1963
"Do you mind sitting with the students?" the ticket clerk asked sincerely as I traded in my end-zone seat for the Harvard game in Hanover, October 16. "Of course not," I replied enthusiastically, "I was a student here." So there I was in a sea of '86s, screaming, yelling, singing, passing each other up the grandstands like I'd never seen before. Being rather shy in my day as a '63, I might have been put off, except these '86s, guys, these '86s were, it seemed, mostly women, and when we stood up every ten or 15 minutes to sing "Men of Dartmouth," and a pretty young girl put her arm around me as did all of the '86s, I was glad to be back. And so will you.
The occasion was a meeting of your class officers to begin planning for our 25th reunion, which is going to be a great time and an opportunity for all of us to make a financial contribution to the College. It was my first meeting presided over by our president Dave Schaefer and an impressive one at that. Schaef, who is vice president and creative director of Patrick Nugent and Company, a Boston advertising firm, hosted us after the game at Alpha Theta with his wife Caroline, a student of Chinese cuisine.
During the weekend I chatted with Tom Berardino and Tim Ratner, members of the executive committee who had made the trip up from the New York area. Tom, who attended with his wife Charlene, is manager of planning, mergers, and acquisitions at Olin Corporation in Stamford, Conn. He was formerly with Exxon. The couple has three children, aged 11, 13, and 15. Tim Ratner was promoted last year to vice president at Citibank, where he is chief of staff of treasury operations. But when he is not looking after Citibank's money, Tim is director of the Uptown Sound, a jazz vocal ensemble. In fact he's looking for a male or female vocalist. If you're interested, call Tim in New York at 212/222-4440. Tim's wife Janice is also in show business. She's played Laurie in Oklahoma and is working on A Funny ThingHappened on the Way to the Forum.
A sad piece of news reaching me recently is word of the sudden death of Betsy Sioper, wife of Wayne Sioper; she was stricken with encephalitis. Wayne lives at Leigh Gate Road in Glastonbury, Conn.
C. Gregory Knight, professor of geography at the Pennsylvania State University, has been named head of the Department of Geography. Greg joined the Penn State faculty in 1971 as an assistant professor, becoming associate professor in 1973 and professor in 1979. In 1977-78, while on sabbatical, Greg served as visiting professor of geography at the University of Ife and honorary visiting scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, both in Nigeria. Before joining Penn State, Greg taught at the University of Kansas and the University of Dares Salaam in Tanzania. A cum laude graduate of the College, Greg earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. He is currently editor of Resource Publicationsin Geography, published by the Association of American Geographers. His teaching and research interests lie in the areas of human-environmental systems, energy and water resource management, mathematical modeling, and Africa. When he is not traveling or teaching, Greg chairs the Ferguson Township Planning Commission, presumably near University Park, Pa., home of Penn State.
It's interesting reading the correspondence of our medical doctor classmates because collectively you begin to sense the sigh of relief that somehow the time has come to begin to enjoy life a bit or at least seek out new experiences. Take Daryl R. Erickson, who with his wife and 14-year-old daughter has finished a year of intensive Arabic language study. Their two sons, aged 12 and eight, have been in the American Community School. The whole family is going to return to A1 Ain, where Daryl is staff surgeon and an ob-gyn consultant at a small private hospital. Daryl invites Dartmouth grads passing through to visit at Oasis Hospital, P.O. Box 1016, A1 Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Or how about Ed Smith, who "finally started to enjoy" his practice after becoming board certified in neurosurgery last year. Ed, who recently married Bonnie Forest (his second marriage), a native Californian, also operates a nonprofit corporation for neurologic electrodiagnostic testing. Ed lives in Santa Maria, Calif., and says he gets to drive his Porsche every "few months when it's paroled from my mechanic." Cheer up, Ed, the mechanic probably used to be a neurosurgeon.
I did a double-take on David Browne's news that spring has arrived and the sunny weather of summer is approaching. A typical post office delay? Nope. Dave lives at 36 Twilight Terrace, Banbury, Western Australia 62330, where he works on the automated controls for a large aluminia refinery incorporating all the latest energy saving and pollution control technology. "The Australians are very friendly people which makes this foreign assignment terrific," writes Dave.
Congratulations to P. Evan Lasky of Denver on his rriarriage last summer to Sandra Halper and continued success with Budget Tapes and Records Inc., a franchised record chain with 90 stores, of which Evan is president.
An addendum to my item last month on Chicago yachtsman Rick Van Mell came as we had a chance to talk after deadline time. Rick, who has made two transatlantic voyages, administers scheduling of fleets for seven yacht clubs in the Chicago area when he's not toiling hard as an executive at GATX Terminals, which is in the bulk petroleum and chemical liquid storage business. Rick, who has a B.A. in engineering from the Thayer School and an M.A. from Northwestern, has been with GATX for 17 years.
Season's Greetings, everyone. May 1983 be a good one for you and your loved ones, and may it also be the year that you write or phone me (212/631-5431) with news about yourself.
23-10 Waters Edge Drive Bayside, N.Y. 11360
