1977
The passing of another year, with its accompanying doubts of time well-spent and future unknown, had not really become a part of my daily consciousness until the October issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE appeared in my mailbox. It was then I noticed that the '77 class notes are no longer the "best saved for last." Another class has entered the wide, wide world and pushes us further toward the middle of the magazine. A small move, yet a jolt nonetheless.
After sorting through the clippings and letters, I find that I am still relating news from the summer months. Mark Lebowitz spent his summer appearing in a series of musicals and plays at the Surflight Summer Theater in Beach Haven, N.J. Among his performances was that of Joey in Pal Joey and the title role of Eddie in Jerome Kern's musical comedy VeryGood, Eddie. Mark has also appeared as pianist and entertainer at The Bushes, a club in NYC. This fall he will be seen in the film Putting Them to Pasture, to be shown on educational TV in New York.
On August 10, 1978, the Wall Street Journal printed an article about rowing on Philadelphia's Schuylkill river. Quoted in the article was classmate Bets Kent who many will remember rowed at Dartmouth. She is working for an investment firm in Philadelphia and is also training for the Olympics rowing competition.
Representative Michael C. Hanson (R-Laconia, N.H.) announced in August that he would be seeking the Republican nomination for a second term in the New Hampshire House. In late September, a letter arrived from John Storella, describing some of the details of the campaign. A large crew of campaign workers were old Gile Hall people and included Kippie Phillips (University of Michigan Business School), Stevenson Upton (recently returned from a stint with VISTA and now attending Chicago Law School), and CharlieWrobel (B.U. Medical School). The group did some hard door-to-door work, pushing Mike's platform of zero-based budgeting, consumer protection, tax breaks, and improved quality of state mental-health facilities. It all worked out for the best as Mike earned the second of four district seats, only 32 votes behind the wellestablished front-runner. When not working on political campaigns, John studies molecular evolution in insects in the University of Massachusetts Zoology Department.
Another note from the month of August came from Chris Mumford. As I reported in an earlier issue, Chris spent last year working on his family's farm in Indiana. He was also fortunate enough to be a part of the alumni team that won last spring's woodsmen's competition. Chris made mention that perhaps many of us had heard him speak (in the vaguest terms) of making a trip to Australia and New Zealand. He wrote to let me know that the idea has now become a concrete plan which at the time of this writing should be in full swing. Chris has been hired to be a part of the Ross Ice Shelf Project, based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He will work from November through January at several sites in Antarctica, including the South Pole station and a location called Ice Dome Charlie at 15,000' altitude. He will be collecting raw data for climatological research, as well as helping somewhat with the drilling project. Travel to and from the pole includes stops in New Zealand and Chris hopes to do his long dreamed of travel on the return trip (that is if he hasn't spent all his money at the South Pole bar!).
Frank McNamara sent a lengthy letter detailing his adventures of life after Dartmouth. Soon after graduation he headed for Washington, D.C. to work for Senator Lowell Weicker (R-Conn.). He began by doing general legislative research and ended up being assigned to the Korean bribery scandal. Senator Weicker was a member of the Senate Ethics Committee looking into Tongsun Park and his friends. He also reported that his three roommates were from Williams, which dictated that a considerable amount of time be spent watching T.V. He mentioned that many other '77s are in Washington: Stacey Tighe, PeterBernhard, Mike Zitsche, Tal Ittner, and NelsonValverde, as well as several others who have already found fame and glory in this column. Frank spent the summer on his sailboat, acquiring the analytical skills necessary to attend Michigan Law School this year. Also in the drink were Sam Johnson and Rocky Geyer.
Now for this month's chorus of "Going to the Chapel": Susan Molloy announced her engagement to David Hollinger, a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford. Susan Sawyer '80 is engaged to John LeBlanc and a spring wedding is planned. Larry Guillemette married Virginia Sylvester in October. The couple will be living in Hanover where Larry will be finishing up at Tuck School. Lastly, though he obviously couldn't muster the courage to tell me himself, I have learned that Randy Davis is engaged to Cheryl Eger, sister of George Eger.
Once again I have run past my allotted word limit and must call it quits. Please remember to send in your class dues and, most importantly, add a few lines about yourself so that you, too, can be included in the columns yet to come.
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