Class Note 1968
Richard Parker, who has been teaching at the Kennedy School of Government for the last 27 years, has been encouraging students to get hands-on political experience. He’s been working with students on an inspiring online project called Resistance School, which teaches the principles of grassroots organizing.
“We’ve now got people working in 15 presidential campaigns—some at senior levels for Harris, Sanders, Biden, Buttigieg (a Kennedy School grad), and Warren (Harvard Law)—and scores of congressional and state-level campaigns,” he reports. Richard is a senior lecturer on economic policy and religion and politics. With two sons still in school, he keeps working to pay college bills. One son has a fellowship, but the other has a $65,000 tuition bill at Colgate—mostly paid by dad. Richard suffers from retinal failure, which makes reading difficult.
A group of his students are launching Organize for Something, which will aim at community colleges. There are 1,100-plus such schools, with 13 million enrolled. “It’s a great cross-section of middle America that needs active lobbying and encouragement to vote,” he says.
Our kids are doing alright. Several ’68s—all but one from Foley House—had a mini-reunion (micro-reunion?) in Los Angeles in June. Kim Ritchie says the idea for the mini-reunion started at our 50th when a number of friends realized they all had children in the entertainment industry living in Los Angeles. So they decided to all meet so their kids could connect. Attending were Ritchie, Jim Payne, Andy Epstein, Bob Reich, John Isaacson, and Jim Donnelly. The weekend started at a theater where Kim’s son, Matthew, was performing his one-act play—Blackboxing—in the LA Fringe. It got great reviews and a number of awards. In addition, Kim reports he is still inline skating.
R. Barton Palmer, retired English professor at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, is enjoying his new job as an onboard enrichment lecturer for cruise lines Azamara and Windstar, with Oceania and Scenic in his immediate future.
Golfers Jerry Rinehart and Peggy had great trips to South Africa and Australia. Jerry reports that Mike Keiser—designer of Bandon Dunes in Oregon, which has been the site of many ’68 golf events—created sister courses on the Indian Ocean in Tasmania (Lost Farm and Barnbougle Dunes) and they’re worth the trip.
Jerry and Peggy have been retired from the University of Minnesota for six years, and Jerry has just completed a term as president of the school’s retirees association.
We’re looking forward to our mini-reunion in Hanover October 11 and 12, with the class meeting Saturday morning and then dinner at Dowd’s Country Inn after the Dartmouth-Yale game.
All classmates also are invited for a great weekend in New York on November 9 to watch the Dartmouth football team take on Princeton in Yankee Stadium. Details can be found at www.dartmouth68.org.
—Dick Olson, 1021 Nottingham Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230; rwolson68@gmail.com
