In early February Dartmouth made the difficult decision to call off in-person reunions for this year, due to continued health and safety concerns surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. Our 35th cluster reunion with the classes of ’85 and ’86 is now rescheduled for 2025. “Safety for alumni, friends, and their families will continue to be the No. 1 priority,” Tim Parker, our 35th reunion chair, said. “While there is nothing like being on campus for our traditional jam-packed weekend, the reunion committee and I are discussing alternative programming that remains true to our reunion theme, ‘The Spell on Us Remains: Apart, Yet Connected.’ ” Tim pledges to communicate regularly with the class via these Class Notes, the newsletter, and our Facebook page. “While plans are still in the making, please stay safe, healthy, and connected,” Tim urged.

Michele Rivard and I did our part to stay connected in January, when we attended a virtual professional flower arrangement class sponsored by the Boston chapter of Women of Dartmouth. With programming open to all alumnae, Women of Dartmouth’s mission is to connect Dartmouth women around the globe to celebrate, enrich, and inspire one another and the College. Michele and I each received fresh flowers and a vase the day before the event and then enjoyed hands-on instruction via Zoom. Not only did all of us attendees learn something new and end up with a beautiful hydrangea, spray rose, thistle, and pine arrangement, but Michele and I also met several alumnae in the subsequent breakout rooms, one of whom was the older sibling of one of our Kappa Alpha Theta sisters. So fun!

Learning a bit about novice flower arranging is one thing; studying to become a certified wine expert is another. After passing the notoriously rigorous exam—which often has as low as a 50-percent pass rate—Stephanie “Stevie” Losee is now a certified specialist of wine, a certification granted by the Society of Wine Educators. According to the website, the certified specialist of wine exam “tests a candidate’s wine knowledge and mastery of key elements within the worlds of viticulture and wine production” and the certification itself is widely recognized and regarded by the international wine and spirits industry. “It’s been a 10-year journey,” Stevie said in her February Facebook post announcing her hard-earned accomplishment. “I’ve had to reschedule the exam three times because of job changes. But now my certificate and pin are in the mail!” Now I know of two wine aficionados in our class, Stevie and Meg (Houston) Maker. Anyone else out there? Let me know!

—Laura Gasser, 746 17th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121; marcklaurag@aol.com