1952
Well, the month of March brought a few '52s out of hibernation. Ken Roman was in town, and we had dinner together. Ken s at the same stand at Ogilvy and Mather in New York. Ellen is throwing a surprise party for herself at the end of March. Ken said it had something to do with passing a significant milestone (the BIG five-oh, undoubtedly). I hope Ellen isn't too sensitive about her age.
Bill and Wendy Randall drifted south from Milwaukee on their second annual pilgrimage to Chicago. Last year at this time they came to Chicago to celebrate Wendy's BIG birthday, and Bill said they were going to make it an annual affair. They came over to casa Durot, and we had a chance to catch up on all the news since we last saw each other, which was so long ago that we could not remember when it was. Bill is in the banking business in Milwaukee; his bank has had the good fortune not to have loaned any money to the Third World!
On the occasion of an auto parts convention, Tank Creamer came to Chicago and phoned to see if we could get together for a drink. Tank has been in and around the automotive industry since graduation and completion of a stint in the Marine Corps. After working in the partsdistributing end of the business, Tank spent nine years in Kansas City, running a trade association management company for the automotive industry. In 1978 he moved back to the East Coast and started his own consulting business in the automobile after-market. Classmate Dick Brown works in association with Tank in their Darien, Conn., office. Tank and Diane are grandparents, Susan having done the honors. Susan and her husband live in Rowayton, Conn. Colleen, who is 25, works in New York for a public relations firm and is an account executive on the Chesebrough Pond s account. John (23) works for a trade association in Washington, D.C., and monitors the international side of the business. Only Michael is still at home. He is a sophomore in high school where, at six feet, one inch and 185 pounds, he was the starting quarterback last year. Tank said that Diane has been very successful as an interior designer. She made the cover of Family Circle last fall, and one of her homes is in the current issue. When not playing golf at Wing Foot, Tank and Diane can be found at their summer house in Quogue, L.I.
If your ears were burning recently, it is because cause Jack and Sally Foster had me over to dinner, and Jack and I did a tour de force on the class of '52. It seems that very few classmates went unmentioned. Fortunately, Sally took it all in stride. Spied on the wall of the Foster family room was a framed galaxy of photos assembled in honor of the Fosters' move from New Jersey to Chicago five years ago. Among the well-wishing signatories was the ever-popular Roy T. Abbott Jr. Even Leon Bombard made honorable mention during the evening discussion. (Leon was the custodian of the Deke and Phi Gam houses whose brothers were often called upon to protect Leon from his wife.) What a delightful evening! The dinner was equally as delightful as the conversation; it was a team effort, with Jack and Sally doing a number from a Julia Child cookbook. Well, it's back to square one on the diet. Jack plies his trade as president of Ryerson Steel, which boasts of John Brower and Kent Calhoun among the faithful. He and Sally are avid outdoorspeople (oh, hell, outdoorsmen) who canoe and bike. They have planned for this summer a 400-mile bike hike through Bavaria and Austria. The Fosters have a daughter and an 11-year-old grandchild in Milwaukee and another daughter in Marblehead, Mass., which keeps them on the move. Jack and Sally mentioned having seen-John and Judy Grocutt during a recent trip to Hawaii. Are the Grocutts poised to return to the mainland?
A few weeks ago while in New York I had dinner at Louise Jr. 's, a favorite place from long ago which I hadn't visited in some time. This brought to mind Fred Forni, whose family owned the restaurant when we were in school. I phoned Fred to see what was new in his life. Fred is vice president of corporate development of that billion-dollar conglomerate. He and Louise live in Chappaqua, N.Y. Son Fred is a senior in high school and has applied to Dartmouth; the daughters have staked out both coasts, with Nancy working in Boston and Barbara at the University of Washington studying environmental engineering. Another son. Tom, is going to school and is still at home. Fred sees Tom Rosenwald (the illustrious brother of another Rosenwald) and George Brophy (both '56s) from time to time, as well as Howie Haas and Steve Mandel.
It is the first day of spring, and I've got to quit now to go outside and shovel the snow.
222 East Chestnut Street Chicago, Ill. 60611
