Class Note 1979
Issue
Sept - Oct 2016
Having worked our way up Tuck Drive from the Gold Coast to Russell Sage and Hitchcock, we now turn the corner of the Mass Row cluster to gather current news and old memories from classmates who first resided in Mid Mass.
Harry Griffith says he is “doing great” and “looking forward to a busy summer.” After searching his brain for Mass Hall memories, Harry confesses “that most of those brain cells have passed on.”
Not so for Walter Elliott, whose brain cells appear to be as fresh as the day he arrived on campus. Here are some of Walter’s remembrances: “Our awe at the proximity of President Kemeny, whose car with its BASIC license plate was most mornings parked in his spot behind Parkhurst Hall across from our bedroom window; my roommate John Sewell’s ‘cool,’ with his beard and leather bag brought back from a gap year in Sweden; listening to Robert Palmer’s ‘Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley’ and ‘Man Smart, Woman Smarter’ (which we quickly learned) with my roommate Peter Bigham; Chris Wells’ [RIP] laugh and Michio Soga’s wit; Justin Aro’s Colorado bravado and Ben Schwartz’s quiet intelligence; hall hockey played late into the night.”
Scott Filler writes from Ranchos Palos Verdes, California: “My oldest daughter, Elan, just graduated from high school and will be attending the University of Southern California. Her sister, Chen, who is a member of a competitive dance team, will be starting high school in the fall. My wife, Bett, is keeping busy in her rheumatology private practice. As for me, I became the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center about two years ago. The increased administrative duties have been largely rewarding despite cutting into research time. My best memories of Middle Mass include ski races down the stairs, sitting on the stoop watching students walk to and from meals at Thayer and having barbecues out on the fire escape with you [John Currier] and Bob Glicini!”
Judy Ornstein, who lives in Plainview, New York, with her husband and two younger boys, has been teaching history and social studies to Jericho High School (JHS) students for 22 years. She remembers toilet-papering Bruce Smoller’s door and pulling other good-natured pranks on him, only to learn many years later that Bruce graduated from JHS! When Bruce was elected to the JHS Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work as a dermatopathologist, Judy fittingly sat on the committee that coordinated the event “and had a great time reconnecting with him.”
Are you ready for some football? It’s time to start getting fired up for head coach Buddy Teevens and his squad to begin their defense of last year’s Ivy League championship. Don’t forget to mark Homecoming weekend (October 28-29) vs. Harvard in your calendars. In addition to leading the parade, this will likely be our last opportunity to gather at Bill and Bray Mitchell’s legendary “Partycipatory” home that they have so generously shared with us during the past 37 years.
—Stanley Weil, 15 Peck Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549; (917) 428-0852; stanno79@gmail.com; John Currier, 82 Carpenter St., Norwich, VT 05055; (802) 649-2577; john.h.currier@dartmouth.edu
Harry Griffith says he is “doing great” and “looking forward to a busy summer.” After searching his brain for Mass Hall memories, Harry confesses “that most of those brain cells have passed on.”
Not so for Walter Elliott, whose brain cells appear to be as fresh as the day he arrived on campus. Here are some of Walter’s remembrances: “Our awe at the proximity of President Kemeny, whose car with its BASIC license plate was most mornings parked in his spot behind Parkhurst Hall across from our bedroom window; my roommate John Sewell’s ‘cool,’ with his beard and leather bag brought back from a gap year in Sweden; listening to Robert Palmer’s ‘Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley’ and ‘Man Smart, Woman Smarter’ (which we quickly learned) with my roommate Peter Bigham; Chris Wells’ [RIP] laugh and Michio Soga’s wit; Justin Aro’s Colorado bravado and Ben Schwartz’s quiet intelligence; hall hockey played late into the night.”
Scott Filler writes from Ranchos Palos Verdes, California: “My oldest daughter, Elan, just graduated from high school and will be attending the University of Southern California. Her sister, Chen, who is a member of a competitive dance team, will be starting high school in the fall. My wife, Bett, is keeping busy in her rheumatology private practice. As for me, I became the chief of the division of infectious diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center about two years ago. The increased administrative duties have been largely rewarding despite cutting into research time. My best memories of Middle Mass include ski races down the stairs, sitting on the stoop watching students walk to and from meals at Thayer and having barbecues out on the fire escape with you [John Currier] and Bob Glicini!”
Judy Ornstein, who lives in Plainview, New York, with her husband and two younger boys, has been teaching history and social studies to Jericho High School (JHS) students for 22 years. She remembers toilet-papering Bruce Smoller’s door and pulling other good-natured pranks on him, only to learn many years later that Bruce graduated from JHS! When Bruce was elected to the JHS Alumni Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work as a dermatopathologist, Judy fittingly sat on the committee that coordinated the event “and had a great time reconnecting with him.”
Are you ready for some football? It’s time to start getting fired up for head coach Buddy Teevens and his squad to begin their defense of last year’s Ivy League championship. Don’t forget to mark Homecoming weekend (October 28-29) vs. Harvard in your calendars. In addition to leading the parade, this will likely be our last opportunity to gather at Bill and Bray Mitchell’s legendary “Partycipatory” home that they have so generously shared with us during the past 37 years.
—Stanley Weil, 15 Peck Road, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549; (917) 428-0852; stanno79@gmail.com; John Currier, 82 Carpenter St., Norwich, VT 05055; (802) 649-2577; john.h.currier@dartmouth.edu