1951
It's that season of the year again. As of the time of writing in early November, they're already putting up the decorations on Chestnut Street here in Philadelphia. This jumping of the gun forces my mind from "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" to Tom Lehrer's "Hark, the Herald Tribune sings, advertising wondrous things. . . The latter ditty brings to mind Great Issues and Dartmouth - I've always been convinced that Cantab Lehrer plagiarized it from the "Jacko," or some similarly disreputable publication.
Somehow I feel that there's a lot more to this time of year in the '51 family, a holiday season of varying proportions of religious devotions, time spent with family and friends, and those bright-eyed kids. May we teach them the gift of giving, not just of presents, but of one's self. To all, a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!
Among the '51 families celebrating their first Christmas together are newlyweds Jim and Susi Rogers, who were married on September 14 in Susi's home town of Hagerstown, Md. Susi (nee Fridinger) is a graduate of Penn Hall Junior College, the Maryland Medical Secretarial School, and American University.
Jim may be a judge in Minneapolis, but it took a proper Bostonian as usher, Jim's ex-roommate John Nahigian, and a Philadelphia lawyer, yours truly, as spectator, to make things really legal. While John was otherwise occupied, I had a chance to talk to his wife Alice and learned that they were about to move into a new house in Wayland, Mass., with their two boys, 5 and 2½, and that John is a securities analyst for Parker Corp.
Bill Jameison has opened an office for the practice of surgical medicine in Rhinebeck, N. Y. Bill received his M.D. from Albany Medical College and served his interneship and residency at Grasslands Hospital in Valhalla. He was then chief of general surgery, with the rank of Captain, at Fort Jackson, S. C., Army hospital. Bill, who is married and has three children, was in practice in Scarsdale before moving to Rhinebeck.
Dick Castner's folk dancing activities were the subject of the Boston Herald's "The Roving Eye" column on September 12. As dancing master at Old Sturbridge (Mass.) Village, he is doing a lot to prevent American folk dancing of earlier years from vanishing into obscurity. The column discloses such interesting things as that Dick, who teaches English at Bentley College in Boston for a living, holds a certificate from St. Andrew's College in Scotland to teach Scottish dancing.
Tom Parker reports from Bethesda, Md., that he has a new son Matthew, just over a year old. Tom is merchandise manager for shoes, accessories, and "intimate apparel" for Woodward and Lothrop. His job apparently takes him to Europe for a month once a year and to New York better than once a month.
From Albuquerque, Tom Savage reports that there are now two '51's in New Mexico. Tom, who is in the general insurance and real estate business, was recently joined by returning P.G. Cornish upon the completion of his residency in surgery in Denver. I presume that P.G. has hung out his shingle so that he can support his wife and three children.
In September, the Navy honored the late John Hodgson with the presentation of a memorial picture to Lowville (N. Y.) Academy and Central School, of which he was junior-senior high principal. John had been active in the Naval reserve and from 1952 to 1955 was an intelligence officer on sea duty in Alaska and the Far East.
With my news from other sources almost, but not quite, exhausted, I return to this past summer's "Floating Reunion" of the Class of 1951. From Charlotte, N. C., I headed farther south to Atlanta, where Rog and Jean Johnson, their 6-year-old son, and 3-year-old daughter were my hosts. Rog teaches math at Georgia Tech, while saw-bones John Per-Lee, who was also on hand, was recently promoted to associate in surgery at Emory University. John and wife Dorothy brought with them their third child, second son, John Henry Jr., who arrived on July 5.
In Jacksonville, Fla., Larry and LanessaHoward played host. Son John is 11; daughter Carol, 9. Larry is Executive Vice-President of Howard Feed Mills, Inc. Larry's brother Jim '53 and wife Carol, showed up, in addition to Jack and Ellen Lotz, to view our reunion movies. The Lotzes have a boy 2 and a girl 6 months.
In Fort Lauderdale, I found Al Loehr baching it. His wife and three children, aged 10, 8, and 5, were off in Chicago visiting relatives. Al is president of Boca Steel, Inc., steel fabricators. Also on hand were ChuckPackard and Joe McDonald. Chuck's first child, son William Wagner, arrived on July 25. Joe is the perennial president of the Palm Beach alumni club.
Via Tallahassee and New Orleans, where I happened to run into A '63 I knew on Bourbon Street, I finally made it to ChampSmith's in Houston. I had been warned that wife Joanne and daughter Bryant, 9, would be in New Hampshire; but Champ wasn't home either. He arrived about two hours later looking like a broiled lobster. It seems that he had gone on a friend's boat in a moonlight sailing race between Free-port and Seabrook and ended up being be- calmed in the Gulf.
While I was waiting for Champ to come home, Jack and Miriam Weingarten arrived. They have a daughter Lea, 1½, and son Michael, 6 months. Jack is director of manufacturing for Weingarten Markets.
My next stop was with Don and LoisKope in Bossier City, La. Don is a captain in the Air Force and flies KC135 tankers for SAC out of Barksdale AFB. Mike, 14; Pam, 11; and Larry, 2½, round out the household.
I then wended my way through the Mississippi dust on Primary Election Day to Whitey Hand's Good Luck Plantation. His wife Elizabeth, a native of those parts, is responsible for bringing Whitey home eight years ago from Lybrand, Ross Bros., etc., in Philadelphia. In addition to four strapping youngsters, Sherry, 9; Nancy, 7; Ralph, 4; and Elizabeth, 2, Whitey raises primarily cotton and also eggs (from 16,000 laying hens) on 1,500 acres.
Our ex-patriate Yankee even got himself elected a District Governor of the Lions and owns a part interest in a modern cotton gin. For conversation purposes that evening, he rounded up three Ole Miss and two Miss State grads and their wives, in addition to Seward Mills '26, the only other Indian in the immediate area.
Now for an aside from the Floating Reunion to another farming classmate. The June 22 Decatur (Ill.) Herald shows a picture of Bill Funk among the tall corn. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a copy of the pix to run. Bill has some 480 acres and also fattens hogs.
From Mississippi, I wended my way via St. Louis to Cedar Rapids, lowa, to see Pete and "BB" Stamats and their two sons, Pete, AVi, and Bill, 2½. Pete is Treasurer of Stamats Publishing Co., which writes, edits, and publishes "Buildings" trade magazine, the National Real Estate Journal, and other syndicated publications. Pete is an active enrollment and interviewing worker for Dartmouth.
Minneapolis '51s turned out in force for "floating reunion": front, I to r, Joyce McFarland, San Arnold, Mary Bush, Sally Friedlander, Mary Leslie, Eileen Blodgett,Susi Rogers, Lloyd Gaston, Sue Gaston; rear, Tom Arnold, Dick McFarland, WallyBush, Jim Rogers, Bill Friedlander, Bob McCraney, Dave Leslie, Bill Blodgett.
Dave Krivitsky '51 snapped this shot ofclassmates (I to r) Hank Sanders, BoFiertz, Jack Gannon, Dick Dutton, AlKarcher, Bob Shannon at Dick's home.
Caption quote: "Our onetime Harvardfriend views money he stole from us."Former "friends" (I to r) Jim Cooke '52,Bill Breed '52, Phil See '50, Howie Smith'52, Steve Howe (Harvard '50), Jim Porath '53, Bob Stiles '53. How about 1962?
Secretary, 2107 Fidelity-Phila. Trust Bldg. Philadelphia 9, Penna.
Treasurer, 2422 Vista Terrace, Cincinnati 8, Ohio
