Class of 1959

Tip Putnam sent some news: “Life in Hilton Head, South Carolina, is the same as Buffalo, New York, with four inches of snow this morning. I had to call off my neighborhood pool party and get out my push broom to clear a path to my mailbox (empty) and try to figure out how to light a fire in my never-used-before fireplace. My wife tossed my skates, so I can’t enjoy the weather’s sudden change. Things here are otherwise great. The pandemic has gone. I gave up volunteering at the local free clinic at the insistence of my family. Our clinic manager, much younger and healthier, got Covid and passed away. I had the last replaceable joint in my legs reengineered a year ago right after laminectomies in my lumbar spine. I have more scar tissue than normal skin. I have not seen any classmates in ages. Moose Morton came through with a group to play golf a few years ago. Moose looked 20 years younger than I and wouldn’t tell me his secret. I run into Mike Hellman, who lives here, from time to time.”

I had a nice phone call from Peter Strock. Peter came to Dartmouth from the Boston Latin School and matriculated in our class only to leave after our junior year to work for Time magazine’s editorial department. He then completed a doctorate in dentistry in Cleveland, an internship in oral surgery, a period of academic teaching and research, and then dental practice. Currently, he and his wife, Saralea, are retired and living near Wellesley College, where he is auditing undergraduate courses. He is especially impressed by the intelligence and vigor of the young women in his classes as they ponder how to create a fair society balancing individual rights and community needs. Peter asked what I know about Tom Bracket and Rob Brown. If I don’t hear from them, I’ll call them next month.

Also note that several classmates died in 2024: Peter Vultee February 26, Robert Davidow March 17, Bertrand Pineau-Valenciennes April 4, John Davis, April 9, John Payne April 23, Richard Warden May 14, George Shipley Jr. May 23, and John Baldwin May 26. There may be more as we try to catch up; the last we heard about was John Hessler, who died in February.

—Stu Hanson, 3663 Park Center Blvd., #313, Minneapolis, MN 55416; (612) 655-4434; ashanson55@msn.com