Fifty years ago, as high school seniors, we heard President Eisenhower on January 3, 1961, announce that the United States had severed diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Two weeks later, in his farewell address, Ike warned the country about the risks of allowing the “acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by” a burgeoning segment of our society—he called it “the military-industrial complex.” That month Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario. Our world was changing in many ways. 


Keith Young reported that he has retired and that he and Wanda have just celebrated their 38th anniversary. They were married after he had fulfilled a childhood dream of driving from Ontario to Santiago, Chile, via the Pan American highway. While on a tour of the White House during that extended road trip he was invited to President Nixon’s reception for Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael White, just back from the moon. Despite a successful career in business, writing and literature have always been the love of Keith’s life, publishing “a couple of things” and winning a BBC poetry competition. Even so, as with many of us, he maintains that the most rewarding part of his life was bringing up their two boys. We hope to see Keith and Wanda back here soon.


Twenty-three classmates participated in the 2010 mini-reunion. Linda and Steve Fowler hosted a reception at their lovely home in Hanover on Friday evening. While it is always great to reconnect with old friends, one of delights of reuning as we age is the opportunity to meet classmates for the first time. It’s easy to see why the admissions office chose them and a bit daunting to hear about their accomplishments since leaving Hanover. Carrie and Peyton Storli journeyed from Seattle for the weekend. Peyton has retired from his architectural practice and now devotes his skills to deserving projects. Bob Lichtenwalter retired from the financial services industry a couple of years ago and relocated from Seattle to Waterville, Maine, to be near his daughters. He took up cycling and has ridden more than 2,700 miles in the last year! Mary and Bill Burton are enjoying retirement in Ossining, New York, where Bill collects postcards and is active in local politics. On Saturday President Kim gave the faculty “Chalk Talk” lecture. Any of our classmates concerned about the impact on Dartmouth’s liberal arts tradition of having a Harvard M.D. for our president would have been reassured by his remarks. He stressed the importance of a liberal education in today’s world, contending that the essence of such scholarship is to have brilliant professors—the individuals at the cutting edge of their fields—addressing complex and difficult questions in the classroom with exceptional undergraduates. At the same time, he hasn’t gone completely intellectual, excitedly pacing the sidelines during home football games.


Remember CarniVail on February 24-27. Start planning now to attend our 50th in June 2015.


Please contact me to share news about yourself or any of our classmates. 


—Tom Long, 1056 Leigh Mill Road, Great Falls, VA 22066; (703) 759-4255; tomlong@erols.com