Class Note 1973
Issue
July-August 2026
Class Note 1973. Happy semiquincentennial summer!
If you cannot easily pronounce the above, alternates include bisesquicentennial, sestercentennial, (neither of which is much easier) or the quarter millennium; all translate to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary and its website is america250.org.
Submission of my prior column occurred just before the passing of civil rights and social justice leader Jesse Jackson. For those who may have missed it, Rev. Jackson once read Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live. His rendition can be found on YouTube—worth a watch.
Class authors run the gamut of genres. After mentioning the College’s book club in a recent column, David Duggan sent a copy of his book Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ along with a nice note, mentioning that “Dartmouth plays a nontrivial role in my faith journey.” David has been “more or less retired from the practice of law for 15 years” but has become involved in “conscience-based cause litigation.” He is in good health, thankful for his Dartmouth experience, and sorry he missed our 50th reunion but hopes to attend a future reunion.
In March Howard Reiss’s 16th novel, Billy’s Perfect Game, was released. “Billy is a Bronx boy who is good at sports and better with the ladies” until an accident causes a change of course, resulting in life revisited and culminating in a love story involving bowling.
Doug Noll’s fifth book, Empathy Leadership: The Powerful Skill that Drives Winning Results, will be published by Atria Books/Beyond Words in September. The focus is on how calm authority, emotional intelligence, and compassionate communication are strategic advantages in effective leadership. Learn more at https://dougnoll.com.
Clark Graff moved to Honolulu from Thetford Center, Vermont, to be closer to his son. He relocated his studio and notes, “Though I will continue to do paintings of New England, I am very intrigued by the impact this change of place may have on my work in both places.”
Men’s hockey closed the 2025-26 season with a program record 23 wins and its first ECAC hockey tournament championship, with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against Princeton in Lake Placid, New York. The team received multiple All-ECAC and All-Ivy honors and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament (the first time at the nationals since 1980) but lost in a regional semifinal.
With sadness, I report the January passing of Bruce Alexander. Bruce was in Navy ROTC and married Susan Ewell, an exchange student who lived on the same North Mass floor as the undersigned our junior year. His obituary may be found at https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/obits.
Ten years ago I digressed in reporting on classmates when my father died at 101 years of age. I digress once again since recently my mother died at age 104. Curious to know if other classmates had parents who attained the century mark. What are your thoughts about and experiences with super-agers?
—Val Armento, 227 Sylvan Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403; valerie.j.armento.73@dartmouth.edu
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More of 1973 Class Notes
If you cannot easily pronounce the above, alternates include bisesquicentennial, sestercentennial, (neither of which is much easier) or the quarter millennium; all translate to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission was established by Congress in 2016 to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary and its website is america250.org.
Submission of my prior column occurred just before the passing of civil rights and social justice leader Jesse Jackson. For those who may have missed it, Rev. Jackson once read Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live. His rendition can be found on YouTube—worth a watch.
Class authors run the gamut of genres. After mentioning the College’s book club in a recent column, David Duggan sent a copy of his book Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Life in Christ along with a nice note, mentioning that “Dartmouth plays a nontrivial role in my faith journey.” David has been “more or less retired from the practice of law for 15 years” but has become involved in “conscience-based cause litigation.” He is in good health, thankful for his Dartmouth experience, and sorry he missed our 50th reunion but hopes to attend a future reunion.
In March Howard Reiss’s 16th novel, Billy’s Perfect Game, was released. “Billy is a Bronx boy who is good at sports and better with the ladies” until an accident causes a change of course, resulting in life revisited and culminating in a love story involving bowling.
Doug Noll’s fifth book, Empathy Leadership: The Powerful Skill that Drives Winning Results, will be published by Atria Books/Beyond Words in September. The focus is on how calm authority, emotional intelligence, and compassionate communication are strategic advantages in effective leadership. Learn more at https://dougnoll.com.
Clark Graff moved to Honolulu from Thetford Center, Vermont, to be closer to his son. He relocated his studio and notes, “Though I will continue to do paintings of New England, I am very intrigued by the impact this change of place may have on my work in both places.”
Men’s hockey closed the 2025-26 season with a program record 23 wins and its first ECAC hockey tournament championship, with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against Princeton in Lake Placid, New York. The team received multiple All-ECAC and All-Ivy honors and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament (the first time at the nationals since 1980) but lost in a regional semifinal.
With sadness, I report the January passing of Bruce Alexander. Bruce was in Navy ROTC and married Susan Ewell, an exchange student who lived on the same North Mass floor as the undersigned our junior year. His obituary may be found at https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/obits.
Ten years ago I digressed in reporting on classmates when my father died at 101 years of age. I digress once again since recently my mother died at age 104. Curious to know if other classmates had parents who attained the century mark. What are your thoughts about and experiences with super-agers?
—Val Armento, 227 Sylvan Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403; valerie.j.armento.73@dartmouth.edu