Class Note 1976
Issue
November-December 2026
Class Note 1976. We are several months from our milestone 50th reunion but the warmth and glow persist!
We achieved some notable records for the 2026 Dartmouth College Fund with 42-percent participation (357 classmates). We had the highest number of 1769 Society members (gifts of $2,500 or more) at 123, a remarkable 14.4 percent of our class. We have 52 members of the Ripley Society (giving every year since graduation). We set a new 50th reunion Bartlett Tower Society membership record, our seventh reunion record in a row! That’s simply spectacular support of the College!
I reconnected with George Shaw and visited 108 Wheeler Hall, where we lived for three years. It looked the same as 54 years ago! George is still in the game and very active in HIV research at the University of Pennsylvania. His team just published papers in Science and Nature, the two most prestigious scientific journals.
In April Maria Cole ’84, president of Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA), and Ken Monteiro hosted a Zoom town hall on the1974 “Redding Report.” Karen Turner moderated the discussion with report authors Judi “J.B.” Redding, Monica Hargrove,and Eileen Cave and members of the class of 2026.
The report documented institutional racism at the College through empirical data and narrative accounts leading to the board of trustees committee and President Kemeny’s forceful statement supporting racial equity. Classmates who attended included Sharon Ali, Kipp Barker and Kirk Barker, Martha (Johnson) Beattie, Steve Bell, Sara Hoagland Hunter, Joe Jasinksi, Wendy (Thompson) Kendrick, John Shepherd,and Steffi Valar.
Brita Reed (Sardella) Lucey published her third book, titled The Joy of Grandmothering,a role many of us find ourselves in at this time of life. Brita examines the fascinating role from an anthropological perspective. She is happy to mail a copy to you and can be contacted through the Dartmouth Alumni Directory.
Our class again sponsored the Karen E. Wetterhahn Science Symposium. The 34th annual meeting saw a record number of presentations from students majoring in science, math, and engineering. We raised funds for a bench to honor Ralph Manuel ’54, who was both our freshman dean and dean of the College. The bench has been placed in the College Grant near a stream to reflect his love of fishing.
Jim Beattie was recently honored as one of the 50 greatest players in Seattle Mariners history.
The New York Yankees selected Beattie with the 91st overall selection in 1975. In 1978 he won Game 1 of the American League Championship and Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1979 he was traded to the Mariners and pitched seven seasons. His 30 complete games are fourth-most in Mariners’ history, while his 944 innings pitched ranked ninth. On September 27, 1983, Beattie hurled the first one-hitter in Mariners’ history.
Another great memory of our 50th reunion was the closing words from Kemeny’s valedictory speech in June 1976: “Men and women of Dartmouth, all mankind is your brother, and you are your brother’s keeper.”
Send me news of yourself or classmates!
—Spencer Kubo, 3827 Zenith Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55410; (612) 867-7203; spencer.h.kubo@gmail.com
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More of 1976 Class Notes
We achieved some notable records for the 2026 Dartmouth College Fund with 42-percent participation (357 classmates). We had the highest number of 1769 Society members (gifts of $2,500 or more) at 123, a remarkable 14.4 percent of our class. We have 52 members of the Ripley Society (giving every year since graduation). We set a new 50th reunion Bartlett Tower Society membership record, our seventh reunion record in a row! That’s simply spectacular support of the College!
I reconnected with George Shaw and visited 108 Wheeler Hall, where we lived for three years. It looked the same as 54 years ago! George is still in the game and very active in HIV research at the University of Pennsylvania. His team just published papers in Science and Nature, the two most prestigious scientific journals.
In April Maria Cole ’84, president of Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association (BADA), and Ken Monteiro hosted a Zoom town hall on the1974 “Redding Report.” Karen Turner moderated the discussion with report authors Judi “J.B.” Redding, Monica Hargrove,and Eileen Cave and members of the class of 2026.
The report documented institutional racism at the College through empirical data and narrative accounts leading to the board of trustees committee and President Kemeny’s forceful statement supporting racial equity. Classmates who attended included Sharon Ali, Kipp Barker and Kirk Barker, Martha (Johnson) Beattie, Steve Bell, Sara Hoagland Hunter, Joe Jasinksi, Wendy (Thompson) Kendrick, John Shepherd,and Steffi Valar.
Brita Reed (Sardella) Lucey published her third book, titled The Joy of Grandmothering,a role many of us find ourselves in at this time of life. Brita examines the fascinating role from an anthropological perspective. She is happy to mail a copy to you and can be contacted through the Dartmouth Alumni Directory.
Our class again sponsored the Karen E. Wetterhahn Science Symposium. The 34th annual meeting saw a record number of presentations from students majoring in science, math, and engineering. We raised funds for a bench to honor Ralph Manuel ’54, who was both our freshman dean and dean of the College. The bench has been placed in the College Grant near a stream to reflect his love of fishing.
Jim Beattie was recently honored as one of the 50 greatest players in Seattle Mariners history.
The New York Yankees selected Beattie with the 91st overall selection in 1975. In 1978 he won Game 1 of the American League Championship and Game 5 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1979 he was traded to the Mariners and pitched seven seasons. His 30 complete games are fourth-most in Mariners’ history, while his 944 innings pitched ranked ninth. On September 27, 1983, Beattie hurled the first one-hitter in Mariners’ history.
Another great memory of our 50th reunion was the closing words from Kemeny’s valedictory speech in June 1976: “Men and women of Dartmouth, all mankind is your brother, and you are your brother’s keeper.”
Send me news of yourself or classmates!
—Spencer Kubo, 3827 Zenith Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN 55410; (612) 867-7203; spencer.h.kubo@gmail.com