Congratulations are in order (again) for Pete Bleyler, who has been nominated by the Association of Alumni nominating committee to be its candidate for second vice president for the 2013-14 fiscal year. Since there is no petition candidate running against him, it appears reasonably certain that Pete will win. However, be sure to vote if you have not already done so and the voting period is still open, so that Pete’s vote tally will look strong. As most of you are already aware, Pete has represented our class very well throughout the years, from class president to recipient of Dartmouth’s Alumni Award–with a lot sandwiched between the two, including becoming the lead person in organizing the Special Olympics winter games at Dartmouth. Too bad Pete is not getting any younger!


I now want to relate to you a story that really describes what our class is all about and illustrates how we all care for each other as brothers, or at least stepbrothers. Last fall Hurricane Sandy tore through portions of New York and New Jersey, with parts of the south shore of Long Island receiving a particularly severe pounding. Well, we have a classmate from New Orleans, Ken Kolb, who spent more than a week trying to reach me by telephone and by e-mail to see how my family and I were coping and to offer some first-hand commiseration and survival advice, based on his experience coping with the several hurricanes that have hit New Orleans during the past decade or so. He and his wife, Pani, thought that we lived in a direct-hit or flooded area (fortunately, we did not), and he was concerned enough to follow up on a persistent basis until he was able to reach us. (We lost power for two weeks and eventually had to move out of our home for about 11 days, so it became difficult for anyone to reach us for a while.) Ken and I have never been close friends, so what this simple gesture illustrates is that our classmates, now out of school for more than 50 years, really care about each other. The aforementioned is just one small illustration. The class’ and specific classmates’ assistance to Pete Synott during his extended period of need and to Cleve Carney during his current period of need, actually illustrate the same concept to an even far greater degree—and I’m sure that there have been many other similar situations.


Mark your calendars that our class fall mini-reunion is scheduled for October 11-13, which this year coincides with Dartmouth’s Homecoming Weekend. The football game that weekend is against Yale. With Dartmouth’s football team improving each year, we should expect an exciting game. While Maynard Wheeler,our at-home mini-reunion chair, cannot guarantee a football win, he can (and does) guarantee us a great event-packed weekend. To see the class schedule and make reservations, go to the ’61 website (www.dartmouth.org/class/61). If any questions: E-mail Maynard at (mbwheeler61@alum.dartmouth.org) or call him at (603) 863-3206.


—Victor S. Rich, 5 Red Ground Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568; victor.rich@rsmi.com