Class Note 1989
Issue
March - April 2026
Class Note 1989. Big news from California. Give a rouse for Anton Anderson, who makes his political debut as one of the newest members of the Altadena town council. Both he and his fellow newcomer are survivors of the Eaton wildfire that destroyed more than 9,000 structures in Altadena and surrounding areas. That count includes more than a dozen homes belonging to Anton’s family, whose roots in the area date back to the 1950s. Congratulations, Anton, and best wishes in your efforts to lead the community through recovery.
In the last column, my co-class secretary Candace Locklear shared great stories about how some of you are spending your retirement. If retirement or an empty nest is on the horizon, here’s an idea: travel with Dartmouth.
Check out https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/travel-dartmouth if you are looking for an opportunity to learn while roaming ’round the girdled earth.
Michael Van Leesten is spending his retirement building a legacy of memories for his children. In response to a Storyworth prompt, he names the Green as one of the most beautiful places he has ever been. After a bout with illness changed the trajectory of his competitive running career, the beauty of the Green gave Michael a much-needed moment of respite. Check out his post on the “Dartmouth Class of 1989” Facebook page, excerpted here: “I paused my run abruptly, awed by the pea soup fog resting on the Dartmouth Green, which was bordered by languid, graceful, dew-glistened, yellow-leaved elms. The air was still and quiet … no birds chirped, no voices spoke, no leaves rustled. The Hanover Inn and the Hopkins Center were dormant; there was no movement. There were no cars, no engines interrupting. There was only the stillness and the sound of my breath.” Stay tuned for Michael’s first book.
We want to hear from you. Consider these thoughts for a future column. Empty-nesters, share your best makeover ideas for the children’s bedrooms. Or, inspired by Dorothy Danforth Burlin,Siobhan Wescott suggests we share two truths and a lie about our time in college. Here are mine. I was caught singing in Sanborn, sleeping in Baker, and eating in Kiewit. Dorothy challenges you to determine whether hers are two truths and a lie or two lies and a truth: She received a Ph.D. in religion while still an undergrad; cleared out a row of books in the stacks of Baker Library and slept on the empty shelf; and raised four generations of drosophila with Ellie Mahoney Loughin. Which are the lies? Send me your guesses and your three facts.
—Robin Byrd, P.O. Box 660563, Arcadia, CA 91066; robinwinters@msn.com; Candace Locklear, 5829 Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611; (510) 292-8216; evilpip@gmail.com
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In the last column, my co-class secretary Candace Locklear shared great stories about how some of you are spending your retirement. If retirement or an empty nest is on the horizon, here’s an idea: travel with Dartmouth.
Check out https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/travel-dartmouth if you are looking for an opportunity to learn while roaming ’round the girdled earth.
Michael Van Leesten is spending his retirement building a legacy of memories for his children. In response to a Storyworth prompt, he names the Green as one of the most beautiful places he has ever been. After a bout with illness changed the trajectory of his competitive running career, the beauty of the Green gave Michael a much-needed moment of respite. Check out his post on the “Dartmouth Class of 1989” Facebook page, excerpted here: “I paused my run abruptly, awed by the pea soup fog resting on the Dartmouth Green, which was bordered by languid, graceful, dew-glistened, yellow-leaved elms. The air was still and quiet … no birds chirped, no voices spoke, no leaves rustled. The Hanover Inn and the Hopkins Center were dormant; there was no movement. There were no cars, no engines interrupting. There was only the stillness and the sound of my breath.” Stay tuned for Michael’s first book.
We want to hear from you. Consider these thoughts for a future column. Empty-nesters, share your best makeover ideas for the children’s bedrooms. Or, inspired by Dorothy Danforth Burlin,Siobhan Wescott suggests we share two truths and a lie about our time in college. Here are mine. I was caught singing in Sanborn, sleeping in Baker, and eating in Kiewit. Dorothy challenges you to determine whether hers are two truths and a lie or two lies and a truth: She received a Ph.D. in religion while still an undergrad; cleared out a row of books in the stacks of Baker Library and slept on the empty shelf; and raised four generations of drosophila with Ellie Mahoney Loughin. Which are the lies? Send me your guesses and your three facts.
—Robin Byrd, P.O. Box 660563, Arcadia, CA 91066; robinwinters@msn.com; Candace Locklear, 5829 Colton Blvd., Oakland, CA 94611; (510) 292-8216; evilpip@gmail.com