1950

January shivers to a close. Usually record temperature lows are a phenomenon of the North Country. Not so this year. Snow covers 75 per cent of the country, so few of you have escaped unscathed. The difference is that we are accustomed to this kind of weather and, supposedly, know how to handle it.

Winter's bad press misses a salient point, especially in the Northeast. Miserable days abound. Yet many days are magnificent. Ignore the singular beauty inherent in a simple snowstorm - a dry one on a cold night without a wind. Nothing compares to the next day when a bright sun sparkles out of endless skies and refracts across layers of snow and ice. The bane of winter is the wind; but a sheltered, sunlit nook taunts it and allows us to wallow in stolen warmth.

Other days, other conditions are worth forgetting. To be rendered immobile by ice for a week is no fun.

Gridiron gleanings (still): By January the Ivy season is a memory. But this year, interest in league players continued through the Super Bowl. And the winning points in the all-star game were kicked by Nick Lowery '78. The Bengals had three ex-Ivies: Jauron, Yale '73; Mclnally, Harvard '75; and Reggie Williams '76. One sports writer quipped, "That means the Bengals have at least three men who are smart enough to know that it is physically impossible to give 110 per cent on the football field." And Williams, commenting on the demotion of Ivy teams (see this column in last month's issue) asserted, "I am aware of the quality of Ivy League football. It [the decision by the N.C.A.A. to demote the league] will not affect the intensity of play among Ivy League schools. They have been the targets of external fire before."

Children are special for Fred Rogers. He is best known for his public television series Mr.Rogers' Neighborhood, which runs daily, repeating shows created during the last 20 years. But few people know about Fred's special programs designed to help children cope with such problems as divorce in the family or their own operations. His most recent prime-time special dealt with violence. "Violent television dramas often feed a child's own aggressive fantasies," Fred noted. "When these fantasies are acted out in the real world, there is a great potential for confusion in a child's mind between real and fantasy violence. This confusion can lead children to strange perceptions of the world." In Violence in the News: Helping Children Understand, Fred attempted to tell children that "... we all have a wide range of feelings, but these feelings can be discussed and they can be managed."

Now that only Stuart and Winston, their two Welsh corgis, remain at home, Bill and Judy Cross are often able to travel together on Bill's frequent business trips for Reader's Digest. In September they had breakfast in Washington with Bill Frenzel, U.S. Representative from the Twin Cities. During October they traveled all over New England (but apparently not on business). In New Hampshire they visited with Walt and Rosemary Lindenthal. At the Yale game with Gene and Carol Ulrich they saw Dick Echikson and Jim Myers. The wonder is they saw anyone, including a host of '49ers and '51ers, since their tickets were on the Yale side. Their cheers, however, dimmed as the cause became bleaker, and their hearts were on the right side.

The note starts with, "Compassion overcome inflation! I have not written before because there has been no news of consequence: same job, same home, same weeds; cleaning the house has been the biggest annual event." The only news about Larry Huntley is that he has just celebrated his tenth anniversary as chaplain - he demurs at occasionally being called Chaplin - at the Sunland Training Center in Gainesville, Fla. Larry notes that his ministry has been exciting, challenging, and joyous. He delights in having returned almost 1,000 people to community living as effective participants. Next goal: retirement.

Tidbits here and there: Could it be only a vacation, or has Cal Bauer really moved from Geneva to Durango, Colo. George and Ann Jewett set their own courses and schedules now that he has retired from (or left) teaching after 25 years to work with tools as a carpenter, altering homes and repairing boats. Dave Taylor remains in Hanover, but daughter Tasha '80 is now a Garnett (Jeff '78) and lives in La Paz. After venturing a little way east for a few years, Sandy and Madge Marson have left the Cleveland area for Glencoe, Ill. Larry Perry is still with the department of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic. The Emory haw Journal had an article on "The Five Roles of the Law School Dean" by Tom O'Connell and his brother Jeff '51. Ed Petrequin remains in the Cleveland area with the family paper company. If you can find Goleta, Calif. - just north of Santa Barbara - finding Roger Simmons should be no problem. Fran Austin has finally opted for the suburbs of Westchester. After years in New Brunswick, Ralph Muehlig has migrated to Pittsburgh with his new vocation as a lawyer. Stan Schneider sold his theater chains in North Carolina to become the owner of two Japanese steak houses, one in Raleigh, the other in Greensboro.

Len Matless still has a stock of reunion ties and totebags. Write him (or see him) at the Hill Winds Shop in Hanover for these serviceable souvenirs. The tab is $10.

The office drags. The time has come again to go to the country. My countdown for the midwinter mini-reunion in the North Country has long since begun. There are other places to visit. None, however, refreshes so well simply by reflecting the past with a stimulating present.

There is another countdown. Spring is only days away. It's time to polish the clubs, check the racquet strings, or test the flex of the rod. Enjoy yourself. Peace.

510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, N.J. 07450