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APRIL 2000 SPRING! Now that the entire Class of 1954 is properly and vernally equinoxed, it's time to catch up on what this aging, spirited, imaginative, caring, responsible and fun4oving group of rascals has been doing, thinking and promulgating. We never stand still! Rabble-rousing is us! The April Alumni Magazine had two (count 'em, TWO!) '54 letters to the editors. GEORGE HASKINS complimented the mag on its recitation of the "unknown history" of the College, but demanded that they tell the entire story. Annoying, but correct gadfly JOEL LASKY demeans the childish defense of the Indian symbol and suggests that the adults who continue to whine about things past "grow up!". Ever written a letter to the editor? Read the next issue carefully and let's flood the editor's office with '54 opinions1 pronouncements, and criticisms. The allusion to JOHN GILLESPIE's "mentoring" of JOHN HESTON as "our man in Hanover" drew an outraged howl from the left-behind John: "Aw, c'mon! I was here in Hanover for two years while John was still down in Flatland doing what he could from NYC. I was the original '54 reunion chores guy( in Hanover and taught him the best of what he knows now '1. Well, now the proof will be in the performance. John's caution about the use of Heston's for Hamburgers in 2004 has to do with New Hampshire's burgeoning property taxes. In celebration of John G's retirement and exit from Hanover in favor of Boothbay Harbor, ME (102 Emery Lane, 04538) as of April 18th, there have been a series of parties. An exceptional one was called by the President of Dartmouth College. Several years ago, John founded the Upper Valley Single Malt Appreciation Society. When Jim Wright succeeded to the presidency1 he was deemed worthy of membership - and accepted. President Wright called the UVSMAS to order on April 5th to toast the departure of the founder. Match that for stellar recognition, retired guys! DON and SHEILA BELCHER are "retiring" - "or at least stopping doing some things we have been doing to be able to do more in other directions. Like many doctors at retirement, I will miss my patients who have allowed me to join them in a journey which often included suffering, losses, alienation and death. I remain indebted for their affection and trust. In this new chapter, we are doing the doting grandparents of three little boys, still learning from our three adult children and seeking ways to remain engaged and challenged. In early March, we will be off again to Africa, looking for voluntary work opportunities we could both return to several months a year. Vox Clamantis in Deserto". Truly a man - a couple - that represents the best the Class of 1954 has to offer. From HELEN RATTRAY: "EVERETT T. RATTRAY '54, who died in January, 20 years ago, would be proud to see his son, David Rattray '85, in the managing editor's chair of the East Hampton Star, the family newspaper which Ev took over in 1958. Ev's widow, who is now married to a Yalie, is still working away at the paper too. She said there was enough going on in East Hampton these days to keep a small army busy."editor@easthamptonstar.com; (631)32~0273. Connect up with Helen and/or David. A rare communication from TED HARTSHORN: "Just returned from an extensive trip to the South Pacific with wife GINNY and son Thom. Stops included New Zealand, Australia, Great Barrier Reef area and Fiji. Found South Island of New Zealand to be really beautiful and full of adventurous stuff to do. Witnessed the dawning of the new Millennium in Hamilton, New Zealand by doing the Millennium Marathon with 2000 other runners from all over the globe - a really memorable event and great fun! Ended our sojourn in Fiji, hoping that Y2K bugs would keep us there for a lengthy stay, but no luck. Visiting small villages in the rain forest, native land of Fiji, was quite an experience!". If you're going to stop and smell the roses, seems like Ted and Ginny have found one of the best ways of doing it. Just substitute frangipangi for the roses. After decades of silence, word has come to us of the passing of BOB DRAWBAUGH. Information is spotty, soif any '54 can supply better intelligence, it would be appreciated. The news came from Corky Kay '53, who picked it up his high school alumni email bulletin. When he checked with the high school, Corky determined that their announcement was based on a search of Social Security records. He postulated that Bob, following retirement from his Air Force career, became involved in teaching and coaching in Vermont (possibly Vermont Academy), but has nothing to back up his thesis. Several classmates are investigating various avenues to learn the facts. KEV SULUVAN continues to buffalo the Board of Trustees at Medaille College and has inveigled them into appointing him to a fifth three-year term as president of the college. One of the compelling reasons for this appointment was Kev's commitment to a monumental slate of program goals which only a man of his strength, experience and granite-infused muscles/brain could achieve. Kev's major challenges include pumping the growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment, refinement and development of the academic program, launching the Theodore Roosevelt School, bringing an on-campus housing project to fruition and maturing the institution's athletic programs sufficiently to attain full NCAA Division III status. Knowing full well that completion of all these tasks is impossible, Kev has guaranteed another three-year term when this new one is up. First lady GINNY gets to see him occasionally and basks in the glory of four grandchildren. With the Gillespie's move to Maine comes the well-known process of sorting and picking through decades' accumulations of stufL The delight of discovering something long thought to be lost is accompanied by the the decision-making of "toss or keep". This process has led to the discovery of 50 well-kept covers and the master of the spectacularly successful "Vox Clamantis and Dessert", the Sandy Gillespie compiled cookbook of '54 recipes. Several hundred copies were distributed at the 40th reunion and many more were sold by mail and in the Book Store. Lives were changed and reputations enhanced by the magic and imagination of '54 chefs. Question: if the Class puts together the last 50 copies1 would you be interested at $25, plus shipping? A special printing for the Soth reunion is also a possibility. Let the editor know by Greencard. The Friends of the Dartmouth Library Newsletter cites the acquisition of a holograph autobiography of Daniel Webster in his own hand. The 60 pages of "remarkably difficult handwriting" plays mainly to his formative years and his Dartmouth experience. JOHN FREUND, a Friend of the Library, made it happen. Word has it that CLARK and DONNA DAVIS have been sighted, tromping around Eastman, seeking a suitable property for living and for cultivating Maude's Tomatoes. From their new Florida location, NEAL and SONNY SIBLEY report a happy hooking-up with JOAN and JIM TOFIAS prior to the '54 golf outing. There was 20 years of catching up to do, plus memories of pre-Dartmouth days at Browne & Nichols (with JON MOORE and BILL CHAMBERLAIN). Plans were made to reconnect at the 50th (the Sibley's 50th wedding anniversary!). From SKIP ABBEY: "This past fall, LULU and I were delighted to welcome SEAVER and SALLY PETERS to Grand Haven, a golfing community here at Palm Crest in NE Florida. They have built a cozy winter home on a lake not far from the dub and seem to be enjoying our Nicklaus layout. Palm Coast, home to 30,000 residents, just officially became a city. Interesting how many newcomers formerly lived or spent their winters in SE and SW Florida, and made the change - as we did - to escape the congestion. By the way, Seaver hits the ball just like he used to shoot the puck - long and straight! DICK and BARBARA BARKER made a tour of Vietnam and, in the process, planned to meet up with STEVE and CAROL MULLINS. This note from Steve is chilling in its circumstances: "Dick, well, it wouldn't have been possible, because on Feb 4, in a cave in Halong Bay, Carol tripped over an outcropping and broke her kneecap. She had to climb 30 steps up and 200 down to a boat, take a 30 minute boat ride and a two and a half hour car ride into Hanoi to get it set. Anyway, we were doing all we could to just get around (wheelchairs, etc.) and we flew out of Danang on the 7th, aborting 21/2 weeks of our trip. Hope to go back in the fall and finish it." Sounds like dinner with the Sibleys is far less dangerous! The ever-travelling Barkers, during a family wedding trip to Miami, stopped to see WIL and ZELDA WILMNS at their Duck Key waterfront home. Wil has been drawn back into the fold and has joined the Boston luncheon and the fishing orgies. GINNY and MIKE BIGGS have finally moved into their gorgeous new home in Placerville, CA (halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe at 2000 feet). "very pleasant and, for now, not too crowded." 1803 Country Qub Drive, Placerville, CA 95667; (530) 29~1437; email will change shortly due to the lack of AOL and ATT access numbers in the area. DEBBIE BLUM has been inundated with house guests, which she revels in. "Debbie's B&B - in jest - is especially friendly to '54s". In a tribute to their dad's love of things Dartmouth, JACK's sons selected his '54 tie for his funeral. Debbie is buoyed and supported by a loving group of friends. The current annual book of The Dartmouth Educational Association shows 1451 members of which 37 are '545 (23 life members). The regular DEA membership is $10 per year and funds scholarships. JACK DONAHUE made headlines last year when, after catching several of his Nauset (MA) High School baseball players violating the drinking rule on a trip south, he dismissed them from the team. His remaining team, mainly freshman, went 3 and 13. It was worth it. The local and regional press did just the right things in covering the incident and, best of all, Jack got his message across. They're south again - to the Florida Baseball School at Fort Pierce, near Vero Beach. The four teammates who sat out last year's season have signed notes, acknowledging their responsibilities. What's your bet? No way anybody's gonna cross Coach Jack for a long while. If you are in the vicinity of Fort Pierce, call the school and visit while Jack's team is there. Each year, contained within HARRY ROBINSON's dues notice, is the opportunity to help support a couple of Rockefeller interns. The coordination of our participation in this worthy program falls to PETER KENYON, our Qass Projects maven. Those few students finally selected from the large mass of applicants survive a rigorous review of the structure and intent of their proposed projects. The "winning" proposal from Jesse Foote reflects the fervor of an environmentalist who has put his energies to effective use. Jesse will spend the spring term at the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska, in the Kachemak Bay region (dig out your atlas. -near Seward on the southern coast). Jesse will be working with school groups and the research staff in broadening the local understanding and appreciation for environmental issues. His background exudes the experience and drive toward a career in environmentalism. He spent two summers at a Boy Scout camp in northern Wisconsin as Ecology/conservation director, teaching, researching and practicing sound environmental procedures. Last summer, he completed a research project on intelligence in honeybees, funded by the College. On campus, he has coordinated the activities of the Dartmouth Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO). If you have been on campus lately, you have seen evidence of ECO's effectiveness. The campus is so "wired" relative to the issues, you wouldn't ~ even think about trashing recyclable material or fouling the atmosphere. Every dorm floor has an ECO coordinator. The ultimate goal is to make Dartmouth self-sustaining. Jesse's list of related courses is remarkable and his fall Foreign Service Project in Zimbabwe will be an extension of the Alaska learning. A fine combination of desire, dedication and tangible goals. Two interesting sports headlines in the February Dartmouth: "Men Recover From Loss to Eek Ont a 14 Weekend" (that's right, "eek"), and "Women Fall at Princeton, But Stay Atop Ivies" (do what you will with that one!). The very strange case of up to 78 students cheating on a Computer Science 4 examination drew national attention. Turns out, the visiting professor had left the answers to the exam questions on the class website, but had neglected to re-protect the answers after an in-class presentation. The alleged cheaters, somewhat logically, downloaded the answers and did very well on the test. After a deluge of press coverage and consideration by a number of campus judiciary groups, the New York Times finally reported that all students had been exonerated without punishment. Fun. On a more serious campus note: "College Derecognizes Phi Delt Until At Least Fall of '02 - Redman cites mass dirty rushing, alcohol and drug violations, fire at Chi Gam and large scale deceit". Again, a lot of press, and the charges have stuck, so the house will be vacated in June. After a trip to Spain and Portugal, RICK HARTMAN abandoned ANNE to join the guys at the '54 golf outing in Florida, then picked her up to go see their new granddaughter in Tuscon. Now that the fun stuff is over, he is revving up his engines for reaching the '54 goal of $307,000 for this year's Alumni Fund. Time to cash in on all that money you made on NASDAQ! The Granite State News had a monster write-up in it in January about the impending visit of the Black Eagle Jazz Band at the Rochester Opera House. The article (provided by "our man in Hanover") reads like a slick Madison Avenue piece. but the photo, anchored by banjoist PETER BULLIS is almost eerie. All 7 musicians are wearing marvelous "down home" grins, but if you stare at the photo long enough, you begin to sense an unworldly, "we know something you don't" quality. Investigators wanted. Requires a great deal of listening to and enjoying massive amounts of superb jazz. Eagle-eyed DEKE DESCOMBES spotted an artcle in The Insurance Journal I West headlined: "New York's College of Insurance Names Clements as 'Leader of the Year"'. BOB, who insists that he is not retired was cited as being "someone who is widely regarded as one of the really bright and creative minds in the industry". In his non-retired stage of life, Bob continues to hold the titles of Risk Capital Reinsurance Chairman and Risk Capital Holdings, Inc. Chairman, positions he rose to in 1995. Nowhere in the article is there any mention of the role of Dartmouth College in preparing him to assume the major responsibilities of later life. The Great Class of 1956, when not challenging the composition and due process of the Board of Trustees, is a prodigious promoter of self~organized cross-class trips to exciting and interesting places. At this time, One Roger Schumacher '56 (rschu~rodigy.net) has announced a 22/23 day trip to the Antipodes (Australia and New Zealand) in February or March of 2001. The group can number up to 45 and the cost will be in the neighborhood of $4,000, including air. Roger already had a "put me on the list" group of 10. Contact him for further information. Lacking further stimulating Class news, it seems appropriate and useful to share the following selections from ED SCOTT's description of his and ISABEL's trip to Portugal and Spain (Ed is our very own version of Dave Barry): "I should mention that this was a guided bus tour from 'Senior Tours' and thus an old farts' way of seeing things. But they hustled the luggage and otherwise played border collie ... Glad we went, but would not go back again. Other than the UK (which is a special case), should one have only one trip to Europe, we would choose Italy, even though the toilet seats in the public washrooms somehow have vanished (where they have other than holes in the floor). There must be a cache of seats somewhere in Italy ...Back to lberia. What would be your goals? Sunshine? Golf? Temple trotting? Food? Booze? Sunshine The Costa del Sol in Spain has buckets. BUT, the beaches, magnificent, are boardwalked, shopped, built up and not very pleasant. Sean Connery sold his place recently .. too many cranes. The only bare chest I saw was in the rrrrror. Still, it's the Med. In Portugal, which is on the Atlantic, the Algarve - where there are still some reasonably nice beaches, but hurry, because building is apace. Golf. Golfers will enjoy both areas, especially Portugal. We were not privy to the secret rich people places. Food. Surprisingly, it was rather bland. Add piri piri sauce - but be VERY careful. The big deal is sardines. We are not talking the itty-bitty types we see in cans, but 6 to 8 inch guys which are broiled. Veddy twee (sic). Booze. Lots of good red wine ('tinto", or, from the west, 'rojha') reasonably priced. Get the well-known hard stuff from the local supermarket at good prices. You can drink the water! What to see if you are a tourist. For this, you need a bit of history. First of all, a major part of Portugal was destroyed by a massive earthquake in 1755. Thus, much of what you see has been reconstructed. An exception is Evora, but bluntly - by this time we were in ABC mode (another bloody church). Lisbon is crumby - remodeled interiors, but untouched exteriors. I should mention that it has been only 25 years since Salazar bullied Portugal and Franco did Spain. They are both recovering nations, but will make it. Cork trees and olive oil. Spain has a population of 39 million with over 400 million olive trees. Cork trees have a 9-year recovery period after being skinned. Madrid - bullfights or Picasso. Toledo. Former capital until king moved to Madrid to escape the church. Cordoba. In its heyday, its mosque could hold 25,000! Granada. The Alhambra is a Moorish complex on a hill over Granada. Etcetera, etcetara, etcetera." In Memoriam DAVE REED passed away at his home in Canandaigua, NY in January after a long scrap with pancreatic cancer. NANCY has graciously supplied the highlights of the life of this extraordinary man. Dave joined us in 1950 from Auburn High School, NY, where he had been both an outstanding athlete and student leader. In Hanover, he put his head down and relentlessly pursued his goal of medicine, allowing only a membership in Kappa Sig to provide the occasional distraction. He achieved his MD through the University of Rochester, then narrowed his post-grad studies to Internal Medicine. Typical of the military, he was told that he was a pediatrician when he reported for duty, so that occupied him for two years. After service, he opened a private practice in Irondequoit, NY and treated patients of all ages. In 1%8, he closed his practice and began the trek that distinguished him. His natural desire to teach moved him to Highland Hospital in Rochester where his former patients formed the base for a training program in a new subspecialty called Family Practice - one of the first in the country. During this early period, Dave and his wife, Pat, had three children and adopted two more. In 1%7, they moved to Pittsburgh where Dave, through the University of Pittsburgh, supported family doctors working in rural areas of western PA. In 1976, he joined the faculty of a Family Practice training program at Shadyside Hospital in urban Pittsburgh and, over the next 21 years, developed a nationally recognized Family Practice training program that featured the elements of treating all ages, knowing families and understanding the biological, psychological and social dimensions to illness. His outside good works included tours in Uganda, Russia, El Salvador and Jamaica. His wife Pat died in 1981. In 1987, he married Nancy, a widow with 3 teen-aged children. "The result of this insanity is that, by 1999, he had 8 children and 13 grandchildren. He took sailing lessons last August, traveled to Maine to marry off a son. In his teaching, he stressed the importance of balancing professional and personal life, not to mention the necessity for humor and for drinking good beer. He maintained that humor and enthusiasm for life until his death at home on January 28th." 3570 East Lake Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424; (716) 396-9528; reenown@1x.netcom.com MILNE HOLTON died January 17 in Washington, DC. Material is being gathered for a celebration of his life in the next newsletter. SYLVIA: 517 A St., SE, Washington, DC 2000~1140; (202)547-8052 |