Class Notes 1968

The constituency of your class committee is more than class officers. The committee is, in fact, a large, fluid (50-plus members) group of action- and communication-oriented classmates who care about each other and the College. We’re in touch about numerous issues via email. In fact, there are now two email groups, one for Dartmouth-oriented matters and one for other, often political, issues. Recently, with regard to the latter, we received thoughts from Peter Wonson, John Blair, Sherwood Guernsey, Roger Witten, and Warren Cooke after new cabinet nominations appeared. College issues about fundraising methodology and Dartmouth’s very name brought messages from David Walden, Gary Horlick, and Norman Silverman. (By the way, Dr. Norm also sent me a couple of books that document journalistic and musical history of our time in Hanover, a history of The Village Voice called The Freaks Came Out to Write and Talkin’ Greenwich Village. You’ll see Dartmouth references in both, and I recommend them highly.) Other attention-demanding issues we’ve seen appear recently include the class’s first-year trip fund, college athletics, and a Dartmouth professor’s censoring of an election editorial in the major newspaper he owns. Your participation in committee matters is welcome; reply to me with your interest and I’ll run with it.

On less weighty—maybe—matters, Don Marcus has been in touch to vent his frustration with Manchester United, the English Premier League football team he’s supported since his years in London. I sympathized with my own Tottenham Hotspur’s mystifying inconsistency.

Clark Wadlow wrote to talk vacations, specifically boat cruises, and he documented numerous trips he and his wife have enjoyed. He says Mykonos’s and Santorini’s facilities can be overcrowded and overstressed, but they liked both Danube and Duoro river jaunts and complimented Viking’s Baltic and Scandinavia ocean trips.

I received an appeal from a member of another class who was a friend of Greg Fetler’s widow when they were young military dependents. He’d like to get in touch with her, but the number I tried on the class list is not working. Got any contact info?

Best to all for 2025!

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

These columns are always about connecting to grow and sustain the unique, active, and productive fellowship of the Dartmouth community. However, largely because of age, geographic separation, and economic priorities, large-size, in-person group meetings have become quite impractical for many classmates. Class committee mini-reunion chair Norm Silverman has repeatedly proposed micro-reunions as viable alternatives which can be shared via this medium and The Transmission. As an example, David Gang, Sherwood Guernsey, Peter Hofman, Don Marcus, and Mark Waterhouse recently met up for lunch in Lenox, Massachusetts, after which our aforementioned newsletter editor stopped at a previously unfamiliar beer maker’s facility to bring his brewery product sampling total to 817. (Anybody wish to take up the challenge?)

Class polymath R. Barton Palmer recently broke in a new Mustang GT on a drive from Atlanta to visit me and chair a symposium at the Tennessee Williams Festival. He’s also just back from work visits to Poland and Potsdam.

Dave Robbins kindly wrote to admit that, with the exception of Jim Henle, he hasn’t been in contact with classmates or the College for some years, so he provided an update on his situation since his 40th reunion book entry. After their retirements, the Robbinses traded suburban Connecticut for Tucson, Arizona, in 2016. In the late 1990s and into his 70s, Dave engaged in long-distance, multi-week bicycling tours along both coasts, down the Mississippi, around the Great Lakes, and across country. (I wonder if he ever ran into—so to speak—fellow cyclist Jim Lawrie.) He remains active with gym visits, also solves math problems, and reads extensively. The two Robbins daughters have careers in anthropology/gerontology and advertising. Overall, Dave describes a personal environment of happiness, health, and prosperity. Well deserved!

Greetings from the Gulf!

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

In keeping with this issue’s special theme, the names you’ll read in this posting are those of class of 1968 authors. There are many of them, to our credit, and I’m limiting mentions to (mostly) recent publications due to space considerations. In the essays field, we welcome Roger Witten’s Legal Briefs: The Ups and Downs of Life in the Law, which contains pieces on famous cases by Roger, Warren Cooke, Bill Kolasky, and others. Photographer Eric Hatch has two to see: Faces of Addiction and Glaciers in Retreat. Alex Conn asserts in The Strategic Enterprise Architect’s Dilemma thatfitness is the key to surviving and thriving in disruptive times, so enterprise architecture must focus on adaptability. The Little Jessica is the latest in a series of books, mostly comedies in both Hebrew and in Arabic, by Tony Choueke, who has also written two children’s books in English. New novels have come from Bill Zarchy, whose Finding George Washington is a time-travel tale, and Adah Armstrong, a.k.a. Gerry Bell (who, incidentally, has also previously used a time-travel theme), whose fourth novel, The Mills of God, is a political thriller. To travel excitingly, if vicariously, in our own time, get Wick Walker’s Torrents as Yet Unknown: Daring Whitewater Ventures into the World’s Great River Gorges. Several of our classmates have written about the various media and arts that constitute popular culture; the works of R. Barton Palmer, Peter Wonson, and David Soren are outstandingly enjoyable. Don’t miss the prolific Bob Reich on politics, the economy, and other subjects. You can find much more about these and other authors’ works on the brilliantly redesigned class website—thanks, Jim Lawrie!—and in each issue of The Transmission.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Much of the communication among class members has recently been generated by feelings about the Middle East conflict and individuals’ attitudes toward the involved parties and other religious, racial, and national entities. All which I have witnessed, including those from John Hamer (who also published a column on the subject), Jim Frey, Bob Tannenwald, Dave Effron, and Rick Pabst, have expressed gratitude to Dartmouth for providing a social and academic environment of expanded understanding, tolerance, and activism during our attendance; and for now demonstrating a present-day model of handling rough confrontations with the same qualities. The aforementioned have maintained via email the perspectives and interactions they (and, in full disclosure, I) began as fraternity brothers in 1965.

In a related reaction, class committee members Bill Rich and Roger Witten created a letter on behalf of the class condemning calls for and acts of violence against Jews or any other group, which, after discussion with committee members and a bit of revision, was sent to the College administration. The statement generated grateful compliments from President Beilock and the chair of the board of trustees. See the letter and endorse it, if you wish, on the class website. More than 100 classmates have already signed on. Also on the site, learn about yet another arts legacy committee donation, initiated by Roger A. Anderson, as well as webinar plans for next year.

Attention Phi Delta Alphas and especially Joe Leeper: R.W. Queeney wants to hear from you. Former Chicago public defender Mr. Queeney and I had a fascinating exchange about his past as an underwear/liquor/cigarette ads model and as legal interlocutor for the likes of John Wayne Gacy. Space limits do not allow for details, but he’ll provide colorful elaboration when you contact me to complete the connection.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Fewer ’68s plus more alumni classes mean shorter notes henceforth, so I’ll be referring you to The Transmission often for additional information on some of my brief mentions of classmate contacts. A sad example: We’ve recently lost Douglas Cook, Thomas Peterson, and John Gage, whose obituaries you’ll find in the newsletter.

There’s a new class initiative called “On the Road Again: Have Gear Will Travel,” which will publish your reviews of trips you’ve taken and include your recommendations on places to go, lodge, and dine. Add photos, diaries, and stories inspired by your travels; they’ll be inspirational to classmates. Early submissions may already be seen in the “News” section of the drop menu on the class website in “D68 Travelogues.” Our new travel committee includes Bill Adler, Bill Rich, Ced Kam, David Peck, Jim Lawrie, and Peter Wonson.

Lawrie, along with Peter Hofman and Peter Temple, also sent community service project developments. The program is evolving and expanding with new student body relationships, including mentoring and possible internships.

You may be interested to remember a classmate who spent two and a half years with us before leaving Dartmouth. Roger Lenke brought me up to date on a career that included three years as an Air Force officer in the Philippines and Michigan after securing his medical degree from Columbia. Fellowships at Harvard and USC followed, then 20 years in various academic positions around the country.

Bryson Ley and Neill Hirst are physicians in Asheville, North Carolina, although Neill, I know, is retired. Both moved there about 10 years ago and both extolled the virtues of the city and area in recent, most pleasant correspondences. (My wife lived there temporarily after Hurricane Katrina, and we’ve been considering a re-relocation.) Leckie Rives nestles nearby too.

Avid readers Cliff Groen and John Hamer wrote with recommendations. Cliff’s taking an edX course on China and John promises that Dr. John Medina’s Brain Rules for Aging Well is enlightening.

I’m reading too: Adah Armstrong’s Return the Favor chills and thrills. It’s available at Amazon.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

With many of us in Hanover for our 55th reunion at the planned delivery date of this DAM issue, remember that the class also presents other opportunities to visit with classmates via in-person mini-reunions as well as Zoom webinars and committee meetings. Recently in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Paul Fitzgerald, Steve Schwager, Scott Reeves, Sandy Dunlap, and John Blair assembled with a skiing contingent that included Hap Ridgway, Bob Wagner, Jim Lawrie, Scott Reeves, Sandy Dunlap, Rich du Moulin, and Peter Emmel. Later in March, Peter Wonson led a stimulating online discussion session titled “Where Were You in 1969?” Attendees Ced Kam, Dave Cross, Dan Bort, Daniel Tom, David Goldenberg, Gerry Bell, Hale Irwin, Jim Lawrie, Mark Waterhouse, Peter Hofman, Peter Logan, Richard Parker, and yours truly recalled matters certainly shared by many non-participants, as well, including the military, music, marriage, and, of course, grad school. From the harrowing to the hilarious, we share openly and gratefully and always look forward to your involvement in both webinars and committee meetings. Cedric is also a member of the class arts legacy committee and he’s made available a YouTube video of the College wind ensemble’s concert with Banda Sinfónica FaM Unam at Sala Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico City, on March 24. There is also a Hopkins Center online archive of the wind ensemble’s Mexico tour.

Recent email contacts also included Terry Lichty, who wrote from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to say he’s looking forward to the reunion and to inquire about the state of live jazz performance in New Orleans. Despite the frequent, serious storms and floods and infrastructure breakdowns of the past score of years, musical entertainment remains plentiful here. Prospective visitors should also be mindful, though, that so does serious crime. Rick Pabst and Bob Tannenwald also checked in with their anticipation for our June assembly in Hanover.

Need a good read? Tony Abruzzo’s latest work, Short Stories of Life, Love, Choices and Consequences, is now available from Austin Macauley Publishers.

Need a few dozen more good reads? Class renaissance man R. Barton Palmer is still adding to his extensive, varied oeuvre. He still edits the South Atlantic Review, the Tennessee Williams Annual Review, and five series at three academic presses. He works with a research consortium on the writings and music of Guillaume de Machaut that produces translations and editions of his poetry, and he’s helped produce 12 CDs by the Orlando Consort of this influential composer’s music. Bart’s also published on the connections between first-person narration and allegory as well as on the Nazi science of eugenics.

During reunion Bob Ross will lead a memorial service for deceased classmates, and it is now my sad responsibility to add to that list the names of Stephen Carley and Peter Werner. We also offer deepest condolences to classmate David Bustard, whose son, also an alumnus, died recently in a tragic accident.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Recent information about impending personnel changes in class executive committee leadership positions provides further incentive for you to attend our imminent 55th reunion. These representatives are very influential in determining class policies, activities, and College relations, as well as the treasury disbursals your dues enable, so you’ll want to provide your input and votes in person at our June meeting.

Dan Hedges, David Cooperberg, and Bob Ross have recently joined the existing reunion planning staff of John Engelman, Norm Silverman, and Linc Eldridge. Current executive committee members were, not surprisingly, particularly active in responding to my requests to many classmates for information about their activities since the 50th. The bold, courageously candid Dr. Silverman allowed as having had the worst year of his life in 2022, which brought serious health challenges and the suicide of a grandson at Dartmouth. Norm’s current strength—bolstered by a loving family, caring friends, and “a modicum of wit and knowledge of the human condition”—is a lesson to all in how to deal with monstrous adversity. His advice comes from Winston Churchill: “Let us go forward to greater tomorrows.”

Peter Wonson expressed pride in the major developments in our class since our 50th: the community service project (CSP), the Give a Rouse Award, the class webinar series, the Arts Legacy Initiative, and the continuation of excellent Dartmouth College Fund annual campaigns. Speaking of CSP, organizer Peter Hofman reviewed its resources, which help class members and their families work toward community improvement. He plans to open the project’s catalog to all for reference and guidance. John Engelman mentioned satisfaction with his recent status as one of the youngest residents at Kendal at Hanover, an assisted living facility where numerous Dartmouth-related folks provide an exciting environment.

Roger Witten’s post-50th updates include retirement from WilmerHale, service on nonprofit boards, his and Jill’s 51st anniversary, and continued involvement with fly fishing, kayaking, and snowshoeing. He looks forward to resuming travel, with Amsterdam first on the itinerary. Chicago-based Michael Jacobs and wife have also resumed traveling, with Iceland, Spain, and New Zealand recent stops. They hike, they swim, and they continue to enjoy Mike’s retirement from legal academia. Travel has not been totally kind to Diane and David Peck: On their return trip from the Galapagos their flights were canceled and their luggage lost; after a river cruise in Portugal, David tested positive for Covid; and Diane became too ill to travel two days before a planned Sicily visit

The humble, but blatantly mendacious David Walden claimed nobody would be interested in his past five years’ activities, but, in truth, his devoted committee participation has interested and benefited us all for even longer than that. (Expanded editions of some of the preceding classmate submissions may be found in the latest Transmission.) We were happy to learn that the latest volcanic activity in Hawaii bypassed Gerry Hills this time, but there’s tragic news, as well, in the deaths of Peter Fahey and Michael Smith.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

If I begin by informing you that I recently found the Hanover Inn fully booked 10 months in advance for the third week of June 2023—you should conclude that your 55th reunion planning needs to start immediately. The dates are June 12-15. Key organizers have been named: John Engelman is chair, Norm Silverman is treasurer, and Dan Hedges and Linc Eldredge are committee members. Your organizational assistance is eagerly solicited. Write to john.engelman.68@gmail.com to enlist and propose activities. Early suggestions include a book discussion, a memorial service, a class meeting to include officer elections, tours of new buildings, a “Give A Rouse” awards dinner, an address by President Beilock, a performance by the very rockin’ Peter Wonson’s Better Days Band, special-interest presentations, projections about the College’s future, and much more.

In the more immediate future, we’ll have a Homecoming mini-reunion in Hanover on Saturday, October 29 that will include a class meeting, pregame tailgating, football vs. Harvard, and a class dinner. To quote Bon Jovi’s reply to Thomas Wolfe, “Who says you can’t go home?”

Much of the time of your class representatives has been occupied lately with merging the elements of a substantial treasury, the passing of time, our already actively demonstrated interest in supporting the arts, and our dedication to the College’s presence in creative undertakings. We have responded with the formation of the Class of 1968 Arts Legacy Committee. This entity, along with its budget committee, will allot a significant percentage of class funds annually for 15 years to underwriting works in the fine and visual arts, music, performance arts, education, and other related fields to be placed or staged at or publicly related to Dartmouth and its arts facilities and organizations. The nine original members of the committee are Roger A. Anderson, Dave Gang, Cedric Kam, Don Marcus, Mark Waterhouse, Ron Weiss, Eric Hatch, Peter Werner, and myself, with David Peck and Jim Lawrie serving ex officio. More members will be added later. Again, your participation and suggestions for projects to be supported or acquired for donation, personal donations, and leads to outside sources of funding are most welcome. We’re very excited about this beginning and there’s much still to be arranged and decided, so we hope you’ll participate in developing this activity by attending class meetings and reunions and by reading more details in The Transmission.

Correspondence from Canada: Classmate Glenn Cranker started out with us back in 1964 in premed, switched to prelaw, and rather quickly found his place practicing international law for 40 years with a large firm in Montreal. He’s retired now, and he wrote from his 150-year-old farmhouse in Knowlton, Quebec, which serves him as a convenient base for gardening, cross-country skiing, kayaking, and hiking. Lockdown? What lockdown?

Now a nod for editorial consultation goes to Gerry Bell, whose latest novel under the pseudonym Adah Armstrong is an entertaining detective whodunit titled Return the Favor. Get it now on Amazon.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Here are some classmates in whose company we exult and of whom we may all be proud. These are the 2022 class of 1968 Give a Rouse Award honorees: Peter Buck, Tom Couser, Peter Hofman, Richard Lappin, Henry Masur, and Hank Paulson. Their awards will be presented at a class dinner on Saturday, May 14, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Read about their initiatives, dedication, and generosity at the class website and in The Transmission. Earlier that same day at our class committee meeting in Hanover we’ll congratulate outgoing Alumni Council representative Tom Stonecipher on three years of exemplary service and welcome Woody Lee to the position.

I was delighted to receive correspondence from several classmates about their current status and recent activities. Chuck Adams, the only American expatriate ever confirmed as an ambassador (to Finland, during the second Obama administration), still resides in Geneva, where he works as a partner in the law form of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as co-head of international arbitration. He remains politically engaged with the United States as coordinator of fundraising with Americans abroad for the Democratic National Committee. He’s glad to note Dartmouth’s globalization of the student body and needs-blind financial support for overseas students. Garrett Bayrd, who came to us as a National Merit scholar and was very active in the DOC for four years, retired last year. He checked in after returning from an annual Bahamas fishing trip with Kappa Sigma and in-law brother Joe Colgan, with whom he shares a busy outdoors lifestyle. John Isaacson continues to work in leadership transitions as chair of Isaacson, Miller. He mentions that he stays busy because so many members of our generation are leaving their professions. Perhaps you attended John’s recent online seminar about the considerations involved in selecting the College’s next president. Clifford Groen wrote to send compliments on that webinar series. Also, Preston Prudente shared a brief CV: Navy officer candidate school, then service onboard the USS Long Beach off Vietnam, then M.B.A. from Michigan and 28 years with Andersen Consulting. He’s serving his community of Issaquah, Washington, as a part-time school bus driver.

The Hawaii mini-reunion of March 12-19 attracted 12 members: Scott Reeves with wife Ginny, Jim Lawrie and Bev, Rich Olin and Dianne Martin, John Pfeiffer and Bev, Gary Horlick and Kathryn, Larry Smith and Mary Pritchard, Peter Diamond and Leila, and Dan Tom stayed throughout. Bob Ross joined for the Honolulu segment, Gerry Hills and Martha accompanied on Hawaii Island, and Tom Stonecipher and John Russell visited on Kona.

Class president David Peck and Diane met his former roommate Dick Jones and Martha for lunch in Maryland recently. Dick volunteers in resettlement work with Afghan refugees and in Veterans Administration as liaison for former servicepersons.

Roy Landy, who went on to earn his M.A. from Princeton and J.D. from Hofstra, has passed away. We send condolences to friends and family.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Let’s begin with an update on a most worthy project you may have read about in The Transmission. I spoke recently with Don Marcus,who has an extensive background in television, motion picture, and stage writing and production and as the cofounder of the Ark Theater Company in New York City. Don, his wife, and his son are approaching completion of production on a feature-length film called Lucky Milo, a documentary about a former Marine named Milo Imrie who was a longtime friend of Don’s son. It’s based on videos and journals created by Milo himself and presents a sobering, even alarming picture of the widespread, personal, and social crises caused by the problems confronting military veterans returning to civilian life. You can provide welcome, tax-deductible support to production and distribution costs (and thereby to the vitally necessary services to veterans the film encourages) at https://filmmakerscollab.org/films/lucky-milo.

Tom Couser has provided us news of his recent and future activities. Ten years after retiring from teaching at Hofstra, where late in his career he founded a disability studies program, he was asked to teach a course on narratives of illness and disability at Columbia’s narrative medicine program. Tom relates that teaching by Zoom was strenuous, but that the experience was gratifying overall. Next year he hopes to teach a new course, an introduction to disability studies, in the program. Otherwise, he keeps busy searching titles for New London (Connecticut) Landmarks’ plaque program and trying to keep fit enough to play pick-up hockey once a week.

Hanoverian John Engelman is pleased to announce the establishment of a regularly scheduled class lunch, primarily for ’68s in the Upper Valley, but all classmates (and spouses and significant others) are welcome. It’ll be on the third Thursday of each month at Jesse’s at noon, probably beginning in February. John requests attendees contact him at least two days prior and advises that full vaccination, including booster, is required.

Our webmaster Jim Lawrie announced a new feature of the community service project. He’ll now be posting any events and updates that project participants and their organizations provide. Other participants can review the postings to consider publicizing their own news, plan attendance or financial support, or generate ideas for their own organizations. Recent Give a Rouse (GAR) award winner Jim Frey was an early contributor of information about his work with the Service Corps of Retired Executives. Cedric Kam wrote in about the Boston-area Metropolitan Wind Symphony’s Virtual Holiday Pops Concert. Also Michel Zaleski,another recent GAR awardee, has provided recent news about his Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring project in the Dominican Republic.

As always, we solicit your frequent attention to the class website and the newsletter for information about online seminars, class projects, and mini-reunions. Plan on Hanover in May and don’t forget to write to yours truly.

Our final thoughts go to the family and friends of the recently deceased Bruce Senn, whom some of us last encountered when he led the Moosilauke hike at our 50th reunion.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Grandparental advisory: The following is rated PG-75 for euphemisms and public unconcealment.

A College email displaying recent campus summer scenes was as a petite-madeleine dipped in tea to several classmates. Their thoughts and senses were cast back to undergraduate summers spent in Hanover. Several synesthetic recollections of Proustian detail were shared about warmly remembered academic and social situations, all of which revealed gratitude for being there and descriptions of Hanover summers as “magical.”

Dave Gang’s 1967 Hanover summer of premed physics study with roommate Ted Renna was highlighted by two extracurricular events. The first earned him a lifetime ban from Storrs Pond, after he and a girlfriend from Smith attempted an au naturel natatorial visit but were interrupted by the local gendarmerie. On another occasion, the same couple ignored towering thunderheads and the revealing absence of other boaters for a canoeing stint on Lake Mascoma. They rolled their vessel in reaction to frighteningly close lightning and thunder, but were rescued by observers onshore, who “were not at all surprised to learn that we had come from Dartmouth.”

Gary Horlick did some local canoeing too. In 1966 he spent six summer weeks working for a Thayer professor on the “relatively compact campus.” In afternoons not darkened by storm clouds or lit by thunderbolts he’d walk from Middle Mass to the calm Connecticut for paddling sessions.

Tom Stonecipher recalled the summer of 1967, when he, Henry Homeyer, and Joe Carbonari were running an office of economic opportunity children’s program in Norwich, Vermont. He and Henry housed with Barbara Barnes (later a Dartmouth dean) and hitchhiked to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the Montreal World’s Fair. Tom also recalled trips with the program’s kids to watch ox-pulling contests at the Norwich Fair and go blueberry picking. He gave J.D. Salinger’s daughter a piggyback ride on the Norwich Green.

Jim Lawrie is hard to top for undergraduate summers in Hanover. He spent three, the first while taking a 20-week organic chemistry course in just eight, and the others doing data analysis in the psychiatry department at the Med School. Write to Jim to enroll in the class community service program and ask him if he remembers any organic chemistry.

The Peace Corps language-culture training for Francophone West Africa was on campus in the summers of 1966 and 1967, and Warren Cooke spent that time there working with John Rassias. Warren and Mark Waterhouse, who also stayed in Hanover for two summers while working for the psychology department, shared happy memories of special times.

Peter Wonson spent seven summers in Hanover, but after graduation, first as a member of the rock band, Tracks, and later while taking M.A.L.S. coursework. He mentioned liking the slower pace of the campus scene in those years.

In present day events, Cedric Kam is anticipating a Cape Cod meeting with Sam Swisher and Dennis Donahue, and Frederic Gruder has been enjoying monthly Zoom sessions with fellow Pi Lams, doctors Ted Levin, Freddy Appelbaum, and a fully clothed Dave Gang.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

With vaccinations progressing and relief from sequestration in sight, your class is planning numerous opportunities later this year and much of next finally to get together again. Mini-reunion chair Norm Silverman and several active cohorts, including Ed Heald, Gerry Hills, Dan Tom, Peter Diamond, John Engelman, John Pfeiffer and others, have begun, and in some cases completed, plans for a spate of gatherings everywhere from Hanover to Hawaii. Please watch The Transmission and the class website for details, because these exciting opportunities to celebrate with your classmates may have limitations on the number of registrants and time to reserve.

Go also to the same sources for lists of classmates’ fascinating webinars you may wish to attend and to fulfill the commitment you may have made to provide a community service program (CSP) entry. Many CSP obligations remain outstanding. Contact Peter Hofman or Peter Wonson for help getting started.

I had some correspondence with Ed Schneider recently in the wake of the Suez Canal boat incident. Ed crewed on ships during our years at Dartmouth and, after attaining his M.B.A. at Harvard, spent a career in the shipping industry as a supplier to major companies. He and Liliane are doing well in California, despite last year’s dual hits of Covid and the loss of a house to fire.

My ROTC colleague Jeff Garten and I didn’t know we were both at Fort Bragg in 1969, so it’s been almost 52 years since we spoke; lately we’ve been in touch in anticipation of the July publication of his latest book, Three Days at Camp David: How a Secret Meeting in 1971 Transformed the Global Economy. It’s a blow-by-blow account of a weekend when the Nixon administration took the dollar off the gold standard and all that ensued. After serving as a managing director of the Blackstone Group, Jeff became undersecretary for international trade in the Clinton administration and later dean of the Yale School of Management. He’s now retired, but he continues to teach courses in international finance and trade, after which he no doubt heads home to enjoy the culinary splendors of his famous wife, Ina.

I sent 75th birthday greetings to Bob Tannenwald in Brookline, Massachusetts, but I was off by a year, since he reminded me that he skipped third grade. Bob’s now fully retired after 30 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He, too, remains professionally and creatively active by writing an occasional column for the magazine, Tax Notes-State. He’s looking forward to the Covid-delayed marriage celebration of his eldest son this summer.

Peter Fahey knows a lot about popular music and, as Darlene Love’s pal, especially about female vocals. He alerted me to an article in the February 1 issue of New York magazine about the great Dusty Springfield. Let me pass the recommendation along; it’s a good, relatively brief read.

Please write to share your post-pandemic plans! They’ll be instructive and motivational to all of us.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Zooming downhill took on an entirely new meaning for annual fall Western ski mini-reunion veterans in November. With gatherings and travel stymied by Covid-19, the always resourceful Rick Pabst proposed a virtual version of the gathering. Instead of physical exercise, the event involved heady discussions on a variety of subjects, including one that will be of interest to all of us bright Dartmouth lads who’ve never stopped learning and have been (and will continue to be) spending much of our sequestered hours with books. Here are some recommendations from attendees.

Tom Stonecipher recommends American Nations by Colin Woodward, a description of the 11 founding cultures that formed our value systems and governing and societal beliefs; also Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, by which title she describes the relationship of Black and white Americans.

Reunion co-organizer Dave Dibelius recommends Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, an award-winning sci-fi novel that, though written in 1993, “provides a remarkable perspective on 2020.” More sci-fi comes from Jim Lawrie: the Bobiverse books by Dennis E. Taylor as read by Ray Porter.

Voracious reader Gerry Bell recommends current books on politics by Barack Obama, John Bolton, Mary Trump, and Bob Woodward; William Manchester’s The Glory and the Dream/Prologue, which describes situations in 1932 that are “beyond eerily similar” to 2020; and (for fun) Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen, which is also recommended by Peter Fahey. Gerry and I also agree on Robert Crais.

Other mini-reunion attendees included Peter Emmel, Richard duMoulin, Sandy Dunlap, Paul Fitzgerald, Rusty Martin, Joe Lowry, Scott Reeves, Steven Schwager, and Paul Schweizer. Another virtual event is planned for March, and the Greenbrier 75th birthday reunion situation will be resolved at the February class committee meeting.

Several other classmates offered their book lists and suggestions. President David Peck liked Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit, about Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Progressive movement. James Noyes proposes Jane Mayer’s Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, which he describes as a “real-life version of Ludlum’s The Matarese Circle.” Newsletter editor Mark Waterhouse is currently enjoying Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition, which was researched in part at Baker Library. The very generous John Blair, when he’s not helping me with my golf swing, reads about food and nutrition (The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meats),politics and current events (That Used to Be Us, by Friedman and Mandelbaum), historical fiction (All the Light We Cannot See and Daring Young Men), and, of course, sports (The Boys in the Boat and The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever).

While we’re talking books, let’s note that Bill Zarchy’s new one is out. Look for Finding George Washington: A Time Travel Tale.

It is now, unfortunately, time to say goodbye to Charlie Lenth, Dick Stowell, and Mike Glass. We will miss them as we look forward to a better 2021.

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

We’ve several important developments in our class, including two new officers. Norm Silverman is our new mini-reunion chair. Norm quickly noted the reunion limitations imposed by Covid-19 and suggested micro-reunions might be workable, since they could take place anywhere with minimal preparation. Norm also wonders whether less athletically oriented gatherings, such as festival attendance, might better suit us, our significant others, and our finances, and he solicits suggestions from you at norman.silverman@yahoo.com. We thank Bill Rich for his service in the job during the past two years!

Also, the position of class memorialist (which other classes call “necrologist”) has been established, and Joe Grasso has graciously stepped forward to assume the role. Joe hopes that you will write to him at jagrassojr68@gmail.com with your remembrances when you learn of a classmate’s passing.

The class has established a new award, the Class of 1968 Give A Rouse Award, which will be presented annually in May to classmates recognized for distinguished service to communities (local, state, national, or international), professions, or organizations, including Dartmouth and our class. There’s more information on our class website.

I was happy to hear from several class members regarding their activities under Covid-19.

Warren Cooke notes that he and Cathy returned in March from living in a tree house and photographing birds in the Costa Rican rainforest. They haven’t left New Jersey since. Books and piano pieces occupy their time, and they’re doing well, but suffering, no doubt like many, from family separations.

Gerry Bell has been landscaping and gardening, preventing Alzheimer’s by conquering daily Sudoku puzzles and crypto quotes, writing “incendiary” columns for the local paper about Donald Trump, social media, climate change, and a certain College weathervane. On reading “escapist trash” novels by J.A. Jance, he says, “God help me, I love ’em!”

Tony Dambrava has also been gardening on his farm, watching his diet, and tending to the horse, dog, and goats. Regarding Covid-19: “Some here call it the raccoon virus because that critter always wears a mask, incessantly washes its hands, and its name is nearly an anagram for corona.”

Cedric Kam has been pumping the pedals, but says, “My cycling has slowed down because it’s gotten much hotter and my kids and grandkids were visiting. I have now cycled every bike trail on Cape Cod [Massachusetts] this season and have put 277 miles on the Brompton, in addition to some tens of miles on my road bike.”

Now a few more recent examples of classmate community service.

Joe Nathan Wright has been a volunteer board of directors member of the Visiting Nurse Association of Texas, offering home healthcare services, hospice care, Meals on Wheels, and other programs. David Gang served in top positions on the board of the Springfield (Massachusetts) Symphony Orchestra and conducted executive search work, contract negotiation, and fundraising. And John Engleman has conducted Dartmouth Club of the Upper Valley Winter Special Olympics at the Skiway and spent 20 years organizing races for athletes from New Hampshire and Vermont. Do check out community service projects at the class website.

Wear a mask and keep your distance—and write!

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Classmates Ric Gruder, Richard Livingston, Terry Lichty, and Andy Hotaling made contact. More in the next edition.

Please join us in Hanover October 3-4 for Homecoming to share a class meeting, dedication of the Frederick Douglass bust, Yale football, and dinner.

I must close by noting the passing of Steven Golladay.

—Jack Hoke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

As your recently appointed class secretary, I thank the class committee for the members’ and officers’ endorsements and confidence. I am supremely proud of our school. Please share my commitment by staying in touch with information about your activities. Our togetherness is a bulwark of the reputation and strength of Dartmouth College. Gratitude goes also to president Dave Peck and my predecessor, Dick Olson, who have been immediately and extensively helpful. Randy Blair, too, cooperated with class and generosity. 

The (big, red) results of a week later notwithstanding, a November weekend in New York City was a great (big, green) celebration. Class members hit Bill’s Townhouse in Midtown for a cocktail party to start it off on Friday evening. Highlights included a lighthearted presentation by mini-reunion chair Bill Rich and a little impromptu vocal entertainment by immediate past president Peter Fahey that recalled the unforgettable (remember?) P.J. Proby.

Classmates attending the mini-reunion included Bill Kolasky, Steve Small, Bill Mutterperl, Linc Eldredge, Hugh Boss, Warren Connelly, newsletter editor Mark Waterhouse, Don Middleton, Steve Schwager, Norm Silverman, Jim Snyder, John Engelman, Roger Lenke, and Chuck Woodworth. Game attendees included Arnie Resnicoff, Dan Bort, Richard du Moulin, and Dave Cooperberg. Prior to kickoff literally hundreds of Dartmouth alumni, students, family members, and friends crammed into the cavernous Billy’s Bar across the street from the stadium for refreshments, Dartmouth caps, and other merchandise generously provided by the College. After the victory the largest mini-reunion event of the weekend took place at dinner at Sparks’ Steakhouse in Midtown. We ate, we sipped, and we sang in fellowship.

Much of the credit for the joyous success of the weekend goes to Roger Witten, who did most of the organizing before and even while participating. Treasurer Jim Lawrie wasn’t able to join us, but he helped get and manage some financing. Tom Laughlin and Mia were nearby on Long Island, but didn’t make the mini-reunion because their champion golden retriever, Captain, was showing in hot pursuit of grand champion status. Congrats to Tom also on his second novel, The Other Side of the Lake, which I read, enjoyed, and recommend. (Firebase Ripcord, indeed!)

WhileI’m mentioning classmates’ names, I’m sad to have to add the name of one who has passed on. We learned just before deadline of the death of Al Skean. A proper obituary will follow.

Here’s an update on the class’ important community service project: We have more than 100 diverse activities entered or promised from classmates or their companions. See samples at www/dartmouth68.org. Find “Community Service Project” and click “CSP Stories.” Share your story and help expand service to others and our planet! Contact Peter Hofman (pdhofman12@gmail.com) or Peter Wonson (pwonson@cox.net).

All class members are invited to attend the next class committee meeting on February 29 in Alexandria, Virginia. At the same time, a class ski trip to Mammoth Mountain will begin. Check the class website for information on both.

Neki Hoeki, y’all!

—Jack Hopke, 157 Joy St., River Ridge, LA 70123; (504) 388-2645; jackhopke@yahoo.com

Richard Parker, who has been teaching at the Kennedy School of Government for the last 27 years, has been encouraging students to get hands-on political experience. He’s been working with students on an inspiring online project called Resistance School, which teaches the principles of grassroots organizing.

“We’ve now got people working in 15 presidential campaigns—some at senior levels for Harris, Sanders, Biden, Buttigieg (a Kennedy School grad), and Warren (Harvard Law)—and scores of congressional and state-level campaigns,” he reports. Richard is a senior lecturer on economic policy and religion and politics. With two sons still in school, he keeps working to pay college bills. One son has a fellowship, but the other has a $65,000 tuition bill at Colgate—mostly paid by dad. Richard suffers from retinal failure, which makes reading difficult.

A group of his students are launching Organize for Something, which will aim at community colleges. There are 1,100-plus such schools, with 13 million enrolled. “It’s a great cross-section of middle America that needs active lobbying and encouragement to vote,” he says.

Our kids are doing alright. Several ’68s—all but one from Foley House—had a mini-reunion (micro-reunion?) in Los Angeles in June. Kim Ritchie says the idea for the mini-reunion started at our 50th when a number of friends realized they all had children in the entertainment industry living in Los Angeles. So they decided to all meet so their kids could connect. Attending were Ritchie, Jim Payne, Andy Epstein, Bob Reich, John Isaacson, and Jim Donnelly. The weekend started at a theater where Kim’s son, Matthew, was performing his one-act play—Blackboxing—in the LA Fringe. It got great reviews and a number of awards. In addition, Kim reports he is still inline skating.

R. Barton Palmer, retired English professor at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, is enjoying his new job as an onboard enrichment lecturer for cruise lines Azamara and Windstar, with Oceania and Scenic in his immediate future.

Golfers Jerry Rinehart and Peggy had great trips to South Africa and Australia. Jerry reports that Mike Keiser—designer of Bandon Dunes in Oregon, which has been the site of many ’68 golf events—created sister courses on the Indian Ocean in Tasmania (Lost Farm and Barnbougle Dunes) and they’re worth the trip.

Jerry and Peggy have been retired from the University of Minnesota for six years, and Jerry has just completed a term as president of the school’s retirees association.

We’re looking forward to our mini-reunion in Hanover October 11 and 12, with the class meeting Saturday morning and then dinner at Dowd’s Country Inn after the Dartmouth-Yale game.

All classmates also are invited for a great weekend in New York on November 9 to watch the Dartmouth football team take on Princeton in Yankee Stadium. Details can be found at www.dartmouth68.org.

—Dick Olson, 1021 Nottingham Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230; rwolson68@gmail.com

The house of Gerry Hills on the Big Island of Hawaii is now buried under 40 feet of lava. Gerry and his family were awakened at 1:30 one morning in May 2018 by flashing blue lights, sirens, and loud speakers demanding they evacuate immediately. Lava from the Kilauea volcano, which had been oozing toward the ocean, shifted course and headed toward Kapoho, which was wiped out June 4. With the help of insurance, Gerry is building a bamboo house in the little coastal community of Hawaiian Beaches, a subdivision of Pahoa.

Dikkon Eberhart of Roanoke, Virginia, volunteers with Kairos Prison Ministry Project of Virginia. Twice a year Dikkon and other men go to a prison for a four-day session as witness to their Christian ministry. Seven tables of three volunteers and six prisoners listen to presentations about personal choices and Jesus Christ and then discuss their personal failings. This culminates in a forgiveness ceremony. “It’s a remarkable experience,” says Dikkon. “You sit there with a guy who is a double murderer, and you become spiritual brothers. Volunteers return monthly for a day bringing fresh baked cookies to share: ‘Jesus cookies’ as these popular treats are known.”

Austin de Besche of Arlington, Massachusetts, has spent more than 40 years in motion pictures. He worked as director of photography for The Year We Thought About Love, a 68-minute documentary celebrating the powerful work of a young Boston LGBTQ troupe. Austin also filmed John Sayles’ landmark film, The Return of the Secaucus Seven. And he filmed Postcards from Buster, a Boston PBS series.

In the early 1990s Michel Zaleski went to Cabarete on the north coast of the Dominican Republic to windsurf. He fell in love with it and built a home. Then, deciding to do something about the poverty and lack of educational opportunities in the region, he founded the Dream Project (www.dominicandream.org), an education and mentoring project that thrives today with a paid staff of 100 and schools in 27 communities serving more than 9,000 children and youth. Projects range from child-rearing classes for young parents, Montessori schools, afterschool and at-risk youth programs, summer schools and camps, libraries, computer labs, vocational training, and one of the only Bachata music schools in Latin America. Dream is constantly adding programs: It is now building and equipping a machinist school. “It has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams,” says Michel, who lives in New York City.

Tom Stonecipher of Bozeman, Montana, has agreed to be our class representative on the Alumni Council. “I see this as being a conduit between the College and the class,” says Tom. “Our class is not shy,” he observes. The Alumni Council meets twice a year and is a forum for discussing issues facing Dartmouth. Tom replaces Hugh Boss,who has been our councilor for the past three years.

Class president David Peck urges you to support the Dartmouth College Fund and the College’s Call to Lead campaign.

—Dick Olson, 1021 Nottingham Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230; rwolson68@gmail.com

Doing good while having fun is a ’68 tradition.

In February master puppeteer Dan Butterworth will return via small plane to an Inuit community in Cambridge Bay, on a far north island in Nunavut, Canada, where he’s setting up a permanent puppetry program.

Dan is known for his grand sets and his exquisitely moving marionettes (and his amazing shadow puppets). The kids respond with imagination and enthusiasm as they create their own marionettes and tell their stories.

When he went to the Arctic some years ago, he was given a welcoming feast—this included a big fish eyeball on his plate. Other culinary treats are muktuk, caribou, the warm blood of the ptarmigan. On one hunt he was pulled on a sled and shot up suddenly into a riotous herd of caribou.

Bob Reich’s latest book (No. 18) is The Common Good, Bob’s recipe for a just society. Bob wants to end the unbridled pursuit of power and profit and see leadership as trusteeship. Like many classmates Bob believes we’d be well served by two years of mandatory service.

A cello concerto inspired by Dartmouth’s Orozco murals and commissioned by Roger Anderson will premiere May 25 in Hanover in a collaboration between the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra and the nationally renowned classical radio show, From The Top. The class committee will meet that morning and, as always, all classmates are welcome.

“Ending loneliness as one enters the eighth decade is a wonderful experience,” writes Monroe Denton. Two years ago Monroe realized he had outlived his parents and his sister. His sister had been at his 60th birthday in Venice; his 65th was in Istanbul. And for his 70th birthday, friends from Turkey came to Puebla, Mexico, and they were the first to meet someone special Monroe was getting to know. “Those destination birthdays were celebrations of my life. They were the focus that I had expected at one time to come from winning prizes. I realized the love of those friends was the prize. There is so much more to see, to read, and I hope to stage and enjoy, sharing with a partner and with a wonderful circle of friends.”

Jon Agronsky has just finished a 6,000-word, R-rated short story about a young man who shoots his brother following an extramarital affair. Jon also penned My Hollywood Adventure by Bonny the Shih Tzu, as Barked to Jonathan Agronsky (Buddha Dog Books), written from the point of view of a canine movie star. Eric Hatch’s new book of “concerned photography” features Eric’s superb portraits along with life stories of 50 individuals who are drug addicts. You can preview the book at http://facesofaddiction.net.

The next class committee meeting is February 16 at 11 a.m. at the Cambridge Ale House, 357 Salmon Brook St., Granby, CT. Mark Waterhouse will host. It’ll be a mini-reunion. All classmates are invited to join in person or via Zoom.

—Dick Olson, 1021 Nottingham Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230; rwolson68@gmail.com

The Sixties at Dartmouth rocked. We studied rocks, climbed rocks, listened to rock, sang about rocks in our muscles and our brains, and graduated in 1968: an unforgettably rocky year. Half a century later, 225 classmates and 397 total attendees made the trip to the Hanover Plain to reconnect with friends and remember those years and our College.

One outstanding moment at the reunion: Peter Fahey, our retiring class president, was awarded the honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from the College. Aside from his career at Goldman Sachs, his time as a Dartmouth trustee and our class president, he is also the father of four Dartmouth graduates.

For John Hamer, the 50th reunion was his first. But he’s glad he went. Great conversations and powerful connections. John visited his old fraternity, which is now a sorority. “We were greeted warmly by the sisters, a rich mix of Asian-American, African-American, and Hispanic-American young women,” he said. John noted a rainbow flag was flying from his old room, “but they were still playing beer pong in the basement.

Greg Herschell enjoyed seeing old friends Chuck Lenth, Marshall Wolfe, and Andy Hotaling. All our wives got along well, Greg said. All the wives are smart, intelligent, self-assured women. We didn’t marry shrinking violets, he observed.

Dan Butterworth brought his puppet magic to the reunion. Last February he went to an Inuit village in northern Canada, where he has developed a close relationship. He’s heading there again in a few months to bring puppet blanks for the kids. On one trip he was welcomed with a feast that started with a fish eyeball.

Mark Waterhouse organized a great discussion of Vietnam, which shaped our lives in so many ways. I was particularly moved by a video interview with John “Bear” Everett Jr. The session was recorded. I’ll provide more info about that in my next column. A forthcoming newsletter will cover that discussion in depth.

Jim Lawrie has done an amazing revision of our class website at www.dartmouth68.org. Lots of pictures from the reunion. You can download an updated class directory. Check out John Melski’s stories about Dartmouth and his marriage. In the early 1980s John and his wife, Linda, volunteered to teach about sexuality to 12- to 14-year-olds at their Unitarian society in Newton, Massachusetts. One day John went to a windowless factory to get teaching props. Seeing rubber genitalia suspended from the ceiling in various states of manufacture was a “lesson in surrealism,” he said.

All classmates are invited to meet up for a mini-reunion during Homecoming Weekend. You’re welcome at our executive committee meeting at 10 a.m., Saturday, October 27, at 107 Dartmouth Hall. After that we’ll be tailgating at Alpha Delta before the game with Harvard and dinner that evening at Dowds’ Country Inn in Lyme, New Hampshire.

Send news. Send news.

—Dick Olson, 1021 Nottingham Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230; rwolson68@gmail.com

What are we going to do when we grow up? This Dartmouth magazine should be arriving right around reunion time, a time of looking back, for sure, but also ahead. We are all entering (or already in) a new chapter in our lives, and our financial advisors are telling us we may have another 20 or more years. How we use these years, for family, for creative retirement or continued work, for travel, for volunteering and community service is bound to be interesting. So, continue sharing with this column and the website! One thing the future will bring, for certain, is more grandchildren. I checked our SurveyMonkey results and, not surprisingly, the number of grandchildren per classmate is still going up, up from 3.4 to 4.4 for all classmates with grandkids.

Speaking of reunion, one honorary degree recipient will be our own Peter Fahey. Check out the College’s website on Commencement to see Peter’s accomplishments, the greatest of which, of course, is his service as our class president. Congratulations, Peter and Helen, without whom those accomplishments would not have been possible. As a class we continue to support the travel industry. Nancy and Bill Mutterperl have visited all seven continents, including a recent trip to Antarctica. They have seen enough penguins for several lifetimes. But as interesting as that trip was, they still prefer sitting in a café in Paris. Mike O’Connor wrote from Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he is still working, though with reduced hours. Mike has three adult children in Boston, Detroit, and Chicago, and Mike’s wife, Mary, has three as well, two in Michigan and one in Florida. They have a total of 13 grandchildren between them, with the youngest born in March. Mike is bringing up the travel mileage and grandchildren average, for sure! The last Dartmouth magazine scooped me! Mark Nelson has a new book out: Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2. It is a re-examination of that high-profile and controversial project. Mark was one of eight “crewmembers” who lived in Biosphere 2 for two years between 1991 and 1993. Mark has also published The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time. Mark serves as the chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Some quick notes from classmates: George Spivey was featured in a Cape Cod Times article about Martin Luther King Jr.’s ongoing inspiration to service. In 2003 George was a founding member of the No Place for Hate chapter on the Cape and remains active working in the community on racial justice. Rich Olin noted that he has finally retired and is getting back to some hiking after multiple body part replacements. “I should have opted for the extended warranty!” John Lynch,M.D., has moved from Connecticut to Richmond, Virginia, after a divorce and plans to come out of retirement. There will be plenty of trips back to Connecticut to visit his daughter and three grandchildren.

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Midwinter and June is that much closer. As I write these notes, we have 243 classmates on board, and only a few months to go to June 8-12. And a reminder: Be sure to participate in the Dartmouth 1968 “Who Are You” experience. The results of this should be fun and informative. Log on at www.D68WhoAreYou.org. Registration number is “1968.” You have until March 31 to participate, and could save up to 20 percent of reunion fees. Speaking of 1968, the Smithsonian just named our year “The Year that Shattered America.” For the second column in a row, the California fires are a part of our story: Hugh Boss wrote noting his family is relatively close. “Not sleeping much, but still okay. Fire is a few miles away and quite a light show at night. All depends on the wind. We are packed and ready to leave if we need to.” We do not want a Gone with the Wind story there. Chuck Adams shared an update as well: “Having returned in January 2017 to Geneva from my U.S. ambassadorship to Finland, I am now a partner and worldwide head of international arbitration with the global law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.” Great article from the University of Arizona on David Soren. Based on a recommendation from the Umbria region, where David has spent decades doing archeology, the Italian government has authorized the naming of a new strain of olive after him. In addition to that unique news, the article outlines some of the significant archeological investigations David has led or contributed to, including excavations in Cyprus at the site of a 365 AD earthquake, how malaria contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire and how water from the springs at Chiusi may have cured Emperor Augustus of stomach pain. Dave Dibelius shared his answer on the most valuable course at Dartmouth: a required but non-credit machine shop project at Thayer. The class had to construct a doodad made of half a dozen metal parts fabricated on a variety of milling machines. This experience, along with computer programming and a high school drafting class, helped support his career in mechanical engineering. Final report from our little Survey Monkey effort. With more than 70 responses (about 10 percent of the class), almost 89 percent of classmates are married, in their first (70 percent) or second (19 percent) marriage. Including classmates who have no children, we have an average of 2.15 children per classmate and 2.71 grandchildren. If adjusted for only classmates who have children or grandchildren, we have, per classmate, 2.55 children and 3.98 grandchildren. Except for the growing number of grandchildren (it was 3.40 per classmate when we began the survey), the figures are generally similar across the survey time. And now time for a new Survey Monkey class survey: What do you think about the possibility of Dartmouth expanding its undergraduate enrollment? The survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7ZVD2CL.

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

It’s fall now and we are really in the countdown to our 50th. Don’t be that guy Mark Twain was talking about: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can put off to the day after tomorrow.” Don’t be a procrastinator. Do, therefore, put June 7 through June 11, 2018, in your calendars. And, of course, there will be plenty of other events between now and then. Our fall mini-reunion just happened, during the weekend of October 7. Check the class website for info on the Vermont ski mini-reunion in January at Okemo, Vermont; at Snowmass in Colorado in March (incorrectly noted as Mammoth Mountain in last column); and another Danube-Budapest trip in April-May. One 50th reunion event I want to push (since I am the coordinator) is creating a virtual art gallery for classmates and their significant others. Digital images of all kinds of art will be assembled and run on a flat screen strategically located at one of our reunion venues. If you are interested in helping or contributing, please let me know. Eric Hatch has already indicated he will be helping and participating. He also will be having his first solo photography exhibit from this coming December 6 through February 1 at the Middletown, Ohio, Arts Center. Arnie Resnicoff delivered the prayer to open the U.S. House of Representatives pro-forma session once in August, once in September. Overall he has been honored to give an opening prayer to the U.S. House or U.S. Senate 11 times. In spite of his Dartmouth credentials, he’ll be the guest speaker at the Harvard Memorial Church for Veteran’s Day. Daughter Malka is a lawyer and has become active in politics since she took part in the Women’s March shortly after the inauguration. Son-in-law Justin started a cybersecurity firm, along with two friends, and the firm is doing well. Arnie has two grandsons, Simon (4) and Elliot (2). In addition, Arnie has a most interesting website, outlining multiple milestones in his professional life as a rabbi and officer in the U.S. Navy. Margaret and Peter Zack spent two weeks camping and hiking on New Zealand’s South Island. By the time you read these notes, the Zacks will have grandchild No. 2, a grandson, from daughter Sanno and her husband, Ed Scott. Gerry Bell has started a fun class question on his Facebook page: What were the most valuable courses and who were the most influential professors you had at Dartmouth? For Gerry, Don Kreider’s math classes led directly to a career in actuarial analysis. Rogers Elliott’s Psych 10 class helped him understand human motivation and Mike Choukas’s Sociology 43 helped him understand propaganda and fine-tune Gerry’s bullshit detector. News of two more classmate deaths recently arrived: Pete Ginder died of a heart attack on February 7 in Anchorage, Alaska, and David Engelbretson died July 8 in Redlands, California. Obituaries were included in the most recent class newsletter and will be on the magazine and class websites.

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Less than a year to our reunion and counting down. Pete Wonson reported that more than 200 classmates have already indicated plans to attend, and we are hoping for more than 300 classmates and a total attendance of more than 500. Let’s get into gear, ’68! Many chances to get together before then: Homecoming mini-reunion in Hanover during the October 6-8 weekend, for the Yale game. Our usual drill if you can make it: parade and bonfire Friday night, executive committee meeting Saturday morning, tailgate at Alpha Delta, a winning football game and dinner at Dodge Farm. Other pre-50th mini-reunions include another eastern ski at Okemo in Vermont in January, a western ski at Mammoth Mountain in California in March and another Danube-Budapest trip being organized by Bill Rich in April. Bob Holmberg shared news: He is a retired pediatrician after 40 years at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and Blue Hill, Maine. He has done sabbatical training in infectious diseases and consultation focus on obesity prevention. He and Joan have a new home in Brooksville on the coast above Castine. It is a good retired life, managing a small woodlot, keeping too many small boats afloat and trying to stay active fighting the ravages of old age. They have five grandkids, including three in Bend, Oregon, where he and Joan spend two months each winter Nordic skiing and babysitting. Fred Glickman wrote from Florida; he is still practicing law, limited to estates and estate planning, and has no interest in retiring. He proudly noted that daughter Laura is an ’07. Children and grandchildren live in Washington, Silicon Valley and Chicago, so he and Margery are good customers of American Airlines. Hobbies include biking, hiking, travel and piano playing. Assorted Facebook postings noted: Leckie Rives wrote to celebrate 48 years of happy marriage to Vicki Thurston, with three wonderful children and four beautiful granddaughters and one grandson. Vicki wrote shortly after to correct the posting to five beautiful granddaughters. At least he got the anniversary amount right (I hope!). Pete Weston is shown happily lounging in a comfortable hammock. Dick Olson is gazing at new grandson Basil. Jeff Garten’s wife, Ina, was quoted in Entertainment Insider: “If Jeffrey and I disagree, he always agrees with me.” Some SurveyMonkey updates: We’ve had 53 responses total, up from 31 in January. Thanks to all who have responded!

Interestingly, the overall percentages of categories haven’t changed much, suggesting their validity for our class. For instance, 67 percent of the respondents are married to the same wife, an identical percentage to our January responses. The average number of children for our classmates is 2.14, versus 2.13 in January. The number of grandchildren for classmates with grandchildren is now 3.83, vs. 3.40 earlier, but this growth can perhaps be explained by the passage of time allowing for the arrival of more grandchildren—and future Dartmouth students. Children born in 2017 will be members of the class of 2039.

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Midwinter and our 50th reunion is only 16 months away. So start to plan on coming, and consider contributing to our gift of the endowment of the freshman trips.

Also coming soon: the new Moosilauke. I heard from Jack Noon that the old lodge is gone and footings ard already in place for the new lodge; it will be done in time to be part of our 50th celebration. From Facebook: Linda and Jim Morrison bought a house in Neptune Beach, Florida, and sold their house in Cohasset, Massachusetts, at virtually the same time. A new life beginning!

Our class playwright Steve Calvert shared news: After the success of his play this past fall in White River Junction, Vermont, it will go on the road to San Francisco, where Bill Adler will help promote it. Steve and wife Patty now have two grandchildren, one in Kentucky and one in Alaska. Patty plans to continue teaching nursing for the next two years at Rhode Island College.

I talked to Dave Hoffman just as he headed out to Cabo San Lucas. Dave is down to half time, working as editor for Information Today. The other half (or more) is as a stay-at-home dad. He and his wife of 33 years, Rebecca, have two daughters, both adopted from Russia. Elder daughter Natalia, age 21, is en route to becoming a pilot; daughter Ulana, age 15, is fully engaged in enjoying her teenage years. Rebecca is a physician in the Kaiser Healthcare system.

Lucy and Mike Zavelle are still in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Mike is with the New Mexico Finance Authority. They have three children, one in New Haven, Connecticut, and two in Illinois, but so far only one married. Besides enjoying the pleasures of Santa Fe, they enjoy travel, most recently a train trip from Vancouver to Toronto. They are also looking forward to a trip to Newfoundland, where Lucy has relatives.

After 25 years as a coordinator of the Maine Energy Education Program, Peter Zack brought the program in-house, forming his own company after state funds dried up. He thus still provides education programs on climate, energy efficiency and pollution issues around the southern part of the state. Margaret still works for Spurwink, coordinating group home services for autistic adults. Their three daughters, one grandson, two sons-in-law and one fiancée are scattered across Maine, Colorado and California.

Chuck Adams is wrapping up his ambassadorial duties in Finland and heading back to his home in Geneva, where he has lived and practiced law since 1986. Growing up as a Foreign Service brat, he lived in eight countries, and after Dartmouth spent two Peace Corp years in Kenya. He and his wife, Vera Resteski-Adams, have one daughter, Maya, age 14.

Keep the responses coming on our two class online surveys. The links are https://surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H and https://surveymonkey.com/r/DMKLMLB.

Watch for an update in a future column, the class newsletter or on the class website. Thanks to everyone for responses so far!

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

This past July our class had another Class Connections event with the class of 2018, joining them for a barbeque luncheon on the terrace of Collis. Representing the ’68s were John Engelman, John Lazarus, Dave Walden, John Everett, Roger Witten, Bill Clark, Jill and John Preotle and Adele and Dan Hedges. One nice piece of news: The Hedges are building a new house on Route 10, just north of Hanover, overlooking the Connecticut River. I expect it will have as low a carbon footprint as their house in Texas. September, of course, saw our class 70th birthday out in Napa Valley, California, which welcomed more than 35 classmates and 40 guests, for a total of more than 75; we can no longer call events like this a mini-reunion! Watch for a full report in a future newsletter and on the website. Also in late September, Steve Calvert’s play, The Florists, had two staged readings in White River Junction, Vermont. Such readings are the last step in a play’s development before marketing. Steve thanks Greg Marshall for introducing him to playwriting 10 years ago and Pete Wonson for his editorial savvy. Other assorted news, by email or Facebook: Fred Wolf, a partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, has been named chairman of the board of trustees of Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital; Fred has been involved with the hospital and its predecessor institution since 1978, when he began as a board member. Betsy and Cedric Kam shared several happy transitions. Betsy retired in 2015 from the New England Conservatory, where she was assistant director of financial aid, and Cedric retired at the end of this September from his job with HUD. He noted that he has served under five presidents, including every administration since Jimmy Carter (except George H.W. Bush). Cedric is “pleased to note that my 40-plus-year career as a professional city planner overlaps with the resurgence of urban America.” They are looking forward to rehabbing their cottage on Cape Cod and spending more time with their two grandchildren. Our own class Ironman (and treasurer/webmaster) Jim Lawrie swam the 2.7-mile length of Donner Lake in California, swimming in the Open Water championship. He finished fourth in his age group, only 33 seconds out of second place. He swam right below Dave Stanley’s porch overlooking the lake, though Dave wasn’t there. Gerry Bell’s postings are always good reading: His latest reporting some headscratchingly, comically poor customer service at Staples. His postings alone are worth joining Facebook. Still time to join classmates in Hanover for the Homecoming mini-reunion during the weekend of October 29-30. Executive committee meets at 10 a.m. (all classmates and friends welcome), followed by tailgating and the football game against Harvard (always fun). Maybe this will be the year! Saturday dinner details being developed; watch our class website. We still are collecting feedback on our two class online surveys: surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H and surveymonkey.com/r/DMKLMLB. And of course, please use e- or snail mail—always thirsty for news. Thanks!

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Around the girdled earth they roam. In March our western ski trip, version 18.0, this year was at Big Sky in Montana. Twenty-three classmates and friends joined in the fun, including Nancy and Dave Dibelius; Julia and Larry Griffith, plus Larry’s sister, Joanne Chambers; Bev and Jim Lawrie; Susan and Hap Ridgeway; Cindy and Dave Stanley; Tom Stonecipher and friend Lisa Albert; Paul Fitzgerald and friend Bob Wagner; John Manaras ’67 and brother Steve Manaras and his wife, Lindsey; Peter Fahey; Rick Pabst, Peter Emmel, Scott Reeves, and Steve Schwager. The group had three powder days, home-cooked meals (except one meal out) and a road trip to Yellowstone Park. The Horse’s Ass award this year went to Rick Pabst for his style. April saw the Danube/Budapest trip version 1.0, organized by Bill Rich and his fiancée, Sylvia Hahn-Griffiths. A total of 18 people spent a week on a river cruise on the Danube, from Passau, Germany, Linz, Melk and Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia and four days in Budapest, Hungary. Besides Bill and Sylvia, the group included Diane and David Peck, Helen and Peter Fahey, Cathy and Warren Cooke, Trish and Peter Baylor, Ann and Steve Mason, Betty and Mike Lenahan, Sandy and Larry Smith, and Janet and Bob Woodburn, friends of Bill. The first week was on a Viking cruise ship, with the usual great food and staff, with knowledgeable local guides at our stops. The Budapest portion was led by Sylvia (a Hungarian-American) and a friend of hers who is the author of a detailed local guidebook. We hope there will be a version 2.0 in the future! May was the final (version 4.0) Virgin Islands cruise, as commodore Gerry Hills and wife Martha will be heading to Hawaii as their new home later this year. Gerry reports the flotilla had four boats and 26 sailors. Oldest sailor is 82; the youngest, 28. Jack Hopke provided the music CDs, but missed this cruise as he was off in Paris. The only other ’68 along was Bill Rich and fiancée Sylvia (they certainly are travelers!).

Future mini-reunions already on the books (and should be in your calendars) are the class 70th birthday in California this coming September, eastern skiing (Okemo, Vermont) in January 2017, the big western skiing (Jackson Hole, Wyoming) in March 2017 and the Grand Canyon walk-in and walk-out (a.k.a. the “Big Stairmaster”) in April 2017. Facebook notes: Greg Marshall has written his fourth play, The Witches of Wenham, a play about Alzheimer’s and its effect on a family. Greg reported that Steve Calvert is also writing plays, with his most recent titled The Florist.

We now have two online surveys. The links: https://surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H and https://surveymonkey.com/r/DMKLMLB. Responses are light so far, but please give them a try. Results could be fun to ponder and suggestions for our 50th reunion will be helpful. Plus, keep the news coming in every way possible.

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Modest news in hand as I write these notes in a balmy late December. Ed Heald shared a recap of this past fall’s golf outing at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Lighter turnout this year: Besides Ed, classmates John Blair, Hugh Boss, Warren Connelly, Bill Adler and Bill Kolasky hit the links, along with two guests. Looking ahead, Ed reports that next November’s Bandon Dunes golf trip will be the last large group event (October 31 through November 4), and that he is looking into an Ireland or Scotland group golf outing in 2017. On the personal side, Ed plans to retire from his financial advisor job, after 45 years, in September, after which his two sons will assume the mantle, as they are for all intents running his practice now. He hopes to become involved in charitable and foundation activities. Sue will continue in her work for a bit longer, at the ski area, running the ski school desk as she has for the past 30 years.

Lots of classmate morsels seen on Facebook: Jim Morrison noted that, “Tomorrow will be my dancing day.” He was celebrating doing the final grading for his students, after which he will be fully retired. Great picture from the 1950s of a youthful Bill Adler with Santa Claus (perhaps we could make him an honorary class member?). Dave Stanley bemoaned the quality of coaching of the San Francisco Forty-Niners. And I saw a picture of Martha and Dick Jones in front of a World War II British Spitfire. Intrigued, I wrote for more detail. Turns out the picture was from a couple years ago at the Experimental Aircraft Organization in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Martha and their son, Matt, work for the Avemco Aircraft Insurance company, and both work the biannual Oshkosh event. Joining our growing number of retired classmates, Dick retired last July after 33 years in information technology. Martha had retired a year earlier, so now they are learning how to drive each other crazy at home. She does a lot of work with the Daughters of the American Revolution and Dick volunteers with Catch a Lift, an organization that buys gym memberships or equipment for disabled veterans. The Frederick Chorale, their singing group, will be going to Germany in 2017 to sing in a concert to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 theses. For this issue Dartmouth Alumni Magazine is doing a feature on reasons to love Dartmouth; feel free to send me (or them directly) any thoughts you might have. And I plan to start a series of quick online questionnaires about our class, who we are, our life experiences, etc. I’ll share the results with all of you in this column and the class newsletter—and, I hope, gather news to share. The link can be found at https://surveymonkey.com/r/2N2HH6H.

Sad news: Bob Haslach died of prostate cancer last October. Watch for the obituary on the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine website. And as always, I welcome any news!

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

Mid-fall greetings. Class activities galore in the next year and beyond. Golf at Bandon Dunes in Oregon is in early November; the contact is Ed Heald. Not too late to be a walk-on. Next on the schedule is the big east ski trip at Okemo in Vermont, January 26 through January 29, 2016. Further out, the western ski trip to Big Sky, Montana, March 5 through 12, the Danube River and Budapest cruise in April, the Virgin Islands cruise in May and our 70th birthday event in California in September. Put your travel agent on speed dial. Nice phone call from Jane and Sandy McGregor, en route to quality time with their first grandson, who computes to be a future member of the class of 2036 or so. It is their fifth trip from Arkansas to the Washington, D.C., area since their grandchild was born in late 2014. Grandchildren can be like catnip to new grandparents! Sandy and Jane’s elder daughter, Caroline, works for the U.S. Department of Energy. Their son-in-law develops apps for smart phones. Younger daughter Beth lives in England and is married to an economics professor at the London Business School; he is an oft-quoted commentator on the Greek economy. Son Kevin ’11 is an engineer with a national alarm company, also in the greater Washington area. Both fully retired, Sandy and Jane have traveled to Edinburgh and Barcelona and had a small-ship (450 passengers) cruise around the north Mediterranean. Some interesting Facebook postings: Liz and Dick Olson are going to Iran in October, among other things to visit the shrine to the poet Hafez, a poet much admired by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Peter Wonson’s daughter, Kate Holland, a tenured professor in the University of South Carolina system, was named the outstanding psychology teacher of the year. Congrats to Kate and her parents! Gerry Bell, besides extolling the big east ski trip, also issued a rant about a recent Sports Illustrated article, challenging its facts. The alumni memorial book fund confirmed recent book donations made by the class in the names of Larry Hall, John Jewett, Gary Brooks, Michael Sprando, Bill Kendall, George Merrill and George Moore. A near empty mail-email box, but a couple interesting ones: Peter Fahey shared that Northeastern area Phi Delt brothers—including Peter, Pete Baylor, Steve Elliott, Bill Lenehan, Joe Lowry, and John Mercer—have been getting together more frequently. Events have included Red Sox-Yankees at Fenway Park, meeting in the Narragansett-Newport, Rhode Island, area, tennis competition and twilight on Lake Winnipesaukee. One too-frequent mailing was an email from a classmate marooned in the Philippines, where he lost his wallet and needed a short-term loan to get home. Strangely similar to a letter I supposedly authored about a broken leg in the Philippines and that I needed to settle some hospital bills. Don Marcus: I hope you made it home; I did. I also have a new home (but same email address).

—David Peck, 16 Overlook Road, Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com

My archaic AOL mailbox announced “you’ve got mail” several times during the past couple of months. Happy news from Ben Johnson. He is celebrating the first anniversary of his marriage to Katie Polaski in May 2014, a first-time marriage for both. Katie is a ballet teacher and owns her own studio, Ballet Prestige, in Rochester, New York. They got engaged in St. Petersburg, Russia, and honeymooned at a French chateau between Bordeaux and Cognac. They drank wine and explored Saint-Emilion. Ben worked at Leo Burnett advertising in Chicago for 24 years, followed by five years at Morgan Stanley and now eight years at Merrill Lynch, although he makes time to work on the ballet studio business, for tennis and for redoing his home. Congratulations, Ben and Katie. Don Middleton wrote from Pittsburgh, where he is still teaching at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center St. Margaret family medicine program and serves on the curriculum committee at the school of medicine. Don also produces a yearly, free downloadable app for the iPhone and Android on immunizations, known as Shots Immunizations by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and gives talks on vaccinations nationally and internationally. He is no longer in clinical practice, though, “driven out by the senseless electronic medical record” from a successful family medicine practice. His wife of 46 years, Nancy (“I don’t know how she put up with me for that long”), spends most of her time doing volunteer work, including Meals on Wheels. They have three grown children and six grandchildren ages 1 week through 8 years. Don and Nancy enjoyed a recent visit with Sarah and Jim Snyder at their beach home in Barnegat Light, New Jersey. Don invites anyone visiting Pittsburgh to stop by the new, downsized, “getting-ready-to-be-an-invalid” home. Dan Hedges and wife Adele were featured in a February Texas Lawyer newsletter story titled “Love in Law: Legendary Lawyer Couples Talk About Life and Love.” Great story of how they met at a Texas law school moot court competition. Adele so dazzled Dan that Dan’s team lost the round. But Dan’s team won the competition. Larry Griffith shared a report on the 17th annual class Western ski trip last March. Thirty-two classmates, friends and guests attended, including 14 classmates: Gerry Bell, Nancy and Dave Dibelius, Rich DuMoulin and son-in-law Tim Konrad, Peter Fahey, Peter Emmel, Kathy and Paul Fitzgerald, Julia and Larry Griffith, Bev and Jim Lawrie, Rick Pabst, Scott Reeves, Susan and Hap Ridgeway, Cindy and Dave Stanley, Tom Stonecipher and friend Lisa, and Steve Schwager. Peter Emmel won the Horse’s Ass Award for his photography. Next year’s trip will be at Big Sky, Montana, March 5 through 12, 2016. Sad news as well this column: John Mrozak died in March after a long period of illness and disability. Tom Couser wrote a touching eulogy that is available on the class website. Tom noted that Jon Hull had monitored John’s situation through the recent years and kept concerned classmates updated.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


Midwinter greetings! John Melski shared sobering news. In October he and Linda went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina with their whole family, including their son-in-law’s brother, Nathan Kruser, and his family. On the last day of a glorious week at the beach Nathan went wading in exceedingly rough surf and was pulled out to sea by rip currents. The family on the beach had no cell phones and had to run to fetch help, which arrived too late. Nathan had drowned. He left behind a wife and two small children and shattered hearts among the family. A very sad teachable moment: Don’t swim in rough surf if you are a weak swimmer, and always have cell phones at the beach. On the brighter side, John’s transplanted liver has responded well to anti-hepatitis B medicine and is doing better. John is only moderately slowing down at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin, from 110 percent to 80 percent. He also has been invited to speak to the hospital’s residents about the experiences of being a doctor patient. Ted Gundy, another of our physician classmates, and former Aire, wrote, noting he is still working full time in Rye, New York, the town where he grew up. He is an orthopedic surgeon, but stopped doing surgery six years ago to save on stress and malpractice premiums. In 1996 he was one of the 16 founders of the Westmed Medical Group, which has grown to 300 doctors. His wife, Donna, is a family therapist and they have three children (an anesthesiologist, a sound editor and a glass blower) and five grandchildren. Music remains an integral part of Ted’s life; he wrote and performed songs at each of his kids’ weddings and most recently performed in the Bach Magnificat for the third time. Ted was surprised and honored last year when the Aires, who were in New York City at Alice Tully Hall, called him up to the stage to sing his arrangement of “Somewhere” with them. Gene Mackles new career in game design was described in a recent Boston Globe Magazine article. In 2012 he invented a small card game called Iota, which won a Mensa Award and sold more than 100,000 units. More recently he founded his own company, PDG Games, and created three new card games: BOP!, D!Git and Q!nto. I saw a Don Ethan Miller post on Facebook noting the availability of a four-DVD set of instructional videos from Willem De Thouars, published by Don’s Mastadon Productions. The site notes that Don has been doing tai chi for more than 40 years, and is a four time national champion in tai chi tuishou (pushing-hands style). Clark Wadlow expanded on his family news in the recent newsletter: He has happily become involved in Ironman triathlon competition. Last October he competed in the Beach to Battleship Half Ironman race in his new hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina. He beat 20 percent of the field and was the third oldest competitor!


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


While I sometimes feel like the news dentist (it’s like pulling teeth sometimes), class news does always seem to arrive just in time. Lots of news, and a request, from John Miksic, writing from Singapore. He is a scholar on Southeast Asia art and archeology, having written recent books Old Javanese Gold and Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea. He also works with the Singapore Ministry of Education introducing lower secondary school students to archeology. His plea is for funds to support and endow a chair in Southeast Asian archeology at the National University of Singapore. John is thinking of retiring from his teaching here, and he is afraid they will not continue to teach the subject without an endowment of $2.5 million. John has a personal teaching collection of archeological specimens, mainly shards of Chinese ceramics from the Yuan and Ming dynasties, which may be discarded without the endowed chair. Please contact John if you’d like to help. Ben Johnson recently got married to Katherine Mary Polaski, both of them for the first time. She is 29 (!), which he reports will keep him “young-er.” Katie is a professional ballerina and studio owner who shares his love of ballroom dance. The competition for her attention is their puppy Lulu. Ben is still working at Merrill Lynch, but helping Katie on building her studio business. Joe Leeper wrote, having just returned from his 50th high school reunion in Hood River, Oregon. He plans to make the fall mini-reunion in Hanover with his old roommate Mike Moeller. It will be Mike’s first return to Dartmouth. Mike retired from his position at the University of North Alabama after five decades of service in the industrial hygiene and chemistry department, for which he has been honored with the establishment of a Dr. Michael B. Moeller scholarship. Joe is also trying to persuade “cheapskate” Tony Abruzzo to come along, but that may be a hard sell. New England has called other classmates: Deborah and Dick Olson traveled from Michigan to visit son Dan ’04 and had time to visit Sweetland Farm in Norwich, Vermont. En route, they stopped in Seneca Falls, New York, and he posted a picture of himself with statues of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Sin-Tung Chiu has had a special season of anniversaries. Quite a few of his former violin students, some from 40 years ago, all came to San Francisco to visit and share music-making. And he also had a chance to reconnect with Carol and Sherwood Guernsey, on vacation in California, where they shared a long and wonderful breakfast in Monterey. Grandchildren are becoming an increasing news category in our Class Notes. Bob Reich reports keen enjoyment of 5-year-old granddaughter Ella, but notes for every hour he spends with her he needs a half-hour nap. On Facebook is a picture of Paul Fitzgerald with grandson Kieran on his shoulder, noting, “He is heavier than he looks.”


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


A happy summer solstice to everyone. This means the fall can’t be far away, so let’s plan ahead! Classmates are invited to be part of the new Class Connections program, which pairs classes approaching their 50th reunion with the incoming class that will be graduating the same June we gather, in 2018. As part of creating this connection, we have been invited to be in Hanover on Wednesday, September 10, to join the incoming freshmen for a lobster dinner, on the Baker Library lawn. We will be handing out Class Connections pins to all freshmen as they go through the buffet line, then join them for the dinner. This will be a great chance to get to know the next generation of the Dartmouth family, as well as a chance to spend some time with our own classmates. We will also have a fall mini-reunion, either the Holy Cross weekend (October 10-12) or Harvard weekend (October 31-November 2), which will be decided at the May executive committee meeting. Watch for details in the class newsletter and the next Class Notes. And speaking of mini-reunions, Larry Griffith reported that the 16th edition of the class ski trip, held at Park City, Utah, last March, was a fine success, with 27 in attendance. Besides Larry and wife Julia, Cindy and David Stanley, Pete Emmel, Steve Schwager, Peter Fahey, Chris and John Blair, Susan and Hap Ridgeway, Scott Reeves, Rich DuMoulin, Paul Fitzgerald and three amigos, Clark Wadlow and sons Ray and Jeff plus friend, Rick Pabst, Joe Lowry, Gerry Bell, and Sally and Rusty Martin. They skied at four different areas and one day took biathlon training! Watch for pictures and more detailed reports in our newsletter. Next year: February 28 to March 7, 2015, at Sun Valley, Idaho. Ken Cooper wrote to share news of his co-authoring a new book, Becoming a Great School: Harnessing the Powers of Quality Management and Collaborative Leadership. With his experience as a principal in both elementary and middle schools, Ken describes an approach that can transform “typical” schools into wonderful learning communities. This approach outlines an alternative to the current school reform movement (vouchers, charters and for-profit schools), which he believes is slowly eroding our system of public education to the detriment of democracy. Bill Kolasky shared lots of news, starting with his receiving a lifetime achievement award last year from the Global Competition Review. He also moved from WilmerHale, where he had worked his entire career, to a new firm, Hughes Hubbard and Reed, where he continues to practice anti-trust law full time. He and wife Mary are building a second home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They have a 13-year-old son, meaning they’ll be in Washington for a bit longer. Bill’s son Bob ’94 works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and recently won an award as public servant of the year from the Infrastructure Security Partnership.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


Reminders for upcoming class events in near future: the weekend of September 18-20 being organized by John Everett (jceverettjr@aol.com) with Jack Noon, and Homecoming weekend October 23-25 for the Columbia weekend. There will be an executive committee meeting that Saturday morning and a dinner that evening. Hope you can join us! One (only) incoming legacy to the class of 2013 from our class: Rebecca Drapkin, daughter of Dennis Drapkin. Fewer sons and daughters legacies these days, but we can’t be too far from grandchildren legacies. Pete Wonson’s e-mail reflections on learning more about classmate community service prompted a lively response. Pete’s pre-Dartmouth friend Ted Nixon wrote about becoming a schoolteacher after a 25-year career in the radio business. He went back to school and is now in his 11th year of teaching French in a middle school in the Rochester, New York, area. In addition to becoming a teacher he has dedicated himself to three nonprofits: Action for a Better Community, Reachout Radio for the Blind and Compeer, a friendship program with the mentally ill. Eric Jones wrote that he has taught adult education to men and women in transition from lost jobs and lost goals and purpose. Before moving to the West Coast Eric taught high school in Hanover until 1976. In recent years he has lost both kidneys and does renal dialysis 12 hours a week, making him appreciative of how important life, good health and good friends can be. Paul Fitzgerald checked in by e-mail too: A ski trip regular, he was proselytizing on next year’s planned trip to the Tahoe, California, area not far from his home in San Francisco. He’s been at the University of California San Francisco since starting his endocrinology fellowship in 1976. Big news in his area is a whole new campus at Mission Bay, with good land and better weather (what does that mean?). Daughter Erin is nearby in Oakland, California, and just finished a master’s in music. Son Brent got his master’s at MIT’s media lab and is back on the left coast, where he started a small company called Taco Lab. Our new Facebook group page has at least one more friend (but not much news, to date): Ric Gruder, and possibly Peter Emmel (late news as I write these notes). Incidentally, ’68 wannabe Dave Prentice ’69 wrote to commend trying out Facebook as a communication mode—he says there may be 80 to 90 of his classmates using it. And I got a note from Jim Morrison that he has set up a LinkedIn group for our class—haven’t tried it myself, but will! Let’s all try to ramp up our communication. News welcome in any form.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@childrens.harvard.edu


A happy and productive fall to everyone. Depending on when this magazine arrives, the October 23 thru 25 mini-reunion weekend in Hanover will be about to happen or will have just happened. If in time, consider this an open invitation to join us—always lots of fun. And of course, further out, pencil in the week of February 27, 2010, at Lake Tahoe, California, for class ski trip. Mixed bag of incoming news. From our slow-growing Facebook group: Dick Jones checked in with family news. Bad news is that his father, Ken Jones ’42, passed away last year. Good news: wife Martha, formerly in aircraft insurance, has taken up spinning wool and loves it. And Dick retired from McCormick in computer programming, but works as a contractor for Lockheed Martin on an assignment to the Social Security headquarters. Not as much money, but 5 percent of the stress. Son Matt married Hailey two years ago and works for Allegheny Power; daughter Kristen, a graphic designer, is between jobs and living in D.C. Dick Olson wrote that he is reading The Odyssey out loud to wife Deb while she works on a quilt for their first grandchild, due in October. Class of 2031? Egads, time is flying. Dick is reminded the poem was meant to be listened to, with remarkable imagery. John Pierce wrote that he is moving from Calgary to Gabriola Island, British Columbia, and noted an open invitation to any and all visitors to Vancouver Island. Bill Rich pointed out a mystery classmate, Brohn Brengelbro, on Facebook. Check it out. Steve Calvert wrote in admiration for the quality of the music at the Newport Folk Festival. Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez and “the astonishing Joan Collins.” One happy surprise, the Gala Girls from Toronto—watch for them, he says. From a press release: Fred Wolf III, a partner in the Baltimore office of Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, LLP, was elected to the board of directors of the United Way of Central Maryland. LinkedIn is our other group, now up to 10 and growing. Took me a while to get into it until I understood you needed to join LinkedIn before you could get to our group…duh. Our class group LinkedIn initiator Jim Morrison wrote about a new job, teaching managerial communication in the M.B.A. program at Babson College. He reports there is considerable curricular innovation at his program, combining writing and speaking tracks into the framework of strategic organizational communication. He had been at Western Connecticut State University, on weekdays, with weekends back in Cohasset, Massachusetts. Much better commute to Wellesley! He’s also been appointed to the board of Cohasset Cable Television and has been active in the Media Ecology Association for a decade or more, greatly enjoying being with and working with interesting and congenial people. He’s heard Cliff Groen may be retiring, but doesn’t see that happening for him any time soon. As wife Marilyn says, retire from what? News welcome, in any form; don’t be afraid of Facebook, or LinkedIn either.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


First piece of class news, and timely, is that Joe Nathan Wright has become our new head agent, succeeding Dennis Donahue, who resigned after an energetic effort over the recent past. By the time you read this column we’ll be in the middle of the push for this year’s donations to the College Fund, so let’s all help make this a successful kickoff for Joe. And much needed by the College, as we all know. And Gerry Bell reminds us all to vote in this year’s trustee election—high participation being equally important. Continuing news from our listserv—you all should join! Travel is a fairly consistent theme for many of us. Kevin O’Donnell spent 10 days in Haiti doing surgery on the quake victims, a sobering and life-changing experience. John Pilling traveled to Mexico with 12 students from Boston Architectural College to study the architecture of Luis Barragan, and also is a student of Cuba, both participating in design efforts on Havana Harbor and lecturing on Cuban architecture. (He’ll be in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on June 10 for a lecture. Stop in for a mojito.) Ted Levin was in Mexico as well, just north of Playa Del Carmen, at the wedding of his older daughter Adrah under a hoopa, with his toes in the sand. Tequila sunset! Marsha and Bill Adler ferried over from Cozumel to join the celebration. Next stop for Ted: Alta, Utah, for a little skiing. Why not Colorado, Ted? John Melski was in Hangzhou, China, for a health informatics and technology conference, finding time away from the Marshfield (Wisconsin) Clinic, where he is chief of dermatology and medical director for clinical informatics. Jim Noyes visited a Habitat for Humanity work project near Hanoi, Vietnam, and had a chance to visit the War of Aggression Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). As he noted, he wasn’t humming “Proud to Be an American” when he left. And he closed his note with “pura vida” from Costa Rica. Is that a drink or a philosophy of life? Howard (David) Soren probably has lived half his adult life in the Mediterranean area, Italy and Tunisia, and the other half at the University of Arizona, where he was recently named Regents Professor of Anthropology and Classics. He and Noelle recently celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary. And the SWB lives, thrives even. Steve Calvert and Pete Wonson wrote that what started at our 40th reunion continues to grow. They will be reconvening their bands the Night Watchmen and Tracks in Hanover to play for the class of 1970’s 40th reunion. Nine musicians for a three-hour gig on June 16, then a public gig somewhere nearby on the 17th. This is beginning to sound like a mini-reunion of its own! Peter also has a book “in the oven” about rock bands in New Hampshire and Vermont in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Have a great spring, all, and let’s make the Dartmouth College Fund rock this year!


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@childrens.harvard.edu


It was a Dartmouth graduation in June for three ’68 legacies: Chris Bustard, son of Elaine and Dave Bustard; Kevin Robinson, son of Linda and Steve Robinson; and Samuel Peck, son of Diane and David Peck. And the first graduation for new president Jim Kim. It was a great experience, and different from how it was 42 years ago. No surprise to those of you classmates with legacy sons and daughters, but all new to me. Seating is now on the Green, not nested between Webster, Baker and Sanborn, and there are many more seats, and bleachers! Seating is first come, first serve, so even with gray and threatening skies the seats were jammed early. For my family, arriving from different directions at different times, it meant bleachers way back by the Hop. But not a problem, since there is now a JumboTron! The procession is led by a bagpiper (I hear the same guy has been doing it for 15 or more years). The crowd was also entertained by the Sun God, a performance artist with an Aztec-looking mask floating around through the multitude. I had seen him at the bonfire last fall—this guy is a character. Saturday night of graduation most of the houses and sororities had tents on their front lawns and dinners for the graduating seniors and their families. It was a very nice touch. The Aires sang on the steps of Dartmouth Hall Saturday evening. The Commencement speeches were quite good—check them out on the College website. Principal speaker Steven Lewis, co-founder and co-director of AIDS-Free World, is a forceful speaker with much rhetorical flourish, but I really enjoyed President Kim’s address. He quoted President John Sloan Dickey from 1946 (hey guys, a good year!), saying, “The world’s worst troubles come from within men, and there is nothing wrong with the world that better human beings cannot fix,” and then concluding: “You are the better human beings we have been waiting for.” A terrific message to our newest graduates, but also a message to all of us. Go out and make a difference, make the world a better place. I think we ’68s have been doing that for 42 years, and let us continue to do so! I touched base with Hanover correspondent John Engelman, who reported that for the first time in more than 20 years there are no incoming ’68 legacies. The next wave will be our grandchildren, I suppose. My own first grandson will be class of 2031, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see incoming grandlegacies (is that a word?) in the next few years. 


A touch sooner: Mini-reunion in Hanover on October 9 and 10 (Columbus Day), with a Yale football game. Also, I’m told, a weekend celebrating rugby at Dartmouth. Pencil it in, and as always feel free to attend the executive committee meeting Saturday morning at 10 a.m., with location TBD (but you’ll find us!). 


Hope you are having a great summer, all.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


Our executive committee meeting in Hanover during Winter Carnival was great fun, with nine classmates in town and another seven joining by phone. Lots of planning, for mini-reunions during the next four years and early planning for our 50th. One exciting initiative is the Connections Program, where our class will develop partnerships with the class of 2018 during these next four years and join together on the Green in June of 2018. Kick-off ideas include having some of us ’68s serve lunch to the incoming freshmen on the trail during the freshman trips and staff a tent during matriculation (volunteers needed!). Watch for details in the coming months and, as always, check the class website for updates. Speaking of mini-reunions, there was a big east ski trip, version 1.0, in late January at Sunday River, Maine. Jackie and Gerry Bell were joined by Bear Everett, Bob Block, Bob’s daughter Jessa Barnard ’02, her husband, Justin Barnard ’02, and grandson skiing phenom Skylar Barnard, future class of ’32, who was already parallel skiing at age 3. Bob recalled that his own father had put him on skis, also at age of 3 (thus way back in 1949!), as Bob then did with his two daughters at a similar age, making Sky the fourth generation of skiing Blocks. In other family news, Bob’s older daughter Alexandra is practicing law in Chicago and raising son Micah, now 4. Wife Lora remains busy in her consulting business, assisting high school students in preparing for and picking the right schools to apply to, and increasingly, advising them on affordability issues. And Bob has slowed down, sort of, in his orthopedic practice. He no longer operates but does see three full days of patients in the office per week and serves on the advisory committee for the Green Mountain Care Board, which is developing the new healthcare system for Vermont. Joe Grasso predicts his transition from work to retirement will be in the next year or two. One recent non-work highlight for Joe: officiating at the wedding in Washington, D.C., of Ann and Parker Beverage’s daughter Emily ’04. Emily had clerked for Joe a few years ago and now practices law in Washington. Bill Zarchy has recently written his first book: Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil. The book features 18 tales, from around the world, with photographs and personalized essays on “working film crews making a living in the fascinating, unpredictable, sometimes dark, often comical world of the film and video business as they overcome numbing jetlag, deal with challenges and sometimes gain a deep sense of satisfaction.” Bill is a freelance director of photography, writer and teacher in San Francisco. He has shot film and video projects in 30 countries and 40 states, including interviews with three former presidents for an Emmy-winning West Wing documentary special. Bill is also a member of a writers collective, Townsend 11, and contributed to its anthologies.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


A different kind of class reunion was held in early August: a celebration of the life of Rocky Fredrickson, who died this past January. Lynda Fredrickson hosted the gathering, attended by Debbie and Jon Newcomb, Dana and Jimmy Johnson, Linda and Steve Borofski, Holly and Dave Bergengren, Kathy and Geoff Church, Charlotte and Al Raymond, Marsha Fretwell and Bryce Ley, Katie Gardner and Jeff Spiegel, George Spivey, Tom Russian, and Laurie Solomon and Jim Noyes. Paula and Doug Hemer ’69 and Jim Janney ’69 also joined the group, which traveled from all around the country to gather on the banks of the Wenatchee River in Plain, Washington. Rocky clearly touched many lives, from his Dartmouth time through his time in the Peace Corps in Africa, at the University of Michigan Medical School and medical practices in Seattle and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Jane and Sandy McGregor are in the midst of a most interesting year: one year, two daughters and three weddings. Daughter Beth was married in Arkansas in March, with a second wedding in Greece in August (to the same husband, in case you were wondering), while daughter Caroline will be getting married in November in Washington, D.C. Arnie Resnicoff received a signal honor last May: the 2013 Daniel Webster Distinguished Public Service Award from the Dartmouth Club of Washington. He joins a particularly distinguished list of past award Dartmouth alumni winners, including our own Hank Paulson (honored in 2008) and Bob Reich (honored in 1998). Arnie notes that his award is the first time for any religious leader or military retiree. An even bigger family award in May: His first grandson, Simon David Zeefe (future class of 2035!), was born in Munich. Arnie’s daughter Malka is a lawyer there for Treofan, a German company. Tad Hooker deserves some kind of honorary citizenship from Ireland. It is his favorite vacation destination, and he has gone there something like 20 or more times. And I can see why: Diane and I were there in August for the first time, and it is a worthy place to visit. And very green. If you like movies, our own reunion band, the Flagrant Neglect, has been offering rave reviews about a recent movie, The Sapphires. Great summer for Bob Ross: He received his master of divinity from the Bangor Theological Seminary in June and is cutting back on teaching time at the University of New England as he moves toward ordination, with a possible parish post anywhere from Maine to Hawaii. He also celebrated his class of 1938 father’s 97th birthday and his one-year anniversary with new wife, Patricia Ann. On a sadder note, Bob shared belated notice that George Merrill passed away on December 5, 2012, after a two-year bout with cancer. Details in the obituary section of the alumni magazine website. And keep the news coming! Try our class of 1968 group on Facebook. Great way to share news, among each other and your news-thirsty secretary.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


A tumultuous spring of transitions for this class secretary: final, full retirement at end of June on one day and on the very next day, sale of our large family home and downsizing to smaller, two-bedroom condo. Downsizing and moving is an exhausting process, physically and emotionally; every saved book and record (yes, record!) and piece of furniture is saturated with fond memory, but hard to keep in much smaller quarters. And I don’t even have a record player anymore! Extensive donations to charity, yard sales and trips to the dump reduced the volume, but it still was hard to part with a lifetime of collected items and just as hard to move (and unpack!) the things we kept. And at the same time a liberating experience; we have lightened our load. One chapter closing, another starting. The same for many of our classmates: John Peirce recently sold Gedco, the geophysical software company he co-founded in 1991. John and Nancy live on Gaboriola Island, a community of 4,000 that is a 20-minute ferry ride from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. They are involved in community affairs and grow most of their own fruits and vegetables. Guest and visitors to the Vancouver area are always welcome. Another Canadian, writing from Montreal, David Williams, like many of us, recently had his prostate out. “Caught early and should be fine, but a reminder to live every minute.” Gary Bayrd recently joined the growing class Social Security and Medicare crowd, yet has no plans to retire. Gary recalled a colleague noting to him that “dermatologists never retire, they are just found dead at their desks someday (a day I am planning to be well in the future).” Wife Polly is now self-employed in child and adolescent psychology with no thoughts of retirement, especially now that she has the perfect boss. They are traveling more, most recently to Patagonia with stops at Cape Horn and Torres del Paine national park. Joe Parrillo,M.D., recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Joe is currently chair of medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, and has previously led programs at the National Institutes of Health and Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago. He also serves as editor of the journal Critical Care Medicine. And an opening chapter for Kai Tamura Stritter, daughter of Leilani and Skip Stritter, accepted into the class of 2016. And another future look: less than one year away and counting—our 45th reunion will be June 13 to 16, 2013, in Hanover. Save the date! And less than two months away is our fall mini-reunion in Hanover, during Columbus Day weekend (October 13-14). It is the Sacred Heart football weekend and would of course include tailgating at Alpha Delta prior to the game and a planned Saturday evening dinner. Executive committee would meet that Saturday morning. Come one, come all. Keep the news coming.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


As you read this it is already the fall, and our reunion is only eight months away. June 13 through 16, 2013. The theme: “Be Green, Be Seen, In Thirteen.”Watch for details in coming (and perhaps recent) mailings. May not be too late to be a walk-on for this fall’s golf outing at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, October 29 through November 3. Check in with Ed Heald.Skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, March 2 through 9, 2013.Check the class website for details. And now we have a British Virgin Islands flotilla planned for May 12 through May 21, 2013, right before reunions. Other Dartmouth classes and friends are welcome. Gerry Hills, stjohncaptain@aol.com, and Norm Silverman, norman.silverman@yahoo.com, have been organizing. They are hoping to get at least five boats filled. “No need to be an expert sailor—just enjoy adventure. Easy sailing in the best charter sail territory in the world.” Contact Gerry or Norm for more details.


John Engelman is our reunion chairman and a bit of a recent celebrity in Hanover. He was profiled in a recent Valley News article, commending his “extraordinary” service in the information booth on the College Green. He’s been doing it for 10 years, and one commentator noted, “If John isn’t the College’s No. 1 fan, he’s certainly in contention for the title.”


Bill Kolasky wrote that he and wife Mary Coyne are building a house in Jackson Hole, aiming for completion by this ski season (and class ski trip, see above!). They recently went to Scotland for a golf trip and were planning to play the Old Course. Bill continues to work in the practice of law at WilmerHale, along with Roger Witten.Retirement but not really retirement for Parker Beverage: He retired in June from his position as dean of admissions and financial aid at Colby College, after 26 years there. He had also been in admissions at Dartmouth and Stanford before Colby. But he felt he couldn’t go “cold turkey,” so is now working in Taiwan as assistant superintendent and college counselor at the Kaohsiung American School. It is a K-12 international school of about 500 students. Parker enjoys being on the other side of the admissions desk.


And news from recent trips by this recently retired class secretary: John Melski and wife Linda recently celebrated the marriage of daughter Kasey near Ithaca, New York. John continues to work in dermatology and health information technology at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin.


Martha and Dick Jones continue to vacation every July in Sayner, Wisconsin, at a fabulous, deliciously old-fashioned family vacation compound established by his grandfather in the 1920s. Margaret and Peter Zack and their three daughters Sanno, Britta and Annika recently visited Peru for several weeks. Dramatic countryside and a great visit, moderated by a bit of water-borne “revenge” for some in the party. Peter continues to work as director of education for the Maine Energy Education Program. News always welcome, and don’t forget next June.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@childrens.harvard.edu


It’s spring, and the final countdown for our 45th reunion. Not too late to be a walk-on! Or drive in or fly in. June 13 through 16. Details on our weekend should be arriving all spring. Bob Jordan, who is planning to come, wrote a long and newsy letter (thank you, Bob). After two years in the Peace Corps in Bogota, Columbia, he has spent the last 42 years in northern California. He married wife Jennifer in 1986 a year after meeting in Cozumel, Mexico, on a scuba trip. Bob retired in 2003 after 28 years with the California Human Development (CHD) Corp., where he served as operations director. Bob serves on the CHD board of directors and more recently on the board of the Cloverdale (California) Historical Society. Bringing attention to the post-World War II immigration of Mexican braceros, and their accomplishments, is a rewarding endeavor. His words on retirement: “I still work, there’s just no pay.” Jennifer still works in private practice as a licensed clinical social worker and sometime family therapy and counseling and hopes to retire in a year or so. Son Andrew, now 22, is finishing up in business at California State University at Chico. Writing from Iowa, Susie and Paul Stageberg sing in their local chamber choir, and participate in a “Bach for a Day” event several times a year. In these events volunteer singers work on a Saturday with a professional conductor and orchestra to put together a presentation that evening. Great musical stimulation, he reports. And news from some who probably can’t make the reunion: Peter Brown is still actively practicing information technology law and arbitration in New York City with the firm of BakerHostetler. Wife Celeste is in entrepreneur in the fashion business. Son Jonah is working for a market research firm in Beijing, China; daughter Malina has an active career in public relations and is also the happy mother of two lovely daughters, Eloise and Evelyn. Peter is also active in several local charities, including the Lincoln Center Institute. He recently bumped into Jeff Garten, who has “become a heartthrob to many women” through his cameo appearances on the cooking show of his wife, Ina. Rob Lynn retired from district court in Minneapolis in 2007 after 19 years, but is only semi-retired, as he works from home as a mediator/arbitrator in civil lawsuits. Now busier than he had planned, he is trying to figure out how to cut back, which he notes is a good problem to have. With wife Patty he enjoys travel, most recently to New Zealand and Australia for three weeks. Jim Noyes will be in Europe in May and June (some leisure, some business) and also miss this reunion, but is committed to mini-reunions at Bandon (Oregon) Dunes (golf) and Jackson Hole, Wyoming (skiing). Sadder news to share: Sherman “Rocky” Fredrickson passed away from esophageal cancer on January 24; watch the alumni website for the full obituary. Don’t stop the news flow…there will be columns to fill for magazines after the reunion!


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; davidbpeck@aol.com


Our electronic mailbox has been quite full, in particular our class listserv. Please join us (and Facebook and LinkedIn) to keep the news coming. Arnie Resnicoff shared happy news: His daughter Malka was married last September in Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the Washington Monument. Arnie was the presiding rabbi in addition to being the proud father.


Busy despite retirement, Arnie delivered the invocation at the presidential signing ceremony for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He has a cameo role in an upcoming documentary called Iranium, which warns about the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. The cameo comes from a five-minute interview about the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. And in March he was part of a group visiting the Air Force Academy to assess “the state of the academy.”


Bob DuPuy left Major League Baseball last November after eight years as president, and returned to his old law firm Foley and Lardner as a partner. He also is part of Evolution Media Capital, the sports investment bank of the Creative Artists Agency, and finds time to teach a legal ethics seminar at the Cornell Law School.


Jack Hopke wrote from New Orleans, where he was looking forward to the annual Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, and equally looking forward to seeing fellow fraternity brother and Renaissance man Bart Palmer and his wife, Carla. This year is the centennial of Williams’ birth, so should be well attended. As will Mardi Gras, the French Quarter Festival and the Jazz and Heritage Festival. Jack plans to interview Bart for National Public Radio affiliate WWNO. When I asked Jack how New Orleans was recovering from Katrina, he wrote a heartfelt and lengthy near-essay (perhaps a future article for the magazine, or a keynote speech). The conclusion: nowhere close to recovery, for hosts of reason. Watch for more on this.


Steve Reiss wrote that he and Maggi are still in Columbus, Ohio, where they are building a global motivation training and assessment company, based on a tool Steve created called the Reiss Motivation Profile. Clients include Olympic gold medalists, world champion amateur teams, public schools and private companies. Coming soon to Steve and Maggi: motivating healthcare. Which needs it.


Eric Hatch shared news that Pete Ginder is rumored to be trying to retire, but forces are not letting him. His skills as a mediator are just too strong. Pete also remains very good at handicapping college basketball and March Madness.


Greg Marshall has become the chaplain at a home hospice in Rockland, Maine. He feels he is at last doing the work he has spent 64 years preparing for. 


Happy spring to everybody! Don’t forget the Alumni Fund this year.


And remember our 65th birthday party/mini-reunion to be held in Williamsburg, Virginia, during the weekend of September 15 through 18. Plan ahead, and hope you can make it. 


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


Hope your mid-winter is going well. A backlog of news to share: George Spivey wrote from Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He received the Falmouth Historical Society Heritage Award for his appreciation for history, education and civic involvement, and even had a George Spivey Day proclaimed by the Falmouth selectmen. He is on the board of the Cape Cod chapter of the NAACP and the Zion Union Heritage Museum and volunteers as a youth program coordinator for the Cape Cod chapter of Concerned Black Men, doing a wide range of mentoring activities. And he has time for a day job with the local school administration as a human rights officer. Way to go, Brother George! Roger Witten moves up and down the Northeast, finding time for lunch with Bill Kolasky in D.C., lunch with Bill Adler in New York City and dinners in New York with Dave Cooperberg and Cliff Groen. Roger still practices law with WilmerHale, at least through this year of 2012. Roger and Jill equally love their time in Stowe, Vermont, where both serve on boards with Alan Thorndike. Jill is immersed in music in both Vermont and New York. Michel Zaleski has been heavily involved as a director with the Soros Economic Development Fund, which invests in businesses and funds that help provide jobs, services and productivity for the poor in places that are transitioning from conflict to stability and totalitarianism to democracy. They are in more than 20 countries, including the West Bank, where he and Caroline recently visited. On the family front, daughter Katherine ’03 just married Rufus Lusk ’04. They live in Washington, D.C., where she is the executive director of digital news for The Washington Post and he is a videographer making Internet documentaries and ads for large companies. Daughter Olivia ’06 works in New York at the Daily, a News Corp. iPad newspaper as an on-camera anchor, journalist and producer. Dan Bort wrote as he prepared for the Head of the Charles regatta this past fall. He did very well in recent events, winning his fourth and fifth national singles titles at the Masters National Rowing Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, last August, winning both the lightweight and heavyweight trophies in the 1,000-meter events in the 65-plus group. Like many of us he tried to retire–as an attorney in San Francisco last June—but was persuaded to move to part time, and still enjoys it. He and Diana moved to more modest quarters in Point Richmond, California, which is working well. Dan is hoping to get back into community theater and Diana continues to make videos about natural home childbirth through her nonprofit, recently renamed Love Delivers Inc. Their three kids include a landscape architect, an assistant track and cross country coach and a production manager at the New Jewish Theater in St. Louis, Missouri. Sad news: Two more classmates have passed, Lew Sayers in Dallas and Nik von Rosenvinge in Washington State. Check the online obituaries for more. Keep the news coming.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


Our 45th reunion will be history when you read this column; watch for a full report in a future newsletter. But you don’t have to wait five more years before future reunion opportunities. Looking ahead, a mini-reunion in Hanover October 11 through 13, for the Yale game, more rounds of golf at Bandon Dunes (Oregon) October 28 through November 2 and skiing in Utah (Deer Valley/Park City/Canyons/Alta/Snowbird) next March 1 through 8. Check the class website for more details and whom to contact. Speaking of skiing, the recent Jackson Hole, Wyoming, annual ski trip had about 15 classmates and 10 guests. Larry Griffith served as overall coordinator of this year’s skiing week. In the highlight of the trip, Hap Ridgway’s better half, Susan, won the coveted 1968 Horse’s Ass Award. Some news arrived from classmates during the spring: Noel Augustyn wrote a very newsy letter. He participated in the 2012 Wheelock Conference, which is an annual event co-sponsored by the Eleazar Wheelock Society and Aquinas House. Noel served as a panelist on a seminar on “Faith and Law: Do Justice, Love Mercy.” This particular event also included celebration of the 50th anniversary of Aquinas House. Approximately 300 attended, all, I guess, to hear Noel speak. While in Hanover Noel had lunch with John “Bear” Everett, and regularly stays in touch with Larry Hall in Hawaii, Andy Hotaling in Chicago and John Pfeifer in Washington, D.C. John Maxfield recently remarried, on the island of Santorini. He proudly noted that his wife, Anne, is the “world’s best internist, a top-flight (get it?) aviation medical examiner, an emergency physician and a fabulous cook.” His daughter and son, both English, graduated from Oxford; daughter is studying in California and son working in Japan. John recently moved to near Cleveland, Ohio, and has become a rabid fan of the Cleveland Orchestra. Dana Waterman continues to work in his law practice, Lane and Waterman, in Bettendorf, Iowa, where he serves as managing partner. Dana also serves on several nonprofit organization boards. He and Faye have five grandchildren, three in Illinois and two in Boston, whom they visit frequently. Kevin O’Donnell, who served as one of the leaders with a health discussion panel at the reunion, shared news of his two children: Kate is an attorney in Boston and son Michael ’02 is dean of students at the Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts. On Facebook I was intrigued by a posting from Dick Olson: He had DNA testing and learned his background included 2.8 percent Neanderthal—just as I suspected (kidding). He also learned that his maternal haplogroup came from the Arabian peninsula and his paternal haplogroup from the Iraqi/Egyptian/Ethiopian area. Fascinating! On a more solemn note, a memorial service for Rocky Fredrickson, who died last January, will be held on August 3 in Plain, Washington, for classmates who wish to attend. Details in the obituary section of the alumni magazine website.


—David Peck, 54 Spooner St., Plymouth, MA 02360; davidbpeck@aol.com


Tough and sad news for this column: The last Indian has died. Frank Couper, who was the Indian mascot for our years, passed away after a long illness. A gymnast in superb condition, he was a model Indian representative of Dartmouth during our football seasons. Who can forget all of the Marine pushups he had to do when we beat Harvard 48-0. An era has past. And the news gets no better: Gary Blaich also has died. First time on my watch to lose two classmates in one column. Watch for the obituaries on the magazine’s and class websites and in our newsletter. Norm Silverman wrote a long and newsy note: He’s been retired from cardiac surgery for three years, but not completely out of the business, as he serves as an ombudsman on a website for patients facing heart surgery. He loves spending time with three grown children and six grandchildren, all of whom get their good looks and intelligence from him. He happily sold a boat just before the financial tsunami (and last divorce), but still enjoys sailing without the attendant costs of owning a boat and covering bar tabs for his crew. His parents live in Hanover, so he gets back fairly often. Open invitation to classmates to come visit the Detroit area anytime, with promises of good conversations and a few adult beverages. Frequent correspondent Gary Hobin reports from Kansas that Carol and Jim Donnelly visited recently (they met in Kansas City) and that Gary continues as both a teacher (international political economy at Webster University’s Fort Leavenworth campus) and student, pursuing (will he ever catch?) a Ph.D. at Kansas State. David Soren is aiming to become the world’s oldest documentary filmmaker: He’s just signed up for eight movies with the Oxford University Press. He also reflected sadly on the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, which happened just a few miles from his home in Tucson, Arizona. I was corrected by Bob Thomas: His work at Bucknell should be noted in the past tense—he retired in June of 2010 (news got to me late). He and Barb would welcome classmates to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, for a visit, as he notes there are more Bucknell and Dartmouth athletic events there. Good excuse for a get-together! As will a party at the Tupelo Music Hall in White River Junction, Vermont, 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, August 27, to celebrate the release of Pete Wonson’s new book Old Times, Good Times: A Rock and Roll Story. Don Marcus wrote to share news that his short film Patrimony was selected to open the 2011 Boston International Film Festival in April. Filmed entirely on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Don wrote, directed and produced the short film. Final call for the Alumni Fund this year. Let’s make it a good one! And remember our 65th birthday party/mini-reunion to be held in Williamsburg, Virginia, over the weekend of September 15 through 18. Plan ahead, and hope you can make it.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu


Happy holidays. A very busy fall for the class of ’68. Check out the class website and newsletter for detailed reports on the 65th birthday in Williamsburg, Virginia, in September with 20-plus classmates and the third annual Bandon Dunes (Oregon) golf trip in early November, which also saw 20-plus classmates and friends. Bill Kolasky, one of the duffers who attended, shared with me that Bandon Dunes is ranked the No. 1 golf destination in the country—we don’t accept second best! And the class website is also the go-to place for online auction of Frank Couper’s Dartmouth memorabilia (open to all classes, by the way—tell your friends). All to benefit our growing 50th reunion gift to support the freshman trips. Early October saw a mini-reunion and executive committee meeting in Hanover, with Ron Weiss, David Peck, Gerry Bell, John Engelman, Joe Nathan Wright, Peter Fahey, John Everett, Bill Rich, Jim Lawrie and Ed Heald gathered. The weekend featured the first-ever night game, against Penn. Exciting game, though Penn came from behind to win with less than a minute remaining. Looking ahead, the next skiing mini-reunion will be March 3 through 10 in Aspen, Colorado. Jim Noyes is now lead organizer (and thank you, Gerry Bell, for your years as chief cook and bottle washer). Rumor has it Hans Preben Mehren will attend, coming from Norway.


Our listserv site did indeed serve. Lots of news, which will fill this and future columns.


Paul Grace wrote from Seattle. He retired from the Port of Seattle after 18 years, the last five as operations manager for Sea-Tac Airport, but restarted his labor arbitration practice, begun in 1992. That doesn’t sound like retirement! He and wife Claire bought the house next door so they could expand their garden. The design follows the concept of a French potager or kitchen garden, which will be featured in an upcoming issue in Sunset. He and Claire recently spent three weeks in Turkey, highly recommended by Paul, with one week in Istanbul and two weeks on a gullet (ketch) along the coast visiting Lycian, Greek and Roman ruins. Now that sounds like retirement! Also enjoying 22-month-old grandson Hayden, who lives nearby with Paul and Claire’s daughter Margaret ’01 and son-in-law James Mills ’00. Second daughter Maryclaire lives in New York City. Kathy and Scott McQueen enjoyed a long, great summer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and capped it off with 10 days in Italy on Lake Como. This also sounds like retirement! He played golf over the summer with partner Randy Odeneal at the Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C., and is still trying to get his handicap into single digits. Scott has a Costa Rica property that is growing in popularity, elcastillodeesparza.com. Check it out!


And as always, keep the news coming. Listserv is great, and we are on Facebook and LinkedIn. And stamps still work, though I hear the first-class stamp is going up soon.


Have a great holiday season—see you next year.


—David Peck, 157 Sandwich Road, Plymouth, MA 02360-2503; (508) 746-5894; david.peck@ childrens.harvard.edu