1953

Leadership is often ephemeral. The outstanding performance of one generates a competitive drive in others to supercede the leader. Alumni Funds are or were in this category until the class of 1953 clearly demonstrated an enduring quality of leadership. Allen Collins announced the results of the 1986 Alumni Fund: we raised the largest dollar amount ever raised by a non-reunion class $253,000. The record set is also an Ivy League record.

Leadership at the level demonstrated by the Alumni Fund is a collective effort and broadly based. The focus of this column is on our class leadership, present and past, for the beginnings of our pre-eminence started long ago.

Palaeopitus was an honorary and advisory group to the undergraduate council in our senior year. Members of Paleaopi tus were: John Rice, Brock Brower, Fran'Esperance, Don McMichael, John Sigler, Howie Clery, Phil Beekman, EdBoyle, Bill Vitalis, Pete Mattoon and BillChaffee. A number of these classmates already have been profiled in this column.

Don McMichael came to Dartmouth from Colorado and returned there after graduation. He received a law degree from the University of Colorado, spent some time in the army, and then joined a Denver law firm. In the interest of providing for a young family, he soon left the law practice for a life insurance agency, where he spent 13 years, and for a major Denver bank, where he was their director of trust development. In the early seventies he returned, however, to the practice of law and in 1974 started his own firm. In addition to the normal work involved in estate planning, the firm also does work in energy-related areas. Don has been unbelievably busy supporting civic organizations in Denver and maintains a tough regimen of physical activity. He works out two hours a day, enabling, him to run in long distance races, carry his own golf bag, and continue his ski patrol activity at Winter Park. He and wife Zeta, who is a teacher, have two daughters and a son, all of whom graduated from the University of Colorado. Lauren Ann, a Phi Beta Kappa, is married and studying to be a lawyer. Thomas, just graduated, is married to a law student. Susan is a therapist, working with the terminally ill and/or retarded children.

Pete Mattoon is a lawyer who also rturned to his home, the Philadelphia area, after the navy and graduation from the Harvard Law School. He joined his present firm Ballard, Spahn, Andrews and Ingersoll in 1959 and now serves as their chairman. The firm is among the largest in Philadelphia, with branches in Washington and Denver. His practice was general and varied, including sports law, and university- and hospital-related problems as well as corporate clients. Now, as chairman, at least half his time is devoted to the management of the firm. For many years, he was chairman of the trustees of Episcopal Academy, which he and two sons attended. He is also a trustee of Widener University, located in Chester, Pa. Pete and Joan have three sons and a daughter. Pamela received training as an archeologist, but changed careers and became a registered nurse, working in a cardiac/intensive care unit. Stephen, graduate of George Washington University, is in San Francisco working for Bank of America. Peter graduated from Bucknell and is a stock broker. Their youngest son, Philip, is a sophomore at Episcopal. They are all addicted to the coast of Maine, where the Mattoon family has spent the last 20 Augusts.

John Sigler has two countries Can- ada and the U.S. After graduation and the air force, he was with the Department of Defense before starting an academic ca- reer in 1962. That career has taken him to the University of Southern California, Ma- calester College, and finally to Carleton College in Ottawa in 1971. He progressed through academic ranks to be director of the Norman Paterson School of Interna- tional Affairs, a school comparable to Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. He now is professor of international affairs for conflict analysis. He has numerous publications, many of which are iFrench. This language ability is a Dartmouth legacy. John is very much involved in Canadian affairs. He has been advisor to the Canadian delegation at the UN and consultant to the government on arms control. As an authority figure he is often on TV, responding to the probing questions of the commentators. He maintains an active teaching load, preparing students for a career in public service. Spouse Joan, also an educator, works with gifted children in the public school system. She has done research and has published. Their two sons, Jeff and David, and daughter, Mary Anne, all of whom graduated from Carleton, have married Canadians. Another Dartmouth legacy, John's vacation interests involve the out-of-doors, observing nature, and maintaining a wilderness home only accessible by boat.

These classmates are important figures in their communities and successes in their professions, and, importantly, they influence the lives of others by their involvement. These are all characteristics of leadership. The point is not to extol these classmates, but rather to point out that they are excellent examples of our class and typify the foundation of our leadership position.

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