1939

This past May 9 the class lost one of its good members with the passing of John Gillingham. John died suddenly and unexpectedly of a coronary in Stamford, Conn., where he had moved with his family but a year earlier from Scotch Plains, N.J. He was manager of special projects for Singer Company, in charge of the corporate move of the company to Stamford.

By the time that you read these notes the class will have enjoyed good fellowship at two mini-reunions in Hanover for the Penn game and at Bozo Noland's extravaganza in Williamsburg for the William and Mary tangle. In all probability these two soirees will have been detailed by the "Newsletter" boys. It would seem appropriate to recount officially the fact that Bob Davidson has signed on as managing editor to work with editor-in-chief Walt Darby in producing "'39 Out," along with the usual contributors, Bob Kaiser and Betsy Wyman. Recent editions suggest no lessening of the superb quality of the piece. Bob has been voted a member of the executive committee.

On the retirement stage we have Joe Urban front and center, having stepped down on August 1 as vice president of public relations for New England Telephone. Joe's service to the company spans 38 years, during which he has worked in finance, operations, personnel, and marketing as well as public relations.

Also retired is Bob Cushman whose departure from the chair of Norton Company this past spring prompted the Boston Globe to write a story, from which we quote: "He once told an assembly of security analysts that his company's social responsibility was more important to him than its stock price. Yet in the last ten years he has taken a 95-year-old family business and engineered what even Wall Street cynics agree is a turnaround from a sleepy, mature company to a dynamic growth leader in its major markets." Cush has apparently been signed on as a guest columnist in BusinessWeek, is a director of seven corporations, and is an overseer of Tuck School and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, so he has hardly gone out to a distant pasture.

Moreau Brown reminded us of an article on Black Studies in the New York Times Sunday magazine of April 13, which made many references to Charles Davis, Professor of English and Master of Calhoun College as well as head of Yale's Black Studies Program. He was pictured on page 62.

Bob North was promoted to manager of production plant maintenance at Northeast Utilities on April 7. Bob joined Connecticut Power Company way back in 1939, and this company was a predecessor of Hartford Electric Light Company, which makes up a good portion of Northeast Utilities. Bob was a pilot in the Royal Air Force in 1942 before serving in the U.S. Air Force during the bulk of World War 11. He married Virginia Douglas of West Orange, N.J., and the couple have two sons and two daughters.

We had a long letter from Whit Cushing lamenting the physical deterioration of Palm Beach, the city of his current residence, while eulogizing his native Vermont for its foresight in maintaining its tradition and ecology. Whit particularly favors St. Albans, whose museum (which he says is uniquely fascinating) hangs one of his paintings.

On July 20 "Henry Conkle Day" was celebrated in the remarkable little Episcopal church in Cashiers, N.C., to honor our Henry, who has served for 30 years as its senior warden. There was a dinner the night before and a church service in which the retired presiding Bishop Hines of the National Episcopal Church preached, assisted by Bishop Brown of Arkansas. Invited guests were luminaries from throughout the state who enjoyed a country picnic following the service.

Some brief tidbits gleaned over the hot summer months: Ralph "Zeke" Hill, senior editor of Vermont Life magazine, received the Vermont State Chamber of Commerce 1980 Vermont Citizenship award in Burlington on June 5. Mike Ellis was pictured in the Palm Beach press mystifying an audience with his prestidigitating in and around that area. EdOppenheim was at parents weekend in Hanover in April, visiting son in class of 1983. JoeBatchelder dined in Casey Key as guest of Betsy Wyman, with. Larry and Jane Vulte in attendance, sometime in spring. Robb DeGraff underwent a first cataract operation this spring. Dusty and Happy Rohde returned to York Harbor, Me., from Florida via Dusty's 45th high school reunion in St. Louis. Bob McCarty's widow Pat, remarried to Gus Richmann, now resides at 127 Caddock St., Watertown, N.Y. 13601.

Until the November issue ....

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