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Notes: November/December 2005
Notes: September/October 2005
News: July 2005 Minireunion
News: May 2005 Bay Area Lunch
Notes: July/August 2005
Notes: May/June 2005
Notes: March/April 2005
Notes: January/February 2005
Notes: November/December 2005
Had I room, I’d extensively report on the minireunion
held in the Berkshires in July. Although I wasn’t there, I
gather from all who’ve reported in that it was a splendid
success, with most credit going to chief impresario/a
Morris Riker and wife Jan Wohlberg, with essential
assistance from Joe and Denise Clayton, Tom
Perkins and Sarah Brown, and Hope Childs, widow
of Tim, all of whom opened their homes to attendees.
On the list of 60 or so participating, I notice particularly
the names of Chet and Kate Chester¸ who
traveled the farthest (from California), and of Phil
Levine and wife Louisa Lawrence, recently beginning to
put in appearances at class functions after years of
absence. May others follow their sterling example!
By now, you’ll have received Steve Hopkins’s
annual letter and other mailings that begin the gradual
runup to our 50th. I hope you’ll read such mail carefully
and hang onto it for future reference. All information
contained therein will routinely be posted on the class
website (URL above). That site, by the way, undergoes
gradual filling up and adjustment. Most recently, we’ve
added class notes going back into the 1990s—as far back as
the YAM has them on its own site. I urge you to use the
site and suggest improvements. I also urge you to send your
current mugshots to Vic Norton at vic@norton.name. Said Mr.
Norton has also revitalized the class electronic discussion
group. Directions for registering for, and using, it are on
the website and available from Vic.
Now, at last, to news of individuals:
As of this writing in early September, we’ve been able to
get some news of at least three classmates who were
threatened by Hurricane Katrina. I’ve heard from Charlie
Marks, who, with Gillian, escaped from Katrina’s wrath
in New Orleans to a son’s home in NYC but not before having
had a July shoulder replacement and the next day suffering a
stroke, from which he’s recovering nicely. From Frank
Galloney in Montrose, AL, I’ve learned that “our family
is fine and houses secure. The yard is Hiroshima.” Through
Colin Jensen and Dick Jones we’ve also heard
from Pete Greer, who, from Fairhope, MS, escaped
unscathed, as did his house.
It’s always nice to hear from old friends, especially
those who’ve not made an appearance in these columns for too
long. This month there are many of them. One is Peter
Balbach, who reports from Chapin, SC, where he’s
retired, that after the death three years ago of his wife of
29 years, Joy, he has remarried. His wife Mary has one
child, he two children and two stepchildren through Joy,
joined by two grandchildren.
From Tucson comes word from Joe Ritchie that
earlier this year he and wife Barbara saw Bob and
Lucy Kalinski, Hugh and Allyn Thompson, George
and Bev Bullwinkle, and John and Barbara
Budd. These visits represent “a time of revival in
my relationship with Yale,” writes Joe. Such friends “have
all been inspirational in keeping me from growing old too
quickly.”
Russel Goddard, in a more sober, yet implicitly
encouraging note from Milford, CT, writes that the first
part of his autobiography, “Letters for My Children: An
Odyssey Through the Mine Fields of Manic Depression,” is
finished. Russel asks that those wishing a copy should send
him $5 and expect to receive a copy promptly in return.
Rocky Hill, CT, may be home to Guy Goethner, but
he’s clearly traveled far from there to take photos,
including one, he faithfully writes, of the Yale Glacier
(although, alas, of the Harvard Glacier, too), in Alaska. A
very modern gent, Guy has put all the photos on his website
at
http://goodsamclub.mytripjournal.com/goethneralaska2005
and invites all to view them there through the password
ALASKA.
To this group of not-often-heard-from lads, I add the
names of two who’ve reappeared from that always worrisome
list of those labeled “lost.” The first of these is Fred
Zappala, who’s used his wife, Ann, to do scribe’s work
for him. The Zappalas have lived in Boca Raton for 10
years, and until three years ago Fred traveled for his
consulting business, principally in the oil and chemical
industry, with Mobil, Amoco, and Citgo in the Persian Gulf
states and in Saudi Arabia.
The second ghost no more is Henry von Maur, with
whom I had a lively conversation by phone during the summer.
He’s re-settled in his family’s homestead in Davenport, IA
after many years in Europe.
Among my recent reading, I came across this pleasing bit
of information in a new history of the Columbia Journalism
School. At that institution, there’s now a David
Laventhol visiting professorship of journalism created
by the Times Mirror Foundation of Los Angeles to honor that
newspaper’s former publisher and the former editor and
publisher of Long Island’s Newsday. Congratulations
to our classmate for that enduring honor!
—James M. Banner, Jr.
Notes: September/October 2005
This fall starts the runup to our 50th reunion. Plans for
it, the reunion book, and the class gift are well under way.
As part of that preparation, we’re trying to make the class
website as useful as possible—and for years beyond 2007. I
hope you’ll become acquainted with it (URL above).
Gradually, we’re adding new information. For example, the
site now includes news about our four class projects (did
you know there were four?), as well as a new rogues’ gallery
of sorts—current photos of some of us superimposed upon
photos from our 1957 classbook. I’ve been alerting
email-ready classmates of site updates via email. So again
I ask those who use email but haven’t notified the class of
your addresses to do so—to me (email address above) and to
alumni.records@yale.edu. Also, on the website is a list
of classmates who can’t be found. We’d be grateful if you’d
consult that particular page and send us any information
about any of them you may have. Finally, Vic Norton,
so central to the web enterprise, wants current photos of
you. Please consult the website for instructions or email
him at
vic@norton.name.
On the site is the full report from Paul Eisele of
a gathering last May of 15 of our 36 Bay area classmates.
The second of such San Francisco lunches, this one featured
Steve Ackerman, who spoke to the group of his 14-year
hobby, The Readers' Exchange, "a kind of Zagat's
guide," Paul reports, "to good reading." Steve also remains
happily employed as Managing Director of Clark Consulting.
Last spring, Malcolm Mitchell caught Bill
Bogert playing Mr. Kirby in Kaufman and Hart's "You
Can't Take It With You" in Red Bank, NJ. "It was inspiring
to see a classmate still at the top of his form," Malcolm
writes, "in a profession he has loved and pursued since
graduation."
Bob West has retired from Temple University after
36 years on its sociology faculty. In 1992-93 he and wife
Sarah spent three semesters at the university's Tokyo
campus.
After surviving a ruptured appendix in 2003, Jerry
Jones, out of Poughkeepsie, NY, continues writing patent
applications and prosecuting them before the U.S. Patent
Office. When I heard from him, he and Penny had just
returned from a vacation trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil where, as
they often seem to do, they sought out jazz performances.
On several occasions, Jerry’s caught Dick Voigt’s
quartet playing at the Jazz au Bar in NYC.
Charles and Melba Strong have moved back to
Texas (Georgetown) to be closer to their sons and other
family members. He continues advising others on issues of
power and the environment and was recently in China on
business.
A bit more permanently, Jim Seymour has relocated
to the Middle Kingdom, where he’s joined the Chinese
University of Hong Kong. Rather than teaching, he’ll be
working on various projects concerning human rights,
especially in Tibet, as well as engaging in research,
writing, and NGO work. "Labor issues, AIDS and AIDS orphans:
there's no shortage of issues to be concerned about!" Jim
writes.
Besides traveling to central Europe and Scotland, Dick
Munn remains a trustee of Colby-Sawyer College in New
London, NH, as he has been for six years. But he’s left
another board—that of his local golf club with a new course
designed by Rees Jones and named the ninth best new private
club last year by Golf Digest.
In Memoriam: We lost Charlie Guidotti on
May 19th to melanoma. A long-time member of the geology
faculties at the universities both of Wisconsin and Maine
and a distinguished scientist, in 2001 he was awarded the
Laurea Honoris Causa in geological sciences by the
University of Padua, Italy. A son of his beloved New
England (after Yale, he earned his doctorate at Harvard), he
became a noted expert on the geology of Maine. Charlie is
survived by his wife Barbara (NatureScan@yahoo.com)
, two daughters, a son, and other kin. Memorial donations
may be made to Sunflowers for Health, a cancer research fund
established by Barbara, 5 Brookside Terrace, Veazie, ME
04401.
In Memoriam: Not long after one Charlie’s death,
on May 28th we lost another, this one Charlie Mee in
Oklahoma City after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.
After graduating from Yale, he served as an army officer in
Korea and earned an MBA from the University of Colorado.
For 36 years he was employed by Travelers Motor Club, the
last six years as president. Charlie is survived by his
wife Barbara of Oklahoma City, a daughter, and others.
Barbara can be reached at 8706 North May Avenue, Oklahoma
City, OK 73120. Memorial gifts may be made to All Souls
Episcopal Church, Casady School (which Charlie attended
before Yale), or the Free to Live Animal Sanctuary, all in
Oklahoma City.
—James M. Banner, Jr.
News: July 2005 Minireunion
From Steve Hopkins, July 26, 2005
The Berkshires mini reunion was a great success. The
breadth and depth of cultural opportunities—art, music,
theater—were matched only by the beauty of the area. The
chance to visit Yale Music School’s summer facility, to be
updated about our “Music in Schools” Class Project, was
frosting on the cake. Combine 60 or so classmates and wives,
etc., to this, with some quality time giving the chance to
renew old friendships and make some new friends, and it adds
up to a marvelous time.
A brief review of the events goes as follows:
• Thursday, July 14: the tone for the weekend
was set by the gracious hospitality of the welcoming dinner
at the beautiful home of Jan Wohlberg and Morris Raker
located in the heart of Williamstown. After dinner, a short
walk took us to the Williamstown Theatre and an excellent
performance of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan.
• Friday took us to the summer home of the
Yale School of Music in Norfolk, CT, where we met with a
large group of young students from New Haven’s
Lincoln-Bassett School. This was a major outing for these
central-city kids, and another aspect of the many
opportunities afforded them by our Music in Sclools Program.
They demonstrated their increasing music skills before we
all adjourned for a picnic. The afternoon was filled with
exploration of the YSM facilities and a panel discussion,
headed by Johannes Somary, regarding the importance of music
education. A high point of the day was a dinner at the
nearby home of Hope Childs, widow of Tim Childs, which gave
us the chance to relax and catch up with old friends.
• Saturday offered a cornucopia of choices: in
the morning, the choice was a major exhibition of the
paintings of 18-19th-century French artist Jacques-Louis
David at the world-class Clark Art Institute, or a tour of
the modern art at The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary
Art (MASS MOCA), led with great insight by Jock Reynolds,
Director of the Yale Art Gallery. The afternoon offered
further choices, including the Hancock Shaker Village.
Dinner was at the home of Dee and Joe Clayton located on a
beautiful, rural site in New Lebanon, NY—more gracious
hospitality, delicious food, and quality time with good
friends. After dinner, there was a concert nearby featuring
the world-class violinist, Midori.
• Sunday started with brunch at Stephentown
hosted by Tom Perkins and Sarah Brown at their wonderful
home (decorated, in part, by Sarah’s vigorous globe-trotting
shopping on some of the Y 57 trips organized by Alan
Hockstader) with beautiful gardens and an azure pool—what’s
not to love? More wonderful options for the afternoon: the
Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, chamber music at
Marlboro Music Festival, or the Rockwell Museum—not to
mention good old R&R. Jan Wohlberg and Morris Raker outdid
themselves by providing a “simple dinner” (it’s only
“simple” if you don’t have to provide it!)—a perfect
wind-down for a busy day and a busy weekend.
• Many had to depart after Sunday but for a
fortunate 20 or so, Monday saw us travel to Cooperstown NY
and the Glimmerglass Opera where Tom Perkins’ wife, Sarah
Brown, serves on the board and was able to provide us with a
private lunch with background talks by Opera leaders. We
then saw/heard two one-act operas which were truly
memorable.
None of this would have happened without the tireless
efforts of Morris Raker, who masterminded the event from
beginning to end, and his wife, Jan, who fed and cared for
us twice with seeming effortless grace. George and Schatzie
Lee did a wonderful job giving us behind-the-scenes access
at the Clark Institute and MASS MOCA. Already mentioned,
but deserving of further thanks and acknowledgement, are Joe
and Dee Clayton, Tom Perkins and Sarah Brown, and Hope
Childs.
The full list of those participating includes: Doug and
Merriol Almond; Bill Bogert; Dave and Gail Bowman; Sam
Chauncey; Chet and Kate Chester (who got the gold star for
coming the farthest); Tom and Wendy Chittenden; Rod and
Chloe Correll; Joe and Denise Clayton; Fred and Olivia
Guggenheim; Gar and Vel Heller; Hal and Kappie Hochman; Alan
and Birgitta Hockstader; Steve and Judy Hopkins; Bob and
Elaine Joost; Alice Kaplan and Wendie Grossman; Len and Judy
Katz; Gus and Barbara Kellogg; Andy and Carol Kner; George
and Schatzie Lee; Phil Levine and Louisa Lawrence; Malcolm
Mitchell and Pam Rosenthal; Bob and Shirley Neff; Tom
Perkins and Sarah Brown; Tom Quirk; Morris Raker and Jan
Wohlberg; Don and Mary Roberts; Reed and Glynda Taylor;
Chuck and Susan Schaller; Sandy Schocket; Bob Smith; Chris
and Sally Sonne; Nick Tingley; Steve and Sally Wittenberg;
and Dick and Joan Young.
News: May 2005 Bay Area Lunch
From Paul Eisele, May 22, 2005
On May 10th, fifteen out of thirty-six members (still
standing) of our class in the Bay Area met for lunch at the
beautiful new World Trade Club on San Francisco Bay.
Attending classmates included: Steve Ackerman, Al Boasberg,
Terry Carlisle, Karl Chester, Hank Conlan, Paul Eisele,
Gordon Frierson, Pat Jones, Don Maffly, Joe Mark, Dick
Massey, Stan McCarthy, Tink Thompson, Bob Weinmann, and Pat
Wilde. Two sets of roomates were on hand: Conlan and Mark
(Davenport), Carlisle and Wilde (Old Campus). Dick Massey
and John Hearst (also Old Campus roomates) were supposed to
attend, but John couldn't make it.
Not surprisingly, there are more Yale '57 men now living
in the Bay Area than came from here in 1953. Native Bay
Area residents Karl Chester and Stan McCarthy told us about
the small band of Californians who braved 16-hour,
multi-stop, DC-4 rides back in the early Fifties. Many of
the current Bay Area classmates came to California as
servicemen and stayed on...
The lunch organizers, Conlan, Eisele, and Mark, invited
Steve Ackerman up from Studio City to tell the group about
his 14-year old hobby, The Readers' Exchange, a kind
of Zagat's guide to good reading. Although Steve is still
happily employed as the Managing Director of Clark
Consulting, The Readers' Exchange has become a model
for transitioning from career to an avocation, a subject of
obvious interest to the rest of us "..sliding into our
Seventies."
Similar to last year's luncheon, we all sat around a big
table and took turns telling our stories. One of the most
provocative was Tink Thompson, who asked us if we sometime
felt like we were "in exile." The group seemed evenly
divided between those who said they felt more comfortable
and engaged at previous times in their lives and those who
said they are concentrating on the here and now.
The underlying question during lunch seemed to be: How
are we managing to transition into our seventies, from
careers to avocations, losing spouses and gaining new soul
mates, overcoming illnesses, becoming grandparents, trying
to "give back," etc.?
Hank Conlan told the group he was thinking of holding a
West Coast minireunion in Carmel Valley next year and asked
for a hand show of support. Everybody raised his hands, and
at that we adjourned for another year.
Notes: July/August 2005
Cheeb Everitt writes that, "on the other side of the
publishing desk now," he’s institutionalized himself as the
Charles Everitt Literary Agency, Inc., P.O. Box 1502,
Manchester, MA 01944, with executive offices above his
garage. "Stephen King hasn’t called yet," writes this book
recruiter, "but we’ve built up some first time authors
pretty well."
In March, Crawford Shaw fetched up in New York,
where Gus Kellogg and I saw him. Now living in
Houston and no less charming than of yesteryear (how could
he be more so?), he’s president of Industrial Enterprises of
America, a firm that intends to build itself out by buying
other firms.
Bryan Walsh, retired headmaster of the Buckley
School in New York, now co-directs the Fairchester Fellows
Program, which trains first-year school teachers in
Westchester County. He’s also involved in counseling
families about their children’s placement in independent
schools and in evaluating such institutions for
accreditation.
There was a chance of major winnings for the 50th reunion
gift when Guy Palmer (whose report this is), Jack
Pendergast, and Peter Fritzsche spent part of a
weekend in Kentucky with Lou DeLuca at the Keenland
Race Track. But, alas, they failed to pick the winning
steeds. Apparently, however, such disappointments didn’t
put a damper on an otherwise enjoyable gathering of old
friends.
How does one recover from a spouse’s death? Ohio’s
Kurt Bloch, who lost his beloved wife Susan in
November, does so in part by continuing to work. His
Cleveland-based company produces epoxy and urethane
flooring, used primarily in the food, pharmaceutical, and
electronic assembly industries. But what are we to make of
his statement that "co-workers half my age and my six
grandchildren keep me feeling young and alert." Aren’t we
all still young and alert without help from others?
Class notes without musical notes? Impossible! Our very
own Virgil Fox, organist Merrell Clark, led Merrell’s
Organ Concert & Sing Along III in Scarsdale, NY, in
February. A large audience, including roughly 70 alumni
Elis, joined in belting out some standard patriotic
warhorses, weighty glees like Zip A Dee Doo Dah, and (what
else?) Bright College Years.
Those bright college years seem to embrangle us forever
in their web. Bob Ganger just couldn’t resist the
Yale-linked subject of his recent biography: Lila Vanderbilt
Webb, youngest sister of "the chap," writes Bob, "who
bequeathed Vanderbilt Hall to Yale." But can Bob explain
why Ms. Webb didn’t get her brother to put elevators in that
building? Those four flights of stairs up to my freshman
year room may have kept me trim, but they didn’t enlarge my
gratitude to Mr. V, especially late on Saturday nights.
Hugh Peterson writes of a past October gathering
in Borego Springs, CA, whose stark desert beauty and
fascination I can attest to from a visit I made there not so
long ago with my daughter. Hugh and Mary Jane joined
Andy and Carol Kner¸ Dick Lumpkin, Mike and
Snookie Kohler, Stew and Emily Wright, and
Tink and Nancy Thompson at Chuck and
Susan Leahy’s "casita" for their annual (eighth)
roommates’ reunion.
As I sat down on a San Francisco-bound plane out of
Washington recently, one of those very same desert visitors,
private eye Tink Thompson, appeared behind me as if
by magic. By the luck of adjacent seating, we spent five
airborne hours in non-stop gab about life and the world.
Tink continues to ply his investigative trades all about the
country and brings to them the philosophical grounding he
absorbed after doctoral studies and teaching in the
philosophy department of alma mater earlier in life. Mr.
Holmes never possessed such historical perspicuity, Sam
Spade never such laughter, Miss Marple never such range of
travel as Detective Thompson.
If playing Dick Tracy isn’t distinctive enough, there’s
Keith McEligot’s recreation: he goes downhill ski
racing in this, his youth. In these competitions, Keith
writes, "for rank amateurs" at major ski areas in the East,
a ski pro executes a time trial on a short slalom trail.
Then the rest, like Keith, try to beat his time. It helps
that contestants get generous handicaps based on their ages,
which makes Keith think he may have a shot at the gold.
"It’s great fun for every Walter Mitty who’s ever seen
Robert Redford in ‘Downhill Racer,’" reports our would-be
champ.
In Memoriam: Albert J. Butler, of Hyde
Park, NY, died on March 15th, 2005, survived by his
companion, Anita Trautwein, a son, and four daughters.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice
Foundation, 374 Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.
This signals the start of a summer hiatus in these notes.
Those who wish to attend the Berkshire minireunion but
haven’t yet signed up can do so through Morris Raker
at morris@treeage.com
and (413) 458-3747. May everyone enjoy these months. More
in the fall.
—James M. Banner, Jr.
Notes: May/June 2005
Since I penned the previous notes, we've suffered the
loss of three classmates and learned of the earlier loss of
another.
In Memoriam: Gordon Y. Marshall, Jr. died
on January 23, 2004. He's survived by his wife Dagmar and
three children: Gordon Marshall III, Terri Bristol, and Dana
Burton. Dagmar can possibly be reached at Gordie's last
recorded address: 6395 Spinnaker Lane, Alpharetta, GA 30005.
In Memoriam: Probably the only classmate to be a
prince's son, Michael Poutiatine, a prince of a man,
died accidentally in Vero Beach, FL, on December 17, 2004.
Mike was also distinctive among us in being a polo player,
and in 1956-57 he captained the national championship team.
He's survived by his wife Marcia (twiga2095@webtv.net)
as well as by their daughters Allison Poutiatine and
Jennifer Marley. Donations in Mike's memory may be made to
the Indian River Hospital Foundation, the Hospice of Vero
Beach, or the Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY.
In Memoriam: Michael Kenefick, a friend to
many, died peacefully in the presence of his four children
in Rancho Mirage, CA, on February 7, 2005, after a short
battle with lung cancer. A banker, avid golfer, fisherman,
and long-time Seattle resident, Mike was recalled warmly and
admiringly to me by many classmates. He's survived by his
daughter Mary K. Kopp ( mary.kopp@verizon.net
) and sons Andrew '84 ( akenefick@wm.com ),
James, and Theodore, his mother Anne, his sister Sheila K.
Bertozzi, and his dear friend Carol Wright of Seattle.
Donations in Mike's memory may be made to Trout Unlimited or
the Yellowstone Park Foundation.
In Memoriam: Whiff "Popo" Gerald C. Neary
died from complications of diabetes in Princeton, New
Jersey, on March 1, 2005. Professionally an attorney and
widely known for his warmth and musicianship, Gerry is
survived by his companion of 35 years, Toby Goodyear (
tobygoodyear@earthlink.net and (609) 921-0678), and by
his children Lisa Neary, Mary Louise Rubin, Jake Goodyear,
and Lauren Goodyear Schramm and his sister Susan Greene.
Contributions in Gerry's memory may be made to Pro Musica or
the Princeton Symphony, on whose board Gerry sat.
Class News: Recent events—a February gathering in
New Haven, an "unofficial" class trip to southern India led
by the indefatigable Alan Hockstader, and the
annual class council meeting and dinner in New York, whose
speaker, Dave Mininberg, delighted his audience with
tales of mummies and medicine—have pleased all participants.
Some spaces remain on the next class trip—in September, to
southern Africa. For details, call Alan Hockstader at (914)
761-3488. On Friday, May 20, the School of Music will host
a program around our Music in Our Schools project. An
afternoon seminar on music education, led by a faculty
member and including New Haven teachers, will follow a
morning visit to the Lincoln-Bassett Elementary School to
view the project's successful trial run. Details will
follow in the mail. Your class officers and others are
already hard at work planning the 50th reunion, about which
you'll soon begin to learn more.
Continuing his benefactions to alma mater, 29-time Boston
Marathoner Don Roberts in February helped dedicate
Yale's new banked running track, named not for Don, its
donor, but rather, with Don's characteristic modesty, for
Olympic gold medallist Frank Shorter '69.
After long silence, Buell Neidlinger, one of the
original Eli's Chosen Six, has reported in about his
music-making career. After playing with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, in 1970 Buell joined the California Institute of
the Arts faculty and began working in motion picture
orchestras and again playing jazz. Then, after 11 years as
principal bass player for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
under Neville Marriner, he gave himself over to pop and
television recording. For more, see www.k2b2.com.
Another on the far coast from me, Bob Crafts
reports that he's recuperating from a total hip replacement
and eager to resume his ministry as a mission vicar and port
chaplain for The Mission to Seafarers in San Diego.
In November, Ray Lamontagne was honored by
Child Magazine as a "children's champion" for work
he's done on behalf of the Hole in the Wall Gang, a
world-wide program for children with life-threatening
diseases.
Carl Becker, continues as chairman of Pathology
and Laboratory Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin
in Milwaukee and, with wife Susan, gets away from it all by
sailing on Lake Michigan. In the fall, they visited Barbara
and Bob Bentley who, Carl reports, remains a
successful painter at the tip of Door County peninsula,
Wisconsin.
Another medical practitioner, Ruben Shapiro, has
retired from his cardiology practice at Hartford Hospital
and now fills his time with liberal arts courses at Trinity
College and service on the Yale Club of Hartford board. He
says he's in a "serious" tennis/paddle group that, after
playing, "solves all the major world problems over lunch."
Ruben may hold (or at least tie) a class record: three of
his children, all sons, are Elis.
—James M. Banner, Jr.
Notes: March/April 2005
Such is the flow of news that I can’t report it all and hope
that some of it doesn’t go out of date before it’s noted
here. I operate on the principle of first news in, first
reported out—except for more breaking news, viz.:
With 52% of the vote, Democrat Ed Meyer won
election in November to the Connecticut Senate by defeating
a 14-year Republican veteran. "It feels terrific," Ed’s
reported as saying. As well it should.
Randy Guggenheimer, my predecessor in these duties
who’s forebearing to a fault in not (yet) criticizing me,
reports that he’s taken on new responsibilities—formidable
ones these days—as chief compliance officer for five Burnham
funds. His wife Jane continues as 6th- and 7th-grade
history and math teacher at New York’s Nightingale-Bamford
school.
Bob Raichlin, in Burlington, VT, is senior
director and co-founder of Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC, the
state’s largest law firm, and trustee of the Vermont Law
School. Like so many classmates, he’s deeply involved in
music as pianist in chamber music concerts. He’s also
written on the Holocaust. Not to be outdone, his wife Cathy
is Director of Judicial Education for the State of Vermont.
In Charlottesville, VA, Brian Kelly still teaches
journalism and a seminar on the Wild West at the University
of Virginia. He’s also working on the 8th title in a series
of anecdotal histories entitled "Best Little Stories from.…"
One of our Bill Flemings (William H.) has
retired from the operating room in pediatric thoracic and
cardiac surgery in Omaha. He now oversees management of
some real estate investments and serves on the boards of
three small companies. It’s fun, he says, and "like
teaching, keeps me working with young people and young
minds."
One hopes that the rest of us avoid what befell Warren
Clein in October 2002. He and his dog were attacked by
a 160-pound Rottweiler, his dog requiring 500 stitches.
Warren himself took a pounding, has continuing injuries,
but, with great good fortune, came out of it alive. "Now I
know," he writes good-naturedly, "what the Army DE was going
through when Tarasovic and Lopata worked him over in our
junior year."
In recognition of contributions to alma mater, this past
October Chris Sonne was awarded the degree of Doctor
of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa by the Berkeley Divinity
School at its 150th anniversary annual convocation. Chris
was cited for his lifetime of service and leadership in
parishes and other Episcopal Church institutions, especially
the School, on whose board he served in the late 1960s and
early 1970s when it first affiliated with Yale, and then
again from 1990 to 2003, when he skillfully directed the
difficult but ultimately successful resolution of the
school’s relationship with the university.
Some places remain open on the September 9-23 class trip
to Southern Africa (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Victoria Falls,
game reserves, the Garden Route, the Cape Winelands,
Capetown, and the Cape of Good Hope). For details, call
Alan Hockstadter at (914) 761-3488, or e-mail him at
abbih@aol.com.
I continue the search for "lost" classmates, this time
J. Christopher Schwab, Allan E. Smith, Andrew V. Stout,
Albert C. Vosberg, Ernest L. Woodard, Jr., Allan H. Young,
Fred S. Zappala, and Shimen B. Zudekoff. Please
inform me if you know anything of them.
In Memoriam: Patrick W. Child died in
Venice, FL, on December 10, 2004. Pat was with us for
freshman year, then transferred to the School of Music. His
professional life was devoted to photography, first in the
Air Force in engineering and documentary photography at Cape
Canaveral, followed by almost 40 years at Channel 8
(WTNH-TV) in New Haven, where he was well known and widely
respected for his camera work. He’s survived by his wife
Kim, three children, and his twin brother Robert ’58, who
can be reached at
ChldBOBCHI@aol.com..
In Memoriam: We’ve also learned of the death in
Culver City, CA, of Leonard S. Slaughter, Jr. A
freshman year roommate of Bruce McLanahan and the
late Tim Childs and one of the few African-Americans
in our class, Len left Yale after his freshman year to
study, Ed Robinson informs me, at the University of
Connecticut. The distance we’ve traveled since then is
revealed in the report from Bruce that the freshman year
dean wrote to Tim and him before matriculation asking
whether there would be any problem with their rooming with a
black classmate. May those days, as well as Len Slaughter,
RIP.
Finally, related to that last item, is this suggestion
for further reading: Dan A. Oren, Joining the Club: A
History of Jews and Yale (Yale University Press, 1985).
Another part of the story of more prejudiced days, it also
gives grounds for satisfaction about the road since traveled
and can be usefully read in conjunction with Geoffrey
Kabaservice’s history of Kingman Brewster’s era, previously
recommended here.
—James M. Banner, Jr.
Notes: January/February 2005
From distant London, Shelby Tucker writes that
he's planning to reprise a trip he took when 25 from England
through Europe, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, to Jerusalem
then back from Turkey through Iran, Pakistan and
Afghanistan. This irrepressible explorer will then write a
book comparing his two journeys. We hope that he doesn't
cause any American embassies heartburn.
A less perilous journey—what he calls a "retro
vacation"—was taken last summer by Franz Gimmler. In
a 1984 VW Westphalia and accompanied by Effie Stallsmith, he
spent three weeks in the northern Rockies of Canada,
returning to the states by way of Montana, where he and
Effie visited Mike and Sherry O'Hearn.
For those who need guidance to life-long learning, Bob
Rosefsky's way is exemplary. Creating what he calls his
own PhD program in Palm Springs, CA, he's set off on a
three-year curriculum and, with the confidence of someone
who's already gone through four bright college years,
deviated freely from it. His "courses" have included World
War II (European Theater), the History of Russia and Ukraine
("including a 3-week field trip cruising the Volga and
Dneiper rivers, something that wasn't available at Yale"),
Psychological Analyses of Hitler and Stalin, Biblical
History, Genealogical and Linguistic Roots ("again, with a
field trip to Lithuania"), and, "on a lark," Comparative
Lit—-21st Century Detective Fiction. Can anyone improve on
this course of study?
Sam Chauncey recently saw Joe Mesics on
Newfound Lake, NH, where Joe and Sandi have a vacation home
near a camp for at-risk youth with which Sam is associated.
At the camp one day, writes Sam, "We watched young people on
a zip line. One climbs a tree to 65 feet, then gets
attached to a wire that runs from treetop to the water
below. Joe decided he'd do it, scampered up the tree faster
than anyone else half his age, and zipped down the line."
Phil Saunders has reported in from Weston, MA,
where for the last 16 years he's had an economic consulting
practice that values privately held companies and damages
for litigation purposes. One of his and Lucy's daughters,
Elizabeth, was a member of the Yale class of 2000.
Reid White sends the kind of long, informative
report that I wish, like so many others, I could convey in
its entirety. What strikes me about it is, once again, the
degree to which so many of us have been involved all our
lives, in one way or another, in music. Reid, "retired" in
the Berkshires, has been a board member of Close Encounters
With Music, a chamber group, and founding board member of
the Barrington Stage Company. In Princeton, NJ, where he
and Laird also keep a home, he's been on the advisory board
of the Princeton Symphony.
All class oenophiles will want to read Jonathan
Swinchatt and David G. Howell, The Winemaker's Dance:
Exploring Terroir in the Napa Valley (University of
California Press, 2004). Geologist/film producer Jon
explores the link between place and wine in a serious and
gorgeously produced and illustrated work.
In Memoriam: I also report with great sadness the
death of our distinguished classmate Richard S. Arnold on 23
September 2004. Dick (as we knew him in our youth) rose to
become chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the 8th
Circuit and a major figure in the governance of the federal
court system, and he would no doubt have been appointed to
the Supreme Court by President Clinton but for the illness
that dogged him since the 1970s and finally claimed his
life. Dick's fellow judge Gil Merritt wrote a
fitting tribute to Dick, which I sent around to those with
email. Dick is survived by his wife Kay Kelley Arnold, who
may be reached at karnold@entergy.com.
Here are the names of ten more "lost" classmates: John
Francis, Johan Hansen, Christopher James, Edward Levine,
Alan McArthur, John McCreary, Martin Miller, John Morrell,
Sheldon Nodelman, and John Pallas. Please let me
know if you can tell me anything of them.
If you haven't received three or more emails from me
since the summer, it means that your correct email address
is not listed with Yale or me and that you may be missing
out on breaking class news. I ask that all offending
parties mend their ways and let Yale and me know via alumni.records@yale.
edu and jbanner@aya.yale.edu,
respectively of their current email addresses. Increasingly
more class news and business will be conveyed and transacted
this way.
Mark your calendars for the following forthcoming class
events: a New Haven gathering on February 19th, the annual
class dinner in New York on March 3rd, and the annual
Alan Hockstadter-led trip, this one to South Africa,
Zambia, and Victoria Falls, from 9 September to 1 October
2005.
For further reading: To learn how some of our Yale
teachers contributed to the nation's World War and Cold War
intelligence efforts, reach for Robin Winks's Cloak and
Gown (1987), a wise, revealing work by a late member of
the faculty who knew many of his subjects.
—James M. Banner, Jr.
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Bates.
This Page Last Updated: January 1, 2008.
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