Plans for scheduled class events and reports of past events are found below.

Upcoming: Class Trip to Israel & Jordan (October 23 - November 7, 2008)
Past: Class Trip to Spain (September-October 2007)
Past: Class Trip to Morocco (September-October 2006)
Past: Class Trip to South Africa (September 2005)

Upcoming: Class Trip to Israel & Jordan (October 23 - November 7, 2008)

The tenth annual Yale Class of 1957 tour will head for Israel and Jordan. This 16 day luxury tour will visit the most ancient, historical and religious (Christian, Jewish, Moslem and even Bahai) sights of both countries. In Israel, it will include visits to places such as the ancient seaport of Jaffa, the Roman city of Caesarea, the old Phoenician and Crusader seaport of Acre, the Golan Heights, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of the Beatitudes, Massada, the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the West Bank Palestinian city of Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. In Jordan, we will visit Jerash, the most complete and well preserved city of the Roman Empire, Amman, Madaba, Wadi Rum and the lost Nabatean city of Petra. We have been invited for dinner in the home of a close friend of one of our classmates who is an expert on the Bedouins and we are planning to have a variety of speakers along the way give us their differing views on events in Israel today and what they believe the future will bring. The Tour Operator for this trip is Gate 1 Travel, a 27 year old company that operates worldwide.

The Cost:
Land Only: $5,615 per-person, double occupancy.
Land and International Round Trip Economy Class Air: $6,999 from JFK including airport taxes and fuel surcharges (subject to change).
Single room supplement: $1720.
Taxes to enter and depart Jordan totaling approximately $30 per person will be paid on the spot.

Trip Insurance: It is strongly recommended that you purchase trip insurance for this tour. Details regarding Gate 1 Travel's insurance, provided by Trip Mate, Inc., can be found in the TERMS & CONDITIONS document under "Additional Information" and you are advised to go to the website shown in the "T&C" before purchasing it.

The Hotels: Luxury hotels will be used throughout the tour.

The Meals: All meals except for 1 lunch and 1 dinner.

Tips/Gratuities: All tips are included to guides, bus drivers, porters, bellboys, and waiters.

The Guides: We will have an expert national guide with us throughout the trip in each country.

Security Considerations: Israel is an extremely popular tourist destination today with many thousands of people visiting the country year round. The sites we will visit are considered to be extremely safe. There has never been an attack against tour groups in either Israel or Jordan in any of the areas on our itinerary. In the highly unlikely event of possible unexpected trouble along our route, the tour will be immediately diverted to avoid any potential problems.

Since space on this trip is limited to thirty people (that's equal to only fifteen classmates plus wives/companions), you are strongly advised to sign up now! To secure a place, send your Reservation Form to: Gate 1 Travel, 455 Maryland Drive, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Attn: Yosi Shiloni

For any questions or additional information, please call either Roberta Yesowitch at Gate 1 Travel at 1-800-682-3333, Ext. 1146 (e-mail: ryesowitch@gate1travel.com) or Yosi Shiloni, Ext. 1140 (e-mail: yshiloni@gate1travel.com) or contact your classmate, Alan Hockstader; Telephone: (914) 761-3488; Fax: (914) 761-1231; e-mail: abbih@aol.com.

      Itinerary (as Word document)
      Itinerary (as PDF document)
      Terms and Conditions (as Word document)
      Terms and Conditions (as PDF document)

Past: Class Trip to Spain (September-October 2007)

The Plaza D’Espana, Seville.

Alan Hockstader organized and implemented the 10th of our Class’ international mini-reunions in Spain in late September and early October. Steve Hopkins reports on this trip as follows:

There were 22 classmates and wives who participated. We started in Madrid where we marveled at Valezquez and the other Spanish artists in the Prado, went on day trips to Toledo and other historic centers, and exchanged thoughts over good wine and food during late (for us) dinners. A bullet train took us to Cordoba to see a mosque that had been converted into a cathedral, followed by a bus to Seville and Granada for glimpses of imperial grandeur, flamenco dancers, and the indescribable beauty of the Alhambra. Then we flew to Barcelona with its commercial and cultural vibrancy before the optional extension to Bilbao, with the unforgettable Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Gehry, and, finally, to several cities in northern Spain along the Pilgrims’ route, ending in Santiago de Compostela.

We could reach out and touch the sweep of Western civilization. Roman aqueducts. Medieval castles perched defensively atop steep hills and soaring Gothic cathedrals. Mosques and synagogues from a time of greater tolerance and diversity, converted into Christian churches. Seville, from which Columbus sailed and to which treasure-fleets returned. Imperial palaces which governed the greatest empire the world has known. Goya’s Execution of the Rioters on 3 May 1808 and Napoleon; Picasso’s Gurenica and Hitler. Farmers carefully tending wheat fields, vineyards, and seemingly countless rows of straight and evenly spaced olive trees. Bullet trains, wind farms and Starbucks.

The favorite for many was Barcelona which combines pride of tradition with thoroughly modern cosmopolitan flair. We found the many buildings designed by Antonio Gaudi to be fascinating with his often curving surfaces, bright colors and rich textures. In particular, Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family) was riveting. Gaudi worked on this enormous project over 40 years; construction was frequently halted when money ran out; it was no where near completion when Gaudi died in 1926 (and it’s still not completed now) but his plans were known and have been followed. Its exterior is marked by soaring towers, one façade dedicated to the nativity and another to the crucifixion. Its interior is planned to look like a forest of columns. We were so impressed that we passed the hat and donated a few hundred dollars to the construction fund in honor of Alan and Birgitta Hockstader to recognize all their hard work which made it possible for us to see Barcelona and all the other wonderful sites we visited.

Overall, there were so many wonderful dimensions of the trip friendship and fellowship; perspective on history, economics and culture; and, even, gastronomic. But we were left with several conundrums: after centuries of “unity”, why are there four official languages and three major regions pressing for greater autonomy, at least, and, perhaps, independence? After centuries of authoritarian monarchs and church, repressive dictatorship and very little self government, why has democracy seemingly taken firm root here when it’s failed so often elsewhere? Why has the Spanish economy, so long a basket case, taken off; and does it have a sustainable base? And what’s the future given the uncertainties suggested by the foregoing paradoxes, immigrants pouring in from Africa and South America and altering whatever social homogeneity Spain had, terrorists bombing Madrid’s trains, and “Al Qa’ida [urging] North African Muslims to restore the Iberian Peninsula to the Islamic world…” according to one English language paper printed while we were there?

Here’s the list of those who participated: Jim Cunningham; Fred and Julie Gaston; John Herrmann; Alan and Birgitta Hockstader; Steve and Judy Hopkins; Ron and Elaine Morris; Phil and Anne Richards; Hal and Margo Russell; Joel and Winnie Sharp; Bill and Glenn Sheffield; Phil and Peggy Weymouth; and Bob and Ida Wrenn.

Past: Class Trip to Morocco (September-October 2006)

Wait 'til Marrakech!

Imagine three weeks with classmates and companions under the deep blue Moroccan sky. Imagine a university educated Berber guide who speaks five languages including perfect English, who is highly informed on his country’s history, customs and gardens and has lectured at Harvard on its architecture. Imagine sleeping in tents in the Sahara and rising at 4AM to ride your camel to the top of a sand dune to see the Saharan sunrise.

Marrakech certainly was the jewel worth waiting for as we journeyed throughout Morocco. As the wonders of each city unfolded, our guide, Mohammed, (what else) assured us that Marrakech would be more and better. It was.

But, we did not start there. We started from the fabled city of Casablanca, briefly seeing it through the eyes of Humphrey Bogart and the many colonial powers who sought to extend their empires in a country that uniquely belongs to the indigenous tribal people.

Portuguese, Spanish and French have left their marks as seen in the architecture and heard on the tongue. But, it is the Arabs who have changed the people with their religion; first by force, and then over the centuries, by conviction of faith. There is no mistaking that this is a Muslim country. Should you be in that half awake state at 5AM you will hear the first call to prayer followed by the sounds of the city slowly awakening. The day starts and ends with the clip clop of the horse, mule or donkey as it echoes on the cobblestones of the narrow alley ways in the Medina.

During Ramadan the rhythm of life changes. The breaking of the daily fast, when, in the evening darkness you can no longer distinguish a black thread from a white thread, means that the vitality of the people is renewed as night approaches. Thus, for a month, night time meals replace those of the day. As Joan and I were in one of the souks at dusk, the owners invited us to share their breakfast: highly sweetened mint tea, sweet pastries, dates and soup. Does the invitation mean that we paid too much for our merchandise?

The Medinas, defined by the original walled city within the present city area, are varied depending on the century in which they were built. Picture narrow (five to ten feet wide) cobblestone streets bordered by tiny shops (souks) one after another in the street level of ancient three, four or five story residential buildings. But always the Medinas are the center of life and commerce for the people. They can be crowded and noisy, especially in the food souks. There are the smells of spices and olives, the sounds of live animals, the sights of small vendors with their mounds of mint, honey drenched confections, fresh dates, figs, olives, fish, meat and oddities of animal parts: heads, hoofs etc. You are pushed along, your eye darting from the pleasantness of color to the alarm of a heavily laden donkey fast approaching, wanting your space in the narrow street. This is Morocco!

Our eyes were almost always on the person in front of us who was wearing a blue denim “Yale 1957 Morocco” hat. Often, while we were in the Medinas, we had a local guide in the front of our group and our trusted Mohammed in the back watching out for the photo or shopper straggler. Mohammed had the task of making sure that the same number came out of the labyrinth as had gone in.

Everything is for sale and the price is whatever buyer and seller can agree on. Many of us discovered multiple unanticipated necessities.

The residential areas within the Medinas provide some relief from the noise, heavy traffic and slippery cobblestones. It is in this sector that you become aware of high stark walls and a multiplicity of doors. There could be a restaurant behind massive wooden doors opening into a breathtaking palace atmosphere as found in Marrakech or the brilliant blue doors of the coastal city of Essaouira or the sight of a lovely young Arab girl standing in her doorway in Fes, wondering at the sight of yet another group of tourists invading her quiet street.

Our guide Mohammed was invaluable as a teacher and as a friend opening up to us the thinking and culture of the people. Hospitality is a practiced belief. We were privileged to meet Mohammed’s family; first his father, the retired imam of his village, and his mother at their home in the Draa Valley and later his wife and children in Marrakech. We were fortunate to be the guests for dinner of a wonderful family in Fes in their newly built beautiful large home and a few days later of the Governor of the "State" of Marrakech where we were joined by many of his distinguished government colleagues. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with a written constitution providing many features of democracy. As we met with various people, we were reminded over and over that it is a society and culture that allows for the peaceful co-existence of different ethnic groups. Once trusted, friendships are forever joined.

Yet disturbing questions remain. Why is it that the one influential person whom I asked is adamantly against the state of Israel’s right to exist? Why is it that Jews are less than one percent of the population and Christian residents are almost non existent when each has been more numerous in earlier centuries? And, why is the Berber majority dominated by the Arab minority?

Morocco stimulates the senses as few countries can. The detail of the architecture inside and out was refined centuries ago and remains vibrantly beautiful. We experienced the Sahara by sleeping there in tents and viewing it from camel back at sunrise. The arid Atlas Mountains dominated our view as mile after mile we marveled that sheep and goats could survive. The goats have become adept at climbing trees to gain moisture from the succulent leaves. Amaaaazing! We savored the glory of the oasis as date, orange and olive groves flourished.

Something else happened in those 21 days. A group of miscellaneous 1957 graduates became a family; one caring for another. Most had various travel ailments but we survived. One could even say we flourished. Just as the date, orange and olive groves flourished because of an abundant water supply, we flourished in the atmosphere of loving relationships. As first timers, we thank you one and all for the welcome you extended to us. Thank you, Alan and Birgitta Hockstader for starting this odyssey.

Wait Till Next Year!

—Dick and Joan Young

Click here to see pictures of the trip.

Past: Class Trip to South Africa (September 2005)

Having just returned from a wonderful trip to South Africa, I thought it might be worthwhile to make other members of the class of ’57 more aware of an idea that one of our classmates had some six years ago and how that initial concept has led to eight highly enjoyable and rewarding  — and, frequently, adventurous – trips to foreign shores. Alan Hockstader proposed the idea of a Class trip to China in 1999 and as Alan stated in an e-mail he sent to all the participants on this most recent trip:

When I proposed the first trip to China, I thought it would be fun to go there with a bunch of my Classmates and their wives for the purpose of sightseeing and learning something about the country and its people that couldn’t be learned by reading newspapers, magazine articles or books. Fortunately, the trip was a great success and I was asked to do it again. We have now had a total of 8 trips (2 in 2005) and after the second one, I began to realize that the trips had an additional and even more important dimension that I had not thought about previously. That dimension was about renewing and creating warm and lasting relationships with a few of our Classmates and their wives some 43 plus years after we had shared the experience of attending , with utmost pride, one of the world’s greatest universities.

I’m sure that many of you have taken some of the Yale University Educational trips open to all graduates; but the unique aspect of Alan’s excursions is that they are only for our class. As “first-timers” and Californians, my wife, Sheila, and I were delighted to join Alan and his wife, Birgitta, and 11 other members of our class and their spouses on a remarkable three week trip this past September. Yes, many of the 25 people were from the East Coast and 14 of them had been on earlier Hockstader trips but it surely didn’t take long to find that all of us had so much in common and the conversations flowed smoothly – perhaps, even constantly – and a congenial atmosphere persisted throughout the journey.

Alan’s experience in setting up these adventures was certainly in evidence since the entire trip was well planned, comfortably paced – although those 5:00 am wake-up calls some 6 days in a row in the game reserves took a little getting used to — and covered much of the history and highly diverse culture of South Africa. We had excellent local guides on each segment – Alan is quick to point out that he is only the organizer and not “the” guide – and they were effectively in-house professors as they related their versions of so many fascinating aspects as to how the country was developed and has changed throughout its long history. As a matter of fact, Louis Willemse (our guide during the southern half of the trip) just sent all of us a detailed report of some 25 pages on just about everything we had seen and heard! And one other point before outlining some of the highlights, the cost of the entire trip was very competitive – perhaps even some 20-25% below very similar trips run by the commercial companies such as Tauck, Travcoa et al. for similar levels of travel – a good deal indeed!

For any classmate who might be interested in seeing the complete itinerary – since we stuck to it very closely – I’m sure Alan still has a few copies. I’m sure that each of us on the trip will have different thoughts as to the highlights, but I’ll just mention a few of ours:

Jo’burg area: Apartheid Museum, dinner at Wandie’s Place in Soweto, Voortrekker Monument and Union Building in Pretoria.

Victoria Falls: Royal Livingston Hotel, elephants frolicking in the river next to the hotel and, of course, the Falls.

The Game Reserves: Seeing the Big Five (minus the elusive leopard!), the excellent guides, the abundance of giraffes, elephants, zebras, etc.

The Garden Route and the wine country: Whale watching, lunch at Parkes Manor, the incredible Cango Caves, the view from the mountain road looking down on Franschhoek and Stellenbosch.

Cape Town: Table Mountain, the vibrant Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, champagne at sunset on the top of another mountain, Cape of Good Hope, drinks at the Mount Nelson Hotel.

All of the above was, of course, accompanied by some excellent lunches and dinners — and discussions that showed clearly that we old Yalies had the right answers as to how to solve the problems of the world if only some of the younger Yalies and Princetonians who are currently running the country would listen! It made for some interesting debates that seemed to prove that a Yale education doesn’t lead to any uniformity of thinking on political, social and cultural issues – and certainly all the spouses were lively participants in all the exchanges!

Just for the record I should mention who were the energetic and enthusiastic members of our class who made the sojourn. Merrell Clark (Lynne), Jim Cunningham – our London representative —, Ammon Dunton (Kathy), Fred Gaston (Julie), John Herrman (Anne), Steve Hopkins (Judy), Ron Morris (Elaine), Joel Sharp (Winnie), Bill Sheffield (Glenn), Phil Weymouth (Peggy), Bob Wrenn (Ida) and, of course, Alan and Birgitta. It was a congenial and gregarious group — with no shrinking violets among us — and I would hope that several will write something about the trip for our class’s Web Site as well.

One last item, Alan is already hard at work in preparing for the next voyage – and perhaps the last one before the Big 50th. It looks like the Class trip for 2006 will be to Morocco, probably in mid to late September or early October and should be about 21 days. It might also include some areas of Southern Spain. Alan will be filling all of you in on the details before too long – so start working on your French and Spanish!!

That’s it for now — but stay tuned!!

—Joe Mark

Click here to see pictures of the trip.