by
Barrie
Rich
By the time this arrives, classmates will have received
their preliminary letter regarding the class mini-reunion in
Washington
,
D.C.
, November 1-4, 2007. Given the success of the
San Francisco
reunion last April, this looks like a great event. Dick Suisman,
ably assisted by Ken McDonald, and many others are already
arranging an event-filled weekend.
Also coming up is the Princeton game mini-reunion, when
we will have Professor Abbas Amanat speak to us about Iran and the
Middle East, followed by lunch at our skybox, the game, and
refreshments. We also understand that the 1954 Whiffenpoofs will
entertain us at the Mory's dinner on Friday evening. Due to recent
deaths, they have added four new classmates: Norman Berger, Obie
Clifford, John Franciscus, and Jim Monde.
After several years of hard work and perseverance
spearheaded by Obie Clifford,
the president of the Natural History Museum of the
Adirondacks
, the celebrated opening came off right on schedule July 4th. The
museum, nick-named The Wild Center, attracted more than 5,000 to a huge
all-day festival. Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor George Pataki,
Congressman John McHigh, and others addressed the crowd, which included
classmates Russ Reynolds and Carl Shedd. The museum is the
$30 million brainchild of a former
New York
state environmental employee with deep family roots in the
Adirondacks
. It marries stunning design, paying homage to the great-camp vernacular
with local stone and timber, to high-tech multisensory exhibitions.
On August 16, 15 Yalies, all summer residents of Quogue,
Long Island
, gave a lawn party for some 350 villagers. Among the hosts were Otis
Bradley, Bill Bramwell, and your secretary. As the rain held
off, it was a very successful event. Two other Yale class secretaries
attended: Grant Esterling '51 and Peter Van Doren '53. Otis was also
featured on August 27 on a History Channel documentary called Nature's
Fury: New England's Killer Hurricane. During the program several
people who barely survived the hurricane of 1938 were interviewed as to
their harrowing experiences, and Otis was one of them.
Sadly there are three deaths to report: on June 12 Dr. Charles
A. Slanetz Jr. died on
Long Island
. Following graduation Charles graduated from
Yale
Medical
School
and then practiced as a general surgeon for 41 years in
Glen Cove
,
New York
. His research, especially on colon cancer, was published in many
medical journals. He is survived by his wife Nancy and three children. Robert
Clifton McCollough died in
Cincinnati
,
Ohio
, on August 4 of complications from pneumonia. Bob worked for General
Electric for many years and then lived for more than 15 years with a
transplanted heart. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, two sons, and two
grandchildren. On August 6 Jerome E. Frankel died in
Connecticut
. A resident of
South Windsor
,
Connecticut
, he was a professor of German language at
Keny
School
for many years. He is survived by his beloved companion, Barbara Beldon.
Contact:
Barrie
Rich
4522 Woodmere Rd.
Tampa, FL 33609
gaiusiv@aol.com
|
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Email Barrie Rich
by
Barrie
Rich
As you are all aware, these notes are submitted two
months before publication. The initial letter announcing the
Washington
,
D.C.
, mini-reunion was mailed in early November and you will have already
received your copy and reply card weeks ago. Hopefully there is
considerable interest for what looks to be a great event. For the
record, it will be held November 1 through 4, 2007, at the Marriott
Hotel. Make your reservations early.
Perhaps not everyone who saw the acclaimed movie The
Illusionist (out in August) was aware that it was scripted and
directed by Neil Burger, son of our own Fay and Norman Burger.
It is a masterpiece and highly recommended.
In March 2005 Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Mason
Willrich a member of the five-person governing board of the
California Independent System Operator, which operates the electric
power transmission grid for the state, and since June 2006 Mason has
served as board chair. He writes: "In July
California
experienced a heat wave that resulted in three successive
record-breaking peaks in electricity demand, each above 50,000
megawatts. Thanks to Cal ISO staff's expertise in balancing loads
resources, and with full cooperation of power generators, utility
distributors, and electric consumers, we were able to keep the lights on
and air conditioners running throughout. At this stage in life, I'm
grateful to be associated with a high-performance company providing a
vital service 24/7 to
America
's most populous state." Mason also serves on a number of other
nonprofit boards, including Yale's Benjamin Franklin
Papers administrative board. Congratulations, Mason, and thanks for your
help on our
San Francisco
mini-reunion.
From September 27 through October Allan Ryan had
an exhibit of his animal drawings at the Brady Gallery in
New York
. An outstanding piece was Yale's mascot Handsome Dan done in
watercolor.
Dick Thornburgh continues to be honored for his
many years of government service. On October 25 he was named as one of
eight
U.S.
lawyers to receive a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the American
Lawyer magazine. Dick has served the U.S. Justice Department under
five presidents and was appointed attorney general by presidents Ronald
Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
Also honored this fall was the venerable Robert A.
Bryan for his lifelong commitment to conservation by the Atlantic
Salmon Federation. Dick Bell emphasizes that this is quite an
honor in the Atlantic salmon world. Congratulations, Bob.
Joel Smilow, a long time trustee of and major
donor to the
New York
University
Medical
Center
, has been elected to the executive committee of the institution's board
and to the chairmanship of its new board development committee.
David Jenkins writes from
Hershey
,
Pennsylvania
, that he is now semiretired. His only professional activities relate to
teaching at Penn State University College of Medicine where he is
clinical professor of medicine and pathology. David was very involved in
starting the medical center in 1970-73, serving as the second clinical
faculty. After a long stint at Vanderbilt, he and Gillian moved back to
Hershey in 2002.
Bob Blankfein was recently informed that his
biography will be listed in the upcoming editions of Who's Who in
America
and Who's Who in the World for his lifetime work in
neurology and especially Parkinson's disease. He and Leslie are looking
forward to participating in the
Washington
,
D.C.
, mini-reunion.
To be closer to family, in the fall of 2005 Mary Ellen
and Dwight Bartholomew moved from
North Dakota
to
Port Angeles
in
Washington
state. They love their new life on the Olympic Peninsula, just 100 miles
from
Seattle
. Dwight reports that he is having fun playing bass trombone in the
Sequim City Band.
Jim Magidson writes that in December 2005 he took
advantage of the outstanding Joan and Joel Smilow cardiac rehab unit at
the
NYU
Medical
Center
after successful heart surgery. Although retired, he still does
volunteer teaching to pathology residents at
Stony
Brook
University
when not busy with 11-1/2 grandchildren or fishing.
Cam DeVore writes that '54 is well represented on
Lopez
Island
in the San Juan Islands in
Puget Sound
. Richard Fagan, David Black, and he are all enthusiastic
Lopezions. He says they carefully perpetuate the myth that it
continually rains out there.
Bill Grant writes from
Denver
,
Colorado
, that the
San Francisco
mini-reunion was outstanding, and he encourages as many as can to attend
next year in
Washington
. He recently visited
New Orleans
and saw Temple Brown, whose farm north of the city lost close to
1,000 trees due to Katrina. A note from Ballard Morton reports a
delightful luncheon with Titia and Bill Ellis in
New Hampshire
. He and Muff then went on to NYC to see Allan Ryan's
"splendid retrospective of his drawings and paintings."
Sadly, Charles Scott writes from
Bremerton
,
Washington
, that his wife Sallie died last year of post-polio syndrome, leaving
him a widower in a large home on
Kitsap
Lake
. He does not want to move because he likes the home and he hopes the
power to tax is not the power to confiscate.
Contact:
Barrie
Rich
4522 Woodmere Rd.
Tampa, FL 33609
gaiusiv@aol.com
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Class
Notes