Our 55th Reunion was a jolly good affair - which nobody can deny! Camaraderie was rampant as we renewed the friendships formed at Yale and formed some new ones. Some 147 classmates and 6 widows attended. Spouses and guests swelled our group to near 260. Perhaps they were not quite as quick of step nor keen of eye as they were at the 50th. However, on the average our classmates appeared to be fitter and certainly less obese than their septuagenarian counterparts in the general population.
Kudos should be heaped upon Reunion Chairman, Frank Wilton, and all members of his 55th Reunion Committee for their outstanding planning and execution of the entire affair! The AYA staff, and Jennifer Julier, the AYA representative for our class in particular, deserve a hearty round of applause as well.
With the Branford Courtyard as our home base, we ventured forth to sample lectures, workshops, tours, museums and such. A few showers Saturday and Sunday didn't slow us down or dampen our spirits. The kitchen staff of Branford provided us with sumptuous breakfasts, lunches and dinners to fuel us in our endeavors.
Hooray! The Reunion Photos you've been waiting for are now available. Frank Wilton's Reunion Camera program provided a blizzard of photos, some candid, some posed. But take a look to see if you or your friends are among them. (If any of the captions are incorrect, please notify the Webmaster, Don McCoy.
The Interest Groups, held in Linsly-Chittenden Hall, gave us an opportunity to commune with classmates and their wives with whom we shared such common interests as travel, sailing, gardening, reading, writing, volunteering, etc.
The University outdid itself this time in providing its most knowledgeable and entertaining professors to enlighten us about their areas of scholarship and expertise. There were so many outstanding lectures during each time slot, it was difficult to choose among them. Those who attended the lecture by Professor Marvin Chun on "Probing the Secrets of the Mind" were treated to an amazing demonstration of the brain's ability to concentrate on certain images and block out others. If you would like to see the film clip of the "Invisible Gorilla" one more time, click here.
The Bales-Gitlin Jazz Trio reached back in time to resurrect some of "our kind of music." It was amazing to see those tired, arthritic old bodies out there on the dance floor getting down and dirty and putting on the moves. One would have suspected they were pouring "fountain of youth juice" at the bar.
The entire text of the moving Class Memorial Service conducted in Battell Chapel by the Reverends George Dole, Anne Kimball and Philip Parham along with the names of those classmates have who left us since the 50th Reunion is now available on this website. Be sure to read the poem following the names of departed classmates written by Susan Jaffer, widow of classmate Joseph Jaffer after attending the service.
Many of our reunioning classmates enjoyed the showings in the Branford lounge of the 50th Reunion video put together by Dick Lemon and Dick White . For those of you who would enjoy reliving those "happy golden bygone days" one more time, the video is now available on DVD at a cost of $15.00 each. Please contact Dick White at RBWhite826@aol.com or at 203-966-3315 to purchase a copy.
