Class Note 1978

Alessandra Gelmi writes: “Just wanted to alert you to my most recently published book, Amazing Graces: An Anthology of Washington Women Fiction Writers, release date January 8. Published by Paycock Press.” The launch party was held at Politics and Prose, one of the last (and best) independent bookstores in the District of Columbia. And speaking (well, writing) of books, Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, recently came out with The Impossible Collection of Fashion, an authoritative examination of the 100 most iconic dresses of the 20th century. 


And on the subject of class authors, Mike Urban sent this update to the College: “My wife, Elizabeth Cronin ’77, and I live in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with our daughter Jane, a sophomore at MassArt, and our Portuguese water dog Ziggy (a cousin to Bo Obama; they have the same grandfather; Ziggy is a Republican). My first novel, Drake’s Coffin, available as an ebook on amazon.com, is the rousing adventure tale of a search for lost treasure in the jungle of Panama. It features rich history, exotic locales, fascinating characters.” Not unlike the class of ’78!


To wit, John Kemp Lee sent in the following news about David Hall: “A gold Moche monkey head was returned recently to the government of Peru by the United States. The Moche culture flourished in Peru from the first through eighth centuries AD. Moche nobility were buried in tombs with important symbols of power, often made of gold. Due to the dry climate, the bodies and artifacts have been preserved through the years. In the late 1980s tomb raiders descended on the sites, looking for gold. They found it, including the gold monkey head (circa 300 AD). The monkey head ended up in a private collection in the United States, after which it was returned to Peru. This matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hall, who has an extensive history in handling cases involving ancient artifacts,who became involved in the investigation in 2007 in his capacity as special prosecutor, FBI art crime team.”


Class pres Dave Graham passed on this query: “My name is Ben Hill-Lam. My mom was Robin Hill, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1978 and passed away in March of 2000. I was wondering if anyone in the class of 1978 knew her or had any pictures of her and friends. It would mean a lot to me, as I am currently studying at Dartmouth and I have often found myself wondering what she enjoyed and did at Dartmouth.” Regardless of your class (for you ’75s through ’81s perusing this) please e-mail Ben at benjamin.w.hill-lam.ug@dartmouth.edu if you have anything to share. 


My next deadline for submitting class notes to the Alumni Magazine is 28 April. If the rites of spring have struck, send me a note. I also take phone calls and paper mail.


—Dave Hov, 6742 Towne Lane Road, McLean, VA 22101; (571) 643-8040; davidthov@gmail.com