A glorious reunion in Hanover, with friendships made or renewed, rich with conversations of marriages old and new, of children and grandchildren arrived or hoped for, and of retirement embraced or avoided. Ninety-eight classmates attended at least part of the weekend, and counting our guests more than 169 were part of the reunion.
Highlights of the weekend are nearly too many to mention: luncheon at Helen and Peter Fahey’s house, where we met our new president, Phil Hanlon; the memorial service at Rollins Chapel led by John Isaacson and David Peck; our joint reception and dinner with the class of 1969; the Flagrant Neglect concert in Collis (see below); a broad menu of topical lectures and discussion groups, including a medical issues seminar co-led by Kevin O’Donnell; our final class dinner in Alumni Hall with guest athletic director Harry Sheehey. We did have a class meeting, and selected officers for the next five years, with Peter Fahey as president, John Isaacson as vice president and many others reelected to continue their service. Check out the class meeting details on the website. Special thanks to John Engelman and Dave Walden for their hard work in organizing and managing the reunion. So many great stories throughout the reunion, of which I heard a few from my own corner of the tent. They included David Williams and Fred Martin’s visit to Mount Holyoke long ago, announcing themselves over the dorm intercom as representatives of the Dartmouth Coeducation Committee, and having more than 100 Holyoke women come down to greet them. One of the greatest pickup lines I’ve ever heard. Patti and Steve Calvert’s first date included driving around in an old hearse (belonging to Steve’s band, the Night Watchmen). Tony Dambrava celebrated his birthday during the reunion, and recalled how he abruptly “retired” from the Army in Vietnam, thanks to a single shot to the neck (fortunately it didn’t affect his singing voice!). Rick Pabst breeds horses in Washington State, and is considering breeding marijuana, which is now legal in the state. We all listened and danced to the Flagrant Neglect, a band of ’68s and ’69s gathered for the reunion and organized by our own class Peter Pan (the boy who never grew up), Peter Wonson, and including Steve Calverton guitar, with John Maxfield on keyboard, Peter Christianson on trumpet and David Williams on sax and synthesizer. Gene Mackles and Rich Olin also contributed. Doo-wop vocals provided by Greg Marshall and David Peck. And we heard from classmates about their own Flagrant Neglects (flags) earned through their academic underachievement, now fondly remembered (but certainly not then!). Greg, David and Dan Tom also sang with a ’69 doo-wop group later in the weekend. Watch for more detail in a future class newsletter. And don’t forget upcoming mini-reunions, the first (of many) the weekend of October 12 in Hanover, for the Yale game. In closing, sad news to share: Larry Hall and John Jewett have both passed away recently. Details in the obituary section of the alumni magazine website.
—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com
