So this is a “Turning 50” issue, a.k.a. “middle age.” But by my account demographically, 50 is the new 35. A century ago the average American 35-year-old was 15 years into home ownership, was raising a teenager and had about 33 more years to live. Our class seems to be living happily and with high élan, whatever our new life expectancy. From east to west we include the following.


From New York, Robert Douglass “would like to let my classmates know that I became a father. Robert R. Douglass III was born to Whitney and me on December 17, 2013, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. After screaming off one pound he has since gained five more and is now punching at a solid 11 pounds. Everyone is happy and healthy and we wish the same for all of our ’86 friends.” Robert helps run Douglass Winthrop, a firm he co-founded in late 1999. He manages money for individuals, family trusts and endowments.


Bruce Coffey reports that 15 ’86 Alpha Chi Alpha (AXA) brothers gathered for a 25-year reunion in New Orleans over Super Bowl weekend. “We ate well—Mahoney’s, Basin, Cochon Butcher and Antoine’s—and stayed up as late as we could every night (morning). We listened to a great local brass-funk outfit Bonerama—highlighted by a 12-minute adaptation of ‘Whipping Post’ (with three trombones!)—that captivated the classic rock heads present. On Super Sunday we were hosted by two AXA ’88s, Dave Abramson and Jimmy Roussell. Kevin Sankey, who traveled to New Jersey on Sunday for the Broncos debacle—has not been heard from since the first quarter.” Present were Mike McTernan, Peter Gibson, Tom Berry, Brad Holt, Scott Rabschnuk, Kevin Sankey, Keith Hauser, Geoff Parker, Sean Murphy, Tom Carhart, Pat Rowan, D. Valentine, Rob Balas, Mike Poloukhine and Bruce. Photos are at www.dartmouth86.org.


In Cincinnati, Ohio, Pamela Taylor is now working for Price Hill Will as community outreach coordinator, doing marketing, fundraising, media relations and social media. “We focus on housing, economic redevelopment and community engagement through the arts and healthy living (community gardens, walking clubs). I got remarried last year to Doug Schmidt, a Cincinnati native, and we have six kids between us. I’m also serving as imam for the Muslims for Progressive Values Unity Mosque in Columbus, Ohio.”


From Seattle Kim Clausen McDermott writes: “I’ve enjoyed many fun ski days with family and friends. Missing from our home is my daughter Cassidy, a Dartmouth ’17! She takes full advantage of Dartmouth winter activities, having participated in the polar bear plunge (through an ice hole in Occom Pond—I don’t remember that happening back in 1986), the human dogsled races of Winter Carnival and skiing at the Skiway. I am a pediatrician at a local community health center and will soon be teaching an online course for the first time through Arizona State University on integrated behavioral health. 


Nitza Delgado Hollinger has been in Alaska the past few years. She’s raising two boys while fighting illness in “the fast frontier.” And since I just made it to Alaska, I’ll add: Mark Greenstein skied in 13 U.S. states this season, two Canadian provinces and five European countries—his first time in the Alps. He semi-cheated by adding Liechtenstein, a country smaller than his hometown. “I was driving through at 2 a.m., stopped in their capital ‘city’ and hiked up a hill then snowboarded down. There are no true ski areas in Liechtenstein. Indeed there’s not much in Liechtenstein, period. Two exits and you are back in Switzerland.” Yet, Liechtenstein has won nine Winter Olympic medals, more than Denmark, Spain, Romania and (pre-breakup) Yugoslavia combined.


—Mark Greenstein, 107 Senn Road, Newington, CT 06111; msg@ivybound.net; Davida Dinerman, 12 Kings Row, Ashland, MA 01721; (508) 231-8813; davida@dinerman.com