1966
Hello again! We had a baby girl on July 23 Becki Elizabeth. Jim Season had a boy on July 25 Jonathan Hale. Jim counted and told me that was nine months and nine days after his wedding last October. Close, Jim. But not to be outdone, Bill Ramos, who is practicing OB/GYN in Reno, Nev., and who ought to know better, is expecting twins in November! Bill and Susan (who is also a doctor) have a daughter Debbie, eight. Congratulations to all us pops!
I received some news over the summer that is so stale I can't believe it. Like Joel Mumford, who got married in September . . . 1981! Joel married Margery Collins in a ceremony at the D.O.C. House, attended by L. W. Collins Jr. '32 (the bride's father), Phillip H. Lewis '16, Phillip G. Lewis '53, and Jim Hamilton '65. Joel describes Margery as a friend for 18 years, which explains the slight delay in sending me the news. Actually I wonder why he wrote so quickly! Margery was in charge of the dining hall at Harvard Divinity School, which must be a blessing for Joel at dinner time. They are now settled down in Granby, Mass., near Springfield, where Joel practices anesthesiology. Jim Edson made the late news too by mentioning that last March he escaped the thaw of upstate New York to vacation in Florida. Jim also mentioned that his grandfather, Carroll Edson '14, who was a co-founder of the Boy Scouts' Order of the Arrow, attended a national conference of the order at age 90!
Ron Safko was in touch to say that he has an architectural practice in Columbia, S.C., concentrating on commercial office buildings, hotels, and motels. In addition, he mentioned he hasn't changed much that is, he's "still full of it!" A little further north, Herb Hendriks is practicing plastic surgery at Nash General Hospital, where he also chairs the surgery department. Herb and Joan have two children Scott, 11, and Dana, seven.
Farther up the eastern seaboard, Ben Day reports living in Rumson, N.J., working for Bell Laboratories. Not too long ago he received a promotion to operations planning manager. Ben and Sharon have two girls Lauren, five, and Alexandra, two. Bill Wagner lives not too far from me in Ramsey, N.J., and works in New York City for A. G. Becker, specializing in commercial debt offerings. His daughter Ashley is going on two.
I have spoken with Jack Garamella since the last column. He was pretty easy to trace right back to Danbury, Conn., where he is a partner in the law firm of Cutsumpas, Collins, and Hanafin. Jack admits to being guilty of the classic pattern of hometown boy going to college, coming home to marry his high-school sweetheart, raising a family, and becoming a pillar of local society. That kind of stuff only happens in the movies, right? More interestingly, Jack has ventured into the restaurant trade, opening an eatery called Benedict's a gastronomic delight with a Victorian ambiance. Jack and Judy (Brown '66) have two boys Jaime, four, and Brett, two; both have fun recruiting for their alma maters, competition not withstanding.
Don Ries reported in from his outpost in Zaire, where he is starting the second year of his teaching fellowship at the American School of Kenshasa. Last summer he went to Kenya for the second time, backpacking and hiking up Mt. Kenya to the 16,500-foot level. He sent me a recipe for a genuine Zaiwa dish called "mbika," which is a tomato, pepper-based sauce served over rice. Maybe Jack Garamella could use it! In any event, Don continues to be enlightened by the revelations of the Third World, particularly the effect of American foreign policy on underdeveloped nations. Don professes to being disillusioned by what he sees, something I am sure we would all feel in trying to reconcile the apparent failure of our policies in projecting our basic beliefs and values across the abyss of insolvable social problems.
And finally, it is with sadness that I must mention the passing of one of our classmates, Kirk Ditzler. I was glad to receive some thoughts from some of those who knew him, which I hope have been conveyed adequately in the obituary column. Kirk was an artist and a thinker. As art editor for the Jack-o-Lantern he found expression in the simplicity of line, a sample of which we are fortunate to have reprinted below.
As a thinker, Kirk joined the science of life to his talent for artistic expression. Our class will miss him.
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