1940

Since last month's column was put to bed, the Cleveland '40s held their annual get-together at Bill and Jane Huffman's. The date was Sunday, August 12, and the group included Lee and Marty Bassett, Keith and Jean Benson, Karl and Ginny Bruch, the Cockleys, Eben and Mevie, Dave and Carol Davenport, the Huffmans, Walt and Pat Kelley, John and Kay Moore, Trudy Williams, Zelda, and me. Walter Meckes '42, a close friend of Huffman's through life and also a neighbor, with his wife rounded out the group. Goulder, who keeps on trying to take a good picture of the gathering each year, once again must have left out a key ingredient. If good enough for publication, this year's effort will accompany the column.

Gleanings from the Clevelanders: Bassett continues to pilot his hydraulic fittings manufacturing operation and has no immediate plans to "hang 'em up." Benson is healthy again and avidly pursues the little white ball down the fairways. Karl and Ginny made the scene, having returned to town late the previous day with Glissade on her maiden voyage to Lake Erie from Florida's east coast via the Hudson River and the Erie Barge Canal. The Cockleys and Davenports found weather relief from their Florida havens and renewed old Cleveland ties. Eb and Mevie will be in Hanover for the September mini-reunion before heading south; the Davenports will be there the previous week between visits with their daughter in Montreal.

Shortly after hosting the Cleveland reunion, Bill and Jane were bound for San Francisco for a command performance at their son's wedding over Labor Day weekend. Come this month, Bill will retire from his medical practice for all intents and purposes. He contemplates selling the family homestead and moving into something smaller and more suited to a life with travel and developing his interest in antique furniture for its core. After relinquishing the reins as mayor of Shaker Heights, Walt and wife Pat Kelley sold their home and purchased a condo in the same city. New address: 13800 Fairhill Road, Shaker Heights, OH 44120. Walt remains busier than ever with his practice of law.

After spending most of his working life with The Wyatt Company, actuaries, John Moore retired this past summer, then with another Wyatt refugee established the Simms and Moore Company whose address is P.O. Box 6598, Cleveland, OH 44101. The singular purpose of the venture is to provide detailed tax bases to AT&T shareholders for their new telephone shares. They have developed a computer program to determine cost bases of shares necessary to establish capital gains and losses, and to help with an individual's financial planning and to provide data for future income tax returns. I am told the service fee is nominal. Meanwhile, wife Kay continues her successful ways as a stock broker.

The coffee cup almost landed in my lap a few weeks ago when roommate Jay Weinberg suddenly loomed big as life on the "CBS Morning News" with Diane Sawyer. He discussed, with three others who had succeeded in their fight against cancer, how their lives had been affected. Jay's response was not unexpected when he explained that it was after he became aware of the problems and fears of others afflicted that he became involved in assisting others through their troubled times. Jay did establish a one-on-one visitation program at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, which now has some 30 volunteers on a continuing basis. More than once, the story of Jay's involvement in establishing the successful Corporate Angel Network for transporting cancer patients to or from cancer treatment facilities scattered throughout the United States has been told. Last May 7, CAN was awarded the 1984 President's Volunteer Action Award for Human Services at a luncheon at the White House. Jay (with wife Marian at his side, as usual) was in attendance, received a medal in recognition of CAN's accomplishments, and shook President Reagan's hand. Also, CAN was featured in an extensive article appearing in the June 18 issue of Time magazine and Jay is profiled on page 55 of this issue.

While on the subject of "angels," the annual Save Autistic Children Telethon, produced last December by Jack Rourke, raised a record $322,856 during the five-hour show. In addition to Jack, hosts included Ann Jillian, Jack Klugman, Carol Lawrence, Lloyd Nolan, and Dennis Weaver, as well as Sylvester and Sasha Stallone, for whom the newlyestablished Stallone Fund for Autism Research is named.

The Cleveland '40s and guests gathered for their annual mini-reunion in August at the home of Bill and fane Huffman.

20100 Fairmount Blvd., #202 Cleveland, OH 44118