Class Note 1966

By unofficial count, about 114 members of our class have had children attend Dartmouth, about 15 percent of our class. Our latest Dartmouth parents are Rachael and Bruce Petrie, whose son, Charles, has come across the pond from Lincolnshire, England, to become a member of Class of 2022. A third-generation Big Greener (grandfather was James Petrie ’33), freshman Charles is already a stalwart on the Dartmouth golf team. The Petries have twice the incentive to visit the states—Charles’ twin, George, is a freshman at Rutgers.

Dr. Gene Nattie has been “fully retired income-wise” since November 2017 but continues to help teach at the Dartmouth Medical School (cardiovascular and respiratory physiology and physiology in the ICU) as well as do admissions interviews. “No more research, except as a consultant, so no grants, papers, committees,” Gene reports. Wife Candace continues as a school nurse at Hanover High School. Gene’s now into reading mysteries, golf, gym, walks, and their four (maybe five when you read this) grandchildren within a three-hour drive.

The popularity of the class’ 66th Night informal mini-reunions held on or about March 7 each year continues to grow. This year 121 classmates and more than 70 partners and guests convened at a record 26 locations in 21 states, D.C., and England. Largest gatherings were in Hanover and the San Francisco Bay Area, with three held in retirement-friendly Florida. Class treasurer Bob Serenbetz managed to attend two celebrations (South Carolina and Vero Beach, Florida) and the youngest participant was Ben Day’s 19-month-old grandson, Jonas, possibly class of 2038, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Tom Brady and Saleh Jabarin were among those who attended 66th Night in Toledo, Ohio. Their paths have been linked since graduation. Both earned Ph.D.s (Tom in materials science/polymers from Michigan and Saleh in polymer science from UMass) and both were hired by Owens-Illinois (O-I), sitting almost back-to-back in the plastics research and development (R&D) center.

It was the dawn of large-size soda plastic packaging. Saleh led the O-I materials development project and team, and Tom led the process and manufacturing team that developed the technology for making the first plastic 1- and 2-liter carbonated soft drink containers for Coke and Pepsi. When glassmaker O-I balked at fully committing to plastic packaging in the mid-80s, Tom left O-I to found Plastic Technologies Inc., which for 35 years has been one of the world’s leading plastic packaging developers, and Saleh left to found the Polymer Institute at the University of Toledo, which is now recognized as one of the leading plastics R&D institutes in the country.

The indefatigable Chuck Sherman, former class webmaster and president, has organized 66th Night for the past five years and is moving on. “Dartmouth alumni are bonded to their institution more than alumni of other colleges and universities,” Chuck observes, “and our class has developed a stronger bond than most other Dartmouth classes; 66th Night’s success has built on that strength. In our retirement years these friendships become even more important.”

Chuck also is concluding his two-year term as president of the Dartmouth Club of the Upper Valley. “With time on my hands,” Chuck predicts, “I may just pick blueberries, be a granddaddy, or cross some destinations off my bucket list.”

—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com