This past July our class had another Class Connections event with the class of 2018, joining them for a barbeque luncheon on the terrace of Collis. Representing the ’68s were John Engelman, John Lazarus, Dave Walden, John Everett, Roger Witten, Bill Clark, Jill and John Preotle and Adele and Dan Hedges. One nice piece of news: The Hedges are building a new house on Route 10, just north of Hanover, overlooking the Connecticut River. I expect it will have as low a carbon footprint as their house in Texas. September, of course, saw our class 70th birthday out in Napa Valley, California, which welcomed more than 35 classmates and 40 guests, for a total of more than 75; we can no longer call events like this a mini-reunion! Watch for a full report in a future newsletter and on the website. Also in late September, Steve Calvert’s play, The Florists, had two staged readings in White River Junction, Vermont. Such readings are the last step in a play’s development before marketing. Steve thanks Greg Marshall for introducing him to playwriting 10 years ago and Pete Wonson for his editorial savvy. Other assorted news, by email or Facebook: Fred Wolf, a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, has been named chairman of the board of trustees of Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital; Fred has been involved with the hospital and its predecessor institution since 1978, when he began as a board member. Betsy and Cedric Kam shared several happy transitions. Betsy retired in 2015 from the New England Conservatory, where she was assistant director of financial aid, and Cedric retired at the end of this September from his job with HUD. He noted that he has served under five presidents, including every administration since Jimmy Carter (except George H.W. Bush). Cedric is “pleased to note that my 40-plus-year career as a professional city planner overlaps with the resurgence of urban America.” They are looking forward to rehabbing their cottage on Cape Cod and spending more time with their two grandchildren. Our own class Ironman (and treasurer/webmaster) Jim Lawrie swam the 2.7-mile length of Donner Lake in California, swimming in the Open Water championship. He finished fourth in his age group, only 33 seconds out of second place. He swam right below Dave Stanley’s porch overlooking the lake, though Dave wasn’t there. Gerry Bell’s postings are always good reading: His latest reporting some headscratchingly, comically poor customer service at Staples. His postings alone are worth joining Facebook. Still time to join classmates in Hanover for the Homecoming mini-reunion during the weekend of October 29-30. Executive committee meets at 10 a.m. (all classmates and friends welcome), followed by tailgating and the football game against Harvard (always fun). Maybe this will be the year! Saturday dinner details being developed; watch our class website. We still are collecting feedback on our two class online surveys: surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H and surveymonkey.com/r/DMKLMLB. And of course, please use e- or snail mail—always thirsty for news. Thanks!

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com