1958

We had hoped this month to be able to relay to you some of the details of the proceedings of the Class Executive Committee meeting originally scheduled to be held on September 17 in New York. However, a couple of noteworthy developments forced postponement of the conclave. On August 29, Nancy and Dick Stoddart became parents of a daughter, Allison Graham, and, only two days later, Richard Alexander, the latest addition to the family of Donna Lee and Dick Frisch, presented himself for the first time. The meeting will most likely now take place on one of the fall football weekends.

We have one additional item of a social nature to report this month. A November wedding is being planned by Miss Isabelle H. Siegel and Roger Greene. Isabelle is assistant dean of admissions at the Parsons School of Design in New York City, where Roger is practicing law. Roger is a graduate of the Yale School of Law.

In news in the field of education, Don Viny recently completed a year of teaching English to the English in London at the Secondary Modern School. Now that he has perfected his English accent, he is going to Greece for two more years of teaching at the American Community Schools of Athens. Don is still single and invites any '58's to drop in, if in the neighborhood.

Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh recently announced the appointment of Dave Livingstone to the post of instructor of English in the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. Dave obtained his master of arts degree from Columbia University, where he is also a candidate for his Ph.D. degree. Dave is living in Brooklyn.

Dick Warner is spending the current year in Leningrad, the Soviet Union, doing research for his doctoral dissertation. The research grant is part of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. cultural exchange program. Dick and Judy became parents of a daughter, Eva Cornelia on May 27. Judy plans to teach in West Berlin while Dick is in Russia.

In June, Sterling Apthorp was awarded his master of arts degree at Ohio State University. Also in June, Andy Thomas was elected president of the Simsbury, Conn., Jaycees. Andy is senior financial control administrator at the Hamilton Standard Division of United Aircraft Corporation and has been active in Jaycee affairs since 1963.

Doug Fusonie is now in the process of completing his residency in general surgery at the Ohio State University Hospital. Doug and Judy presently have two children, Kara, 3, and Brian, 1, with another well on the way. Doug has been pretty busy with hospital duties, research, classes, and publishing a few medical papers, but still finds the time for an occasional weekend rugby game.

A couple of legal briefs: Al La Brecque, who seems to be making headlines monthly, has become one half of a new partnership for the general practice of law in Hazlet, N. J.; Hugh Fox of Orford has passed the New Hampshire bar examination and was sworn in on August 25.

Fisher-Price Toys, Inc. of East Aurora, N. Y., the world's largest producer of preschool toys, recently announced the appointment of Jeff Strayer to the position of sales representative for New England and portions of upper New York state. The Strayers, who have two daughters, Carrie, three, and Leslie, one, are living in Wellesley Hills, Mass. Jeff did some graduate work at the University of Michigan.

Larry Murphy has been named a systems research officer at the First National Bank of Boston. Murph has been with the First since early this year, after experience with a bank in New York and with a systems equipment manufacturing firm. He lives in Medfield.

On May 9, Parke, Davis and Company of Detroit, announced that Stu Gord had been named financial manager in the firm's Treasurer's Division. Stu joined Parke-Davis in 1963 as a financial analyst after obtaining his M.B.A. degree from Harvard Business School. In January, 1965, he was named senior financial analyst, the position he held until May. The Gords are living in Birmingham, Mich.

Bob Pratt is working as a product analyst for General Foods Corporation. Bob, Judy and daughter Debby, one, are living in Old Greenwich, Conn. Jack Newell is also living in Greenwich, where he is president of Newell-Hoppe Insurance, Inc.

In other business shorts, Tom Chomentowskl is now a pilot for Trans world Airlines. Tae Kim is assistant manager of the foreign department of the Kunsul Co., Ltd. in Seoul, Korea. Chuck Jost is a design engineering group leader for Sprague Electric Company in Worcester, Mass.

An insight into the operation of a business publication and also into the activities of Steve Quickel may be gleaned from the following quote from "Side Lines," in the August 15 issue of "Forbes."

There are two major pitfalls in business journalism: dullness and lack of sophistication. Much business coverage is simply not authoritative; much more is plain dull. Sometimes, unfortunately, it is both. We spend a good deal of money and take infinite pains to avoid both pitfalls. One way we do so is by recruiting most of the younger members of our editorial staff, not from journalism schools, but from graduate schools of business administration. Other publishing companies recruit Masters of Business Administration too, but usually for management positions. We recruit them as writers and reporters.

When a Forbes man goes out to interview top management, we want him to be prepared and familiar with his subject. We don't want to have happen to us what happened to a rival business publication a few years ago. The chairman of a large company told a reporter that his company was going to issue convertible debentures. "What are debentures?" the reporter asked. The chairman threw the reporter out. We don't blame him. It doesn't seem much to ask that a business reporter know something about business and finance. Any young man who has spent four years preparing for an advanced degree in business at a good school and two more years studying business at the graduate level at least has a head start in that direction.

Associate Editor Stephen Quickel is a good example of what we mean. Steve, who handled the timely cover story in this issue on United Air Lines, came to Forbes four years ago. Steve already had quite a bit of academic training in business and some practical experience in finance as well. He was graduated from Dartmouth and from its Amos Tuck School of Business Administration. After serving two years in the Navy, he did a stint at Pittsburgh's Mellon National Bank. If you think MBA's can't learn how to write and to report, we'd refer you not only to this cover story but to three others Steve has been in charge of so far this year: Celanese Corp., Cities Service and Transamerican.

Another classmate in the field of business journalism is Bill Hartley, now doing an excellent job as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Bill will be assuming the position of Class Secretary next month.

Secretary, 185 East 85th St. New York, N. Y. 10028

Treasurer, 102 Hastings St., Framingham, Mass.