Becker as we walked across campus. In the letter Dad explained to me that this action was unforgivable and I had become ‘a blemish on the family escutcheon of financial prudence.’ Neither George nor I knew what an escutcheon was, but Five Olde Nugget Alley had a dictionary and I turned to the page to read, ‘escutcheon: family shield of honor; synonym, see crest.’ You can bet I took better care of my account statements thereafter! (And you can bet I ordered an EBAs chicken sandwich on that Portuguese muffin to celebrate when I learned I was still solvent!)”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I asked ’90s, “In what way(s) do you think your personality has changed since college?” Here is part two.

Ute (Bowman) Utley:“Since college my personality changed in that I became a mom. Three lives suddenly became more important than my own, so I’d say I’m less self-involved, more patient and not such a control freak.” Lauren Smith: “I think that time has made me more sure about what is important and what I believe in. I think I was quite malleable in college. I don’t remember being sure of much of anything.” Basia Nikonorow: “Since college I’ve changed to be less egoistic by becoming a parent of two kids. I’ve also certainly become much more aware of the importance of being involved in my local neighborhood efforts. I recognize now the power and importance of connecting with the people in my building, on my block, my immediate family, even a friendly stranger on the subway. As I’ve begun to learn of distant and not-so-distant friends dying at a ridiculously early age, I appreciate human connection and life more. Basically, I’ve come to realize we’re here only briefly and can make or not make a positive impact while we’re around; better the former. I’ve learned to be more patient at times, but also to decipher what I prioritize and don’t have patience for.” Josh Vogel:“I am kinder, more thoughtful, more patient, more understanding. When I was young I didn’t understand the importance of showing people that I value them. I wasn’t intentionally insensitive, just oblivious. Now, in middle age, it seems I think about others all day long, whether at home with my family, at work with patients and staff or even in social settings. I have learned the value of showing others how important they are to me. I can’t say how much of that is from medical training, being a parent, being married, and how much comes from just growing up and learning from experience. In any event, it has made my life much richer and I feel like I’m a better person for it.” Ted Whittemore: “I am a lot more liberal, both in terms of my political outlook and compassion for others. I am more patient and a slightly better listener (always been tough for me).” Kyrie Robinson: “I think I’m kinder now than I was in college; more likely to show empathy and also more willing to be vulnerable. And I think it comes from a dawning realization that everyone has issues, everyone has some tragedy or difficult situation they’ve had to deal with. Our individual circumstances may feel unique, may be a unique combination, but the general themes are part of humanity.” Phil Privatera: “I think I have become more cynical and less inquisitive, but more tolerant and charitable.” Monte Baier: “I believe that I have become more agreeable since graduation. The big change for me is likely the result of being a cancer survivor. Eleven years ago I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. At the time I had a 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son and I remember laughing with them about looking for Daddy’s hair after the chemotherapy had destroyed it. My wife never let me get down after the diagnosis. The experience made it clear to me that understanding others is more important than being right, as life is short.” Marcus Weiss: “While my fundamental energy has not changed (I still heap on loads and fail to chill enough), I have become more grounded. At Dartmouth I thought I just had a lot to do because it was college. Fast forward 27 years and I’ve come to realize, nope, it’s just me!”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month, to commemorate the closing of EBAs, I asked ’90s two questions: “With which Dartmouth classmate did you eat the most EBAs chicken sandwiches?” and “What is your favorite memory related to EBAs?” Here are some of their responses, with more to come in the next issue. Gregg DiPietro: “The lightweight crew team immediately after weigh-ins the night before a race.” Mark Sternman: “My old roommate Tor Blaisdell. Both for the quantity of the food consumed and the quality of the conversation.” Julie Urda: “Kim Buresh. In fact, she was the last person with whom I ate there, I believe in 2014.” Parker Karnan: “Probably Mike Uram, since he and I were the laziest duo of our friends.” Ted Carleton: “I believe there are approximately 43 people who would name Mike Kanarick as the classmate with whom they ate the most chicken sandwiches. I am surprised he has never served as ambassador to Portugal.” Michael Lindgren: “In the winter of 1987 Hans Manske ’89 and I got into a habit of ordering the Wednesday night pasta special from EBAs, which was a huge takeout container of pasta with a side of garlic bread for, like, $4.99 or something. We’d have it delivered to New Hamp and then eat and drink and smoke while listening to Neil Young or The Allman Brothers Band, before heading out into the night for more carousing.” Matthew Greene: “Freshman year at Richardson Hall I found myself consuming just a few too many EBAs chicken sandwiches on a regular basis, so I asked Colin Tucker to stop me. I don’t think I meant it seriously, but he took it as his mission. So, returning to Richardson on any given night, I would call EBAs just before closing and eagerly await the appearance of that Portuguese roll. Unbeknownst to me (at least at first), Colin would either call and cancel my order or intercept the delivery, claiming the sandwich as his own. I would wait in vain and finally go to bed having never received my order. It took me forever to figure out what was going on.” David Rosenberg:“It was 2:15 a.m. I was hungry as only those who have experienced an evening of raging would understand. I was craving an EBAs chicken sandwich with bacon and melted cheese on that crunchy Portuguese muffin. I managed to get to the front door but the restaurant had closed. Bumming. I saw someone inside cleaning up so I pounded on the door. Finally he came over. Somehow I communicated the state of emergency and he said, ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ About five minutes later he emerged from the kitchen with a bag and inside was a warm, crunchy, smoky, savory EBAs chicken sandwich. I asked how much I owed and this savior just said, ‘Don’t worry about it, dude.’ I have never forgotten this incredible kindness. I wandered back to my bed, munching on that glorious sandwich. It never tasted better.” Deborah Collard: “Bishop “Bunky” Crawford and I (who both worked at EBAs) took a questionable road trip, but we were game to with one of the owners in a quest to find the perfect Portuguese muffin. He had a boat and we took it to Martha’s Vineyard to meet an elderly woman and taste-test several variations of the muffin. It was a strange adventure (and now that I’m a parent of a 17-year-old girl, probably ill-advised), but we had a great time!” Adds Bunky: “That is a great and weird memory. I think we were aware at the time that it was a slightly questionable adventure, but were game for anything in those days!”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “In what way(s) do you think your personality has changed since college?” I received so many responses, it will take two columns to share them. Here is Part One: David Rosenberg:“I am far more conscientious and detail-oriented (i.e., anal retentive) than I was in college. I also have become less blindly trusting and am now a ‘trust but verify’ type of person. The rose-colored glasses I once wore have been removed. Overall, I am far more ‘curmudgeony’ than I was in college. In short, I have become my father.” Chris (Kirkmire) Mazzolla: “I personally think some aspects of personality are innate—introvert, extrovert, optimist, pessimist, etc.—but I think that through time the strongest aspects of personality can be tempered by time and life. By now life has kicked us all around in one way or another. There is not a person in our class who has not suffered in some way during these last 27 years, whether it be through illness, death of a loved one, divorce, discrimination, alienation, depression—the list goes on. I think those life events mute the hard edges of one’s personality—in general for good. For example, I have always been a pretty sunny, outgoing, optimistic person and for the most part I still am. But the ebb and flow of life has quieted my spirit and made me much more introspective and empathetic than I was as a young adult. I’m calmer, more thoughtful and less selfish. I’d say I’m kinder. My sweet husband, Rich Mazzola, is still the calm, steady, kind person he has always been. In that way, he has not changed. I suppose the combination of our personalities is what has helped us to weather life together for 30 years.” Scott Facher: “Rob, since I think only you are able to come up with such an inspired question, I’ll answer in a heartfelt way (yes, being a man who leads with his heart may be the biggest way I have not changed since college). Given that in the late 1980s several of my closest friends called me ‘narcolapper’ as a pun on a narcoleptic whose ‘rap’ was marked by repeated brushing upon the arm of whichever woman I desired, now that I am an almost-49-year-old single father of 11-year-old twin boys, I must confess my narcolapping has largely shifted to falling asleep with iPhone in hand while logged onto a dating website.” Carol Ann Ling: “I’ve become much less concerned and serious about the societal trappings of success and of social judgment and I have come to appreciate and embrace enjoying my own life by reminding myself that I make the ultimate choice about how I perceive my life is going and going to be tomorrow. In other words, f**k what other people say or think or judge about me; I’m the master of my own destiny.” Hallie Brooks:“I think I am more outgoing, assertive and grateful. After being somewhat introverted in high school, a degree of success on the riding and crew teams gave me a confidence I previously lacked. Since Dartmouth I have become a stronger and more self-assured person. At the same time, maturity has made me more grateful for the experiences I’ve had and the kind and wonderful people (and animals) in my life, past and present. Never forget to say thank you.” Mary Es (Anderson) Beaver:“I think that I have become more thoughtful and introspective, but I still love to laugh and have fun and groove to the music and I take joy in seeing others doing the same!”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ‘90s, “What’s the best book you’ve read during the last two years?” Here are your responses. Marcus Weiss: “Stylistically unique, terrifyingly engrossing, magnificently evocative, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, is my favorite book from the last two years. Both McCarthy and I were older when we welcomed our first sons into the world. His impetus for the novel cast all the more powerful a light on the tale. I was in between performance cues when finishing the book, as my fellow clowns walked in on my tear-soaked face. I teach part-time middle and high school now. Hold me in your thoughts.”

Mike Lindgren: “I’m a book reviewer for The Washington Post, so I get some variant of this question frequently. The best book I have read that was published in the past two years is Ta-Nehisi Coates’ scorching memoir Between the World and Me—a moving and deeply troubling meditation on race that moves on prose of shimmering power. The best book I have read, all told, is Morphology of the Folktale, by Vladmir Propp, which was first published in the Soviet Union in 1928. Propp’s magnum opus is a foundational text in literary structuralism, and thus a book that I can cite with near-perfect assurance that none of my classmates will have read it (or will ever want to).”

Susan Hirt: “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport ’04, and Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, by Anders Ericsson. Whether people are looking to take their careers to the next level or to sharpen a new or neglected talent, both books have much to offer.”

Andy Affleck: “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford. Until the fall of the Soviet Union, much of Mongolian history was hidden from the world and what was known was largely wrong or grossly inaccurate. When Mongolia opened up, Weatherford spent years exploring Mongolia and researching the history of this fascinating region. What he discovered is nothing short of amazing. Genghis had created a surprisingly progressive society, complete with freedom of religion, public education and much more. A fascinating read.”

Sue Domchek: “Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety tops my list. It’s a beautifully written story following two couples over their lives. Life isn’t fair, people are far from perfect, and yet beauty and love remain. Also, my big news is that our son, David Vonderheide, was just accepted to Dartmouth’s class of 2021. Very excited that he will get to experience this special place!”

Scott Reed: “I recently re-read a book about an old ’87 classmate: 1887, that is. Charles Eastman’s autobiography From the Deep Woods to Civilization recounts his journey from his childhood as a Dakota in Minnesota to his time at Dartmouth and onward as he becomes a doctor in Boston. Also, I am tardy but happy to report the wedding of Caswell Dunlap to Heather Hinds on Fiji in July. It was followed by an early August reception in Dallas that was attended by a small contingent of friends, including Jackie (Joy) Ames and Greg Ames.”

John McBride:“About a month ago an ’06 loaned me a book, Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer. Written by Bill Gifford ’88, it chronicles the life and adventures of our most famous dropout, John Ledyard. The book tells a fascinating tale, including Ledyard’s time with Captain Cook in the Hawaiian Islands and with Thomas Jefferson in Paris.”

Brad Drazen: “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon.”

David Roth: “No book recommendation, butI recently celebrated my 20th year working in Birmingham, Alabama, for the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. My wife, Kathleen, runs a local letterpress studio and I have two children, ages 13 and 16. The oldest—my son—is beginning to consider college choices, which is a fascinating if stressful process. Our classmate Abdul Kallon worked with me for many years, but was appointed a Federal District Court judge a few years ago and is currently doing an outstanding job on the bench.”

Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “What’s the most important thing you have learned over the last year or two and how did you learn it?” The first response is from a friend of all of ours who has asked to remain anonymous. I know that you will be including our friend and her husband in your prayers, as have I since receiving her email on October 28. Anonymous: “Until this year I was living a dream, loving everything about my life. It fell apart this summerwhen my husband did. He had a mental breakdown that I’m still struggling to havediagnosed. Unable to tolerate human contact or even animal contact, and feeling that ourhouse is the root of all evil, he moved out two months ago. I used to think that if one got a great education and made the best possible choice of spouse, career, city, house and so on, one would be set for life. I thought nothing would interfere with what I had so carefully arranged and I thought I would be happy forever. I now realize how foolish I was to imagine that I could control my future to that extent. His decisions have sparked a major financial crisis and I’m walking people’s dogs to make ends meet. While walking I think a lot about my fancy education and what I was supposed to do with it. I often feel like a failure because I don’t have the slightest idea how to earn good money. But my education did give me an indispensable tool—the ability to look at a vast amount ofdata (his behavior, our 26 years together and my ocean of feelings) and to interpret the material from many angles. This enables me to keep thinking of ways to find the answers we need.” Ted Whittemore: “I lost my mom on August 31, at age 81, due to complications from a ‘routine’ knee replacement surgery. I learned two obvious lessons: First, losing a parent is a terrible thing, and second, there are no ‘routine’ surgeries for folks in their 80s. I also learned that having a child at Dartmouth makes me really, really proud! (Paige is a freshman, class of 2020).” Geoff Coco: “I realize this sounds like a fortune cookie tweet, but it’s still true: If you think you have met the other person halfway, you are probably off by 90 percent.” David Sherwood: “Time gets increasingly scarce as we get older and so we must make every effort to get the most out of it. With a 10th-, ninth- and sixth-grader, I realize that we will have only three more Thanksgivings, three more winter breaks, three more spring breaks, etc., with all of our boys under the same roof. When the boys were in elementary school it seemed as though these events stretched beyond our horizons; now they are clearly finite. Make them matter.” Amit Malhotra: “During the past couple of years I’ve learned a lot about the college application process from applicants’ points of view. We’ve had two daughters head out in consecutive years. My takeaways: Boy, do we set these kids up good! ‘Hey, can you figure out how to come up with a list of 10 schools from the thousands out there? And start articulating your path through life for them? And bare your grades, your scores and your innermost thoughts for unseen reviewers? And compete with your dearest friends? And—even though nothing in the past 18 years has come close to preparing you for the idea of handling significant amounts of money—start thinking about how you would manage potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt?’ After successful conclusions both times—thanks far more to our daughters than to us—the one piece of advice I would impart to others going through this is: The world is going to be tough enough on these young ones, so as parents, spend all of your available energy building up their confidence.” Laurin Grollman: “A glass of wine while preparing to host Thanksgiving dinner is good for my marriage. And every problem has a solution.”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

 

This month I asked ’90s to fill in the blank: “2016 was the summer of —.” Marcus Weiss: “2016 was the summer of love—quite literally. My 7-year-old son, Jacob, was cast in Cirque Du Soleil’s show, The Beatles’ Love. We spent the summer in Las Vegas so he could rehearse and fully integrate into the production. Now he’s a working actor, just like daddy!” Timothy Kolk: “Meeting my future wife, which certainly took a lot of uncertainty out of things.” Ali Long:“Camp Dartmouth! My boys Quincy (12) and Zack (8) and I, along with Bernardine Wu and her kids Will (15) and Mae (12), as well as Sebastian Atucha and Dave Kelsey and their families, had a fabulous time looking at Saturn and Mars from the Green with an astronomy professor; getting a taste of rugby, volleyball, archery, water balloons, wheelbarrowing and other such Camp Dartmouth Olympic games; and the piece de resistance: listening to professor Don Pease’s talk about the life of Dr. Seuss!” Ute Bowman Otley: “Feeling old. We sent our firstborn, Sadie, to college (Tufts) this week and watched our babies, Mason and Cole, get their driver’s licenses.” Kyle Davis: “2016 was the summer of ‘and then there was one.’ We sent the first kid off to college (Denison) and now the daughter is the sole subject of our attention. Well, the daughter and the dog.” Tony Jones: “2016 was the summer of taking my kids to Rome and introducing them to the sites of my 1989 classics foreign study program: the Campo de Fiore, the Forum, the Vatican and, of course, Giolitti’s gelato.” Jen Gittes: “2016 was the summer of our 30th high school reunions! I had a heartwarming time at Lake Lanier, Georgia, in the great company of my 13-year-old son, Trevor, with my beloved class from Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador. It was also the summer of teaching English to two bright and enthusiastic 10- and 11-year-old sisters, newly arrived from Venezuela.” Rob Uhrig: “Summer school. All three kids (two in college, one in high school) took classes this summer.” Karen Behling: “Change and trips. I decided to leave my private primary care practice and will start working for Duke Primary Care in September. I am excited be part of their transforming primary care initiative, in which they are hiring medical assistants to work as scribes for each doctor. This will enable me to practice medicine and focus on patients instead of dealing with data entry.” Derek Symer: “2016 was the summer of Sweden. I flew to Sweden with my sons, Tommy and Luke, to play in the Gothia Cup, the world’s largest youth soccer tournament. Both Symer boys’ teams advanced to the knockout phase of the tournament and had a great time meeting other players from around the world.” Phil Privitera: “John Rassias—life study at home and abroad—all day, every day! This was our first summer without John and it was the first time since his passing that it hit me how short life is, as well as how he always advised and lectured me to get out of my ‘safe haven’ and see as much of the world as I could—to break all barriers, mend all bridges, meet all people and experience all things. So I opened up the bucket list and went everywhere I could, including El Salvador, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, Reno and Florida. I even went on the field at Fenway Park for batting practice and staged a ‘fake catch’ at the 420-foot sign on the centerfield wall!”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Twenty-fifth reunion redux! For those of us fortunate enough to have married Dartmouth ’91s (or ’86s!), it was the second year in a row for us under the tents in Hanover. Karen Pike, myself, Dave Voss, Rob Harris, Jake Reynolds, Laura Martin, Beth LaFortune Gies, Jay Davis and Sandy Yusen all made it back. The ’91s did a pretty good job (having Jake Tapper and Shonda Rhimes on stage with President Hanlon didn’t hurt!) but my kids all agreed Second Hand Jam pushed our reunion over the top!

If you missed it, Eric Fanning was confirmed and installed as U.S. Secretary of the Army in June. In his installation speech, Eric said: “We must continue to open up opportunity for those who meet standards that were previously denied the opportunity to serve. By leveraging diversity and creating an inclusive environment in which all are valued, we engender opportunities to be part of the greatest mission there is: defending our nation’s security.” Peter Pasi, Jay Matson ’91, Susan Luria ’89, Meg Sommerfield, Jennifer Avellino, and Jane Varner Malhotra were all in attendance.

Kyle Timothy Blood was married to his partner, Dean, on May 20 in a small ceremony on Muldrew Lake in Gravenhurst, Ontario. Todd Eagle flew up for the day to be his best man. After 25 years of life in N.Y.C. (which included professional stints at Forbes, Country Living, Martha Stewart Living and, for the last 15 years, operating his own interior-design firm, Kyle Timothy Home), he is now “retiring from New York” and relocating to Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, to start a “new, exciting chapter with the love of my life and our two puppies.”

From Kyle: “Many people have asked, ‘What are you going to do?’ The answer is an intrinsic one: I know full well that, in large part owing to both life and academic lessons learned at Dartmouth, I can do anything, anywhere. I also believe that our class is extremely unique in our individualistic views of the world, as we all take our own paths. So, ’90s, if you head to Muskoka, let me know!”

Rich and Chrissy (Kirkmire) Mazzola are off to a new adventure in the Bay Area and would love to connect with any ’90s living nearby or passing through. They will be living in Ross, California. Rich will be the athletic director at College Prep in Oakland and Chrissy is head of the Branson School.

Susan Hirt writes from Budapest, where she’s visiting Julie Tomasz: “Those who know Julie know she is passionate about her Hungarian roots, and she showed me a great time around the sights. Julie lived here for several years after graduation and she is coming back to help her boys sharpen their Hungarian. I’m taking some months of a radical sabbatical before finding my next job. I’m hoping to catch up with people, including ’90s, I don’t get to see much living in Nebraska. Max, Julie’s son, wore his Dan and Whit’s shirt as we walked around the parliament building one day. Bringing a little bit of Hanover with us around the city.”

Finally, congratulations to my cousin and co-class secretary Robert Crawford, who started as the director of external affairs at the Roxbury Latin School near Boston in July. He will also teach ninth-grade English and be the eighth-grade baseball coach. I envy any and all of the boys who will have “Mr. Crawford” in the classroom or on the baseball diamond (his two sons, Robert Jr. and Benjamin, attend Roxbury Latin).

Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

This month I asked ’90s, “If you were given naming rights to anything at Dartmouth, but you had to name it for a member of the class of 1990, what thing would you name and for whom would you name it?” (By the way, if you’re not receiving my emails, please send the College your updated email address.) Here are your responses. Mark Sternman: “The Torrance D. Blaisdell Coke Machine.” Here’s Tor’s explanation of Mark’s kind gesture: “I lost the election for band president to the Coke machine in the lounge of the new dorms. I was the only candidate and they made me leave the room. The Coke machine election was the worst sort of gerrymandering politics I have ever seen!” Mark Schiffman: “The Chuck Drake ‘Let’s All Get Naked and Do the Squid’ Center for Student Directed Recreation, Socialization and Entertainment, will be the new name for part of the building currently known as Collis.” Josh Blum: “I would name Bartlett Tower after Chuck Drake. Besides the fact that Chuck used to love to climb it and could read its beautiful weathered rocks like a blind man reads a favorite braille book, it’s also an enormous phallus standing erect in the woods. Chuck would appreciate that.” Lauren Waller Smith: “I would name the table in front of the fireplace at Alpha Theta after the late David Blanton, who was famous for sitting at it and sharing his wisdom while beating the rest of the house at spades over a beer or three.” Scott Reed: “The Phil Privatera Chair of Romance and Classical Languages. Phil and I took an advanced Latin class together freshmen fall and regularly translated 50 to 100 lines of Cicero, Catullus, etc. No joke. President Emeritus James O. Freedman could not be prouder.” Michael Keller: “The Thomas ‘Woodrow’ Warren Memorial Chi Gam Front Lawn Elm Tree.” Steve Linde: “I wish I had something more clever to offer, but I know Gus Conrades would forgive me and that he’d frankly agree. The thing that came into my mind was that the steam tunnels below the Green should be named Gus’ Pipes.” Michael Lindgren: “The J. David Kelsey Chair of American History.” Gary Katz: “At the entrance to campus police under Collis, a plaque stating, ‘On this site stood the Todd Eagle Video Arcade.’ Also, I’d make a good-sized donation if I could get my name on a plaque at the Four Aces Diner.” Katy Milligan: “I’d name a classroom in the Rockefeller Center after Eric Fanning.I’m so impressed with what he has accomplished!” Jack McBride: “I would rename the study area in the lower part of Baker Library the Lisa Forlano Shin Study Center. Whenever I cut through there to avoid the cold and on the couple of times I studied, she was there studying. Also I would rename Tuck Mall Anuj Gupta Boulevard because that’s where I met my lifelong friend. I might consider renaming Rollins Chapel to C.J. Kunnappilly Chapel just so future visitors would react. (‘Wait, what?’) Finally, I would name one of the dorms John McBride’s Daughter’s Dorm, which is unwieldy, but you insisted it be named after a ’90. That name will help me locate my daughter, who is a brand-new ’20!” Brian Sweeney: “I don’t like the idea of naming anything after a person when we are all still so young. We are all great individuals, but a sum of that is always synergistic and stronger, and being together in a gathering space makes that possible. Therefore I would name the Bema for the class of 1990.”

Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA, 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Professor Rassias passed away last December at the age of 90. Like many of you I experienced first-hand the joys of early morning drill (in my case, during the basketball season) and had an amazing experience on a language study abroad (LSA) in Granada, Spain. I asked the class for memories of Professor Rassias or his method and got some great responses.

Apparently, Professor Rassias, besides loving nicknames, was a bit of a Star Wars fan. Roth Herrlinger wrote, “On the first day of Rassias’ ‘Greek Drama in French Literature’ in my senior year we all went around introducing ourselves. ‘Roth,’ I said. ‘Darth?’ he asked. ‘Um…Roth,’ I said again. ‘Darth Vader, it’s good to have you here!’ he proclaimed. For the next 20 years he greeted me with a huge ‘Darth!’ every time he saw me. After graduation I taught Russian language drill during the summer. An alumnus offered to hire me to use the Rassias Method to teach ‘real estate investor fluency.’ I went to John to ask permission to use his method and he said, ‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but if anyone could do it, you could. You’ll probably be back in a month. Now go.’ The best shove out of the nest anyone has ever given me.”

Sarah Stearns shared a great dramatic memory: “One day Rassias arrived in class sucking on a cough drop. He told us that he had an awful cold. The lesson was about a character that coughed so hard his teeth flew out. Rassias acted this out; coughing dramatically, until out of his mouth flew some small white particles. Teeth? No! It was chalk! He’d kept it in his mouth the entire lesson just for that moment!”

Dave Sherwood: “I will never forget the 60 Minutes piece where Rassias, holding an egg, asks, ‘Qu’est-ce que c’est?’ The student is slow? ‘C’est un oeuf!’ Rassias barks, and then cracks the egg on the student’s head. My LSA in Blois, France, was one of my best experiences at Dartmouth. I got the chance to bond with terrific classmates, bike around the Loire Valley and master hackysack in public squares—and speak French.”

Mark Schiffman wrote a wonderful tribute on the class Facebook page: “I really don’t think Professor Rassias ever came close to understanding the depth of appreciation people had for him or the number of lives he directly impacted. That reach is truly mind-boggling in these days of connection through mass media and social media when you consider that these were almost all direct one-to-one contacts sealed with a hug.”

Cat Shrier: “My experience with the Rassias Method came while studying Mandarin Chinese. I struggled with the written language but my basic understanding of the spoken word will always remain, thanks to a wonderful teaching assistant. Each rapid-fire response was rewarded with enthusiastic praise (Hao Ji-la!). I will never forget how to count to seven, having learned a children’s song!”

Deborah Green-LaRoche writes in with some big news! She joined the Tufts Medical Center’s neurology department as a neurointensivist and director of clinical research a little more than a year ago and she and her husband of five years, Stephen, were blessed with a baby boy, Nicholas Francis LaRoche, just before Christmas.

Congratulations are also in order to Chrissy Kirkmire-Mazzola, just named head of the Branson School, a private day school in Marin County, California. Chrissy and Rich are very excited to get back to California to be in closer proximity to so many of their Bay Area Dartmouth pals. A great step forward for her!

Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

This month, ’90s sent me reasons to love Dartmouth. Hallie Brooks:“The boathouse, Morton Farm, Pine Park, the Tower Room, linking arms singing the alma mater.” Julie Urda: “Collis breads, the Tower Room. The only things not to love were the frigid winters, but even they weren’t so bad because of the Skiway.” Lauren Beiley:“Baker lit at night.” Lauren Greenberg: “I was studying for finals and needed a break, so someone gave me cross-country skis and I skied on fresh powder down Tuck Mall by moonlight; fall where you can’t see the ground through a carpet of multi-colored leaves; our first class meeting with the tree stump podium in front of Baker; every day was crazy beautiful.” Katie Jones: “Camping out on Titcomb Island midweek and paddling back in the morning for class. Did we really do that?” Ingrid Wecht: “Tea time in Sanborn, giant cookies from Collis, running the Rip Road loop, the rugby fields on a cool sunny day. (Did we ever study?)” Brad Drazen: “The acoustics in the Top of the Hop.” Deborah Hahn: “Midnight ice skating on Occom Pond.” Lou Mabley: “Many reasons to love the Big Green, but sometimes I really miss rowing down the peaceful Connecticut River with great friends, listening to the steady click of the oars as they enter the water and losing myself in the rhythm of the boat cutting through the water. Not an experience that is easily replicated.” Geoff Coco: “This many years later, a lot of specifics have faded, but as we emerge from the deepest part of winter, I am reminded of fond (albeit cold) memories of Hanover. Topping that list is cross-country skiing out the front door of Hitchcock. Close second would be skating with chums on Occom Pond.” Roth Herrlinger: “John Rassias, foreign study programs and the stellar alumni.” Jen Gittes: “Dartmouth manages to remain modest and integral, despite her stellar accomplishments and her ability to change with the times. It seems the institution as a whole, including administrators, faculty, students and alumni, has a strong grasp of what is lasting and important in this human existence and of what is ephemeral and trivial. After 25 years of post-Dartmouth life, returning to our seemingly unchanged campus and sharing with former classmates proved this concept to me.” Kyrie Robinson: “An excellent education with caring professors and small class sizes and the beauty of rural New Hampshire.” Mark Sternman: “If forced to pick just two places, I’d go with the Goat Trail and Sanborn Library—to reflect the outdoor and indoor elements that together make the true Dartmouth experience.” Peter Pasi: “The Bema in October, coffee at the Hop, the river and the sense of community. No place is perfect and, of course, we have our differences, but alumni love the place—and the people—enough to work through our differences. I felt this at our 25th reunion. Andrew Jones: “Nostril hairs freezing as we crossed the Green mid-January.” Rob Crawford: “Her soft September sunsets, her sharp and misty mornings, the crunch of feet on snow, the long white afternoons, the twilight glow, singing Dartmouth songs, rushing the field at halftime, sports on the Green, studying in a Sanborn nook, freshman trips, beating Harvard and an EBA’s chicken sandwich delivered to your room at 1:30 a.m.”

Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

 

With the holidays upon us, I asked for your most memorable Dartmouth holiday experience.

Martin Stephan and Robin Plager Lapre wrote in separately with complementary memories. It was Thanksgiving our senior year, 1989. Martin wrote, “I was staying in Hanover and someone called me (woke me up, though it was probably mid-morning!) to say that Robin had been in an accident on the way home. I went to get her at a Vermont State Police barracks off of Route 91. She was, thankfully, unhurt, though her red Jeep was somehow dented on all four corners.” Robin continued the story in her email, “I managed to crash my jeep into the guard rail on I-91 about 90 miles south of Hanover in icy conditions. Martin drove down to where I was stranded, picked me up and brought me back to Hanover. We had EBA’s turkey sandwiches together for Thanksgiving. I will never forget that act of kindness.”

Rob Uhrig: “Returning from Virginia our junior year I got stuck in a pretty good snowstorm at the Manchester Airport. Eric Browne tried to pick me up but was thwarted by the drifts (even being from Maine). As the airport was closing I found a cab that would consider a one-way fare to Hanover. I only had $90 and the fare ended up being almost exactly that. I felt terrible for not being able to give more of a tip but will always remember the silence of the vacant, snow-swept freeways at 2 a.m.”

Edward Callaway: “I spent Thanksgiving of freshman year with Tim Guy’s boisterous, Irish Catholic family in Dover, New Hampshire. I was welcomed warmly and dinner was an educational and cultural experience that this Tennessee boy will never forget. Our senior year I returned early to Dartmouth after Christmas and joined a DOC trip that skied in to Stoddard Cabin in the College Grant for New Year’s Eve. We pulled sleds with all our gear, including guitars, mandolins, bouzoukis and banjos. What a memorable night of music and moose jaws!”

Julie Urda: “During my freshman year I bought holly berry and balsam candles and burned them in my room. Freshman fall was such a magical time with wonderful memories that come flooding back to this day whenever I smell holly berry and balsam around the holidays.”

Sue Domchek: “Anyone remember the overnight trip on the Vermonter down the eastern seaboard? The combination of a bunch of college students taking an overnight train and a ‘grandfathered’ drinking age of 18 (which I missed by a few months—not that it seemed to matter) was interesting, to say the least. I think quite a number of parents were a little surprised at the state of their offspring when they arrived home.”

Liz (Allen) Edgar: “A midnight, post-Thanksgiving train ride. I boarded just north of New York and quickly found a car full of Dartmouth people. There was an amazing sense of camaraderie and ‘homecoming’ even as we were leaving our families behind. It didn’t even matter that the heavy snow meant we got in about three hours late.”

Carolyn Choi: “Going home with Erika de Papp for Thanksgiving senior year. I think Amy Fulwyler was with us too. We spent all of vacation coloring maps for our geography class. I think I misunderstood the assignment.”

Gerrit Bradley: “Thanksgiving 1988 in Granada, Spain (language study abroad). Due to some regular pre-class sangria tasting our professor shifted our class from after lunch to first thing in the morning. Therefore, we were apprehensive about the toasts after a Thanksgiving meal of chicken, green beans and rice at her apartment. All went well, however.”

Greg Goldberg: “Great memories of spending several Thanksgivings and school breaks with both Rob Grossberg in Hartsdale, New York, and Adam Lichstein in Scarsdale, New York!”

Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

This month I asked all ’90s, “What did you learn about yourself or about life in general—or about anything—from participating in the 25th reunion experience?” I asked this question because I certainly learned some important things that weekend. I learned that time is an illusion—25 years felt like a long time and it also felt like only a moment. I learned that it’s true that “the granite of New Hampshire is made part of them ’til death” and I learned that your friends from Dartmouth become a permanent part of your heart. Here’s what others learned. Mark Sternman: “I learned that getting behind Walter Palmer in the line for pizza, when there’s very little left, leaves one with an empty stomach. Later, after falling on and off the Goat Trail, cutting my hand and getting lost on the golf course, I learned that neither my body nor my mind are as agile as they used to be.” Parker Karnan: “I learned that I should have brought some white capris to wear at the reunion.” Lauren Kehoe: “How old and crotchety would I sound if said that I learned that kids at Dartmouth today are spoiled—living in dorms that have elevators and air conditioning! I lived on the fourth floor of McLain in the River Cluster as a freshman and I had stairs and a window that stayed open year-round!” John Banks: “That you’re never too old to make new friends. I had as much fun meeting ‘new’ classmates as I did seeing old friends at the reunion.” Mary-Es (Anderson) Beaver: “I learned that I would be perfectly happy with four more years surrounded by you all! Let’s all take our kids’ college funds, move to Hanover and take some more classes and dance on the lawns at night! Thank you to all who made that weekend possible!” Jessica Silver: “I discovered that I am more comfortable with myself. I did not have that awkward, ‘Am I a loser?’ feeling during the times I roamed the campus alone—I just enjoyed it. I did not feel compelled to impress anyone. I discovered that I was not the only one who just wanted to go to bed at 11 p.m.—and we were all good with that.” Rebecca Baggett: “I learned that my college crush on all of the Second Hand Jam guys was reignited the moment I heard them play ‘Brown Eyed Girl.’ ” Scott Facher: “My learning-reminder was about how having Brad Drazen and Jono Sollinger in my corner as alleviative pre-performance anxiety aides, followed by a mini-burger buffet lunch with Caroline Choi, is invaluable when I’m nervous (in this case about playing music for the poignant memorial service organized by Brad and Bill Levin).” Hallie Brooks: “Truly, in the Dartmouth family, there is no parting. Returning to Dartmouth feels like coming home—seeing old friends, enjoying the natural beauty of the College, reliving old memories and making new ones (thank you, Second Hand Jam members past and present!). The dedication of the new boats to the rowing program and the memorial service reminded me to stay in contact with friends and enjoy the richness they bring to life, because sometimes our time with them is short.” Kristin (Kelly) Karas: “Age is a concept.” Ingrid Wecht: “The 25th reunion for me was beyond my expectations! There was such an unbelievable feeling of warmth and connection that can only be described to people who have that same shared experience. Loved every minute of it!”

Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

In June our class spent a magical weekend in Hanover under the white tents. There was music, there were toasts, there was sushi on Baker lawn and there were many, many wide-eyed children. We remembered classmates lost and explored a still recognizable but transformed Hanover Plain. Our class gift exceeded expectations and Meg Sommerfeld, our reunion chair, was the understated master of ceremonies. Dartmouth cast its spell on us again and on the next generation.

I asked our classmates for their favorite 25th reunion memory. Kevin Roon: “Sharing small but important things we did for each other that turned out to mean a lot 25 years later.” Jane Varner Malhotra: “Reminiscing under the tent with crazy, dear old friends. My belly is still aching from laughter.” Dana Weintraub: “Sharing Dartmouth with family, reconnecting with old friends, making new friends, hanging on the Green, Second Hand Jam, pickup soccer, cherished memories of those no longer with us.” Rebecca Baggett: “Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. And working with Meg Sommerfeld and the rest of the reunion committee!” Ed Whittemore: “I assume many have said Second Hand Jam, and they would be right. My favorite parts were my son’s reaction to the whole thing (the tent, other kids and the Lou’s and EBAs food), a Friday afternoon round of golf with seven Alpha Delta buddies and tent time.” Hallie Brooks: “Reconnecting with the College, the beautiful campus and outdoors, friends old and new, reunion row and Second Hand Jam!” Jen Gittes Taplin: “The joyful energy was palpable! Dartmouth will simply always be a beloved home to all of us who lived and learned there.” Sarah (Jacobson) Lennon: “Coming onto campus and remembering one of the reasons why I loved being at Dartmouth in the first place—the beautiful environment. Walking to the river Friday night and feeling at peace (as well as excited to see everyone). Spending some time sitting by Occom Pond and just listening to nature.Also listening to the Aires Sunday morning singing the alma mater, arms around each other and feeling surprised at the tears in my eyes but relieved that I wasn’t the only one.” Julie Urda: “Second Hand Jam’s wonderfully long set where for two hours we all got to be 21 again (bootleg recording on class Facebook page!).” Clayton Gates: “Playing Ultimate on the Green and singing Dartmouth songs with other Glee Club alumni on the steps of Dartmouth Hall.” John Aronsohn: “Reconnecting with old friends feeling like only hours had passed instead of years and seeing our kids love the College every bit as much as I did at my father’s 25th.” Marcus Jacob Weiss: “Heartbroken I could not attend, I found a Post-It on my car window yesterday: ‘Wah-hoo-wah Give a Rouse.’ Coincidence? Maybe. Consolation? Definitely!” Laurin Grollman: “Feeling the Dartmouth spirit in so many warm, friendly people and the fresh New Hampshire air. Wish it had been longer!” Cheryl L. Shepard: “We’re finally at a stage that, instead of asking what you’re doing, people asked how you’re doing. We’re ready and able to connect at a more personal, deeper level again and it’s easy to remember why Dartmouth and Dartmouth people are so special.” Mary-Es Beaver: “I loved all of it—seeing so many friends, the river, the laughs, the Jam-ing, the dancing, being at college again.” Meg Sommerfeld: “Everything!”

Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Here is the second set of responses to my question, “How did your freshman roommate(s) or freshman hallway or freshman dorm affect the path of your next three years at Dartmouth?” Rebecca Baggett: “I remember talking with my freshman-year roommate Joan Slattery the summer before freshman year. She was from New York and I think she was a bit astounded that she had been paired with someone from Alabama. She became my best friend and my roommate for my remaining years at Dartmouth and we are still close today.” Scott Reed: “I spent my freshman year in the basement of Lord. One night my roommate Brett Cartwright convinced me to stop studying and we headed over to Fraternity Row. To this day I keep in touch with my Gamma Delt brothers more than I do with my own ’rents.” Sarah Stearns: “I lived in French Hall in the River Cluster. I can still recall my roommate Sarah Jacobson coming back from 7 a.m. Russian drill and taunting me with how cold it was outside, and Marcus Weiss studying standing up with the window open (so as not to fall asleep) and that I had ‘brothers’ (something I’d never had before college) in Mike Keller and Tom Warren.” Kristin Jacobson: “My freshman hallmate Karen Pike became my best friend. We joined the same sorority, where we met Liz Amlicke Bahrenburg and Kelin Pickard Colberg, and lived together whenever we could at Dartmouth. After college we lived in D.C. at the same time, then we all lived (and Karen and I still do) in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were in each other’s weddings, had kids around the same times and still get together regularly. And it all started on the fourth floor of Topliff freshman year.” Tim Cleary: “The person I married, Laura Jackson, was on my freshman hallway and was one of the first people I met at Dartmouth. And my freshman trip partner, Derek Symer, remains my best friend to this day.” Tom Parker: “Upperclassmen across the hall convinced me to join U Lodge. Individuals in my freshman group showed me how damn smart people can be. And Ron Phillips showed me how fast someone can throw a snowball.” Jessica Riordan Hanson: “The guy across the hall, Max Hanson, has been my husband for more than 20 years. Maybe I should send a thank you note to the housing office!” Alan Ellis: “The Lodge’s relative isolation and small size made it easy to get to know a lot of my neighbors and engendered a sense of community. My freshman roommate was Dan Crosby. I learned that despite our differences, we could find common ground and enjoy some experiences together (such as going running and jumping off the bridge into the Connecticut River), and I learned about discipline and responsibility by being around him. We also had different academic interests, which broadened my horizons. I’m sure that our year together affected the way I viewed the rest of my life at Dartmouth.” John Stouffer: “I just came across a great picture of me and my freshman roommates Darwin Brown and Tom Stone. We lived in North Fayerweather in a two-room triple, which was entirely too small for us, but we made it work out. Freshman year was exciting, scary, thrilling and fun. It was a world of self-discovery and realization and these guys were my friends through it all. We took different paths at Dartmouth, but I remember we always stopped to catch up whenever we saw each other in the library, on the Green or in the dining hall.”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

This month I asked ’90s: “How did your freshman roommate(s) or freshman hallway or freshman dorm affect the path of your next three years at Dartmouth?” I received many responses, enough for three columns! Here’s the first installment. Andy J. Williams Affleck: “My freshman dorm did not affect my path forward at Dartmouth so much as it affected my look backward. My father was in the class of 1953 but died when I was only a baby so I never knew him. One day I found myself in Blunt and I noticed a shelf where they had freshman books going way back. So I pulled out my father’s book and looked him up. John M. Williams III lived in 107 Mid Mass. The same room I lived in. That connection has always meant so much to me. Alas, if my own child were to attend Dartmouth, he wouldn’t get the same room. It was turned into a lounge.” David Clark: “I realized that I needed a single the next three years.” Jennifer Gittes (Taplin): “North Mass was all female in 1986. I met some of my closest friends freshman year in that dorm, and several of those friendships have lasted over long distances ever since. I felt a sense of belonging, comfort, mutual respect and understanding among those women, and that sense of belonging lasted throughout our four years in Hanover. My freshman roommate, Wendy Heisterkamp, was kind, considerate and nonjudgmental. Her enthusiasm for art, exercise and unconventional ways of thinking and looking at life were contagious and mind expanding. Claire Talwalker, who now teaches at Berkeley, was keenly aware of the injustices of neocolonialism and underdevelopment and helped me to better understand them, too. Wendy Whitcomb was, and still is, in love with all things French. She was reading Victor Hugo and taught me how to count in French (well, to 10). Maria Deknatel introduced me to Isabel Allende, who has turned out to be one of my favorite authors. Elise Saks was organized, cheerful and always happy to help. It’s no wonder she became a teacher and then a doctor. These women made me love where I was and feel confident about navigating the road ahead.” Koko Hogan: “Two words: Jack Lunch.” Lauren Kehoe: “I was in McLean in the River Cluster my freshman year. Except for Sophomore Summer I stayed in the River all four years and I loved it. I had tons of cluster friends, lost 25 pounds freshman year doing all that walking and learned to play pool on the table in the basement of (I think) French.” Tony Dowling: “Mark Underhill changed my life. I shaved my head and donned a saffron robe.” Amit Malhotra: “Other freshmen who lived in Smith Hall with me included Joe Gerakos, David Boals, Sharif Mahdavian, Brendan Mullaly, Jun Ono, Eugene Park, Peter Pasi and Brian Gold. Pretty much all of us rushed the same fraternity (Gamma Delt) and spent the next three years as brothers.” Scott Facher: “I’ll try to wax poetic. By taking a left at the top of the stairs on the second floor of Streeter I uncover the two upper chambers of my heart: Brad Drazen lived with me in the left atrium and Dan Offit, Paul Simpson and my ‘Thunder Road’ buddy Rob Crawford lived (and still live) in the right chamber. With Dr. Jonathan Sollinger downstairs I knew so well that I’d never go into cardiac arrest. So I begged Jono to live with me in the Motor Lodge sophomore year and we had Dan Offit and Chris Colasanti down the hall.”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Of course the theme for this column must be our 25th reunion. On June 17 the hardiest of us will be meeting at the Ravine Lodge for a hike, a dinner and a scary story from long ago (Tom Haines, I’m looking at you!). We’ll meet the rest of you in Hanover under the tents on June 18 and spend three glorious days together reminiscing about “the places we’ve been.” By now you’ve heard from the reunion organizing team through at least one of a variety of channels. We’ve held mini-reunions (live and virtual); there’s a class Facebook page, a Dartmouth 1990 Twitter feed, a class website, class blog, 1990 newsletter (with the little green cards), class survey (email) and now, our class DAM column. 


Yes, shortly, it will be time to register for reunion (starting in March). Meg Sommerfield, our reunion chair, has been hard at work along with the rest of the team getting everything ready for your arrival. The program is packed with social events, good food, activities for young and old, interesting panels—with time left over for a Baker Tower climb or a tour of the secret tunnels under the Green. To find more detailed information, links and the updated reunion program, please check 1990.dartmouth.org. There is also a rumor going around that Second Hand Jam will be reuniting for what (if it’s true) will certainly be a standing room only rendition of “Brown-Eyed Girl.” 


In other theatrical news, Second Hand Jam member Rob Crawford’s daughter, Elizabeth (10), played Susan Waverly in the national tour of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. A large Dartmouth contingent made it to the Wang Theater in Boston for performances in December. 


“Oh, the places we’ve been!” is our reunion theme and Dave Lee, John Phillips and Jerry Casagrande planned on adding a big one to their lists this winter. By the time you read this they will have traveled to Tanzania (on New Year’s Eve) with the plan to summit Mount Kilimanjaro on January 9. Now there’s a story for the tents. 


Josh Wolf-Powers reports that he has completed a career transition and is now practicing as a psychotherapist—and training as a psychoanalyst—in New York. He still has the same awesome wife, Laura, and son, Sasha.


Chea Singfoong is living in Lakewood, Colorado, with her husband and two sons. She is working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the family “really enjoys the outdoor life in the Rockies.”


Jessica Silver writes in that she now practices real estate in southern California. She enjoys living in Corona (east of L.A.) with her husband, Ed, and her two children, Raina, 17, and Riley, 11. Jessica reports that “the kids both have Hollywood agents and participate in about a zillion different activities between the two of them, including art, horseback riding, tennis, guitar, aerial circus arts, voice, acting, volunteering for an environmental organization and performing at Legoland California. They are thriving here.” Jessica sings in the Circle City Chorale and loves volunteering at her son’s school, tutoring kids who struggle with reading. She continues, “Raina and I are talking about where she will apply to college in the fall—it is pretty freaky.” Jessica is planning on being at reunion! 


Finally, if any of you are interested in putting together a mini-reunion during the main event for your athletic team, club, language study abroad group, fraternity or sorority, please contact me by email for important information from the College and so I can add you to the schedule we’ll distribute to the class. See you in June! 


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

Back in the late 1980s we didn’t take nearly as many photos or videos as we do now. With this in mind, I asked ’90s, “What moment, event, place, group or memory from your years at Dartmouth do you not have a photo or video of, but wish you did?” Pamela Chandran suggested that a better question would have been, “Because of which college moments are you eternally grateful that there were no digital cameras or phones around to record them?” (Well put, Pamela.) Jay Davis: “The moment that 30 ’90s stood, holding hands, in Long Island Sound, having paddled 210 miles downstream from Ledyard.” Lauren Kehoe: “I wish that I had a picture of me bowling at Astrobowl in West Lebanon [New Hampshire], but I think everyone was too drunk to remember a camera, and I was the designated driver, so I had bigger concerns.” Jane Varner Malhotra: “What happened to all the ‘party rug’ pictures from the fourth floor of Hitchcock freshman year, Jason Kable?” Sue Domchek: “I wish that I had pictures from a cross-country ski trip that a bunch of us took into one of the DOC cabins. I can’t remember exactly who was there, although I know for sure that the group included Chuck Drake and Barbara Harper (both now gone—hard to believe). I am reasonably sure that Josh Blum, Jeff Hanissian, Dan Posner and Becky Thomas were there, as well. It was cold. So cold that Barbara’s contact lens solution froze (and from my materials engineering class, I can tell you that is really cold). We ate dinner with our gloves on, did pull-ups and jump squats to stay warm, slept huddled in a pile and skied out the next day to cars with dead batteries. Crazy but wonderful! Crystal clear skies, stars everywhere, quiet in the woods.” Becca Michaels Kornet: “Roth Herrlinger asking for donations outside Thayer to pay his fine after being caught rushing the stands at the football game.” Mark Sternman: “I wish I had photos of all of the Democratic presidential candidates who came to campus prior to the 1988 presidential primary. I recall seeing Bruce Babbitt, Michael Dukakis, Richard Gephardt and Gary Hart. That campaign greatly affected my career and continues to draw attention today, as evidenced by Matt Bai’s recent book, All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, which in part delves into a key press conference that took place at the Hanover Inn.” Scott Reed: “Having graduated with a major in German, I wish I had one photo or video of foreign language drill sessions. Whenever possible I would conduct my early morning drill sessions outside on the Reed Hall lawn. Ausgezeichnet, baby.” Jennifer Merriman: “That’s an easy one—all the hikes, runs and DOC trips I did during peak leaf season in New Hampshire and Vermont. Franconia, Kinsmans, Armington Lake and River Road in Norwich all stand out. It was all so beautiful.” Greg Waldbaum: “I wish I had a video of the road trip Marc Kramer and I took via motorcycle Sophomore Summer to Middlebury. It was a scene right out of Fonda and Hopper’s American classic Easy Rider.” Lucinda Welch: “More pics from freshman trips (it rained and I think my film got ruined) and of friends doing all the awesome outdoors-in-splendor-of-beautiful-New Hampshire activities that we did. Also I wish I had photos of the freshman bonfire, making a 90 on the football field at halftime, Winter Carnival events and videos of Decibelles performances. And, I must admit, there are moments that I’m glad were not captured on film.”


Rob Crawford, 101 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Why did you go to Dartmouth? It’s been almost 25 years, but for many of us the reasons we spent our college years in Hanover still resonate today. 


Pamela Chandran: “The sunset was reflecting off the windows of Dartmouth Hall and over the crests of the White Mountains and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”


Ute Otley: “I wanted to play basketball for a great coach (Jacquie Hullah) and I wanted to be challenged academically. Both worked out.”


Sarah (Jacobson) Lennon: “I wanted to study international relations and languages and run track. Fortunately, my policy and language career has lasted far longer than my running!”


Ali Long: “I chose Dartmouth for its renowned education, its access to nature and the type of student I hoped these two values would inevitably attract.” Ali also reported that she took her sons Quincy (9) and Zack (6) to the Galapagos Islands this August on a Dartmouth alumni travel National Geographic/Linblad Expeditions eight-day trip aboard the Endeavor. “The access to endemic wildlife was incredible,” she wrote. “My 81-year-old father came along, so three generations in our family together had an experience of a lifetime.” 


Roth Herrlinger: “I visited Dartmouth one fall weekend, went to a football game in the pouring rain and could hardly believe how much fun everyone was having.”


Scott Jeffress: “Big Green cross country and track, Army ROTC, alumni encouragement, freshman trips, Baker Tower, the Green and, of course, those ‘soft September sunsets’—what a place!”


In some additional news, Alan Ellis recently left his post at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill for a tenure-track assistant professor position at the North Carolina State University department of social work. He’ll be teaching research courses and focusing his own research on child mental health and well-being. His son, Cody, is studying healthcare at a nearby community college and his wife, Genevieve, is working on a gluten-free cookbook.


David Clark is the new head of school at the Boca Raton, Florida, campus of the Pine Crest School, with 850 students from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. He’s been involved in education for 23 years, 14 of them at Pine Crest. David and his wife, Nicole (Smith) Clark ’89, have three daughters: Amber (20) will be a junior at Bates College in Maine; Autumn (16) is a junior at Pine Crest; Ashleigh is beginning eighth grade. Anyone visiting south Florida is invited to stop through. 


Finally, our 25th reunion co-chair Meg Sommerfeld sends this important missive: “Though it may seem hard to believe, our 25th reunion is coming up soon! Please save June 18-21, 2015, to reconnect with classmates and enjoy a special weekend in Hanover. Our theme is ‘Oh the Places We’ve Been,’ a nod to Dr. Seuss’s Oh the Places You’ll Go, published in 1990. We hope the theme also brings to mind the different journeys we have been on since graduation: Some we anticipated and others we never expected. We have persevered through tough times and celebrated joyous ones. As we return to Hanover we want to celebrate this rich tapestry of life experiences and the many twists and turns our lives have taken. We already have an energetic group of volunteers, but there is still space on the planning team—the more the merrier! If you want to get involved, have ideas you want to share or just want to ask a question, please drop me a line at meg.sommerfeld@comcast.net.”


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

What’s the best book you have read since our Dartmouth graduation in 1990 (Part II)? Kristin Jacobson: “Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis DeBernieres, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and Personal History by Katharine Graham.” Greg Goldberg: “Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.” Julie Urda: “Three books by Barbara Kingsolver: High Tide in Tucson made me appreciate and pursue better writing; The Poisonwood Bible opened my eyes to the social, economic and political struggles in the world; and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle moved me to change my consumption habits to be more sustainable.” Karen Behling: “The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson. About North Korea, Pulitzer Prize-winner for fiction, a great story well told.” David Sherwood: “A Guide to the SQL Standard by Christopher J. Date. An obtuse primer on relational databases, it made little sense to me my first pass through it, but my boss tossed it to me on our way to meet a new client and said, ‘This is going to be important to you on this project,’ and so it was. It helped define the next decade of my life.” Richard Morris: “A Confederacy of Dunces, which had me laughing out loud in public places like no other book. I live in Brooklyn with my wife, Jessica, and 11-year old twins Charlie and Henry. To my pleasure, they both love baseball (and have more potential than I did) and I’ve enjoyed coaching their teams since their early years.” Ramzi Nemo: “The Work of Nations by Robert Reich ’68.” Kyle Davis: “The Benjamin Weaver series of books by David Liss chronicles the exploits of Weaver, a former champion pugilist in 18th-century London and Ashkenazi Jew.” Sandy (Morton) Niles: “Life of Pi by Yann Martel, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon.” Brad Drazen: “Dark Harbor by David Hosp.” Felicia Hwang Bishop: “Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I am now an injury-free, avid runner. I’ve started running competitively on the track and it’s become a really enjoyable facet of my life.” Mary (Bachman) DeSilva: “In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak.” Lauren Beiley: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, recommended to me by Karen Euler.” Jonathan Sullivan: Getting Things Done by David Allen.” Matt Nadler: “Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, with A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess a close second. I am living in Chester, New Jersey, with my wife, Susan Klein, and our 5-year-old son. I work for Verizon and am responsible for long-term planning for all video products across our portfolio. Sue is a practicing vet, specializing in mobile ultrasound and internal medicine.” Scott Schorer: “William Manchester’s Last Lion series about Winston Churchill. Churchill is one of the few remaining examples of that great person who was able to transcend every obstacle and achieve great things for humanity.” Todd Eckler: “Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen. It talks about how integrating technology with traditional teaching can have a profound impact on learning.”


Other class news: David Lewis: “I live in Phoenix, Arizona, with my wife, Leslie, and our four kids, practicing mergers and acquisitions and securities law at DLA Piper. I’m happy to report that my oldest daughter, Alexa, will be starting at Dartmouth this fall as a member of the class of 2018!” Bernadine Wu: “I live in New Jersey with my two kids and run an ecommerce consulting firm, FitForCommerce.” Nick Stanham: “Very happy here in Miami with my wife, Mariu, raising our four children. I see Tom Parker often and recently played a foursome with Tom, Lance Geller and Harris Siskind.”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

This month we asked ’90s to identify the best book they have read since they graduated 24 years ago. Once again responses were so plentiful that I can publish only Part I here—Part II will be in the next column. Ute Otley: “The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I’ve read it about five times now (I used it to teach WW II in my U.S. history class) and every time it gets better. Quick update: My varsity girls basketball team at Champlain Valley Union High School in Vermont just repeated as Division I state champions and has a 47-game win streak going! The fact that my daughter, sophomore Sadie Otley, is the starting point guard makes it even sweeter. Now Brian ’89 and I will spend the spring watching her run track and watching our sons Mason and Cole play baseball. Life is good in Vermont!” Ali (M.A.) Long: “The Male Brain, by Louanne Brizendine. And in other news, I am deep into food system and financial system reform. I just filed our 1023 for the Quigley Foundation, based in Hailey, Idaho. My boys Quincy (9) and Zack (6) are at the local elementary school in Ketchum, Idaho. We moved back July 2013 and are happy Idahoans again!” Nina Kushner: “I love Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I also love Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s A Midwife’s Tale and Joanne Meyerowitz’s Transsexuality in America, both of which I assign to students all the time. My news: I am a tenured history professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and recently published a book with Cornell University Press titled Erotic Exchanges: The World of Elite Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century France. I gave a book talk at Dartmouth last spring. Many of my professors attended and they did not seem old at all. Made me wonder how old they were when we were students and then how old my students currently think I am!” Laurin Grollman: “The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and Fear of Flying, by Erica Jong. In other news, I quit my job as a lawyer (my last job was senior counsel for firearms policy in the Bloomberg administration) and am working on a middle-grade novel that combines sports and historical fiction.” Pamela Chandran: “Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It’s epic, compelling and vivid. In other news, I’ve just completed one year as the general counsel for SEIU 121RN, a registered nurses union. I love what I do and the nurses for whom I work. The in-house life is infinitely more humane than firm life. Also, my two sons (5 and 2) are thrilled to have a happier mom.” And some more news: Congratulations to Sean Callan and his wife, Elizabeth Simmons, who welcomed their first child, Michael Patrick Callan, on December 7, 2013! And congratulations to Eric Hageman, whose son Ra’Shede (who was a standout defensive tackle for University of Minnesota) was one of 30 college football players invited to Radio City Music Hall in New York City for the NFL draft May 8-10. “Regardless of whether he gets picked in the first, second or third round, we are looking forward to sitting in the ‘green room’ with him and enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience!” Sebastian de Atucha: “Our second child, Daphne, was born on October 25 and we are officially the oldest parents that we know. Our first, Mills, is now 5. While most of my peers send their kids to boarding school or college, I am gearing up for preschool in a couple of years!”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Congratulations to Ernie Young, who married Erin Blondel on September 21, with Andrew Latimer and Derrick Olsen in attendance. Ernie is currently teaching constitutional law at Duke Law School in Durham, North Carolina. 
David Rosenberg wrote in with some great memories of Winter Carnival our freshman year. “Maybe it was the abundant snow and icy cold temperatures that resulted in amazing ice sculptures (including the Bacchus we built in front of Topliff). Maybe it was the incredible poster depicting a beautiful masked coed in a Dartmouth sweatshirt with an infectious smile ready for Mardi Gras (theme was ‘Blizzard on Bourbon Street’). Maybe it was the fact that it was my first Winter Carnival and I still possessed the wide-eyed amazement and excitement of a child on Christmas morning. Maybe it was because we could still order kegs and they would be delivered to our dorm. Or maybe it was the free EBA’s chicken sandwich that was kindly bestowed on me after the restaurant had closed (I was knocking over and over on the locked door). Somehow that first one remains as my all-time favorite.” He’s now married to Anne, whom he met during sophomore summer, and they have two children—Elizabeth (a junior at William and Mary) and Charlotte (a sophomore in high school). 
Meg Sommerfeld sent an update from the Alumni Council meeting last weekend, when she was joined by fellow ’90s Michael Lisi and Kim Buresh. Both Michael and Kim are active with their alumni clubs back home, Michael in San Francisco and Kim in Los Angeles. Fellow ’90 Julie Urda was also in Hanover just for fun. Julie is a professor of management at Rhode Island College and drove up for the weekend.
Meg continues: “After the Alumni Council meetings were over Julie and I headed over to the stadium to watch Dartmouth defeat Columbia 56-0. Neither of us had been back for a football game in awhile and we had a blast cheering on the team—joined by an especially enthusiastic bunch behind us complete with green hair!—and singing the alma mater together at the end of the game to celebrate the team’s victory. We ran into President Hanlon walking back from the game and said hello—he was very friendly and stopped to chat for a moment with us. I hear that in addition to all of his duties leading the College, he is teaching a calculus class and started the day of his official inauguration on campus by teaching his 8:45 section of ‘Math 11.’ ”
The Alumni Council also had the pleasure of hearing from our classmate and economics professor at Dartmouth Bruce Sacerdote. He moderated a panel of current students taking some “experiential learning” classes taking them outside of the classroom and into the Upper Valley community, where they are studying, researching, and interacting with residents, nonprofit organizations, businesses and government. For those who are interested, you can see some of their work at www.40towns.com. Apparently someone told Meg that “students thinks that Professor Sacerdote is the man!” You can read more about what he’s has been up to on www.dartbeat.com. 
Important 25th reunion news (yes, it’s coming in 2015)! The reunion team had its first planning call and anyone interested in helping should contact Meg at meg.sommerfeld@comcast.net. 
Finally, congratulations to Jonathan Weatherly, who finished his first marathon in Chicago in 2:46. His daughter Madison is also a top runner in high school and potential Dartmouth class of 2019!
—Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com 



What a weekend! Give an enormous rouse to reunion chair (and outgoing president) Kate Griffiths Harrison and the entire committee for putting on a fantastic reunion. Old friends, new family connections, great food and drink, some bittersweet words of wisdom from President Wright and sweet sounds of the Aires all set in a place that’s so special. In just six (short?) years, we’ll be back on the Hanover Plain for our big 25th. (By then, the rest of the guys will be bald.)


After five years of silent service as your co-class secretaries, we thought we might take a few moments and update you on our musings, as many of you have repeatedly asked in your update e-mails, phone calls and letters.


Brad Drazen has been augmenting his life as a class officer of the class with a job as morning anchor at the NBC TV station in Connecticut. His alarm goes off at 2:45 a.m. five days a week. That gets him to work at 3:30 to prepare for airtime at 5. The schedule provides an otherworldly sense of constant fatigue, but also plenty of time to spend with family. Brad and his wife, Lauren (Dwartz ’92), live in West Hartford, Connecticut, with their kids Noah, Max and Liv. In between coaching or driving to baseball, soccer, swimming, basketball, youth theater, Odyssey of the Mind, dance and guitar he still manages to get a little golf and hoops in himself.


Still eligible with no children, Bill Levin gets three more hours of sleep per day than Brad and lives in Charlestown, Massachusetts, three blocks from the Bunker Hill Monument. As we write Bill is preparing to leave his position at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he has served as an administrative dean for the past eight years. Remaining in Boston, Bill will be returning to the corporate ranks for a product management role at Thomson Reuters. Bill also manages almost 70 units of residential and commercial real estate in the Boston area for his family. Outside of work Bill serves as vice chairman of the board at Park Street Kids and School, a private nursery and elementary school in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. He spends quite a bit of time chasing his two nephews in the Berkshires, where his family has a home. 


It has been an honor to serve you for these past five years and we deeply appreciate all of your contributions and updates to make this column strong. We look forward to reading the future columns written by our newly elected co-class secretaries Rob Crawford and Walt Palmer. You can reach them at robertlcrawford@yahoo.com and palmerwalter@mac.com. We could not be leaving the column in better hands. 


Bill Levin, 30 Elm St., #1, Charlestown, MA 02129; (781) 631-2646; levinrealtygroup@pobox.com; Brad Drazen, 1520 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, CT 06117; (860) 965-0956; brad.drazen@nbcuni.com

“What’s one interest that was sparked at Dartmouth that has become a core part of your life?” Lacking content for our Class Notes column, I e-mailed this question to all ’90s and now I have so much material that I plan to share highlights in this column and the next one.


Interest in a specific human being was the most common response. “That’s easy,” writes David Owen. “My wife, Edie Josephson Owen ’92.” Likewise, Peter Harvey’s response is Anna Cathcart! Peter wrote to me from Lenk, Switzerland, where he and Anna run Winter Term, a 12-week academic and character-building program for seventh- and eighth-graders from around the world. Jay Davis’ interest in his wife, Julie Sanders Davis ’91, also began at Dartmouth, “which led to the addition of core elements Katie ’25 and Andrew ’28, who do everything they can to make sure I maintain balance between home life and my work in Dartmouth’s education department and Tucker Foundation.” 


Liz Allen Edgar writes, “James Edgar—met him in Chaucer class and thought he was a bit too full of himself. Now we’ve got two kids, matching jobs and 22 years of history.” Lynne Cohen Koreman also found true love at Dartmouth: “My interest in my husband, Rob Koreman ’92, was followed closely by mix-ins from the Hop. A day rarely goes by when ice cream isn’t a part of my life.” Lynne recently opened a marketing consultancy (www.koremanconsulting.com). She and Rob live with their 12 year-old daughter Samantha in south Florida. 


Todd Eckler and Kristen (Politica) Eckler cite each other as enduring interests. “I also developed an interest in education and teaching,” writes Kristen. And Todd adds that hearing a speech by Lou Gerstner ’63 (the then-chairman of RJR Nabisco) in the late 1980s sparked his interest in improving inner-city public schools.


My co-secretary (and first cousin) Walter Palmer also identifies his wife, Sandra Kopanon ’91, as his most cherished Dartmouth interest. They now have three children: Sophie (12), Coalter (10) and Sarah (7). After a long career as a professional basketball player Walter founded a players association in Germany and is now director of a federation of about 30 European players associations. This interest began at Dartmouth when an NCAA officer met with the basketball team prior to its first practice. “I asked so many questions that Coach Cormier started to get anxious because he wanted to start practice.”


Ted Whittemore, Sara Mattis and Adam Bookbinder all report that their love of the great outdoors began at Dartmouth. Adam, a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, writes, “After four years of $100 season passes and jumping on the Skiway bus after classes I was hooked. I’m now working on passing that feeling on to my kids.” And for Sara and her husband, Eric Roesch, “The natural, outdoor world of Dartmouth has become a refuge for us—a wonderful contrast to our busy Boston lives.”


Now a user experience consultant designing software for companies such as TiVo and Shutterfly, Kyrie Robinson says Dartmouth was where she first starting playing with computers. In addition, David Jorgensen introduced Kyrie to the Amaretto sour, her favorite cocktail. Today, she harvests her own lemons.


In other news we heard from Kevin Roon that he married his longtime partner Simon Yates on October 2-3. Attendees included Lisa (Porter) and Jason Kable, Kristen (Politica) and Todd Eckler, and Anjli Finessi, who came all the way from Curaçao. Kevin is finishing up his Ph.D. in linguistics at NYU, expecting to finish this coming May. 


Plenty more to share in my next column!


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

This DAM column has been an important part of my connection to Dartmouth during the past 19 years so it is with a sense of honor, responsibility and a bit of fun that my cousin Rob Crawford and I take over the charge of adapting your news to fit this forum. We hope we can live up to the high standard set by Brad Drazen and Bill Levin and those that have come before. 


If you remember us it is probably for our extracurricular activities—I was the tall ’90 on the basketball team and Rob was a stellar musician on campus, singing in Second Hand Jam and the Aires. We will be taking turns with the writing duties so expect a column you can set to music next issue. 


A little bit about Rob: He now lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with his wife, Meg, who is a full-time pediatrician at Framingham Pediatrics, and his five children: Robert (10), Benjamin (7), Elizabeth (5), Charlotte (3) and Katherine (1). He is the director of development at the independent school that his three oldest children attend, but his life is focused around baseball. This summer he helped coach the team of his Robert Jr. to victory in the Eastern Massachusetts championship. Rob is also vice president of Red Sox Nation, a position he was elected to by the fans in 2007. I will write more about his VP activities in a future column but you can check him out at www.crawdaddycove.com. 


Reunion is still fresh in my mind as I write. It was the first that I attended since our fifth. The first evening, under the threat of rain (which never came), we were corralled into the echoing and rather dark depths of Leverone. There I met Tom Parker, who is living in Miami. He meets Nick Stanham for breakfast every week and recently welcomed his first daughter, Mia Florence, last May. He also reported that his legal practice is growing. I also saw my former teammate Steve Trundle. Steve is CEO of Alarm.com and living in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife, Kim, and their three children. 


Our class tent was set up in front of Alumni Gym where we registered, breakfasted, listened to the Aires, heard a bittersweet talk by outgoing President Jim Wright and (some of us) gathered up the courage to go back for a second lobster—just to balance off all the corn on our plates…really.


The highlight of reunion for me was not an event on the official schedule. It was an honor to be invited to participate in a women’s hoop mini-reunion. A 10th body was needed for a five-on-five pick-up game at the Ray School. The group included fellow ’90s Ute Bowman Otley, Sophia Neely, Patty Webb, Allison Greene and Jennifer Lowry. After all these years they reminded me why they were four-time Ivy League champions. Wow. 


For those of you in politics, our new class president Tim Cleary could show you a thing or two about political hardball. Class officer elections were scheduled the same time as the Rassias lecture, practically assuring that the only ones who would show up were those standing for office. So by unanimous consent your class officers: vice president, Carter “C.J.” Strickland; treasurer, David Greenberg; Webmaster, Andy Affleck; newsletter editor, Clayton Gates; mini-reunion chair, Lucinda Welch; and head agent, Emily Hill. 


Finally, a joke for the kids courtesy of A Prairie Home Companion: What does a fish say when he runs into a cement wall? “DAM!”


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com


“What’s one interest that was sparked at Dartmouth that has become a core part of your life?” continued.


For Monica Davis it was rowing. “In the fall of 1989 the crew coaches were out on the Green recruiting. I told them, ‘I’m a senior,’ and they said, ‘That’s okay.’ ” For Laurin Grollman it was running. “I remember running Rip Road with my roommate Jane Bieneman when I was in good enough shape to keep up with her and by myself when I wasn’t.”


Ed Callaway developed deep interests in hockey and beer. Junior year he did the religion FSP in Edinburgh’s pubs and learned to skate on Occom Pond. Today he spends his weekends traveling with his son’s bantam hockey team and “hacking away in a men’s league.” Ed, a certified beer judge, has brewed several award-winning batches. 


At Dartmouth David Engler developed a physical fitness regimen that continues today. Now a pediatrician in Tennessee, which ranks 47th in the United States in overall health, David writes, “My Dartmouth experience inspired me to attempt to change the attitudes and lifestyles of my patients.”

Drew Jones writes, “What started at Dartmouth in the late 1980s was my calling to work as a crazy-ass advocate for the environment. It began with trash and now my focus is the climate.” Environmental activism also inspires Patty Webb. Last summer she built a dog waste composter in her back yard “so I don’t have to use plastic bags anymore!” And Susan Domchek reports, “I have a physical reaction when I see people throw out aluminum cans or paper instead of recycling.” Susan is a breast cancer oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania and has two children, David (11) and Matthew (6).

Tom Thompson: “I was determined to become a rich lawyer and proceed directly to politics. But my LSA in Blois, France, hooked me on Baudelaire and Rimbaud. I skipped law school, got a lit M.A. and an M.F.A. in poetry, and it’s been all poetry ever since. Two books out and a third on the way.”


Kathleen Heafey’s core interest is “being a citizen of the world.” Today she’s an adoptive parent of two Colombian kids (7 and 4) and fundraises for children who still wait in an orphanage in Bogota.


Carrie Tower Lott credits her art history FSP in Florence, Italy, with sparking a love of traveling outside the United States. “And my obsession with Italian food and cappuccino.”

Pamela Chandran: “Film! Film! Film!” Pamela, who earned a master’s in film from USC, became a devotee of film because of the Dartmouth Film Society. She has a 1-year-old son, Declan.

Marcus Weiss, who is a Blue Man in Las Vegas, writes,I fell in love with Dartmouth’s drama department.” Eighteen months ago Marcus became a dad—his son Jacob “is our greatest treasure!”


Pianist Roth Herrlinger found his love of composing and performing at Dartmouth and Mark Sternman found his love of politics. “Young Democrats at Dartmouth gave me a front-row seat to the 1988 campaign, sparking my career.”


Julie Urda: “I took a class called ‘Psychology of Business’ because I heard it was taught by a Tuck professor. At the end I asked Professor Greenhalgh, “How do I get from where I am to where you are?” Twenty years later I am a professor of management at Rhode Island College.


Megan Hammond writes, “Dartmouth itself became a core interest in my life.” Megan, who helps run Dartmouth’s endowment, lives in Lyme, New Hampshire, with her husband and three daughters Cailie (6) and twins Anna and Maeve (1).


Timothy Kolk: “The rejection of conventional wisdom without evidence.”


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

“What is your favorite memory of spring term at Dartmouth?” Jenifer (Budgett) Islas’ highlight is “walking to Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and giving birth to my daughter Chloe Islas on May 19, 1990, with my husband and three of my best friends present at her birth (all Dartmouth ’90s who went on to become amazing doctors: Dan Kairys, Di Berger and Sadie Peters).” Marvelous! Making use of the class of 1990 “anonymizer,” a classmate reports that his favorite spring term memories were “the hook-ups in senior spring with everyone I’d had crushes on but hadn’t had the courage to ask out.” Roth Herrlinger writes of exploring in Leningrad during the white nights and being stranded on a new island in Leningrad at 3 a.m. after the drawbridges were raised. He was tired in class the next day but reports the memory was worth it. Jay Davis writes, “Freshman spring and the Choates volleyball court showed me the limitations of ‘tomorrow’ as a plan for getting school work done.” His senior spring activities—Trip to the Sea and senior week overnights on the porch of John Rand Cabin, the top of the ski jump and the roof of C&G—showed him “just how fleeting and precious the time is that Dartmouth provides to connect with each other.” There were also some excellent answers to Rob’s “Dartmouth inspiration” question. Chrissy Kirkmire Mazzola answered, “In French class with Keith Walker I discovered a love of and passion for Francophone African literature. When I did my master’s my thesis was on the work of a seminal poet and author from Senegal. As a teacher I have shared my passion with my high school students during the last 20 years, teaching them African culture, history and literature in French. Andrew Garrod’s education courses also marked me and set me on a career path that has been both personally and professionally rewarding. I am forever indebted to my Dartmouth professors for the excellent teaching and guidance they provided.” Michael Keller found athletic inspiration through adversity. He writes, “Once I broke my wrist and had to quit the football team after freshman year. Intramural volleyball (not to mention backyard hack-ball behind Sig Ep) became a passion and I am still playing 20 years later!” Megan Hammond reports that she and her husband, Bruce, and their 7-year-old daughter Cailie welcomed twins in February 2009. She writes, “After wanting more children for some time we feel tremendously blessed. Classmate Mark Schiffman and his wonderful family took care of Cailie when the twins were born. Classmate Dr. Sarah Stearns, a child psychologist at DHMC, provided me with moral support, books and chocolate during subsequent early-day hospitalizations (we are all fine now). Jay Davis’ wife, Julie Saunders Davis ’91, was the twins’ doctor in the hospital and subsequently.” Megan is one of four managing directors of Dartmouth’s endowment, a position she has held since 2007. Congratulations to James McCutcheon, who was elected partner at the firm of Jackson Walker in San Antonio, Texas. From the wire, James is a partner in the Tax practice group and “represents clients in virtually all aspects of federal taxation, with emphasis on partnership, corporate and generational wealth planning.” If you ever have the time I recommend reading the Class Notes section from beginning to end (something I had not done in years). It is an amazing slice of American life and, perhaps, will grant some new perspective on the road you have traveled and the one that lies ahead, courtesy of the other members of the Dartmouth family.


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

The question for this issue’s column was: “What is your favorite Dartmouth sports (or Baker library) story?” As this is the July/August issue, allow me to share my favorite sports story from Sophomore Summer. That year Rob Summers, Ute Bowman Otley and myself formed an intramural three-on-three basketball team called Tall, Dark and Beautiful. We won the championship against some ’89 football players who threatened to crush us because they played football. Of course the game we were playing was basketball and, in basketball, the smart take from the strong. We won by posting Ute up against a linebacker and watching her go to work. You go, girl! Andy Affleck (Williams) had me going with this story: “I played Kazoo in Marching Band with my girlfriend Katie Davis. Early freshman year at the Dartmouth-U Penn game we did the Hawaii 5-0 dance with our arms around each other all cute and freshman “couply.” That night in my dorm I got a call from my high school girlfriend asking, “Who’s the girl?” That’s how I learned that (a) we had not, in fact, broken up like I had thought and (b) the game that day had been televised on SportsChannel for some reason.”


Do you have a story about rushing the field as a ’shman? I bet Roth Herrlinger can top it: “It’s the first Saturday of freshman year and I’m torn between wanting to rush the stands with the rest of my classmates and wanting to be in the half-time show with the Marching Band. Determined to do both I stand arm-in-arm with my classmates at the top of the opposing stand, then run down several paces in front of the class…straight into the hands of the Campus Po’. The next morning, in the spirit of all the great social movements of the time, I launch ’Shmen Aid on the steps of Thayer Dining Hall. I collect $400 in voluntary donations toward the fines of the 30 students who got caught, appear on the front page of The Dartmouth, launch my political career and don’t look back.” Great stuff. 


An anonymous alumnus wrote: “Crap, I wrote something interesting when it occurred to me that there might be a statute of limitations issue. It turns out the statute could cause me trouble since it is six years, but it appears that the clock stops if you aren’t in New Hampshire. So never mind. It was nothing dangerous, no one was injured or even embarrassed, it was just a benign prank, but given how overboard folks can get about things, I think I’ll leave it in the vault of history.” Chrissy (Kirkmire) Mazzola sent the following: “My best Baker story is easy: A year after we graduated Rich (Mazzola) flew me back east for Thanksgiving. When I arrived at the airport he had a limo waiting to go to Montreal for the weekend. We ended up at Dartmouth in the middle of the Green in the snow, and as Baker Tower struck midnight he got down on one knee, pulled out a ring and asked me to marry him. I said no, thanks. Just kidding! We have been married 18 years now and always make it back to that special spot with our kids when we are in the area.” To leave you with a bit of news, Angela C. McConney reports that she attended the Massachusetts Black Lawyers gala on April 22 with classmates Gwen Pointer and Kevin Hayden. Angela is the former president of the organization. Rob C. is up next time. Enjoy the summer!

Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

This month’s Class Notes question had two parts: a) In five words or less summarize what your motto was when you were a college freshman (at age 17 or 18); and b) in five words or less summarize what your motto is today (at age 41 or 42). From Robin LaPre: a) Anything you can chug, I can chug faster; b) Are there any hidden carbs in that? From Troivoi Hicks: a) I need a job making six figures; b) The less I own the more I have. From Toi (Blount) Hightower: a) I refuse to be beaten by inanimate objects; b) If it can’t outthink me it can’t defeat me. From Jeanhee Kim, who is managing editor of the NYU School of Law alumni magazine and mother of daughters Chiara (5) and Jemma (2): a) Life is too short, why sleep? b) Neeeeed more szzzllleeeeppp! From Ali “M.A.” Long, who lives in Mill Valley, California, runs a small family foundation, rows for the Marin Rowing Association crew team and is raising boys Quincy (6) and Zack (2): a) Friends, fun and minimal work! b) Be selfish about your giving! From Mike Lindgren: a) I’ll sleep when I’m dead; b) Be kind, be kind, be kind. From Michael Cohenuram: a) It’s not a party unless something gets broken; b) Oy, my back hurts! From Karen Euler, who became a mother for the first time in April (welcome, Zachary Abusheleih!) and is enjoying leave from her marketing job at CRJA (landscape architects) in Boston: a) Adopt all of the arts; b) Simplify with style. From Scott Facher: a) Don’t miss a good party; b) Simplify, saunter, speak your truth. From poet Polly Geller, whose work was just published in Slake Literary Journal and who is a language instructor at a charter school focused on performing arts in Los Angeles: a) Be unique; b) Do the work and show up. From Jay Davis: a) Try to do everything. Quickly. b) Try to do some things well. From Paul Haffner: a) Expand your mind; b) Respect the process. From Julie Urda: a) Try not. Do or do not. There is no try [Yoda]. b) Don’t do today what can be put off until tomorrow. (“As you can see, I’ve mellowed a lot!”) From Karen Pike, who is an emergency room doctor in San Jose, California: a) Work your hardest, keep all options open (dad is paying); b) Always be nice to everyone. From Jonathan Sullivan: I don’t remember having a motto when I was a freshman, and if I had to pick a motto today, I would say, “Be someone you can count on.” From Wendy Cue: a) Carpe diem; b) Stop bitching, start a revolution (although, on a day-to-day basis, it’s more like “get up, dress up and show up”). From marketing executive and youth soccer coach Amit Malhotra, who, along with his wife, freelance writer Jane Varner Malhotra, and their four children (Zoe, 13, Helen, 11, Mabel, 9, and Albert, 5), lives in Washington, D.C.: a) Will save the world for my children; b) For my children, will save the world. I also received an update from Jeff Wolf: “I just returned from working 16 days at the University Hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti. (I have been practicing pulmonary and critical care medicine on Long Island for the past 10 years). At first I was questioning what kind of impact I could make with the limited resources, but I can honestly say that I saved more lives in 16 days than I do in a year at home.”


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Let’s start off with a birth announcement! Jen Gee Conway reports that the best thing that happened to her and her husband, Jim, during the summer of 2010 (or ever!) was the birth of their daughter Annabelle Rose on July 16. Jen and Jim live on Bainbridge Island, “just across the water” from Seattle, and Jen has her favorite job ever: mom!


While trolling for more summer news a moose story arrived in my inbox from Alaska. Since my boyhood in Maine I’ve loved a good moose yarn (and telling them too). It seems every few years, around the summer camp table, a new guest will bring up moose and the standards are dragged out for the re-telling. There’s the “moose charged the school bus” fabrication, the “van almost crashed into the rear end of a moose on 25A at midnight” story, the “brothers swimming with moose” story and the “moose running down the middle of a main street in Salt Lake City, Utah,” story. Kelin (Pickard) Colberg wrote in with a “moose chased my son down the street” story with a promise of more. A moose chased their 10-year-old son Elias while he was riding his bike with the family dog down a fairly busy Anchorage street. The dog ran into the street, the son kept on pedaling, the traffic stopped and eventually the moose stalked off into the Alaskan puckerbrush. A treasure Elias will tell (and, if my experience with moose stories holds true, build on) his whole life. Apparently, moose in Alaska are a more aggressive breed than here in the Northeast, where hunters use a lasso to lead giant moose back through the woods and up into the back of their pickups before shooting them (it’s either that or drag the carcass a long way)—really.


Ute Bowman Otley writes that the best thing her family did this summer was to take Oma (Ute’s mom) to her native land of Germany for her 65th birthday. Ute wrote, “The kids loved it, Brian and I loved it and my mom was in heaven!” While the Otleys were there the German soccer national team played in the semifinals of the World Cup in South Africa, “We sat in a Biergarten chanting ‘Auf Gehts Deutschland!’ in between blasts of the vuvuzelas (the ubiquitous horns blown in South African stadiums).” Ute reports that the mountains and lakes of Bavaria were beautiful and they are looking forward to a return trip for her mother’s 70th. 


Being an older athlete myself, I had personal appreciation for Christian Heinrich’s submission. He wrote in that his wife, Lisa Huff Heinrich ’92, captained the Western New York Rugby 7s team to a bronze medal in the Empire State Games. Lisa was the oldest player on her team by 10 years. 


Congratulations go out to Jonathan Sullivan, who has a new job as the director of electronic marketing at Learning Tree International. 


Finally, “in the true Dartmouth spirit of keeping traditions,” Daniel Mayland met up with Mike Lindgren in the Thousand Islands region of New York State for their annual sailing trip. Mike reports that he and Dan were joined this year by his partner, Melanie Maslow Lumia (Cornell ’86), and Dan’s wife and two children, Corinne Gilchrist Mayland ’93 and Kirsten and William. “The captain and crew of the good ship Anodyne enjoyed a brief if energetic sail that was truncated by a close call with some wandering thundershowers, a common seasonal hazard of the upper St. Lawrence River, and some fine grilled foods.” With that, the book is closed on the summer of 2010. 


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com

In preparation for this column I emailed many of you asking for you to reflect on whether your lives had taken any unexpected turns since graduation. 


The first reply in the inbox was an important reminder of the limitations of the Class Notes format. The note stated that my question was a “minefield” that “if answered honestly, could take up two magazines.” Right on. “Life throws us curveballs and as we struggle to react, we question where we are, what we’ve done, where we want to go next.” We should remember for every Dartmouth alumnus celebrating career or personal high points in the Class Notes, there are many others working through life’s challenges.


Jonathan Sulivan now the managing director of web management and development at the American Institute of Architects, writes that as a senior he “would have predicted that I would be living in Washington, D.C., and working in government or international relations.” He tried it for a couple of years but then found that the interviews he kept getting were for information technology [IT] jobs rather than government or international relations jobs. “It turned out that the informal education in computers that I had received at Dartmouth coupled with my passion for technology was my most valuable asset.” As a result he’s spent the last 25 years living in Washington, D.C., working in the information technology sector “but never for the government.”


Kevin Roon, now a postdoctoral student at the CUNY Graduate Center, took the opposite route when it came to information technology. He was a Russian major interested in linguistics and teaching but spent 13 years in IT consulting before returning to more academic pursuits. His personal life has also undergone a transformation since his senior year. “Personally I had just come out as gay to a very small group of friends just before our senior year. I was still not out to my family when Michael Lowenthal gave his valedictory address at Commencement.” He writes that it would have been difficult back in 1990 to have envisioned a long-term relationship or even legal marriage but he and his spouse, Simon, have been together since 1997 and were married at the Dartmouth Club in New York City in 2009 with many Dartmouth friends in attendance. 


Tom Parker and Seth Jacoby also pursued their athletic dreams after graduation as players and coaches for a semi-pro American football team in Aix-en-Provence, France. They were champions of France, met many interesting people and learned a little French. Both returned to the United States and went to law school. Tom now “makes patio umbrellas” as the president and general counsel of Tuuci.


A year from now we will come together once again in Hanover for our 25th reunion. It will be an opportunity for us to meet each other’s children, reflect on roads taken and not taken, celebrate our collective accomplishments and mourn those we have lost along the way. I can’t wait to see you all. Thirty years ago, in June 1984, I attended my father’s 25th reunion and although I had visited Hanover many times before, it was then, lying on my back on the Green on a warm June afternoon, that I knew I would try to return as a student. In that spirit your class officers will be holding monthly conference calls and reaching out to many of you through the next year. We’re getting ready and looking forward to seeing you back in Hanover soon. 


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com

This month I asked all ’90s, “Choose one—smell, taste or sound—and tell us about the one that comes to mind first when you think of Dartmouth.” Thanks for your excellent responses.


David Sherwood: “The crisp smell of cold while crossing the Green on a winter’s night.” Maria Deknatel: “Hearing the bells play “Dartmouth Undying” as I walk across the Green in early evening.” Anuj Gupta: “The extraordinary peace and silence after a heavy snowfall in Hanover.” Megan Hammond: “For me it’s the smell of pine—when we first went to the Bema, at Moosilauke and the Skiway, walking down toward Ledyard—the smell of pine everywhere! I love it.” Gary Katz: “Dry autumn leaves crunching underfoot. It’s corny, but it triggers the memory of Dartmouth every time!” Mike Lindgren: “For some reason, when I think of my sophomore summer I think of a Tom Petty bootleg that my friend Mark Zankel had. It was recorded at the Rathskeller in Boston sometime in 1977 or 1978. That tape, with its grimy swirl of hard rock, provided a backdrop to a marvelous summer of swimming, drinking beer, cruising around Hanover and hanging out.”


Jonathan Sullivan: “The way the air smells on a gray winter morning just before it’s going to snow. Living in Virginia for the past 20 years I don’t experience that smell very often. But once in a while, when the air is quiet and still, and there’s the smell of snow in the air—it takes me back to Dartmouth.” Bernadine Wu: “The smell of my nostrils and eyeballs freezing as I walk from Kappa Kappa Gama to, well, anywhere. The beautiful bright blue skies and sparkling white snow are deceptively cold yet invigorating.” Meg Sommerfeld: “The smell of piping hot Earl Grey tea in Sanborn, mix-ins at the Hop, lemon-poppyseed bread at Collis and ‘the crunch of feet on snow.’ ”


Steffen Nelson: “The soft crunching of twigs under running feet amidst the silence of the surrounding woods in Pine Park.” Amy Monbourquette: “The crunch of feet on snow.” Brad Drazen: “Who can forget her soft September sunsets? Her sparkling noons, the crunch of feet on snow?” Kerstin Stanley Clark: “I’m thinking of spring’s distant, pinging, shotgun sound of the ice breaking up on the Connecticut River. Hallie Brooks: “The sound of oars thunking in oarlocks when all are rowing together and the smell of mung.” David Clark: “I hear the sounds of the greatest minds in the world studying in Sanborn.”


Ute Bowman Otley: “The smell of wet pine trees on spring mornings.” MaryEs Anderson Beaver: “The sound of silence walking in the fresh fallen snow, the world around me quiet and peaceful. Also, George Winston’s ‘December’ on the albums in the music lab where you could truly get lost in the music.” Michelle Brownlee: “An EBA’s chicken sandwich. (I’m sure I won’t be the only person with that response.)” John McBride: “Fraternity mung (ewww), an EBA’s chicken sandwich, C&A pizza, Baker’s bells and late-night conversation with friends.” Shirley Menard: An EBA’s original chicken sandwich. I’ve never had anything like it since and I can’t find a Portuguese muffin anywhere!” Jessica Silver: “Collis orange-chocolate-chip bread. Yum.” Lou Mabley: “EBA’s spuds and the fries at the Hop, the Alpha Delta basement and the stylings of Rob Crawford singing Joe Jackson’s ‘Is She Really Going Out With Him?’ ”


And we conclude this column with a very sad farewell to George Cawman, who died unexpectedly of a pulmonary embolism on November 3. George, we will all miss you.


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Part deux of “If you could bring your child(ren) to Dartmouth’s campus just one time, for just 15 minutes, where on campus would you take him/her/them—and why?”


Lou Mabley: “I would just sit in the center of the Green and point out all sights—Baker Tower, Collis Cafe, the Hanover Inn snow-making sign and the lights of the football stadium. I would also tell them that where they’re sitting is the home of the annual bonfire and share stories of the nights we spent protecting it from upperclassmen. Then I would grab a frisbee and tell them to go deep.”


Kristen and Todd Eckler: “Our two sons Drew (15) and Trevor (11) think they own the campus already. Their perfect afternoon: Fill up on pizza at EBA’s, play some football on the Green, then some bookstore shopping.”


Karen Behling: “I would take them to the re-done library, because it’s really cool—a great mix of modern and traditional.”


Susan Domchek: “My older son, David, is 14. He goes to Camp Moosilauke for a few weeks in the summer. We always stop in at Dartmouth and I take him and his younger brother, Matthew (9), to the river. It’s what makes Dartmouth a particularly special place. You can sit on the dock and look out at the view, but even better is to get out on the water in a canoe and enjoy the beauty of it all.”


Kelly (Green) Kahn: “Sanborn Library! I have fond memories of studying in one of the big chairs in the alcoves and enjoying an afternoon tea break. I have two very busy little boys, so it might be more fun for me than for them. But, shhh, if the library wasn’t too crowded, I would let them climb the stairs to the second-floor balcony a time or two. If I were building my own home, it would definitely include a mini Sanborn with an alcove for each family member.”


Tori Maxmin Gravuer: “If I could choose the weather conditions, I would select a clear, cold snowy winter evening after a day or so of nonstop snowfall. Then I would take my boys on a brisk hike from the Hop through the tunnel of snow created from plowing the Green down to Occom Pond, where we would slide across it to the golf course. Then we would grab the Thayer trays and go on a memorable sled ride over hill and dale to the cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream awaiting us at the end!”


Kim Lewis: “Our 15 year-old son and 12-year-old daughter haven’t missed a Homecoming yet, so I guess my answer is pretty obvious: To the Green on Friday night of Homecoming, with the bonfire lit and the flames reflected in the windows of Dartmouth Hall, the band playing songs and the first-year students running in circles around the bonfire. Why? This evening is a celebration of everything that is beautiful and hopeful at Dartmouth.” From January through March Kim’s son attended a school in Switzerland that is owned by Peter Harvey and Anna Cathcart, and one of his classmates was the son of Nate Emerson.


In other news: Chris Crevier and Jeff Swiatek report a streak of 90 consecutive monthly dinners together as of June. The run is the result of a New Year’s commitment made in 2006. And congratulations to Eric Fanning, who became acting secretary of the Air Force in April, making him the highest-ranking lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual person in the U.S. Department of Defense (see “Continuing Ed,” Sept/Oct). 


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

I asked ’90s, “If you could bring your child(ren) to Dartmouth’s campus just one time for just 15 minutes, where on campus would you take him/her/them—and why?” My answer: Sanborn, the ’02 Room and Streeter. Here are half of your responses (the rest will be in the next issue): Michael Mauro: “To Baker lawn, the Geisel (Seuss) room, then Sanborn library to show the grandeur, wisdom, humility and civility of Dartmouth.” Barbara (Basia) Nikonorow: “On a snowy afternoon I would walk across campus from Baker Library, across the Green into the Hopkins Center.” Therese (Devlin) Brown: A run through Pine Park. I will always remember the soft bed of pine needles that covers this path through the woods along the Connecticut River. Beautiful.” Andra (Raudseps) Bowditch: “When they were babies, the Tower Room to show them proper napping. Now, down to the basement to ponder the Orozco murals.” Philip Privitera: “On the Green on Homecoming night when the alma mater is being sung and the bonfire is being lit. In that moment the heart and soul of Dartmouth comes to life.” Mark Sternman: “I’d chase my 7-year-old stepdaughter around the Green and show her where I spent most of my college years, Baker Library.” Meg Sommerfeld: “My favorite thing to do with my children at Dartmouth is to take them up to the Tower Room and sit in the big chairs and look out the windows overlooking the Green.” Bernadine Wu: “Definitely the bonfire. I was back for Homecoming last year for the first time since graduating. The delight in my 8- and 11-year-olds’ eyes and the awesomeness of the spectacle can’t be beat.” Kathy Heafey: “We’d start at the Hop to rub Warner Bentley’s nose, then hoof it across campus to the Choates! Sentimental favorites.” Paul Haffner: “Easier to say where I would not take them—Bones Gate basement. Tried that at 20th reunion and they are still scarred from the experience!” Andy Affleck: “My 13-year-old son is into the arts so I would take him through the new visual studies building and the Hood and Hop. In fact, we did that this spring and he loved them.” Rich Byron: “The Tower Room should be featured in a documentary film called Exactly What a College Library Should Look Like.” Mary Es (Anderson) Beaver: “I would take them to the Green in June because that is what life between work is all about, to the river on an inner tube in July because that is what summer is all about, to Sanborn at tea time when it is snowing out because that is what quiet comfort is all about, and to the stacks at night when quiet intellect blooms.” Julie Clugage: “I would take my daughters to the Tower Room to share with them the highest quality napping experience of my life to date.” Julie’s husband, Richard Hardegree: “It would not be South Mass. Our 8-year-old is still traumatized by her stay there during reunions. She described it as ‘stinky’ and vividly remembers ‘boogers on the walls.’ That would definitely rule out the Alpha Chi Alpha basement. So I’m going with the great outdoors—the Dartmouth Skiway and the docks on the river.” Sebastian De Atucha: “The Bema/Bartlett Tower (especially if you can get up the tower) and Ledyard.” David Clark: “Sanborn. The atmosphere in Sanborn is symbolic of the climate that Dartmouth represents, relaxing yet stimulating.” Lauren Kehoe: “I would take my imaginary child to tea at Sanborn to show him or her that reading actual books can still be beautiful, elegant and civilized, with cookies.”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

This month I e-mailed all ’90s with the following request: “Tell us about another member of Dartmouth’s class of 1990 who made a particularly meaningful, positive impact on you during your college career.” I received enough responses for two columns. Here’s part one, which focuses on members of our class who died too young. We’ll start with Derrick Olsen’stribute to Jim St. John: “Jim, whosesmile was broad and infectious, was a great friend and a big influence on me. I could talk politics with him, I could play sports with him (on the intramural courts, we always knew where the other was going to be before we passed the basketball to each other) and I could just enjoy life with him. Sadly, Jim passed away in January 2010. During my last trip to Washington D.C., I stood at the Lincoln Memorial and remembered the day during our government term that we walked from Capitol Hill to Arlington Cemetery to soak in everything we loved about that city. Jim’s friendship continues to make an impact on me and I am sure many others join me in missing him greatly.” Also writing about Jim St. John was Chris DiCarlo:“Jimshowed perseverance and dignity through many challenges. We all miss you.” David Greenberg wrote, “Being teammates with the late Chuck Drake on the lightweight crew had a lasting influence on me. When I have needed to summon bravery to do something that might be beyond my limits, I think of workouts and races he would attack with massive determination and a unique sense of freedom.” Josh Blum also reflected on Chuck Drake:“Chuckwas the most talented, least predictable person I’ve ever known. Athletic, intellectually and experientially curious, a brilliant visual artist and writer. How much richer my life has been for knowing him, how much poorer for losing him too soon.” Greg Dorr, who is visiting professor in the program in science and technology studies at MIT, wrote, “I’m going tell you about four of our late classmates in 21 words. I think of them daily, am thankful for having known them and try to let the better angels of my nature reflect their inspiration. Brian Hayes and Barbara Harper exemplified generosity of spirit; Steve DeMaio greeted each day with a ‘Yawlp!’ And Gus Conrades lived his way and didn’t flinch, though some judged him.” Rob Crawford adds about Gus Conrades: “No one sucked the marrow out of life like Gus did. I’ll never forget his exuberant laugh, which could last until he exhausted himself. He was purely joyful, especially when playing his drums during the third set of a four-hour gig in the wee hours of the morning. The moment I attended the first Second Hand Jam rehearsal in his tiny room in the basement of Streeter freshman fall my life was changed.” Changing gears, here’s class news from Karen Euler: “Inspired by classmate Angela McConney Scheepers, who makes it a practice to hire interns and support them roundly, I decided to recruit from the Dartmouth class of 2012 for a new marketing department internship at TRO Jung|Brannen. The pool of Big Green talent was so great that we ended up hiring someone for a permanent position instead. The scary part of the process? The candidates’ year of birth was our year of graduation!” Ending this column with a bang: Laura Martin Zentmaier, who lives in Hanover with her husband, Kurt, and their two daughters, ages 14 and 11, reports that she recently delivered her friend’s baby on their kitchen floor while babysitting the baby’s older brother!


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Inspired by Conan O’Brien’s Commencement address, this month I asked ’90s: “If you were asked to give the Commencement address at Dartmouth, what would be your core message?” As expected, I received many excellent responses.


Laurin Grollman: “Perspective is key, don’t sweat the small stuff, be nice to everyone and do what makes you happy. It’s worked well for me so far!”


Paul Haffner: “Always remember that there are more horse’s asses in the world than there are horses.”


Alvino-Mario Fantini: “Explore the world. Follow your interests. Be intellectually curious. Do things with passion. And, above all, keep learning.”


Scott Facher: “Bold mistakes may ultimately define one’s artistry, character and humanity; to live one must court passion and take risks.”


Scott Mackle: “The most insightful part of O’Brien’s speech was at the opening, where he said, ‘Before I begin, I must point out that behind me sits a highly admired president of the United States and decorated war hero while I, a cable television talk show host, have been chosen to stand here and impart wisdom. I pray I never witness a more damning example of what is wrong with America today.’ Of course he was going for laughs with this comment, but there’s a great deal of truth in it.”


Mark Sternman: “Live the lessons Dartmouth taught: be kind; read deeply, widely and well; and enjoy nature in all seasons.”


Parker Karnan: “Know the difference between nice and kind. Know the difference between busy and productive. Know the difference between power and influence. Know the difference between successful and great.”


Rob Adams: “To whom much is given, much is expected. Yeah, yeah, the heavy graduation speaker message, but double the years on the spinning orb since June of 1990 provides quite the perspective, eh? The privilege of an adult life in the Upper Valley, to boot, helping employ a lot of folks who didn’t get to do what we did, while getting to watch firsthand the undergrad crowd on campus enjoy the perhaps at times intense but still surreal experience we all had, leaves one feeling pretty humbled by all of our good fortune. Hope you’ll holler if you pass through Hanover or want a great table (they’re all great, of course) at Simon Pearce” [where Rob is president].


Kyrie Robinson: “Don’t worry if you still don’t know what you want to be when you grow up. Just find something interesting to do and start living your life, even if you can’t imagine doing that thing for more than a few years. Be prepared to switch jobs as inspiration strikes and be prepared to grab interesting opportunities when they appear.”


Ali (Maud-Alison) Long: “I just completed a paper, ‘Promoting Sustainable Food Systems Through Impact Investing.’ It’s on the home-page of the foundation I run, where you can click to download it, www.thespringcreekfoundation.org.”


Robin Lapre: “It’s okay to stray from the beaten path when you are young.  You will look back at those days fondly, and it will supply great stories for your next job interview.”


Michael Lindgren: “Don’t eat the yellow snow.”


Matt Nadler: “Do what you love. You’ll be better at it and happy.”


And some classmate news: In March Adrian Owens competed for the U.S. ski-orienteering team at the world championships in Tanndalen, Sweden. He anchored the men’s relay team to 15th place, passing the Ukraine skier but not quite catching Japan.


Diane Mutti Burke, an associate professor of history at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, recently published her book, On Slavery’s Border: Missouri’s Small-Slaveholding Households, 1815-1865.


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481;robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

Here’s Part Two of your responses to my e-mail request: “Tell us about another member of Dartmouth’s class of 1990 who made a particularly meaningful, positive impact on you during your college career.” Dana Weintraub, a pediatrician/researcher at Stanford and mother of two, writes about friend and soccer teammate Becky Barendrick,who passed away in 2005: “Her friendship, leadership and sense of humor encouraged us to excel on and off the field, yet kept us humble.” Suzanne (Rathbun) Fetter remembers Chris Colasanti, who died in the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers: “I met Chris on freshman trips and was immediately drawn to his laugh, strength of spirit and friendship. He led an exemplary life, though short, and will always be an inspiration to me.” Josh Blum: “Jason Koh was an uncompromisingly devoted friend with a great musical ear and an old fashioned intellect who wasn’t afraid to follow his muse rather than someone else’s proscribed course of study.” David Greenberg: “It was impossible to be friends with Elise Saks and not better see your connection to other people, both near and far.” Laura Martin Zentmaier:“I shall always treasure the golden friendship that I have with Mere McIntosh Murphy.” Michael Cohenuram: “Parker Karnan was the perfect embodiment of school spirit, spontaneity, kindheartedness, enthusiasm for new experiences and pushing all those around him to live in the moment.” Quyen D. Chu, who is chief of surgical oncology at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center in Shreveport, Louisiana: “David Clark and Hunter Labovitz were my best friends at Dartmouth. I won’t forget the times when we watched Stand By Me and Do the Right Thing and our weekly Thursday event, ‘Movies With “Corn” ’ (popcorn), spearheaded by Tyler Goldman and Bash Derti.” Amy Fulwyler: “Mary Bachman was (and still is, I’m sure) brilliant, kind, funny and honest. She inspired me to do more than I thought I could.” Pam Gentry: “Jeanhee Kim, a life-long friend, was a super friend in college. Outgoing and friendly, she always knew somebody wherever we went. I think I made most of my friends through Jeanhee.” Michael Lowenthal,whose new novel, The Paternity Test, has received rave reviews:I’m grateful for what I learned about fierceness from Steve Cosson, Chris Hogan, Greg Millett and all the other campus activists who spoke truth to power, often with a puckish grin.” Meg Sommerfeld: “Sarah Stearns was thoughtful, funny, caring and incredibly intelligent. She was always there with a hug, a laugh or whatever was needed!” Rebecca Baggett, who is communications and program manager for Emory Global Health Institute: “Joan Slattery was and continues to be a positive influence in my life. We were randomly assigned as freshman-year roommates and we ended up rooming together all four years. All the wonderful folks at The D were positive influences too—I loved the late nights we spent stressing, laughing and taking ourselves way too seriously. So I raise a big glass to John Aronsohn, Meg Devine, Meg Sommerfeld, Adam Bookbinder, Michael Reynolds, Bill Levin, Jeanhee Kim and last but not least, my college boyfriend Tri Thornhill!” Allison Berger, who had a second baby girl, Lillian Faye, on February 29:“Laura Van Wie has been a respected, loved and admired friend since we began singing together in the Dodecaphonics. She embodied much of what Dartmouth taught me about openness to new experiences, generosity of spirit and reaching outside one’s comfort zone to do some good in the world.”Thanks to Lou Mabley, Dan Offit and Gregg DiPietro for your tributes to a certain former roommate, and apologies to all who sent other news—out of room!

Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

The Palmer family is battening down the hatches here in Rockport, Massachusetts, in preparation for Hurricane Irene and I hope all of you reading this column made it through the storm intact. 


The first social media newsgathering experiment for this DAM column was a success. Our class Facebook page is coming to life and I encourage all of you to join in. Thanks to all of those who did. 


Chrissy Kirkmire Mazzola writes in that after 20 wonderful years at the Thacher School in Ojai, California, she and her husband, Rich, have moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. They will both be working at St. Anne’s Belfield School, where she will be head of the upper school and Rich will be the middle school athletic director and will, as always, be coaching baseball. “We are excited that our kids Madeleine (15) and J.J. (11) will finally be going to the school where we work.” Chrissy and Rich encourage any Dartmouth folks coming through the area to get in touch!


Dawn Generals Patterson wrote in that her oldest daughter, Bianca, is now a senior at Dartmouth! “I’ve had such a great time visiting her and reliving my own Dartmouth experience—I hope other classmates have a chance to experience Dartmouth from their children’s eyes. It’s been priceless!”


Also on Facebook, Tony Jones, had a couple big announcements to pass on. “So far in 2010 I’ve completed my Ph.D. in theology at Princeton Theological Seminary (after eight years of dragging my feet) and in July I married Courtney Perry, a photojournalist from Texas who graciously relocated to Minnesota. I make my living by running a small business, consulting in the publishing world, blogging about religion, writing books and speaking. I’m sorry to have missed the 20th reunion, but I look forward to introducing Courtney to the wonders of Hanover at the next reunion.”


Mike Keller submitted his news by e-mail: “I am still knocking around Chicagoland working in IT consulting.” He saw his freshmen year French Hall roommate Marcus Weiss in Vegas this past year performing as a Blue Man at the Venetian. “What a trip. He was awesome!” commented Mike. He also attended his high school 25th reunion this past summer and is looking forward to our Dartmouth 25th coming up in a few years.


On a more somber note, in a couple of weeks we will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the passing of our classmate Chris “Dom” Colasanti. He was at work in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald in the North Tower of the World Trade Center that bright morning. We miss you, Dom. 


One of my cherished childhood memories is that of my father sitting at the bottom of the stairs after my brothers and I had gone to bed singing folk songs on his guitar, including the classic, “Good night, Irene.” With that, Irene, good night—’til next column. Rob, you’re up!


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com

“If you could re-experience one day or moment from your Dartmouth career, what day or moment would that be?” Here are your responses: Roth Herrlinger: “Playing the piano at the Top of the Hop.” Andy Affleck: “The sheer rush of that first time down freshman hill on a cafeteria tray.” Adam Bookbinder: “Any day from sophomore summer: class, nap, class, sitting out in the sun, a few hours at The D or in the library and a few hours playing pong in the basement.” Lauren Beiley: “Tubestock sophomore summer and heading down to the pro-choice march on Washington, D.C., with Beth Coleman and Elizabeth Maringer.” John Banks: “Freshman fall, seeing the Homecoming bonfire for the first time and running laps around it!” Hallie Brooks: “Misty mornings on the Connecticut, rowing when the cox’n says, ‘way enough,’ and all oars are up, boat gliding through the water, in perfect balance.” Amit Malhotra: “Courting Jane Varner, who is now my lovely wife.” Jeff Swiatek: “Freshman fall, the first snowfall and a snowball fight followed by hot chocolate on the fourth floor of Wheeler.” Drew Jones: “Freshman winter, first big snow, watching dozens of ’90s from southern climates gleefully kicking their first deep powder.” Kim O’Hare Gleason: “Visiting Dartmouth as a high school senior, I stood there for a moment on the Green and just knew it was the place for me.” Laura VanWie: “Falling asleep under the stars on a hilltop in Masai Mara, Kenya, surrounded by warthog calls and Dartmouth friends’ snores.” Clayton Gates: “Hottest night of sophomore summer, racing heedless down wooded hill, ’cross the wobbly dock, leaping up and out, yee-haw! (splash).” Kyrie Robinson: “One day Mark Schiffman, Lindsey Pahs and I unrolled an entire toilet paper roll down the hall in Russell Sage and watched the SuperSuck slurp up the whole thing at super speed. We laughed until we cried.” Mark Sternman: “Charging the court from the band section when John Bean ’87 hit a long three-point buzzer-beater to stun Penn.” Kara Finnigan: “Sitting on the Green on a clear night talking about life with new friends the first week of school, knowing I was in the right place and excited for all that was to come.” Kim Lewis: “On the day I moved into my freshmen dorm room my sister and I were going through the four-way stop sign near Blunt and Mass Row and a car failed to stop and nearly crashed into us. Brent Forester ’88 hopped out of his car to say hi to us and that moment cemented our fate together. We will have been married 21 years this May.” Gary Katz: “Rushing the field at the first football game after this practice was banned. As I rounded the other team’s band formation and saw a line of Hanover police charging us, I thought, ‘Now this is college!’ ” Thais Caroline Pardo: “Covering the walls of our Choate living room with red, green and blue handprints and our own ‘pop art’ with roommates Patricia Anthony, Christine Mangone and Tracy Soffa.” Jack McBride:I would choose to relive a Tally Rally: a 2 a.m. burger (and pixie sticks) at the Tally House restaurant with Pat Shin ’89, Jim Blauth ’89, Abhay Pande ’89, Lisa Forlano Shin, Anuj Gupta, Lauren Kehoe, Chris Hyun and C.J. Kunnappilly.” Michael Mauro: “I would relive the first dance I had with Anne Kim, who is now Anne Kim Mauro, my wonderful wife.” Ron Faith: “Cross-country training at the land grant with Steffen Nelson, Gerry Ostheimer, Richard Beaver, Scott Paterson, Rob Walker, Norm Kennedy, Brett Cartwright, Scott Jeffress and Jeff Gillooly.”


Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

I received almost 50 responses to my question, “In 10 words or less, what image or feeling immediately comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Dartmouth’?” Because of the volume of responses and because many people simply couldn’t stop at 10 words, I had enough material for two columns. Part deux is below. Cue the goosebumps.


Michael Lindgren: “The Green. Baker Tower. Wintry beauty.” Sandy Morton Niles: “Friends, laughter and stress, ski team, friendship, Anadama bread at Collis, the Orozco murals. Okay, that’s more than 10 words but you have no idea how many I wrote and deleted.” Meredith McIntosh Murphy: “Warmth of friendship on a cold, snow-filled evening.” Jay Davis: “Alma mater, employer, provider of my children’s mother—go green!” Stephanie Smart: “Walking across the Green. Freshman trips. Claflin Jewelry Studio.” David Sherwood: “Friendships cemented by crisp falls, late nights and great debates.” Jennifer Scott: “Walking across the Green in the fall.” Pam Behne Gentry: “The beauty of the campus on a fall afternoon.” Phil Privatera: “Home—even more than my real home—and EBA’s meat-lover’s pie!” Chris McCabe: “Beer!” Dan Posner: “Croquet on the frozen Connecticut one winter night with candlelit wickets.” Rebecca Baggett: “A sense of freedom and endless possibilities.” Steve Wydler: “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. Ethan Guzman-Barron:“Beautiful campus, great times, even greater people.”


Sara Page: “This is more than 10 words, but that was your secret strategy and it worked! Life-long friends, racing on Mascoma Lake with the sailing team, many hours spent at the Skiway, my wedding at the Bema then walking across the Green with the bells tolling in Baker Tower! Life is great—my husband, Evan Roth, and I just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary and we have three very active boys, Jackson (9), Anders (7) and Gareth (4). We live in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, just outside of Portland. I’m so grateful for my years at Dartmouth. As I hit my mid 40s and reflect on my experiences, decisions and the work that I do, everything stems from the values I cultivated at Dartmouth: belief, abundance, passion, vision, connection, adventure, fun and positivity.”


Susan MacLennan: “The image that immediately comes to mind is the exhilaration of racing down the Charles River last October in a Dartmouth alumni eight, with thousands of strangers cheering from the banks and bridges, simply because we were Dartmouth. I raced with eight other Dartmouth women (classes of ’11 through ’90—a 21-year age span!) in the Head of the Charles, representing Ever Green Boat Club, which is our new alumni rowing organization. While we didn’t win the race, we beat many old rivals and had a great time. Many of us met for the first time on the day of the race, yet we had a strong common bond simply by virtue of being women of Dartmouth. Representing the College again after all these years made me incredibly grateful for the opportunities that being part of the Dartmouth family has afforded me.”


John Stouffer: “When I hear Dartmouth I think green, open spaces and cold winters with great snow sculptures all over campus. I also think about people who have become my best friends, such as Marc Fogelson and Mike Schwerin ’89. I think of the whole crew of ’90s who were in Bones Gate together and all the fun times we had raging and doing fun things such as playing bocce ball across campus. I play bocce ball now, but keep it to the sands of Manhattan Beach, California, where I live.”


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com

The confluence of a recent trip to Europe, several conference calls with Spanish work colleagues and some handwringing over local language instruction here in Rockport, Massachusetts, made me wonder if any of you were as positively affected (!) by your LSA/FSP experiences as I was. It also returned me to that eternal question: What really happened on the infamous 1988 winter-term Spanish LSA to Mexico? First the news: 


Tom Parker ties the knot with Beatriz Tickett! The ceremony was held on November 7, 2010. In attendance: Nick Stanham, Lance Geller, John “Mobus” Seelert, Mark Johnson, Brent Frei ’88, Jim Wilhelm, Jim Mills ’89. Tom reports a good time was had by all. 


Dave Lust and his wife, Becky Pels Lust, are “living the dream” in Rapid City, South Dakota. They have four children—Nicholas (10), Isabelle (8), Benjamin (6) and Samuel (4). Dave is a partner in the largest law firm in Rapid City (20 attorneys) and also serves in the state house of representatives, where the house Republicans elected him majority leader last fall. He is home each weekend during session to catch up on work and family matters. Sometimes the kids will join him at the state house to experience the “sausage-making process.” Eight-year-old Isabelle often gets to have a “tea” with the first lady.


Dave met his future bride, Becky, on the 1988 Spanish LSA to Mexico. And so, with three different reports from the scene—from Dave, James Edgar and Bill Wilson—the story emerges. Living in high-walled suburban enclaves in Morelia, Mexico; traveling on weekends to see migrating monarch butterflies; gathering in the cool of the evening for drinks with little umbrellas; our protagonists (not our reporters!) somehow ran afoul of a corrupt group of Mexican federales. An attempted entrapment, a threatened prison sentence and an offer of “a better way of dealing with the problem” ended with a roughed-up, bruised professor and a mad dash for the border leaving behind a set of disappointed host families (how I wish there was space for photos!). 


I leave you with an ode by Mike Lindgren, a participant in the 1988-89 English FSP at University College London, to the LSA/FSP experience: “I was dismayed to hear some years back that this (London) program, once a highly competed-for jewel of the Dartmouth English department’s crown, is no more, because it was a superior experience in every way. A two-term exchange, the beauty of the program was that it unceremoniously dropped 12 of us into the University of London system with almost no outside orientation or interference, scattering us across various north London dorms and then essentially leaving us to our own devices. What ensued for this particular hard-drinking lover of literature and budding anglophile was possibly the most vivid, wonderful and occasionally harrowing year of his life.


“As with most of my Dartmouth-oriented experiences, it is difficult to qualify exactly how they affected my life today, other than to say that my year in England was foundational in some indefinable way to the process of becoming the man I am today, for better or worse. The memories—spending a weekend at the home of one of my new friends in rural Wales, reading Chaucer in the library of the British Museum, playing ‘football’ in Regent’s Park—remain, as do the friendships; my former dormmate, a raucous Portsmouth English lad of 17 when I met him, is traveling to New York City in one month’s time, at which time we will once again renew our friendship, now entering its third decade.”


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com


Straight to the news: An enthusiastic report received from Gwen Pointer, now the director of corporate sponsorship and new business development for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). BAM is America’s oldest performing arts center located in the heart of one of the world’s creative capitals, Brooklyn. Her job is to tell BAM’s story as a “home for adventurous artists, audiences and ideas with world-renowned programming in theater, film, music, dance, opera and literature.”


Rob Adams sends along a “Howzit” from Cape Town, South Africa. Rob joined Tommy Clark ’92 in helping to run Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit working on youth development all over Africa with a primary focus on behavior change around HIV and AIDS. 


John Stouffer lives in Manhattan Beach, California, and works as director of PR for Fuel TV, a cable television network and part of Fox Sports Media Group. The network was rebranded to cover the Ultimate Fighting Championship, so he’s learning the difference between a “rear naked choke” and a “superman punch.” John is also recently engaged to Stacey Broadwell and will be married in March in the L.A. area. He sees classmates Marc Fogelson and George Becker at least once a year for a good snowboard/ski adventure. 


Sunil K. “Peter” Pasi and Hallie Lewis celebrated the birth of their daughter Sara Kamla Pasi on December 18. Peter reports that mother and baby are happy and healthy, not least due to the fact that their pediatrician is a Dartmouth ’95 named Alison Pease


Kyle Blood will be featured in the March issue of House Beautiful for the “Bath of the Month.” He designed a Moroccan bathroom for a client on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 


William Boulware writes in that he has relocated to Chicago and is moving on from corporate law. He has taken the reins of a not-for-profit, the Preston Bradley Center, assumed an adjunct professor position at Chicago-Kent College of Law and is coaching freshman girls volleyball with Powerhouse Sports Academy. 


Sean Callan married Elizabeth Simmons on August 25, 2012, in Cincinnati, Ohio. In attendance were classmates Paul Haffner and wife Karri, Rob Harris and Tom Erwin. Sean and his wife are both practicing attorneys in Cincinnati; Paul is a licensed attorney who works at Great American Insurance Co.; Rob is a successful attorney and partner at Waller in Nashville, Tennessee; Tom is working as an executive recruiter and manufacturer’s rep in Cincinnati. 


Ute Bowman Utley took a group of high school students to Princeton Model Congress in D.C. and met up with former basketball teammates Jen Lowry, Allison Greene, Nancy Fitz ’89 and Tara Burke Vold ’93. Jen is living in Baltimore with her husband, Pete, and her precocious (and tall) daughter Bryn. Allison is working at the Pentagon and living nearby with her ultra-fit husband, Rob. The group hopes to gather in Hanover this March for their annual basketball reunion.


In December Ute’s Champlain Valley Union, Vermont, team scrimmaged Northfield Mt. Herman (coached by Nicole Hagar ’91) in Hanover. Karen Heinzmann witnessed the match. Karen teaches French at Thetford (Vermont) Academy. Afterward they watched Dartmouth play the University of Hartford and toured the new Leede Arena basketball suite. 


Jack Lunch, publisher of The Sheet in Mammoth Lakes, California, reports that his daughter Margaux was born on March 11, 2012. His newspaper will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2013. Chris Farrens and Gary Katz are heading Jack’s way for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, “Mammoth has the most snow of anyplace in the country right now so who needs fiscal cliffs when you can jump off snowy ones instead?” 


Over to cousin Rob.


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com

Two months after submitting a “Star Spangled Banner” demo to the Boston Red Sox, I received the e-mail I had been waiting for—an offer to my a cappella group to sing the national anthem before a home game at Fenway Park on September 8, 2010—just five days away. But half of the group had previous commitments and were unable to perform on that day, so I was forced to decline the Red Sox’s invitation. To my surprise, the Red Sox then reissued their invitation. “We’d still love to have you sing—can you put together a group for the 8th?” With an opportunity to put together a dream team a cappella group for a one-gig, one-song performance at Fenway Park, I thought of my old Aires compadres and hit the phones. Brad Drazen? “I’m in!” Scott Sylvester ’91? “I’m in!” Peter Fearey ’91? “I’m in!” Peter Harvey? “I’d love to, but I live in Switzerland.” John Ohe ’92? “I’m in!” Younger brother Benjamin Crawford ’92? “I’m in!” The group was rounded out by my brother-in-law and former Aire Bill Ragan ’82 and his son Jimmy Ragan, my father, Jim Crawford ’58, my older brother Henry, my cousin Edward Lovett, friend Keith Williams and Brad Drazen’s two talented sons Noah and Max. We all met on the day of our performance—with singers arriving at different times as they arrived from New York, Hartford, Connecticut, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.—and rehearsed from noon until 5 p.m. in a conference room overlooking the baseball diamond. It was a magical day, an experience none of us ever could have dreamed up. The performance itself went beautifully and afterward we enjoyed our mini-reunion in a luxury suite while watching the Red Sox pull off an exciting win during a pennant race. A Red Sox film crew videotaped our rehearsal and performance and included a brief segment about our day on their New England Sports Network show, The Red Sox Report. You can watch the segment by visiting this link: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12049143&topic_id.... Check out photos of our rehearsal and performance at Benjamin Crawford’s Facebook page and watch an amateur video of our command performance at YouTube by searching for Regular Rob and the September Call Ups.


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@ mac.com


Greetings all from sunny Lima, Peru! I’m here attending a Sport for All conference hosted by the International Olympic Committee and the Peruvian Olympic Committee. It’s been fascinating, if a bit out of my union-organizing wheelhouse. Next week I’ll have the opportunity to visit Rob Adams in Cape Town, South Africa. Rob is the CEO of Grassroots Soccer, a program that uses soccer to teach life skills to young people to help prevent HIV and AIDS. I’ll be there as part of an ambassador program we’ve initiated with the NFL players union to help South African athletes come together to form player associations. 


Congratulations to Rob Cohenuram, who has been selected as one of Connecticut’s top doctors according to polling done by Connecticut Magazine. Rob is an oncologist and member of the Praxiair Cancer Center, Danbury Hospital and Diebold Family Cancer Center, New Milford Hospital. 


I heard from Andy Affleck, who manages the development team of Ozmott, an iPhone/Android app started by Andy and Joseph Walker ’91. They are also spinning up a new company to develop another app to be named later. In the evenings he acts, directs and produces productions with Swamp Meadow Community Theatre in Rhode Island. Andy also acts as our class Alumni Council representative and Facebook tsar (a working title).


On that note, I want to call everyone’s attention to our class Facebook page. There have been some very important posts recently. Chinua Achebe, who you may remember was the author of Things Fall Apart, our pre-Dartmouth summer reading, died this year at the age of 82. 


Meg Sommerfeld posted an eerie video from 1988. PBS correspondent John Merrow ’63 filmed a report from his 25th reunion. Many ’90s make cameos, including Meg and the Aires. If you’re on Facebook, please join the class of 1990 page to stay in touch. 


Your class officers have been busy getting organized for our own 25th reunion. A conference call, scheduled for April 19, was delayed in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. While we are still counting the injured, we can only pray that no one from the Dartmouth family has been affected. Our thoughts go out to all the victims. Stay safe. 


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; robertlcrawford @yahoo.com

Calling all ’90s who love music! Esther Wirth Kopf and Mary Es Beaver are headed up to Dartmouth in June to sing with their college band, Noise Complaint. The other band members are ’92s Jeff Owens, Chris Bingham and Bill Thomas. The Green will be rockin’!


Rebecca Baggett writes in that she had the pleasure of seeing two great multidisciplinary Dartmouth teams participate in the Emory Global Health Case Competition. Her organization, the Emory Global Health Institute, coordinates this event every year. “Dartmouth fielded great teams in both the 2011 and 2012 competitions, and I’m excited to see Dartmouth continue to compete with university teams from around the world in the coming years.” Get in touch with Rebecca if you want more information.


Big news from Miriam (Gross) Schulman: Her original art was purchased by NBC for the permanent set of the show Parenthood. One of the main characters in the show, Max (who suffers from Asperger’s and is obsessed with insects), has Miriam’s miraculous mosquito hanging in his room. Google “Schulman Art” to find the picture and more of her work.


Cape Town anyone? After a couple decades chasing for-profit world shareholder value, Rob Adams did some healthy early-40s soul searching and decided to focus on a different shareholder. He joined Tommy Clark ’92 (Dartmouth soccer coach Bobby’s son) and Norwich, Vermont-based Grassroot Soccer (GRS) as president. He will be taking his family to South Africa for two years to dig into the “sport for development” world of public health. GRS uses the power of the world’s most popular game (soccer) to prevent HIV and AIDS. He hopes that old friends and new ones will reach out if they’re passing through Cape Town.


Kyle Davis relocated from San Marino, California, to Rochester, New York, in August 2011. His wife, B.J., received a promotion at Xerox that necessitated the move. Their kids Miles, an eighth-grader, and Piper, a fifth-grader, have made the transition and survived this year’s miraculously light winter. Kyle left Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Los Angeles and started with the University of Rochester in January as the regional director for advancement with responsibility for southern California. Upon joining he learned that he will work together with fellow ’90 Jeff Gilooly in advancement. He works very closely with Kyle Polite ’04 covering California.


Finally, Eve Kushner has started a business that will keep her busy for the “next 40 to 100 years” called Joy o’ Kanji. She intends to write one essay about each of the 2,136 Joyo kanji (the written characters used in daily life in Japan). So far 36 essays have been published, leaving only 2,100 to go! Eve writes, “Every kanji has a story to tell. I’m telling its story and unlocking its mysteries. The essays are meant to be entertaining and educational.” She has an international team to assist, and already people from 31 countries have registered on her site.


Thanks to all who wrote in, and it’s over to Rob for the next column.


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@ yahoo.com

With the 2012 election behind us, it’s time to focus on “The road to 2015…” and our 25th reunion! As preparations are well under way and our class officers hard at work, this column is devoted to submissions from our class president, Tim Cleary, and treasurer, David Greenberg, respectively—with a few bits of news at the end. 


Tim reports that, “This year, our class had its largest contingent at Class Officers Weekend in quite a few years” with David Greenberg, Emily Hill, Dewey Winebrenner and Lucinda Welch joining him for the weekend. “It was great to get together to do some in-person planning and socializing (sad news: 5 Olde is no more).” They came away from the weekend with lots of ideas on how to reach out to the class and, they hope, increase participation including the extension of a social media presence through LinkedIn or Facebook or holding mini- and even micro-reunions around the country. Tim encourages any of you to contact him (or any of the class officers) with ideas for class activities that the class could support such as micro-reunion ideas or “really just about anything.” You can reach him at cleary90@gmail.com.


David “spent much of the weekend gathering ideas and best practices from Blunt and other class treasurers so the ramp up (to the reunion) will be as smooth as possible.” Apparently, the class finances are in good hands: “The weekend was a good opportunity to compare our class financial situation to other classes. I can say that our fiscal situation is stable and good. Our bank account is solid and dues collections are just a little short of average.” Echoing Tim, there may be some funding available for those class-oriented, “just about anything” ideas of yours! 


In personal news, David wrote that he traveled to Lake Tahoe, California, in August 2012 to compete in the National Summer Biathlon Championships. Summer biathlon is a combination of running and marksmanship, similar to the Olympic sport of cross-country skiing and marksmanship. He had a very good weekend and finished sixth, his highest finish yet. Unlike some of us, David reports that he “seems to be getting faster as I get older, which has me very fired up for next year.” 


The National Association of Urban Debate Leagues is a national movement to create policy-debate-oriented opportunities for at-risk, urban populations that is supported by many Dartmouth alumni, including our own Rob Harris, who is the chairman of the board of the league in Nashville, Tennsessee.


Finally, Dan Mayland’s spy thriller, The Colonel’s Mistake, was published by Thomas & Mercer (the mystery thriller imprint of Amazon Publishing) in August. It is the story of an ex-CIA station chief who—when he agrees to help an American spy in Azerbaijan—“finds himself in the middle of a ruthless espionage war involving China, Iran and the United States.” If you’re looking for something to read, check it out…on Amazon.


Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com; Rob Crawford, 47 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com

I received almost 50 responses to my question, “In 10 words or less, what image or feeling immediately comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Dartmouth’?” Because of the volume of responses and because many respondents could not keep their reflections to 10 words and because I actually have some legitimate class news at the end of this column, I’ll publish half of the responses in the next column. Are you ready for goose bumps? Read on. Jonathan Sullivan: I imagine the Green on the beautiful autumn afternoon when I decided it was where I wanted to go to college. Ted Whittemore: Sports, snow, singing, bonfires, the Green. Wendy Whitcomb Salazar: Brisk fall nights, bonfire, tradition, friends old and new, belonging. Kyle Davis: Piercing blue, crystal clear February skies and “it’s 6 degrees on the Hanover Green today.” Seung Lee: Green. Idyllic. Brendan Mullaly: The warm embrace of a fireside blanket—supporting, comforting and familiar. Timothy Kolk: First walk across the Green, thinking “Holy crap!” Donald Hoaglin: Cross country, Native Americans at Dartmouth house, Topliff, Bema, Professor Cook, Professor Duthu. Lou Mabley: Three words: Ted House formal. Eric Hageman: The last place I could comfortably exhibit socially inappropriate behaviors (five children and many, many years ago). Peter Sommerness: Crisp fall evening, clear night sky, Baker tower shining bright. Bill Rexford: Baker tower, Occom Pond, Rip Road, stacks, basement, sport grays. Thanks, Rob, for the pleasant moment of bringing up those memories. Greg Dorr: Home. Brad Drazen: Home, friends, beauty, Green, loyalty. Ed Callaway: Other people will be far more eloquent about maple trees and snow, which are really the images that come to mind. Dartmouth Undying covered that imagery. So how about this: Phish playing to 50 people in Collis, Green Key Weekend 1987. That was a good time. It’s 11 words, but two of them are numbers. Paul Camp: Optimism and confidence that we can learn from, and positively impact, the world. Ted Carleton: Dartmouth in 10 words or less? I can’t do it. But Dartmouth fostered a certain resilience and resourcefulness which has always helped me fake it through the lean periods. Kim Lewis: Twenty-six consecutive years of bonfires with my husband, Brent Forester ’88, who has been to 28 consecutive ones. A true homecoming. Tim McAdam: SecondHand Jam. Danny Offit: What comes to mind? My freshman-year roommates Paul Simpson and Rob Crawford! Catherine Kassenoff: A warm oatmeal and hot chocolate kinda day! Drew Jones: Blue skies, dear friends, pine trees, brain food, aiming high. Thanks for asking! Gary Katz: The place my friends saved me after my dad died. Kristin Kelly Karas: Memories that still make me laugh out loud, in public! Waking each day thinking, “I’m so lucky to be here!” I could probably come up with a few hundred more 10-word phrases and none would capture the feeling! It’s magic! Mary Es Beaver: Barefoot music in grass, bonfire, laughter, best time of my life.


And now, some legitimate class news: Kal Alston has been named senior vice president for human capital development at Syracuse University. And special congratulations to Angela McConney Scheepers, Esq., who was married to the Rev. Noble F. Scheepers, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, on October 8, 2011, in Dedham, Massachusetts. In attendance were Lily Lee, Gwendolyn Pointer, Karen Euler and Sam Edandison ’10. Rev. Scheepers is the priest in charge of the Church of the Good Shepherd-Episcopal in Dedham and previously served as a priest in the Anglican diocese of Cape Town under the leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Angela is the general counsel of the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission.


Rob Crawford, 27 Roberts Road, Wellesley, MA 02481; robertlcrawford@yahoo.com; Walter Palmer, 87 South St., Rockport, MA 01966; palmerwalter@mac.com

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