Class Notes 1981

Our upcoming 45th reunion (June 19-22) is less than a Dartmouth quarter away and early registration is open! Watch your inbox and snail mailbox for registration info and links. Early birds receive a discount and an L.L.Bean class of ’81 tote bag. A reunion page is up at alumni.dartmouth.edu/reunions, but far more enticing you can see what our reunion chairs Rick Silverman and Ellen Brout Lindsey have planned activity-wise at dartgo.org/81derful. These include a Ted Talk, scavenger hunt, pickleball round robin, hikes, the Kemeny awards…and, best of all, for those who want to relive their freshman trip—or never went on one—arrive Wednesday night June 18 at Moosilauke for a 48-year, “Salty Dog” time-warp to September 1977. Wake up to a mountain hike on Thursday.

“The Time Warp,” as in let’s do it again, could end up on reunion playlists being skillfully curated by Robert Goldbloom and Abner Oakes. For practice, Abner has organized the “Brookdale Porchfest” each October since 2020 in his Bethesda, Maryland, neighborhood, “building the schedule for 16 bands, ranging from bluegrass to bagpipes to classic rock to Irish folk.” A labor of love, it “encapsulates the joy that comes from grooving to a cool band with a bunch of like-minded people.” Suggestions are welcome.

Phillip Gibbs has called for anything from the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, and Dolly Parton. He also asked about “the incredible string of great performers” we had the chance to hear in concert. “Who was picking the bands and why were our four years so extraordinary?” Good question. Answer?

Herbert “Buddy” Livingstone suggested a reunion musical theme of “water,” which has an existential, symbolic appeal that’s as old as we are. He had me at Talking Head’s “Once in a Lifetime.” How did we get here? He requests “Drowned” by The Who, “And It Stoned Me” by Van Morrison, U2’s “The Ocean,” and Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea” “as a shoutout to the old Sigma Nu jukebox.”

I’ll own my disco affection and add “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees. Plus, Christopher Cross’s “Sailing,” “Fool in the Rain” by Led Zeppelin, “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray, and the B-52s’ “Rock Lobster” (in memory of Jan Gaynor Bandeen), plus EWF’s “September” just because.

Themes are welcome too. You see how this could go.

On a more serious note, Greg Slayton’s people contacted us about his new book, Portraits of Ukraine: A Nation at War, written with son Christian ’15 and photographs by daughter Alessandra ’13. It’s “an analysis of the 2022 Russian invasion within the context of Ukraine’s people, history, arts, culture, traditions, and geography.” All proceeds go to Ukrainian charities and relief organizations.

Also, very sad news of the death of Richard “Dick” Whitney Crowley in December. Condolences to family and friends.

We’ll recognize each other in June by our tote bags.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Class of ’81 top story: Chris Meledandri was inducted into the Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame in September. Congratulations, Chris!

In other heights, Martin Weinstein wrote in from Washington, D.C., that after “40 years off Steve Kelly is now one of the top senior pole vaulters in the country.” Martin knows this because his eighth-grade son Joshua took on Steve in an open section of the pole vault event for the Potomac Valley Track Club’s event in late May. No word as to the outcome. (Martin also reminded us that his lucky daughter Ruth was Kathy Kiernan’s fourth-grade student a couple of years ago at St. Albans.)

Because our 45th reunion is this June 2025, class officers are putting together playlists. This spurred the latest “Big Question,” in which ’81s are being asked to reflect on the power of music in our lives.

Lynnette Eubanks Marshall summed it up beautifully. “The single most comprehensive force that wraps itself around me, no matter what is happening in my life, positive or negative, is music. The older I get the more truth this carries. Billy Joel said, ‘Music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.’ I won’t ever forget the space Billy Joel, among other artists (EWF, Steely Dan, James Taylor, George Benson, to name a few) occupied during my Dartmouth days, as I listened to The Stranger and many other albums on vinyl in my dorm rooms.”

Jeff Walters wrote in that Deborah Harry songs from her album Parallel Lines—“Hanging on the Telephone” and “Heart of Glass”—transport him immediately to Sophomore Summer, when they were “belting out open dorm windows [to] the soundtrack of the summer.”

Steve “Sully” Sullivan took it a step further. “The best pacifier I know is playing music, whether on piano, guitar, or whatever else is handy—and with other people is even better. I am far from a virtuoso, but my limited skills do not prevent me from deriving endless pleasure from playing an instrument and usually singing along.” A link on YouTube to Steve and friends jamming can be found under “Up at Bartlett Narrows.”

John Curtis shared that, “I will never forget a small informal concert by a group of Dartmouth gospel singers on the first floor of the Hop by the big windows overlooking the Green. Their songs transported me to an ethereal, spiritual place I would love to visit again. Ever since that day I have made an effort to listen to gospel groups. If music is about tapping into something beyond ourselves, those singers certainly made great music that day.”

On that poignant note, it’s my sad duty to report the death of Ramond “Ray” Brainard Woolson III in Virginia on August 13. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

Wishing all peaceful, healthy, and harmonious holidays.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Thank you to classmates who respond to the thought- and memory-provoking “Big Questions.” You make the class communications officers’ jobs easy, edifying, and entertaining. A few more language study abroad and foreign study program (LSA/FSP) stories beg to be shared before we turn to new inquiries.

Phillip Gibbs and Mike Steinharter wrote in to confess that they regretted not doing a study abroad term. Who doesn’t have an undergraduate opportunity or two we now wish we’d taken advantage of?

Greg Clow could have said the same since his LSA France term invitation was actually rescinded. He writes, “Through a series of monumental mix-ups the French department decided that I was a fraternity miscreant (I had been abducted for rush in the middle of class). It sent a letter explaining the decision to California. Unfortunately, I was working in New York, so I never got it…or got to plead my case.” Greg went to Paris anyway and enrolled at the Alliance Française. He lived with a Parisian family, resulting in French fluency and “a lifetime of cocktail stories…but without the promised ‘gut’ grades for the term.”

Conversely, of his term in Blois, France, Ben Pierce recalls “not really learning French.” It may have had something to do with his French mom “serving red wine at every single lunch,” a tradition he has “tried to maintain.”

Rick Silverman’s LSA experience in Mainz, Germany led to a quick Dartmouth plan adjustment and a subsequent FSP term there, a German major, a job as a German AT (and a deep bond with professor John Rassias), lifetime contact with his German family, and branching out into Spanish for his charitable medical work in Ecuador.

In the same vein Rick has teamed up with Ellen Brout Lindsey to chair our 45th reunion committee. That’s coming up next June 19-22, 2025, in Hanover! This is our first reunion in 10 years, since our 45th was canceled due to Covid. As usual, we’re teaming up with the ’79s and ’80s, so take solace that it’s numerically only our 44th year out.

If you would be interested in helping with the reunion, contact Rick, Ellen, or your class secretaries at the email addresses below and we’ll pass it on. Never been involved with reunion planning? No problem! The committee is also “looking for suggestions for reunion activities. Pickleball tournament? Panel on getting back in shape after you destroy your knees or wrists playing pickleball? Rick’s Botox-mobile? Send us your ideas!”

Last but not least, for female ’81s: Gayle Gilman ’85 is one of the project leaders for the Women of Dartmouth Inspire project (https://inspire.host.dartmouth.edu/share-your-story), which aims to collect the stories of every single Dartmouth woman. She is requesting our anecdotes, artwork, videos, etc., to build connections to one another and to the College.

With best wishes for a great summer.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Dartmouth has always espoused roaming the girdled earth. We asked classmates about their undergrad overseas study abroad trips. Many wrote in with memories of exciting weekend and break travels to surrounding regions and countries. No one seems to recall much coursework. Kate Silberman Fischer says, “My favorite language study abroad [LSA] memory was driving from Siena to Sicily in October of 1978 with Elise Supovitz, Stephen Quatrano, Mark Gherardi, and my Italian host family sister, Laura Ducci, all of us squished in a Fiat 500 lent to us by Laura’s father, Antonio. I recently saw my Italian sister Laura in Rome and we stood staring at a Fiat 500 in wonder: Not only had we all fit in the car, with bags, we had a fabulous time.” She insists they spoke only Italian for the 10-day break, as they had promised professor David Sices.

During my LSA in Bourges, France, in between wide-ranging rail travel with classmates (Munich during Oktoberfest!), we read Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist play, La Cantatrice Chauve. Between its sur-reality and our poor comprehension, I have no idea what it was about.

While many, like Kate, formed strong bonds with their “families,” some of us had more mercenary hosts. Hugo Ribot’s family in Salamanca, Spain, provided him only water with meals, while their biological son was served Coca-Cola. So Hugo and Mike Leede hit the Costa Del Sol during spring break to enjoy red wine from botas, olives, jamon, and garlic mushroom tapas, excellent people watching in the plazas, and bar hopping. They also had “a blast on vintage pinball machines in each bar.” Hugo threw out a challenge, however, to Tom Taylor regarding a rumor of his and another classmate’s arrest for punching a Spanish plainclothes policeman. Tom?

Which leads us to the notorious gang in Blois, France—Lon Povich among them—who made French news. In a drole tone, the newspaper reported that American students’ trick (which it declined to reveal) to make the international phone in a particular cabine at the post office fail to register calls to the United States, racked up 20,000 French francs in unpaid charges. It was about $4,500 at the time, and the College hustled to make it right once discovered by the authorities. Fortunately, Lon had “an outstanding family” with whom he kept in touch and brought his own children to meet. Despite his brush with Gallic jurisprudence, he says he did learn “the world is a big place with many different cultures and points of view,” and we “should experience as many of them” as we can.

By the way, Jeff Kemp recently released Receive: The Way of Jesus for Men. He speaks to men’s groups of all kinds and you can find more at his website, JeffKempTeam.com.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Sophomore Summer 1979 doesn’t seem that long ago, but apparently it was. Shelley Warren Weiler sent out Big Question #16: “What do you actually remember of that semester?” Many classmates conjured interesting and overlapping fragments.

Some reflected on their academics: Lydia Herman Lazar and Nadine “Deanie” Pearce wrote in about professor Peter Kelman’s education class, whereby students moved into Channing Cox for the quarter in a 24/7 alternative learning experience. Deanie says, “(It) taught me how to pursue interests and tap into others who share those interests, how to speak up about them (Deirdre’s soapbox on the Green), how to be a better listener (was it Liz who came to our meeting with her mouth taped shut?) and how to make Sue’s awesome carrot cake!” She got to know amazing classmates, “several of whom I count as my best friends to this day. Peter, thank you for the most powerful learning experience of my four years at Dartmouth.” Lydia adds, “The summer of ’79 showed me that I too belonged at Dartmouth, that there really were kindred spirits for me there.”

Jon Cohen’s classroom memory is “suntanning on the metal roof of Gamma Delt, then sitting in air-conditioned luxury at Professor Jacobus’ art history class, my only easy summer course.” I was in that course and I didn’t think it was so easy. Paul Yelder recollects “the ‘Camp Dartmouth’ gathering affectionately referred to as ‘Earth, Wind, and Fire,’ also known as Professor Jastrow’s ‘Earth, Moon, and Planets.’ ” Charlie Craig suspects he was in this class too.

Probably outside the classroom, Jeff Healey learned “that grilling chicken takes much longer than you think.”

Non-academic pursuits made more numerous impressions. Julie Styles Matuschak recalls “running and jumping into the river with Julie K,” while Hugo Ribot remembers “nocturnal skinny dipping” therein and “James Bond movies screened at Webster Hall.” Jeff Walters also remembers 007 and river dips, plus “softball games on the Green, cutting up dozens of watermelons for an ’81 event on Tuck Mall, and seeing fireflies for the very first time (I grew up in northern California).”

Tom Waterman’s standout memory was “the July 4 bottle rocket war on Webster Avenue. Highlights included the use of ski pole launchers for improved accuracy, a classmate running through the smoke clouds with an American flag, and another classmate snatching a bag of confiscated student IDs from a campus police officer, sparing eight others a fine and disciplinary record.” Well done, mystery classmate.

Lynnette Marshall “will never forget the epic surprise 20th birthday party for Mary Favret at Sigma Alpha Epsilon” and reminisces on “the beauty of the foggy mornings on the Green, burning off to glorious summer days.”

With that ethereal image, we’re reminded that summer is fleeting. I regret to report the deaths of classmates William Brown “Bill” Rockwood and Stuart T. Weinberg. Heartfelt condolences to their families.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Class of ’81s are giving back in big ways. You may recall that our class formed a committee comprised of Byron Boston, Hap Brakeley, Bill Burgess, Lynnette Eubanks Marshall, and Shelley Warren Wieler to choose two classmates for the Class of 1981 John G. Kemeny Award. The criteria this year was unsung heroes who have made noteworthy local or global impact.

You’ve probably heard by now that Lisa Robinson Spader and Marshall Brown are the first recipients of this honor and will accept their awards Homecoming Weekend (October 20-21).

Lisa is a cofounder and president of Global Pearls, an international nonprofit organization that uses the tools of education and training to focus on the well-being of women, children, and marginalized groups. Projects located in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe include programs in Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Morocco, Cameroon, Kenya, India, Ukraine, and Nepal.

Marshall cofounded and became executive director of the Long Island Conservancy, which supports local habitat restoration projects across Long Island as well as Save the Great Bay, a group of more than 15,000 scientists and community members who are a powerful local voice for environmental and shared problems. Marshall is also a partner in Spadefoot Water Treatment Services in New York, focusing on innovative ways to address wastewater treatment.

In more giving back, the former Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, is now the Albright Knox Gundlach (AKG) Museum. Jeffrey Gundlach donated $62.5 million for the largest cultural capital project in the city’s history that was on schedule to reopen recently after a two-year renovation. Congratulations, Lisa, Marshall, and Jeff!

A recent big question was about ’81s’ positions on the early edge of coeducation and how post-Dartmouth life has changed our perspective on that. We received numerous excellent, heartfelt responses, and Bates College French and francophone studies professor Kirk Reed’s thoughts were especially impactful. He reflected with strong feelings on his tacit participation in a culture of admittedly “toxic misogyny,” and said, “Bottom line, for me, and for many men: It was an extremely challenging time to come into one’s own as a man. While there were exceptions to the culture of conquest or derision, Dartmouth kept so much in place to make men socialize and mature in problematic ways.” However, “Much of my cocurricular education was bonding in adversity,” which was “fruitful and often hilarious.” He concluded with, “I still seek a way to reconcile both the injury and the gifts of Dartmouth’s early years of educating women and men together. I think a more honest introspection about what the transition and its aftermath meant for men is worth our continued contemplation.”

Keep up the good work giving back, ’81s.

I regret to close with the sad news of the death of Betsy May Hudson in March. Our sincere condolences to our classmate Thomas Hudson, their daughters, and extended families.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Molly Sundberg Van Metre and Julie Koeninger identified an excellent ’81 class legacy project after surveys revealed the majority of our class was interested in ongoing impact with students (vs. a monument, say).

We now have the opportunity to support the Center for Social Impact by endowing social impact practicums (SIPS), an effort that Pam Donovan Gehret is involved with as a member of the board of advisors. It’s an offshoot of the Tucker Foundation that works across departments to design courses where students interact with and contribute directly to the Upper Valley community. Look for class emails about this exciting development and learn more at https://students.dartmouth.edu/social-impact.

Classmates in show biz redux: Aaron Mendelson is yet another ’81 who’s had a long career as a performing artist—choreographing, dancing, acting, and teaching in Los Angeles and New York. He wrote in about a recent reunion with Kelvin O. Hardy ’79 in Berlin. Aaron and Kelvin toured Europe in 1988 in a production of West Side Story and Kelvin has worked in Berlin ever since, watching up close as the wall came down.

In more show business news, Mark Hansson was awarded the prestigious Frank Capra Career Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America, as featured in the guild magazine January issue. Mark has worked as an assistant director on such shows as Come From Away, Animal Kingdom, High School Musical, Dreamgirls, the 81st (!) Academy Awards, and Six Feet Under, to name but a few of the scores of series episodes and movies he’s directed. Congratulations, Mark!

In our close-to-retirement years, even classmates with careers in business, engineering, the public sector, education, tech, or medicine may be turning a hand to creative endeavors.

Many ’81’s are, or have recently become, authors. Yes, Kimberly Young worked for years in advertising and marketing, but she was also a Wallace Stegner creative writing fellow at Stanford. Her debut fiction novel, In the Event of Death, came out in February. It’s about a middle-aged woman struggling with marriage, business, and offspring issues while her mother is dying of cancer and long-buried family secrets are revealing themselves—as they do. Congratulations, Kim!

Which brings me to some shameless self-promotion. My latest novel for young adults, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent, is out this month and concerns a somewhat unstable 18-year-old woman struggling to caregive for her beloved aunt and guardian who is dying of cancer—while they wrestle with family secrets. A coincidence? Sadly, tending to an ill or dying parent, or their affairs, is something most of us are increasingly familiar with, and it inspired my story certainly. If you are publishing a book this year, send us the details and we will gladly mention it here. Meanwhile, consider revealing your family secrets now and save everyone a lot of trouble.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA, 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Happy holidays! At Commencement President John Kemeny charged ’81s with making this “a better world, a more compassionate world, for all of us.” To that end, a committee comprised of Byron Boston, Hap Brakeley, Bill Burgess, Lynnette Eubanks Marshall, and Shelley Warren Wieler was formed to present the Class of ’81 John G. Kemeny Award to exceptional, impactful, inspirational classmates who have done just that. Give it some thought and contact them with nominations.

Speaking of which, after reading the recent ’81 newsletter bio on Calvin Johnson, Nancy Green Oey wrote in to share this: “My husband, Fred, was in Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles in 2015 recovering from cancer surgery. He was still very weak when additional surgery was ordered. I was certain he wouldn’t survive. The anesthesiologist assigned was none other than Dr. Calvin Johnson ’81. I was stunned to see him after all these years, but there he was, a key member of the surgical team responsible for Fred’s life. I will never forget Calvin’s compassion or his quiet reassurance. That was all I needed to get through the next several hours of the operation. It was Calvin who finally delivered the post op news: Fred had made it through.

“I look back on that day as a gift. Our family was granted two more remarkable seasons to shower Fred with love and grow even closer. I am truly grateful.”

Another compassionate classmate, former U.S. ambassador Gregory Slayton, writes that as of late August “our family foundation—an all-family, all-Dartmouth effort—delivered more than 1.35 million pounds of relief supplies (food, medical supplies, and nonlethal military aid) to our distribution partners in virtually every major city in eastern and southern Ukraine, such as Kharkiv, Odessa, Poltava.” They are one of the very few nongovernmental organizations consistently distributing directly in the war zone, where “we have a bunch of courageous and faithful Ukrainian partners.” Next goal is to get more than 1 million refugees through the winter. He says, “Not sure if any of our classmates are working on this crisis but would love to partner with anyone who wants to help.” Get in touch via Greg’s Family First Global and the Fellowship of Fathers Foundation.

In holiday cheer news, Sharon Washington is cowriting a Broadway musical loosely based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film, New York New York, with David Thompson and songwriters John Kandar, Fred Ebb, and Lin-Manuel Miranda! Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, the opening night is scheduled for April of 2023, or mini-reunion time.

Finally, I am so sorry to report the recent loss of two ’81s: Patricia Ellen Gallagher, who passed away on May 23, and James Watson Degenhardt, who died July 5. Full obituaries are available online.

Life is short—and hard. In this season of giving, may we remember to spread compassion.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA, 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

It’s never too late to set the record straight with your class secretaries. Jeffrey Bannon wrote-in with another “second-act” story for us, and he should have been included in the ’81s-in-show-business column in the July/August ’21 issue.

Jeff writes, “I double-majored in economics and drama and, having been the Hopkins Center student intern during my junior year, expected to go into arts management. But after performing in a few shows, including playing the lead in Company in the fall of 1980, I became an actor after college. I starred in several hit off-Broadway musicals (Forbidden Broadway, Forever Plaid, etc.) and played smaller roles on Broadway (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Show Boat, Les Mis).

“Then in my 40s I found my second career. I created a training company, BusinessTalk Inc., that coaches attorneys and bankers in public speaking, networking, management skills, etc. I discovered that the best coaches had performing arts backgrounds. And I’ve managed to successfully run a company in which ex-actors coach businesspeople on how to better communicate. My strange double-major seems to have finally paid off!”

As actor-now-author Henry Winkler said, “If you listen to your inner voice, what you know instinctively, it will always lead you down the right path.”

Calvin Johnson seemingly found his path early and with certainty. He’s currently a professor of anesthesiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and you may remember that he was a basketball Academic All-America as an undergrad. Calvin was recently featured in an Academic All-America team article titled, “The Intentional and Inspirational Journey of Dr. Calvin Johnson.” Dartmouth then-head basketball coach Gary Walters said therein: “Calvin was as indefatigable in his scholarly interests as he was on the court. I’ll never forget that there was always one light on when we were traveling on the team bus.…He took and has taken advantage of every opportunity presented to him.” Walters is director of athletics emeritus at Princeton, and the two stay in touch. For the record, Calvin’s also about to be inducted into his hometown Muskegon (Michigan) Sports Hall of Fame.

In other hometowns, Laura Ackerman Smoller, her sister, Dartmouth Preston H. Kelsey Professor of Religion Susan Ackerman ’80, and I were in the same Brownie troop back in Little Rock, Arkansas. Their mom led us (hi, Mrs. Ackerman). Laura is currently chair of the department of history at the University of Rochester and author of the awesomely titled, The Saint and the Chopped Up-Baby: The Cult of Vincent Ferrer in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. She was recently named a fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, the highest honor the academy bestows on American medievalists. Laura was also awarded a national Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to write her third book—tentatively titled, wouldn’t you know, Astrology and the Sibyls: Paths to Truth in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

French author and philosopher André Gide wrote, “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” Accounts of brave ’81 “second (or third) acts” continue to inspire and delight us.

After working in banking, Chris “Spot” Morrison decided he wanted to try teaching. “Problem was, I had no teaching credentials. Luckily, the head of a school in Atlanta was from Framingham [Massachusetts]. Being from Needham, also just outside Boston, he was happy to find someone who could understand him. He took a chance with me and I ended up teaching and coaching high school for the next 30 years. It was a great move for me. My wife says it best, ‘You teach so that you can remain a child.’ Truer words were never spoken.”

John Curtis left his business life behind at age 53 and rescued a botanic garden on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England. He said retiring wasn’t his goal, “working differently was.” Then, “Suddenly I had 14 ex-government employees to coax, drag, and cajole into the private sector, 29 acres, 6,000 subtropical species, and a lot of broken equipment. In many ways this second act has been more difficult and more rewarding than the first act.” His aim was not just about making money, but about “keeping the garden open for island residents and visitors and helping them understand the changing climate through the ‘living collection.’ ” He loves the hands-on approach and is “not adverse to driving a tractor or foraging with the head gardener for ingredients the head chef can use in our restaurant.” John has restored 16 buildings and “picked hops and delivered them to our contract brewer for our Botanic Pale Ale. I have immensely enjoyed those ales.” He closes with an invitation for visits from any volunteer gardeners and can even offer garden cabins and cottages for accommodations.

Not that it’s inspiring or delightful, but I left advertising and marketing after my first son was born. Overseas for my husband’s work and in addition to volunteering and raising four children, I started writing fiction “seriously.” I earned an M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults when I was in my mid-40s. Incidentally, about half of my classmates were older—in their 50s, 60s, and 70s—all of whom are now traditionally published. Writing professionally for most of us, however, is low paying, involves long, solitary hours, and is full of constant rejection and criticism. Nevertheless, I hope to continue this act until the final curtain (so to speak). As poet Mary Oliver wrote, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Let us know.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

After our July-August column about ’81 classmates in show business, Peter Smith, an adopted member of the class of ’35 and emeritus director of the Hopkins Center, wrote from the United Kingdom requesting that we thank everyone whose name was in boldface. Here for an encore are Vaughn Halyard, Stephen Godchaux, Dan Gilroy, John Gilroy, Pamela Mason Wagner, Sharon Washington, Mark Hansson, Chris Meledandri, Nancy Green Oey, Mark Frawley, Mark Lotito, or “some fellow cast members in Cyrano De Bergerac—one a freshman advisee—some shining in Working (what a beehive the Hop was in those years)!” Smith went on, “Please add that Justin Monjo, working upside down, had a recent success with Storm Boy. It’s well worth checking out. It would be invidious of me to try to assign the ‘Most Talented Class’ award, but 1981 is surely one of the strongest possible claimants.” Indeed. He also said he would love to hear from any of us at ps22@columbia.edu.

Speaking of talent, The Boston Globe just announced that our own Bob Higgins, surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital and director of surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has been tapped by Mass General Brigham to be president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and charged with “pushing two of the country’s top medical centers into becoming a more unified hospital system.” Way to go, Bob!

We also received news that David B. Edelson, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Loews Corp., is the chair-elect of the board of governors of the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, whose mission is to prepare Jewish leaders for the 21st century. Congratulations, David!

Speaking of the 21st century, your class communications officers are contemplating how we can highlight the many ways we have all changed—and ideally, grown—since the last century: our steady progress and successes, as rousingly exemplified by Bob and David, yes, but also our pivots, whether into a new industry or retirement into full-time golf.

Some ’81s have embraced this idea with more energy and boldness than others. Jennifer Hoadley had a noteworthy career in advertising at Grey and Dancer Fitzgerald Sample and then in publishing at The Atlantic, Harper’s, and Forbes. In 2010 she started prerequisites for nursing school. “After losing my parents in the 2000s, I decided I really wanted to take care of others. I graduated from an accelerated B.S.N. program (11 months) at Pace in 2013 and I’ve worked in hospitals and practices in obstetrics and gynecology since. It’s a really fun specialty; I love all the babies!”

Let us know what you’ve been up to as we all take inspiration from and pride in our pivots and steady-ons. If anyone is willing to share a hard-left turn or even a crash and burn, that would be awesome. It’s those that lead to true growth. Wishing you and yours very happy holidays!

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA, 94147; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Covid isolation has been great for consuming stories on our screens. Thanks to another extraordinary online presentation from our 8-One Network, classmates enjoyed hearing from some of the ’81 wealth of award-winning writing, producing, editing, and acting talent behind some of those stories. Does any other class have so much talent? Doubt it. If you missed it, music and film producer Vaughn Halyard and TV writer and producer Stephen Godchaux interviewed screenwriter and director Dan Gilroy; his twin brother film editor John Gilroy; documentary film producer, writer, and director Pamela Mason Wagner; actor and writer Sharon Washington; and director Mark Hansson. Producer Chris Meledandri was interviewed separately. We missed out on hearing from producer Nancy Green Oey and actors Mark Frawley and Mark Lotito.

How did so many ’81s become such big show business names? To hear them tell it, it was not their fault. Mark wanted to be a biochemist. Sharon had her sights on a post in a French-speaking country with the U.S. State Department. How did her parents react when she told them she was going to be an actor? “Not terrifically,” she said. John was headed for law school. When their dad (Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Frank Gilroy ’50) asked if he really wanted to and John said no, Frank suggested maybe he should pay for it himself. Stephen did go to law school, but said he failed at being a lawyer so wrote a play about his mother. But how many of us knew what we really wanted to do at graduation? Some of us are still struggling to figure it out. Pam said, “People always think that a movie is about what you see on screen, but for me the movie is about the process that it took to get you there, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have had this interesting journey.” Forty years out from graduation, I hope many of us feel the same way about our journeys.

In addition to honest accounts of years of bartending, and inside anecdotes starring Stevie Wonder and George Clooney, the panel kindly offered advice to ’81 offspring who are considering show business: You’re unemployed frequently. It’s filled with rejection—lots more failures than successes. Doing it for the possibility of fame or riches is a bad idea. If anyone can talk you out of it, then they should. However, a liberal arts background such as the one we received in Hanover—exposure to a broad array of disciplines and learning how to research, analyze, and communicate—is ideal for an artist. On the production side of the arts, you have to understand business, as films, videos, music, books, and art in the end are all consumer products. Wishing you a happy summer of consumption.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, 2434 Leavenworth St., San Francisco, CA 94133; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Thank you, ’81s, for your responses to the musical memories big question No. 10. So many vivid (and hazy) memories were shared of Dartmouth concerts. Marc Chabot caught more than most: “Alan Johnson, who ran the lights for numerous Hop performances, let me watch concerts for free alongside him in the Spaulding lighting booth.” Not content to listen passively, Marc also played the violin in the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra. Most memorably, he and Jim Kenealy “dressed up in lab coats and gas masks—singing “Men of Stockroom” at the chemistry department party in the fall of 1978, a song they co-wrote. It closed with, “They have acetone on their breath, ethanol in their veins, And spectro-grade benzene in their muscles and their brains.”

David Townsend recalls producing and DJing “the ‘Pumpkin Smash,’ a huge public dance-costume-party that featured New Wave music, decorations, carved pumpkins, strobe lights, and a large facsimile drawing of President Kemeny made to look like a vampire. My dorm-mates from Lord Hall and collaborators from the Jack-o-Lantern, helped organize and put it all together.”

On a more somber note, Tucker Gilman remembers the day in December of our senior year when John Lennon was shot in New York City. “Most of us were celebrating the end of exams and looking forward to going home for the holidays. I was in the hot, packed, basement of Phi Delt, playing pong and listening to juke tunes when the word passed quickly throughout the crowded house” (via Howard Cosell and the Monday Night Football game in the tube room). “What I recall most vividly is that within minutes, the house cleared. The party was over and a hush fell over the campus. Not long after someone (along Webster Avenue) placed their speakers in a window facing out and cranked up ‘Imagine’ and ‘Revolution.’ ”

Turns out that was David Townsend, DJing after he heard the news. “Yes, I blasted ‘Revolution’ at full volume from Lord Hall. I had a paper due the next day, and I was planning an all-nighter, but I couldn’t concentrate.”

Meanwhile classmates in medicine are concentrating on making news. Wyn Harrison writes, “After leaving the granite hills of New Hampshire, I have been an academic hepatologist and therapeutic endoscopist at Mayo Clinic. In the last chapter of my career I had the honor of leading the development of a new, four-year medical school campus at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. With our inaugural class approaching graduation in May, I am passing the baton to the next academic affairs dean.” And Allen L. Smith, M.D., M.S., will become the next president and chief executive officer of South Shore Health of Massachusetts. Allen most recently served as president of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization, a faculty practice plan for more than 1,800 physicians.

Congratulations, Wyn and Allen! Wishing all good health and harmonious memories.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, 2434 Leavenworth St., San Francisco, CA 94133; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

We’re nearing the end of the ardous year that was 2020, and even though our 40th reunion was postponed, reminiscing about that distant June of 1981 is a worthwhile indulgence. Thanks to classmates who kindly responded to “Big Question No. 8” on mining memories from senior week and graduation.

Funny the things we remember. During senior week Veronica Wessels’ parents had an Argentine-style celebratory party for friends and their parents at 1 Occom. “My roommates and I scrubbed that place up and down to prepare. Argentine empanadas and cases of Argentine red wine were delivered from afar. A dad at the gathering declined the red wine and asked for Coke, and I will never forget the resulting incredulous and pained expression on my father’s face. I mean, Coca-Cola over red wine? Who are these people?!”

David Townsend has an alarming analog photo “of myself in my graduation cap and gown, standing outside on the tiny window ledge of my fourth-floor Lord Hall dorm room. I somehow got up the nerve to climb out there and stand with my arms spread as somebody took the photo from the ground.” In another incident from an upper story, Bill “Fred” Sherman recalls, “After the rained-out clambake senior week, someone put a leftover bushel of clams in a refrigerator at Phi Delt. Someone else, being helpful, locked it. Unfortunately, the fridge didn’t work and nobody knew the lock’s combination. By the fourth day the rot was so hideous we had to throw the whole fridge away…out the third-floor window!”

Despite the limits and hardships of 2020, it did not diminish outstanding ’81 achievements. Johns Hopkins Medicine surgeon-in-chief Robert Higgins was recently appointed the new senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

And Annette Gordon-Reed, trustee emerita of Dartmouth and the Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard Law School, has been named a “University Professor,” Harvard’s highest faculty honor. No surprise there.

Three compellingly titled books by ’81s are recently out: Pyrrho’s Way: The Ancient Greek Version of Buddhism (Sumeru Press) by Doug Bates; The Taxable Investor’s Manifesto: Wealth Management Strategies to Last a Lifetime (Wiley) by Stuart E. Lucas;and The Sex Obsession: Perversity and Possibility in American Politics (NYU Press) by Janet Jakobsen.

The sobering part of this new column-writing gig is that it includes acknowledging classmates who have passed away. I’m sorry to report that David M. Kahler, M.D., died this past August at his home in Virginia.

Almost 40 years out from graduation, we all know that life is short. Might I encourage you to take a stab at one of the big questions that comes into your email inbox? We would truly love to hear from you (d.81.news@gmail.com)! Meanwhile, wishing you and yours excellent memories, good health, and happy holidays.

—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, 2434 Leavenworth St., San Francisco, CA 94133; ajkordahl@gmail.com; Emil Miskovsky, PO Box 2162, North Conway, NH 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

I am thinking of you all during this very strange time and hope that you will derive as much comfort as I did from the wise words written by our very own Jocelyn (Jody Awad) Evans, a licensed social worker, reproduced here with her permission: “This may feel daunting, overwhelming, and for some devastating. The only time we witness personal growth is when adversity exacerbates our greatest fear: uncertainty. Our goal in life is to learn how to tolerate ambiguity, because everything is ambiguous. This virus has the possibility of helping us reach our best self. If the world suffers universally from the same epidemic, we have greater unity, as we are all hoping for the same result. Such similarity makes each and every one of us the same—no one is better, no one is worse. Rather, we are humans understanding each other’s plight. This world fight may mitigate escalating wars, decrease mass shootings, and engender a greater sense of oneness. Use this time to communicate and create greater harmony in yourself and your family. Reflect on fractured relationships by contemplating what you can change to increase emotional intimacy. Lastly, cherish all for which you are grateful. Remember, it is always darkest before dawn.” Thank you, dear Jody, for this uplifting message.

Because of the pandemic, our 40th reunion will now be held in 2021, the actual 40th anniversary of our graduation. In the meantime, we can look forward to the fun events that our reunion committee has been planning to keep us all connected virtually between now and the time we are able to get together physically in Hanover. Stay tuned for communications in this regard from our reunion chairs, Lynne Gaudet and Rick Silverman.

In non-Covid-related news, Larry Glance writes, “Gail and I have been making more frequent trips to campus recently as our son, John, graduated as part of the Dartmouth class of 2018 and our daughter, Katie, is a ’23. We will be heading to Oxford this spring to attend John’s graduation ceremony for his master’s degree in financial economics. He is working at Lazard in N.Y.C. Just before his Dartmouth graduation John hiked the 22-mile Presidential Traverse in one day. The following month we hiked the Swiss Alps as a family—but at a much more leisurely pace! We couldn’t get enough of that incredible scenery and returned to hike there again this past summer. This fall Katie served as co-chair of the bonfire build committee. We had a wonderful time at Homecoming and were excited to see Katie light the bonfire!”

Finally, I am sad to report the passing of classmates Bruce Davidson, Tod Maclay, and Craig Seligman. May they rest in peace.

Stay safe and healthy and please continue to send your news and answers to the big question series to our class email address: d.81.news@gmail.com.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

We continue to receive terrific responses to our “Big Question” series. Jeff Healy recently wrote about a Dartmouth moment he would gladly re-experience: “My first real introduction to Mexican culture was sitting in a Dartmouth Hall classroom the winter of freshman year, in a class taught by Marysa Navarro. It was the first time I’d heard of Teotihuacan, the pre-Aztec ruins located outside of Mexico City. About seven years later I was living and working in Mexico City. Professor Navarro’s generous coaching helped me land that job. She stayed with me in Mexico while she attended a conference, and we visited Teotihuacan together. I will never forget that afternoon as she urged me to picture what things must have looked like 1,000 years earlier. Villages would have flourished on the surrounding hillsides. I also won’t forget her gentle reprimand as I spoke somewhat disrespectfully to a vendor trying to sell us trinkets.” For Ann Jacobus Kordahl it was graduation day—“the humid morning and that hot black polyester gown; my pride and sense of accomplishment as I marched past a waving section of my family; Kemeny and Streep on the dais; the figurative and literal pomp and circumstance; and the buzz of excitement, relief, sadness, and trepidation most of us felt poised in that liminal space between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next.”

Classmates also told us of an interest sparked at Dartmouth that has become a core part of their lives. For Robert Goldbloom it is an appreciation of nature. “Prior to Dartmouth, nature mostly meant things I was allergic to (including trees and grass!). The animal kingdom consisted of pet dogs and cats, birds, squirrels, and ‘bugs.’ Winter was too cold and summer was too hot, spring and fall were allergy seasons. I did not go on a freshman trip. It happened gradually, but—because it was Dartmouth—inevitably. I grew to love the beauty of the leaves in fall, falling snow in winter, hikes in the woods. That was only the start. It has become much deeper over time. Nature is like God in form. I enjoyed learning more about it along with my sons when they were young and curious. It’s always a part of every vacation I take with my wife. I’m passionate about saving-the-earth causes. And maybe it was due to my primal change in attitude, but I no longer have those terrible allergies!” Steve Sullivan chose two: “Dartmouth was the place and time I learned that developing and maintaining physical fitness could be enjoyable, and I probably would not know or care about films and cinematography a fraction as much as I do were it not for the education I received by regularly attending Dartmouth Film Society showings and working as audio-visual crew for film studies courses.”

Our 40th reunion is soon, June 18-21! Mark your calendars and stay tuned for updates from co-chairs Lynne Gaudet and Rick Silverman. In the meantime, please connect with us through d.81.news@gmail.com.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

I continue to delight in the responses we are receiving to our “Big Question” series. I hope you will indulge me as I relate more answers to my personal favorite question: Which Dartmouth classmate influenced you the most (either during our years at Dartmouth or in the years since we graduated)?

For Grace Macomber Bird it was “without a doubt Anne Hallager McGonagle. We met the morning of freshman trips. Her positive attitude, sunny disposition, and calm, competent strength during adversity have been guiding me for more than 40 years.”

Mike Steinharter writes about the special ways Abner Oakes has touched him. “He was a roommate and buddy at Alpha Delta, but we only got to know each other superficially. After Dartmouth we reconnected somehow and I admired his dedication to teaching while others were going for glory and money on Wall Street or elsewhere. He is genuine, and that has stood out. He is honest and forthright, qualities I try hard to emulate. We are now even much closer friends than we were when we were 21 years old.”

The course of Linda Gundal’s life changed through Tim Guiles. “Tim opened up the possibility to move to Germany in 1988. He was working for a company that was associated closely with a German company. The German company happened to be looking for a software engineer and I fit the bill! Thus started my odyssey in Europe!”

Anthony Desir is grateful to Peter Clinton and Marcia McCrae Braden. “They were caring, wonderful hosts when I first came to Hong Kong just for a visit with them. Even after they left Asia, I am still here almost 30 years later.”

Ann Jacobus Kordahl writes: “Of Dartmouth classmates, I was and continue to be most influenced by my freshman roommate, Pamela Mason Wagner, whose great intellect is combined with uncanny emotional intelligence and dazzling creativity, not to mention her courage and efforts toward social justice in the world at large through the powerful medium of film/video.”

In other news, we congratulate Sean Bersell, Annette Gordon-Reed, and Allen Smith on their recent accomplishments.Sean was presented with the Glendale (California) Historical Society’s Zelia Blanton Award for excellence in historic preservation, specifically “making a significant impact in the community through extraordinary involvement and dedication in advancing the cause of historic preservation and uncovering the countless untold stories of Glendale residents and buildings.” Annette, the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School and a professor of history at Harvard University, was elected to the prestigious American Philosophical Society at its spring meeting. And Allen, the president of Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization, was promoted to assistant professor of medicine (internal medicine) at Harvard Medical School. Kudos to all!

Finally, mark your calendars for June 18-21, 2020, to attend our 40th reunion, when we’ll again cluster with the ’79s and ’80s. Co-chairs Lynne Gaudet and Rick Silverman will be keeping us all updated. In the meantime, please send your news and answers to the “Big Question” series to d.81.news@gmail.com.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Which Dartmouth classmate influenced you the most (either during our years at Dartmouth, or in the years since we graduated)? The responses to this big question literally poured in, demonstrating the countless ways we have been touched by our college peers. Here are a few.

“It would be impossible to name just one. I spent four years at Dartmouth trying to emulate the best or most interesting qualities of first one student, then another, then another, sometimes several simultaneously, while all the while trying to be myself. Not an easy trick, but no doubt the person I am was shaped by that experience,” says Steven Sullivan. I am sure many of us can relate to this sentiment.

Anne Putney Swire writes “Ann Smolowe—I had never met anyone who was as fearless and adventuresome as Ann. Prior to coming to college she had taken a year off to live on a kibbutz in Israel. I had never heard of a kibbutz. She was the youngest sports massage therapist for Olympic athletes at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. I had never heard of a massage therapist, let alone seen a massage table, which she hauled into our dorm room to give a sports massage to one of my athletic roommates. We all know that she hiked the Appalachian Trail solo in the year after College—that’s pretty fearless—and she also led outdoor ropes courses for the executives that she had met on Wall Street, where she was the youngest person to ever work for the American Stock Exchange. Ann was always challenging herself to conquer new heights—learn more, do more, explore more. She inspired me with her sheer will to live life deeply, fully, and joyfully and fearlessly. Polly Duncan Collum—Polly’s spirituality is what inspired me, and still does today. Polly’s faith manifests in her commitment to social justice. She is deeply principled and lives out her life in that way—by working on nuclear disarmament issues right after college, being a political activist, living in an intentional Catholic faith community, and becoming a lay minister in her Catholic faith. She continues to do outreach work, minister to Hispanic parishioners in her community, and live a very intentional life. This integration—the integrity—of her faith, work, and life deeply inspire me.”

For Jim Pearson, “Creativity is a foundational lesson in Hanover.” His big influencers were Sharon Washington and Mark Lotito. “Both were great presences on stage at Dartmouth. In later years they have excelled as actors and creative forces. Sharon’s work has touched our lives in her performances and writing. Mark took some time out after a performance of Jersey Boys in New York to catch up when my wife, Laurie, and I were in town and saw the show.” Sharon and Mark’s examples inspired Jim to fund a theater scholarship for kids.

Please continue to send your news and answers to the big questions series to d.81.news@gmail.com.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Greetings! In October we launched our “Big Question Series” to honor our 60th birthdays as well as the College’s 250th anniversary. The first question, “If you could re-experience one day or moment from your Dartmouth career, what day or moment would that be?” elicited many enthusiastic responses. For Robert Goldbloom it was “February 29, 1980. I had the two best swims of my life—20 minutes apart! The best feeling was all of my teammates leaving the stands to come to the end of my lane to congratulate me. Twice. (It never happened again.)” Chris Goff would redo graduation. “This time I would not stay up all night, would be sober and conscious, and would not have to wait for the video to see what happened. (Watching our kids graduate has been a nice proxy do-over.)” Susan Lasko Sulisz fondly recalls the day the football team won the Ivy League title against Princeton in 1978. Caroline Rudd: “I have many fond memories, which are not necessarily significant moments. If there were one moment I would relive, it would be to hear, again, live John Kemeny’s speech at our graduation. Just hearing him say ‘Men and Women of Dartmouth’ was always such a treat. We were truly honored to have such a great man lead us for our four years and I would happily relive his parting words during our Commencement celebration.” We agree, and that’s why we have posted our entire graduation ceremony, including Professor Kemeny’s speech, on our class website. Check it out! Bob Dewey recalls “The Jack-O-Lantern’s final comedy review during senior week. Enjoying the Grateful Dead concert from the best seats in the house or waiting three days in line for those tickets! To relive so I could change a decision: enrolling in ‘Astrophysics 101’ freshman spring—not a good idea!” That reminds me of when I took “Biology 5” freshman fall thinking that it would be an interesting distributive for a govy major and then finding out halfway through that it was a pre-med course. This Argentine girl was pretty clueless back then. My GPA never did quite recover from that ill-conceived idea! Brad Stone answered philosophically—“Dartmouth was and is a cumulative experience. There isn’t any one thing I would single out in the way this question asks. But I don’t hesitate to say that I would take greater advantage of its opportunities, more depth in my studies and breadth of coursework, more engagement with faculty and classmates, more of all that the College had to offer. I didn’t fully appreciate its richness at the time, and I left a lot on the table. And yet I learned how to learn more deeply and broadly and am grateful for my time at Dartmouth. Plenty of mistakes, few regrets.” We couldn’t agree more!

We look forward to receiving your answers to forthcoming questions at our class email address, d.81.news@gmail.com. You’ll be able to see them throughout the year in this space, the newsletters, and class website.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY, 13502; (802)345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Vaughn Halyard wrote uproariously about a mini-reunion that took place this summer at a charity golf tournament in “the mosquito and black fly haven of Minnesota.” The tournament was hosted by Marc Belton,with Vaughn, Marvin Smith, Bill Jenkins, Jimmy Bynoe, and Paul Yelder in attendance. Vaughn wore his lucky golf hat, courtesy of Geoff Hatheway and Magic Mountain. Apparently the hat has exhibited magic powers and will be donned for all future golf tournaments until it tatters. The full story, which has been published in the August class newsletter along with photographs, is a must-read. The group plans to reconvene with Tim Itin this winter, when Vaughn promises to “continue prototyping experimental, time-compressed ski instruction techniques on research subject Bill Jenkins.”

Mary and Doug Bates tied the knot in Jackson, New Hampshire. The wedding was attended by Mike Peterson, Steve Levitan ’82, and Mia Luehrmann ’84. The couple, who met back in the day at Mary Hitchcock Hospital, have moved into their new home on Lake Pawtuckaway in Nottingham, New Hampshire. Pictures of the beautiful celebrations can be viewed in the aforementioned class newsletter.

Jeff Healy was honored to join the board of the Dartmouth Club of Los Angeles, which won the Metro Alumni Club of the Year Award in 2017.

Lynn Noel shared an interesting connection with the late poet laureate Donald Hall. “I was saddened to read of the passing of poet laureate Donald Hall. I am one of many who love his work, but came by my signed copy in an unusual way, 35 years after a freshman year escapade. We were trimming our tree one December and invited a friend and her husband, whom we barely knew, over to help. He noticed the milk crate the lights were stored in, and asked me where I got it. I coughed and confessed that I’d nicked it from behind the grocery store in college. He said, ‘Dartmouth?’ I said yes, and asked how he knew. ‘It says Hall’s Dairy, and my granddad had a dairy in New Hampshire.’ I was mortified, even more so when he offered to buy the milk crate to give to his dad. I immediately unpacked it and gave it to him. The next time we met, he said, ‘We’d like to thank you for the milk crate, my dad really loved it. He wrote some poems, and he hoped you might like one of his books.’ My jaw hit the floor. So that’s how I met Donald Hall’s son. And returned a stolen milk crate to a poet laureate. I will always see the twinkle in his eye when I open my signed copy of Unpacking the Boxes.” Lynn lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, and has recently re-released an update of her folk heritage CD, A Woman’s Way: First Millennium of Adventurous Women, first recorded while she was a research fellow of the Dickey Institute of Arctic Studies in 1999.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Did you know that thanks to our incredible webmaster, Kevin Kerin, President John Kemeny’s memorable 1981 Commencement address can be found on our class website? Jon Goss is one of many to write in to say how much he loved the graduation video. “I am looking forward to returning to Hanover this June for daughter Claire’s graduation. She and her brother, Nathaniel ’16, are carrying on the Goss family history at Dartmouth that dates back to 1798. I am in my 23rd year of education in Idaho. This year I have enjoyed teaching a large majority of refugee students from a variety of countries such as Myanmar, Nepal, Iraq, Iran, the Congo, and Eritrea.” 1798? Goodness! That’s 69 years pre-Canadian confederation!

Another educator, Chris “Spot” Morrison, traded in his business suit for secondary school academia. He is a mathematics teacher, soccer coach, and honorary bus driver at University High School of Indiana. He spends much of his free time volunteering as a basketball coach for Special Olympics and also heads the local community service club. And now the ever-energetic Chris is one of the point persons for Compassio ’81, our classmates-helping-classmates initiative. If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to sign up through our class website www.81.dartmouth.org or directly at compassio81@gmail.com. Either through our professional or life experiences, we all have something to contribute to this meaningful project.

Andrew Lewin and Matt Hunter were dormmates freshman year. Recently, Andrew attended Matt’s New York Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet concert. “Matt returned to music after graduation and took up the viola. Matt was the first American to become a member of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. He has performed in the world’s great concert halls—throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States—with the world’s great conductors and recorded with Deutsche Grammophon, Sony-Classical, and many other labels. He lives in Berlin, and it was great to see and hear him.” Wouldn’t it be amazing to organize a mini-reunion around Matt’s next U.S. concert? An idea for our forthcoming 60th birthday celebration….

Mark Davis reported on a successful second annual Magic Mountain mini-reunion he attended with John Westerfield, Geoff Hatheway, Dan Evans, Peter Flink,and Toby and Sally (Ankeny) Reiley. The group was small but merry, and Magic looked great, having benefitted from a fresh snowfall the day prior. Peter, who teaches high school math and chemistry, and Dan, an attorney, both live in the Boston area. Randy Bodner, another Magic investor, is married to Dan’s sister.

After many years Dave and Leslie (Maglathlin) Shula are excited to find themselves back in Hanover, where Dave has been appointed the Dartmouth football team’s receivers coach. “It’s kind of like planets getting back in alignment,” Dave was quoted as saying. “That’s the way it feels to me.” And we agree wholeheartedly!

Finally, on a sad note, Patrick Meehan passed away in February in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 520 Seneca St., Suite 312, Utica, NY 13502; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Greetings and best wishes for 2018! Lots of news this month—keep the updates coming!

Robert (Robin) Webb reports from Boulder, Colorado, that the highlight of his business travels as director of the physical science division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association is the opportunity to connect with old classmates, including Brian Alpert, an attorney in Washington, D.C., and Pete Clinton, who works in the investment industry in San Francisco. Robin also recently enjoyed catching up with Thaxter Sharp,whose daughter attends the University of Colorado in Boulder. He travels east periodically to visit his daughter, who is an ’18, and his son, a sophomore at Colby.

Thaxter lives in Marin, California, and works in San Francisco. He started his own fund management business five years ago after stints in the private equity and hedge fund world. “It’s either making me old fast or keeping me young depending on the day, but I’m having fun and still learning. I’m also lucky to spend a remarkable amount of weekend and vacation time with Dartmouth friends, including Pete Clinton, Sue-Moon Paik, John Madden, Lee Carson, Searl Vetter, John Westerfield and Robin Webb. For me it’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Marcia McCrea Braden (whose cousin is married to Thaxter!) has been living in Hawaii for the past 20 years, working as a middle school science teacher. She shares that she is adjusting to a new life phase after tragically losing her husband of 10 years, Wythe Braden ’77, last year to leukemia. Marcia writes that she is nevertheless grateful for the many good things in her life and would welcome contact with classmates who might find themselves in Hawaii. We are so very sorry for your loss, dear Marcia.

Linda Gundal has reduced her work hours as a software engineer in Braunfels, Germany, to dedicate more hours to her musical passions. She is a choir director for a small mixed-voice church choir and also sings in four other choirs, including a mixed chamber choir. “On November 25 the chamber choir performed the wonderful oratorio ‘Annelies’ by James Whitbourn. The oratorio takes short excerpts from the English edition of the diaries of Anne Frank to capture her fears, hopes and even whimsy in breathtaking music. Anne’s ability to be thankful in the worst of times is inspiring and heartbreaking.” Linda also performs occasionally as a mezzo-soprano and has started playing the organ regularly in church services at three different small churches. Wow!

And finally, give a rouse for Michael Simon and Lydia (Herman) Lazar. Michael was appointed chief executive officer of Finally Light Bulb Co., a Boston-based technology startup, after two decades in senior corporate positions. Lydia, an attorney, lecturer and global strategy consultant based in Chicago,recently published her first book, Dean Lazar’s Golden Guide: Pragmatic Advice for Smart Young People.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

On a glorious Sunday in June several proud classmates were spotted on the Green celebrating the graduation of their ’17 offspring. Sightings included Sally Ankeny Reiley and Toby Reiley, Molly Sundberg van Metre, Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, Su-Moon Paik, Kim Young, Nancy Baskin, George Alexakos and Liz Eldredge, Keith Jacques, Kathy Rackow Kiernan and Tom Kiernan, Lynne and Bob Gaudet, Danielle Dyer and Tim Fredel. Tim’s parents-in-law, Robert King ’57 and Dorothy King, both received honorary doctor of humane letters degrees and trustees Bill Burgess, Annette Gordon-Reed and Laurel Ritchie were resplendent in their academic finery. Congratulations one and all!

Amy Beringer has been living in Boulder, Colorado, for 24 years and still loves it. “After working for technology companies and then taking time to spend more time with my family, I changed careers several years ago to work for the Colorado Forum, a nonpartisan statewide public policy organization. Also, I have enjoyed representing my local club on Alumni Council; the trips to Hanover give me the chance to see my daughter, Emily ’19, on campus and connect with classmates.”

After several decades working in the corporate world in privacy and compliance, Sue Murr and her husband of more than 30 years moved from New Jersey to their Maine happy place, where Sue is essentially retired and doing some consulting. She has two kids, one of whom is an ’09.

Jill Frommer Carpenter was recently honored with the Women Breaking Barriers Award of Connected Women of Influence, an association recognizing and encouraging excellence in female business leaders. She was acclaimed for her work bringing cutting-edge machine learning technology to psychiatry with MYnd Analytics. Jill recently started a new gig as the VP of marketing for Cirrus Insight and reports, “The job blends my passion for marketing automation with my love of working in a high-growth environment.” She lives in Orange County, California, with her husband, George Carpenter ’80.

Scott Bucey recently moved his law practice from San Francisco to Sausalito, California, just a few minutes from his home. “The shorter commute has been life-altering and as an added bonus, I now share my office with a Labradoodle, which makes drafting loan documents more interesting! Our twins are now teenagers (yikes), which I like to think keeps us young. Dartmouth friends are welcome to look me up whenever they are in the area—Jennifer and I enjoy being tour guides. I remain an avid hiker and fan of live music concerts. Look for me up on Mount Tamalpais or in Golden Gate Park chasing the next music festival.”

Jerry Pierce owns a government relations company, the Interamerica Group, and two newspapers, USA Hispanic and Political Hispanic in Washington, D.C. He advises the Trump administration on government operations reform and 21st-century solutions for America’s inner cities. Jerry attended the presidential inauguration ceremonies in Washington, D.C., with Ben Hart and recently enjoyed a grand tour of the Johns Hopkins Hospital facilities courtesy of surgeon-in-chief Bob Higgins.

Keep the news coming, folks!

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

For many of us through the years, a great pizza from Everything But Anchovies was as much a part of the Upper Valley experience as throwing a Frisbee on the Green, hiking on DOC trips and taking tea at Sanborn Library. After 38 years of serving highly tasty carbohydrates to Dartmouth students, the doors closed May 16 on our collective memories. Rest in peace EBAs, and rest assured that many classmates have identified alternative venues for calorie loading, including Greg Jaeger and Kirk Wilson, who have treated fortunate friends to their insights.

Keith Jacques practices law in the Biddeford-Kennebunk, Maine, region and still enjoys a good lobster with friends and family. His ex-roomie Bob Casassa gets plenty of seafood in Exeter, New Hampshire, and adds excellent baked goods downtown at the award-winning coffee shop. John Byrne has special access to king crab legs in Alaska most of the year while conducting his owner-operator role at Alyeska Resort. Benjamin Pierce follows a blessed existence in Bozeman, Montana, where fly rods are always loaded to cast for rainbow and brown trout. Fellow fly fisherman John Pasquesi is every dinner party’s best friend due to his warm laugh and his devoted knowledge of wine. Byron Boston is back exploring with his wife and sons the culinary and cultural offerings of Vienna, Austria. Watch out for the hidden butter calories in the pastries!

Speaking of desserts, Andy Chodos is a cardiologist in the land of chocolate (Hershey, Pennsylvania) and in good preventive practice he rides bikes regularly throughout the region. He coached his daughter in soccer for years and she is now a collegiate soccer player at Penn State. John Sconzo is as much a devotee to food as he is to studying and writing about food preparation, photography and pairings with exotic drinks and wine. If you want great wine advice, consider our own world-class expert Steve Pignatiello, who follows his passion in the region of Burgundy, France.

Sweet-smiling, vocally talented Doug Tyson scours Washington, D.C., for the finest variety of foods. He sounds as good today as 40 years ago and just as happy.

Vee and I wish you happy get-togethers over food and drink, we hope in a mini- or micro-reunion format with other classmates such as the one Goeff Hathaway, John Westerfield, Craig Cloud and Greg Hale arranged in N.Y.C. recently.

—Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802)345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com; Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613)748-6248; vcwessels@rogers.com

Happy New Year, dear classmates! I hope that many of you resolved to enhance your engagement with the College and our awesome class in 2017. You may have noticed that we are working hard on outreach. To facilitate news sharing we’ve set up a brand-new dedicated class news email address (d.81.news@gmail.com) that is monitored regularly. Our Facebook group (www.facebook.com/groups/Dartmouth81) is also a good place to share information and photographs. Our 81st day virtual mini-reunion is taking place there on March 22. We hope you’ll join us!

Give a rouse for our very own Laurel Richie, who has been appointed chair of the College board of trustees for a three-year term. Laurel, we are tremendously proud of you and wish you all the best during your tenure.

Congratulations are also in order for Sharon Washington on her hugely successful playwriting debut. Sharon completed 29 performances of her solo play, Feeding the Dragon, at the City Theatre in Pittsburgh. The play is based on her own coming-of-age story.

In other entertainment news, Sean Bersell was named to the 2016 “Top 50 Movers and Shakers of Home Entertainment.” Sean is senior vice president of public affairs at Entertainment Merchants Association and makes his home in the Los Angeles area. Way to go, Sean!

Kudos to Geoff Bracken, who was selected to the “Who’s Who Energy List,” recognizing top energy leaders throughout the United States. Geoff practices law in Houston and this is his third appearance among the energy industry’s most influential players.

Geoff Hatheway and seven other ’81s recently purchased Magic Mountain, a ski resort in Londonderry, Vermont. Geoff writes that his group, which also includes Greg Hale, Lee Carson, John Westerfield, Jim Randolph, Mark Davis, Danny Evans and Randy Bodner, has “invested in creating a sustainable and profitable ‘throwback’ ski area known for its uniquely challenging terrain and laidback, non-corporate, fun ski-enthusiast, après ski vibe.” A mini ski reunion is planned there for St. Patrick’s weekend.

Molly Sundberg van Metre caught up with third-grade classmate Kevin Carpenter on a flight from Minneapolis to Hartford, Connecticut. Kevin is currently chief financial officer of the Minnesota Housing Fund and was on his way to visit his daughter, who is a senior at Amherst. Molly called their meeting “a really fun, random occurrence.”

Cindy Terzakis Gakos lives in Mendham, New Jersey, and has a passion for skating. It started at Dartmouth, where she took figure skating to fulfill a PE requirement. She took up skating again at 35 to accompany her young daughter. She has competed in adult competitions, including twice in Lake Placid at the U.S. Adult Nationals, and now skates for enjoyment several times a week. Cindy also loves ice hockey and has had season tickets to the New Jersey Devils for more than 25 years. Cindy’s brownies are legendary at the Devils’ Prudential Centre. The lore is that if a player eats one of Cindy’s brownies, he is guaranteed to score a goal during the next game!

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

I hope many of you had the chance to attend Homecoming and our joint ’81-’82 reunion. Please send your fun stories our way!

It was a pleasure to hear from K.C. Worden, a travel mate during a Toulouse foreign study junior fall. After Dartmouth K.C. went to law school in Washington, D.C., and then Harvard for an LL.M. After teaching public interest law in San Francisco for 10 years, K.C. switched to mediation and moved to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband and three children. Another career change brought her to the University of Otago Medical School, where K.C. works in health sciences. K.C. and family live a low-key, mostly rural life on the Otago Harbor.

Forever a fan of warmer climes, Jody (Awad) Evans writes that she is in her 16th year of private psychotherapy practice in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She looks forward to regular visits from Mark Frawley, whose sojourns can be depended upon to light up the island. Mark is currently working on the new musical, The Bipolar Express, for which he wrote the book, lyrics and music.

Jody also mentions seeing Mark Lotito in Jersey Boys and being mesmerized by his phenomenal talent.

In further entertainment news, Mark Hansson reports from Los Angeles that his last two shows, Animal Kingdom and Angie Tribeca, were renewed and he is grateful that interesting shows are finding audiences. Kudos to all of our talented artistic classmates. You make our crazy world a better place through your amazing creativity.

Mary Gearn was elected a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Mary, a hematologist-oncologist, has recently completed a fellowship in palliative medicine, which she now practices in Portland, Oregon. Congratulations, Mary!

Jane Alexander recently retired from 30 years in human resources management, most recently as the managing partner of the Mercer Consulting office in Minneapolis, and is now focused on board work. Jane and her husband, Chris O’Brien ’79, have recently purchased their fulltime dream home in Grand Marais, Minnesota, a small town on Lake Superior that last year was voted “The Coolest Small Town in America” by CNN. Jane writes, “I have yet to ascertain if the ‘coolest’ refers to the vibe or the temperature as both would be accurate! The community is made up of writers, artists and outdoor enthusiasts and, thankfully, lots of people with trucks who like to move snow in the winter! At times it feels a bit like we live on the old TV show, Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, as we routinely see deer, wolves, bobcat and bears in our yard, which provides our 3-year-old wheaten terrier Guster hours of viewing pleasure from a perch at a loft window.” Jane was looking forward to a late summer visit from pals Pat Berry, Jill Martin Eichner and Patti Marchand Bradbury.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 864-4491; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

A trip down memory lane brings me back to the magic of freshman winter at Butterfield and those perfectly engineered slides from second-story windows. That was enough snow for Julian Bull and Cas Stimson, now in California. Julian is in his 13th year as headmaster of a large private Los Angeles school and Cas is the past president of Old Spanish Days, which puts on a major Santa Barbara festival every year. Bill Barker reports that he and his wife are thoroughly enjoying retirement, empty-nesting and good restaurants in Chicago. Jim Doscher lives in the Boston area when not traveling, works for a semiconductor manufacturer focused on finding solutions for boosting healthcare systems and tries to get out into the great outdoors whenever possible. Jane Giffin has spent her career working for an electrical utility company in Pittsford, Vermont. Jane writes that, along with many of us, she was saddened to learn of the passing of John Rassias, who influenced her greatly. Finally, Alan Ritterband practices real estate law in Philadelphia. His youngest is off to Hanover soon as part of the class of 2020. How is that even possible?!

Laura Barbuto DeAngelo recently switched careers after obtaining her master’s in social work. She now works as a mental health specialist while continuing to train parents of children with autism in Connecticut. Mary Favret, Laura’s bestie from Hinman and my travel companion in Europe during foreign study program days, recently moved to Baltimore, where she and her husband are English professors at Johns Hopkins.

Susan Spencer has survived three changes in corporate ownership during the past two years and is still employed as a staff reporter at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Like so many of us she is facing the challenges of long-distance caregiving for an elderly parent.

And from Bob Dale: “I look forward every year to a fall gathering of Theta Delt alums for a weekend of cards, lies and laughs. The event has its own game (‘Fizzbin’), is 35-plus years running and moves around the country. Regular ’81 attendees include Tom Nee, Bill Proom, Scott Markman, Steve Horwitz, Len Jardine, Al Siegel, Lawrence Serrano, Jim Randolph, Jim Degenhardt and Terry Bonus.”Bob is self-employed as a real estate developer and homebuilder, splitting his time between Philadelphia and the Jersey shore. He’d welcome any classmates passing his way.

I caught up with Terry Bonus last March while cheering on Bob Gaudet and his boys at the ECAC Hockey Championship in Lake Placid, New York. Terry lives in Hanover and provides services remotely to Bob Dale’s business.

Finally, I’m happy to report that after 20 years in Ottawa I’ve found a classmate here! John Watson is an anesthesiologist and faculty member at the University of Ottawa. He’s in touch with Jack Krusche (of Freshman Book deer fame), an environmental engineer in Alberta.

We hope to see many of you at the ’81-’82 Homecoming reunion, which is the last weekend in October.

And please send news.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 748-6248; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Happy 2016! Since it is now officially 35 years since our graduation, it seems fitting to dedicate this column to college friendships.

Here is some news from some of my amazing One Occom Ridge housemates. From southern California, Anne Putney Swire shares happy tidings of her marriage to Astrid, with their children (two each) in attendance in a beautiful at-home ceremony ending with tango and an outdoor terrace dinner. Anne leads the advancement team at the botanic garden associated with the Claremont Colleges and keeps up her affiliations with several nonprofits dear to her heart. Searl “Lisa” Vetter reports that after 30 years of globetrotting, she and her husband have settled in Boulder, Colorado, where she hikes with her three-legged Aussie and leads a global network of leaders committed to a low-carbon future. Ellen Brout Lindsay moved back east to Amherst, Massachusetts, after 18 years in San Francisco. She and her husband have a daughter in sixth grade in Chinese and French immersion. Ellen is mostly retired and belongs to a few nonprofit boards. Chicago resident Jeannie Boutelle left the world of finance a few years ago to follow her passion for sustainable food and wine. She has several wine and spirit specialist certifications and enjoys writing. Lisa Robinson Spader lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She too has left a mainstream career to devote herself to empowering locals to make positive change in their communities. Lisa’s projects have included building a school in a rural village in India that had none, painting murals with AIDS orphans in Kenya, developing a chicken project in Guatemala to fund high school tuition for impoverished girls and providing relief to an Indian slum devastated by floods. Holly Burks Becker has been at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, for 30 years. Her field hockey fan travels with hubby Paul Becker have helped keep her connected to many old Dartmouth pals, including Ellen and Jeannie, Karen McKeel Calby, Robert “Barney” Oldfield, Annabelle Brainard Canning, Anne Hallager and Tom McGonagle, Bob VanWetter and Betsy Brew, Alain Moreaux, Pattie Marchand Bradley, Lizzie Eldridge and many others. Holly and Paul also enjoy infrequent but regular visits with Bob Smith and his family.

Suzie Sudikoff Weixel, Becky Nyren Shepherdson, Anne Minnich and Cathy Haley Rost met freshman fall in Lord Hall. Every year they gather for a long weekend to celebrate their friendship, along with partners in crime Lynne (Hamel) Gaudet and Barb Anderson. “It’s like no time has passed at all. We just talk and laugh,” says Cathy. Suzie is a writer and editor who tries to have at least one yearly life-affirming adventure, including a walking safari across Kenya and hiking the rim of the Grand Canyon. Suzie stays in touch with Dawn Decker Dowd and family. Becky and husband recently celebrated their Washington, D.C., empty nest with a trip to Europe, highlighted by a Czech Republic hike.

Please send us your news. Emil and I love and need to hear from you!

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 748-6248; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

Greetings from Canada’s capital! Emil Miskovsky and I are your new DAM scribes. Following a long hiatus away from the College I am happy to report that I once again bleed green. Reunion was amazing—joy, emotion and fun all wrapped up and tied with a bow. I even had my very own embarrassing senior moment when I called Lee Carson “Peter.” Well, it had been 34 years after all. On a sad note, Winnifred Levy lost her brave battle with multiple sclerosis that weekend. Rest in peace, Winnie.

A few notes came from classmates who weren’t able to make reunion. From Portland, Maine, Charlie Craig writes that he and his new wife, Kate, were in Chicago for a wedding. Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, whose son, Thomas ’09, tied the knot in California, continues her travels as director of global affairs for Human Rights Watch. Judy Yun was busy with the marriage of her eldest son in Pennsylvania. She reports that she, Betsy Brew and Bob Van Wetter enjoyed cheering for their Williams daughters at the NCAA Division III soccer championship in Kansas in December. Rachel Kenzie King has had a hectic year with both her children getting married. Rachel just finished a two-year term as chair of the national Biotechnology Industry Organization. She is CEO of GlycoMimetics, which has two drugs (to treat sickle cell disease and leukemia) in clinical trials.

From Tracy Bennett: “Bob Bristol and I were married on the shores of Lake Superior on August 15 surrounded by family and friends, including my five children and his daughter. Bob and I were colleagues at the Overlake School 20 years ago and reconnected by chance four years ago. He teaches history and coaches soccer there and I am head of school at Seattle Waldorf School.”

Ann Jacobus’ first novel, Romancing in the Dark in the City of Light, was released in October. It’s an edgy young adult thriller about a girl in Paris who is in love with love and death. The novel isn’t autobiographical, she says. Sharon Washington ended a week-long residency in Hanover in the summer with the New York Theatre Workshop with a reading of her new work-in-progress play, Feeding the Dragon, and is spending the fall in Louisville, Kentucky, performing in Seven Guitars at Actors Theatre.

By the time you read this the College will have honored the achievements of several of our classmates. Bill Sherman (master swimming)and Patrick King (ultimate Frisbee) will have been inducted into the Wearers of the Green at Homecoming. And once again a Dartmouth Alumni Award goes to someone from our class—congratulations, Pat Berry! Pat and Susan Adler Funk attended a symposium in May in honor of Janet Jakobsen’s 15 years as director of the Barnard Centre for Research on Women.

I am pleased to be back in the fold and hope that my own positive experience may prompt others to reconnect. Write, call and join the class Facebook page. You’ll be happy you did.

—Veronica Wessels, 224 Buena Vista Road, Rockcliffe, ON K1M0V7, Canada; (613) 748-6248; vcwessels@rogers.com; Emil Miskovsky, 77 Bates St., Suite 202, Lewiston, ME 04240; (802) 345-9861; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com

You’ve probably read or seen stories of this winter’s reunion in Hanover of four Frozen Four hockey teams, but you probably haven’t heard the story as reported by Chip Bettencourt. Organized by Lynne and Bob Gaudet, ’81s in attendance were Chip, Mark Bedard, Chris Andrews, Jim Jankowski, Chris McLaughlin and Mark Uhrynuk, who came all the way from Hong Kong! In Chip’s words, “We all descended on Smoyer Lounge for a post-game reception Friday, when many a story of the ‘good old days’ was told. We skipped Heorot and went straight to the Canoe Club to warm back up—and remember a few more stories. Saturday many of us met at Lou’s for our ‘training meal’ before heading down to the rink for our alumni hockey game. After a two-hour battle we managed a 4-4 tie and headed for the locker room to start icing our sore muscles—from the inside—with several frosties. For a second straight night we exited Thompson in the early morning hours into snow and cold. Finally on Sunday morning we were treated to a generous brunch at the Hanover Inn before we headed back to our corners of the earth.” Another bunch of ’81s gathered in late April at the Boston South End home of Jerry and Gay Bird for a mini-reunion. Hosted by the Birds and Toby and Sally Reiley, this mini-reunion combined Jerry’s ’80s with the ’81s. Sally deserves a big hand for making the hike up to the fourth-floor party just a couple of days after completing the Boston Marathon, during which she raised $10,000 for Mass Eye and Ear. The full roster of ’81s in attendance included Will Hill, Betsy Field (who came from Vermont!), Ted Hibben, Rick Silverman, Bill Burgess, Patsy Fischer, Larry Dunn and Shelley Warren Weiler. Oh yeah, I was there, too. With all the talk about mini-reunions and attention turning to our big one in June, here’s word from a couple of classmates who won’t be able to make it. Bob Spears has a couple of family graduations to attend and a long-planned trip to Africa. Bob’s working for Burlington Capital Group, a private equity and real estate management firm in Omaha, Nebraska, and is getting back into masters swimming after shoulder surgery. Rob Hoffman is going to have to miss when he attends the bachelor party for his future son-in-law—making sure everything is on the up and up, no doubt. Anne McGonagle will miss while she attends Mack Lyons’ wedding, followed by a float down the Salmon River. I guess if you can’t get to the White River….Anne also hosted an April gathering attended by ’81s Betsy Brew, Bob Van Wetter, Tom McGonagle, Chris Toll, Tim Hudner, Lisa Searl Vetter, Kevin Lewis and Tim Itin. Sadly, Chris Halloran lost his battle with cancer in late March. Rest in peace, Chris. 


—
Brian Cusack
, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com;
Robert Goldbloom
, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com


The class of 1981 continues to excel, produce and be recognized across a number of professions and pursuits. This column is being written as the holiday season peaks, and celebrating more ’81 accomplishments is the festive thing to do. Lon Povich was selected to be the top lawyer for Massachusetts Governor-elect Charlie Baker. The chief legal counsel’s duties typically include shaping the legal response to major lawsuits against the state, vetting legislation and overseeing judicial nomination. Lon is already familiar with the role, having been deputy chief legal counsel for Gov. Weld, when he worked on a reorganization of the governor’s cabinet and helped negotiate a pact with the Wampanoag tribe for a southeastern Massachusetts casino. Earlier in his career Lon worked as vice president and general counsel at Boston Consulting Group and executive vice president and general counsel at BJ’s Wholesale. Lon has served on the board of the Greater Boston Food Bank and recently won the Good Apple Award for “demonstrated dedication to public service, fairness and social justice” from the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. I did get Lon to comment: “I’ll say that I am excited to take on this challenging new role in the public sector. While at Dartmouth I interned for the chief legal counsel to the governor of Maine, and it only took me 36 years to get the job myself.” I was on student council with the new governor at Needham (Massachusetts) High School and I went on my freshman trip with Lon—is there something in all of this for me? 


Andy Lewin is the managing editor of the Magnum Legacy Series and let us know that after two years of work, the first volume, Eve Arnold, is going to press to be published in April. This volume will explore the creative process of Magnum photographers, from the agency’s early founders to more contemporary members, through a mix of biographical text, archival materials and iconic imagery. 


Dan Gilroy is the writer and director of the film, Nightcrawler (see story on him, page 30), and brother John Gilroy is the film editor. The film has been getting a lot of buzz since it premiered and as awards season ramps up it has garnered many performance and production nominations for Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit and Satellite honors. I caught wind of all this following classmate Mark Hansson on Facebook. Mark has recently been first assistant director on the critically acclaimed series The Last Ship and Masters of Sex. 


We’re a few short months away from reunion and Rick Silverman wants to make sure you know what is in store and what you can expect. Current plans include a TedX-style panel, a lobster bake and a live band Friday night, with more to come. We are clustered this year with the almost-as-great classes of 1979 and 1980—so lock this up on your calendar now. Gotta’ go—over the river and through the woods.


—Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com; Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com


Tracking down a lead regarding an annual flotilla of the Dartmouth Club of the Virgin Islands I ran into Tom Zurich, a charter member of the club. If you want to join Tom and other members of the club, the only requirements to join are having visited or lived in the Virgin Islands at any point in your life and a willingness to pay $0 in annual fees. Annual meetings are held at the Pub, a local restaurant in Road Town, Tortola, the night before the flotilla heads out. Tom has a lot more to report on life in the islands. “I moved to the British Virgin Islands [BVI] in 1990 as a charter boat captain. Aside from a few years in Little Cayman in the mid-1990s I’ve been here every since. In my years as a boat captain I sailed to most of the islands in the eastern Caribbean and made a few trips from this area to the northeastern United States via Bermuda. My wife and I went to Tonga on our honeymoon, which is another place known for great sailing waters. I can honestly say that although Tonga is quite a bit more culturally exotic for a North American, the sailing isn’t as good as what we have here in the BVI. The waters are protected, the anchorages are calm, you can eat out most nights to avoid galley duty, there are plenty of anchorages with nightlife if you want it or nothing much at all if you prefer to truly get away from it all. We have a rental property here for anyone interested, www.villamatija.com, so we’re used to answering questions about the area.” Reunion: For the first time in 15 years we will cluster again with the classes of 1979 and 1980. The reunion will run from Thursday, June 18, through Sunday, June 21. The reunion committee is rounding out nicely, and in a gratuitous effort to get as many classmate names in the column as possible, here is your class of ’81 reunion committee: Rick Silverman, chair; Lynne and Bob Gaudet, food and entertainment; Claudia Sweeney Weed, treasurer; Julie Koeninger, souvenirs; Molly Sundberg Van Metre, Emil Miskovsky, Chip Bettencourt (another noted sailor), Veronica Wessels, Sally Ankeny Reiley, Cathy Haley Rost, Kirk Eveleth Arnold, Kim Young, Dennis Ryan, Danielle Dyer, Su-Moon Paik, Robin Smoller Sullivan, Jim Jankowski and Debbie Williamson. You know what they say about more hands—if you want to help, please let Rick or Lynne know. Congratulations to our class co-agents, Lon Povich and Martin Weinstein, for their great leadership of our Dartmouth College Fund-raising effort for the class in 2014-15. Our class raised an extraordinary $737,530 with 41 percent participation. For the second year in a row, we exceeded the largest non-reunion gift in our class history.


—
Brian Cusack
, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com;
Robert Goldbloom
, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com


Members of the class of ’81 are a distinguished bunch and this spring the accolades continue to pile up. If only someone could discover springtime for New England in April. 


Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe has been honored by the Harvard Divinity School Alumni/Alumnae Council as a 2014 recipient of the Peter J. Gomes S.T.B. ’68 Memorial Honors, given annually to a small group of graduates whose lives and work exemplify the mission and values of the school. “Muffin” is the director of global affairs for Human Rights Watch. She’s served as the first U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council, appointed by President Obama in 2009. Not satisfied with her degree from Dartmouth, she has a law degree from Stanford and a Ph.D. in ethics and social theory with a focus on human rights issues from the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Theological Union. 


Dr. James Kenealy has been honored by his peers of the Middlesex West District (Massachusetts) Medical Society as its 2014 Community Clinician of the Year, recognizing his contributions as a physician. The award was presented on April 2. James is a board-certified otolaryngologist in Framingham and Milford, Massachusetts. James must like the camera, too: He’s an occasional host of Physician Focus, the health educational television program produced by the Massachusetts Medical Society, and has been a health reporter for Hopkinton Community Television.


Scott von Eschen’s PR person found me, but I went straight to the source for an update. “After I left Morgan Stanley in 1993 I partnered with Scott Halsted’s wife, Lisa. She started Adventures Cross-Country in 1983 and I bought the majority of the company from her in 1993. The Halsted and von Eschen kids have all grown up together. We have had a bunch of ’81 families send their kids with us through the years. Most recently ’81s Seth Woodberry, Lee Carson, Scott Stuart, Ben Pierce, Joe and Susan Jangro and Tom and Maribeth Ryan have all had their kids go with us to Africa, Belize, Fiji, Ecuador and Costa Rica. It has been great fun catching up with everyone. I never know who will be on the other end of the line when I pick up the phone.” 


Taking a pass on Facebook I found these juicy items: Sally Ankeny Reiley running the Boston (Strong) Marathon and Dynex CEO Byron Boston ringing the New York Stock Exchange closing bell. 


If you are reading this before June 30 there is still time to contribute to the Dartmouth College Fund before the end of the fiscal year. Did you know tuition covers only 43 percent of the total cost of the student experience? The College relies on gifts from alumni to make up the difference. In 2013 gifts from alumni, parents and friends made up 23 percent of Dartmouth’s annual budget. Finally, reunion is only a year away. If you want to help, drop a line to Rick Silverman at litlriki@gmail.com. 


—
Brian Cusack
, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com;
Robert Goldbloom
, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com 


I am playing puck again. I have not been on an organized team since my days teaching at Tabor, some 15 years ago, and it is a gas—the up and down the ice, the slap shots sprayed all over the place, the creaky good feeling I have the next day (and the day after that). I missed it those 15 years and am very glad to be back.


And it’s a small ovoid world on that ice surface. I asked a teammate who teaches at the Potomac School, “Do you know Ned Mandel?” And he sure did—the son Ned Mandel, that is. I know the father Ned Mandel and had a great visit with our classmate at the start of June. Ned is the new development director at the Septima Clark Public Charter School, the only all-male public charter school in the District of Columbia. At the moment the school has preschool through second grade and will continue to add a grade each year until eighth grade. Ned and the team at Septima Clark are working hard at raising money and looking for new space, the bane of many startup charters. If you live in D.C. keep your eyes open for space, Ned asks, and visit him at Septima Clark. It is a cool and important little place.


Ray Hiley wrote some time ago that his oldest daughter Alexa just finished her frosh year at Bates College, where she played junior varsity soccer. Megan, daughter No. 2, just finished her junior year at the local high school and is deep into her college search. Ray’s wife, Lisa, is an editor at Storey Publishing in North Adams, Massachusetts, and specializes in books about animals, which is more than appropriate given that the Hiley household includes a horse, dog, three cats and a bird. When not keeping the cats away from the bird Ray is the in-house environmental lawyer for Momentive Performance Materials, an Albany, New York-based global chemical manufacturer. He also bikes, hikes and plays squash.


Six faculty members in Johns Hopkins’ Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences were among the 180 artists, scholars and scientists named Guggenheim Fellows by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and classmate Amanda Anderson was one of those recipients. Amanda is the Caroline Donovan Professor of English Literature and chair of the department and specializes in critical theory and 19th-century British literature and culture. Her Guggenheim project “reconsiders the relation between liberal aesthetics and philosophical liberalism, focusing on the way that a dialectic of skepticism and hope characterizes both traditions,” Anderson said. “I will spend the grant period in Baltimore researching and writing.”


Had a great Facebook connection with former New Hamp dormitory denizen Doron Ezickson. A partner at McDermott, Will and Emery, Doron wrote that we “have lived in London for three years and it’s all that we hoped.” Doron, his wife, Kelly, and their kids Josh (16), Zach (14), Noah (11) and Abby (5) had embarked on what they had thought would be a one-year adventure, which they have obviously extended and plan to continue for a few more years. “The children are getting an expanded world view at the American School of London,” wrote Doron. “Highlights include music performances in Qatar, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Morocco; history in Wales, Italy, France and Spain; and sports tournaments in Belgium, Holland and Scotland. While rejecting cricket, the boys have committed to rugby and (European) football and young Abby can speak ‘posh’ English on cue. Any ’81s visiting London should drop us a line.”


—Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com; Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net


Logging on to Facebook I’m struck by the number of birthday greetings classmates are receiving as we hit the big 5-0. As Jane Alexander notes, “I’m glad my kids pushed me into this new world of communication. I have especially enjoyed congratulating and consoling one another as our odometers click past 50.” Jane recently celebrated her birthday in Bethel, Maine, but writes that the highlight of her summer was a week spent at her cabin in Grand Marais, Minnesota, with husband Chris O’Brien ’79 and their four children Tim, Erin, SuLin and Des. “It was spectacular weather and we did it all—paddling in the Boundary waters, walleye fishing and hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail. It was nice to be together before our oldest son Tim starts his freshman year at the University of Puget Sound. Tim is truly ready to launch but Mom is having a really rough time with the impending separation.” 


Martin Weinstein’s children are keeping him young. On July 18 Martin and his wife Lori, along with 7-year-old brothers Max and Ethan, welcomed Joshua Michael Weinstein into the world. Max and Ethan are enjoying being big brothers and they play a variety of sports, including hockey, baseball and soccer. Martin, who ran track at Dartmouth, admits he has never done much in the way of winter sports—until now. As he explains, “The boys’ love of hockey prompted Lori to buy me my first pair of skates for my 50th birthday. Over the past few months I’ve learned how to skate—a bit—and actually joined a competitive adult ice hockey team for beginning adults. I was just elected captain of the Washington Gators!” When not on the ice or otherwise trying to keep pace with the kids Martin is a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Washington, D.C., where he chairs the compliance and enforcement practice group, sits on the firm’s business committee and helps manage the office. Lori is a U.S. federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice and, as Martin insists, “the true athlete in the family.” 


Barb Barker Schulze of Sunderland, Massachusetts, has been staying young by completing “a few triathlons since hitting the half-century mark and having an empty nest.” Barb and husband Rob just celebrated their 27th anniversary and still love living in New England. Their eldest daughter, Rachel, is married and their son Chris is getting married in June 2010. Their third child, Emily, just graduated from Biola University in California and their youngest, Will, is a sophomore at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. As Barb comments, “We are in no hurry to become grandparents, but we’ll cherish the day when it happens. I am still enjoying the challenges of teaching chemistry in a public high school. Life is good!”


Life’s been good for Susan Weiss Spencer, who has parlayed more than 25 years of experience as a writer, photographer and executive in the nonprofit and public policy sectors into a freelance writing and photography business. Sue shuttles between the Worcester, Massachusetts, suburbs and the family’s vacation home in Brewster, Massachusetts, and her work can be seen in regional magazines such as Cape Cod Life, Worcester Living and Rhode Island Monthly and nationally in Sister 2 Sister. She also contributes weekly to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Meanwhile daughter Dana’s and son Colin’s school activities occupy much of Sue’s spare time, as she “wants to make the most of the time before the teens leave the nest.” 


I’m still trying to figure out how to celebrate my upcoming “big birthday,” but I do plan to be in Hanover for the class birthday party October 23-25. To sign up, please go to www.dartmouth.org/classes/81. See you then!


—Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net; Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com


This winter classmate Mark Hansson received his seventh Directors Guild of America Award nomination for his assistant director work, this time for an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The two TV series on which he works, Glee and Curb, garnered four out of the five nominations in the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series category. I have to be honest and say that I don’t regularly watch either, but I will ask Mark to intro me to actress Jane Lynch; she makes me laugh and laugh and laugh. Mark’s upcoming projects include the Fox TV series Terriers and the feature film Beautiful Boy, with Michael Sheen and Maria Bello, due out this fall.


John Dodd is well and busy and living in Greenville, Delaware. He works at Security Global Investors, joining this joint about two years ago after his old company U.S. Trust was purchased by Bank of America. John tells me that they are hiring, “particularly on our alternatives, hedge funds, quantitative and product side of things. We’re rolling out many new offerings now and this spring. I’ve been on the road, talking to institutional investors all over the country.” On the family side John and his wife, Chrissy, have been skiing on what passes for mountains in the Mid-Atlantic with daughters Haley (9) and Grayson (7) and son Reece (3). “We got Reece up on skis for the second time last weekend,” John wrote. The girls are at the Sanford School, an 80-year-old institution started by a Dartmouth grad, and John and Chrissy have trouble keeping their beanstalks in clothes that fit these days. For example, Haley is already 5 feet, 2 inches and playing volleyball with middle school-age teams. Guess that happens when John marries Chrissy, who can just about dunk at 6 feet tall.


Mark Zehner called when I was shoveling snow—come soon, spring, please—and it was great to hear about new work challenges, his wife, Peggy, and their boys Ryan and Brendan. “Ryan’s a sophomore at Dartmouth,” Mark told me, “and just pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon.” Brendan is a junior at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philly—both boys went there—and takes part in forensics, where he specializes in extemporaneous speaking. Peggy teaches AP American history at Springfield Township High School in Erdenheim, Pennsylvania. After 12 years in private practice at the Philadelphia office of Saul Ewing, Mark has been at the Securities and Exchange Commission also for 12 years, where recently he was promoted. Within the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mark is now the deputy chief of the municipal securities and public pensions unit.


Former ’81 column scribe Stephen Godchaux is busy writing the screen adaptation of Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer, which won the National Book Award in 1962 and is set in New Orleans. “I’m not the first screenwriter to be asked to take a crack at it,” Stephen wrote, “and I have no illusions about being the last. But a kid can dream.” He’s renting a house in the Big Easy from January to May, looking for inspiration, and just sold a pilot to USA Network with its basic premise, as Stephen wrote, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—if you have a good lawyer. Lawyers in Vegas. So we’ll see.”


Lastly a quick note from Charlie Jacobs: “My daughter Katherine is a member of the class of 2013 and we enjoyed helping her and the Dartmouth Outing Club attempt the AT In a Day in October by hiking a challenging section in Maine.”


—Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com; Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net

We go to the Big Apple Circus and have a great time, as always, although I miss Paul Binder ’63, Big Apple cofounder, now that he no longer travels with the show. I particularly liked the Spanish performer named Picaso Jr., who “juggles” five ping-pong balls via his mouth. Shoots them high into the air and then catches them, one after the other. I swallow hard imagining one going down the wrong way. Around that same time I hear from Jens Larson, who was once a circus performer and now performs in front of a tough audience, high school sophomores. “I’m still teaching geometry in a public high school here in Phoenix, Arizona,” Jens wrote.


Jens and his wife, Maggie Keane, have a 13-year-old named Kyle who has—surprise, surprise—taken an interest in the circus. “He can ride a unicycle and has learned to juggle,” Jens continued, “which is to say he has acquired all the relevant skills that I brought to my first job after graduating from Dartmouth. No need to send him to college, I guess.” Kyle bounces on the trampoline in their back yard, balances brooms on his chin and is learning to climb an unsupported ladder. “It’s harder than it looks to wiggle around on the ladder and keep it underneath you while you climb,” wrote Jens.


Jens and Maggie were still in the circus business until Kyle was about 3, and their boys picked up this interest through frequent visits to shows and contacts with friends from their past. “I can’t hide how much fun it is to see him take an interest in this stuff,” finished Jens, “quite different from the reaction I experienced from my own parents. I can still picture my mother’s face the moment she heard me explain my intention to join a circus—a mixture of stunned silence and horror.”


Gino Gabianelli wrote that he practices ophthalmology in Atlanta and that he and his wife, Nancy, have three children, Joey, Anna and John. “Joey’s headed to Hanover this fall,” wrote Gino, “and we’ll make the journey in his waste veg-oil powered diesel pickup. Anna is very involved in cross country (all talent inherited from her mom’s side of the family) and John is busy attempting to dominate his father in golf.” During the past year Gino’s enjoyed two medical mission trips to Leon, Nicaragua, and is working on a long-term surgical mission relationship with a hospital there that needs much equipment and training.


Lastly, from the very busy Sharon Washington: “Last summer I finished shooting two indie films set for release this year, Two Mothers and Rocksteady; had a multi-episode character arc playing the slightly crooked FBI agent Hawkins on Damages; and was an ER nurse with an attitude on Royal Pains.” This year Sharon has originated the role of The Lady in The Scottsboro Boys, the last unproduced musical by the legendary Kander and Ebb at New York’s Vineyard Theatre, directed by five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman. “Although I don’t sing in it,” she wrote, “and actually don’t really speak and dance just a little it’s been the ultimate acting challenge: to listen and be alive and present. I’m having a blast.”


The musical will play at the Guthrie in Minneapolis before its Broadway world premiere at the Lyceum, a first for Sharon. “Twenty years in the business,” she said, “and it will be my first time on Broadway! I guess it’s never too late for a debut.”


Believe it or not Sharon has time to keep in touch with a passel of classmates: Mark Frawley, Mark Lotito, Pam Mason-Wagner, Byron Boston, Laurel Richie and Jean Brown.


—Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com; Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net 


You never can tell what may happen when a group of former Phi Delt brothers get together, as they recently did in Denver. Fortunately, they gathered at Chris Toll’s house, where Chris, who is a longtime partner at Holland & Hart, could at least make sure that nothing illegal transpired. 


It was good to hear from Michael Leede and Tim Hudner, who were both there. Michael and his wife have been in the Denver area for more than 25 years. Their two sons are now grown up and living in California. Business and family are all healthy, he reports.


Tim left the full-time work world a few years ago. “These days,” he says, “my wife, Jean, and I spend most of our time in Grand Junction [Colorado], where my son Sandy lives. Our daughter Sara ’10 lives in N.Y.C. I keep busy working with a number of organizations that provide services to people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. We also enjoy the full range of outdoor activities in Colorado. Plus I recently got my private pilot’s license, so I plan to explore some of the more remote parts of the West this summer.”


Being practically next door in Kansas, Bill Sherman had to be there too. “Fred” seems to be covering all kinds of territory these days, visiting Dartmouth connections coast to coast. He also has an alumna daughter (Elizabeth ’08) living in N.Y.C. and another daughter, Ali, living in Chile.


Just a message from Beth Shapiro Lewyckyj was all it took to get six ’81s together with fellow Washingtonians from the classes of ’82, ’83 and ’84 for dinner at Chef Geoff’s after President Hanlon’s D.C. reception. Beth and her husband, Ray, will soon reach the end of an eight-year run as Dartmouth parents when their son Jonathan ’14 graduates. 


Frank Broner was there with his wife, Annette, and son Aaron. Jim Payne enjoyed the evening and so did Jerry Pierce. Jerry owns an expanding business and government consulting firm, the Interamerica Group, which promotes trade and creates partnerships in Latin America for American companies. 


Business is also booming for Rachel Kenzie King. GlycoMimetrics, the biotech company that she cofounded, just went public in January. Rachel and her husband, John ’82, have a daughter teaching in North Carolina and a son in med school at nearby Georgetown. 


And three snaps for Kevin Lynch, who came all the way to the D.C. mini-reunion from Portland, Oregon. Kevin is in charge of external affairs for Iberdrola Renewables. “Ironically, I had been in D.C. just the week before to meet with, among others, Tom Kiernan, who leads our industry’s trade association.”


Personally, it was great to see Doug and Molly Van Metre in N.Y.C. when they came to town to watch their daughter Mary ’14 swim vs. Columbia. Jim Delisle attended too, practically making it a mini-reunion. Mary capped her career in style the following week at the Ivy champs, achieving personal bests as one of the team’s high scorers. 


—Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com; Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com


In early August I went to see JayZ and Justin Timberlake at Fenway Park with my son Liam and one of his friends. As we watched the crowd we found ourselves trying to segment the audience—who were Jay fans and who was there for J.T.? Then it struck me that I was being judged similarly—I wonder what camp they had me in? From the extended 617….Last summer Hap Brakeley’s house in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was overtaken by Sony pictures. Adam Sandler, Salma Hayek and crew took over the place to film Grown Ups 2. Hap tried to get Adam out for some golf, but Adam was content to play hoops and swim. Hap wants you to know, “the deer is not real.” After 12 years on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Eric Pierce and his family returned to the Boston area two years ago. Eric is director of the Ocular Genomics Institute in the department of ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School. He and wife Debora Hoffman and their daughters Emma and Hannah live in Belmont. Jeff Johnson reports that daughter Holly is entering her fourth year at Gettysburg College as a math major (like her dad was at Dartmouth) and is on the women’s tennis team. Jeff and Holly just finished their fifth national father-daughter doubles tennis tournament at Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Son Chris is entering his second year of graduate school for physics at UMass-Lowell after graduating from Union College. Jeff and Chris have hiked 87 percent of the Appalachian Trail in sections during the past 16 years. Jeff’s wife, Susan, whom he met at Dartmouth, takes care of all of their home duties while he continues his work as an emergency physician at the local community hospital. Allen Smith’s oldest daughter graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 2010 and will be starting in the physician assistant program at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. His oldest son just graduated from Bowdoin College and is working for a company that creates apps for large corporations. Son No. 2 will be a sophomore at New England College while son No. 3 will be a sophomore at Pingree School in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Allen reports: “I was fortunate to be able to run the Boston Marathon on April 15 for Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where I work. I finished about 10 minutes before the terrorist bombs went off and was lucky to be among the ones who got out safely but was very proud of what the caregivers all around Boston were able to accomplish on that day.” Lynn Noel is now a program manager of IT collaboration services at NTT Data, the sixth largest global IT service provider. Lynn remarried in 2009, and she and her husband live in Waltham, Massachusetts. ’Til next time, “I’m so far ahead of my time, I’m ’bout to start another life. Look behind you, I’m ’bout to pass you twice.”


—Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com; Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com


The biggest news involving classmates is that Laurel Richie has been appointed a trustee of the College and Mark Davis was elected president of the Alumni Council. Actually, Mark first serves as president-elect for a year before assuming the full mantle, which coincidentally is just now being vacated by Danielle Dyer. Mark says, “I was really honored to be elected. I’ve enjoyed my time on the Alumni Council; it’s a great window into what is happening at the College and a great platform to get more involved.” Mark is an investment banker and currently CEO of Lank Group. Laurel is a former advertising and marketing executive and is now president of the WNBA. 


I remember only a couple years ago Greg Clow (our class president at the time) wondering aloud, “How come we haven’t had any trustees from our class?” Well, the gods must have heard that. Laurel joins Bill Burgess and Annette Gordon-Reed as one of three current trustees from the class of ’81. We are a force!


It was also great to see Annette at the recent mini-reunion in N.Y.C. that I co-hosted with Jim Delisle before she had to fly to California the next morning for a historical conference. For his part, Jim is working on various new business ventures, but still finds time to hike in the Presidentials with Peter “Boot” Weller and to help coach soccer at the local high school on Manhattan’s West Side.


At the mini-reunion I also had some good chat time with Peter Corren, Jenny Hoadley and Pancho Ryan. Peter owns a marketing display business running everything from design to delivery. Jenny is back in school pursuing a degree in nursing. Pancho is an architect who not only designs buildings but also consults to large architectural firms, helping them to integrate the latest and greatest design software into their operations. 


We did learn some interesting news from those who were not able to make the mini-reunion. It turns out that Etienne Boillot is in Barcelona with his family “just for fun” and plans to stay there for a couple more years watching the economic meltdown. Danielle Schanz was kept away by a “litigation emergency,” which comes with the territory when you’re a senior attorney at FINRA. She did say she had a wonderful time at an earlier event in N.Y.C. honoring Dartmouth veterans, including members of the class of ’42 who recently published the book Dartmouth at War as part of a class project. “I thanked them for their service,” she says, “as it permitted my father to survive the Holocaust (he was on Schindler’s list) and send his daughter to Dartmouth.” (Who knew?!)


For you guys who still have young ’uns, be sure to pick up Greg Slayton’s acclaimed new book, Be a Better Dad Today. Greg emphasizes the importance of fatherhood, regardless of situation, and gives “10 tools” to guide fathers on their journey.


—Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com; Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com


Go to dartmouth81.org/dartmouth/81.html for the latest class news.


—Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com; Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com


It’s great to get news from some classmates we haven’t heard from in a while. Such as Bill Barker,who recently traded in his Chicago reverse commute for a job as CFO of a “pre-IPO” tech company called Trustwave. He is coming to terms with being the oldest person at the company. “It’s a very steep learning curve (I think they make up extra acronyms just to throw me off), but I am enjoying the role.”


John Dodd is living outside of Wilmington, Delaware, but working two to three days a week out of N.Y.C. for an equity and hedge fund firm. “I run the sales and marketing side and still find myself on the road a lot.” He still has three kids at home, ages 12, 10 and 6. They’re involved in multiple activities, but they’re all tall and (most importantly!) they are all swimmers.


Having trouble getting a handle on Twitter? See Jill Carpenter. She has two Twitter handles: @jcclicks and @ptsdinfo. Jill reports that she and her husband, George ’80, recently got to travel together on business like never before. “I was invited to attend the State of the Union address at the White House and a panel discussion following based on my social media expertise. I took photos for the inauguration book.” (That’s the “jcclicks” part.) She also curates information on post-traumatic stress disorder, so she was right at home at the National Press Club when George—as CEO of CNS Response—announced a major psychiatric trial his company was starting. The Carpenters have three kids who all share their parents’ high-tech or medical yen. 


We managed to coax Mike Steinharter to come out. Mike is working at Xerox and still maintaining four kids on the family payroll: three of them in college or grad school. He keeps in touch with soccer buddies “like Brian Hitchcock and Abner Oakes, where we talk trash about global soccer happenings.”


Patsy Fisher reports that it has been great fun reconnecting with Chris Blaski, who is back at Dartmouth as a student in the master of healthcare delivery science program, where Patsy is director of student and alumni affairs. 


Sally Johnson has been busy rebuilding a house from the footings up with her boyfriend. And now they are building a home together, along with Sally’s two new teenage stepchildren. “Nancy Green Oey and Diane Bennett both came to the wedding. Nancy was one of the six women who rowed me (photos on Facebook!) to the blessed event.”


Taking B.G. Sykes’ boat would have been a little easier. He offers an open invitation to classmates coming through Florida to stay aboard. B.G. and his wife, Cathy, have been working hard to put their two daughters through college. 


Speaking of which, Tim Fredel, Danielle Dyer, Toby and Sally Reiley, Nancy Baskin, Bob and Lynne Gaudet and Su-Moon Paik all learned recently that their once-little girls will soon be daughters of Dartmouth in the class of ’17!


—Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com; Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com


On his website Dave Pine writes that he “is excited to share with you that I am a candidate for a seat on the San Mateo County [California] board of supervisors” in a special election that will be held on May 3.


Our classmate has an impressive record of public service in that part of California. He currently serves on the San Mateo Union High School District school board, was a school board member for the Burlingame School District and was a Redwood City planning commissioner, among other civic activities. Work-wise, Dave is an attorney in Silicon Valley, where he has lived since 1985, and was general counsel for three tech companies: Handspring, Excite@Home and Radius. He and his wife, Jane, have two boys: Kevin (10) and Jack (7).


Let’s stay in California: Santa Barbaran Cas Stimson wrote that he and his wife, Kathy, are excited that their oldest daughter Kelsey is a member of the Dartmouth class of 2015. “We were a little surprised when she applied early decision,” Cas said, “as I tried not to put too much pressure on her to go green!” Their other child, Kathleen, is in the eighth grade. “With Kelsey off to college and Kathleen off to high school,” Cas finished, “the family dynamics will be quite different—at least the weather in Santa Barbara is consistent and will help us through the change.”


Cas and Kathy saw Brad Baldridge when they attended a bash before the Dartmouth/UCLA men’s soccer match this past November.


More from that state: John Madden wrote that he “can’t believe it’s been almost five years since our 25th.” He and his wife, Fresca, live in Tiburon, north of San Francisco, and John works for the “frequently renamed Bank of America Merrill Lynch.” Son Brooks is a sophomore at Georgetown and, as with Kelsey Stimson, daughter Kendall is a member of the Dartmouth class of 2015. “I sign everything I send to her ‘Dad ’81,’ ” finished John.


Tori McGeer holds a tenured research position at the Princeton University Center for Human Values, with lecturing responsibilities in the department of philosophy. “I’m on sabbatical this year,” Tori wrote, “spending my time as a visiting scholar at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. I’m also catching up on a lot of yoga and otherwise glorying in the delights of the Bay Area.”


View Tori’s bio and you’ll see her wide range of academic interests, from moral psychology to the problems of self-knowledge and the metaphysics of the mind. Tori is married to Philip Pettit, who also teaches at Princeton.


Indianan Mary Favret wrote to say that they got “more ice than snow last week, and a half-inch of solid ice can be nearly as debilitating as 20 inches of snow.” Mary and her husband, Andrew Miller, have two kids, Cassie (13) and Ben (11), and both were off from school for three days. Cassie spent the time writing the next great American novel; Ben spent it eking out more time on various video games. Mary and Andrew are English professors at Indiana University, and Mary’s most recent book, War at a Distance: Romanticism and the Making of Modern Wartime, received very good reviews. In fact, one review appeared on a website edited by former Dartmouth professor James Heffernan, one of Mary’s former teachers. Mary finished by saying that she and “family will be living in the United Kingdom next year, in Oxford,” and she wonders if there are classmates in the vicinity.


Now, Team ’81, have you made your plans to be at reunion this June 16-19?


—Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com; Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net


Mini-reunions are a great way to maintain contact between on campus reunions, recharge old friendships and get exposure to a number of interesting experiences. Classmate John Sconzo, a man of diverse skills and interests, organized a mini-reunion recently in N.Y.C., and sent along this account:


“On Wednesday, November 30, a group of classmates and partners convened for an intimate dinner at the Portuguese- and Asian-inflected Michelin-starred restaurant Aldea in N.Y.C. The group included Pat Berry, Wendy Brooks, Peter Corren, Jim Delisle, Robert Hoffman and Danielle Schanz. Chef George Mendez prepared a delectable menu with first course choices that included his signature shrimp Alinho or salad or mussel soup or foie gras terrine, a main course of sea-salted Chatham cod or wild mushroom risotto or wild striped bass or suckling pig along with a bevy of desserts and Chef Mendes’ signature Asian-influenced sea urchin toast. Ensconced in our own private room, we had a blast resuming old friendships and starting new ones. So much fun was being had, that we neglected to take a group photo!” Doesn’t it just make your mouth water? 


A couple of upcoming mini-reunions are planned for the New England area: Classmate and trustee Bill Burgess will be hosting a mini-reunion at his home for Boston area classmates on March 8. This will be a chance to hear from our two classmate trustees, Bill and Annette Gordon-Reed. Just 10 days later Geoff Hatheway is organizing an ’81 ski weekend at Magic Mountain in southern Vermont the weekend of March 17 (a very, very green St. Paddy’s Day)!


There are a number of ways to source column material and one of my favorites is walking the streets of Boston. On a recent stroll in the financial district I ran into George McLaughlin, who told me about his son George’s college selection process. Check out George the Younger’s skills on YouTube, showing moves his dad once displayed on the lawn of Alpha Delta during outdoor bands. George the Younger was named to the Boston Herald’s all-scholastic team. 


After serving three years as our class representative to the Alumni Council, Mark Davis is coming to the end of his term. We thank Mark for his time and service and for keeping us informed of council activities. 


The mission of the 126-member council is to sustain a fully informed, representative and engaged exchange of information and sentiment between alumni and their College and to enhance and inspire alumni involvement that furthers the mission of the College. Terms last three years and meetings occur twice annually for two to three days per session. This position is a great way to stay in touch with the action in Hanover. If you are interested in serving as our representative to the council or hosting a mini-reunion in your town, please reach out directly to Robert or me. Updates and details on many class events and class news can also be found on our class website and our Facebook page. 


—Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (781) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com; Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; rgoldbloom@optonline.net


This column is being written about one and a half miles and 10 days away from the horrific and inexplicable events at the Boston Marathon. 


Father John Connolly, pastor at St. Brendan Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts, led a prayer vigil on April 16 to remember Martin Richard, the 8-year-old killed that Monday. 


“Good and gracious God, we come before you this evening with hearts full of sorrow and sadness, anger and confusion. We come before you as residents of a neighborhood who have been touched all too directly by the reality of violence and evil in our midst,” Father Connolly said. He closed the vigil with a blessing: “May Almighty God bless and console the Richard family, all of us, our city, our commonwealth and our country in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”


Following the blessing the crowd spontaneously began singing “God Bless America.” As difficult as it is to move on from that, we must while keeping Martin and the many other victims in our memories. 


Other classmates lead in other ways. David Courtney was recently named general partner and chief operating officer of Crosslink Capital. Crosslink is a stage-independent venture capital and growth firm. 


Rachel King was named as the first female chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, a group representing more than 1,100 organizations. Rachel is the president and CEO of GlycoMimetics Inc.Others celebrated leadership at the recent Greenways Weekend, the community celebration of coeducation at Dartmouth. Classmates serving as speakers, panelists or moderators included Annette Gordon-Reed, Sharon Washington, Lisa Conte, Lynn Gaudet and Pamela Mason Wagner. Pamela is an Emmy Award winner and her most recent work is Makers: Women Who Make America. Laurel Richie, trustee and the president of the WNBA, delivered the keynote, where she declared, “Every day is an opportunity to show the world what is possible.” Had you gone, you would have also seen Julie Koeninger, Susan Spencer, Julie Matuschak, Sue Reed, Beth Shapiro and Ellen Brout.


Some lead in diplomacy. Chip Bettencourt just signed a lease for a flat in Paris, a few doors up from a bistro promoting beer pong. According to Chip, the French play beer pong with a glass of wine in their hand. Chip may be looking for a partner for the next game. 


Others lead charmed lives. Jim “Okie” Randolph ran into Gordy and Bobby Davenport skiing atop Telluride, Colorado, recently, where hairlines were compared. Jim said the occasion felt like everyone had last met only three years ago, not 30. Mark Jeffrey reports from St. Louis, Missouri, where he does marketing and marketing development for Solutia. He and wife Jennie recently added a Vizsla puppy to the household while sons Chris and Scott are off at school.


Some lead in the arts. Fraser Smith’s work was recently featured at the Katonah Museum of Art’s “Beyond the Bed: The American Quilt Evolution.” 


Time for you to lead—last chance to give to the College Fund, www.dartmouthcollegefund.org/give.


—Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (617) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com; Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; robertgoldbloom@gmail.com


It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since our 25th reunion when I took on this role of co-secretary with Abner Oakes. As I look forward to seeing many of you at our 30th reunion around the time this, my last column, hits your mailboxes, I am grateful for the privileges of the job. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to reconnect with old friends while getting to know classmates I’d never met before. Thank you for trusting me to share personal stories such as these:


Marc Chabot has been teaching science at Thetford Academy in Thetford, Vermont, for 15 years. A Thetford parent shared the news that the robotics team he formed this past January recently placed fourth in the Vex Robotics world championship in Orlando, Florida. As Marc notes, “We went from coming in dead last in our first meet to reaching the finals in the next three. At the final meet we qualified for the championship event. The Thetford community rallied around us, and we raised the funds to send the team to Orlando in just a week.” Out of the 104 teams in their division, Thetford finished the qualifying rounds in fourth place, but lost in the elimination rounds. In addition to his robotics team success Marc is one of 50 science teachers nationwide recently awarded a Siemens STEM Institute Fellowship to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics this summer in Washington, D.C. Marc and his partner, Cindy Perry, live in Thetford Center, Vermont, and have four adult children.


Doug Graham lives in Birmingham, Michigan, with his wife, Janet. Doug writes, “Janet is a very successful real estate agent in the Birmingham-Bloomfield Hills area. I work in the private equity and venture capital world.” Doug is chairman and CEO of Detroit Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Bloomfield Hills that specializes in early stage, development, distressed situations and growth capital investments. As Doug notes, “We are currently looking at relocating out of Michigan, preferably to the West Coast. I would love to move to San Francisco or Palo Alto if the opportunity is right! We both love the area and find the environment surrounding the university stimulating!”


Mary Lauzon Long lives right here in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Mary is a part-time anesthesiologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where her husband, Jack Long ’79, is a urologist. Mary and I caught up recently while riding the exercise bikes at our local gym. As the parent of a high school freshman, I appreciated Mary’s willingness to share some “words of wisdom” gained from her experience in navigating the local high school experience with her kids. Oldest daughter Katie, a senior, will be going to Bucknell in the fall and oldest son Stephen, is a junior at Wellesley High. Younger sons Brian, in eighth grade, and Matthew, in fifth grade, round out the Long household. 


In the midst of writing this column I received the exciting news that our own Laurel Richie has been appointed president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). When I contacted her, Laurel said, “I am really excited about joining the WNBA—these women are amazing athletes and role models for young girls. I hope to see ’81s and their families at the games!” Laurel comes to the WNBA from Girl Scouts of the USA, where she was chief marketing officer. She has received a number of awards during her career and earlier this year was named one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business by The Network Journal. 


Again, thanks for sharing the stories of your lives. Abner’s last column will feature the reunion. Hope to see you there. Cheers!


—Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net; Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com


Attention classes of 1978 through 1984! Yes, you! We know you read our column, checking for names of old comrades. Well, since you don’t get much other news about the great class of 1981, we thought you should know that for the last year we were named Class of the Year!


Just wanted to share that good news with you. (Okay, and maybe rub your noses just a bit.)


And now it’s time to make the doughnuts: Wendy Whitlock Cornish has a new lease on life. She is now living in Palo Alto, California, working in S.F., and hardly ever needing to use her car. Ann Jacobus Kordahl is also in San Francisco, writing creatively for children as her own have been going through Dartmouth. In a nearly parallel existence on the East Coast, Pat Berry is writing creatively and has a daughter at Dartmouth. And Ann and Pat are among the many classmates who have developed their own blog. It sounds like you two should be swapping some good stories.


Jim Slavin has been found alive and well and living in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He and Doreen have been busy raising kids. No wonder he’s been so mysterious all these years.


It was great to run in to Frank “Pancho” Ryan at a recent Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network event in N.Y.C. Pancho has his own architectural design firm.


Thinking back on some of the other ’81s I saw at reunion for the first time in many years: Gary Weiner and his family made the trek in the family van from Salina, Kansas, where Gary is an ophthalmologist. Mike Komara is an electrical engineer cum consultant with all kinds of experience and patents in wireless communications. He came from Florida with his daughter. Linda Gundal came from Germany, Tom Waldo from Alaska, and Pam Hedstrom was just back from Haiti, where she had been working to try to help them sort out the mess in their financial infrastructure. And how wonderful was it to see Annette Taylor! Annette is a microbiologist/immunologist and the director of a genetics lab near Denver.


Everyone from George Alexakos to Tariq Zaman has joined our new “Class of 1981” LinkedIn group. It is really an essential forum for us to collaborate in areas of shared professional interest or to help classmates establish beneficial connections to others. I, for one, didn’t realize that Tom Farmer recently founded his own communications firm, built on his extensive experience in broadcast journalism and marketing strategy. Or that Jeff Meer has been all over the world for the past two decades, first as a U.S. State Department Foreign Service officer and more recently as an advisor and advocate serving a myriad of public health and development nonprofits. So please join the LinkedIn group. (Sorry all you other ’78s to ’84s, this one’s for ’81s only.)


—Robert Goldbloom, 324 Warburton Ave., Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706; (914) 231-5117; rgoldbloom@optonline.net; Brian Cusack, 26 Ocean Ave., Marblehead, MA 01945; (781) 710-7228; briancusack13@gmail.com