Class Note 1978. Greetings from the Old World. By the time you read this, the “Great European Heat Wave of 2026” will be over, and I (Anne Bagamery) will be back to my regularly scheduled retirement program of fitness, culture, travel, and the occasional writing project. Remind me I said this, but I can’t wait to exchange “Paris when it sizzles” for “Paris when it drizzles.”
Judging by my mailbag and social media, you all have been busy enjoying your next phase, too.
Tom Swartwood sent a lovely photo of the birthday present his daughter organized for his 70th in February: his name in lights on the marquee of the Beacon Theater in New York City. The next day was her wedding. “It was the most joyful celebration I could hope for,” Tom writes.
Mary Thron posted pictures of the delicious food she produced during a weeklong cooking course in the Abruzzo region of Italy in June. Mary and her late partner, Ray, took the same course several years ago, so this was a sentimental as well as a gastronomic journey. (Small world dept.: The course takes place a short drive from our summer place in Vasto, Italy, on the Adriatic coast, and is run by friends of ours.)
Several of you are not letting the fickle French weather stop you from enjoying my fair city and country. Christine Hughes and Will Fraizer missed the worst of it by arriving in Paris in early June, escaping to Normandy for a few days, then hightailing it back to the United States just before the heat dome descended. Duane Peterson braved 100-degree-plus temperatures in late June during a cycling trip through Burgundy, then celebrated in Paris with a splendid dinner with Bob and me after the weather broke. Dave Dalury and Tom Haynes took up monthlong residencies with their families in Paris this spring, and both tell me that they’ll be back next year. Sadly, I missed them because I was traveling, but the calendar is marked and the class balcony awaits, guys.
It’s good to remember, too, that even when travel isn’t possible or pleasant, we can still get together. For me, one of the highlights of this spring was the “78th Night in Europe” Zoom held on March 19. Tuning in were Peter Tagge from Casablanca, Sharon Lee Cowan from Rome, Paul Kuhn from near Lisbon, Jeff Dalton from Edinburgh, Steve Damron from Barcelona, and Catherine May Dias from Paris—friends old and new and a promise that next year we’ll do it in person.
Finally, sincere condolences to the friends and family of our classmate Charles Calvert. News of Charlie’s passing in 2025 just reached us. Please send any remembrances and tributes to Rick Beyer for our class website.
Enjoy the autumn wherever you are and please send news!
—Anne Bagamery, 13 rue de Presles, 75015 Paris, France; abagamery78@gmail.com; Rick Beyer, 1305 S. Michigan Ave., #1104, Chicago, IL 60605; rickbeyer78@gmail.com