Class Note 1980
Issue
January-February 2026
Class Note 1980. When I remember 2025, the positive recollections will be few. The birth of a second grandson tops the list. Second is the 45th reunion. The negative list is longer but shares a certain theme.
As for the reunion, how good it was to be back home again just spending time with you. First thing, I ran into Geoff Edelson walking downtown—I would know him anywhere. In no particular order except alphabetical, I reconnected with Merle Adelman, the hardest working volunteer that Dartmouth has ever known; Mark Alperin, quietly ready with a wry comment and a smile to match; Kal Alston,welcoming everyone with a hearty laugh; and Cami Bilger, a voyager who has sailed from Buffalo, New York, to Charleston, South Carolina, to Los Altos, California.
Friday morning, Mike Wall and Mary Ann Carolan skillfully guided the interactive discussion “Reimaging Ourselves.” What could have been so much navel gazing was a time for brave and honest reflection. We laughed and cried.
Saturday morning during the memorial service I shared that my dear friend, Carol Burns, labels my humor as juvenile. Maybe sometimes. Lunch on the Green was hot, but we moved our tables under the trees by North Main Street. I broke bread with Martin Boles, head of school at The Camino School in Irvine, California. To be head of school requires bravery. Steve Brooks, freshman year roommate, travel companion during our language study abroad, and best man at my wedding, was my trusted companion throughout the weekend.
I jokingly recalled with Susan Fagerstrom the reunion when my daughter, who had mysteriously and horrifyingly memorized the words and choreography to Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” performed as if no one were watching when the tent DJ played the music. Debo Hart remembered with me living across the hall from one another in Russell Sage during senior year. Ellen Webb still wonders if I have joined the Southern aristocracy or become a thorn in its side.
Roy Johnson, Leigh Limbach Johnson, and Emily Vitale rounded out the team from Hitchcock during 1976-77.
Kate Laud is the mother of three comics, and they still like being together. Todd Young again makes the short list for most unchanged. J.C. Stahl remains unchallenged for having the youngest child. Tom Marek, looking youthful and 30 pounds lighter than in 1980, advises against bread, sugar, and alcohol. An energetic Ed Sloan had similar advice. I heard the advice but have not heeded it.
Steve Smith,Mark Webb, and others promptly organized a crowded meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss responses to this time in the life of our nation. The room was full of hope and anxiety—and that was last June!
Meg Coughlin LePage was a calm and kind presence. Similarly, John Coco was good for a listening ear, an encouraging word, and a hearty laugh. If lost in the wilds of Vermont, hope John finds you.
Go easy on the bread, sugar, and alcohol so there is a next time.
—Wade Herring, P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412; (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com;Kal Alston, 948 Euclid Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210; alstonkal@gmail.com; Jennifer W. DesCombes, 256 W 7th St., Claremont, CA 91711; (909) 921-3402; jennifer.descombes@gmail.com
As for the reunion, how good it was to be back home again just spending time with you. First thing, I ran into Geoff Edelson walking downtown—I would know him anywhere. In no particular order except alphabetical, I reconnected with Merle Adelman, the hardest working volunteer that Dartmouth has ever known; Mark Alperin, quietly ready with a wry comment and a smile to match; Kal Alston,welcoming everyone with a hearty laugh; and Cami Bilger, a voyager who has sailed from Buffalo, New York, to Charleston, South Carolina, to Los Altos, California.
Friday morning, Mike Wall and Mary Ann Carolan skillfully guided the interactive discussion “Reimaging Ourselves.” What could have been so much navel gazing was a time for brave and honest reflection. We laughed and cried.
Saturday morning during the memorial service I shared that my dear friend, Carol Burns, labels my humor as juvenile. Maybe sometimes. Lunch on the Green was hot, but we moved our tables under the trees by North Main Street. I broke bread with Martin Boles, head of school at The Camino School in Irvine, California. To be head of school requires bravery. Steve Brooks, freshman year roommate, travel companion during our language study abroad, and best man at my wedding, was my trusted companion throughout the weekend.
I jokingly recalled with Susan Fagerstrom the reunion when my daughter, who had mysteriously and horrifyingly memorized the words and choreography to Britney Spears’ “Oops! … I Did It Again,” performed as if no one were watching when the tent DJ played the music. Debo Hart remembered with me living across the hall from one another in Russell Sage during senior year. Ellen Webb still wonders if I have joined the Southern aristocracy or become a thorn in its side.
Roy Johnson, Leigh Limbach Johnson, and Emily Vitale rounded out the team from Hitchcock during 1976-77.
Kate Laud is the mother of three comics, and they still like being together. Todd Young again makes the short list for most unchanged. J.C. Stahl remains unchallenged for having the youngest child. Tom Marek, looking youthful and 30 pounds lighter than in 1980, advises against bread, sugar, and alcohol. An energetic Ed Sloan had similar advice. I heard the advice but have not heeded it.
Steve Smith,Mark Webb, and others promptly organized a crowded meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss responses to this time in the life of our nation. The room was full of hope and anxiety—and that was last June!
Meg Coughlin LePage was a calm and kind presence. Similarly, John Coco was good for a listening ear, an encouraging word, and a hearty laugh. If lost in the wilds of Vermont, hope John finds you.
Go easy on the bread, sugar, and alcohol so there is a next time.
—Wade Herring, P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412; (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com;Kal Alston, 948 Euclid Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210; alstonkal@gmail.com; Jennifer W. DesCombes, 256 W 7th St., Claremont, CA 91711; (909) 921-3402; jennifer.descombes@gmail.com