Class Notes 1965

Our September mini-reunion in Hanover helped kick off the football season. We spotted Sue and Dave Beattie, Rich Beams, Ellen and Mike Bettmann, Marianne Bradley, Gretchen and John Bullock, Larry Duffy, Linda and Steve Fowler, Marcia and Pete Frederick, Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Roger Hansen, Laurie and Sven Karlen, Rick Mahoney, Donna and Stuart Russell, Linda Waterhouse, Sue and Bill Webster, Jane and George Wittreich, and Carol and Bob Ziemian.

On the reunion front, our big 60th is coming up June 18-20. The reunion committee includes Roger Hansen (chair), Mike Gonnerman, Stu Keiller, George Wittreich, Steve Fowler, and John Rogers. Updated details are on the class website at www.biggreen65.com.

Jay Wakefield is a scholar on Bronze Age settlements in North America and explains: “Forty-eight years ago (in 1976), my wife and I attended a family party in New York City assembled to watch the Tall Ships on the Hudson for the 200th bicentennial. The Algonquin Hotel was refusing our reservation because we were not married yet, but that is another story. We came to Hanover for a Dartmouth function afterward and then climbed to a hilltop stone structure across the Connecticut River from campus. It was just as shown in Dr. Barry Fell’s first book, America B.C., describing his discoveries of Celtic people in New England. Four decades later Dartmouth was not interested in [my offer of] a professorship on Bronze Age America despite being located in the thick of it. My four books [on this subject] are available on Amazon under my name and worldwide through Kindle. My latest book is titled Colonies on the Backside. I have a museum in Roche Harbor, should you come to San Juan Island [Washington] to visit.” Reach him at jswakefield@comcast.net.

Since the last Class Notes we have been notified of the loss of Frank Binder, Alan Gibson, Andy Thurm, Carl Boe, Charles Blaisdell, Eric Knox, Frank Costello (2019), and Jon Grumette (2015). By coincidence, this brings the total of ’65 deaths to 65 since I began this column in mid-2020, a sobering statistic. For further information, visit www.biggreen65.com.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589, murph65nh@comcast.net

I’m not sure whether this will reach you in time to be helpful, but our mini-reunion remains scheduled for September 19-22 in Hanover. If you hadn’t planned to come but are nearby, run up and catch some class activities and the opening football game against Fordham. Speaking of Hanover, Dartmouth has been acquiring properties on West Wheelock Street (leading up into town from the Ledyard Bridge) to use for dormitory expansion. Stay tuned.

The different paths we follow: Stormy Mayo recently retired as director of the right whale ecology program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts. A cofounder of the center, now a respected multidisciplinary scientific institution, he has spent 48 years there. In May Stormy received a citation from the state legislature and the science community at New England Aquarium for his role in advancing the study and protection of North Atlantic right whales. He is particularly well-known for developing a marine disentanglement program that is now taught around the world. You may spot him while driving in Massachusetts by the special commemorative license plate he was awarded for his work.

Dave Beattie wrote, “I am saddened to learn of Bob Lichtenwalter’s passing [see below]. I got to know him quite well through our Thayer School commonality and particularly since Bob, Paul Sowa, Jon Greene, and I lived in a farmhouse at the end of Pinnacle Road in Lyme, New Hampshire, for our fifth year at Thayer. I found an obituary for him on the internet. I think there is one error in it. Bob drove across the country in 1966, not 1965, right after we graduated from Thayer (fifth year), to start his work at Boeing in Seattle. For this trip he drove a used Volkswagen, which he purchased from Paul Sowa. The last time I saw Bob was at our 45th reunion in 2010. During that time Bob and I made a trip back to the place in Lyme where we had lived 44 years earlier.”

We have lost classmates Bob Blake, George Martin,Bob Lichtenwalter,and Ren Carlisle. For further information, visit our class website www.biggreen65.com.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

With sadness I report that in January we lost class president Don Bradley to illness. As specified in our class constitution, our executive committee appointed current vice president Mike Gonnerman to serve as president until our 60th reunion. Mike appointed Stu Keiller as our new vice president. Mike also tapped Stu Russell to lead a new affinity group effort focusing on class members who served in the Peace Corps and similar organizations.

One of our perhaps lesser-known classmates was Kighoma Malima, who passed away in 1995. I was contacted last August by his son Asante to try to find undergraduate information on Kighoma, who had come to Dartmouth from Tanzania.

Jonathan Silbert responded: “I knew Kighoma well. He and my former roommate, the late Naison Mawande of Zimbabwe, were a great help to me during my senior fellowship year when I was trying to untangle ‘The Pattern of Sino-Soviet Rivalry in Sub-Saharan Africa.’ Far more important, both were wonderful human beings dedicated to helping their new nations grow and thrive. My friendship with them, and their insights about life on a continent with which I had been totally unfamiliar (which of course led me to insights about life on the continent with which I was familiar), is one of the great lasting legacies of my time at Dartmouth. It was Kighoma who notified me in the late 1980s that Naison had been murdered, in his words ‘cut down on the streets of Harare’ (the capital of Zimbabwe).

“Asante drew my attention to the Class Notes section of the April 1986 alumni magazine that, amazingly, included excerpts from messages from both Kighoma and me! Kighoma had a distinguished career in government and academia in Tanzania, cut far too short when he passed away while on a family vacation in London in 1995.” More on Jonathan in the next issue.

We have lost classmates Bill Herold, Norm Christianson, Don Bradley,and Mike McKelvy. Condolences also to Roger Hansen, who lost wife Nancy in December, and Bruce Wagner who lost wife Betsy last July. For further information, visit our class website, www.biggreen65.com.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

Last October we convened for our annual fall mini-reunion. The weekend kicked off with a Thursday dinner at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge attended by Mahala and Rich Beams, Dave Beattie, Stephanie and Gary Bucher, Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Ginny and Dick Harris, French and Bob McConnaughey, Emma and John McGeachie, and several children of classmates. This hardy group was joined during the weekend by Marcia Pryde and Ted Atkinson, Larry Duffy, Marcia and Pete Frederick, Linda and Steve Fowler, Sven Karlen, Carol and Jaan Lumi, Jory and Ken McGruther, Bob Murphy, Donna and Stuart Russell, Linda Waterhouse, Jane and George Wittreich, Judy and Allen Zern, and Carol and Bob Ziemian.

Activities included the Friday night dinner and bonfire hosted by Debbie and Jim Griffiths, the fascinating Pine Park tour graciously guided by Linda Fowler, and the pre-game tailgate gathering last-minute hosted by Linda Waterhouse after our class tent was stolen. Saturday dinner at Pierce’s Inn closed the social weekend, followed by the class business meeting Sunday morning (details at www.biggreen65.com).

Dates for our 60th reunion are June 16-18, 2025. This is a Monday-Wednesday timeframe immediately following graduation Sunday. Roger Hansen is chairing the reunion, assisted by Mike Gonnerman, Jim Griffiths, and Stu Russell.

We have lost two classmates: Ron Mario and Kighoma Malima. If any classmates have any undergraduate information or pictures of Kighoma, please let me know and I will put you in touch with his daughter who has requested this.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

On the Dartmouth Green you may have noticed the information booth. You probably did not know that that the class of 1965 has played a major role in this project. In 2018 the College decided to terminate funding for the booth. Up stepped the Sphinx Foundation, under the leadership of Pete Frederick, to underwrite the cost. Volunteers Mike Gonnerman (and wife Betsy) and Larry Duffy, along with Pete, provide much of the staffing. The booth is open from late May to early October; in 2022 the volunteers helped more than 2,800 visitors from 37 countries. Some of the interesting visitors stopping by included a new bride and groom, a 74-year-old Adirondack Trail hiker with the trail name “Not Dead Yet,” and a 1951 graduate attending his 70th reunion who, as an undergraduate, planted the trees in front of Casque & Gauntlet. The volunteers also reported learning new undergraduate lingo, including “Woccom” (walk around Occom Pond), “FoCo” (Food Court), and “Blobby” (lobby of Baker Library).

Two related anecdotes: At the booth Pete Frederick talked with a Korean American high schooler in the fall of 2021 and sold him on Dartmouth. He has now matriculated and has met up with Pete. Last fall I sat next to a young man from England on a flight from London to Boston. His high school was going to row at the Head of the Charles, then he planned to visit Dartmouth. I did my own selling job and gave him my card. Last week I got an email from him—he has been accepted and will be a 2027! Very cool.

Late reminder: mini-reunion October 5-8. Keep in mind there is no fee for receptions and meals. I hope (depending on publication dates) there is still time to sign up. Details on our class website www.biggreen65.com.

With regret I must report the loss of three classmates whose deaths have been reported to the College since the last Class Notes: Andre Boesch, Dave Weber, and John Richardson. Dave was a two-term Dartmouth trustee, and John was our initial president following graduation. See our class website www.biggreen65.com for details.

—Bob Murphy, 7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

The most rewarding part of compiling these columns has been hearing the real-life stories of our classmates, particularly those who have followed the road less traveled. Photojournalist George Bellerose of Weybridge, Vermont, has written Portrait of a Forest: Men and Machine. The 304-page book, published by Vermont Folklife, documents how logging has shaped Vermont and examines the economic and environmental challenges facing the forest today. The traveling exhibit of Portrait can be found at vt.folklife.org (traveling exhibits). The book is for sale at vermontbookshop.com.

As background, George explains, “Why 50-plus years in journalism? That was not my intention at Dartmouth. Grad school, without real-world experience, led me to two years in the Peace Corps as a secondary school teacher in Thailand. (Ken Behar, Phil Edgerton, and Tony Garland were fellow volunteers.) My first full-time job, four years as staff reporter at The Providence Journal, was followed byeight years of peripatetic journalism—work at rural weeklies in Wyoming and Vermont, freelancing in Vermont and Asia, and my books. I’m interested in stories and people who are essential to community well-being but who are often overlooked or understood only superficially.” A longer piece on his work, and his three most recent books, will appear in an upcoming class newsletter.

I regret to report the loss of Kent Kesler (2020), Gregg Hannah (2021), Richard Thornley (2022), and Dick Furniss (2023). See our class website at www.biggreen65.com for details. In addition, Tom Meacham wrote to me of the death of his son, Scott Meacham ’95. This particularly impacted me because Scott was a fraternity brother of mine (Sigma Nu) as well as a classmate of my daughter, Cory Murphy Christensen ’95. Tom wrote “Scott loved Dartmouth, and he acted on that love by authoring the definitive book on the College’s architectural history, Dartmouth College: The Campus Guide. In 1995 Scott had started a website that became a running commentary on Dartmouth’s architecture and campus planning as the blog Dartmo.com, which he continued until his death.” Our condolences to the Meacham family; the extended ’65 family is diminished by Scott’s passing.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755, (603) 643-5589, murph65nh@comcast.net

A strong turnout of ’65s enjoyed this year’s mini-reunion on September 29 through October 2. Festivities began Thursday night with dinner at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge attended by Dave Beattie, Mary Ann and Don Bradley, Diane and Tom Campbell, Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Nancy and Roger Hansen, French and Bob McConnaughey, Jory and Ken McGruther, Gail and John Tobin, and Sarah and Bill Young. With the football game rescheduled to Friday night, most attendees opted for dinner, our own bonfire, and a football watch party at the Griffiths’. The above classmates were joined there by Mahala and Rich Beams, Sharon and Bob Blake, Jaan Lumi, and Carol and Bob Ziemian.

Taking the place of the football game on Saturday was a tour of Hanover’s Pine Park, led by Linda Fowler (wife of Steve Fowler), who is president of Pine Park Association, a voluntary nonprofit that owns the park. Pine Park is Hanover’s first natural area permanently preserved as a park and today functions as the town’s “central park” for the enjoyment of walkers, joggers, skiers and many others. Accessed north of the Dartmouth College campus, the park features a significant stand of old white pine, hemlock, and hardwoods. The land is home to deer and black bear, among many other woodland animals, as well as to some unusual and endangered plant species.

Our traditional dinner at Pierce’s Inn Saturday evening provided a final opportunity for all classmates and partners to socialize. Formal entertainment was provided by the Decibelles; it was Parents’ Weekend at Dartmouth and the group brought a dozen or so parents to mingle in with us, which added a very enjoyable dimension to the party.

At Sunday’s executive committee meeting it was decided that next year’s mini will be held the weekend of October 7 and Pierce’s Inn has been reserved. It was also announced that our 60th reunion dates are Monday through Thursday, June 9-12, 2025. It was also decided that reunion costs (other than lodging) will be absorbed by the class for all dues-paying classmates.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

I hope this will reach you in time to make reservations for our fall mini-reunion being organized by Mike Gonnerman to run September 29 through October 2. We have a full slate of activities, including a Thursday reception at Ravine Lodge, Penn football Saturday, and our annual business meeting on Sunday at Pierce’s Inn. Details and registration at www.biggreen65.com.

John Bullock recently received the Career Achievement Award from Dartmouth, recognizing his contributions in two different careers. He has been at times professor of ophthalmology, physiology and biophysics, mathematics and statistics, microbiology and immunology, and population and public health. John entered Dartmouth Medical School after our junior year, then received his M.D. from Harvard. He had a distinguished career in clinical and academic ophthalmology, research, invention, and teaching, with more than 240 publications to his credit (including a medical textbook chapter at Wright State Medical School for which Brad Hawley was associate editor and to which Bob Witty also contributed—small ’65 world!). During 25 years as a clinician, John cared for more than 50,000 patients, performed more than 10,000 ocular/orbital operations, documented three new causes of blindness, and elucidated the cause or description of 10 retinal disorders.

After a bicycle accident in 2000 made it impossible for him to continue eye surgery, he turned his focus to epidemiology. He has published investigations of the 10 plagues of Egypt and the blindness of the biblical St. Paul, Dom Perignon (inventor of champagne), and Leonhard Euler (mathematical genius). John’s investigation of a worldwide outbreak of fusarium infections of the eye in 2004-06 revealed that plastic bottles of an over-the-counter eye product had been stored in a non-air-conditioned warehouse exposed to hot southern weather. His research documented that at high temperatures the plastic containers absorbed the solution’s preservative and subsequent fungal infections led to visual impairment and blindness. 

John has been a member of the esteemed American Ophthalmological Society since 1983 and serves on the board of governors of the American Osler Society. He has been appointed to the editorial boards of eight medical journals, including Nature (public health), and serves on Geisel’s alumni council.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

Our February Upper Valley breakfast, through Zoom, was unusual as we had classmates then in seven different states: Mike Bettman, Pete Frederick, Roger Hansen (New Hampshire), Jim Griffiths, Bob Murphy (Florida), Mike Gonnerman (California), Rich Beams (Massachusetts), Bill Webster (Connecticut), Bob McConnaughey (Vermont), and Dave Wagner (Rhode Island). The distance prize went to John McGeachie, who was wintering in his native country of Argentina. Here’s John’s story.

“I was born in Argentina to British parents and met my wife, Emma, when we shared a bench in secondary school. My father worked with a N.Y.C.-based company and pronounced ‘U.S. college!’ I chose Dartmouth because I loved mathematics. Our junior year I wrote the operating system for one of the two original Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS) computers, which ran BASIC and other languages. It was the best software I ever wrote! I stayed in information technology, working in Arizona, New York, Hanover (1969-77), and Massachusetts. While in Hanover I attended Tuck and ended up running Kiewit Computation Center.

“I then worked for Arthur D. Little for 19 years. Major clients included the New York Stock Exchange, Aramco in Saudi Arabia, Banco Pastor in Spain, and YPF Petroleum in Argentina. I remember giving up my first-class seat while leaving Saudi Arabia as a prince would not permit takeoff unless he got a first-class seat! As a reward I got champagne, a cockpit visit, and a year of first-class travel on British Airways.

“With friends from Tuck we started several companies. In 2006 I joined the clinical trials software team at Phase Forward and then managed the development of Empirica Inspections, which was put together and delivered to the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 13 months. In 2015 I retired. Along the way I developed a software-based replica of the original DTSS, which now runs on Amazon Web Services. It replicates precisely the original computer and runs the operating system I wrote in 1963-64, as well as the original version of BASIC. It’s accessible via www.dtss.org/dtss.” (John did not mention that he holds three patents in information technology.)

We have lost classmates Siego Hayashi, Mark Eldridge, Jake Miller, and Frank Hershenson. See www.biggreen65.com for further details.

—Bob Murphy, 7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

It seems strange, at the dawn of a new year, to be looking back on this past October, but that’s the way publishing deadlines work. As I’m writing this I am still feeling the warm glow of seeing classmates gathered in person in Hanover. Our mini-reunion, organized by Mike Gonnerman, was a social, athletic, and culinary success.

Festivities started on Thursday night with dinner at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. Classmates there included Rich Beams and Mahala, Dave Beattie and Sue, Ted Bracken, Don Bradley and Marianne, Mike Gonnerman and Betsy, Jim Griffiths and Debbie, Roger Hansen and Nancy, Bob McConnaughey and French, John McGeachie and Emma, and Linda Waterhouse. We were also graced with the presence of Jennifer Hardy, who has done much for our class in her position in alumni relations.

Classmates spent Friday hiking and revisiting old haunts before reconvening at the Gonnerman home for drinks and dinner before the bonfire and other Homecoming events. In addition to those mentioned above, we were joined there and at subsequent class activities by Ted Atkinson and Marcia Pryde, John Bullock and Gretchen, Pete Frederick and Marcia, Steve Fowler and Linda, Bob Murphy and Brigid, Mark Nackman and Barb, Bill Webster and Sue, and George Wittreich and Jane. Saturday saw us at our traditional pregame BBQ, followed by a thrilling overtime football win against Yale. We all repaired to Pierce’s Inn for celebratory cocktails and dinner, enhanced by a performance by the Dartmouth Decibelles and a rousing alma mater.

Our annual class meeting Sunday morning was convened by President Bradley after a Pierce’s breakfast. Full minutes appear on our class website and include dates for next year’s mini-reunion and our summer meeting at Bill Webster’s. We voted to adopt Jennifer Hardy (see above) and Cindy Pierce and her husband, Bruce Lingelbach, owners of Pierce’s Inn, in gratitude for their help to our class. Cindy’s late father, Reg Pierce, had also been adopted, creating the first set of father-daughter classmates!

With sadness I report the loss of classmates Rob Hartford and Ned McCook.Obituaries and other class news can be found at www.biggreen65.com.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

We have some good news from mini-reunion chair Mike Gonnerman. Our first in-Hanover class reunion since 2019 will be on Homecoming Weekend, October 7-10. Plan on joining your classmates for a fun fall weekend at Mount Moosilauke and in Hanover! We are hoping for peak foliage and nice weather.

We begin on Thursday, October 7, with cocktails and dinner in the Class of 1965 Meeting Room at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. If you wish, you can spend the night at the Class of 1965 Cabin adjacent to the lodge. On Friday morning you may hike to the summit of Mount Moosilauke or take a shorter hike near the lodge. Friday evening we will have a reception at a local home, close enough to the Green to also attend the Homecoming parade, speeches, bonfire, and receptions (all depending, of course, on current Covid protocols).

Saturday morning there will be College lectures and events (schedule to come in September), followed by our usual cookout at Sphinx before the 1:30 football game against Yale. That evening there will be a cocktail party and dinner at Pierce’s Inn, followed by a performance by Dartmouth Decibelles. The class of 1964 will join us for the cookout and dinner. We will wrap up on Sunday with a class meeting at Pierce’s.

It’s worth a trip just to see the new, post-pandemic Hanover. The Hanover Inn and the Casque & Gauntlet House still anchor the north end of Main Street, but many of the old names are gone. There’s no more Dartmouth Bookstore, Campion’s departed some years ago (currently occupied by Starbucks), and neither the Dartmouth Savings nor Dartmouth National (where I worked) banks have survived. The Dartmouth Co-op is still around (albeit diminished in size), and Lou’s Restaurant continues to operate (on the fourth owner since Lou himself retired). Tanzi’s is long gone, but beer is still available at Stinson’s Village Store (Moe’s to us).

I regret to report the loss of classmate Bob Justis. Check the class website for obituaries and other updates: www.biggreen65.com.

—Bob Murphy,7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

I’m continuing with my theme of featuring classmates I’ve met through our monthly breakfast programs. Today we had a virtual “Southwest Florida” breakfast with participants from six states, including Dave Bush, who described his path to becoming a doctor.

“Like many in our class I went to Dartmouth as a premed, a natural choice because my dad was a physician. I wasn’t as influenced by Dartmouth itself as I was by the Dartmouth legends. Some were members of our class, such as Kent Salisbury, DMS’66, and John Bullock, DMS’66, both entering medical school after three years. While I was taking speech and Asian studies they talked about the rigors of med school: I was appropriately scared to death. Some role models became orthopedic surgeons, as did I. Jim Parkes ’57, DMS’59, became team physician for the Mets and Ken DeHaven ’61, DMS’63, a Dartmouth linebacker, became a leader in sports medicine and arthroscopy. In my residency class at Columbia no fewer than eight were Dartmouth graduates, my friends and colleagues. One professor was Charles Neer ’39, DMS’40, who had a big Dartmouth pennant on his wall. He was the preeminent shoulder surgeon of our generation. One of my greatest role models and mentors was Dr. Robert French Dickey ’32, DMS’33, President Dickey’s little brother. During his internship in 1938 at Geisinger in my hometown of Danville, Pennsylvania, Dickey wrote an insightful paper suggesting that all cars and buses should have seat belts. He went into private practice in his hometown of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; he was drafted and was assigned to airborne. He noticed that soldiers who crash-landed in gliders sustained many noncombat injuries, so he designed a seat-belt harness that saved hundreds of lives. He was awarded one of the few noncombat Bronze stars in WW II. After the war he went back to Geisinger, where he started the department of dermatology and has his name on a building there. Dartmouth didn’t have much of a direct influence on my medical career but the Dartmouth doctors certainly did!”

I regret to report the passing of classmates Bill van de Graaff and Cam Savage.

—Bob Murphy, 7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755, (603) 643-5589, murph65nh@comcast.net

Of the many roads our class has traveled, one of the more unusual certainly belongs to Ahmed Osman (featured in an article in the last issue). He writes, “You may wonder what brought this Nubian African to Hanover. I first came to the United States in 1960 to represent my country, the Sudan, in the New York Herald Tribune World Youth Forum. We were hosted by American families and the high schools in their neighborhoods. On my return I was admitted to the law school at the University of Khartoum, but I wanted to pursue my education abroad. I applied to Brandeis and Dartmouth; Brandeis offered a full scholarship while Dartmouth offered tuition only. I was tempted to accept Brandeis’ offer when the class of 1956 stepped in with its first full scholarship for a foreign student, including hosting the awardee by the families of the class during vacations. Thus, I was honored to belong to two classes, ’65 and ’56. Reflecting back to the time I spent at Dartmouth, I consider that period as the happiest of my life in terms of human friendship and support I found and developed at Dartmouth, the knowledge I gained there, and possibly the change I brought in Malcolm X to believe, after his pilgrimage to Mecca, in the brotherhood of all races irrespective of color and origin. It was that changeover that drove me to facilitate his invitation to Dartmouth, eulogize him at his funeral against all odds, and miss my timely graduation to accompany his widow to the hajj to have her experience the same rituals of human brotherhood as did her husband.” You can read Ahmed’s full letter to the class at www.biggreen65.com.

Add Philo Willetts to the list of published ’65 authors. His children’s book, Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times: Vol I: Great Americans, came out in 2019. Phi is still doing orthopedic medicine in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he landed after two years in the Navy and “44 countries and 48 states.”

Finally, with sadness I report the loss of classmates Claude “Rocky” Liman and Tom Morton.

—Bob Murphy, 7 Willow Spring Lane, Hanover, NH 03755; (603) 643-5589; murph65nh@comcast.net

The much-anticipated 55th reunion got the Covid-19 shove into 2021. Keep an eye on this column for more details as we and the College navigate the unknown.

Being, as we are, liberally educated modern sorts, we held the annual meeting that is always a part of the reunion by Zoom. Thirty-odd participants included Hank Amon, Carl Boe, Dave Beattie, Ted Bracken, Don Bradley, Duncan Burke, Brian Butler, Gerry D’Aquin, Rick Davey, Brad Dewey, Bob Ernst, Pete Frederick, Mike Gonnerman, Jim Griffiths, Walt Harrison, Gary Herbst, Bill Hicks, Stu Keiller, Jaan Lumi, John McGeachie, Bob Murphy, Ken McGruther, Mike Orr, Joe Picken, John Rogers, Joel Sternman, Bill Webster, Tom Wise, George Wittreich, Allen Zern, and Bob Ziemian.

I should mention that Gonnerman is the instigator and driving force behind our assimilation of internet technology into our class activities. He and Stu Keiller have given us all bragging rights as savvy old guys boogying into the 21st century. We are grateful for their leadership.

Although the reunion may have to wait a year, a new slate of officers does not. Griffiths chaired the nominating committee for the quinquennial beginning July 1. The officers proposed and unanimously elected are president, Don Bradley; vice president, Mike Gonnerman; treasurer, Mark Sheingorn; secretary/DAM column editor, Bob Murphy; Dartmouth College Fund head agent, Joel Sternman; planned giving/Bartlett Tower Society, Hank Amon; webmaster, Stu Keiller; newsletter editor, John Rogers.

In response to the question, “What are you doing during the pandemic?” Brian Butler wrote, “Carolyn and I will live the class motto in July and August, driving from Arizona to visit family and friends in Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, and Maine. We’ll spend about three weeks in Maine, where we have dear friends and I have two brothers (also dear friends, of course). On the leg from Wisconsin to Maine we’ll tow our Rangeley guide boat, which we’ll leave in Maine where she belongs. Social distancing will be observed throughout.”

Tom Bettman adds, “Stayin’ alive here in Eugene [Oregon], where Covid is still rare. Daughter Amanda ’12 is managing to survive and still working from home in Boston. Up til the pandemic closed things down I was tutoring math, science, and Spanish at one of our local high schools as a volunteer for 20-plus hours a week; now I am useful only to my dog and assorted fruit trees.”

Tom Balogh wrote a marvelous, painful reminiscence that begins, “Where were you 50 years ago? Where were you for the first moon landing and the Woodstock festival in the summer of 1969?” He speaks of his experience in Vietnam, losing friends and a classmate, Stephen MacVean. I will return to Tom’s piece in the newsletter or biggreen65.com.

Finally, thank you all for reading and commenting. It has been a signal honor to write the ’65 story these past five years. I hope you will continue to help Murph tell more of it in this column. I’ll be looking forward to your longer-form news for the newsletter.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Greetings! It’s been an easy winter in Minnesota. I’m writing at the end of February, and we’re anticipating a couple of 40-degree days. Suitable reason to break out shorts and T-shirts. Forty degrees feels toasty after 10 or 20 below. (We forget that March is often our snowiest month.)

And speaking as we were about calendars and warm weather, I hope you’re planning for the 55th reunion, coming up sooner than we all think the week of June 14. There will be a trip to Moosilauke and an informal dinner at the Ravine Lodge on Sunday, June 14. The reunion starts on Monday, June 15, and runs to Thursday, June 18. We will be staying in the East Wheelock Cluster across from Alumni Gym. Mike Gonnerman, Roger Hansen, Dick Harris, Steve Fowler,and George Wittreich are the reunion committee and are hard at work on planning events. These will include a film and presentation on Dartmouth computing by Dan Rockmore, head of the Neukom Institute, and John McGeachie and John Kunz. There will be a talk by the college librarian, a memorial service for deceased classmates, and a reception and dinner with President Hanlon. More activities in and around campus will make for full days and nights. Gonnerman notes that there are “lots of moving pieces” at this stage; with this group moving those pieces around, the puzzle is going to be a good one. (How’s that for a limping metaphor?)

You will have by now received registration materials. If, by chance, that did not happen, email Roger Hansen at hhansen@ne.rr.com.

While we’re on the subject of the reunion, class pride, and communication, drop me a line for the next column. Since we’re reuning, reminiscences are in order: What foolish thing did you do in those magnificent few days between comps and graduation (it was a few, wasn’t it, or did it just fly by for me?) or the first job or internship? Or tell me about the transition for a lot of you from college life to military life (I count 88 classmates in the commissioning ceremony.) or where your undergraduate degree took you. I went off to business school, later imbibing operations research. Those courses in how to do things, from accounting to finance to math, were the intellectual equivalent of the stuff you score at Home Depot with that holiday gift card. The English major probably wouldn’t have gotten me a job (after all, Starbucks was years in the future), but it and Dartmouth gave me a way to look at the world and at the problems my day job presented that made all those other tools work. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Finally, the College has belatedly learned of the deaths of three of our classmates: Don Del Dio in April 2019; Capt. Bill Mackey (Navy, retired) in November 2016; and David Street in December 2005.

See you at the 55th!

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

As you read this, winter is upon us. In Hanover (and Minnesota), surely “the wolf-wind is wailing at the doorways, And the snow drifts deep along the road, And the ice gnomes are marching from their Norways, And the great white cold walks abroad.”

Richard Hovey, class of 1885, made winter attractive for us, didn’t he? Although I remember the walk from the Commons to Brown Hall being pretty unfriendly (to say nothing of helping coax a VW Beetle to start when the temp drifted south of zero).

But before we get to the fire, the glass of cheer, and all that, let us take a moment to look back on the days of fall and the October 10-13 mini-reunion. Mike Gonnerman writes that festivities kicked off with a Thursday dinner at Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. On Friday Hank Amon, Dave Beattie, and Rich Beams summited Mount Moosilauke (huzzah!). Friday night featured a gathering at Linda and Steve Fowler’s home and a trip to the bonfire on the Green. Saturday included college events and sports, with the traditional tailgate at Sphinx. The Green handed Yale a 42-10 thumping on the gridiron. Cocktails and dinner followed at Pierce’s, where we were joined by the class of ’64. Finally, Gonnerman chaired a class meeting on Sunday.

Attendees at the various events included Hank Amon, Sue and Dave Beattie, Rich Beams, Ted Bracken, Marianne and Don Bradley,Stephanie and Gary Bucher, Larry Duffy,Linda and Steve Fowler,Marcia and Pete Frederick,Betsey and Mike Gonnerman,Nancy and Roger Hansen,Brenda and Jaan Lumi,French and Bob McConnaughey,Emma and John McGeachie,Jory and Ken McGruther, Bob Murphy,Linda Waterhouse,Jane and George Wittreich,and Judy and Allen Zern.

Also in October, Roger Hansen represented the class at Alumni Council on October 17—a report will follow in the next column. Tom Long reports that his Normandy trip, which a number of us were privileged to take in 2016, has now added a high school plan. What a marvelous opportunity!

Ward Hindman (last column) got me thinking about those days of being freshman nimrods. (We fit both the modern usage as inept and the classical one as hunters, though we were not always sure what we were hunting, were we?) Then the year of being grand old seniors, responsible for the social (if not moral) education of callow freshman. That developmental arc was apparent to those of us who lived in the Choate Road dorms—suites of three doubles, two singles, and a common room. The clever social engineers in administration always included both upperclassmen and freshmen in each suite. Daily interaction allowed intellectual development (Weaver Gaines asking a hapless freshman taking “Philosophy I” to imagine “a being greater than which no other can be imagined,” creating a rock too heavy for him/her/it to lift) and other important matters (Colby Jr. Friday night or hitch to Boston?).

To prevent future mind ramblings from your sec’y, send me your own stories, mates. Please.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

This month, we have interesting news from non-retirees, as well as doings in Washington, D.C. But first, a call to action: The 55th reunion is Sunday, June 14, through Wednesday, June 17, 2020. Seems like a long time off, no doubt, but the important quinquennial business of electing and naming officers requires some foresight. Mike Gonnerman says, “In practice, the nominating committee identifies a nominee for president.” Jim Griffiths adds, “That nominee then joins the committee in fleshing out a full slate of officers to be presented at class meeting. Further nominations will be accepted from the floor prior to voting.”

Griffiths heads the nominating committee, which includes Gonnerman and former class presidents Hank Amon, Pete Frederick, Roger Hansen, Ken McGruther, Bill Webster, and Allen Zern. By tradition, Gonnerman becomes vice president to support the incoming president; Griffiths is looking for nominations and volunteers for the other offices: secretary, treasurer, newsletter editor, webmaster, Hanover mini-reunions, out-of-Hanover minis, class projects, head agent, planned giving, and class scholarships. Contact him at jimgriffiths@cs.com with your ideas.

Mike Lewis, Marc Efron, Ted Bracken, and Rick Davey attended the annual Daniel Webster award dinner hosted by the Dartmouth Club of D.C. Lewis gave a warm and humorous introduction to this year’s awardee, Sen. Angus King ’66. Sixty-four Dartmouth alums representing classes from 1953 through 2018 attended.

At this point in our lives many of us are retired. I like to think of writing as my second career, but the world seems to view anything that pays less than minimum wage as not worthy of the appellation. Apparently, Cohen Hall injected some with an ineffable drive to ignore the golf course, the cruise, the hammock and highball. My suitemates Tom Long and Weaver Gaines are still at it (and at better than minimum wage, I suspect).

Long went from Harvard Law to a career in tax and corporate law. Then, 35 years later, with freshly minted Ph.D., he became assistant professor of history at George Washington University. He continues to teach and advise undergraduates. Gaines also gave up the practice of law to help technology companies graduate from academia to the world of commerce. He cofounded OBMedical Co. (his fourth or fifth startup, I lose count) and, after its sale last fall to Philips Healthcare, he cofounded another medical device company, Evren Technologies, of which he is chairman and CEO. (He says, “Starting at the top has its virtues.”) Evren is developing a wearable transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulator to treat PTSD, a condition that affects far more sufferers than vets, including one in nine women during their lifetimes. 

I pass this along because it’s interesting and because I would like to hear about your years since you quit the day job—if you did. Are you devoted to a cause or charity? Have you used your time to perfect a sideline or a passion you couldn’t afford to pursue during the years you were buried in work and family? Tell me about it.

And, get those nominations to Griffiths!

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Greetings, classmates. I write from the polar vortexed North, where staying indoors with a good book and perhaps a glass of cheer is the best idea. For now. However, many of you are out in the world traveling, giving lectures and TED talks, climbing mountains, and doing good works. All of this activity no doubt leads to exhaustion and the concomitant dearth of notes about those interesting and exciting undertakings. For now, the cupboard (electronic) in which I store up stories is bare. As you recover from all your excellent adventures, let me know about them!

Speaking of undertakings, I reported in last column Dave Beattie and Mike Gonnerman scaled Moosilauke at the October mini-reunion. Beattie corrected me: Roger Hansen and Hank Amon climbed with Dave. (I should have known—I was stumping around the base of the mountain.) Gonnerman had done the climb before, otherwise he just does marathons.

Mike Gonnerman led the February class teleconference. He pioneered the idea, and it’s working well. Carl Boe, Beattie, Don Bradley, Peter Frederick,Gonnerman, Hansen, Dick Harris, Gary Herbst, Ward Hindman, Ken McGruther, Howard Mueller, Joel Sternman, Bruce Wagner, Bill Webster, George Wittreich, and Alan Zern attended. Any classmate can join the meeting—Mike sends a notification to those of you who have registered emails. (At last count, 434 of the 739 names on the class list had registered emails. In other words, we have 305 opportunities to expand the list if you email laggards contact Dartmouth alumni records.) Mike’s slides gave updates on class doings and a growing number of informal class meetings (Hanover, of course, but also New York, Lake George, and Florida). The next teleconference is scheduled for May 15. Mark your calendars.

I have had conversations with some of you over time about being, as we are by definition, entitled. After all, we graduated from an elite institution. I haven’t met many of those stuffy, overprivileged male classmates who seem to populate the imaginations of those who generalize us as part of the problem of American malaise. I’d love to hear from you on the subject.

As for me, Dartmouth made an enormous difference. I arrived from an overcrowded Illinois high school that had never sent a graduate to the East Coast, much less Dartmouth. In my first year I mingled with classmates from fine public and private schools. They were two years ahead of me academically, farther than that socially. Valedictorians, Merit scholars, elite athletes; high-achievers and gentlemen all, it seemed to me. True, some got those gentleman’s C’s the world speaks of dismissively (although back before grade inflation, they were C-minuses). I got several myself, not because I was a gentleman (in either the correct or the pejorative sense, I hope), but because I was befogged or lazy or both.

Finally, we have learned of the passing of Bill Stanton in Long Beach, California, and Stephen Hope in Pennsylvania. Obits will appear in the magazine and on the class website at www.biggreen65.com.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

About the time you get this, Hanover will be in the grips of the great northern winter, as will my not-too-primitive Minnesota alcazar. Wherever you are, I hope you will settle in, grasp the cup from which cometh relaxation and quiet pleasure, and enjoy this alumni magazine issue dedicated to Dartmouth’s 250th anniversary. You have at your fingertips a look at what the campus may be like in 50 years, a report on how the College went coed, and a gatefold timeline of Dartmouth highlights. And, of course, this report on class doings.

The Hanover mini-reunion included Hank Amon, Mahala and Rich Beams, Susan and Dave Beattie, Sharon and Bob Blake, Marianne and Don Bradley, Linda and Steve Fowler, Marcia and Pete Frederick, Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Nancy and Roger Hanson, French and Bob McConnaughey, Emma and John McGeachie, John Rogers, Carol and Korky Terada, Linda Waterhouse, and Jane and George Wittreich. The mini kicked off on Thursday evening, October 11, with a reception and dinner at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge. Several of us stayed in the 1965 cabin that night. Friday morning Dave and Susan Beattie, Gonnerman, and I gathered to attempt the mountain. Beattie and Gonnerman took off like mountain goats. Sue Beattie would have followed, but stayed behind to shepherd yours truly through a much easier climb when we discovered that my reach vastly exceeded my grasp. We returned (limped, in my case) to Etna, New Hampshire, and Pierce’s, then to Jim and Debbie Griffiths’ home for a delicious meal, an impressive bonfire, camaraderie, and songs.

Saturday morning featured a trip through the steam tunnel (remember how the snow melted in a straight line across the Green?). Several of us stopped on the way to the tailgate lunch at the Class of 1965 Galleries, Rauner Library (formerly Webster Hall), to view a student-curated project, Coeds and Cohogs: The Struggle Over Female Integration at Dartmouth College. Fascinating to see the College’s 1990s policy on rape and abuse, which would pass for a 2018 policy. Evening featured ’tails and dinner at Pierce’s, followed by the Decibelles. Gonnerman chaired the Sunday class meeting, after which we were off to our various haunts.

Merriam Webster’s Time Traveler website notes that these words first appeared in print in 1965: convenience store (wait a minute—what about Ethel’s Cut Rate Drugs?), rapid eye movement sleep (which we need plenty of), hippie, Black Panther, teeny bopper, and stagflation. And dudes (1877), unless you shoot me your hot skinny (1957), you are at risk of seeing more of these nuggets (I have not yet hit “Xerox as a transitive verb”). So send me your reflection on Dartmouth’s 250th year…or an update on what you’re up to…or a thought on the Dartmouth education of the future. Otherwise, it’s going to be more lexical sundriana.

Finally, we have learned with sadness of the passing of classmates Bob Busch, Jeff North, and Rob Shretz. Obits will appear on our website, biggreen65.com.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Mike Gonnerman reports the May monthly Hanover micro-mini reunion was “an outstanding breakfast meeting. There were eight from 1965 and four from the class of 1964. Classmates included Bill Webster, Jim Griffiths, Bob McConnaughey, Bob Murphy, Mark Sheingorn, Gonnerman, Larry Duffy, and John Shevlin.Our first joint activity with the ’64s was the fall mini-reunions. This was our second.” We’re looking to continue and expand the relationship.

Five classmates were in Carunchio, Italy, for a week in June attending the Abruzzo Cibus cooking school at the Palazzo Tour d’Eau. Ken and Jorunn McGruther organized the event. Also attending were Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, Pat and Frank Hankins, Ellen and Dave Wagner, and Jane and George Wittreich. The trip included a lecture on wines from a sommelier, a search for truffles with truffle-hunting dogs, visits to an olive oil press, a cheese manufacturer, and a bell-making foundry, and lunch at a trabocco (a fishing house on stilts) in the Adriatic. After making Italian dishes all week, the class ended with a gala pizza party featuring pizzas made by the guests and rousing Italian music by singers and musicians from Carunchio.

The summer class gathering-planning meeting was on July 17 at Bill Webster’s house in Connecticut. If we have your email address, you will have received notification. Bill’s home was featured in an article about the Ledyard Canoe Club Trip to the Sea. Bill hosts a party-reception for the canoers. There is a nice picture of his home in the article at www.news.dartmouth.edu/photos/galleries/2018-trip-sea.

Dartblog.com’sfeatured article on June 6 spoke of the “carefully researched profile of Fletcher Burton’s short life and military service written by Ted Bracken. It is part of Bracken’s series about the men of Dartmouth who died in Normandy in June and July of 1944. He assembled the portraits as background for the class of 1965’s journey to Normandy in June 2016. The trip was planned and led by professor Tom Long ’65 of George Washington University, whose course on the Normandy invasion Bracken audited in the first half of 2016.” Joe Asch ’79, Dartblog’s lead editor, notes, “The site provides a daily report of the goings on at the College: the failings of the administration and the many challenges currently facing Dartmouth. On weekends history and travel are featured.” Along with critical commentary, you get updates on wandering bears, the deer population, and other matters relating to Hanover. Ward Hindman writes, “After a career in aerospace (U.S. Air Force and corporate) I retired summer before last.” He notes that this is his first submission to the notes in decades and urges me to “be gentle with your editing.” In the interest of gentle editing and his great note about travel, I will defer most until next column. (The end of a chapter should induce the reader to hunger for the next, right?) Finally, we note with sadness the passing of two classmates, Joel “Ike” Eiserman and Ted Stafford. As always, send me a note on your doings (or undoings).

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

This will be a bittersweet column. We have word of the passing on of Andrew Wells Lewis and Art Rainey since last we spoke. Steve Waterhouse left us in December. His memorial service was held in Hanover on January 6 and was attended by Betsy and Mike Gonnerman, French and Bob McConnaughey, Sue and Bill Webster, Diane and Tom Campbell, Nancy and Roger Hansen, Linda and Steve Fowler, Rich Beams, Mike Bettmann, Pete Frederick, Larry Duffy, Dennis Purnell and Hank Amon.

There was sweet with the bitter. Estimable activities included intrepid outdoorsmen Amon, Beams, Dave Beattie and Gonnerman spending February 12-14 at the Class of 1965 Cabin at Mount Moosilauke. They were joined by Dan Nelson, formerly head of the DOC, and Bill Young, Hanover resident, M.D., friend of the class and Appalachian Trail hiker. They made the climb and “after lunch,” Gonnerman writes, “we cross-country skied or hiked with snowshoes the Al Merrill Loop Trail to the John Rand Cabin. (The snow was) not ideal for cross-country skiing, but good for micro spikes.” (Read more about the trek on page 31.)

The micro-mini in Hanover is thriving and has birthed a Florida spinoff, which was attended by Bob Murphy, Rick Mahoney, George Wittreich, Bob Busch, Jim Griffiths and Michael Zare.

Dewitt Jones wrote from Molokai, Hawaii, “For the last 20 years I’ve been giving keynote speeches to corporate audiences around the world on the lessons about creativity and vision from my time as a photographer for National Geographic. Recently, I compressed all those presentations into a TEDx talk called ‘Celebrate What’s Right with the World!’ ” His intention to find a perspective that translates the ordinary to the extraordinary is admirably captured in breathtaking photography and an uplifting talk at www.celebratewhatsright.com/tedx.

Dick Durrance mentioned his TEDx talk, titled “What I Learned Photographing the Vietnam War.” His haunting photography captures “not knowing whether the person you’re aiming at is a friend or an enemy.” Durrance wonders how the kid’s going to “put it back in the bottle when he gets home.” He says he put the talk together because “20 veterans commit suicide every day! I didn’t know it, and I fear most people don’t.” Some 30 percent of returning vets have PTSD. It’s a trenchant talk on an important matter. Both of these fine videos are on www.biggreen65.com. Speaking of the website, our class meeting of February 20 is captured in PowerPoint (thanks to Gonnerman) on the website. Some great pictures of the aforementioned trip up Moosilauke and the Florida micro-mini.

Finally, a secretarial erratum: The eagle-eyed Gonnerman (sounds like northern nonmigratory species, no?) noted, “In the March/April issue of DAM you report that Bob Murphy is the baseball player. In fact, it is Ken McGruther.” The ever-vigilant McGruther replied, “Heck, now that I have it in print that Murph is a baseball player, I’ll recruit him to go to Cooperstown on my team in September!”

We had some great material this time around. Keep it coming!

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Greetings, all. As noted in the last column, the first step of our cyber-odyssey is to convert the mailed newsletter to an Internet conversation (who says old guys can’t be au courant?). Mike Gonnerman says, “We will be holding quarterly conference calls to update classmates on class, Dartmouth and Hanover issues.” The first such meeting, which included online notes as well as audio, occurred November 15. If you did not get an invitation, confirm your current email address with Gonnerman at michael@gonnerman.com. While we’re on the subject of the cyberspace, web wizard Stu Keiller has set up a “Class of 1965 Store” on biggreen65.com. Run down the left column, select the store and you will find Land’s End more than willing to provide you with a variety of goods featuring the ’65 boot and beanie (surely the finest of class logos).

The October 5-8 mini-reunion was a great success. It kicked off earlier than usual with a Thursday morning micro-mini organized by Bob Murphy at Skinny Pancake in Hanover that included Murphy, Gonnerman, Pete Frederick, Mark Sheingorn, Bob McConnaughey, Larry Duffy and Jim Griffiths. Thursday night Keiller arranged for cocktails in the Class of 1965 Conference Room at the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, followed by dinner in the lodge. A number spent the night in the 1965 Cabin and an intrepid crew led by Dave Beattie and including Hank Amon, Sue and Dick Avery and Rich Beams climbed to the Mount Moosilauke summit on Friday morning. We expect to repeat the Moosilauke trip and climb in 2018. On Friday afternoon Jane and George Wittreich helped erect the 1964-1965 tent at the Sphinx. Debbie and Jim Griffiths hosted a cocktail party at their home, finishing with a singalong around a campfire. Saturday featured college Homecoming events in the morning. The traditional tailgate lunch at Sphinx with the 1964s was the prelude to football and Dartmouth’s exciting comeback victory over Yale. Cocktails at Pierce’s included toasts to Ed Keible with a fine cabernet from his Alpha Omega vineyard. Dinner with the 1964s followed, and was capped by songs from the always-astonishing Decibelles. The dinner included Jim Aiken and his niece, Hank Amon and daughter Carly ’17, Marcia and Ted Atkinson, Sally and Dick Avery, Mahala and Rich Beams and guests, Sue and Dave Beatty, Marianne and Don Bradley, Dianne and Tom Campbell, Larry Duffy, Linda and Steve Fowler, Marcia and Pete Frederick, Betsy and Mike Gonnerman and guests, Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Nancy and Roger Hansen, Diane and Stu Keiller, Brenda Ringwald and Jaan Lumi, French and Bob McConnaughey, Jory and Ken McGruther, Sue and Bill Webster, Jane and George Wittreich, as well as class scholars Madison Hazard ’20 and Amanda Nee ’21 and Dartmouth College Fund managing director Jennifer Hardy. We have word of the passing of Dan Corbett after a long illness. Dan was an active class officer, a decorated military officer and a regional club leader.

Last and not least, I need stories, folks. Let me know yours.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Greetings, ’65ers. This edition brings news of doings far and wide.

Heinz Kluetmeier is the first-ever photographer to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. If you’ve read a Sports Illustrated, you’ve probably seen his pictures, astounding in visual effect as well as the technology and concentration of capturing them. Just google him.

Rick Tabors writes that he is co-head of a project called the Utility of the Future in the MIT Energy Initiative and running a small economics and engineering consulting group focused on electricity and natural gas. He answered my “Why I love Dartmouth” question of a couple of months ago, saying, “I recognize that it was the Dartmouth education (mostly in science) that taught me to think logically and critically.” Rick was awarded an honorary doctor of science in engineering by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, for “leading the effort to restructure the international electric power industry.” He says the encomium is overstated, which gives him snaps for humility, but probably not accuracy.

Steve Waterhouse writes that a small but robust 1965 group gathered in Vail, Colorado, for our 18th annual class of 1965 Vail mini. Leading the group was class president Mike Gonnerman with Diane and Tom Campbell plus Steve and Linda Waterhouse, and messages from some other regulars that medical repairs, ski injuries and plain old work interfered with their plans for this year. Upwards of one hundred Dartmouth alumni and friends attended the annual Vail club winter cocktail party at the Sonnenalp Hotel, kicking off a weekend of seminars, parties and skiing. The main seminar was on ski safety and included Carly Amon ’17, the captain of the Dartmouth Skiway ski patrol and Hank Amon’s daughter. All in all, the 18th 1965 Vail mini was another great success. CarniVail started in 2000 and led to the formation of the Dartmouth Club of Vail. The three-day gathering has seen well more than 2,000 attendees during the history of the event, including alumni from Europe and Asia. It has been referred to as Dartmouth’s largest annual multi-day alumni gathering outside of Hanover. Waterhouse gives credit to the class of 1965 for initiating the event, but it was he who initiated it.

Since last writing we have lost two classmates, Max Koslow and Ed Keible. Obits will follow at the class website. Howard Mueller reports that a highlight of the Dartmouth Silicon Valley (and Bay Area) wine extravaganza extraordinaire in April was the fine “Fast Eddie” Cabernet, which was poured and appreciated in Ed’s memory. Keible was part of two wineries, Alpha Omega (bet that came from Alpha Omega Beta!) and AXR.

Finally, you will receive this just before the end of Dartmouth’s fiscal year. If you haven’t made your annual gift, put down the magazine and take out your checkbook. And, while you have pen in hand or keyboard at the ready, fire off a note to me. The richness of the column depends on your wildly various, always interesting lives.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Greetings from balmy Minnesota. It has been a warm winter and we have been realizing how much we miss bragging about the bone-chilling cold we tough denizens of the far north survive. Mike Gonnerman reports the weather has been more acceptably inclement in Hanover. “After two snowfalls in early February,” he says, “we had about 16 inches of snow on the ground for Winter Carnival, with normal (below freezing) temperatures. On Friday, February 10, the undergraduate polar bear swimmers swam in Occom Pond when the temperature reached a high of 16. On Saturday it was 22 for the Winter Carnival exhibits on the Green (a skating rink, ice sculptures and a 4-foot-high snow dragon) and the town’s Occom Pond celebration.” Sadly, temperatures have since increased to the 50s and everything is starting to melt, Mike notes.

Brad Dewey writes that he retired from his executive search practice three years ago and is living on a hill above Lake Geneva, Switzerland. When he is not in motion, that is. Working now on his bucket list, he gives a whole new meaning to peripatetic. His long-distance motorcycle touring trips have included Argentina, Bolivia, Machu Picchu and Peru and northern Chile in 2012, then a three-month tour of the United States and British Columbia (2013). In 2014 he traveled London to Bangkok via Istanbul, the Silk Road network in the ’Stans, China, Laos and the Golden Triangle and the Thai-Myanmar border. Last summer, he visited the Baltic via Denmark, the coast of Norway and the North Cape, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. He asks, “Anyone interested in joining me this summer to tour the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria?” He offers an attached apartment “in case any of you are planning to visit Geneva and are looking for a base.” Wish I’d known last year….

Steve Fowler is on a journey of a different sort, surely as difficult as Brad’s, but closer to home. He says, “Despite my lifelong love of all kinds of music, I have never mastered an instrument, so it is now or never. I am trying to see whether I can learn enough about reading music and the double bass to play a lick here and there. We have a full-size (rental) bass set up in the living room, where it is certainly a conversation piece, if nothing else.”

By the time this hits your mailbox, CarniVail will be over and Steve Waterhouse will have a chance to relax a bit. More on that next column.

Meanwhile, let me know what you’re reading, where you’re traveling, what you’re up to. Musings, facts and figures, ruminations, deep insight—I need grist, folks!

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

As I file this column I will be at the fall mini for Homecoming, October 28-30: ’Tails will be consumed at Linda and Steve Fowler’s, Harvard consumed (we hope) by the Big Green and then dinner at Pierce’s on Saturday night.

Speaking of consumption, Bob Murphy has begun monthly breakfast meetings for local and visiting classmates. “In addition to Mike Gonnerman and myself,” Bob says, “we’ve had Dick Bernstein, Mike Bettman, Mark Eldridge, Steve Fowler, Pete Frederick, Jim Griffiths, Roger Hansen, Sven Karlen, Allen Koop, Rick Mahoney, Bob McConnaughey, Mark Sheingorn and Steve Waterhouse. They started at Lou’s but moved to Skinny Pancake. (An attempt to channel the millennial experience? No, Gonnerman avers that it’s just space needs). Topics have included politics, College issues, out-of-Hanover minis such as Normandy, health. “One thing sticks in my mind,” Murph notes. “(We have) differing perspectives and opinions, but the great thing about those meetings was the well-reasoned arguments and the mutual respect shown by all attendees. If only the general political debate could be like our breakfasts!”

One of the pleasures of writing this column is to find the varied paths our lives have taken and how we are re-inventing ourselves. Brian Butler spent time with Weaver Gaines and Mary Trew at their Fire Island, New York, home “hunkered down against the unremitting rain. We read, ate and talked—including about how we might re-invent ourselves now that our careers are tailing off.” It’s a good pursuit, one I am learning Dartmouth makes inspiring…a dividend for living that we probably didn’t anticipate while studying for comps or raising a glass of Tanzi’s best brew in fellowship.

Which leads me to Jeff Aldred. His life path took him to Vietnam after two years at Dartmouth. He returned to receive an M.S. in mechanical engineering at Colorado University. Then followed seven startups, all centered on mechanical solutions. Jeff talked about engineering elegance, Occam’s razor and the value of seeing things through to completion. Steve Key took his M.B.A. at Cornell, then a stint at Ernst and Young, then CFO duties at ConAgra and Textron. “I flunked retirement,” he says. He now sits on several corporate boards. He says, “The education that I received at Dartmouth served me well in my adult life. It was for me, and for all of us who are alums, an experience in learning how to think and how to conduct oneself.” Robert Schwartz followed yet another path, first to the back-to-the-land movement. That led to a career as a newspaper reporter in West Virginia and now as a community college professor in Arizona. He’s never lost the farming instinct, though. His yard consists of a garden, grapefruit and Minneola trees, and his tendency is to try to convince his neighbors to convert grass to productive plantings (potatoes, for instance).

As always, I look forward to your notes, calls and insight. Also, mark your calendar for CarniVail, March 3-5. Details in the next column.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

“Marvelous” and “deeply moving,” were only some of the reactions to the June 5-13 class of 1965 trip to Normandy led by Tom Long. Bruce Jolly said of Tom, “Your knowledge of the Normandy invasion, your open personality, your enthusiasm and your skill in delivery make you a great teacher and a great tour leader.” Twenty-eight ’65s made the trip, which is modeled after the class Long teaches at George Washington University. Susan and Tom Long led the trip (Tom as teacher, Susan making the whole thing run). Hank Amon, Ted Bracken, Marianne and Don Bradley, Louise and David Bush, Gerry d’Aquin and Deb Coulson, Weaver Gaines and Mary Trew, Mike Gonnerman, Deborah and Jim Griffiths, Nancy and Roger Hansen, Ann and Bruce Jolly, Diane and Stu Keiller, Rick Leach, Beverly and John Rogers, Susanne and Bill Webster, and Jane and George Wittreich made up the group. Wanda and Keith Young joined us for two evenings in London. The trip took us first to London and Winston Churchill’s headquarters, then the estate at Bletchley, where 10,000 people worked in complete secrecy to decrypt German communications. We then crossed the channel to Bayeux to visit the D-Day beaches.

We traveled those Normandy shores and learned about the brilliant deception (Hitler was sure the landing would be at the Pas de Calais); the good, bad and tragic luck; the mind-boggling logistics; and the grit and determination of the troops on both sides. Long’s gift as a teacher, beside deep knowledge and enthusiasm, made the story of D-Day a human one. “Realizing that it was the courage of people just like us that actually made it happen,” he said, “was a very powerful experience for me.” And so it was for the rest of us.

At the American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, we read eulogies for the five Dartmouth men buried there. Bracken audited Tom’s class and became “a junkie,” as he said, of the history. His detailed biographies were the basis for five classmates’ eulogies—for 2nd Lt. Edward T. Jenkins III ’34 (read by Wittreich), PFC James R. Whitcomb ’38 (Gonnerman), Sgt. James A. O’Hearn Jr. ’41 (Keiller), 2nd Lt. Richard Kersting ’42 (Gaines) and Seaman Fletcher Burton Jr. ’45 (Bracken). Keiller remembers thinking “how lucky we were to come together in the fall of 1961 at Dartmouth. We enjoyed a good life and were now paying tribute to the men of the greatest generation who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedom. It was a fitting conclusion to a wonderful week together that will endure as one my fondest Dartmouth memories.”

Rumor has it that Dartmouth travel is hoping Tom will lead this trip again. There’s too much to cover in this column, but Keiller has collected pictures, stories and at least one journal that flesh out this wonderful experience at biggreen65.com (mini-reunions).

Finally, mark your calendar for the fall mini-reunion at Pierce’s Lodge in Etna, New Hampshire, October 28-29 (Homecoming vs. Harvard), and for CarniVail, which Steve Waterhouse says will happen March 3-5, 2017.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Lots of activities occurred through the winter. The 17th consecutive CarniVail happened March 4-6. Writing before the event, I can only assume that it will go well with Steve Waterhouse leading the way. Bill Webster reminds us of the annual Trip to the Sea, which will take off from Hanover May 15 and make it to Connecticut after five nights on the river. The trip is open to all classes now and even admits a kayak or two. For more information, google “SE Connecticut Dartmouth Club.” Also, Gerry Hills ’68 has started a bare-boat sailing trip that will be cruising out of Tortola in the Virgin Islands May 5-14. It’s open to alums this year if space is available. To see more, google “Dartmouth Club Virgin Islands.”

I have had several eloquent answers to Ted Bracken’squestion from the Alumni Council about how the Dartmouth experience had shaped our lives. Lee Arbuckle wrote of his classmates, “Some were very rah-rah at all times, others directed in David Riesman’s terminology. A few were totally individualistic, inner-directed…most of us were somewhere in between.” Importantly, the College accommodated both ends of the spectrum. He continued, “I dropped out of school midway through my fall term of junior year knowing I had to have more real world experience to find myself. Dartmouth had my head bursting.” He joined the Peace Corps, went to Colombia for two years and returned to Dartmouth to find “an astonishing amount of change. Only after about six months did it occur to me that most of the change had taken place behind my eyeballs or in my gut or in my heart.”

Stu Keiller returned to Dartmouth after 45 years to become chair of the ’65 bunkhouse project. “Classmates rallied to the project with their financial support,” he said. “More importantly, the warmth and enthusiasm with which they embraced the class effort, and me personally, made me realize Dartmouth had given not only an education, but a fellowship that will endure for life.”

Finally, we have word of the passing of two classmates, Les Pratt and Bill Boukalik. David Jones and John Fyler remember Les as a thoughtful guy with a keen wit and a touch of Vermont in his speech. Bill was remembered by Larry Hannah, Bob Cox, Kent Salisbury, David Mulliken, Rich Beams, Bob Burke, Michael Quadland as serious, down to earth and a good friend. David Mulliken said of Bill, “Makes me realize how extremely fortunate we are to have counted one another as brothers during our time in Hanover.”

A happy reminder of those connections, even under sad circumstances, was Rich Beams, Frank Burk and me realizing we all took Professor Booth’s Chaucer class, that each had kept the text through the years and that our kids were universally terrified that we were wont to declaim, “Whan that April with its shoures soote” at odd moments in life.

Please keep the thoughts coming!

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; johnbairdrogers@comcast.net

Lots to write about this time: mini-reunion at Pierce’s, upcoming CarniVail March 4-6, a Normandy trip led by Tom Long June 4-13.

The Hanover mini October 9-11 was smaller than usual, possibly the result of it having followed closely on the 50th. But a good time was had by all. Linda and Steve Fowler hosted a Friday night reception that included great food and drink and (later) a place to dry off after the (un-forecast) rain. Saturday dawned cool and bright, perfect setting for a record-setting football game with Yale (35-3, 435 yards passing, a school record). Many of us partook of several Homecoming lectures before the tailgate lunch and the game. We moved to conversations at Pierce’s, then a dinner and performance by the Decibelles. Attending this year were Mike Gonnerman,Linda andSteve Fowler,Jane and George Wittreich, Ted Bracken, Ed Keible, Marianne and Don Bradley, Marcia and Pete Frederick,Debbie and Jim Griffiths, Susan andTom Long, Jaan Lumi and Brenda Ringwald, Rich Beams,Ellen and Claude Liman,French and Bob McConnaughey,Barbara and Mark Nackman, Charlie LaFiura and John Rogers. In the class meeting next morning (minutes: www.biggreen65.com/newsletter) Tom Long discussed the June 4-13 alumni travel trip to Normandy. Tom has led this trip several times for graduate and undergraduate students at George Washington University, as well as West Point cadets. It covers the history and geography of the Normandy invasion. The trip is limited to 30 people. For more information, call Academic Travel Abroad at (800) 566-7896. Ted Bracken mentioned the consolidation of war memorials at Memorial Field. With the renovation of Alumni Field and renaming as Memorial Field, these were brought together in a single memorial at the field, with the ’65 playing a major part in the effort.

Donaldo “Donny” Hart wrote of the impact of the ’65 “Picturing the World” exhibit at the Hood Museum (see www.biggreen65.com/class-of-1965-digital-art-show), featuring the work of Dick Durrance, Dewitt Jones, Heinz Kluetmeier, Chris Knight and Joel Sternfeld. Donny was inspired to ask Dick to give the keynote presentation at Ad Week in Washington. Donny notes, “It was a terrific success and inspiring to many, not least to me. Through a series of his own spectacular photographs Dick taught that perseverance is an indispensable companion to reaching one’s creative goals. He emphasized that it is through images rather than through words that we recall past moments in our lives and, similarly, it can be through images and visualization that we shape our futures—at any age. I am surely not the only ’65 who at our time in life finds that the future is not a wholly familiar landscape. Dick’s thoughtful and entertaining presentation helps make that territory look less disconcerting.”

By the time this appears, the wolf-wind will be wailing at our doorways and the ice gnomes marching from their Norways. Time for pipes and bowls and fireside. In short, plenty of time, I hope, for you to drop me a line at johnbairdrogers@comcast.net.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; john.b.rogers.65@dartmouth.edu

The 50th reunion has come and gone, completed with dispatch through the efforts of many. More than 200 classmates, spouses and friends made it memorable. Many deserve kudos for its smooth execution: Steve Fowler, Mike Bettman and Roger Hansen, certainly, for guiding the ship; Stu Keiller, Dave Beattie, Mike Gonnerman and Ed Keible for the Class of ’65 Bunkhouse project (article at http://alumni.dartmouth.edu/news.aspx?id=609); the many panel organizers and contributors; Steve Waterhouse for the Passion for Skiing project; and Jim Griffiths for assembling the ’65 Friday night band.

I approached the reunion with some trepidation, remembering the elderly gentlemen rocking on the front porch of the Hanover Inn back in 1965, dozing between events of their 50th reunion. What would we be like?

I shouldn’t have worried. I left the reunion rejuvenated by the breadth of interest and activity of the class of ’65. Many of us are “retired,” but the word is foreign to us. We are emeritus lawyers, doctors, teachers. We are volunteers, pursuers of new directions in life, activists. My Dartmouth experience has given me my next venture as a writer. John Sloan Dickey told The Atlantic in 1955 that the purpose of the liberal education is to see undergraduates “made whole in both competence and conscience.” He would have been pleased to see that purpose played out at our 50th.

Then there was the place itself, a beautiful campus whose buildings so artfully blend tradition and modernity. The McLaughlin cluster, where many of us stayed, reassured us that Dartmouth’s draw is the promise of a fine education, not creature comforts. Lou’s catered breakfasts reminded those of us willing to arise at the crack of dawn (before the coffee was gone) that it’s still possible to ingest several days’ worth of fat and sugar in one glorious, sybaritic experience.

For me, a faraway Midwesterner, seeing friends from freshman year Brown Hall—Steve Shaul, Lynne and Carl Seager, John Ferdico and Barbara and Kris Greene—for the first time since graduation was a pleasure.

The weekend was full, covering a broad scope of classmates’ activities and passions: Panels explored the arts, the Vietnam experience, who we were and are now, social justice and the technology that has changed our world. Those who attended, go to www.biggreen65.com before memories fade, select “Repeatable Narratives,” and give us your thoughts on the reunion. And mark your calendar for the mini-reunion October 9-11.

Following the three-hour band gig on Friday night, I…uh…slept a little late for the class meeting. Possibly as a result, I’ll be taking over Tom Long’s job as secretary. Filling Tom’s size 18s will not be easy and I will need a lot of help. Let me know what you’re doing today and perhaps a little about how it relates to your undergraduate experience. Email me at johnbairdrogers@comcast.net or call me at (763) 568-7501. If you only have time for 140 characters, tweet me @johnrootsmusic.

—John Rogers, 6051 Laurel Ave., #310, Golden Valley, MN 55416; (763) 568-7501; john.b.rogers.65@dartmouth.edu

On Sunday, June 13, 1965, most of us concluded our Dartmouth careers. It was a time of great joy, more than a little sadness and a good measure of uncertainty. On Class Day we walked past the Old Pine and broke our clay pipes in the age-old tradition. Bill Affolter delivered the Sachem Oration. At 10:30 the next morning 97 members of the class (out of 629 baccalaureate degrees) received commissions in the armed forces. 


Then, on Sunday, June 13, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Stuart Udall was our commencement speaker. Byron Ford, Lynn Mason and Wes Townsend won Great Issues prizes and Frederick Bogel and James Carey shared the Edwin Perkins Literature Prize. Brian Porzak issued the class oration, John Richardson gave the address to the College. Seven members of the class graduated summa: John Amoda, James Carey, Richard Jones, Jack Livingston, Paul Schunke, David Wilson and Irwin Zarembok. Richard Jones delivered the valedictory address. We received our copies of The College on the Hill from the seemingly ancient class of 1915. How time flies.


We will celebrate those halcyon days and celebrate the accomplishments of the 50 intervening years at our 50th reunion, June 11-16, in Hanover. Please try to attend. The program is accessible at www.biggreen65.com/50th-reunion. 


Professor Edward Miller of the Dartmouth history department is leading the Dartmouth Vietnam Project (DVP) to compile oral histories to share stories about the Vietnam War era (1950-75) from a broadly defined Dartmouth community, including students, alumni, faculty, staff, families and Upper Valley residents. The DVP seeks diverse recollections of the Vietnam era, from military service to campus and anti-war activism, political campaigns and everyday life. The transcript and recording of each oral history interview will be made available to the public through an online archive, and will be permanently catalogued at Rauner Special Collections Library as part of the Dartmouth College archives. I plan to participate, and encourage you to do so as well. Here’s a link to the project website (www.dartmouth.edu/~dvp), which has a tab telling “How to Participate”—it’s an easy way to document our connection to one of the formative events of our lives and our modern nation. Professor Miller will also present a lecture about the war era during our program on the “Vietnam War Experience of the Class of 1965” on Saturday, during our reunion. He will be joined by a panel of five of our classmates who will share their experiences and thoughts about the ways the war affected them and all of us. Our real hope is that you will all attend and share memories of that era and the way it affected us.


Our class gift planning chair, Hank Amon, is thrilled to announce eight new memberships in the Bartlett Tower Society. These generous classmates recently established a planned gift for the College and brought our class that much closer to the reunion goal of “50 by the 50th.” There are currently 33 Bartlett Tower Society members for our class and Hank is asking everyone to consider including the College in their estate plans and joining Dartmouth’s legacy society. For more information about planned giving and the society, please contact Hank (camon@whitecase.com or 212-819-8657) or the gift planning office directly (gift.planning@dartmouth.edu or 603-646-3799).


Please send me a note about what you have been doing. Hope to see you in Hanover in June!


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


It’s now time to start planning in earnest to attend our 50th reunion. Steve Fowler and Mike Bettmann have a wonderful long weekend planned. It will begin with the Jim Hamilton Memorial Hike to the summit of Mount Moosilauke, led by David Beattie at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 11. There will also be shorter hikes for the less ambitious. Then at 4:30 p.m. we will have the official dedication of the new Class of 1965 Bunkhouse followed by cocktails and a cookout. There will be round trip bus transportation leaving the Hanover Inn at 3 p.m. and retuning after the celebration. The College is not providing housing for us on Thursday night, so make your own arrangements for that night’s lodging. There is room for 26 classmates and their guests to stay in the bunkhouse, but you must reserve your spots.


On Friday, November 12, the official reunion begins, with housing being available in the new dorms (where we were for the 45th) from Friday through Monday night. In addition to several festive meals and participation in the Commencement ceremony, there will be a number of events specially planned for our class—a reception to open a curated exhibition of images by five great photographers from our class; a program to discuss the personal and public impact of the Vietnam War (more next time); a session addressing classmates in the performing arts; and “A Little Night Magic” by classmate-magician Rich Bloch. There will be affinity group gatherings and other opportunities to see your old friends and meet ’65s whom you missed before—they are an amazing group. The Rev. Shep Curtis will conduct a memorial service in Rollins Chapel for our classmates who have passed. There will be more information on the class website. You can contact Steve Fowler (stephens.fowler@myfairpoint.net) and Mike Bettmann (bettmann@wfubmc.edu) with specific questions.


Despite the proximity of the 50th, we had a spectacular mini-reunion in Hanover in October with 30 classmates and their companions in attendance. In addition to the class officers and denizens of the Hanover area, attendees included Rich Beams, Carol and Jim Danielson, Winkie and Rich Fite, Sue and Jack Heidbrink, Anne and Bruce Jolly, Jaan Lumi, Emma and John McGeachie, Pamela and Mark Steinborn, Pam and Wayne Wight and Corky Terada, who came from Australia. The highlight was a sing-along by the fireplace at Pierce’s, led by Jim Griffiths, Rick Leach and Bob Murphy.


On the occasion of the 50th Hank Amon, our class gift planning chair, would like everyone to seriously consider including Dartmouth in our estate plans and joining the Bartlett Tower Society. It can be as easy as leaving the College a percentage or specified dollar amount from your estate (through a will or trust) or naming the College as a beneficiary of a retirement plan (401k, IRA etc.) or life insurance policy. There are other options as well. If you are interested in talking about the Bartlett Tower Society, please contact Hank (camon@whitecase.com or 212-819-8657). You can also contact the gift planning office directly at (603) 646-3799 or gift.planning@dartmouth.edu. Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


Hope to see you in Hanover in June!


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


Fifty years ago we returned to Hanover to begin our senior year as the Bond classic Goldfinger premiered in London, Fiddler on the Roof opened on Broadway and the Warren Commission released its report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John Kennedy.


On Thursday, September 17, 1964, Freshman Week got under way and many of us returned to Hanover before the start of classes to assist in the orientation process. We conducted the first Interdormitory Council (IDC) meetings in the dorms, led by IDC president Steve Farrow and judiciary committee chairman Joel Eiserman. Dick Durrance’s Green Key representatives were heavily involved in orientation activities all week long. Student organizations, from the Aegis, with editor-in-chief Heinz Kluetmeier, to WDCR, led by station manager Rob Hartford, staged open houses to recruit freshmen. 


At Convocation President Dickey called upon our class to lead the College in “the prelude to its third century.” Undergraduate Council president Dave Weber urged us to seek to be “whole—and happier—men” because of a new commitment to ideals and values of tolerance. 


Our year got off to a good start on several fronts. Some 455 students pledged fraternities, concluding a successful rush season monitored by the Interfraternity Council, led by president Rich Bloch. Then on Saturday Bruce Gottschall, in his first start at quarterback, passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in a shutout of University of New Hampshire. Jaan Lumi, Bobby O’Brian and Jack McLean all contributed to the season opener. The team then beat Boston University before losing to Cosmo Iacavazzi and Princeton. The first half of the season finished strong with victories over Brown and Harvard (48-0). At the end of October we ranked third nationally in total offense, behind Notre Dame and Tulsa, and seventh in scoring. In this age of political correctness, who can forget Andy Gundlach in greasepaint as the Indian cheerleader at the games. 


On September 30 Col. William Donaldson, commander of the Army ROTC unit, tabbed several members of our class as distinguished military scholars. Among the honorees were Dick Avery, Birger Benson, Charles Cumming, Jeff Davis, Dick Fite, Weaver Gaines, Dick Harris, David Hazelton, Mike McKelvy, Jack McLean, Tom Miller, Ted Plume, Ralston Robertson, Ed Thomas, Dan Walden and Marshall Wallach. 


Larry Hanah, chairman of Palaeopitus, went to Washington, D.C., to participate in a meeting with student leaders from around the nation called by President Johnson. National Geographic began to publicize the great canoe trip undertaken by nine students from the College, including Dick Durrance, Chris Knight and Mike Lewis. They had paddled the entire 1,600-mile length of the Danube River to the Black Sea. The story was to become the magazine’s cover story in July 1965. 


In October Phi Beta Kappa announced selection of our classmates, including Richard Jones, James Carey, Peter Bush, Ronald Tegtmeier, Mark Brodkey, Irwin Zarembok, David Wilson, Paul Schunke, Donald Burland, Peter Rosemarin, Phillips Bryan, Robert Becker, Gordon Megibow, Alan Munro and Peter Baumbusch. 


Please send me a note about what you have been doing and about your recollections of our senior year.


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


When we returned after the holidays 50 years ago our thoughts quickly turned to Winter Carnival, in which our class played a major role. Pete Baumbusch, as director of the Winter Carnival statue program, arranged fireworks and a skating rink on the Green. Dick Durrance was skimeister for the Carnival ski meet for the second straight year. Chip Hayes scored his second hat-trick in two games in a 7-1 victory over Harvard for an Ivy Championship hockey team that also featured Phil Cagnoni and Chuck Zeh. 
I recently had an occasion to talk with Bev and John Rogers, with whom I shared that weekend. John has stepped away from corporate finance, started writing fiction and begun playing guitar professionally. I asked him to update us on what he’s been doing. 
The question, John said, is not usually about “my career move from corporate finance to music and writing. That was a kind way to put it. The question usually comes out as, ‘So, what are you doing with yourself these days?’ It’s usually accompanied by a quick visual inventory to ascertain which body parts are not working. 
“The question put me on the spot for a year, unwilling as I was to say flatly, ‘I’m retired.’ Maybe the word has too many associations with pulling the troops back from battle or separating myself from the 40 years of finance and business that used to define me. And, too, for many years the answer I gave to ‘what are you doing’ meant building a family—house payments, tuition and so on. Making money. Not what one associates with creative enterprise (my last music gig netted 90 bucks and a calzone). 
“After some conceptual peregrination I can answer, ‘I’m a writer.’ In retrospect Noel Perrin started the process. Looking at my first ‘English 1’ essay, he said more or less hopefully, ‘Mr. Rogers, we all must master the mother tongue. That, for you, will take considerable effort.’ Later it was Mr. Deming’s creative writing seminars. He smoked a pipe, and when he got excited he puffed energetically. Bits of ash would erupt from the pipe, leaving small brown burn spots on your paper to remind you where he found your prose exciting or idiotic. (Creative writing has continued to flourish at Dartmouth. See www.40towns.com.)
“After the first novel was drafted and the first short story published I decided to treat my effort with respect. Writing has to be a business, at least if one is interested in getting published. There’s a grind-it-out, asses-and-elbows aspect to it—a big part of the job for a non-famous writer just starting out. 
“The greatest change from my former work has been loss of face-to-face conversation. Today it’s the more ephemeral interaction of the electronic platform kind. Hey, I’ve been friended a dozen times today (and several more businesses think they have divined my preferences). (Oh, and yes, see my blog at http://johnbairdrogers.com.)
“I think I may be beginning to understand just what Dartmouth means by ‘liberal education.’ ” Thanks, John.
Please send me a note about what you have been doing.
—Tom Long, 1056 Leigh Mill Road, Great Falls, VA 22066; (703) 759-4255; tomlong@gwu.edu



There was cause for celebration this Homecoming Weekend on at least two scores. The first was that of the football victory over Columbia (28-6), snapping the 17-game losing streak. The other was the terrific attendance at the class of 1965 mini-reunion. There were at least 26 classmates plus their spouses and guests in attendance. The Rockapellas sang for us after dinner on Saturday. The evening was further enhanced through the remarks and readings by classmate Glenn Curry, whose most recent book of poetry, In the Cat’s Eye, was recently published. Glenn’s poetry is accessible and speaks to real-life feelings and experiences with which we can all identify.


Speaking of class authors, Charles Coe, along with his wife, Marty, has just published Love Is a Decision: A Marriage Enrichment Handbook. Charlie lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. After Dartmouth he earned his M.P.A. at University of Michigan and Ph.D. at University of Georgia. His day job is as a professor of public administration at North Carolina State University. He and Marty took part in a marriage encounter through their church and have become committed to helping others achieve marriage enrichment. The book’s goals are to deepen individual and mutual self-understanding and to improve communication skills. 


Classmate and professor Tom Long was among those attending the mini. Eleven years ago he retired from his law firm and returned to school to earn a Ph.D. in history. Tom conducts research on the military and legal interactions between Britain and America through 1815. In his teaching at George Washington University he particularly enjoys the challenge of engaging his students on the subject of military history. One technique he uses is to assign each student the role of a particular figure in a conflict and ask the student to plan a strategy and tactics for the battle. In his leisure he and his wife, Sue, enjoy sailing near their home in Great Falls, Virginia.


Class president Ken McGruther presided over the class meeting at Pierce’s Inn. He thanked classmates for their support during his five-year term. Many thanks to Ken for a fine job leading the ’65s. Minutes of the meeting are posted on the class Web site: www.biggreen65.com. French and Bob McConnaughey, after five successful years, have turned over the reins of the Hanover mini-reunion to Jane and George Wittreich. We are fortunate to have so many classmates ready and willing to take on the various offices within the class. New officers will be elected at the reunion in June. 


Reunion communications chairman Ted Bracken writes: Save the dates! From June 14 to 17 the great class of 1965 will be celebrating our 45th reunion in Hanover. Co-chairmen Ted Atkinson and Bruce Wagner, along with your reunion committee, are putting together a program that will provide opportunities for recreation, intellectual stimulation and fellowship, all in comfortable surroundings. More detailed information will be coming soon from your reunion committee via the class newsletter, e-mail, regular mail and the Internet, including the opportunity to sign up early and reach out to fellow classmates to join in the festivities.


—Roger Hansen, 16 Southview Drive, Keene, NH 03431; (603) 903-0524; hhansen@ne.rr.com


The arrival of 2010 brings with it our class of 1965 45th reunion. It will be held June 14 to 17. A link to information about the reunion is available at the Class of 1965 Web site: www.biggreen65.com. We are all encouraged to be in touch with old buddies to encourage them to join you and us in Hanover.


Among those hoping to arrange a busy schedule of work and family commitments so he can attend the reunion is Ward Hindman. He is living in Fort Worth, Texas, and works for Lockheed Martin. His principal job is to oversee proposals for modernization and upgrades on the F-22. After almost 20 years since its introduction the F-22 continues to perform well, flying at more than 50,000 feet and at about Mach 2. When Ward can tear himself away from his fascinating job he enjoys spending time with his 16-month-old grandson and other family activities.


Mike Crall retired from a busy and varied career in the insurance industry at age 60. Most recently he was with Equitas, the company founded to reinsure liabilities in the syndicates of Lloyds of London. The company was sold to Berkshire Hathaway. Mike still serves on a couple of insurance company boards, but devotes most of his time to home and family. Among his current projects he and his wife have a 5-acre vineyard that they have developed. Mike has four children and his wife two children from previous marriages. Keeping up with their eight grandchildren is a challenge. 


Gil Podolsky has been practicing internal medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 1972, and he and his wife have been married for 38 years. They have two children in California and one in Georgia. After Dartmouth he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and later moved on to Denver. He and his family love skiing and other outdoor activities. They have a second home in a national park south of Salt Lake where they spend as much time as possible. Gil would enjoy hearing from his med school and Dartmouth classmates Kris Green and Chet Phillips.


We encourage everyone to make a New Year’s resolution to attend the 45th in June.


—Roger Hansen, 16 Southview Drive, Keene, NH 03431; (603) 903-0524; hhansen@ne.rr.com


Forty-five years since our graduation from Dartmouth—what a milestone! We will have a great opportunity to celebrate it June 14 to 17 and are looking forward to seeing many classmates and their guests. We are grateful to Bruce Wagner, Ted Atkinson and their hardworking reunion committee.


Speaking of the reunion, we have until June 30 to make our contributions to the Dartmouth College Fund to commemorate this event. We would like to have the largest yet percent of participation. We’re hoping for 65 percent or better. Please join in if you haven’t already: www.dartmouth.edu/~alfund. 


During the reunion we will be electing our slate of class officers to serve for the next five years leading up to the 50th reunion. We are grateful to our leadership team of the past five years. Ken McGruther, our president, has kept us focused on class goals of increasing participation in class activities including both reunions and financial contributions. We have supported the class projects, most recently the Passion for Skiing book. Bob Murphy has served us well as treasurer. Jim Griffiths, as alumni fund head agent, has diligently encouraged our participation. Carl Boe’s newsletters have been informative and entertaining. He has maximized the use of electronic versions of the newsletter. French and Bob McConnaughey consistently assured that our Hanover mini-reunions were well organized and ran smoothly. 


Bob Blake served as vice president for out-of-Hanover mini-reunions, seeking out innovative opportunities for us to gather in various venues. Vice president for special projects Mike Gonnerman spent a good deal of time in Hanover planning and organizing our future class projects. We are well represented at the Alumni Council by Hank Amon. A vote of thanks is due to John Sottile ’64 for serving as our webmaster.


The annual executive committee meeting at Bill Webster’s house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, will be held on July 7. This has been an important opportunity for class leaders to engage in planning efforts to benefit the class. Many creative and useful ideas have been developed at these gatherings over the years. Anyone interested in participating can contact Bill Webster, william.webster@morganstanley. com.


Jane and George Wittreich, molo@verizon.net, are planning our Hanover mini-reunion for the weekend of October 8-11. This being Columbus Day weekend and not on Homecoming opens the opportunity for some new and different activities. Suggestions are welcome.


—Roger Hansen, 16 Southview Drive, Keene, NH 03431; (603) 903-0524; hhansen@ne.rr.com


Fifty years ago about this time most of us were preparing to submit our applications to Dartmouth. On November 8, 1960, after participating in just seven primaries and the first televised presidential debates, John F. Kennedy was elected the 35th president of the United States. The USS George Washington, the first ballistic missile submarine, sailed on her first war cruise carrying 16 Polaris missiles. The next month Camelot, starring Julie Andrews, Richard Burton and Robert Goulet, opened on Broadway, and in a small Asian country a group called the National Liberation Front was formed to oppose President Ngo Dinh Diem. The average car cost about $2,600 and the gasoline was 25 cents a gallon. It was a different world.


I love that some of our classmates are exhibiting great talent in areas that we, or at least I, did not expect. Glenn Curry, who was headed for a career in the Navy when we left Hanover, has published several wonderful books of poetry, including my favorite A Boy’s First Diary and his newest, In the Cat’s Eye. John Rogers is embarking on a new career. Many of us knew John when he played the trombone in the Marching Band. A few of us knew that he played the guitar with Weaver Gaines in the dorm. Since then John graduated from NYU Business School and had a distinguished career in finance with major corporations in the Middle West. He and Bev moved from Minnesota (his line was “40 below keeps out the riff-raff”) to Gainesville, Florida, in 1997. In Gainesville he indulged both his scientific interests and his financial and managerial skills in creating a startup biotech company. Now he tells me that he’s moving on—or back. He learned to play guitar from his cousin Gamble Rogers, whom John describes as “a songwriter, fine guitar picker and storyteller from Florida” and the Atlanta Constitution called “an American treasure worthy of inclusion in the Smithsonian.” Now John is following in Gamble’s footsteps, “becoming a musician and speaker.” He is putting together a one-man show on the history of blues music. (See his website: www.goodoldblues.com.) Proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, John and Bev’s three sons are involved in music, each in his own way. Geoffrey is executive VP of finance at Full Sail University, the largest school teaching audio and video engineering. Edward ’94 was nominated for the 2010 Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for his Warehouse 13 theme, while James is a performing musician in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. Congratulations!


Culminating more than three decades in financial services, Bill Webster has joined Westport Resources as senior vice president-investment and portfolio manager. More congrats!


Remember our out-of-Hanover mini-reunion at the Shades of Green Resort and Golf Facility at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, January 28-30, 2011. We reserved a block of rooms until November 28. Reserve at www.shadesofgreen.org. Our group code is 1001DARTMO. Contact Bob Blake (rblake65@mac.com, 781-235-3139) with your plans or questions.


Please contact me to share news with our classmates.


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


During March and April of 1964 we were on the downhill side of our junior year. Without realizing it, the country was edging closer to a war that would change our lives. On March 26 Robert McNamara confirmed that the United States would increase its military and economic aid to South Vietnam in the effort to prevent an insurgent Communist takeover. The same day Special Forces Capt. Floyd Thompson was captured by Viet Cong insurgents. He was held for almost nine years, longer than any other American POW.


The country was also deeply involved in the civil rights movement. In April three students from the College, including Ned Greeley, were arrested during a civil rights protest in St. Augustine, Florida. They were charged with trespassing, conspiring to commit a misdemeanor and “failure to be a good guest.” The College wired funds to cover their bail and groups started raising funds to support the effort. The same month the newly formed Hanover chapter of the NAACP had 150 members at the inaugural meeting. Richard Joseph and John Ehrenberg were elected vice presidents.


Everyday life, however, went on. UCLA’s basketball team finished undefeated, winning the first of John Wooden’s 10 championships in 12 years. The first Ford Mustang was unveiled. Henry Cabot Lodge won the New Hampshire primary over Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller. Television quiz show Jeopardy debuted on March 30. Closer to home, the Hopkins Center hosted its “World of William Shakespeare” festival, featuring Richard III, starring Dave Feldshuh in the title role. 


We began to choose the leaders for our senior year. We selected Pete Frederick and Rick Mahoney for class president and secretary-treasurer. Ted Bracken, John Ferdico, Dave Weber and the late Dave Perinchief were elected to positions on the Undergraduate Council. The Interfraternity Council picked Rich Bloch for president, Marshall Wallach vice president, and Reb Forte secretary. The Interdormitory Council elected Steve Farrow president and Joel Eiserman chairman of the Judiciary Council. Jim Cooper and Vic Mair were named captains of the hockey and basketball teams, respectively. Rob Hartford was tapped for general manager of WDCR, with Alan Boyce, Jim Frank, Mike Lewis and Jeff Panitt completing the board.


Steve Fowler (stephens.fowler@myfairpoint.net) and Mike Bettmann (bettmann@wfubmc.edu) are hard at work planning our 50th reunion. We have a chance to make the occasion really personal and special. Steve and Mike have been considering a number of ideas to make it more interesting and enjoyable. They have started arranging musical performances by classmates and creating opportunities for us to get together with the specific group of friends who were our closest companions during our Dartmouth years. Not everyone is interested in events for the entire class, but might like to spend time with their closest friends from those days. To further that effort, they have emailed us a six-question survey. Please take a few minutes to think about the questions—most importantly, what would you most enjoy doing at our 50th. If you did not receive the questionnaire, please contact Steve or Mike and get involved. 


Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


As we headed back to Hanover for our junior year in the late summer of 1963, our world, at home and abroad, was changing in ways that would affect us for the rest of our lives. In August James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in political science (and a French minor), becoming the first African-American to graduate from Ole Miss in its 118-year history. He went on to law school at Columbia. The battle, however, was just beginning. On August 28, 1963, during the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech to a crowd estimated at more than a quarter of a million people. Our campus was torn by debate over segregation and racial discrimination throughout the fall semester. 


Freshman Week kicked off, with guidance from Green Key President Dick Durrance and the Interdormitory Council, with Tucky Mays and Larry Hannah, as vice president and secretary-treasurer, respectively. President Dickey again admonished the incoming class that their “business here is learning,” an expression that took on more meaning with the passage of time. The Daily D staff, including photo editor Stu Leiber and night editor Ed Goodkind, who had won a Wall Street Journal scholarship for his reporting, put out special issues for Freshman Week to inform the newcomers and remind the rest of us of changes on campus and around the world. Many of our campus organizations were riven by questions of race and due process as the term wore on.


The Undergraduate Council invited George Wallace to speak on campus in November. They described the visit as “an opportunity for a direct confrontation with the governor and his views” with the object of enlivening “concern and awareness of the [segregationist] problem on campus” and not an expression of support—part of the business of learning. 


While we were addressing racial discrimination President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam and his brother ordered a crackdown on Buddhist temples, leading to the Xa Loi Pagoda raids, exacerbating the unrest within his country. In September the president’s sister-in-law, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, appeared at Harvard and Columbia. Nearly 1,000 Harvard students loudly rejected her claim that there was “absolute religious freedom in Vietnam.” Sensing that we might be backing the wrong man, the State Department, with the knowledge of President Kennedy, cabled Henry Cabot Lodge, newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Saigon, indicating that he should “make detailed plans as to how we might bring about Diem’s replacement if this should become necessary.” Even so, Gen. Maxwell Taylor approved Operation 34A, to authorize American support for covert operations against North Vietnam, setting the stage for the Tonkin Gulf Incident.


We found some diversion in September and October, when, led by Ted Bracken, Pete Frederick, Bruce Gottschall, Bob Komives, Jack McLean, Dave Perinchief and Gary Wilson, Bob Blackman’s charges extended their nation-leading win streak to 15 before dropping a 17-13 heartbreaker to Harvard.


Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


Finally, September 1961 rolled around and we took steps that would change our lives forever. Many went on the freshman trip, meeting guys from all over the country. Then we collected our beanies, listened to John Sloan Dickey admonish us that our “business here is learning” and began our lives as men of Dartmouth. Our world was very different, but some problems seem to remain. On September 6, 1961, Afghanistan severed diplomatic relations with Pakistan over disputed border territories. On September 28 a military coup in Damascus effectively ended Syria’s affiliation with Egypt in the United Arab Emirates. But then on October 1 Roger Maris hit his 61st home run in the final (162nd) game of the season against the Red Sox, establishing the new single-season mark—in some books. The season had been extended to accommodate the addition of the then-new Washington Senators and California Angels to the American League. Mickey Mantle ended the season with 54. The film West Side Story, with music that we shared with special ones back home, was released on October 18. It doesn’t seem that long ago. 


Pete Baumbusch reports that retirement agrees with him. He and Cherry returned to Washington, D.C., from their Arabian Nights adventure, serving in the Dubai office of the Gibson Dunn law firm. They enjoyed participating in all the activities of a classic expat community. They were engaged in the vibrant political and economic life of the Middle East when the emirate was striving to become a world financial center, working to overcome centuries of ethnic and cultural strife. They also enjoyed the fabulous balls and wonderful golf. Pete returned to the Gibson D.C. office in 2010 and has now completely retired. They are nearly finished building a home in Georgetown, within walking distance of everything a retiree could desire—intellectual stimulation at Georgetown, great restaurants and the opportunity to participate in international and domestic policy affairs. Pete enjoys working on the issues raised at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown, where he serves on the board of advisors.


David B. Jones has been named chairman of the board of CNS Response Inc. After leaving Hanover Dave got his M.B.A. and law degrees at the University of Southern California. Dave has had a successful career in the venture capital world, beginning with First Interstate Capital, where he was president and CEO from 1979 until 1985. He next served as a general partner of InterVen Partners to 1997 and then CEO of Dartron Inc., a manufacturer of computer accessories until 2003. Congratulations, Dave.


Please try to make it to the mini-reunion on Dartmouth Night, October 21-23. Susan and I started attending three years ago and now look forward to seeing old (and making new) friends each fall. There will be the traditional pre/post-bonfire wine reception, a cookout before the Columbia game and a cocktail party-dinner on Saturday evening. We will hold the class meeting at Pierce’s on Sunday morning. Stay in touch with Jane and George Wittreich for details. 


Send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


After Dartmouth Night and a great bonfire, we learned about not letting the “Old Traditions Fail” from Thad Seymour and began to feel like veterans. We were not so hardened that we were not worried about our first round of finals. The football team finished its 6-3 season and our freshman team ended the year 3-3—including a shutout over Harvard. We headed home, changed forever, to be welcomed back “from the Ivy League” by friends we left behind. We tend to focus on these good old days and, for most of us, they were truly very good. It’s hard now to remember how much things were changing. The world outside of Hanover was, however, very much in turmoil. It was only on November 1, 1961, that the federal ban on segregation on public facilities involved in interstate commerce became effective. On November 14 The New York Times reported that “the quiet, tropical capital of South Vietnam” was suddenly teeming with American officers—it was okay, because U.S. spokesmen insisted it was only coincidence that so many military men arrived so soon after General Maxwell Taylor’s visit to the region. JFK, acting on a recommendation from Taylor and Walt Rostow increased to 3,205 (from about 900 at the end of 1960) the number of U.S. troops acting as “advisors” in a burgeoning conflict most of us did not know was going on. Appropriately enough, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 was published on November 10, giving us an expression that the language had needed.


Asserting that “the only crime of Galileo” was that the class of ’65 had been assigned to read it before getting to Hanover, Harvey Welker recently said it almost caused him to head for Ohio State. However, he saw the light and even went on to get his engineering degree at Thayer. After a successful stint in big business, Harvey set up his own consulting firm in Philadelphia about 13 years ago. He “actually started [his] career in engineering” when most were retiring. He now finds his work better than ever and has no plans to retire. He and Juliet celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary in June. He believes his family’s greatest accomplishment has been their daughter Kristen Welker. He suggests that we catch her on the NBC nightly news, where she reports on the workings of our government from Washington, D.C.


John Rogers has also moved on to more enjoyable pursuits. He and Bev have returned to Golden Valley, Minnesota. He retired as president and CEO of a firm that uses genetic technologies to improve the environment to “move on to the next phase.” In John’s words that means music, speaking and writing. As he said, “For the last 40-plus years I’ve been using that graduate degree for which Dartmouth prepared me so well. Now I’d like to exercise the Dartmouth degree in English a little.” During August he played acoustic blues, ballads and rags sets in the Twin Cities and his son James (Jimmy Rogers of God Johnson) sat in. Check out John’s website at www.goodoldblues.com.


Send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


As summer of 1962 approached, marking the end of our first year in Hanover, we had some time to relax. Green Key Weekend, perhaps the most enjoyable of the whole year, always seemed to have a musical bent. Many of us first heard now more meaningful words of “Try to Remember” in the Dartmouth Players’ production of The Fantastiks. Don Wendlandt served as musical director and Ron Tegtmeier was featured on drums in the small ensemble. The week before the Freshman Glee Club and the freshman chorus of Skidmore presented a concert in College Hall. And of course the finals of Interfraternity Hums, won by Alpha Theta with Sig Ep in second, took place on the steps of Dartmouth Hall.


Sports were also a big part of that weekend. Ken McGruther had a two-run home run to support Ted Friel’s shutout of Harvard’s freshmen and Marc Efron was a stand-out in goal-keeping our lacrosse team in its contest. Several members of our class had excelled in athletics and were honored by being elected captain of their teams: The baseball team chose catcher Dick Horton; golf, Bill Oberlink; heavyweight crew, Bo Anderson; the lightweight crew, which had been ranked fourth nationally after the ECAC regatta, selected Bryce Harbaugh; lacrosse picked Rick Monahon; the 5-2 tennis team designated Tucky Mays; and the track team named quarter-miler Dennis Bekemeyer.


All was not “fun and games.” There were portents of trouble to come. In a little noted article on May 15 The Dartmouth reported that the United States had sent Marines, accompanied by ships of the 7th Fleet, “to put teeth into President Kennedy’s pledge to defend Thailand against the communist threat from Laos.”


President Kim recently honored Mike Mascari for his lifetime of work with developmentally challenged individuals by presenting him with the Lester B. Granger ’18 Award, given annually to Dartmouth alumni who have exhibited leadership and innovation while meeting community needs and benefiting an underserved population. Mike served in VISTA, the N.Y.C. Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services and the New York States Office of Mental Retardation. Then he was instrumental in creating a community-based system of support for persons with disabilities who formerly lived in state institutions. Under his leadership Nassau for Association for the Help of Retarded Children grew into one of the largest and most successful service agencies in New York. Mike plans to continue serving as executive director for the foreseeable future. More power to him.


It’s not too late! The ’65s are gathering for a mini-reunion in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, from May 3 through May 5. The dogwoods and azaleas should be near their peak. In addition to Williamsburg’s display of Revolutionary-era life, nearby Jamestown and Yorktown have world-class centers addressing the first permanent English settlement in America and the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War. It will be a great chance to connect with old friends and make new ones. Contact Tucker Mays at tmays@optionline.net or (203) 222-1719.


Send me a note about what you have been doing—and please complete and return the questionnaire.


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


As our sophomore winter wound down and spring returned to Hanover, Dean of the Faculty Arthur Jensen prophetically gave an address titled “The Context of Our Time,” emphasizing the challenge of rapid change for a democratic society. The American legal structure began a momentous transition in March and April 1963, when Ernesto Miranda was arrested for rape in Phoenix, Arizona, and not advised of his rights. Later in the year the Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, assuring that indigents could have lawyers appointed to represent them if they could not afford to hire one. 


In events that none of us could fully appreciate, the Ba’ath Party took over in Syria in a military coup on March 8, 1963. Four days later Lee Harvey Oswald effected the mail-order purchase of the rifle with which he would assassinate the president. On April 12 Martin Luther King Jr. and others were arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for parading without a permit as part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s protest against segregation. King then wrote his open letter, “From the Birmingham Jail,” calling for nonviolent civil disobedience, asserting “a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Lawrence of Arabia won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was loosely based on Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which, along with T.E. Lawrence’s other writings, has become highly influential in the formation of modern counter-insurgency doctrine as practiced by the U.S. Army. 


That spring our classmates began to shine in various arenas. According to The Daily D, debaters Brian Butler, Dale Beihofer, Weaver Gaines and Harry Miles “starred” in three tournaments, portending greater things to come. The lightweight crew, including Rick Davey, Edgar Hirst and stroke Bryce Harbaugh, won the Durand Cup for the first time since 1959. Classmates Ted Friel, Ken McGruther, Chip Hayes and Dick Horton shone on the baseball team’s southern trip, playing 10 games in 11 days.


On November 28, 2012, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices honored Dr. James Broselow of Hickory, North Carolina, with its Lifetime Achievement Award for the impact his career has had on safe medication. He practiced family medicine “in the good old days,” then emergency medicine from “its infancy.” In an effort to save patients’ lives Jim developed methods and technologies that are employed in hospitals all over the country. He modestly says that he has been “passionate about patient safety and technology and working to reduce medical errors” by taking advantage of technology to simplify methods and “take the math out of medicine.” Congratulations, Jim. 


This year our class will be commemorating our collective 70th birthday, with a special mini-reunion in Hanover during the weekend of July 12-14. Friday evening we will combine our festivities with the “Etiquette Dinner” for our “Connection Class” of 2015. On Saturday we will have a birthday reception and dinner party, probably at the Dartmouth Outing Club House on Occom Pond. Please try to join us. 


The 14th annual CarniVail will be held March 1-3, featuring a premier of the Dartmouth skiing documentary, Passion for Snow. Our 50th will be June 11-16, 2015. 


Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


On March 1, 1961, President Kennedy established the Peace Corps. Within five years more than 15,000 people, including many of our classmates, were serving around the world. With the final launch of the space shuttle Endeavour scheduled for April, it is hard to believe that it was 50 years ago, on April 12, 1961, that Yuri Gagarin became the first person to be launched into space. A week later the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba failed, heralding an escalation in Cold War. 


During the mini-reunion tailgate before the Yale game this fall, we were serenaded by the Dartmouth College Marching Band. For several of us that experience brought back memories of one of our favorite pastimes at Dartmouth. We reflected on a mosaic of events from our days in Hanover. Most of those events were experiences shared with our closest friends who came from the organizations to which we devoted our efforts: the DOC, sports, fraternities, ROTC and many others. Some 22 members of the class of ’65 played in the band and serenaded the alums before football games.


Their time in the band generated vivid memories. Most members recall marching around campus on the Friday night of homecoming to the extraordinary cadences created by Ron Tegtmeier and the other drummers. They also remember playing in venues—Harvard Stadium and Yale Bowl—that seemed bigger than our campus. Tom Meacham recalls playing the herald trumpet (with Rich Bloch, Rick Spears and George Estabrook ’64) displaying banners made by Tom’s mother. Many share a dark memory as well. On November 23, 1963, the band was going to the final game of the season—the team was 6-2 and playing Princeton for the title. Suddenly the lead bus pulled over and the second bus followed suit. Members on the first bus had heard a radio report that President Kennedy had been shot. They stopped the bus and one member went back to tell those on the second. At first no one believed him—it was true. 


The ’65 bandsmen have led interesting lives. Several had careers in business and education. Eight went to medical school (Kris Greene, Rich Miller, Chester Phillips, Dick Shaw,Ron Tegtmeier,and the late Barry Gross), while two (Jim Roche and Bob Witty) earned both an M.D. and a Ph.D. There are three other Ph.D.s (including Ron Choy and Tom Flechtner), four lawyers (including Rich Bloch, Pete Bush,Tom Meacham) and a couple of M.B.A.s (John Rogers and Rick Spears) among the 22 musicians. Kris Greene, Don Miller and Dick Harris had careers in the military. A few of the musicians, such as Dick Harris, who has served as president of the Atlanta Musicians’ Orchestra, and Ron Tegtmeier have continued with, or resumed, their music. Others have branched out. Recently the National Theater in Washington featured a world-class magic show titled Rich Bloch and His Best Kept Secrets.


I hope to do further “affinity” group articles over time. If there is a group you would like me to feature, please let me know. Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


Fifty years ago, during our first summer away from Hanover, the realization that we had become part of an extraordinary organism—the Dartmouth family—began to set in. The world in which we were to live was also taking shape during July and August of 1962. England was negotiating its entry into the Common Market. On August 5 Nelson Mandela was arrested in South Africa for inciting riots. He would be sentenced to life imprisonment. A Time magazine cover depicted Virginia Sen. Harry Byrd with the banner “Congress & Kennedy: Defiance.” 


The cultural world was changing as radically as the political. On July 10 Telstar was launched, permitting transmission of live television from Europe—and opening the way for the global networks that dominate our lives today. In August Ringo Starr became the drummer for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones made their first appearance in London. In Los Angeles Marilyn Monroe died on the day Mandela was arrested. 


Two of our Vietnam vet classmates who spent that summer on an NROTC cruise recently marked milestones. Ken McGruther reported that he and Jorunn Bockelie have decided to spend their lives together. That would be sufficient cause for celebration, but their story is something of a fairy tale. Ken and Jorunn first met when she was an exchange student from Norway during his senior year in high school. The romance continued at long range until near the end of our junior year in Hanover, when she wrote that she was going to marry a man from her hometown. They had no further contact until a reunion last September. She had been widowed four years earlier and Ken had been divorced. Somehow, in a crowd of more than 350, they met and “felt an immediate spark.” Ken related that Jorunn was wearing the heart locket bearing the photo he had given her on the last night they were together, inscribed “June 26, 1961.” After spending more time together they decided that 50 years was long enough. They recently exchanged vows and rings. Congratulations and best wishes. 


Glenn Currie, who also spent that summer with the Navy, has published another book, titled Granite Grumblings: Life in the “Live Free Or Die” State. Glenn has a wonderful way of capturing subtle feelings. He recounts a sentiment many of us have experienced in our musings about Vietnam. Eva Cassidy’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” he wrote, seemed to have been sung “for those whose voices and skills were lost to wars and disease and sometimes just bad luck: for John Seel and Dennis Barger and too many other friends from Dartmouth whose lives were cut short by Vietnam…and all the other sons and daughters whose lives were never fully lived.” 


In May classmates Lee Arbuckle, Steve Fuller, Jim Griffiths, Jim Hamilton, Brad Hawley, Tom Long, Jim Markworth, Tucky Mays, Tim Mclaughlin, Marsh Wallach and Bill Webster gathered with families for a great mini-reunion in Williamsburg, Virginia. 


Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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


As we returned to Hanover for the winter term with attention still focused on the residual effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Daily D reported that the first large engagement involving U.S. Army advisors had taken place on January 2, 1963, near the small village of Ap Bac, just southwest of Saigon. A large force of South Vietnamese troops and their advisors, using American armored personnel carriers and assisted by helicopters flown by American pilots, attacked a Viet Cong communications post. Having underestimated the enemy strength and willingness to fight, the South Vietnamese walked into an ambush. Three Americans were killed and eight more wounded in the engagement in which five helicopters were shot down and several more damaged. The Battle of Ap Bac signaled a new phase in the Vietnam conflict that would affect so many of our classmates. 


Domestically, many of the issues that still confront us were apparent. On January 8 President and Jackie Kennedy attended the opening of the exhibition of daVinci’s Mona Lisa at Washington’s National Gallery, continuing their effort to promote cultural events. At the other extreme, on January 14 George Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama, promising “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.” The next day the president, in his State of the Union address, asked Congress to lower income taxes, particularly for the lowest brackets, to stimulate the economy. On a purely local note The D announced that Jens Sorensen had won the $50 prize for his design of “Fang,” chosen for the Winter Carnival sculpture, embodying the theme of “The Ice Menagerie.” Jens was quoted as saying he had submitted the drawing of his pet so he could “get him out of his room during Carnival,” a sentiment we could all embrace.


Congratulations to Jim Aiken, who received a 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Vermont College of Medicine. The award recognized Jim’s extraordinary career as a research scientist and educator.


Twenty ’65s and their families enjoyed a very special mini-reunion in Hanover in October. French and Bob McConnaughey hosted a reception at their newly restored historic home in Thetford, Vermont. Everyone enjoyed this year’s spectacular fall foliage. The next morning the setting moved to the Nugget for a private preview of Steve Waterhouse’sfeature documentary film, Passion for Snow, toward which our class has worked. The movie is based on the book Passion for Skiing, which features segments by Steve, Roger Hansen, Dick Durrance, Stu Keiller,the late Doug Leitch, Roger Urban and other classmates. After a successful tailgate, organized by Jane and George Wittreich, everyone gathered at Pierce’s Inn for dinner, followed by an impromptu session of singing around the fireplace, accompanied by Jim Griffiths on piano and John Rogers and Rick Leach on guitar. It brought back lots of memories of the best days in Hanover. Steve Fowler’s presentation about the planning for our 50th Reunion, scheduled for June 11-16, 2015, engendered excited discussion. Save the dates now and plan to attend!


Please send me a note about what you have been doing.


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