1952

It was a heavy month, with reports of the loss of three classmates. Bob Frech died of a heart attack on December 19 while walking near his home in Bremerton, Wash. Jack Fessenden, who lived in Annandale, Va., died of cancer on December 13. And James McComiskey's sudden death in July was just reported. Jim entered Dartmouth with the class of'52, but after a tour of duty in the Army he completed his education at Boston University, where he received his A.B. Jim taught school in Gloucester, Mass.

More details are included in the obituary section. Our heartfelt condolences go to Suzy Freeh and to Sarah, Daniel, Peter, and John; to Joyce Fessenden and the children —Joy, Judi, and John; and to Constance McComiskey and her family.

Tom Dunham enclosed a note with his dues, saying that he was now based in Cleveland as president of the Cyrus Eaton World Trade Corporation, which deals with China, Russia, and other socialist countries. Apparently, the lure of the international scene was just too much for Tom. He had returned to the United States after many years in international management and started up a successful mail presorting business. But, as Tom noted, there is only just so much excitement in licking stamps. Tom and Joan flew son Brian '86 back to Hanover for the winter term in their Cessna 210.

I ran into Pat and Annemie Gramm at a social function recently, and we wound up the evening having dinner together. Pat is vice chairman of the Great Lakes Carbon Company, which he joined after defending Pittsburgh as a member of the C.I.C. The Gramms are active members of the Chicago community. Annemie is on the board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Pat is a member of the Chicago Crime Commission and a director of the Economics Club of Chicago, among other things. Pat was recently made a member of the board of overseers of the Thayer School, according to a recent announcement by Dave McLaughlin and Thayer Dean Carl Long. The Gramms recently took a trip west to Seattle to visit Dick Bressler. Pat and Annemie have two sons and one daughter. Christian and Melise are at New Trier High School, and Alexander is enrolled at North Shore Country Day.

A news item in The Wall Street Journal recently announced the appointment of Charlie Clough to the position of senior vice president of the Nashua Corporation in Nashua, N.H. Congratulations, Charlie.

Bob Binswanger sent a long note on some funny stationery. Close inspection revealed that the hieroglyphics were Japanese; closer inspection revealed that Bins and Penny have been living in Japan since September. Ah so!

Bins was recruited by the Japanese government to work on problems of teaching competency. Japan is highly supportive of all education, and learning is given high priority and is accorded much prestige. As a result Bins found it a tempting assignment, so he obtained a leave of absence from his post in the U.S. and set sail for the Far East.

Bins works with the National Institute for Educational Living at Hyoga University, where he teaches and lectures. As one whose military service involved a long period in Japan, I had to smile at Bins's description of living there. The Binswangers live in a small city between Kobe and Osaka. Life is totally Japanese-style, and while things are neat, compact, and efficient, they tend to be too small. They have a sixtatami apartment (a tatami being a standardsize mat; the size of a room is described by the number of tatami mats). Dinner out is indigenous fare at local restaurants with the traditional culinary tools. As the only foreigners within 50 miles, the Binswangers evoke stares, giggles, and more than the normal curiosity. Nevertheless, Bins is impressed by the life-style of tradition, ambition, hard work, and achievement. Bins and Penny have found the people to be generous beyond belief. So deska.

Drew University announced the election of Bob Callander to its board of trustees. Bob is senior executive vice president of the Chemical Bank in New York. Bob's wife, Marilyn, is a Ph.D. candidate at Drew and should have no problem graduating. The Callanders have three children and live in Lebanon, N.J.

Someone sent me a clipping from The Rutland Herald on our contrarian classmate, Jim Fraser. Jim retreated a number of years ago to a Vermont stone mansion, from which aerie he indulges in investment counseling and writing financial newsletters. Let's hope Jim can't persuade everyone to become a contrarian investor because if he did, where would that leave Jim?

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