Yale University

Class Notes

May/June 2013

by Tony Lavely

Yale has confirmed the dates for our 50th Reunion: May 29 -- June 1, 2014.  Please read the announcement from tri-chairs, Chris Getman, Waldo Johnston, and Pete Putzel, on our Class website in "Reunions."

In early February, your Class Council met in New Haven for our annual meeting.  Since we did not consult with the Golf Committee in setting the date, we successfully dodged severe winter storms the weekend before and the weekend after.  Twenty Council members attended, and we welcomed four new Council members:  Jim Bowers, Peter Bradford, Mac Deford, and Al Rossiter.  Summarizing a meeting the day before, the 50th Reunion Planning Committee reported its progress: Tony Lee reaffirmed the goal for a record attendance with residential college captains contacting all classmates; Larry Crutcher confirmed a timetable for Class Book production urging personal essays from all classmates.  On Friday night, the Council enjoyed dinner at Mory's and a victory by the men's nationally-ranked hockey team over Princeton.  Steve Norman, our Class AYA Representative, reported on Assembly LXXII: "Answering the Call to Service: Alumni Volunteers in the Global Community."  Please email me about your personal community service involvments.  Our 2012 Urban Resources Initiative summer intern, Jancy Langley, gave a good presentation of her work last summer, which was financially supported by our Class.  Her presentation can be viewed on the Class website under "News."  Will Elting is heading up the nominating committee for 2014 Class Officers and Council Members.  Please contact Will with your recommendations.

Pierson College organized a reunion to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its founding.  It was attended by ten members of 1964, including David Sherman, all the way from London.  Ted Jones wrote a nice report which is posted on our Class website under "News," together with a group picture.  Nick von Baillou had planned to attend, but was hospitalized that weekend.  Our wishes for a speedy recovery, Nick!  That Friday, Ted and I joined a guided tour of Beinecke Rare Book Library which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.  There are stunning collections, beautifully curated.  Shocking to remember that 50 years ago some of us were storming the plywood construction walls in protest!

Bob Hilgendorf wrote: "Tyler Smith has my vote as our 'fastest' classmate, having run the 400-meter dash twice, with distinction, at the Senior Masters Meet this summer in Belmont, MA."  Bob was in D.C. for the Inauguration and visited his son, Nate, who has been assigned by the State Department to Gaza and the West Bank.  In February, I attended a CFA Society event in Atlanta for which Jim Rogers was the headliner.  Jim was in fine form and had the crowd rockin'.  Jim's new book, Street Smarts, has been well-reviewed by USA Today and Yahoo! Finance.  These articles are posted on our Class website under "News."  So you think Sam Francis' full-time job is as our Webmaster?  Think again.  Sam is a volunteer Captain with the Chatham (NJ) Emergency Squad and has recently re-programmed their entire web-based training system.  Sam will be sailing in the Eastern Caribbean in June.  Stephen Greenblatt emailed from Berlin: "It's snowy and cold but beautiful in its odd way. Back to more consistently beautiful Rome on Sunday."  Steven added: "I'm torn between the pleasure of looking at our Class website and the dismay at seeing the notices of classmates who are no longer with us."   Martin Padley added to the earlier-reported news of his marriage to Melissa Clemence: "The class was represented at the wedding by Tony Lee and Mike Price. I understand that I am the oldest member of the class to get married. I should add that 2012 was also the year of my first hole-in-one, and I feel fairly confident that I am the oldest member of the class to get married and have a hole-in-one in the same year, which is a record that should stand for a good while and is one that Jim Rogers hasn't a prayer of beating."

Pete Putzel continues to organize a Class table at the Yale Club of NYC on the fourth Tuesday of every month.  One regular attendee, Robert Whitby, recently met with the mayor of Bridgeport CT regarding the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts.  Another regular, Steve Norman, continues his good work as Board Chair of Berkshire School.  Patrick Caviness sent an email and photos from South Africa:  "Mingling among the fishing boats of Paternoster, a small fishing village on the NW coast of South Africa.  Saw a cheetah in full stride that was faster than Dick Berk! Tomorrow we fly to Kruger National Park before returning to Bangkok."  Bob Kaiser is recovering well from his vocal problems and planning his relocation to NYC later this year. Bob offered a 50th Reunion program suggestion: "I suggest that the reunion include a panel of classmates who are not famous or notorious, but who have led productive and interesting lives."  Joe Wishcamper emailed:  "Really enjoyed the Pierson Reunion, especially having stayed inside all winter recovering from major foot and shoulder surgeries. I'm one of the main drivers of the Medicare budget!"  Dan Pollack announced the arrival of two new grandchildren and commented: "I suddenly realize that our notes location in YAM is progressing towards the front of the section ... sort of scary."

Did you know that our Class website lists 126 books by 53 classmate authors?  And that's not counting published articles by and about classmates.  You can order any of these books via direct links to Amazon in "Publications."  John Evans wrote a wonderful study guide for his Newtown CT book club on Stephen Greenblatt's Pulitzer Prize-winning Swerve.  You will find recent additions for books by: Chas Freeman, Syd Lea, Jim Rogers, and Gus Speth.  And in the "class news" section there are articles, videos, and appearances by: Dick Berk, Chas Freeman, Stephen Greenblatt, Tom Powers, and Jim Rogers.  Regrettably, YAM has a word limit that prevents me from listing each title, so please do go to the website.

The same frustration with word limit also prevents me from including frequent postings from Facebook, on which many classmates are active.  It's a great resource for your Scribe!  More about that in another column.

Sadly, I report the passing of two classmates since the previous Class Notes:  Richard Morcroft died in Boca Raton, FL, on January 7th, and is remembered by Dieter Brand, his roommate, on our website, "In Memoriam."  George Meiling died on March 6th in Columbus OH, and his obituary is also posted.  In addition to remembering these men, other classmates have posted remembrances for earlier-departed classmates:  Steve Clay for Clancy Ridley; Ward Wickwire for Todd Mueller; Bob Hilgendorf and David Sherman for Jon Auerbach; Patrick Caviness for Jack Cirie.