It’s no secret that during calendar 2012 most of us will be celebrating our, gulp, 80th birthday! To honor this momentous occasion ’54 class president Don Berlin has announced that three birthday celebrations are in the planning stages and will be scheduled in the following locations around the following dates with the following named organizers: Boston, October 29, 2011, Dick Page; Florida, February or March 2012, Mort Galper and Jim Tofias; and New York City, spring of 2012, Dave Mandelbaum. Clearly the idea is to have centrally located gatherings so that as many of us as possible can celebrate together. You’ll be hearing much more about these upcoming events in future columns and newsletters.


A total of 23 classmates attended the annual New York holiday luncheon at the Yale Club on December 9. Two highlights of the luncheon were the reading of a tribute to Pete Barker by Don Berlin and a wonderful accolade to Pete by Jay Chandler. Unfortunately, Pete was unable to attend the luncheon but did make it to a very special, surprise dinner—at least for him—that same evening in Connecticut. Bob Levine took the lead in arranging an elegant sit-down dinner at the upscale Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich. With the help of Dana Low, John Fenn and yours truly in planning the dinner, getting a beautiful plaque for Pete (John) and chauffeuring train riders (Dana), our class motto of “Staying Connected,” originally coined by immediate past president Jay Davis, was given new meaning. Celebrants included Jean and Bob Adnopoz, Carolyn and John Cunningham, Dick Davidoff, Natalie and John Fenn, Sonja and Tony Kane, Dana Low, Arlene and Dan Neiditiz, Dick Pearl, Lynn and Art Rauch, Harry Robinson, and Judith and Dick Steinberg. To the delight of many, the annual New York luncheon will henceforth include wives, widows and significant others.


Bill Grover reports that there were 21 attendees at the annual Boston holiday luncheon held on December 8, including four wives and one perennial booster from the class of 1955, Bob Fanger. The class offers its congratulations to Dick Trowbridge, who was presented with the Class of 1954 Award. Look for the text of the Barker tribute and Trowbridge award in the ’54 winter newsletter. 


The class sends its condolences to the families of recently departed classmates, including Bob Drawbaugh, Norm Kasparson, Don Miller and Hugh Roberts.


—Anthony Kane, 650 Park Ave., #18A, New York, NY 10065; (212) 628-2147; akane32@nyc.rr.com