1952

By the time you read this, I hope the Midwest's deep freeze will have abated, that bare ground will be visible in the East, that the mud will have been cleared off the roads in the West, and that the waters in the Southeast will have receded to just springtime flood levels. I thankfully left Chicago for Tampa, Fla., on a fateful Sunday in January when the thermometer registered 24 below and the wind chill was minus 80. In Tampa, the temperature dipped to 24 (above), and I wished I had stayed in Chicago. Later on the same trip, I swung through Phoenix on my way to the coast. At 6:00 one morning at a balmy 45 degrees, I spied a jogger wearing earmuffs, mittens, and a down ski jacket. But what do they know in Phoenix?

Gerry Lukeman waited for things to warm up in the Windy City before he paid a visit. I am one of his clients, which means we can reminisce about the good old days in Hanover at some elegant spot at his expense. Gerry is president of and a principal in Audience Studies Inc., which is in the business of testing televi- sion commercials. He and Brenda live in Great Neck; L.I., where Melissa (15) is in high school, Josh (13) quarterbacks in football and pitches in baseball (shades of Lightnin' Lukeman in Hanover!), and Adam (11) and Noah (eight) stay out of the way of Josh s fast balls. From the conversation, I could tell that Melissa was the apple of Daddy's eye which only an only daughter can be. She models, discos at Xenon's, and is a great student. Adam's predilection (0.K., so you had to look it up; you don't know how long it took me to find it in the thesaurus) is for the arts. Despite his years, Big Dad still plays ball, semi-pro in the metro area and softball in the spring (four games per week with no designated hitter rule). Fortunately, Brenda provides order to this menage. She is a Ph.D. clinician in psychology and has a book coming out in March (Prentiss-Hall) on death and dying and how to handle it.

I received a nice note from Ken Davis 14, informing me that his granddaughter Susan has been accepted to the class of 1986 and will join her brothers Russ '80 and Mark '81 as Wearers of the Green. It should be noted in passing that Alan C. Davis is the proud old man! Congratulations to the Davises.

In case you missed it, Jim Rosenfield was recently appointed group executive vice president of C.8.5./ Broadcasting Group. Not ba for a Roxbury Latin boy (only the Boston Latin group can appreciate that). The last time I vis ited with Jim was in New Orleans at the 19' Super Bowl game which was run on C.B.S. Jim has had a distinguished career at C.8.5., rising steadily through the ranks from account executive in 1965. In the event any of you need tickets to anything, Jim is the person to contact.

Another person you can contact if you need anything is Charlie Blakemore, who is executive vice president and director of creative services worldwide of Benton and Bowles, one of the primo ad shops in Gotham. Charlie preceded me as class secretary, and he really did a nifty job. He's also done a nifty job at home with six children - Martha and Chip, both Dartmouth graduates, Peter studying to be a teacher at the University of lowa, and three (Betsy, 17; Andrew, ten; and Molly, seven) at home. Martha has been working at Pete McSpadden's place (Dancer, Fitzgerald Advertising) for two years, lately as an account executive; Chip is on the coast as a fledgling film writer. Charlie's better half, Miki, started a company, "Sites for Shoots," that specializes in unearthing locations for T.V. films. Miki's prior experience as a producer with an ad agency undoubtedly helps. Among the '52ers with whom Charlie has crossed paths are Rog Pierce, who works for Hercules, Ken Roman, of Ogilvy and Mather fame, and the aforementioned Pete McSpadden.

From Argentina comes news that on December 13 Rabbi Marshall Meyer received the degree of doctor of sacred theology honoris causa from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. It was awarded at the inaugural ceremonies of the new academic and library building of the Seminario Rabbinico Latino Americano, which Rabbi Meyer founded. The citation read, in pan: "It [the seminary} was the first institution to educate young men born and bred in the Southern Hemisphere to bring the message of Judaism as rabbis and educators to their native lands. . . . Often at great risk you have been a courageous champion of freedom and liberty in dark days of oppression, keeping aflame the light of liberty when all around you it has been extinguished. ..." The significance of Marshall s achievements falls into perspective each day as we read of events in Latin America.

Lastly, a press release from Manchester, Conn., dated November 1981 announced the appointment of John Henry McNary as executive vice president of the Manchester Sand and Gravel Company. John has been with the firm since 1955. He was president of the Connecticut Ready Mix Association in 1978-79 and is former president of the New England Chapter of the American Concrete Institute. If memory serves me tight, old Bill Thornton is in the hierarchy of that company. If you guys can find a way to plug potholes with cement, y'all gonna be rich!

222 East Chestnut Street Chicago, 111. 60611