Class Note 1958. Those with good memories will recall an elucidating presentation at our 65th reunion by Dr. Sam Silverstein. More recently during a dinner with Bob Downey, Sam arrived with a copy of the October 9, 1962, issue of Look magazine in which Chris Wren ’57 had penned an article and Sam had contributed a striking display of photographs from the first ascent of the southeast side of Mount Hood, aka Denali, by their team of six climbers. Sam’s talk two years ago highlighted a different mountain climbing accomplishment in Antarctica, where Silverstein Peak is a prominent, 4,790-meter (15,715-foot) mountain in the Sentinel Range, part of the Ellsworth Mountains. It was named in honor of our very own Dr. Samuel C. Silverstein, a member of the 1966 team that first ascended the massif. For many of us who have gotten to know Sam more recently, it’s a bit difficult to envision this loping, slightly stooped, mostly bald research physician, who today mostly rails on about the loss of National Institutes of Health funding for critical medical research, jumaring up and rappelling down snow-covered peaks in a distant part of the world.
Ann-Shirley and Rob Goodell recently returned from a less physical river cruise though France. Continuing to defy their age, Helga and Larry Hampton celebrated his 89th birthday with a trip to Naples, the one in Italy, followed by an Easter visit to Mallorca, Spain, asserting they remain compos mentis! The cascade of birthday news as more of us reach 90 continued with a note from Cack Bittner that his extended family of 50 or so would soon roast him robustly. Proving we’re not too old to be modern, Larry Welton recently regaled us with a tale about his new Apple Watch, which correctly identified he had fallen when his super-charged motorized scooter that was clearly exceeding the speed limit tipped over and pinned him underneath—no damage done! A reminder that our fall mini-reunion will be held during Homecoming Weekend and details will be mailed very early in July.
—John Trimble, 99 Mooncussers Lane, Chatham, MA 02633; (508) 737-7420; jtrim99@comcast.net