Class Note 1984
In early March the Dartmouth Club of the Vail hosted Winter CarniVail, its annual weekend in which alumni gather to participate in winter activities, cocktail parties and symposia. Concurrently (and not to be outdone) I too host an annual mini-reunion affectionately known as “the annual boys ski trip” in which fellow ’84s stay at my home in Vail. My gathering also features skiing and cocktails but our symposia consisted of spirited discussions on solving current major issues. Not healthcare and nuclear disarmament, but rather how to navigate YouTube, snoring solutions and hair removal from one’s back. Among the attendees this year was Dr. Richard Jelsma, an orthopedic surgeon in suburban Dallas. He gave each of us annual physicals, checking knees, hips and shoulders. He also wrote prescriptions for Lipitor, Rogaine and Cialis. Also Tom Parker, director of global IT for Gypsii, a social networking website, who lives in Bolton. Perhaps his social skills helped wrangle that extra bottle of Caymus at Terra Bistro for no charge. Or maybe it was Ray Wood’s persuasive negotiating—dealmaker that he is. In the real world Woody is a leading alternative energy investment banker for Credit Suisse and is “living the dream in Jersey” (if that’s possible). Ford Allen came in from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he owns an insurance company. Having not skied since a high school trip to the Poconos in Pennsylvania, Ford kept a very low profile on the slopes. We later learned that his 11-year-old son Case schooled him all over the mountain. David Carlson flew in after a stop in Deer Valley, Utah, to join us. I’m hoping he’ll send tasteful photos, as he did for the 25th reunion. When not jetting to desirable ski destinations David works for Merrill Lynch in Bolton, Massachusetts. Marc Devorsetz arrived from New York City just in time to see his Syracuse Orangemen basketball team begin its long, slow slide to mediocrity. Just like the Knicks. And the New York Giants. I hope the Yankees are next. Marc works for Juniper Capital in the city, where he and his wife, Betsy, are raising two great kids. Dr. Albert Chaker attended from Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he’s still burning jet fuel on taxpayers’ dollars, occasionally seeing patients as payback as a naval flight surgeon. Albert’s best advice from the trip: “Don’t eat the undercooked $12 hamburger at Two Elks Lodge.” You don’t need medical training to imagine what that might do to your system at 10,000 feet. Albert likes to ski slowly, but at least he didn’t fall off the mountain onto his face as he did at Moosilauke during the reunion last summer. While having lunch in Vail’s back bowls during the weekend I randomly bumped into John Isaacson and his wife, Linda Tuck Isaacson, visiting from faraway Maine. Ike told me he was there for an annual ski trip with his extended family. They looked happy and healthy—must have avoided the aforementioned expensive hamburger.
Later in the ski season Jan and I had the pleasure of hosting Caroline Bergman Gottschalk at our Vail home as well. She stopped in with her husband, Michael, son Benjamin and daughter Julia on their way home from a ski trip to Snowmass. Caroline is a law partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and lives in New York City. Judging by her board game skills she must play Scrabble more than she reads depositions.
Lastly, you will be hearing more about the Memorial Day weekend dedication of the Class of 1984 Moosilauke Cru Cabin involving many ’84s. Visit dartmouth84.org/moosilauke. Happy summer, everyone—and think snow!
—Jan Gordon and Derek Chow, 132 Wildcat Lane, Boulder, CO 80304; (303) 448-1580; janandderek@comcast.net
