Class Notes

February 2000

by Tony Lee

One of the real pleasures of being Class Secretary is to hear about classmates' interesting and creative activities. Unfortunately I have to condense most of the descriptions to fit in these notes. Occasionally I will publish a more detailed description in the class Web site at https://www.yale64.org/. You will also find late-breaking announcements and social events in the web site. I suggest you bookmark the site and visit it at least once a month. Sam Francis and I are committed to keeping it current and interesting.

Our class has more than its fair share of lawyers, doctors, professors and even US Senators. But we don't have too many farmers, particularly those who have dedicated their lives to improving agricultural practices in the third world. John Jeavons, the Director of Ecology Action in northern California, teaches agricultural skills that build the soil as well as producing food. In a recent film, "The Living Land," John explains that, under our present agricultural system, every time we eat a pound of food, 6 pounds of soil is lost. John's system of gardening involves preparing the soil about 2 feet deep, using lots of compost, close plant spacing and companion planting. He also has several books that help people get started in their own backyards. I'm a living demonstration and have been following his advice in my backyard for over 20 years. If the next phase of your life involves vegetable gardening, check out John's books on our Web site. Ecology Action is sponsoring a conference at UC Davis in late March called "Soil Food & People, a biointensive model for the new century."

Sam Low recently returned from an 18-day trip aboard a 61-foot replica of an ancient Hawaiian voyaging canoe. He sailed to Easter Island to retrace the route that a Polynesian king took about a thousand years ago, using stars, waves and flight of birds as clues to both direction and location. Sam is writing about his experience in articles and as a chapter in a forthcoming book. In the meantime, Sam has moved permanently to Martha's Vineyard.

Bob Kuehn of Keen Development has been a leader in the preservation of historic buildings in the Boston area. A recent Boston Globe article, "Putting old treasures to new uses," outlined the advantages of historic preservation. Preservationists have an intangible ally ― sentiment. In a society where the pace of change is so rapid, the appeal of a simpler past often plays a role. Bob is a former president of Historic Massachusetts, Inc. and an adviser to the National Trust, and believes restoration is moving into the mainstream of development.

Speaking of old relics that are doing well, a picture of a grinning Jeremy Scott Wood, wearing a Yale 1964 sweater, with his beloved "blue" 1964 Volvo PV 544, was published in New England Booming magazine. Jeremy painted the car blue 6 years ago in honor of the fact that all of his school colors from elementary and junior high in Montclair, NJ to Andover to Yale were blue.

Jim Richards and his wife, Susan Lark, have written a book, The Chemistry of Success, about the secrets of peak performance. It's written to help millions of people attain their success goals as well as enjoy optimal health. Excerpts of the press release are on our web site and you can email Jim for more information. (His and all classmates email addresses are on our web site.) Jim is founder of CMI Worldwide, Inc., an internet and e-commerce company. He has spent 20 years developing a new performance model to attain success and optimal health in a business and athletic environment.

Stephen Greenblatt is the General Editor of the Norton Anthology of English Literature. The seventh edition consisting of two volumes and 6,000 pages has been massively revised to reflect the transformation of the canon of English literature. Thomas Hardy and T. S. Eliot now jostle elbows with Chinua Achebe and Nadine Gordimer. Although Stephen is at Harvard, other family members have seen the light. Son, Aaron, is a senior at Yale in Calhoun and wife, Ramie Targoff, teaches in the Yale English Department.

Also in the publishing world, Angus Gillespie has written a book, Twin Towers: The Life of New York City's World Trade Center. Angus claims the Twin Towers are more than just office buildings. They are symbols of America, just as the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben represent their countries. He interviewed numerous people and tells the fascinating story of how engineers built the Towers and what happens during a normal 24-hour day in the world of bankers, shippers, freight forwarding and traders. Angus has been an American Studies Professor at Rutgers since 1973. He and Rowena live in New Brunswick and their two grown sons are nearby.

Bill Galvin was recently married to Ellen Brennan, the chief of the population policy section of the United Nations Population Division. Attending the festivities were Valda and Sandy Swanke, Ellen and Harvey Berenson, and Jeff McKennis. Ellen and Bill celebrated by taking a 3-week trip to South Africa and Botswana, which he recommends to all in need of a new perspective on reality. Bill owns the Galvin Partnership, a financial public-relations business in Greenwich, CT.

Jim McCurley wrote about his hopes to return to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to teach history, civilization and advanced English.

According to a recent article in the Boston Globe, an obscure state committee in Tulsa, Oklahoma voted to require all new biology textbooks to carry a disclaimer saying evolution is a controversial theory, thus making Oklahoma the latest state to officially challenge the way evolution is taught. It has been rumored that a distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Tulsa University, George Hamley Odell, who was last seen in our 35th Reunion book sporting a full head of hair and a bushy beard, has pulled all his hair out.