April 3 a ’56 group met in Washington, D.C., for a class 80th birthday celebration. Al Friedman reports: “After a private buffet dinner Tom Rosenwald recounted comic comments on turning 80, and I moderated a discussion on longevity and quality of life. The next day highlighted a morning bus tour to Mount Vernon and afternoon visiting war memorials in D.C. Saturday John (Mickey) Bloomfield, docent at the Library of Congress, surprised us with a private tour of the Thomas Jefferson building. That evening we boarded a private riverboat for a dinner-dance, including magnificent sunset and spectacular fireworks. Dinner was capped off with a tasty 80th birthday cake. Attendees included Tom and Barbara Bechler, Ted and Nancy Bremble, John and Barbara Bloomfield, Don Dillon and Mary Thormeyer, Sid and Suzanne Devorsetz, Todd Driscoll and Anne Simpson, Warren and Judy Fellingham, Alan and Diane Friedman, Tom and Sandy Harper, Woody and Marion Gray, Bob Grossman, Karen Merrels, Tom and Abbey Rosenwald, Buddy and Rhona Schattman, Bob and Lyn Slater, Russell and Nancy Smith, Frank and Sarah Terhune, Bert Whittemore, and John and Jackie Yassin.”


The Barbary Coast Jazz Band now plays in honor of Dennis Minely, who passed away in March. The funeral procession rounds the Green as all surviving classmates bow their heads.


Bruce Sloane ’57, class secretary, calls attention to a blurb in his column about skiers Tony Carlton and Dick Perkins ’57 with access to a short video. I close with the sixth stanza of a poetic limerick titled “Skiing Free”:


“As I carve a wide turn past a tree,


Not a thought in my head but to ski;


Ultimate in distraction,


Such deep satisfaction,


The joy of a day skiing free.”


—Joel D. Ash, P.O. Box 1733, Grantham, NH 03753; (603) 863-3360; joel@poeticlimericks.com