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July
2004
We’re
Golden
The
50th anniversary of our graduation from
The
day-before ritual of envelope-stuffing was attended to by the regular stalwarts,
BARBARA, GAIL and DICK BARKER, and DONNA and CLARK
Thinking
it might be nice to have an intimate Early Bird cocktail party for our stuffers
and the few Classmates who might have come a day early, we set up a bar at 5pm.
Luckily, we had our entire reunion liquor supply on hand as no less than 165
‘54s and companions swarmed the tent and inhaled the hors d’oerves in the
first ten minutes. An auspicious beginning.
Friday
found everyone acknowledging the shortness of the weekend, going to every one of
the offered events. As the sun rose, chubbers
followed DAVE and LOUISE RANSOM to the Ravine Lodge on Moosilauke and a
multitude of golfers lined up according to BOB BERRY’s schedule.
Bus tours, museums and HERB HILLMAN-led tennis
matches consumed
the
Then the more specific gatherings began. (Note: since I was involved in
the registration process, I am grateful, as usual, to DICK BARKER for his notes
on each of the events.) The Class meeting in nostalgic 105 Dartmouth Hall drew
an overflow crowd, with some 40 people standing in the rear.
Following tradition, president DICK LEWIS asked Dick Barker to explain
the origin of the Class’s gavel. Winthrop Dale Barker, Dick’s father and the
last surviving member of the Class of 1915, asserted that the gavel was made
from the wood of the Old Pine and since there is now no-one to dispute the
claim, that’s what it’ll be until the last two ‘54s call each other to
order. HARRY ROBINSON intoned “We Are Solvent!”, then reported that he would
present a check for $2004 to the graduating class as a starting point for their
treasury as they step into alumni-hood.
JERRY GOLDSTEIN was called to the fore to report on the Nominating
Committee’s recommendations for the new slate of officers. No
nominations were offered from the floor, so the slate was accepted by
acclamation. Leading us for the next five years will be JAY DAVIS. Riding
shotgun as VP is DON BERLIN. BRYCE
BASTIAN takes on the duties of Secretary. HARRY ROBINSON will continue as
Treasurer for one year (as he finishes his term as President of the Class
Treasurers’ Association), then will step aside as ALEC GRAY dons the green
eyeshade. The Head Agent for the Class is HUGH NOLIN. The daunting job of
stepping into JOHN GILLESPIE’s brogans as Mini-Reunion Chair went to JOHN FENN.
And TOM TYLER has agreed to serve as Gift Planning Chair. Returning veterans are
PETE KENYON on Class Projects, BOB ADNOPOZ on Class Awards and yours truly at
the newsletter desk. The new Executive Committee (see masthead) features many
new faces, including webmaster PERRY DAVIS. Lacking a Chief Justice or a willing
lawyer, Dick Lewis administered the oath of office, commenting that it was
probably better to have a CPA do it.
Grateful applause was sounded for those stepping down from years of
serving the Class. Jay Davis graciously handed the gavel back to Dick and
declared him the Class Leader until the last exhaust plume had faded from view
on Sunday. The meeting ended with a hearty “Men of Dartmouth.”
The cocktail hour commenced in a Camelot-like tent at the far end of
Memorial Field. The spectacular turnout - some 264 Classmates and a total of 502
people - made it a little frustrating trying to find, then recognize old
friends. The true worth of the reunion was realized as those attending met and
talked with interesting people they had never met before.
The lobsterfest in Leverone field house had all up to their elbows in
butter, clams, claws, chowder and strawberry shortcake. After toweling off, many
visited President Jim Wright’s garden, then took in the Glee Club concert. Not
unexpectedly, LUKE CASE rose and exhorted those assembled to sing the “real”
words to Men of Dartmouth.
Dr. “Ned” Hallowell kicked off Saturday to a full house, bringing to
life Connecting as the underlying dynamic of everything good in life. A natural
showman, the good doctor drove home his points by referencing More Reflections
and familiar aspects of our lives. He rang a bell with most of his audience,
bringing to mind the connecting events of our last five years.
A sign of his impact was the number of ‘54s quoting him through the
rest of the reunion.
Rollins Chapel was the scene of the memorial service. Several well
turned-out Classmates served as ushers and escorted the seven attending widows
to their seats. RIP COFFIN, JERRY GOLDSTEIN, DAVE RANSOM and GEORGE FITZGERALD
presented a moving service which included readings, hymns and a meditation by
Rip which can be viewed on the 1954
website. The names of the 139 Classmates who have died
were listed in the program and the names of those who had passed away
since the 45th reunion were read. After
the reading of names, a trumpeter played “Taps”. To signal the celebration
of the lives of our friends, the service ended with the joyful hymn “When the
Saints Come Marching In” accompanied by the “Sultans and Friends”, a group
of ‘54 musicians gathered for the occasion by
BILL MURANE - SKIP WEYMOUTH, JOHN PRATT, PETE BULLIS, JACK SHENEFIELD and
MIKE PAYSON. JAY DAVIS supervised
all of the arrangements from programs to flowers to the music.
With perfect weather holding, the luncheon honoring the 50th year Class
was held on the magnificent lawn before Baker Library.
The Class was joined by a number of luminaries from the College. DICK
LEWIS chaired the affair and did a fine job of introducing President Emeritus
DAVE McLAUGHLIN who presented the stimulating 50th Class Address. Drawing upon
our experiences and memories of
RICK HARTMAN, DICK PAGE and BOB BERRY then mounted the platform to heft a
huge check for presentation of the Class Gift to President Jim Wright. The
number on the check was $7,774,554 with a last minute addition cleverly added in
bright red. Rick declared a record-breaking 92% participation.
As is well known, a high percentage of our Class gifts over the years has
come from a small number of ‘54s. Sitting at one of the tables of honor was
BOB CLEMENTS, the man who laid the foundation for ‘54s significance with his
$2.5 million commitment for a Professorship of Democracy and Politics (see
Bob’s comments in More Reflections). Since this ritual occurred on June 12 and
the books didn’t close until June 30, Rick has asked that the figures be
regarded as only a stopping point on the way to even greater success.
Jim Wright rose and was effusive in his greetings to us, grateful for the
chart-topping check and a bit
sentimental about our departed friend TOM SAYLES and his tremendous efforts and
contributions toward major upgrades in the golf course.
In addition to enjoyment of the
The Class banquet was held in Leverone Field house, an edifice large
enough to hangar two Hindenbergs, ergo impossible acoustics. In spite of the
valiant efforts of our sound tech, Bruce Plummer, son of our own DICK PLUMMER,
the 500 assembled had little or no idea of what was going on at the podium. BOB
ADNOPOZ rose to present the last of the Class of 1954 Awards and mentioned that
the practice of recognizing Classmates would continue, but in a different
format. The award was presented to JAY DAVIS. While the audience could not hear
his acceptance remarks, they likely assumed that they were astute and humble. An
incredible
A sign of the times was the hardy group of only ten who had the stamina
to finish the evening at the Class tent. Skip Weymouth, Pete Bullis, John Pratt
and TOM HALL provided fine background for the bellowing of the Old Songs.
The fiftieth year class has the honor of leading the graduating class to
their seats. We gathered in Rollins Chapel on Sunday morning and were introduced
to our marshal, the irrepressible John Rassias, the master of full immersion
impact language instruction. Professor Rassias urged us to acknowledge the
cheers of the crowd by waving our hats and singing “Volare!” We waved , but
passed on the singing. Pomp,
circumstance, prayer and song were observed.
Masters’ degrees were conferred upon candidates from multiple
disciplines, plus MDs and Phds. In
contrast to our days, only a few of the Tuck, Thayer and
LO-YI CHAN and DICK PAGE were among the nine recipients of honorary
degrees. Lo-Yi’s is a Doctor of Arts and Dick’s is a Doctor of Laws. Lengthy
citations were read relative to both men and the Class responded loudly and
long.
Jay and Martha Davis
The Crew
Today’s
Jeff
Immelt ‘78, Chairman and CEO of General Electric Company, delivered the
commencement address, nicely laced with humor and sage advice.
Jim Wright acknowledged the Class of 1954, its accomplishments and its
contributions to
Mercifully, teams of speed-talkers were brought in to read the names of
the 1058 members of the Class of 2004. In the style of the military academies,
the new grads tossed their caps high in the air.
President Wright imparted wise words to the new alums and we sang the old
words to “Men of Dartmouth.”
Hamburgers at Hestons was
perfect, with Classmates still finding friends for the first time during the
weekend. The Bloody Marys were excellent due to the contribution of gallons of
“Old Maude’s Juice” by DONNA and CLARK DAVIS (recipe will be in the next
newsletter.) BETTY and JOHN HESTON
have been our hosts for this event over many years and the thanks of a grateful
Class are extended once again.
The caravan to the Basin Harbor Club for the extension of the reunion was
joined by a total of 44 Classmates and friends.
The perfect weather continued and the eclectic group took advantage of
all the athletic facilities and nearby museums. SABE ABELL
provided an informative talk on the lore and
history of
So there’s the report on the scheduled events. Now let’s talk about
some of the special aspects.
The Class tent drew many interested ‘54s and friends to pore over
several displayed memorabilia. JOHN POPE provided a number of framed copies of
The Dartmouth from our time on
campus. News of our doings, campus
events and world events transported
us back to the days of yesteryear. JOHN
GILLESPIE supplied a memorable book of photos of our 25th reunion, complete with
President MANDY waving from the back of a white convertible.
BOB LEVINE displayed the material he had meticulously gathered for a
“time capsule” originally to be presented to the
class of 2004. With all
the graduation doings, a presentation became impractical, so Bob has developed a
better idea - a “capsule” to be opened and displayed at 2004’s 50th
reunion in 2054! The plan would be
to lay out the variety of items in their class tent for perusal and amazement.
The trick is to arrange to have someone remember the whole situation (the few of
us still alive will be 122 years old). New
additions to the box of materials include five early Jackolanterns contributed
by TED NOVASCONE, an Indian necktie from Paul Stuart’s with the label
“Dartmouth Indian”, a 1954 freshman handbook, our commencement program and
the Alumni
Magazine
from June of 1954. Lastly, Bob has asked that ‘54s provide short (50 words or
less) notes, expressing their vision of the state of the College, the
Classifieds
Lost - A
Found - Silver pin from prior reunion - Lone Pine and Eleazer gesturing toward a Native American smoking a pipe. Contact editor.
Joan - Jack Shenefield would very much like to have a photo of the Aires
serenading his Joan. Send print to the editor.
Sports
Results
Golf - 35 golfers enjoyed the sunny weather on the improved course. FAY
BERRY bested the women’s division with CAROL WEYMOUTH taking second. On
the men’s side, it was DON BRIEF taking the honors followed by SKIP WEYMOUTH,
JIM TOFIAS and BOB
Tennis - Two dozen players participated over two days of matches. The
Friday trophy winners were BOB PRICE, ELLEN
GORSEY and DEBBY and HUGH NOLIN.
Saturday’s men’s championships
brought to the stand JIM DAVIDSON,
JAY CHANDLER, HOWDY RUSSELL, and
two-letter man JIM TOFIAS.
A
Fantasy
It’s morning in May 2004 in
This whimsical illusion was conjured to underline the superb contribution
these two Classmates have made to the Connecting
dynamic by putting a constant reminder before us of the Class of ‘54
and its enjoyable gatherings. It’s
a safe bet that a good number of us take our morning coffee with us when running
errands - and there it is, right in front of us -
Audrey & Dick Lewis,
Hap
Winslow with his 1931 Ford
For
far too many years, the annals of the Class have omitted a significant fact -
the name of our first newsletter editor. For
some odd reason, it has appeared that we went without a newsletter for the six
years following graduation. Well,
not so! The editor was JON MOORE, who reported on our doings regularly in a
publication called “Hazqui”, an Iroquois word for “hearken.” Perhaps
when
News
Supreme Court Justice NORM VEASEY has retired from from the
Following surgery for a hip replacement, BAYARD JOHNSON has been laid low
with a debilitating problem with his breathing.
His well-known fighting spirit and the loving support of JANIE are moving
him slowly toward recovery, but his low capacity for oxygen intake has limited
what he is able to do. Three times a week a “big, bruising physical
therapist” arrives to put Bayard through a physical regimen designed to
improve the quality of life. Drop him a note:
In
Memoriam
“Buzz”
Tommy left us on
addition
to the newspaper, yearbook and honors, he starred as an athlete in soccer and
basketball, discovering golf only in his senior year. He was a Distinguished
Eagle Scout. In 208 Topliff, he bunked in with Dummer classmate PETE YATES and
JOHN MAY.
On campus, Tom joined the AFROTC program, was a brother of Phi Gamma
Delta and was elected to Dragon. With only a nibble at freshman soccer, he
plunged into golf as a lifelong love and played on the college varsity team. He
went through the first year of Tuck as his major.
After graduation, he spent one year at the Hanover Bank before serving
three years as a navigator-bombadier in the U.S. Air Force.
Equipped with an MBA from NYU, he rejoined the bank, which had become
Manufacturers Hanover, moving into positions of importance in loans and branch
managership. Then, a marvelous thing happened - he was offered the opportunity
to run a small bank in
friendship
and engaging smile are sorely missed.
A book will be placed in Baker Library in the memory of both Buzz and
Tom.
Barker’s
Banquet Remarks
“Musings
of a Newsletter Editor”
Let’s set the scene. Dinner in the field house preceded by a long
cocktail hour and enlivened with an abundant pouring of wine during the meal.
The audience, some 500 strong, has been out in the sun all day and, in many
cases, is still looking for old friends. It’s the end of the evening and
virtually no-one can hear me. My notes are scribbled on 3x5 cards and are
designed to support an ad lib presentation. Got it? OK - here it is.
As I stand before this sea of (mostly) friendly faces, I see something
rather intriguing - little flashes of light, like fireflies. There’s one now -
and another. Know what they are? Email addresses changing ! The bane of every
living newsletter editor!
When I was offered this gig, I was ecstatic. FINALLY! A chance to vent!
What it’s like to work with you people - the frustrations, the irritations,
the lack of responses to requests, etc. And it would not just for me! It would
be for John Gillespie, for Don Berlin, for the
Then, when I arrived here tonight, Jay Davis tells me that I only have 15
minutes and that that there will be no profanity or ranting - took all the steam
and fun out of it! So we’re back to musings, except I’m now expanding the
title to include “....... and Lamentations of a Reunion Treasurer.” I’ll
give you a few observations, a anecdote or two, maybe a few confessions and a
little fantasy.
First, Salutations. Most of the notes I receive from Classmates are
email, postcards and, recently, deposit envelopes. No-one ever starts with
“Dear Pete” or “Hi Pete!” or “How’s it going - how’s Gail?”
Nothing, Nada, Niente! What I get is
“I fell off my bike,” ”My kid graduated,” ”Had
both my knees
replaced,”
”I don’t eat salmon!.” Once a
year, Harry Robinson sends me a large, thick envelope , or even drives it down
to me from
(beat) Let’s talk about nametags. Every reunion, we make the same
mistake - on the deposit envelopes, we ask, simply, for “Nickname.” What we
should ask for is “First name for nametag.” Here’s why.
“Nickname” to most people means a pet name, what you were called in
the fraternity house, locker room or even in the bedroom. So what I got was
names like “Roman” Destino, “Cat”
Some statistics - everyone asks. We matriculated 721 in 1950. We
graduated around 685. Our currently “active” men number from the high 400s
to the mid-500s. At this reunion, we have 264 and a total of 502, including
three grandchildren. There are 34 Classmates back for their first reunion since
graduation. There are 31 doctors and an unmentionable number of lawyers. The
most popular woman’s name is CAROL - 15, if you count the Carolyns and
Carries. The grace note is that we have 4 Mimis! (Where is Maurice Chevalier
when you need him? Finally, there
are 3 Skips and 2 Beavers......
Back to the newsletter. Over the years, many of you have contacted me and
involved me in long conversations which have alluded to fairly steamy or
controversial material. Then, at the end of the tale, you tell me “This is not
for publication!” Then why in the hell did you tell me in the first
place? Rest assured that, since I have signed on for another five years - if you
don’t send me enough news, I will be delving into my strongbox of Not For
Publication material and it’s going to hit the street!
(beat)
A slight confession. A few have complained about the the cost of this reunion -
“$620! What is it for!” As a pro at this kind of stuff, I had a pre-prepared
vague answer, or played the wiseguy with “Being Reunion Treasurer means I
don’t have to tell you.” But I now feel compelled to tell you that yes, John
and I pad the budget ever so slightly so that there will be a bit of a surplus.
Between reunions, John and I assiduously test various products and services for
possible inclusion at the next reunion. For instance, we are still testing two
very nice green cashmere sports jackets; the radial tires with little 54s on
them are holding up well; and Sandy and Gail have just about signed off on the
casual mink jackets. We feel it is vitally important to know whether these
products will stand up over time. However, with a CPA as President, we have had
to low key the process over the past five years. We are sure that Jay, as a
former ad executive will understand and we’re back in business!
(beat) Every reunion, Dick Trowbridge steps up and arrogantly declares
that “The Chi Phi house is the best-represented house at this reunion!” Not
this time ..... At twelve brothers, Chi Phi is in a herd of 12s with Tri Kap,
Phi Sig and Psi U - basically in the field, eating hay - like Smarty Jones. In
first place, with an incredible 16, is Pi Lam. Because they went after it. I
took a call from Jerry Goldstein one day and he hooked me into a conference with
Mike Spicer. Jerry said: “Mike wants to ask you about reunion.” In the
background, I could hear voices saying things like “Go on, Mikey - ask him!”
and “Remember what we told you!” Mike got on and in a shaky voice declared
that he wanted to attend reunion and what did he have to do. Intimidation at its
worst. When Jerry Goldstein sets a goal, get out of the way!
(beat) Now the light fantasy. Many of you don’t remember me from your
years on campus. Oh, I’ve seen you whispering, pointing, shaking your heads. A
great many of the Class communications to me are addressed to Dick Barker. And
then there’s always the “Hi, Bob” as in The Price is Right’s “Janie
Pearl ...... come on DOWN!” Well - there’s a good reason for this. You see,
I never went to
Back in the late 50s, I was running numbers for the Gambino family in
Anyway,
one day I had the misfortune of being present when a Mr. Scungeel got on the
wrong end of a “family argument.” Next thing you know, I’m sitting in a
chair, being offered options by the FBI. I chose squealing and the Federal
Witness Protection Program.
“A little plastic surgery, some speech modification and wham!, they
move me to
in
“So ..... I have signed on for another 5 years and, like a war
correspondent, I will grab my binoculars, throw on my campaign hat, get my pipe
and notepad and follow you around, reporting your wins, your losses, foibles and
new prescriptions. And, my friends, I will do it proudly.
Jean Adnopoz, Sandy Gillespie,
THE CLASS OF 1954 AWARD
JOSEPH
LYMAN
Jay, you burst onto the Class of 1954 leadership scene in July of 1999
and we haven’t been the same since. The Class vice presidency was transformed
into a platform from which you launched us into a five-year frenzy of
gathering, connecting and communicating. Your
example was followed by other Ô54s, resulting in a 70th birthday party, a
You effectively overcame the blot on your escutcheon of rooming with
Choate buddies John Gillespie and Sky Grey, subtly leading both of them into
career activities dedicated to communicating. The Psi Upsilon house recognized
your management skills and appointed you to an officer’s role.
Like many, you managed to make peacetime military service both
interesting and instructive as a Counter-Intelligence agent in
Martha Glenn of
When most men use the word “avocation”, it generally relates to a
secondary activity which provides an outlet for enjoying sports, hobbies or
off-beat interests. In your case, “avocation” virtually means a calling. A
calling to ease the trials and tribulations of everyday people who have been
beset with life-altering events. In the late 80’s, the era of
“re-engineering”, “down-sizing” and other euphemisms for “You’re
fired!”, you, together with a parish priest in Darien, CT, established a
program which brought together similarly-affected individuals for
discussion of their common problems and methods for finding
employment. The success of the initial program led to an expansion to
other parishes, then the organization of a sizable network in the
A grateful Class is proud and happy to welcome you as its leader and to
present you with the Class of 1954 Award.
June
2004
Richard
Lewis
President
