1972
This is the time of year when even I am forced to be serious long enough to wish the Class a very happy holiday season. It's too bad the remembrance of friends and the desire to be with those we love (in my case, Ghort) which are so strong now, are not powerful enough instincts to motivate us throughout the year. Still, this warmth does permeate the holiday season, and even if only once a year, the holidays serve to remind us that "humane" is really "human", with an "e" for effort.
Bob "Turtle" Morrison heads the Christmas column, not as a ham or even a turkey, but something even worse - a bridegroom. The Turtle married Susan S. Rich (Colby Jr. 71) last summer in Wellesley, Mass., in a ceremony attended by a rowdy crew of "greenies." Bob and Sue are living in Brighton, Mass., at the moment while he attends grad school in English at B.U. Previously, Bob had done some grad work at University of Arizona, and had been one of the last men to be drafted into the Army - how lucky can you be?
Jeff Wallace dropped a short line to let us know that he has left Price Waterhouse & Co. to become a senior financial analyst with Weldon & Co., a wholesale brokerage house on Wall Street. I wonder if he's got any specials this month on Big Mac bonds?
Bill Schur informs me that he has passed the Illinois bar exam, and is an associate with the Chicago firm of Chapman & Cutler. His note seemed indicative of good spirits, which stem, most likely, from the respectable season the Cleveland Indians put together, and the emergence of Frank Robinson as a coach.
72's favorite diver, Bill Thoworth, starts out a letter to me by admitting that his failure to write for three years could be construed as laziness. But Bill, there are a lot of 72's who have never written, so you are forgiven. Bill has finished his stint with cadavers at Dartmouth Med, and is now doing his residency in Hershey, Pa. Bill and his wife Randi now have a little girl (Shane Allison), and Bill confesses that he's glad Dartmouth went coed (she's Class of '97). The good doctor also reports that Jim Gottschalk is surviving in Detroit on a diet of tequila and lemons after graduating from Chicago Business. Wharton Business School now counts ChrisCarstensen among its alumni. Chris took a job with Campbell Soup which lasted for 11 days - rumor has it he ran into one of the "mandhandlers" on a rampage. Undaunted, he took a position with Carter-Wallace in the Big Apple.
I ran into a rowdy bunch at the Harvard game. Jim Bartlett, a plastics engineer in the Boston area, and Mark Lindberg, (Tuck School and the rape of the Grand Bank) were among those drowning sorrows in the Harvard cage after the game. Jack Manning, Wayne Young,Joe Leslie, Dave Friend, Jim Nicotri and others reported that they never stopped laughing the whole weekend as Bob King did his Bill Walton imitation.
Dave Abbott arose from the depths to pen what I felt was a humongously overdue script. After some heavy duty Latin, and an apology for employing the subjunctive tense, I discovered that Dave is finishing up his M.A. in English at U. Michigan. Despite the secrecy of it all, I should let you know that Dave and longtime friend Beth are now married. The best to them as they travel the path. Dave has also done some work on Pete Kaldheim's ('71) new magazine, Edgeworks, aimed at contemporary fiction and reviews.
Mike Brownstein is embroiled in Natural Resources and Zoology at U. Washington. Steve Himmelman is master carpentering in Seattle, and John Cathcart is in Boulder, Colo., and rumor has it that the population is about to double.
Paul Ettari is working with a coal sampling and analysis firm in Ebensburg, Pa. RogerEkirch, meanwhile, is finishing his doctoral program in American History at Johns Hopkins. To finance the venture, he is teaching part time at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Bob Sutcliffe has taken a position with a law firm in Bangor, Me., after passing the bar exam in that state. He and his wife Nina moved to Maine from Washington, D.C., after Bob graduated from Georgetown in June.
Bob Deyle is enrolled in the Environmental Management program at Duke. He claims to have come to the realization that the facilities at Dartmouth in relation to those at other places are excellent, and thinks John Kemeny would make a better presidential candidate than Terry Sanford.
Rand Alexander is in the midst of his final year of Wharton Business, and he and his wife Chris hope to move to the Boston area after his graduation. Greg Yadley has taken a position with the Securities and Exchange Commission while his wife Bobby enters George Washington Law as a first-year student. John Musser is employed by Arthur Anderson & Co. in Boston, and with Bob Forman working for them, too, it is safe to say that Arthur is in good hands.
Probably some of the best news personally came in this letter from Mrs. Audrey Gracey, Mike Gracey's mother. Mike was the victim of an auto accident and spent a lengthy period in a coma. His mother now writes:
"As Michael's mother I am sending his check to you. He cannot yet write, etc., but he does indicate "yes" by raising his eyebrows; "no" by frowning. He loves to be read to, and indicated "yes" that he would like this paid. He seems to enjoy all correspondence from Dartmouth so much. He goes to the library three times a week to listen to records and be read to. He particularly enjoys Shakespeare's plays and poetry, and is learning to ring a little bell to notify the librarian that the record needs changing. He's worked very, very hard, and still has a long, long way to go. They are so good to him at the hospital, but we look forward to the day we can bring him home. Ah - how great that will be. Much luck to the Class of '72. (signed) Audrey Gracey."
Mike's mom sent a check to cover his class dues - enough said on that topic. Dave and I urge you to send your check and thank those who have.
Ghort and I plan a dynamite holiday, and I have a dozen gift-wrapped egg shells for him. But mostly our Christmas wish is that Mrs. Gracey gets to bring Mike home.
A warm holiday season to all.
Secretary, Box 372 Castleton, Vt. 05735
Treasurer, 9 Pembroke St., Somerville, Mass. 02143
