1963
Mother's Day is not far away and there should be some extra special celebrating in the Great Neck, N.Y., household of Steve Swirsky following the successful collaboration of Swirsky and Swirsky that's Joan Swirsky and Seth Swirsky, in the musical comedy OhBaby which ran during February and March offoff-Broadway in New York's Actor's Outlet Theater. If you're confused, Joan is Steve's wife and Seth is his oldest son. Steve married Joan during his undergraduate years at the College and Seth 82 and his brother David, a junior at Syracuse University, were both born at Mary Hitchcock Hospital. An actress and writer, Joan wrote the book and lyrics for Oh Baby, hich is about three couples who meet in childbirth classes. An honors graduate of the College, Seth is composer and musical director for show. The Swirskys also have a daughter, Karen, who "is a junior in high school and delicious," reports Joan. And Steve? Well, knowing he was going to have to put three kids through school, he went right to work after college for the American Granby Company, which is headquartered in Syracuse and involved in water purification and underground sprinklers. Now Steve is president of the company and is based in New York. He interviews prospective Dartmouth students and makes speeches about the College. Steve tore ligaments jogging, which is the second such injury of a classmate I've reported in two months. We're getting older, men. But Steve, a former basketball star at New Haven, Conn., Hillhouse High School, still bicycles and swims.
This is the month for maple syrup tapping, a busy time at Willow Spring Farm in West Glover, Vt., operated by Charles Racine and his wife Marilyn. A 1969 Ph.D. from Duke University in plant ecology, Chuck does consulting work for the U.S. Army Cold Regions Laboratory of Hanover, N.H. In fact, he's been traveling to Alaska every summer since 1973 to study tundra ecology. He's also checked out lightning-caused fires north of the Arctic Circle for U.N.E.5.C.0., and he writes a lot for technical journals. He married Marilyn in 1976 and works with her in what he calls a maple syrupsheep-honey-Christmas tree operation. The products, as outlined in their brochure, are most appealing. If you're nostalgic for Vermont wool, syrup, or honey, call Chuck at 802/755- 6773 or send for a brochure from Charles and Marilyn Racine, R.F.D., West Glover, Vt. 05875.
Another classmate who's cut his teeth on sales is Benjamin James, who owns the Folding Equipment Company in the Toledo, Ohio, suburb of Sylvania. The firm sells building products and furniture to schools and churches. A graduate of the Thayer Engineering School, Ben worked for Carrier Air Conditioning in his native Syracuse, N.Y., and later joined his present business with the family of his wife Marcia. Ben and Marcia have two children Benjamin IV, a high school senior who will attend Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., and a daughter Julie who is in the eighth grade. In. the world of journalism and publishing, David Rosenbaum, Daniel Kellogg, and John Lehman are hard at work on their respective beats.
Dave Rosenbaum is enterprise editor at TheNew York Times, where he develops and supervises the writing of big, in-depth stories, sometimes called blockbusters. A 13-year Times veteran, Dave kept us off the streets on New Year's Eve with an excellent article on drunken driving. He's also been behind pieces on bankruptcy, rising health costs, and the federal budget. A Columbia Journalism graduate, Dave worked for The St. Petersburg Times in Florida and for a British newspaper chain, and he covered Congress for years for The New York Times. He just moved to Scarsdale, N. Y., from Washington, D.C., with his wife Virginia and two children Dottie, 16, and Daniel, 13. When he's not at the desk, he might be playing tennis or squash.
John Lehman started a radio and television syndication company which distributes news, features, and public service tapes and films to broadcast stations around the country. With offices in Old Greenwich, Conn., and Minneapolis, John's firm has done stories on alcoholism, fish and game sports, the weather, and health trends, among others. John was our 20th reunion chairman and is active in fundraising for the class. He and his wife Lynn have two red-headed daughters Kristin, ten, and Heather, seven. John has been in touch with Sturges Dorrance, who, he tells me, is vice president and general manager of KING-TV in Seattle.
Dan Kellogg is a reporter and writer for A.M. Best Company, which he says is the Dun and Bradstreet of the insurance industry. Dan lives in Tewksbury Township, N.J., with his wife Bette, a first-grade teacher, and their children Julie , 13, and Danny, 11. A.M. Best is in Old wick, N.J.
Other class media news: Roger Parkinson was named publisher of The Minneapolis Starand Tribune, which is owned by Cowles Media, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Louis Gerstner, vice chairman of American Express, was featured in a March 14 story on his company in Forbes magazine.
The 1983 Alumni Fund Campaign for our class is heating up, under the direction of head agent Melvyn F. Meyers. I worked the New York phones recently with Tim Ratner and John Lehman. Our class goal is $104,500 and 500 contributors. Mel's organization so far includes Steve Rosen, Gene Kersey, Tom Gladders, John Lehman, Steve Lister, Mike Leone, and Bruce Baggaley. If you want to work on this worthy cause, call Mel in Toledo, Ohio, at his office, 419/247-3721, or at home, 419/ 537-7151, or write Mel Meyers, LOF Glass, 811 Madison Avenue, P.O. Box 799, Toledo, 43695; home, 3039 Riva Ridge Road, Toledo 43615.
Just at presstime, I received a fascinating letter from David Bowman, who is living in Costa Rica. I'm sorry I can't print David's whole letter here, but I'll hit the highlights and pass the rest on to Peter Rotch for the newsletter.
David is proposing the idea of a class minireunion in Costa Rica the week of June 13-19. He would be interested in hearing, in "as long a letter as you can muster," from classmates who could make this get-together, especially those who would like to explore some of his views: "those who have found their values change radically from the 'think and grow rich' ideology; those who were greatly cheered by the reforms of the Kemeny decade and are now worried about the closure of that era at the College; those who respectfully dissent from the 'America first' world view that has inflicted much damage on regions like Central America. David says he would find it "helpful (personally) to sit down for some conversations about how we arrived at [our] destination, ethically or intellectually, from the lecture halls of Dartmouth."
David is working for the University for Peace in Costa Rica. He, his wife Eleanor, and their two boys (ages seven and four) are renting a large house in Monteverde, five hours from San Jose, which, he says, could serve as the base for the gathering. He says the beautiful year-round climate and the fact that Costa Rica is "an oasis of social democracy in a troubled part of the world" make it a perfect place for a reunion. The main cost, David says, would be the air fare, approximately S400 round-trip from New Orleans. His address is Apartado 10165, San Jose, Costa Rica, and David cautions that it takes two to three weeks for mail delivery.
23-10 Waters Edge Drive Bayside, N.Y. 11360
