Class Notes
November/December 2013
by Tony Lavely
If you're reading this in the Yale Alumni Magazine (rather than our Class website where it appeared two months ago), then 2013 is winding to a close. There are only five months until our 50th reunion, beginning on May 29, 2014. If you're reading this online, you may still have time to submit your personal essay for our 50th Reunion Class Book, under the superb leadership of Larry Crutcher. Absolute deadline is October 15th. If you're reading this in YAM, please submit anyway, and we'll include your essay in an addendum. Ron Parlato posted a terrific column by Dick Cavett '58 about his reunion, "Boola (breath) Boola." You can read it on our Class website.
As promised in the previous column, we are now live with "Sound Off!," an online forum to exchange viewpoints. Thanks to Tony Lee and Bill Galvin for initiating this additional medium to link classmates together. Over 20 classmates have already posted items. Join in the exchange! But this doesn't substitute for your personal essay in the Reunion Class Book!
You should be receiving your Fall class dues letter from Chip Brennan soon. Please respond, so we can head into our 50th reunion on a strong financial footing. Remember, your dues also provide for your subscription to YAM, a truly first-rate publication. Ward Wickwire sent a report for the Yale Alumni Fund. The year ending June, our Class contributed $239,000 with 43.4% participation.
Your Class Council and Reunion Committee will meet in NYC on January 11 to finalize plans for the reunion. Our venue was prompted by a men's hockey game between Yale and Harvard in Madison Square Garden on that date. NCAA Champions!
Gus Speth gave the commencement address at the University of Massachusetts in June. Watch him on a video in Class News. In the early months of his presidency, Peter Salovey toured some of the Yale Urban Resources Initiative sites in New Haven. Our class supported another intern in this urban forestry program this summer. Laird Smith emailed: "I attended the McLean, VA, celebration of John Nields' 50th wedding anniversary. John will probably be remembered for his role in combating the secret and dangerous drugs-for-arms trade that funded our anti-Sandinista efforts." David Sherman emailed: "My high-school drama coach, Muriel Connerton, represented our Class at Bunt McKee's memorial concert by the Syracuse Opera Company in July. She was a huge fan of Bunt's." Waldo Johnston chaperoned 30 kids for an overnight sail on Otsego Lake this summer, and also celebrated his 45th wedding anniversary with Candy (not on the same night).
Bill Galvin emailed: "Just had drinks with Rick Kroon and Jim Curtis (both coming to the reunion) at the Yale Club. They were telling stories about their freshman year distillery." Bob Kaiser and I exchanged emails on the 50th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. I recalled Bob's statement that the phrase did not appear in The Washington Post on August 29, 1963. "We blew it!" he said. Bob also asked us to post the obituary of John Hollander, one of his favorite teachers. Ron Scibilia and David Sherman both added photos to our website photo gallery. Send any photos you want posted to Sam Francis, our best-in-class webmaster. Who knows, someone might recognize you at our reunion! Timothy Breen emailed: "This fall I am giving my inaugural lecture as the James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont. I shall also be delivering the Gay Gaines Lectures this fall at Mount Vernon and will spend some time at the American Academy in Rome. I now live in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont." Chris Getman and Toddie vacationed in Nova Scotia this summer, no doubt working on his golf game. Bob Bulkeley spent his 60th summer at Camp Pasquaney.
Mike Price emailed: " We just returned from three weeks in Peru where Chego (actual name, Hermelinda) has a house and compound outside of Lima. We visited Arequipa, a beautiful colonial city in the southern Sierras. Before that, after 18 years, Chego and I got married in Harwich on Cape Cod." Tortoise Award to Mike! Jock Reynolds, Director of the Yale Art Gallery, accepted our Honorary Class Membership with these words, "I am a proud new member of the Class of 1964, along with my pal, David Swensen." Tony Morris forwarded an article (on our website) about Rick Hatton's air tanker in fighting forest fires. Tony Lee took a weekend off from his tireless work on reunion attendance to hike across Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire over Labor Day: "Our quads are barking loudly today." Len Baker, long-serving member of the Yale Corporation, will be awarded the Yale Medal in November. Chris Getman commented: "Len not only have you served Yale well at the highest levels, you've also played in the trenches with our Class."
Authors and artists continue to populate our website with new works. David Sherman asked: "How Per Wickstrom, a kid from Omaha, could capture the essence of the sea is a mystery to me. I want a Wickstrom original!" Mike Mazer added some new paintings, too. New publications can be found from Harry Evans, Jim Richards, Mike Price, and Sam Low. Articles by or about Karl Ziegler and Gerry Shea are also posted.
It is my custom to reserve news of departed classmates to the end of this column, and it saddens me that the numbers are increasing. In Memoriam, in recent days, we have lost Frank Serratoni, John Wilbur, Wayne Batcheler, and Hoyt Wilson. The news of Frank Serratoni's death in California last May only reached me recently. John Wilbur, captain of the wrestling team and a Seal Team 2 Vietnam vet, died in Florida last July. Bob Kaiser, Ed Massey, Pat Caviness, and Jeremy Wood have already posted remembrances. Wayne Batcheler died in NYC in early August, and a memorial service was held at the Yale Club of NYC. Dave DeVoe and Jim Baxter attended and remembered Wayne. As a long-time Class Council member, Wayne was devoted to our Class. Only days ago, Randy Labbe reported the death of Hoyt Wilson in Oregon, following a life-flight helicopter evacuation from the base of the Steens Mountains. I am also saddened to report that Pete Putzel's father, Pete Putzel jr. '35, died in September, only weeks shy of his 100th birthday. Also, George Covington lost his wife, Barbara, and Bill Drennen lost his wife, Sarah. Our deep condolences to all family and friends.