The crowds
keep growing for the Dartmouth Night parade as it has become one of the biggest events of
the fall in the Upper Valley. People are 8 to 10 feet deep along each side of the parade
route. We had a good contingent for this year's parade, as your classmates were preceded
by our class banner and upside down placard (since we're the only living class that can
get away with that.) The Dartmouth Night festivities were followed by a wonderful
reception at Charlotte and Mike Gazzaniga's home in Sharon, Vt., two interchanges
up I-89 from White River Junction. The soup, as usual, was superb (and welcome, even
though the night was warm), and the rest of the delicious spread was accompanied by dozens
of conversation circles, as classmates renewed friendships.
Our Saturday brunch
attracted dozens of students from the Fayerweathers, the dorm cluster we sponsor each
year, and a chance to meet members of all four undergraduate classes. Following
Dartmouth's heart-stoppingly close victory over Yale, classmates were ready for the
post-game keg at the Frost statue. A big contingent made it up there, including folks like
Tony Oestreicher, who was unable to get to anything else.
The statue now has a plaque
recognizing our contribution, through the continuing efforts of Mike Murphy and Art
Kelton, both of whom were present. We noticed with pride a constant stream of people
from other classes making the hike up Observatory Hill to view the statue and have their
pictures taken. Everyone from all classes is of course invited to do the same thing.
You'll find it is worth the walk.
Dinner at the Sumner
Mansion down the river in Hartland offered another leisurely opportunity to talk with
classmates. It was followed by a talk by Head Football Coach John Lyons, who began with
explanations of three plays -- Yale's two fake punts, and the game's final play as time
ran out with Yale near the goal line. His key message: the Ivy League is once again near
parity, with every club able to win on any given Saturday.
The weekend concluded with
brunch at Pete and Ruth Bleyler's home in Lyme north of Hanover, which featured a
live jazz band and a wide variety of food offerings, as well as an uncommonly warm
mid-October day that made it comfortable enough to eat outside on their deck.
Among the long-distance
attendees were Mike and Helene Murphy up from Florida, Elaine and Art Kelton,
in from Vail, Colo., Bob and Kathleen Wendell, from Saint Simons Island, Ga., Jim
and Carol Baum, from Morris, Ill.
Brief news clips: Tony
Oestreicher has gotten out of the advertising business -- which he says is a young man's
game -- and now is a technical writer with AT&T in New Jersey. Jim Baum reported
Paul Kaplan is still in Nepal, where he runs a restaurant and a couple of shops. Mike
Jenkin reported he is now running a health system of two hospitals and 160 doctors.
More next month.
Robert Conn
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem NC 27157-1015
Rconn@wfubmc.edu
Note: This column is limited to 500
words at the request of the Alumni Magazine. |