Class Note 1956
Issue
Classmates who fondly remember Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s classes will be pleased to learn of the recent publication of Beyond Belief by Clinton C. Gardner ’44, a new friend and resident of Norwich, Vermont. It’s an examination of this popular professor’s work as an expression of Christianity’s new paradigm. In this week’s mail our classmate Norman Fiering encouraged me to invite these same classmates to join the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Society of North America. Learn more via norman_fiering@brown.edu.
Sophomore summer Family Weekend in late July brought Tex Fridlund, Sonja and Jon Strong and me to Collis Hall for the unveiling of a beautiful quilt that dramatically underscores the connections between members of the Dartmouth family. Clem Malin, who asked us to represent the class, reports, “The story of the quilt for Dartmouth began tragically in July 2007 in Cheshire, Connecticut. In a brutal robbery-murder the wife and the two daughters of William Pettit ’78 died in their home. Although seriously injured, Bill survived. The older daughter, Hayley, was to have entered Dartmouth in the class of 2011 in September of 2007. Moved by the tragic circumstances, the College enrolled Hayley in the class.
“At the same time, Forrest Rice from the State of Washington was enrolled as a member of the class of 2011, encouraged and supported by Sam Fry, a career diplomat and educator living in Olympia, Washington. Forrest’s mother, Ellen, already impressed by Dartmouth and the dedication to service of its students, was particularly moved by the death of Hayley and her service contribution in high school. Ellen determined to honor and celebrate the ‘heart of service’ that Hayley and Dartmouth students offer and represent.”
Jack Crowley, who labored to make Ellen Rice’s quilt available to the College, described the 6-by-8-foot rendition of Dartmouth Hall against a blue starry background as “absolutely stunning!” It will remind the Dartmouth community of the ultimate purpose of education, that of service to others.
Sadly, Sam Fry did not live long enough to see the finished quilt, as he died in the fall of 2008. He and his wife, Louise, encouraged Ellen Rice to the end. The class of ’56 honors Sam, “an extraordinary guy” and his contributions to the quilt project with our support of bringing it to the College. With the consent of Mrs. Rice, the College has given the quilt to Hayley’s father, a sign of its embrace of a dedicated Dartmouth family.
Cliff Allen sent me the wonderful news that on July 18 he was married to Anita Dignam at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hilton Head, South Carolina. Congratulations and best wishes can be sent to anitaandcliff@aol.com.
Buddy Schattman is at work locating all of our previous Class of ’56 Scholars in an effort to build upon the connections begun while they were undergraduates.
—R. Stewart Wood Jr., P.O. Box 968, Quechee, VT 05059-0968; (802) 295-8912; stewwood@aol.com
Nov - Dec 2009
Classmates who fondly remember Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s classes will be pleased to learn of the recent publication of Beyond Belief by Clinton C. Gardner ’44, a new friend and resident of Norwich, Vermont. It’s an examination of this popular professor’s work as an expression of Christianity’s new paradigm. In this week’s mail our classmate Norman Fiering encouraged me to invite these same classmates to join the Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy Society of North America. Learn more via norman_fiering@brown.edu.
Sophomore summer Family Weekend in late July brought Tex Fridlund, Sonja and Jon Strong and me to Collis Hall for the unveiling of a beautiful quilt that dramatically underscores the connections between members of the Dartmouth family. Clem Malin, who asked us to represent the class, reports, “The story of the quilt for Dartmouth began tragically in July 2007 in Cheshire, Connecticut. In a brutal robbery-murder the wife and the two daughters of William Pettit ’78 died in their home. Although seriously injured, Bill survived. The older daughter, Hayley, was to have entered Dartmouth in the class of 2011 in September of 2007. Moved by the tragic circumstances, the College enrolled Hayley in the class.
“At the same time, Forrest Rice from the State of Washington was enrolled as a member of the class of 2011, encouraged and supported by Sam Fry, a career diplomat and educator living in Olympia, Washington. Forrest’s mother, Ellen, already impressed by Dartmouth and the dedication to service of its students, was particularly moved by the death of Hayley and her service contribution in high school. Ellen determined to honor and celebrate the ‘heart of service’ that Hayley and Dartmouth students offer and represent.”
Jack Crowley, who labored to make Ellen Rice’s quilt available to the College, described the 6-by-8-foot rendition of Dartmouth Hall against a blue starry background as “absolutely stunning!” It will remind the Dartmouth community of the ultimate purpose of education, that of service to others.
Sadly, Sam Fry did not live long enough to see the finished quilt, as he died in the fall of 2008. He and his wife, Louise, encouraged Ellen Rice to the end. The class of ’56 honors Sam, “an extraordinary guy” and his contributions to the quilt project with our support of bringing it to the College. With the consent of Mrs. Rice, the College has given the quilt to Hayley’s father, a sign of its embrace of a dedicated Dartmouth family.
Cliff Allen sent me the wonderful news that on July 18 he was married to Anita Dignam at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hilton Head, South Carolina. Congratulations and best wishes can be sent to anitaandcliff@aol.com.
Buddy Schattman is at work locating all of our previous Class of ’56 Scholars in an effort to build upon the connections begun while they were undergraduates.
—R. Stewart Wood Jr., P.O. Box 968, Quechee, VT 05059-0968; (802) 295-8912; stewwood@aol.com