1961

Our mini-reunion is on track for the Harvard game weekend, October 19-21. Bill Haynsworth, who is once again our mini-reunion chair, was still preparing plans when I spoke to him in early August. But we're staying at the Sheraton, and he plans a cocktail party and/or a dinner and the usual hospitality room.

As a class, we'll be participating in the torchlight parade which, as I described to you last year, is a much bigger deal these days, with floats, seemingly every marching band in the Upper Valley, and at least 5,000 alumni marching. Last year 1961's participation was pretty wimpy, despite an almost perfect night. Why not try to be there this year?

Meanwhile, according to our new president, Dave Prewitt, Oscar Arslanian has tentatively agreed to hold a mini-reunion on October 20 in Los Angeles, probably at his home, which I show as 2489 North Edgemont (213/662-8236). We're hoping that Oscar will be able to have the Harvard game sound piped in.

As a class, we had an absolutely fantastic Alumni Fund campaign. We exceeded our $130,000 goal by $396; we got 502 separate gifts, for 80 percent participation, which means we had the largest number of donors in our Green Derby group even though we have the smallest class. Participation is certainly what I have been stressing as an agent, and apparently most of the other agents have also. Participation is the best way of demonstrating that we care. Henry Eberhardt, the Alumni Fund director, says we're in an elite group in postwar classes, with only '53 beating us, and only '54 and '84 tying us. Class thanks to Ron Boss, our head agent, to Oscar as participation chairman, to Frank Stephens as matching-gifts chairman, to Art Kelton as fraternity chairman, Alan Orschel as regional chairman, Tom Good ridge as doctors chairman, and Bob Mclndoe as leadership chairman.

Our former class president and elected representative to the Alumni Council, Gerry Kaminsky, has been asked to chair the class organization committee of the Council, a job which also places him on the executive committee of the Alumni Council. Gerry is also a very active member of the Alumni Fund committee. Anyhow, he again expresses the active desire to serve as a pipeline for your thoughts and comments about your alma mater. The Alumni Council plays a very important part in the overall direction of Dartmouth I think my experience in working toward a new charter for this magazine shows that and Gerry offers to listen to "your feelings, critiques, and suggestions and get them to the right guy on the Council or in the administration." He adds that the Council and the College are both working to increase alumni participation.

The news basket is overflowing this month. Most of it is happy. Steve Bos-worth, just recently a 1961 Fellow, is the new United States ambassador to the Philippines. President McLaughlin said it best when he wrote to Steve: "I was absolutely thrilled for you and for the United States."

Bruce Beasley, another classmate whose reputation is steadily growing, went to the XXIIIrd Olympiad to exhibit his sculpture, Artemon.

Mike Steinberg has become a principal of Aldrich, Eastman, and Waltch, a Boston firm specializing in the investment of pension funds in real estate. Mike previously had represented the firm as senior tax partner of Goodwin, Procter, and Hoar, a Boston law firm with 140 lawyers. The news release quotes Mike as saying, "I look forward to combining those tax and legal skills I have developed over 19 years with the real estate and financial skills of Aldrich, Eastman, and Waltch."

John Stowell represented the College at the inauguration of the 11th president of the University of Maine at Farmington April 28.

Henry Ames is campaigning for the Vermont State Senate from Windsor County, saying it is "rubbish, utter rubbish" that the two incumbent Democrats can't be beaten, according to a report in the Valley News. He's promising voters a three-phase fall campaign "Open Ear," "Open Mind," and "Open Up with Both Barrels" on the Democrats. Ames, a management consultant, has run for the office before as a write-in candidate. This time he filed formally for the job to give the Republicans a full slate of three to face the Democrats.

The sad news is the death of Mills Omaly, the Episcopal priest who played such a vital role in our reunions. A full obituary appears in the obituary section. Unusually, I had several offers for obituaries, and more material than I could fit in. Furthermore, Mills was "entirely ready to tell about his life on the grounds that it might be instructive," according to one classmate, who asked that his name not be used on the grounds that the rest of us might conclude that he, too, was homosexual. Here is part of the obituary that he prepared:

"Just six months after taking the post (as rector of All Saints' in Briarcliff Manor), Mills found that he was suffering from AIDS. Fearing that general knowledge that Mills was a homosexual and an AIDS carrier would cause mass flight from the church, the Vestry of All Saints' asked for and received his resignation, though voting to continue his salary until his future plans took shape.

"Mills found in those few weeks some joy and much despair. The joyful part came from taking part in a parade immediately after preaching his final sermon: 'I jumped in my car and raced to New York City to join 150,000 others in the annual Gay Pride Day parade. I marched in my clerical collar. It was the first time I was completely "out" as a gay person. It made me feel like a real human being.'

"The despair of being rejected by his church and the awesome realization that he had an inevitably fatal disease pulled him down. So did his conversations with his former wife who had only recently learned of his homosexuality. 'Every part of my life has been run asunder,' he said.

"Paul Moore, bishop of New York, then took a special interest in Mills and encouraged him to pursue a ministry among AIDS sufferers. Working with the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization in New York, he visited AIDS victims who were hospitalized. Still respected in the diocese, Mills urged that a special collection be taken to help with his new ministry and was given the support for which he asked ....

"Mills' ministry did not turn out as he might have expected .... Yet in some essential way, it did reflect those deeply-held religious convictions that sustained him through life: caring, serving, forgiving .... There are many people who will celebrate his life. Many of his classmates are among them."

Profiles in persuasion: These four members of the class of '61 helped reach a record total of 500 donorsfor the class at the New York City Alumni Telethon this spring. Callers are, top left, Larry Levy; topright, Gerry Kaminski, former class president; bottom left, Ron Wybranowski, 25th-reunion chairman;and bottom right, Bert Rowley, newsletter editor.

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