Haven’t kept all of your Midd Mags?
Wondering what your classmates have been doing since graduation?
Below are your Class Notes from the last five years—now, you won’t be lacking for ice-breakers at Reunion! (And, when you're done perusing the notes, here's a piece on the most effective way to read them.)
Inspired to submit a class note of your own?
Fall 2007
Secretary Gale reports: In Anchorage, Alaska, Lew Haines is tired of snow and lack of sunshine and is thinking of arranging future family gatherings in Mexico. Active as usual, in June he was experimenting with bicycle riding, made problematic by the balance difficulties left over from the episode of Guillain-Barre syndrome several years ago—we’ll await a progress report. Kikkan, the cross-country-skiing granddaughter, is busily training on an Alaskan glacier for the next winter Olympics. Lew was deeply affected by the recent death of his longtime friend, Bill Hawkes. • Don Gale and wife Elizabeth, living in Winter Haven, Fla., are both well. Don is no longer able to sing in his church choir and has become less active in the church itself. Reading and walking are enjoyed. One son lives nearby and often drops in for lunch—their other sons live in Georgia and Colorado. • Jim Clark reports that his Parkinson’s disease seems to be in a steady state of late and not troublesome. He has some difficulty writing and doesn’t drive or travel much but he visits the fitness center at Evergreen Woods frequently, reads much, and follows the political scene closely. Wife Dotty (Brown) ’44 is well. • In Ohio, Bruce George is very active in the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra organization and in the Trinity Church in Troy. As president of the Troy Public Concerts, he helps to put on a free band concert in the public square every August, and last year the event attracted over 3,000 people; they were scheduled to perform in New York’s Carnegie Hall this fall. Bruce remains in good health but Harriet (Lindenberger) ’44 has some difficulty with stairs so they have moved to a one-floor apartment. • Last year Warren Hassmer hosted a tour of his extensive gardens in Truro on the Cape for the New England Heather Society which is composed of horticulturists from Delaware to Maine, but he has no such special events scheduled for this year. He remains an avid reader as well as gardener. • I contacted Page Ufford in his retirement community in Coatesville, Pa., and regret to report the death on December 30, 2006, of his wife Doris, who had been in declining health for several years. Page is quite active in the community and serves on several committees in the village. His son and daughter-in-law live near Providence, R.I., and he’s able to fly there for visits, but prefers not to drive long distances now. • I talked with Peggy Rush in June and learned that Dumont Rush had just returned from a week of sailing on the schooner Mary Day out of Camden, Maine, and hoped to repeat the experience in September. At home he’s active and very popular with his neighbors since, with his riding mower, he keeps five other lawns neatly cut. In June, he and Peggy went to a well-attended memorial service for the late David K. Smith ’42 at Kirk Alumni Center. Peggy reports that she is fine. • George Nitchie gave up his four-bedroom house in Weymouth, Mass., in August 2006 and moved to a retirement community in nearby Hingham where he has a small apartment, the usual one meal a day in the dining hall, and good company, and he’s content with the change. With his oldest daughter he still keeps the house in Tunbridge, Vt., and expects to continue to be able to drive there himself. His cataracts limit his reading, and he has arthritis of one shoulder joint that may need surgical attention in the future. His new address is 204 Linden Ponds Way WC607, Hingham, MA 02043, and his phone number is 781-749-1382. • Secretary Byington reports: Polly Hickcox Lecko just retired after 20 years of volunteering in the library. Still living in her own home, she participates in discussion groups of history and fiction. She’s also a new great-grandmother! • Donna Rogers Brackett is doing well physically. She has five daughters around the country who come to visit her as she stays home most of the time. She sends her best wishes to all her classmates. • We were sorry to hear from Betty Attenhofer Van Valkenburg that husband Howard died suddenly January 6. Our class sends her its sympathy. Her address is 307 Cherrywood, Southbury, CT 06488. She’s in a retirement home where she will continue to live. She sends best wishes to the Class of 1943. • We also sadly report that Louise (Skip) Wilkin Dimond lost companion Bob Rude on September 8. He died at the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis after a long illness. Our sympathy goes out to Skip. • Living in a retirement home, Dorothy (Teddy) Hood Bittmann depends on her children for trips to stores, etc., as poor eyesight keeps her from driving. She hopes to attend reunion next year. • Ginnie Carpenter Halstead reports she recently attended the wedding of grandson Chip Franklin ’02. He’s the son of daughter Janet Halstead Franklin ’72 and husband Churchill ’71—three generations of Middlebury graduates! Ginnie has slowed down on her travels due to poor eyesight but she hopes to be at our reunion. • Lois Groben Doe has been staying active in bridge and book clubs. Still living in their own home, she and her husband help out in the apple orchard business of Chick (Charlotte Johnson Doe), which has just added “pick your own” raspberries and blueberries. How I wish they lived nearer us! • After talking with her husband, Win, I found out Peggy Bowles Smith is active in a book club where she sees Ginnie Halstead and Skip Dimond each month. She and Win are still working Christmas trees and they added white pines to the farm. Win is looking for someone to assume their care after having turned 90 recently! • Bobbie Higham Winner writes, “I live at Rosemont Presbyterian Village, playing bridge daily, and enjoying the many activities. My daughter, grandchild, and great-grandchild are close by. I’m still in pretty good health.” Class Secretaries
Mrs. Ann Cole Byington, 290 Kingstown Way, Unit 275, Duxbury, MA 02332
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@comcast.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Summer 2007
Secretary Byington reports: It’s about time the Class of ’43 thanked John Gale for the wonderful job he has done as class secretary for the past eight years. With Fritz no longer with him, John keeps busy taking care of vegetable and flower gardens, and doing repairs on an 11-room Colonial frame house built in 1900. He says one of the fun things he does is to use a snowblower during the winter season. He also keeps busy with weekly visits to a nursing home and he reviews medical records of Medicaid and Medicare for Mass Pro for hospital quality care, one day a week. He’s a busy senior citizen! Thanks again, John, from all of us. Your efforts through the years are much appreciated! • A letter to Donna Rogers Brackett was returned with no reason supplied so we haven’t made contact with her. Donna, if you read this, let us know your news! • We did hear from Jane Botsford Armstrong who is back in Vermont to stay. She is no longer able to do sculpture, as her vision is almost gone. Her new address is Equinox Village, #221, 49 Maple St., Manchester, VT 05255. She says, “Stop by if you’re ever in the Manchester area.” • Secretary Gale reports: Dick and Lee Van Leuven ’45 Morehouse have moved from their Camden, Maine, retirement community to spend the summer months at their house on Vinalhaven, where they again have grandchildren as summer working guests. Dick suffered a stroke in April after neck surgery which required a lengthy stay in the hospital and rehab unit. His walking was affected but his speech was not seriously impaired and he sounded his usual upbeat self on the phone. • Scott Eakeley had appendicitis problems during the winter and spent two-and-a-half weeks in the hospital followed by a successful laparoscopic appendectomy with good recovery. He and Putt (Lenore Wolff Eakeley) celebrated both their 63rd wedding anniversary and Putt’s birthday in the hospital. Putt describes Scott as “a most active invalid.” Scott has some peripheral vision with his macular degeneration and is able to do some chores. They continue to live independently in their own home in Westfield, N.J. Their daughter also lives in Westfield, and a son lives in Short Hills, N.J. They have one great-grandson and recently welcomed a great-granddaughter. • Bud Nims, who will be 86 in June, is now less active in the investment business, but since December has been working full-time at Wal-Mart in the tire and lube department as a “People Greeter.” He also runs the cash register and sees that supplies are stocked in a timely manner. He reports that his work seems satisfactory since he’s had two raises in four months. All this in spite of numerous coronary artery stents and peripheral arterial disease that has bothered him less since his activity increased. In Riverside, N.J., he has lived in the same apartment (which is close to Wal-Mart) since 1999. • In March, I talked with Howie Friedman who had just returned from a four-week vacation to St. John, Virgin Islands. He and Daisy planned to rent a cabin in the Tetons this summer. They usually alternate summer vacations between Europe (Daisy comes from Alsace) and the U.S. He’s the executive director of the International Philosophers for Peace, which this year had their biennial conference in Virginia in May. He and Daisy plan soon to move to Montpelier, Vt., where their son now lives. • From the North Carolina Outer Banks, Fred Booth reports he is no longer swimming daily in the ocean; he’s had one knee joint replaced but has problems with the other when getting out of the surf, so he substitutes their pool for the ocean, except on calm days. He and Faith celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in February and were planning a postcelebration cruise from Norfolk to Bermuda in May. Faith remains well and teaches a large class of piano students. Daughter Bobbie is a teacher in Kent, Wash., south of Seattle; two sons also live in Washington State. Fred hopes to get to the 65th next year unless Springfield’s reunion falls on the same weekend. • In Nevada City, Calif., 50 miles west of the Donner Pass, Ted Peach continues his struggle to maintain the surface of the two-mile, uphill and downdale dirt road from the public highway to their house. Using his 1940 Ford tractor, he loads his pickup truck with crushed mine rock to lay on the road. He also builds frequent water bars to prevent erosion—in New England these are called “thank-you-ma’ams.” Since 1982 they’ve transplanted over 1,000 Douglas fir seedlings in areas cleared of brush on their 92 acres. Wife Nancy is doing well on her organic special diet and chemotherapy. • It is with deep regret that I report the death of Bill Hawkes on April 7 from complications related to a very rare malignant tumor of bone which was discovered a few months earlier. Bill was a one-of-a-kind, multifaceted entrepreneur, always brimming with energy and new ideas for enterprises. He was also an accomplished skier and avid bicycler (as evidenced by his arrival at reunions on his cycle and his completion of the Mt. Washington race at age 80), an enthusiastic world traveler, a devoted family man, and one who faced his final illness with characteristic energy and optimism. Our condolences go to wife Jean and family.
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Ann Cole Byington, 290 Kingstown Way, Unit 275, Duxbury, MA 02332
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@comcast.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Spring 2007
Secretary Gale reports: I’d like to extend the thanks and appreciation of the class to Loie Doe for her years of service as the conduit of news from the distaff side of the class, a task which she undertook somewhat reluctantly but fulfilled exceptionally well. Loie expressed a desire to be relieved of these duties and it is our good fortune that Ann Cole Byington has been willing to replace Loie; Ann’s contributions will begin with this issue. • I talked with David Wood in Nantucket. He continues to be active in the Episcopal Church where he has been a senior warden for many years. He no longer drives and prefers a cane when walking. He’s a bit less active now but he reads a lot. • Red Barmby is now completely retired and is no longer in the consulting field. He and Ellaveen have moved to a retirement community. He’s very pleased with the move, enjoys the good food and the bus transport for activities, and likes the fact that doctors are available on call at night. His new address is 744 Spring Village Drive, Apt. 113, Springfield, VA 22150. • One of the class’s most prolific writers continues undaunted by nature’s tricks and trials. In an article published in the Bellevue Literary Review: A Journal of Humanity and Human Experience, titled “Pushing the Geriatric Envelope,” Ralph Crawshaw describes his symptoms at the time of sudden onset of atrial fibrillation while exploring a Portland, Ore., bookstore. He relates his thought processes re the probability that he was facing an imminent demise. That reflection, and his subsequent discomfort at being the patient rather than the doctor, makes for interesting reading. • Having been unable to reach Reggie Wooldridge for some time, I was delighted to learn from Jack Dale, husband of the late Dotty Forsythe Dale, that Reggie now lives in Clinton, N.Y., as does Jack, who knows him well. Reggie’s wife died several years ago and he now lives in the independent section of a retirement village. He no longer drives, but he still goes to Rotary meetings, plays pool, and loves to play cards. Jack transports him to gatherings, shopping, etc. Two of Reggie’s daughters and a son live in Clinton, and he has a daughter in Syracuse and one in Utica, N.Y. Incidentally, Jack also plans to move to a new independent living apartment in the fall. • After the earthquakes in Hawaii in the fall of 2006, I called Pat Rogers Prukop in Oahu to see how she fared. As the quakes did not affect that island, she was fine and recovering nicely from her “minimal surgery” knee replacement. She says that people there fear tsunamis more than earthquakes, and apparently with good reason—in 1952, when she and John ’42 had a house on a beach, a tsunami moved it across the street into a neighbor’s yard, fortunately without damage to either of them. • I spoke with Yvonne Golding Weinhardt in Dallas who said husband Bill died of rapidly progressing Alzheimer’s disease in March 2006. Yvonne said her children have been wonderful in helping her through these difficult months, and her friends have kept her busy; she’s been playing bridge almost daily and is trying to improve her own game by observing her more skillful colleagues. She has been serving as an usher at an organization in nearby Richardson, Texas, that stages such events as The Nutcracker Suite, choral groups, and similar musical productions, so she gets to see those. She has also been active in an investment club. She sounded great on the phone and seems to be coping well. • I’m sorry to report the death of Dick McGarry, a native of Rutland, Vt., who died on October 26, 2006. With a degree from M.I.T., Dick worked as a chemical engineer on the Manhattan Project in 1944–45. He and wife Anne retired to Pittsfield, Vt., in 1983. We send our condolences to his family. A memorial appeared in the winter issue. • Secretary Byington reports: Betty Brigham Barrett expects to stay in Norwich, Conn., in a duplex owned by her son. She has lots of grandchildren nearby so she stays quite busy and well. • Elly Reier Brown lives in a retirement home near Boston. Even though she has balance problems and walks with a cane, she exercises a lot and gets to NYC for opera at the Met. She recently saw Madame Butterfly. • Margaret (Bounce) Dounce Dale had some radiation treatments recently. Her three daughters live in Boston so they can visit frequently. Bounce is still in her own home in Longmeadow, Mass. • Mildred Carson Bonow enjoys living in a retirement home in Cromwell, Conn. She stays close to home because she is legally blind and has heart problems. • Inky Ohlander DePodwin plans to move to assisted living this spring and has been dealing with “downsizing problems.” Her new address is 333 Elmwood Ave., #J517, Maplewood, NJ 07040. • I regret to report the death of Katherine Kurtz Hodges on October 14, 2006. Our condolences are sent to her family and friends. • Rachael Swarthout King is living at Kendal Retirement in Pennsylvania and enjoys it very much. Rachael retired from nursing after many years of working in hospitals and schools. Her husband was an engineer and they lived in various countries, including Germany and Brazil. • I received a card from Virginia Clemens Lowman describing a trip she and husband Rod took to the Girl Guide/Girl Scout World Center in Pune, India. After the meeting, they visited some of the historical sights in northwestern India, including the Taj Mahal, and many interesting city palaces. For some of these trips, they rode elephants or camels!
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Ann Cole Byington, 290 Kingstown Way, Unit 275, Duxbury, MA 02332
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@comcast.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Winter 2007
Secretary Doe reports: Margaret Bullock Marti and husband Don recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and live happily in the same house they have occupied for the last 55 years. Peg was thrilled to welcome their first great-grandchild on February 12: “He’s an adorable (of course) red-haired boy named Ty David.” Good news, indeed! • Marty Newton Van Gaasbeck is looking forward to a move into a retirement facility soon and promises to let us know her new address and phone number. Notice of any change is much appreciated! • Pat Rogers Prukop is scheduled for knee surgery soon. We hope all goes well. • My recent phone calls to several people had no response or received a disconnect message. Does anyone have information about changes for these classmates—Elizabeth Hanzsche Schuyler and Elva Tarbell Procopio? • Secretary Gale reports: I had a long talk with Jim Brown, whom you remember did not return to Middlebury after freshman year; he took a job in advertising for the summer and liked it so well he kept at it rather than returning. In December 1941, he enlisted in the Marine Corps soon after Pearl Harbor, was assigned to the First Marine Division, and was a radioman in Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester on New Britain Island, and Palau. After the war, he graduated from Yale where he worked in the news bureau, worked then for various newspapers in the East, and was on the editorial board of the New York Times. Having always loved the sea, he retired to Camden, Maine, where he wrote for Down East magazine. Seven years ago he and Trudi bought a condo in Middleton, R.I., near one son in Fall River, Mass., where they can enjoy seeing the grandchildren grow up. Jim is well except for arthritis, which necessitates the use of a cane. Says he has fonder memories of Middlebury than of Yale. • Ralph Barclay reports from Maryland that his son has recently bought the house next door to his and expects to move there soon, which is welcome news for Ralph. • When I reached Eb Baines in Vero Beach, Fla., in September, he had just returned from a weekend conference of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. He remains active, despite leg problems that necessitate using a walker or power chair. He and Janet were looking forward to a cruise in December. • Steve Wilson of Portland, Ore., reports he’s occasionally been in touch with Lew Haines up in Anchorage, Alaska. Steve enjoys having their son nearby and says one grandson is graduating this year from air traffic controller school. Steve uses a walker and no longer drives due to continuing balance problems. Wife Libby, a Wellesley grad, came on the phone to comment that she reads both the Wellesley and Middlebury alumni magazines and finds Middlebury’s much more interesting. • Paul Liehr sounded upbeat on the phone, in spite of limitations on his ambulation, which necessitate either a walker (a common theme for ’43ers now) or a cane, and which restrict his travel. He said he feels very fortunate to be in generally good health otherwise. He has no problem reading as long as he uses his glasses. He says he lives about 10 miles from Ted Peach. • Stu Walker reported: “This was a good year for sailing—and my club, the Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, held the Soling World Championships in October with about 50 boats from all over the world. It was an opportunity for me (as Regatta Chairman) to repay all the hospitality I have received for the past 40 odd years!” • This past summer, the Craftsbury (Vt.) Historical Society presented “Remembering Friends: Roger Easton, Our White House Laureate.” In January, President George W. Bush honored Roger by awarding him a White House Laureate in Technology. At the historical society event, Roger planned to recall his early years in Craftsbury, highlight his long career as a space scientist with the Navy department and NASA, and show a video of the White House award ceremony. • After this column, Lois Doe will be stepping down as class secretary and Ann Cole Byington will take over. Many thanks to Lois for her years as class secretary and for the wonderful class notes she has written!
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@adelphia.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Fall 2006
Secretary Gale reports: I talked in May with Jim Krieble who said Mandy (Amanda Sanborne Krieble) remained in the nursing unit at Kendal in Hanover, N.H. Her speech and motor difficulties were about the same. Jim’s health hasn’t changed, except for some eye difficulties. He gets to Lake Willoughby with members of the family for short visits. Son John is an architect, living in Brooklyn; daughter Cindy continues her painting in Ellensburg, Wash.; daughter Betsy edits books for a publishing company in Andover, Mass. • Dumont Rush has had highly successful results from the January 2005 laminectomy he had for spinal stenosis; his pain has cleared completely, and he has recovered the use of his left leg. • Scott Eakeley, in Westfield, N.J., sounded in good spirits despite being afflicted with macular degeneration. He takes walks, grows dahlias and tomatoes, shares the latter with the neighborhood, and listens to a special radio program that reads excerpts from various newspapers. Putt (Lenore Wolff Eakeley) has some heart problems, but does the driving for the family. Their daughter also lives in Westfield, and their son is about a 20-minute drive away. • Eb Baines and Janet are doing well, although his leg problems limit his walking. They were in New Jersey for a granddaughter’s wedding. • I reached Jack Lundrigan and Ann at their summer place on Lake Erie and was invited to visit. Jack has made a good recovery from his stroke, but he has been unable to play golf since last fall due to problems with an ankle that has been fractured several times. Jack and Ann spent two months in Florida, then were in Middlebury in June for the graduation of granddaughter Jessica Ross, who graduated magna cum laude. • Secretary Doe reports: We caught Natalie Dane Richdale overseeing a washer repair job. She is in good health and now living in Maine full time where she is busy with maintenance of her over-100-year-old home. She frequently entertains her five children and grandchildren there, but took time out this summer for a trip to France with her daughter. • Jean Jordan Shield’s regular activities are still biking and gardening, but she and her husband recently returned from vacationing on a Lake Michigan peninsula, which she describes as being just like Cape Cod used to be! How long ago that was! • Margaret (Bounce) Dounce Dale says she is feeling better now that some surgery is over. She and Marty Newton Van Gaasbeck enjoy lunch together often. In fact, she was looking forward to a visit with her the next day. • Chick Johnson Doe reports the death of husband Whitney, whom many of us knew from the many reunions he attended with her. Our condolences have been sent. • We regret to report the death of William Scott who was a part of our class for the first two years. We extend our sympathies to his family and friends. • Your reporter made a flying trip to California for her sister’s 95th birthday celebration in March—a delightful reason to go, but also a solid reminder of her own advancing years!
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@adelphia.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Summer 2006
Secretary Gale reports: Those among you who followed the results of the recent Winter Olympics may have noticed the name of Kikkan Randall near the top of the list of winners in the women’s cross-country events. And some will remember that Kikkan is the granddaughter of Lew Haines. Kikkan qualified for the Olympic team with her first place in the 2002 U.S. Championship 1.5 km Sprint. She is the 2006 U.S. National Cross Country Champion in 5 km skate, 1.3 km skate sprint and the 10 km classic races, and in Italy gained 9th place in the Winter Olympics Sprint, the “best ever American finish,” as well as 5th in the 2006 World Cup Borlange Sprint, also a best American effort. Kikkan had earlier been elected to the Alaska Hall of Fame for high school students. Needless to say, Lew is a proud grandfather. (More on
www.kikkan.com/aboutkikkan.html.) Kikkan’s aunt, Betsy Haines, was on the 1980 Winter Olympics cross-country team and Uncle Chris was a 1976 Olympian. • Ralph Barclay reports that he has two very young grandchildren (about a year old), belonging to his two sons, who live not far away in Maryland. Ralph comments that he’s somewhat behind the rest of us in such matters. He and his sons occasionally get together Sunday mornings. He says he’s continuing his strict vegetarian diet to which in part he attributes his favorable state of health. His prostatic cancer, with which he’s been dealing since 1991, apparently remains in remission. Ralph’s intermittent communication with Red Barmby continues. • Secretary Doe reports: Cressy Stanwood Whiting called from her winter quarters in Washington, D.C., where she is still busy with book club, church, and the Community Service Council. She also alerted us to news from Teddy Hood Bittman, who fell and now has a hip problem. Now living temporarily at Lincoln Park Manor, an assisted living facility in Kettering, Ohio, Teddy and her husband will probably relocate in the same area. • Martha Newton Van Gaasbeck reports the birth of her first great-grandchild on December 7, a date easily remembered by our generation as Pearl Harbor Day. How many great-grands and prospective Midd students does our class have? Let us know! • We have belatedly learned (by e-mail from her daughter) that Jean Baillie Scafe died quietly in her sleep in July 2000. She and her husband of 55 years lived in Tacoma, Wash. Her three surviving children now reside in the Puget Sound area. We very much regret not having had this information sooner. • When Helen Bouck Hildebrandt (Bouckie) moved into a retirement community, she took with her a fine collection of tools which had been used in her husband’s business. Now anyone needing an implement goes to her. Can we say she is still “tooling around”? • Last fall, six Midd “Girls” had their semi-annual lunch, this time at Skip Wilkin Dimond’s apartment at Evergreen Woods in No. Branford, Conn. Attending were Bounce Dounce Dale and Marty Newton Van Gaasbeck from Long Meadow, Mass., Mill Carson Bonow from Cromwell, Conn., and Peggy Bowles Smith and Ginny Carpenter Halstead from Guilford, Conn. Skip reports that “in spite of their age they all could walk, and because of their age they had a lot to talk about, which gave them plenty of time to lick the platter clean.” • Jim and Dot Clark ’44 Clark showed how the Latin Americans do the merengue at a dance demonstration at Evergreen Woods, the aforementioned senior citizen complex in Connecticut. Jim didn’t complain of any stiffness the next day. • When reached in Portland, Ore., Dr. Ralph Crawshaw was planning another book, this one about his recent eight-day hospitalization for treatment of pneumonia. He was especially concerned for the overworked nursing staff and the shortage of RNs at the hospital. Ralph also sent news of his Collegium for the Study of the Spirit of Medicine: “We are made up of an irregular cross section of thinking Portland caregivers, 10 doctors of different specialty persuasions, a hospital administrator, a bioethics D.Sc.Rel (a doctor who has been through theology school), a medical editor, and an administrator of a charitable foundation. Over the last five years we have met once a month for a spirited discussion over breakfast, with subject matter running from the influence of economics on medical education, our role in international health, medical morale, to other subjects that, as a whole, represent a Middlebury humanistic education. We are not very action oriented, but have instituted regular lunch hour musicales by professional musicians at the medical school. It is little more than an apostrophe mark in that clamor of science, but still a soft voice of the human in caring. As far as personal chores, I am working on two books. Adventures of a Medical Imagination is a series of fairy tales about what might transpire should I run into the likes of H.L. Mencken, Oscar Wilde, or Eleanor Roosevelt in the course of wandering about Portland. The other book speaks to the loss of identity experienced by becoming a patient in a modern hospital. It is entitled Bits and Pieces—A 21st Century Hospitalization. For me, Middlebury is such a sweet memory—bittersweet, when I think of all our classmates who died in the years between ’41 and ’45.”
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale22@adelphia.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Spring 2006
Secretary Gale reports: Phil Backup and Ruth spent an enjoyable six weeks in Hawaii over the Christmas holidays, then returned to Oregon for more golf and for skiing. In June, they usually go to Fairbanks, Alaska, where Ruth grew up. They may return to Vermont to visit their daughter and granddaughter in Williston. • Congratulations to Roger Easton who was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Bush in November 2005. This is the nation's highest honor for technology, awarded to individuals who embody the spirit of American innovation and who have advanced the nation's global competitiveness. This recognizes Roger's extensive pioneering achievements in spacecraft tracking, navigation and timing technology that led to the development of the NAVSTAR-Global Positioning System. • Lew Haines remains active, doing a little bowling, tennis and cross-country skiing. Lew and Toni plan to visit a daughter in Sarasota in May, "after the snowbirds leave and before the hot weather arrives." Grand-daughter Kikkan Randall had a good chance to make the U.S. Olympic Ski Team this year. • Warren Hassmer reported in January that the mild winter allowed continued activity in his showcase gardens. He commented that he misses Kay Sempepos Silliman, with whom he used to exchange book reading lists and on whose recommendations he had come to rely. • Bill Hawkes and Jean had a great two-week trip to Morocco in December but then were involved in a collision with a truck after returning home. Bill suffered some broken ribs and brief loss of consciousness, resulting in the implantation of a pacemaker-defibrillator device. On last report, he was back in the gym getting back in shape. • George Nitchie says he's still rattling around alone in his Weymouth, Mass., house. This summer he plans to move to a retirement community in Hingham, five or six miles away. Their house in Tunbridge, Vt., remains in the family, with his daughter gradually taking over that responsibility. George reports no serious writing of late, only limericks, but hopes this will change when he is free from taking care of his present abode. • Ted Peach continues to be a gravel mover to keep his road in shape. He recently acquired another two tons to be distributed, with some help from a nearby grandson. Wife Nancy's tests are "OK," Ted says, and she's busy planting more Christmas trees for eventual distribution to members of the family. • Page Ufford lives in a condo in a Coatesville, Pa., retirement community, where he keeps in shape by walking daily and using the exercise room two or three times a week. Wife Doris, who has multiple sclerosis, is in the nursing unit there, so Page is able to see her daily. Although physically limited, she is mentally intact, reads, is active in clubs, and gets about in a wheelchair. They have sold their Lake Champlain summer cottage. • It is with regret that the January 6, 2006, death of Stan Tupper is reported. An able lawyer and a distinguished member of the Maine Legislature and the United States Congress, Stan maintained a rare sense of independence. He was a leader and mover in local and state affairs, especially the fisheries, and one who never forgot where he came from. A memorial appears elsewhere in this issue. • Secretary Doe reports: We learned with relief that Yvonne Golding Weinhardt was well away from Katrina and Rita, but she did make note that a number of evacuees were in her area. Sadly she reports that her husband, Bill, has Alzheimer's disease and is in a retirement home where she visits him nearly daily. Nearby children have been of great help. • Barbara Higham Winner is now living at Rosemont Presbyterian Village, closer to family and her six great-grandchildren. She enjoys playing bridge almost every day. • Eleanor Wilcox Murphy and her husband are busy with church, hospital, and caring for their home of 53 years. They travel to visit children on holidays. Asked whether weekly afternoons as a Gray Lady aren't quite strenuous, she cheerfully replied: "I can still push a wheel chair!" She sounds more than capable! • Chick Johnson Doe received news that Jean Jordan Shield and her husband aided a hurricane dispossessed family to relocate near them and are now enjoying new friendships.
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Winter 2006
Secretary Doe reports: We (Bill and I) attended the wedding of Bill's granddaughter in Jackson Hole, Wyo., last June. Besides the wedding festivities, another high point was a white-water raft trip with enough rough water to knock us off our seats along the way. • Jan Hooker Laine recently went on a group trip to South Africa with 20 people from Cape Cod: "It was the most awesome and wonderful trip I have taken so far—and I have been to many places. I may have been the oldest one on the trip, but I could climb on and off the jeep as well as any of them." Although she has macular degeneration problems in her left eye, Jan is optimistic: "I have one good eye, so I can still drive and I can still read. Let us hope it stays that way. I still garden, still love the movies, still love to read, but don't cook much (ha-ha). My four kids are all fine, as are my four granddaughters." • Anne Willis reports that she is fine—other than nursing the cracked rib she acquired when trying to move an air conditioner in last summer's heat. Despite the rib, however, she continues to volunteer, enjoys bridge club, and walks most everywhere she needs to go. Anne keeps in touch with Middlebury roommate Barbara Roberts Ormsby. Barbara would enjoy hearing from us at her new address: Meadow Ridge Health Center, Meadow Ridge Rd., Redding, CT 06896. • Marty Newton Van Gaasbeck is still golfing, although she has been nursing a back problem lately. Marty had a nice time on Nantucket this summer with her daughter. She will not go to Florida this winter, because the hurricanes have changed things enough to spoil it for her. Sharing news of harvest in our apple country brought a reminder that she grew up on a dairy farm and is well aware of farming problems past and present. • We passed along Marty's comment to Chick Johnson Doe over lunch recently. Chick's only comment was that she is still hanging in there, despite her own and the farm's problems. • Our heart-felt sympathy is with Elizabeth Brigham Barrett, whose husband Fred died on April 23, 2005. Brig's daughters all live out of state, but she's glad to have four sons living close. We wish her the best. • Secretary Gale reports with sorrow the death of Russ Dale on August 10, 2005. Russ was a quiet, competent, dependable person with a delightful sense of humor. He contributed much to his country, college, and especially to the community of Longmeadow, by his public service. The class was fortunate to have had him as a member. A message of condolence has been sent to his wife, Margaret Dounce Dale, known to us as "Bounce." • We must also report the death of John Kalajian in Camden, Maine, on September 30, 2004. He had been in a Camden nursing facility, close to son Peter and his family, allowing visits almost daily by grandchildren and other relatives. • Dumont Rush is enjoying the many advantages of retirement in Middlebury. He and Peggy are no longer raising puppies as Seeing Eye dogs, but still provide a home for some of the retired mothers of those puppies. • From Winter Haven, Fla., Don Gale reports that he and his wife are well. One son is an M.D. in general practice in Golden, Colo. Another son, trained as an orthopedist, suffered an accident which made it impossible for him to continue in surgery; he's now a hospital administrator. Their third son is a musician and teacher of music. • As of late September, Ann Cole Byington was making a slow but steady recovery from emergency abdominal surgery. Husband Bob Byington remains well. • Now nearly retired from the insurance business, Bruce George handles the music for the Troy (Ohio) Skating Club, is a bass singer with the Dayton Philharmonic Chorus, is president of the Troy mayor's money raising concert, and is involved with the Dayton Philharmonic Band & Chorus's International Festival of Nations—which recently drew some 4,000 people. All this in spite of having had a knee replacement and two coronary angioplasties in recent years. • Phil '42 and Betty Blanchard Robinson '42 visited Harry Walsh in Waldoboro, Maine, last summer; they report that Harry is doing well. • Lew Haines still plays a little tennis and says that he can return any ball that's within three feet of him. He's still disappointed that he wasn't able to complete the ascent of Chilkoot Pass last year—but he did conquer Mt. Washington the previous year. • Bill Small, now retired as a deacon in the Diocese of Providence, still officiates at wakes and baptisms, and occasionally helps the local priest at services. He enjoys writing and has over 30 pieces published in magazines such as Yankee. He reports that wife Bernadette is in fine health. • As of October, Jean and Bill Hawkes were planning a two-week visit to Morocco. Bill didn't mention any recent bike races on Mt. Washington. • As you will recall, a small booklet of poems by Dorothy Forsythe Dale was made available at the time of our 50th reunion, thanks largely to the efforts of Dutch DePodwin '44. This publication earned her the title of Poet Laureate of our class. Since Dorothy's death in July 2003, a more complete volume of her work has been lovingly assembled and published by her family and friends. Entitled My Special World: Poems and Photographs of Dorothy Forsythe Dale, the book is available for $19.95 from her husband, Jack Dale (161 Sanford Ave., Clinton, NY 13323).
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Fall 2005
Secretary Doe reports: Jean Jordan Sheild says she "doesn't feel 80 and some." We hope all of you agree! She's mostly at home doing fun things like bridge, lunch, gardening, and biking the 12-mile route around the lake. Jean and her husband went on an Elderhostel to escape last winter's weather, but they landed in Albuquerque in a snowstorm and then spent three days in Santa Fe, where they had to cope with a foot more. Jean had a visit with Inkie Ohlander DePodwin who, she reports, is still in real estate and quite involved with family affairs. • After farming for 50 years, Gloria Merritt Piersall and her husband are happily retired and living quietly—that is, if keeping up with 75 nieces and nephews (now in the third generation) can make for a quiet life! They enjoy many family gatherings and an annual reunion. In between, they enjoy the pace of a small intimate community. • Secretary Gale reports: While visiting relatives on Cape Cod in June, Ted Peach stopped in to see Skip Wilkin Dimond and Bob Rude. Skip was well and Bob was recuperating following a hospitalization for pulmonary problems. Ted's wife, Nancy, continues to do well following chemotherapy for colon cancer several months ago. Her strict diet (prescribed by her cancer specialist) excludes sugar and emphasizes organic foods. As of spring, Nancy's CT and PET scans were all negative. Good news! With the help of the state's fire prevention division, Ted had been making a gravel firebreak road and clearing brush and undergrowth from a 200-foot-radius circle around their house to minimize forest fire hazards. He sounded as enthusiastic and upbeat as ever on the phone. • Ted's California neighbor, Paul Liehr, who suffered a fracture of a knee joint last year, is able to get around with the aid of a walker, but no longer drives. His wife, who he reports is an excellent driver, has taken over that function. Paul spends a good deal of his time with his computer and communicates by e-mail with acquaintances all over the world. Seemed in good spirits in spite of his leg problems. • No one seems immune to the passage of years (except perhaps Phil Backup and Stu Walker). Bob Byington reports experiencing the agony of renal colic, with successful treatment by lithotrypsy last spring, followed this summer by prostatic surgery with a good recovery. He continues to serve on the board of directors of the Village at Duxbury (Mass.) and was again playing golf and swimming. • Steve Wilson writes from Portland, Ore., saying that he too is getting older and feeling more aches and pains. He has sold his pickup and graduated to a walker, which limits his mobility. • In Hawaii, Pat Rogers Prukop had a good result from a left knee replacement in September '04, but celebrated her April birthday by falling and breaking several ribs. By June's end, she was back to her usual activities and planning to have the other knee done soon. • Reached Elizabeth Scherholz Pell, who now lives in a retirement community in Canandaigua, N.Y. She's doing less traveling now (says she needs someone to travel with), but was planning a trip to California this fall to see grandchildren (she has six). One granddaughter is a ranger at the Sequoia National Park. Elizabeth plays bridge, is still active in Alpha Xi Delta affairs, and served on the national board of that sorority for several years. Although known to most of us at Middlebury as "Liz," she says she's grown accustomed to "Elizabeth" and tends to prefer that version of her name. Her sister, Margaret Scherholz Delfausse '37, died in May in Poland. • One of Dick Morehouse's grandsons wants to become an architect, so Dick took him to Rome this year, with the understanding that the grandson would spend each morning and afternoon sketching, e.g., the Pantheon, the Medici palaces, etc. Dick says they both had a great time. Dick has recently been involved in the remodeling of the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine.
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Summer 2005
Secretary Doe reports: Have you noticed that our news is moving to the first pages of the alumni section? We are indeed seniors, but many of us are still active and in fairly good health. • Mary Hickox Lecko has been a library volunteer since 1987. She reads novels and history to keep up with two book groups. • We caught Allie Landis Tonry with peanut butter sandwich in hand, but she paused to tell us that she enjoyed an interesting tour in China last fall, including a cruise from Beijing to Shanghai on the Yangtze River. • Eleanor Wilcox Murphy and her husband regularly visit family in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and California. She also serves on the altar guild of her church and with Gray Lady activities at the hospital. • In October Peggy Bullock Marti and Don visited family via Amtrak, an improvement over the Green Mountain Flyer and walking to campus carrying suitcases! They didn't even have wheels in those days! • Joe and Gertrude Lacey Thornton sold their home of 31 years and moved to a nearby continuing care community, Fleet Landing, in Atlantic Beach, Fla. "I teach oriental brush painting and we enjoy varied activities and new friendships." • Now in assisted living at Heron Point, Chestertown, Md., Barbara Higham Winner hopes to move back to Pennsylvania to be near family, including great-grandchildren. • We want to commend the memory of Kay Sempepos Silliman and all that she did for this class through the years. Also, John Gale deserves a gold star for composing news for both the men and women at a very stressful time in his life. • They are fortunate residents who have Beth Warner Carney as a neighbor in her senior complex. She enjoys the walkway along the Pacific, leads a busy life, and proclaims the wonders of fish oil. Her family was going to Reno to attend a performance of her daughter's dance studio. • Dutch '44 and Inky Ohlander DePodwin live in their original home and enjoy their second home in Roxbury, N.Y., on weekends in warm weather. Their three children and six grandchildren are all in the area. • Scott and Putt Wolff Eakeley "count their blessings," although they too experience various health problems. They recently celebrated their 61st anniversary with their family, including four grandchildren. • Bouckie (Helen Bookie Hildebrandt) has lived in a nice retirement complex for six years. Son Mark and his wife, Mary Ann, live in her former home in Saugerties, N.Y. Getting rid of so much "stuff" was difficult, but now it's a relief not to worry about shoveling snow, mowing lawns, frozen pipes, etc. • Secretary Gale reports: Sometimes in talking with '43ers on the phone, I'm reminded of morning reports back at the teaching hospitals, such is the listing of the various ailments that are befalling us as octogenarians. So it was a change to find people who seem immune to the passage of years, e.g. Phil Backup who, with Ruth, has moved from Washington state to Redmond, Ore., where the weather is better and they can play more golf and do more skiing. And they were planning a six-week trip to Hawaii for even more golf. Phil's mother at 100 gave up caring for her yard, although continued to do her own housekeeping. • Howie Friedman and his wife, having just returned from vacationing in St. John in the Virgin Islands, were planning a trip to France to visit his wife's family and do some mountain climbing. Howie is the executive secretary of the International Philosophers for Peace. A few years ago, while visiting centers of the Buddhist religion in northern India and Thailand at the time of a mass pilgrimage of millions of Hindus to the Ganges River, they were briefly in the Ganges themselves, carried forward by the pressure of the hordes of pilgrims. They have a daughter living in Boston; their son is an osteopathic physician in Montpelier, Vt. • Fred Booth says the Kitty Hawk area is becoming crowded, what with the pleasant weather and lower cost of living. Recovering from an attack of gout in March, he remarked that the medical profession has taken good care of him with a successful cardiac bypass 10 years ago and a knee joint replacement more recently. He swims nearly every day, and he and Faith are building a pool for when the ocean is too cold. • Jim Clark has been slowed somewhat by parkinsonism, but helped by medication. They are disappointed not to be able to keep up their faithful Alumni College attendance this year. Dotty (Brown) '44 continues to lead her water exercise class. They report a trip to Middlebury last fall to tour the new library and were indeed favorably impressed. Skip Wilkin Dimond and Bob Rude are often their dinner companions at Evergreen Woods. • Bud Nims not only continues with the Primerica financial organization, but on Saturdays he helps with maintenance at the local Health South day surgery unit where his wife worked as a nurse, putting in 12- or 14-hour days. He regretted to report the death of a daughter, age 48, in 2003. • In West Stockbridge, Mass., Comstock Small is still thinking about moving back to Maine where he grew up. Wife Linda remains active in her social work and gardening. Comstock says he's happiest doing outside physical work around their farm and taking care of their two corgis. He reports being in good health. Photographer daughter Antonia lives nearby; their other daughter lives in Maine. • I'm sorry to report the death of Harry Rossi in Wyoming, Ohio, on Feb. 22, 2005. Harry was a living example of the Horatio Alger story, coming to the U.S. at age 11 from his native Italy, attending Middlebury on a Vermont State Scholarship, serving in the 36th Infantry Division in Europe in WWII, graduating from Harvard Business School, and becoming the CEO of a large insurance company in Ohio. Bob Byington tells me this was all presaged, reminding me that even in Middlebury Harry ran a smoke shop and small variety store from his dormitory room.
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Spring 2005
Mildred Carson Bonow has her own apartment at Covenant Village, a retirement community in Cromwell, Conn. Although macular degeneration precludes her driving, she uses the bus without difficulty. She says she has made an excellent recovery from her stroke last year. • Roger Easton writes that he and Barbara traveled by train to Philadelphia, where they had dinner with Bob '54 and Betsy Heath Gleason '58. Sciatica has been limiting Roger's activity somewhat, but he says that Barbara does a great job bringing in wood to keep the fire going and the solar power equipment working. • In 2004, Ginnie Clemens Lowman and Rod traveled to Auckland, New Zealand, to attend the annual meeting of the Olave Baden Powell Society, which supports the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 144 countries around the world. Touring the North and South Islands, they were particularly impressed by the mountains along the west coast of South Island, pierced by scenic fiords, with 30 times as many sheep as people. In the fall, they attended the annual Alumni Leadership Conference at Bread Loaf and had a tour of the new College library, about which Ginnie was very enthusiastic. She has recovered nicely from a hysterectomy. She and Rod walk a mile or so after breakfast daily, carrying bags and picking up bottles, cans, and trash along the roadside. Would that there were more like them! • Dick and Lee Van Leuven '45 Morehouse have sold their Lexington, Mass., house and moved to a small house in the assisted living section of a retirement community (60 Quarry Hill Rd., Camden, ME 04843). They expect to spend June to November at their home on Vinalhaven Island, accompanied by their grandchildren. • Ted Peach has taken a breather from hauling crushed stone for his driveway in Nevada City, Calif. In order to reduce the danger to their house from forest fires, he has been clearing brush within a 200-foot radius and cutting some trees to leave a 10-foot distance between their canopies. He reports that Nancy is doing well, playing the flute and baritone horn, and singing alto in the choir. She's now on a special anti-colon cancer diet. • Peggy Bowles Smith says she's doing "alright," with some difficulty with balance and slight macular degeneration. Her work on book sales for the Friends of the Library in Guilford, Conn., is more of a year-round job than is generally appreciated. • In talking with Russ and Bounce Dale and discussing the loss of Kay Sempepos Silliman, I heard the story of how Bounce got that nickname. Margaret Dounce and Kay Sempepos arrived at Jewett/Wilcox on the same day and introduced themselves. Bounce recalls Kay standing in her doorway, cigarette in hand, mulling over the name Dounce, and saying, "Dounce, Bounce—that fits you," and from that day forward Bounce was her name. Even in Longmeadow, Mass., she's still known by that name. Although having problems with arthritis, Russ continues his tutoring in the schools and his advising to small businesses. • Kay's co-secretary skills have been sorely missed. Fortunately, several women are willing to help keep classmates informed. For the time being, the female contingent (like ancient Gaul) will be divided into three parts. Loie Groben Doe will be the chief editor, contacting roughly a third of the class, and Bouckie (Helen Bouck Hildebrandt) and Skip (Louise Wilkin Dimond) will each undertake to communicate with a similar group, channeling news items to Loie for compilation of the quarterly report for this column. Loie will be happy to receive any news from any of you at any time. Please keep one of us informed of changes in your address or phone numbers. We are in need of phone numbers for Phil Backup, for Barbara Roberts Ormsby, and for Marty Newton VanGaasbeck in Florida. • Frances Head Gale died peacefully at her home in Gloucester on February 4, 2005, with her family at her bedside, after dealing courageously with Alzheimer's disease for nearly 15 years. Skip Dimond reminisces: "It was always good to arrive at Bread Loaf for a homecoming or mini-reunion, and see the Gale's camper parked in front of one of the lodges. It meant that, once again, we would be getting together with smiling Fritz Gale for lighthearted talks, good humor, her warm recollections of our good times in the Class of '43, and her sharp observations of the current political situation. When Fritz and John visited me at my home on Cape Cod, we always had a wonderful time watching the variety of sanderlings and sea birds on my beach and trying to solve the New York Times Cross Word Puzzle, while John cooked up his gourmet fish chowder for our dinner. We shall miss those happy get-togethers with Fritz, but how fortunate we are to still have her in our memories."
Class Secretaries
Mrs. Lois Groben Doe (loisumbie@aol.com), 4 Simon Atherton Row, Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Winter 2005
Bill and Loie Groben Doe had a great time at Alumni College, where she "was agog at some of the changes—e.g., the field at Bread Loaf where we had our freshman picnic was covered with little white pup tents. A strange picture. They were for an adventurous freshman class that would be hiking, fishing, and doing other strenuous (to our thinking) activities. They call this program MOO (Midd Outdoor Organization). With groups doing different things, it was quite different from our freshman get-acquainted activity. We also visited Jim and Mandy Sanborn Krieble. They feel content and secure, and we were impressed with their set-up." • Since retiring from the practice of psychiatry three years ago, Ralph Crawshaw has been involved in developing a 35-mile trail between Portland, Ore., and the Cascade Mountains. If and when the trail is completed, it would accommodate hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders in non-competitive modes. It would also be an active museum with stations at different elevations to draw attention to and explain the adaptive changes going on in surrounding wildlife and environments. An abandoned water-bureau building may become available for trail headquarters and use of an old trolley right-of-way is being sought. Ralph also continues writing and reports that his second book (related to his years of medical practice), entitled The Adventures of a Medical Fabulist, is nearing completion. • Ginnie Clemens Lowman, Dumont Rush, and Skip Wilkin Dimond, along with Bob Rude, represented the class at the annual Alumni Leadership Conference at Bread Loaf in September, where the Class of '43 was presented with the Robert W. Leonard '37 Memorial Award for having the highest participation in annual giving, 81 percent, of any non-reunion class the previous year. Ginnie and Skip accepted the award on behalf of the class and the class agents who did such a great job. The group was treated to a tour of the new library, which Skip describes as magnificent. They learned that the desk in the reference section, given by Churchill Franklin '71, will be designated as the Virginia Carpenter Halstead '43 Reference Desk. • Teddy Hood Bittmann sounded quite chipper on the phone. She occasionally visits Scotty Lacey Thornton in Florida and met with Skip Wilkin Dimond on the Cape last year. Active in church affairs, she sings in the choir and is interested in a nursing school that her church is sponsoring in India. A son, who lives in Oklahoma, is a lawyer working with mentally disabled families; a daughter lives in Kittery, Maine. Teddy is able to get to the Cincinnati theater at times, but husband Bill's health makes travel difficult. • Bouckie (Helen Bouck Hildebrandt) is keeping active at her retirement facility near Delmar and Albany, N.Y. Buses take her to events in Albany and to such places as West Point, Mohawk, the Saratoga Ballet (July), and the Philadelphia Symphony (last August). She particularly enjoys the conversations during and after the evening meal. There are other residents from her hometown of Delmar, where she still attends church. She occasionally drives to visit her son, who lives in her long-time home in Saugerties. • Helen Haldt Hudson was in good health in October in Nine Mile Falls, Wash., 14 miles from Spokane. One son has a dental practice there, and seven grandchildren are nearby; her other son is a ski instructor in Utah. She spends November to April in Palm Springs, Calif., with an occasional trip to Hawaii. In addition to keeping in touch with Natalie Dane Richdale and Carol Lewthwaite Lockard, she reads (heartily recommends reading College on the Hill) and gets to the theater in Spokane. • In Pittsfield, Vt., Dick McGarry plays golf several times a week and gets to all the Middlebury home football games. After Christmas he goes to Venice, Fla., for four months. His daughters live in Colorado and San Francisco; one son is the general manager of the Killington ski area and the other is the associate director of admissions at the Concord Academy in the Boston area. • We learned in a roundabout way that Pat Rogers Prukop's grandfather is listed in Google's search files. Charles Bailey Greenfield is reputed to have been the first physician to practice in Hawaii. • David Wood lives in Nantucket where he grew up, walks a lot, is active in politics, and is distressed by the type of building now going on there. He anticipated an October reunion of alumni of the former Lenox (Mass.) School, where he taught for 25 years. The person at Middlebury who influenced him most was Viola White, Abernethy collection librarian and author of Not Faster than a Walk and Vermont Diary. • Unfortunately, there were several deaths to report. Letters of condolence have been sent to their families. • George Grant died on May 8 from Alzheimer's disease. Due to the exemplary care given by his wife, Beverly Beach Grant '47, he was able to be at home until the last eight months. Beverly says she's adjusting, helped by frequent contacts with her optometrist daughter and visits from their son, a professor at Purdue. • Vance Richardson also fell victim to the complications of Alzheimer's, on August 22. He was a quiet, kind, and thoughtful person, an avid skier, much respected in his field of education. He must have favorably influenced countless numbers of his students. Dick Morehouse writes of him: "His sense of humor and almost gleeful outlook on life made him an ideal roommate for me. After Doc Cook '24 revealed Melville's Moby Dick to us, Vance called me Ishmael. He served in the 10th Mountain Division, which fought its way up the mountainous spine of Italy from Livorno to the Brenner Pass in 1944–45. When I inquired whether he was cold during that winter, he just bobbed his head and chuckled. Dedicated wife Janet was with Vance through his long, still-smiling months with Alzheimer's." • Carol Hartman Smith passed away on June 17. She leaves four children, nine grandchildren, and her husband, David K. Smith '42, Midd prof. emeritus of economics. • Albert Hadley died from bladder and prostate cancer on July 10 at Hilton Head, S.C. , where he and Lonny Herron Hadley were living in their son's house. In October, Lonny was moving to a retirement community (329 Indigo Pines, 110 Gardener Rd., Hilton Head, SC 29926; phone 843-681-3656). • Frank Goldsmith died of congestive heart failure on September 9 at Edgehill Lifecare Community in Stamford, Conn. He served in the Army Medical Corps in North Africa and Italy in World War II. • And Kay Sempepos Silliman died on October 16, 2004, in the hospice unit of the local hospital. Kay had a special combination of warmth and intellect, was interested in so many aspects of life and art, and had contributed greatly to our class and to the College. She cochaired our 50th Reunion and served admirably as class secretary, her lively reports making the class notes come alive. Our sympathy has been expressed to Cutler and her children.
Class Secretary
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Fall 2004
Our thanks to Cynthia Krieble '68, who wrote in July that her parents, Jim and Mandy Sanborn Krieble, have enjoyed getting to know their fellow residents at Kendal in Hanover, N.H. Mandy has joined a bridge group and Jim contributes time overseeing the copying machine for residents. They have participated in numerous cultural/educational events taking place in the community, such as a speech by General Wesley Clarke. Except for Jim's cataract surgery in March, both have had stable health. Mandy is eager to be more independent, but realizes it will take a lot of hard work to build up her strength. • A June e-mail from Ralph Barclay informed us that he seems to be holding his own in his contest with prostatic cancer, going on since 1991, with the most recent psa at an acceptable level. He's following a vegetarian diet-his "latest health craze," he says-and perusing various "health letters" closely. He writes: "I did have one nice Middlebury day recently. Red Barmby lives in Vienna, Va., outside the Beltway on the west side, and I am equally far out in Bowie, Md., to the east of D.C. It's at least a 60-mile trip through congested roads from Bowie to Vienna. Red's wife, Ellaveen, is big in garden clubs and so I was directed to pick out their house by the Garden Club flag flying from the flag pole. As you might expect, having lived there for 40 years, their grounds are of garden-club variety. Found Red in good shape; he drove us to a Greek restaurant where I could find vegetarian food on the menu. Red reads a lot and presents me with interesting clippings at our meetings. I retaliate with articles from the 'health' letters to which I subscribe." • "In spite of the usual array of limitations," writes John (Red) Barmby, "I am still doing well, thank the Lord. We don't dare move, lest the house fall down when we remove 39 years of 'collectables.' Ralph Barclay keeps us cheerful with his humorous e-mail jokes." • George Nitchie's wife, Laura, passed away on May 17, a few days after suffering a severe stroke. In late June, George said he was getting along okay. Daughter Catherine, who lives about 20 miles away, has been of great help to him. His nephew has also been quite supportive. George had been doing the cooking and housekeeping during Laura's illness, so he's accustomed to caring for himself. George's two other daughters are in Florida and San Francisco. He looked forward to visiting their Tunbridge, Vt., house in July, together with family members. • When we last reported on Jim Brown he was writing articles for boating magazines from Camden, Maine. Now completely retired, he has moved to Middletown, R.I., on Narragansett Bay, not far from Newport. His condo is at White Hall Farm, established by Bishop Berkeley (for whom the Yale Berkeley Divinity School was named). Jim reports this is quite a change from their previous dwellings. (In Maine they had a succession of seven old New England houses, all built before 1830). He walks to the beach several times a week before breakfast. A son, granddaughter, and grandson live in nearby Fall River, Mass. Jim says he still misses Camden. • Caught up with Ralph Crawshaw in Portland, Ore., as he returned from giving a lecture at a meeting in Vancouver. Ralph remains very active in Oregon health circles, had one book on the practice of medicine published about a year ago, and is now working on another one. He thinks he may possibly be the oldest person to take a bobsled ride (which he did last winter) down the Olympic run used for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. • Steve Wilson, also in Portland, says he's beginning to show some effect of his age, with "problems with equilibrium and some forgetfulness," but he still walks and drives. Their son lives in Portland (four grandchildren are ages 27, 19, 6, and 4); a daughter lives in Denver. • Bob and Ann Cole Byington had a week's visit with son Russell in Texas last spring. Granddaughter Callie Roe is at the Univ. of Southern Maine in Portland and grandson Ben is in Pembroke, Mass., where their daughter lives. Bob remains active, swimming three times a week, and playing golf. • Marty Newton VanGaasbeck is in great physical shape, still playing golf and still living nine months a year in the house she and Van built in Longmeadow. The other three months she lives in Fort Pierce, Fla. She confesses that she now uses a cart instead of walking the 18 holes. (You're entitled, Marty.) She also gardens and plays duplicate bridge (food for both body and mind). Last summer she witnessed the marriage of two grandchildren on Cape Cod. Marty sees Russ and Bounce Dounce Dale in church every Sunday and reports that they're still hanging in there. • Intensely involved in volunteer work, Anne Willis belongs to a visiting nurse association and mentions gardening, cooking, bridge, and a book sale, among the activities in her 36-hour days. Anne reports that college roommate Barbara Roberts Ormsby has moved to the nursing home unit of Meadow Ridge, following the recent death of her husband, Ed Ormsby '40. • Having not heard in half a century from Doris Magee Enniss, I (KSS) called her and we had a long chat, recalling memories of our senior year in Forest East. Doris was a choreographer for our modern dance club in those days, and we rehearsed in the third floor lounge. In retirement, Peyton and she moved to Florida to play golf year-round. They are no longer able to golf or to travel, but their four children visit them often. • The new address for Fred and Betty Brigham Barrett is 1 Beachwood Dr., #238, Waterford, CT 06385. Brig says they sold their farm in Vermont and their other home in Florida to move to a retirement residence near the water, close to New London. Lots of their family (9 sons,7 daughters, 19 grandchildren) live nearby. This summer, as usual, the entire family was gathering for two weeks at the beach near Westerly, R.I. Brig recently stopped playing golf, but she remains active in a literary study group and a bridge group. Fred continues painting in oils and recently gave a small show of his works. • Living in Southbury, Conn., Howard and Betty Attenhofer Van Valkenburg are keeping very busy. • Time constraints prevented Skip Wilkin Dimond and husband Bob Rude from visiting the Sillimans en route to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Too bad. It was cherry season and the tail end of strawberry season in western New York. We still pick our own. • "As a last hurrah," writes Virginia Carpenter Halstead, "Gordon and I are leaving for another National Trust stay in England. This time we'll be in two houses in the peak district, one a converted gamekeeper's cottage called 'Wicket Nook,' and one, 'Darfar,' an 18th-century stable with loft. Our 12th and 13th adventures into history." • Cressey (Carolyn Stanwood Whiting) attended her granddaughter's graduation from Washington Univ. in St. Louis. Then she left for another summer in South Freeport, Maine. She writes, "Many thanks to everyone who made our 60th Reunion so memorable!"
Class Secretaries
Kathryn (Kay) Sempepos Silliman (silliman@netsync.net), 279 Chestnut St., Fredonia, NY 14063
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Summer 2004
Secretary Gale reports: Still generating electricity with his home equipment, Roger Easton notes that the summer output was about twice that of this past winter. Roger and Barbara visited Mandy Sanborne Krieble at Kendal assisted living in Hanover this winter. Jim is able to get to their Lake Willoughby cottage when one of their children is there to help. • Dick and Lee Van Leuven Morehouse decided to return to Lexington for the winter. Dick continues to do some architectural work, chiefly on Vinal Haven; says he's always open for new work. • Harry Rossi reports a successful trip in 2002 to his ancestral home area in Tuscany; he also visited the Riviera. This winter, he spent six weeks in Naples, Fla., with his sister, who was a great help now that macular degeneration is limiting his driving. He was in Stowe, Vt., for much of last summer. Harry has three grandchildren in San Francisco, two in Wellesley, and two in Manhattan. He says that Stowe is the only place where he can get them all together. • In December 2003, Paul Liehr suffered leg fractures requiring a full-length leg cast for two months. As of late March, he was getting about with a walker. He sounded in good spirits and appreciated the wonderful weather in northern California this winter. • Al Jefts died on February 8, after a long illness, evidence of which was apparent at the 55th Reunion. His wife, Katherine, passed away on December 11, 2003. With Al around in the chemistry labs, there was usually a good deal of banter going on, especially between Al and fellow New Yorker Keith Cranker. Al had a wonderful dry sense of humor; that and his gruff voice will be missed. • Page Ufford and Doris are in a retirement facility in Coatesville, Pa. Due to her multiple sclerosis, Doris is in the nursing section, but she gets about in a wheelchair and often joins Page for dinner. He takes care of their shopping, walks frequently, and uses the fitness equipment to keep in shape. He expected to get to their summer home on Lake Champlain for a few days at a time. • Secretary Silliman reports: In late March, Cutler and I drove to Cape Cod to visit family and to deliver materials about Venice to Janet Hooker Laine, who took a May garden tour to Venice and the surrounding islands. Jan landed in the hospital after Christmas, but recovered under the watchful eye of nurse-practitioner daughter Julie. When not gardening, Jan is involved in a music class and a book club. • Carolyn Ohlander DePodwin no longer sells real estate herself, but she goes to her office weekly. Inky and Horace often take the train to NYC to walk and visit museums. Their children live in nearby Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Like so many of us in our 80s, the DePodwins are wrestling with the problems of lifestyle change. A warmer climate? A retirement home? A condominium? Inky and Lenore "Putt" Wolff Eakeley looked forward to seeing Jean Jordan Sheild, coming from Wisconsin to visit her sister. • Retired from publishing and most volunteer work, Katherine Kurtz Hodges would like some volunteer activity that doesn't require driving. Kit credits maintaining the same weight since our Middlebury days to her daily energetic walk in Cape Cod's attractive landscape. • One pleasure Helen Bouck Hildebrandt has experienced in her retirement community (in Slingerlands, near Albany) is renewing contact with friends from her Delmar school days. Son Mark lives in her house in Saugerties. • We send our sympathy to Barbara Higham Winner on the March 2003 death of her husband, George. She has moved into assisted living at Heron Point (501 E. Campus Ave., Room 1003, Chestertown, MD 21620). • Sadly, we must report the death of Evelyn Young Shepard on February 24. • Lois Groben Doe and Chick Johnson Doe and their husbands enjoy outings. Chick is more active since her hip replacement, and Lois is volunteering again after a period of adjustment to Bill's pacemaker. • I urge classmates to drop me a line, especially if you haven't been in touch for awhile. We need phone numbers for Lonny Herron Hadley, Helen Haldt Hudson, Rachael Swarthout King, Carol Lewthwaite Lockard, Fran Majoros Morrison (Florida), Barbara Roberts Ormsby, and Jean Baillee Scafe. Don't stay lost!
Class Secretaries
Kathryn (Kay) Sempepos Silliman (silliman@netsync.net), 279 Chestnut St., Fredonia, NY 14063
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Spring 2004
Secretary Silliman reports: Although months have passed since our memorable 60th Reunion at Middlebury, comments from class members are still trickling in, warming western New York's snow laden January landscape as I write. By the time Bill Hawkes returned from visiting his son in Australia, it was too late to send his favorite memory. Belatedly, he described one delightful Sunday in April 1942: "That day Lew Haines, Ted Ogden '42, and I went skiing at Bread Loaf, then joined the Mountain Club for a sugaring-off party at noon, followed by a swim at Dog Team Tavern. The water was icy cold, the air temperature a warm 70 degrees. The day was concluded by a set of tennis. A great day to remember and enjoy before the somber events that followed." • Van and Betty Attenhofer Van Valkenburg send greetings to all from their Southbury, Conn., retirement complex. Like many of us, she wonders how living such a quiet life can consume so much energy. • In Manchester Center, Vt., Jane Botsford Armstrong has been preparing for her first voice recital. Unfortunately, the more than 800 stone sculptures which were her life's work have resulted in major muscle and eye damage. Although no longer able to read, write, or sculpt, she still sounds vibrant and optimistic. • When I asked Beth Warner Carney, "How was Europe?" she replied: "It was a joyful return, tearing up and down the narrow streets of those great little southern villages. In three weeks we saw only one SUV-size vehicle and countless tiny, smart cars." After I (KSS) spent my 81st birthday at Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown, Beth and I had a "lighthouse" information exchange. • Secretary Gale reports: Brief messages on Christmas cards indicate that Ann and Jack Lundrigan had a good 2003, and that granddaughter Jessica '06 is very happy at Middlebury; that Pat Rogers Prukop is doing very well since her cardiac bypass surgery in July 2003 (says her doctors are amazed that her heart is in such great shape), with only her knee problems to hold her back now; and that Libby and Steve Wilson manage quite well without a computer or e-mail, but wouldn't want to give up their New York Times. • Yvonne Golding Weinhardt and Bill enjoyed a Thanksgiving holiday reunion with their children and grandchildren, who gathered from Michigan and Virginia, as well as Texas. It was especially appreciated after having to deal with a serious illness of granddaughter Kimberly in September, fortunately with a favorable outcome. • Cutler and Kay Sempepos Silliman made their annual end-of-year trek to visit son Graham and family on Cape Cod, where they met Skip Wilkin Dimond and Bob Rude for a fabulous lunch at Graham's new restaurant, the Siena. • Stan Tupper continues to work mornings at his law office, then spends afternoons doing things at home. His wife practices family law in the firm started by Stan's grandfather in 1890. Stan believes theirs is the second longest continuous law practice in Maine. Daughter Lara teaches at Rutgers and son Stan Jr. is involved in classic theater in Hilton Head, S.C. Stan is quite active in the problem of gun control, which in Maine must be a tough fight with a short stick. • Don Gale, in Winter Haven, Fla., reports that he, his wife, and their four sons are all well and active. They spent Christmas in Atlanta with the youngest, who teaches high school music and is a church choral director. • Although few courses are available in learning to use a Mac computer, EB Baines is making progress on his own. He keeps in close touch with the College, and was looking forward to entertaining John McCardell in early 2004. • Russ Dale says his esophageal problem has improved to about 80 percent of normal and he's eating fairly well. He and Bounce had a wonderful time celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary November 11, together with all their living relatives. He tutors 4th grade math in the local schools. • On January 8, 2004, Kikkan Randall of Anchorage, Alaska, granddaughter of Lewis Haines, won the women's 1-kilometer freestyle sprint at the U.S. Cross Country Championship at Rumford, Maine. On January 11, she placed fourth in the women's 30-kilometer freestyle race.
Class Secretaries
Kathryn (Kay) Sempepos Silliman (silliman@netsync.net), 279 Chestnut St., Fredonia, NY 14063
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Winter 2004
Secretary Silliman reports: Summer still reigned at Bread Loaf when the Alumni Leadership Conference convened there in mid-September. Skip Wilkin Dimond, Ginny Clemens Lowman,Dumont Rush, and your class secretaries joined some 200 other alumni, hearing presentations on the state of the College and the vision for its future. I am delighted that the appearance of the Bread Loaf complex remains constant. It looks exactly as I remember it from my first visit there in 1939. • Carolyn "Cressey" Stanwood Whiting is "deeply involved with children and grandchildren, church and community. Of course I miss Web greatly, but our family continues to treasure summer at our little red cottage in Maine, where Web taught them all to sail, water ski, and to know and love the summer skies." • Beth Warner Carney recently returned from what she calls her "last voyage to France." She reports that Santa Cruz is an activist town and that she's in the thick of it: "tabling" downtown with petitions and anti-war activity, placing lawn signs, and joining others at the town's busiest intersection, waving banners and signs at closing time on Fridays. Her French is kept alive by weekly translation sessions with a genealogy friend. • Janet Hooker Laine conducts a weekly used book sale at the Orleans (Mass.) Library. "The most important thing I learned at Middlebury," she reports, "is that life is a self-help project. My kids and grandkids are all great. At age 81, I never have had to ask them for ANYTHING! I am a lucky woman." • At reunion time last summer, Jean Jordan Sheild wrote that she and John were happily settled in Madison, Wis. They have season tickets for the UW basketball games as well as for the Wisconsin Symphony. She volunteers at the Olbrich Botanical Society and in a third-grade class, helping with reading and writing. She also attends a weekly aerobics class and bikes and skis when weather permits. • Who reports on the private life of a class secretary? Why, the other class secretary, of course! John Gale keeps more than busy. He continues as medical director of a nursing home in Rockport, and he is the district medical examiner for the First Essex District of Massachusetts. In his weekly session of the Mass. Professional Review Organization, he reviews hospital records for quality of care and proper utilization of hospital beds. "Plus there's homework, which actually takes up most of my time, in that I function as caregiver (for Fritz Head Gale), cook, bread baker, shopper, bookkeeper, gardener, and maintenance man, aided by a couple of wonderfully capable helpers two days each week." • When we were on Cape Cod in September, Cutler and I (KSS) had dinner with Warren Hassmer. He was sporting a tan to rival that of a lifeguard, acquired by tending to his extensive gardens in Truro. He still makes the long trek to Boston eight times a season for Boston Symphony concerts. Hale and hearty are apt adjectives for "Hash," as Jim Clark calls him. • Sadly, we must report the deaths of three class members. Their memorials appeared in the fall issue. • Beatrice Barrett died in Brewster, Mass., on May 7. Bea and I (KSS) both lived in Wilcox house (a cooperative house) for two years, so we shared many memories and meals. • Dorothy Forsythe Dale, poet laureate of our class, died on July 24., In her poems, Dottie shared her beliefs, her keen eye, and her love for God's world. Although handicapped for the last 30 years, she still participated as fully as she could. In one of her last poems, "My Balance Sheet," she writes: "For me the sun came up/ Near 30,000 times— My world a blend of constant love,/ few passing shadows./ While birds trilled praises overhead,/ the trail through sheltering pines was edged by flowers./ These entries show but 20 aches and pains/ and 20 million blessings./ To tally up these years fourscore, no reckoner could wish for more." A letter of condolence has been sent to Dottie's husband, Jack, and his family. • Denise Aubuchon Ouelette died on July 28 in Shrewsbury, Mass. The essence of Denise's exuberant presence at Middlebury was well captured in Ginny Carpenter Halstead's recollection of "Denise Aubuchon throwing open the windows of Pearsons and shouting, 'Hello, outdoors, I'll be right down.'" We have written a letter of condolence to Philippe and their seven children. • Secretary Gale reports: Lee Van Leuven Morehouse '45 writes that Dick had a stroke (thought to be due to a small embolus from his recent heart valve surgery) in August, with temporary loss of speech. As is often the case with this type of stroke, he improved rapidly and about a month later, on the phone, he conversed readily with only occasional slight hesitancy of speech. Fortunately his drawing ability was not affected and he continues some architectural work; Dick said he told the doctors that he could get along without speaking but not without drawing. He and Lee were planning to spend the winter on Vinal Haven instead of in Lexington. • Bob and Ann Cole Byington are enjoying the Village at Duxbury retirement home, where Bob has been elected to the board of directors. He plays golf three times a week and swims almost daily. Ann is busy knitting garments for infants in the local hospital. • We usually call Fred Booth after each hurricane. For once he reported that Isabel hit his area with a vengeance, resulting in the worst damage in his memory. Living on the Pamlico Sound side of the North Carolina Outer Banks, Fred and Faith escaped damage to their house but described much destruction on the ocean side. They left the day before Isabel hit and stayed with their daughter in law in Norfolk, Va., returning to Duck three days later. • Al and Lonny Herron Hadley say they're still surviving in Hilton Head, S.C., and were not affected by hurricane Isabel. They say they get out for errands but not much else. • Stu Walker was off in July for six weeks in Europe, including participation in four sailing regattas. • William Hawkes reports "excellent health, except for my left elbow, which was splattered into cornflakes when a 16-year-old on a bicycle went through a stop sign, hit my bike, and sent me flying. I have about 30 percent use of my left arm." • Vance Richardson has been a patient in the Maine Veterans' Home (290 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, ME 04074) for several months for management of his Alzheimer's disease. This being close to Portland, Jan visits almost daily and tells us that cards or notes from old friends do evoke at least transient recognition. In September, Jan was busy collecting money for the Alzheimer's Memory Walk for the "Vance's Prancers" team. • As of late September, Ted Peach's wife, Nancy, was back to walking three miles a day, using the trampoline, and skipping rope, after cancer surgery and severe side effects from chemotherapy during the summer. Nancy appreciated all the good will messages from Middlebury people. Ted is ordering crushed stone in 24-ton lots for their two-mile-long driveway , in order to move in his new pickup truck. • George Nitchie and Laura have been busy with two gardens, one at home in Weymouth, Mass., and the other at their summer place in Tunbridge, Vt. When contacted in late September, they had just returned home after digging their Vermont onions and potatoes, and figured they were well stocked for the winter. He was pleased to report that Laura's condition was currently stable. • Pat Rogers Prukop underwent successful coronary artery bypass surgery in August. • On September 15, Ralph Crawshaw gave a lecture on bioethics at Alfred Univ. in Alfred, N.Y. Entitled "The Limits of Compassion," his address extended the concept of compassion developed in his recent book, Compassion's Way. • The construction of a new library at the College and the landscaping around the site have necessitated the moving of a few trees, including our own 1943 class tree. In the fall, our maple was carefully transplanted to a new spot near the northwest corner of Painter Hall, where it will continue to flourish for coming generations.
Class Secretaries
Kathryn (Kay) Sempepos Silliman (silliman@netsync.net), 279 Chestnut St., Fredonia, NY 14063
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930.
Fall 2003
Early in June, 28 classmates and 19 spouses gathered at Middlebury to celebrate, in our own octogenarian way, our 60th anniversary of graduation. (It snowed on our mortarboards! Do you remember?) This year the weather was more welcoming; Lew Haines and Bill Hawkes even managed to squeeze in some tennis. The College arranged a full and varied program of activities, but also allowed time and a venue for us to gather and talk. And talk we did, for hours on end. At our class dinner, master of ceremonies John Gale thanked Charlotte "Chick" Johnson Doe for her five years of service as co-class secretary. (Recovering from hip surgery, Chick was unable to attend). John announced that Kay Sempepos Silliman had agreed to become co-secretary. Kay read a poem by Dorothy Forsythe Dale, poet laureate of our class, written especially for this reunion. Physician, sailor, and writer Stuart Walker spoke on the value of excelling and competing in all aspects of life. Ginny Clemens Lowman's husband, Rod, an amateur stand-up comedian, also entertained us. On Saturday, an alfresco luncheon for our class was hosted by President and Mrs. McCardell. Before the late-afternoon Convocation, Dick Morehouse led us in a brief memorial service in remembrance of the 106 class members no longer with us. The Convocation is always thrilling. Colorful class banners hang from the Mead Chapel balconies (ours was designed many years ago by Dick Morehouse's daughter). Everyone carries a ceremonial cane and uses it throughout the event to signal applause and commendation. Saturday evening Dick Morehouse treated us to a video tape made at our 50th Reunion, prefixed with a section on his DU fraternity brothers, shot in the early '40s. How young they all looked! Next we listened to a tape of stories told by old-time Vermonters, recorded by Dave Smith '42. On Sunday, many of us attended Chapel and a final brunch before dispersing until next time—2008. Who was here to celebrate? In addition to the aforementioned, there were Phil Backup, Eb Baines, Betty Brigham Barrett, Ellie Reier Brown, Bing and Ann Cole Byington, Russ and Bounce Dounce Dale, Skip Wilkin Dimond, Lois Groben Doe, Roger Easton, Fritz Head Gale, Ginnie Carpenter Halstead, Helen "Bookie" Bouck Hildebrandt, Art Rasmussen, Dumont Rush, Carol Hartman Smith, Peggy Bowles Smith, Alice Landis Tonry, Martha Newton VanGaasbeck, and Carolyn Stanwood Whiting. To these add 19 spouses, two of whom deserve special mention. Jan Richardson has never missed a Middlebury reunion. This year she was here without Vance, who is in the Maine Veteran's Home. Bill Ferguson '41, husband of the late Helen Rotch Ferguson, joined us as well. • Ellaveen and John Barmby were unable to attend reunion, because John was still recovering from the various injuries he suffered when his car hydroplaned into a ditch last winter. Says he's now as fully recovered as he ever will be and is completely retired. He drives Ellaveen to her various garden club affairs. • Peter Bohn also missed reunion, due to problems related to his diabetes. Living in Lewes, Del., Peter plans to move to a new retirement community. • Al and Lonny Herron Hadley sold their Sedgwick, Maine, house and moved to their Hilton Head condo (226 S. Sea Pines Dr., #1592, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928). • Scott and Putt (Lee) Wolff Eakeley report that they're "coping." Scott's macular degeneration precludes driving, but he enjoys gardening and "Books on Tape." • In Camden, Maine, John Kalajian's assisted living quarters are near his son and family, with two young grandchildren. He has had bilateral below-knee amputations, so gets about in a wheelchair. He has worked all over the world for the U.S. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, and lived in the D.C. area, so he enjoys reading the Washington Post Weekly. He's decided that he's had a pretty good life, in spite of present limitations. • Paul Liehr's house in Grass Valley, Calif., overlooks the 10th green of a golf course. Even though the weakness of one leg following his cardiac bypass prevents his playing, he can enjoy watching the approach shots and putting of others. He hopes to visit his brother in Dover, Del., and reports that his son may move near Paul and his wife. Talking of Middlebury, Paul reminisced about how cold he was during his first winter living in Weybridge House. • Doris and Page Ufford were not able to use their cottage on Lake Champlain this year. Living in a retirement home in Coatesville, Pa., Doris is now in the attached nursing home section, where Page can visit her several times a day. Page walks and uses an exercise bike daily. Their son visits each month from Providence, R.I. • In Waldoboro, Maine, Harold Walch reads a good deal and is able to get out as desired. Daughter Delia and her two children also live in Waldoboro, making visits with the grandchildren easy and frequent. • Despite some difficulty remembering names, Reggie Wooldridge drives locally, watches Red Sox games, volunteers at a nursing home, gets out for meals occasionally, and walks about a mile daily. He has been living in a retirement community for two years. When he wears his Red Sox jacket, he takes some flak from the Yankee fans there in New Hartford, N.Y.
Class Secretaries
Kathryn (Kay) Sempepos Silliman (silliman@netsync.net), 279 Chestnut St., Fredonia, NY 14063
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Summer 2003
Alphabetically speaking, the B's are prominent in our news. Ralph Barclay, a frequent e-mailer, remains in good health (the exception rather than the rule among our respondents these days) with as sharp a wit as ever, and says his homemade computer continues to function nicely. He does admit however that he hasn't mastered all the intricacies of software. • Dorothy Hood Bittmann was looking forward to our 60th Reunion this spring. (The deadline for these class notes fell weeks before reunion.) She writes that she enjoys the magazine very much. • Elizabeth Brigham Barrett were also looking forward to our 60th. She and Fred were both well in Florida and were heading back to Norwich for five months on May 1. • John Barmby has again retired from his weapons systems consulting business, and we expected to see him and Ellaveen at the Reunion in June. • Peter Bohn is doing well in Lewes, Del. He notes that he and John Brown, of Brandon, Vt., are the deans of the class, both being in the 85-year-old range now (both worked for a time before entering Middlebury). John formerly worked in real estate, and has done oil painting for many years, chiefly portraits; says he once did one of Robert Frost. • Ellie Reier Brown tells us that she and Fielding have given up the Beacon Street apartment. They now live in a retirement facility (20 Longwood Dr., #375, Westwood, MA 02090), where they have combined two smaller units to create more spacious quarters, including a full kitchen. Says she's now able to do most of their cooking, thus avoiding what she classifies as "institutional food." (Once a home ec major and dietitian, always one!) She's continuing her physiotherapy there and her problems with balance seem to have stabilized. • Loie Groben Doe has a new e-mail address: loisumbie@aol.com. • In Kitty Hawk, N.C., Fred Booth keeps in shape by swimming in the ocean and "working out." His wife, Faith, is an RN and also teaches piano. • John Kalajian has moved to Camden, Me., to be near son Peter and family (c/o Windemere House, 205 Mechanic St., Camden, ME 04843). John has some problems with circulation in the lower extremities, necessitating the use of a wheelchair. gets to Camden frequently and plans to stop in to see John. Since cardiac surgery, Dick is getting along quite well. Lee Van Leuven Morehouse '45 and Dick's son, Bruce, lives in the Camden area, working as a computer programmer. • For the past four years, Harry Walch has been living in Waldoboro, Me. (Rockland and Damariscotta area), near their daughter and her husband, who live on about 100 acres of land there. • Bud Nims has been participating in a "Life Style, Better Health" program, involving a 45-minute session three times a week, which he heartily recommends. He was hopeful of bringing down his weight. • While officially retired, Bill Small still does a little work, as many of us do. He is occasionally asked to fill in to conduct church services in the Esmond, R.I., area. His wife, Bernadette, has had two hip operations, and they have had to give up their stays in Florida. • Russ Dale keeps tutoring 4th grade students in math and advising would-be entrepreneurs about starting new businesses. His group has been busier than usual because so many people have been laid off from technology companies and want to start something of their own. Bounce keeps busy as a visitor to shut-in members of their church. • With regret, we report the death on December 2 of Robert Wood, whose obituary appeared in the spring issue, and of Margaret Fiske O'Sullivan on February 23; her memorial appears elsewhere in this issue. • Having accomplished his 80th birthday goal of climbing Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, Lew Haines is now talking of another trip a pied for his 85th, this time a trip down into, and up out of, the Grand Canyon. Stay tuned!
Class Secretaries
Chick Johnson Doe, 327 Ayer Rd., Harvard, MA 01451
Dr. John S. Gale (jsgale@shore.net), 24 Beach Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930
Inspired to submit a class note of your own?