Class Note 1979
Issue
Jan-Feb 2020
With the passing of Joe “Dr. J.” Nicolosi this summer, we have lost another bright light in the ’79 constellation. We hope you’ll be able to join us to honor Joe and our 45 other deceased classmates at our traditional milestone reunion memorial service next June.
Dartmouth is rich in familiar, cherished traditions—first-year trips, Homecoming bonfire, and Winter Carnival, to name a few. A little known (and most certainly not cherished) class of 1979-specific tradition is that Billy “Bags” Mitchell and I have been running music at reunions since 2000. When our madly skilled 40th reunion co-chairs, Dawn (Hudson) Beach and Otho Kerr, set about building their team, we reflexively volunteered to lead the entertainment committee. Our pre-reunion planning was disrupted, however, when Otho asked if we’d be willing to bring two women on board to share DJ responsibilities. Being gentlemen—if not scholars—of Bones Gate, we graciously assented, only to wind up demoting ourselves to JV entertainment committee status when the dynamic rookie duo blitzed our inboxes with inventive schemes and suggestions. No shame in taking a back seat, we reasoned; “Man Smart, Woman Smarter,” after all, as you’ll surely agree upon reading the following report from the team that we have respectfully dubbed “Varsity”—Pat Pannell (formerly a first-stringer with Arista Records) and Carol (Neitz) Mondschein.
“We’ve been enjoying a busy fall with our respective families in Princeton, New Jersey, and Aiken, South Carolina, just ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ on our home fronts. We’ve been spending lots of time ‘Lately’ putting together the 40th reunion party playlists with fellow entertainment committee ‘Volunteers’ Billy Bags Mitchell and Stanley ‘Stanno’ Weil (both clearly ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’), laughing and ‘Reminiscing’ (despite a bit of ‘Amnesia’ now and again) about all the great tunes we listened to back in our ‘Glory Days’ in college, when we were ‘Oh Very Young.’ For so many ‘Reasons,’ we’re eager to ‘Escape’ to our June 18-20 ‘Weekend in New England,’ where we’ll be ‘Reelin’ In the Years’ with our beloved classmates. We still have tons of ‘Work to Do’ before setting out on ‘The Long and Winding Road’ to Hanover; barring ‘Fire and Rain,’ or whatever else Route 91N may put in our way, we expect to be ‘Stumblin’ In’ in time for Thursday night’s festivities, when we’ll be the ‘Ladies Night’ DJs of record. ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ on Friday night, when they’ll assume responsibility for serving up a second ‘Cool Night’ of ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ at our class tent. The four of us have ‘More Than a Feeling’ that our 40th will be marked by ‘Landslide’ attendance and can’t wait to ‘Let the Good Times Roll.’ So, come one, come all—even if it means having to board a big old ‘Jet Airliner’—because it’s ‘Always and Forever’ so much ‘Fun Fun Fun’ when we ’79s are ‘Reunited’!”
Have fun identifying the artists behind these song titles everyone, “One Way or Another.”
—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
Dartmouth is rich in familiar, cherished traditions—first-year trips, Homecoming bonfire, and Winter Carnival, to name a few. A little known (and most certainly not cherished) class of 1979-specific tradition is that Billy “Bags” Mitchell and I have been running music at reunions since 2000. When our madly skilled 40th reunion co-chairs, Dawn (Hudson) Beach and Otho Kerr, set about building their team, we reflexively volunteered to lead the entertainment committee. Our pre-reunion planning was disrupted, however, when Otho asked if we’d be willing to bring two women on board to share DJ responsibilities. Being gentlemen—if not scholars—of Bones Gate, we graciously assented, only to wind up demoting ourselves to JV entertainment committee status when the dynamic rookie duo blitzed our inboxes with inventive schemes and suggestions. No shame in taking a back seat, we reasoned; “Man Smart, Woman Smarter,” after all, as you’ll surely agree upon reading the following report from the team that we have respectfully dubbed “Varsity”—Pat Pannell (formerly a first-stringer with Arista Records) and Carol (Neitz) Mondschein.
“We’ve been enjoying a busy fall with our respective families in Princeton, New Jersey, and Aiken, South Carolina, just ‘Stayin’ Alive’ and ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ on our home fronts. We’ve been spending lots of time ‘Lately’ putting together the 40th reunion party playlists with fellow entertainment committee ‘Volunteers’ Billy Bags Mitchell and Stanley ‘Stanno’ Weil (both clearly ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’), laughing and ‘Reminiscing’ (despite a bit of ‘Amnesia’ now and again) about all the great tunes we listened to back in our ‘Glory Days’ in college, when we were ‘Oh Very Young.’ For so many ‘Reasons,’ we’re eager to ‘Escape’ to our June 18-20 ‘Weekend in New England,’ where we’ll be ‘Reelin’ In the Years’ with our beloved classmates. We still have tons of ‘Work to Do’ before setting out on ‘The Long and Winding Road’ to Hanover; barring ‘Fire and Rain,’ or whatever else Route 91N may put in our way, we expect to be ‘Stumblin’ In’ in time for Thursday night’s festivities, when we’ll be the ‘Ladies Night’ DJs of record. ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ on Friday night, when they’ll assume responsibility for serving up a second ‘Cool Night’ of ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ at our class tent. The four of us have ‘More Than a Feeling’ that our 40th will be marked by ‘Landslide’ attendance and can’t wait to ‘Let the Good Times Roll.’ So, come one, come all—even if it means having to board a big old ‘Jet Airliner’—because it’s ‘Always and Forever’ so much ‘Fun Fun Fun’ when we ’79s are ‘Reunited’!”
Have fun identifying the artists behind these song titles everyone, “One Way or Another.”
—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