1953

Continuing our stroll through the locker room of Alumni Gymnasium in 1949-50: Tom Kelley, Boise, Idaho, captained the freshman cross-country team and by most accounts the track team as well, although no one can remember for sure. Tom had a varied career in publishing before moving to Boise in 1982. He worked for Doubleday, McMillan, and McGraw Hill, and in 1973 joined Butterworth, a medical publisher. In 1980, he became a consultant to the World Bank in such third world nations as Peru to assist in starting textbook publishing businesses. He returned briefly to medical publishing before moving to Boise and to a second career, with spouse Kay, in real estate. He also writes a column for the local business paper. They have two daughters and two sons: Katie is a systems analyst; Lisa is a financial analyst; Tom Jr. is in the air force; and Tim is running a restaurant after a tour with the 82nd Airborne. Tom is quick to acknowledge that he no longer runs, attributing this to his many associations with physicians from his publishing career. Something about knees, backs, hearts, and dogs that bite. Instead, he and Kay hike, fish, and hunt.

Deane Hillsman, Sacramento, Calif., entered Dartmouth from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. With these roots, one might expect a hockey player. Alas, no. Deane was the captain of our freshman swimming team. That was a notable achievement, considering the talent on that team. Deane, however, came down with hepatitis and was out of swimming. Bad news, good news! He was able to concentrate on his premedical studies and gained admittance to McGill Medical School. Upon graduation he spent a short time in Winnipeg before coming to the States. He first practiced in Cleveland for five years and then proceeded to Sacramento. While in Cleveland, his spouse, Shirley, died at a very early age of a kidney disorder. Their family includes a son, David, who works in Sacramento and a daughter, Donna, who is a speech pathologist. Deane's alter ego is an engineer and inventor. The devices that he has conceived are related to his practice in the treatment of such maladies as emphysema. They are largely in the prototype stage as substantial capital is required. His athletics are best described as recreational: skiing, camping, fishing, and hiking in California. While he has not remarried, he has a close associate and companion, Erika VanLeeuwen.

While Jack Hall did not captain a freshman sport, he did play in three sports - soccer, hockey, and baseball - and went on to become varsity soccer captain. Jack is currently moving from Pikeville, Ky., to St. Petersburg, Fla. Jack has been the president of Pikeville College and will become the vice president of development for Eckerd College. He classified his 10 years at Pikeville as extraordinarily rewarding. He was able to affect and then observe the results of a small college's liberal education on students drawn largely from Appalachia. They, on the one hand, were disadvantaged by poverty, poor schools, inadequate health care, and isolation. But, on the other hand, they have a sense of family, church, and country that is inspiring. Jack describes their values as similar to those that settled this country. Before Pikeville Jack lived through the turbulence of the 1960s as assistant to the president of Cornell. Spouse Kathy directs a federal program which provides remedial services to area youths to prepare them for continued education. Their son, Jack, is at the University of Kentucky, daughter Alison graduated from Davidson and is on their admission staff, and daughter Megan is at Appalachia State University, Boone, N.C. Jack plays some golf and tennis but is generally limited by the demands of his job.

In an effort to determine who the freshman captains were, a call was made to Jack Thim, Concord, Mass. Jack was involved in sports and always had a keen memory for events and people. Jack's recall was excellent. However, during that conversation, I learned of a harrowing misfortune that has virtually consumed their lives. Jack and Nancy have a daughter Polly and son Peter. Until recently they lived in a 200-year-old colonial house. Jack has his own successful metalworking business. Their misfortune occurred almost three years ago when Peter, a bright young man about to enter college, was involved in, a bizarre accident that left him in a coma, where he remains to this day. Peter was helping an elderly friend unload wood from a dump truck. The hydraulics malfunctioned, and Peter was caught under the cargo bed. While there were few physical marks, his brain was deprived of oxygen for those crucial minutes. Today his life is sustained at the Western Massachusetts Hospital in Westfield through a feeding discipline, although he has shown little brain activity and no outward responses. Nancy and Jack maintain a vigil at his bedside, though it is 100 miles from their home, hoping and praying for the miracle of recovery. Nancy and Jack say that there are relatively few trauma cases which resemble Peter's. Consequently, there are few support groups and treatment facilities. They are fortunate to have the hospital in Westfield, whose services to coma patients are virtually unique, but whose total capacity is 40. Understandably the Thims are devastated and alone. In an act of courage, Nancy is speaking out to increase the community's awareness to the plight of families such as theirs.

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