Class Notes

September/October 2009

by Tony Lavely

As your new Class Secretary, I have decided to retain the duties of Corresponding Secretary; these duties have often been consolidated in the past. Frankly, the part I enjoy the most is writing the Class Notes. I have introduced one "wrinkle." I hope to recruit one classmate per year as a "guest notes columnist" for one issue during the year. Bill Drennen has volunteered for this current year (July-June), so you will hear from him in a future column. Please contact me if you are interested in the role for 2010-11 or beyond.

Our 45th reunion in early June is still resonating. Attendance was 327 (192 classmates), with percentage attendance well above the modern record for a 45th. This will include some notes from the reunion that I was unable to include in the July-August issue.

First, I reach back to some events from earlier in the year. At its February meeting, presided over by Terry Holcombe, our Class Council voted to establish a scholarship, named in honor of Gus Speth, for the Urban Resources Institute at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Also in early February, Tony Lee and Peter Truebner led a contingent of classmates at the Harvard-Yale hockey game; Yale dominated and went on to the ECAC semifinals. Tony Morris reported that he ran into Bob Kaiser in D.C., where he also visited with Chas Freeman. Later than day, Chas was interviewed by NPR about his withdrawal as chair of the National Intelligence Council. The Washington Post reported on this in March. On March 9th, Business Week interviewed Jim Rogers, "Jim Rogers Doesn't Mince Words About the Crisis," provoking a number of interesting letters to the editor. Nick Danforth e-mailed that he is "in his 8th year as a Resident Scholar in the Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center." Butch Hetherington e-mailed: "Ralph DeFronzo has become one of the foremost authorities on diabetes. Last year, Ralph received awards for outstanding achievements in diabetes in both the US and Europe." Returning from Singapore where he "stayed up late drinking beer with Jim Rogers," Len Baker reported that his second grandson, Eli, was born on March 14th. Chris Getman e-mailed that he was joined by Gus Speth, Jay Huffard, Alan McFarland, Bob Buchannan, and Rick Kroon at the dedication of Kroon Hall on May 8th. Our reunion tour of Kroon Hall was a highlight. In May, Angus Gillespie was given an award by Rutgers University for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Education. Patrick Caviness was in Hong Kong is June and saw Sherm Cochran ‘62 who was giving a speech at one of their universities. Also, Pat has also done a wonderful job providing more information for Jack Cirie's page "In Memoriam."

From the reunion, Dan Pollack and Nancy sent some great photos which will be posted on the Class Web site for all to enjoy. If anyone else has photos he wants to share, please e-mail them to me via Picasa (Google app) or e-mail me for another transfer method. Right after the reunion, Rich Niglio and I visited with Chip and Beth Cohen, Stan Thomas' children. Nortin Hadler had to be in Chapel Hill for an important faculty meeting but has already committed to the 50th. Jim Turchik did attend the 45th with his roommates and is otherwise enjoying cultural, singing, and sports in Sarasota, FL.

Karl Ziegler sent photos of a June get-together in London with David Sherman and Blaine Krickl where the venue was the dissection room of St. George's Hospital, now Karl's living room! Tony Morris was in France and Italy in June where he met with pilots who fight wildfires with aircraft. Tony is a tireless advocate for firefighting with aircraft in California. Dan Pollack spent seven days in Bob Hannah's fishing cabin in Canada and then saw Per Wickstrom on the way home. Dan wrote, "Per is quite an artist; he has done some lovely paintings" (now posted on our Class Web site). Bob Sexton wrote Kentucky Governor Beshear, "It is time to put an exclamation mark on Prichard Committee efforts and encourage bold action to accelerate student achievement." Chris Getman reports that plans for the renovation and reopening of Mory's are moving forward very nicely; tours of the progress were provided during our reunion.

One of the features at our 45th reunion was an "Authors Table," where classmates displayed recent publications. Many expressed enthusiasm for the new Publications section on our Class Web site, where these publications can be ordered via a direct Amazon link. Recent additions to this section are books by Dick Berk (Regression Analysis), Bill Roth (Movement: A Memoir of Disability, Cancer, and the Holocaust), and Ed Massey (Telluride Promise).

Ward Wickwire reports preliminary results of YAF for our class as $268,500 with a 45.5% participation.

Sadly, I report the deaths of two classmates: Joseph "JB" Webster on April 22nd, and Paul Lamoree on June 3rd. Their obituaries can be found on our Class Web site "In Memoriam." As previously noted, Wayne Batcheler has been doing a marvelous job of finding more information about departed classmates; his latest entries "In Memoriam" are for: Jack Cirie, Joe DiMaggio, Jr., Peter Woodward, Tom Johnson, John Davol, and Roy Bernt.