As you read these notes, the Grand Canyon mini-reunion will be in a mix of celebration, exhilaration and recovery. Fifteen classmates and guests gathered at the rim, of whom eight hiked to the bottom and back. Diane and I did the same hike a couple years ago and when we arrived at the bottom, we were greeted with a small sign saying: “Down is optional; up is mandatory.” And it is a lot of up. I commend our stalwart classmates for their adventure. Other recent mini-reunion adventures have included skiing at Okemo, Vermont, which attracted 17; and the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, annual skiing event, which had 27 attend. We are a busy class! Marty Keller shared recent family news: He and Lainy spent a few weeks in Chicago and San Francisco meeting and helping out with their two latest grandchildren, Sadie and Ira (numbers 6 and 7). While in San Fran Marty visited with Bill Zarchy. Both plan to attend our 50th reunion. Marty retired in 2009 as chair of the psychiatry department, but still is in charge of academic strategic planning. He spends half the year in Florida, the other half in Westport, Massachusetts. Marty kayaks and plays golf, sometimes with Jim “Mix” McCormick during his time up north, and notes that his relatively frequent visits from and to his five children and their spouses and the grandchildren is at times more of a challenge than 18 consecutive good holes. Both sound pretty good to me! Dave Bergengren recently published a book, Hitler’s Assassin, a World War II and Cold War historical novel. I had a nice phone call with Jonathan Knowles out in Oregon. After Dartmouth he spent four years in the Navy on a guided missile destroyer. After a couple years in insurance in Los Angeles, he worked at a ski resort near Lake Tahoe, California, where he met his wife, Vida, who was a lift operator; they married in 1976. After travel to Canada, California and Washington State, Jon became general manager at a ski resort in Oregon for six years. Too little snow and too much rain closed that ski area, despite the addition of an alpine slide. He also worked as ski school director at historic Timberline Lodge, an historic Works Progress Administration project (1935 to 1937) on the slopes of Mount Hood. In 1987 Jon attended massage school and became a massage therapist, which he continues to this day. Wife Vida served as executive secretary at Timberline Lodge for 18 years, worked in public broadcasting and tutored French at Mount Hood Community College. Recent Facebook post from Dick Olson: The best car anti-theft device on the market today is manual transmission.

Keep the responses coming on our two class online surveys. The links are https://surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H and https://surveymonkey.com/r/DMKLMLB

Thanks to everyone for responses so far!

In closing, a recent quote encountered in The Wall Street Journal: “What I like in life is to do, not having done.” I hope that describes us all.

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