Class Note 1985
I have a vague sense of how that famous Wide World of Sports ski jumper must have felt being the juxtaposition to “the thrill of victory!” Nothing has happened to me – I am very much okay, and so is most everyone and everything around me. However, feeling like we hit the ball out of the park with our last two class columns given the great news out of our 25th reunion, the spigot has dried up again to barely a trickle. Ah, “the agony of….”
No, wait! Do not give up hope yet. Just in the nick of time—deadline time, that is—we have been spared the humiliation of an empty news column. We received a last minute news lifeline courtesy of our classmate Michelle Duster (thank you!). Michelle shares the news of her walk down the aisle to tie the knot with fellow Chicago resident Barry Coleman in Delavan, Wisconsin, on September 25, 2010. A large cast of fellow Dartmouth alums witnessed their joyous celebration, including classmates Sophie Folly, Sonia Reece Myrick, Ernestine Yuille Weaver, Veronica Jenkins and Karyn Marsh.
Give a rouse! By way of further update, Michelle has written and published two books that include the original writings of her great-grandmother—journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells. She also gives speeches to universities, churches, museums and other organizations about the work her ancestor did and how individuals today can make an impact on the world by following their passion. Very neat stuff and you can check out more about Michelle and her passions at www.mldwrites.com.
Since her days on the Hanover Plain, Allison Shutz Moskow,husband, Keith ’83 and their growing brood of Zac (19), Jake (16) and Ava (3 1/2) have enjoyed living in a variety of places, from New York City to Santa Monica to Boston and several of its suburbs. Disproving that common adage that you can’t go home again, the Upper Valley is home once again to the Moskow clan, in more ways than one.
Allison and Keith have recently planted roots on a beautiful farm in Norwich, Vermont, quite nearby longtime Norwich residents and classmates Jenny Archibald Williams and Tiger Shaw.With youngest daughter Ava keeping them very busy on the daily home front, Jake in high school nearby in Massachusetts and Zac matriculated this past fall at Dartmouth in the class of 2014, I think it is fair to say that this may well be one of their more permanent stops! And given Hanover’s recent designation as one of the top 25 places to retire to in America, there may be more folks heading their way (although when a friend of mine sent that Hanover factoid to her daughter—also a ’14—her daughter promptly e-mailed back: “Don’t even think about moving up here!”).
I used to think I was pretty resilient, and not just because I went to Dartmouth. But that story of those 33 Chilean miners trapped for 69 days 2,000 feet underground completely altered my perspective on what it means to persevere and “dig deep” (no pun intended). So, while our column has no comparison (or even relevance) to that incredible rescue, we will remain optimistic that the sensational thrill of victory will return to us yet again as each of you digs deep into your untapped databank to help us create ever more interesting columns, bursting with information! Even if it just seems like the same old-same old to you, it will be news to your classmates so send it along!
All the best to all of you!
—Leslie A. Davis Dahl, 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com; John MacManus, 188 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com
