1955

Liberty Weekend has come and gone, the summer is behind us, and the pace quickens once again as all those deferred meetings are scheduled with a renewed intensity as if to make up for a summer of indolence (or reduced productivity, or general unavailability).

For Jay Olson, the summer got off to a bang almost literally for while the rest of us were watching the 4th of July on TV, Jay chartered a boat with his wife, Lyn (good name), and headed down the Hudson River from their home in Pleasantville to spend two nights on the river. Jay said it was spectacular to be in the midst of the harbor watching the president on the lowa, the procession of Tall Ships mixed with what seemed like 40,000 other boats from large yachts and ferry boats down to kayaks and canoes. Jay was impressed that the boating crowd was very respectful, very sedate, and cautious, making the weekend a real pleasure.

Between all that and the fireworks, it was a weekend to be long remembered. Jay is executive vice president for finance, serving as the chief financial officer of Reichold Chemicals Inc., a position he has held since 1983. He is currently in the process of helping to restructure the corporation and becomes deeply involved in the buying and selling of various businesses. (Majoring in economics really did offer a foundation for a career.) Or, as Jay says, finance must be in the Olson family genes, for Jay and Lyn have three children, a daughter who teaches special education but has married a fellow who works in a bank, and two sons, Jay and Chipper, one with a brokerage house and the other with a bank. All three are married and presumably by the time of this publication, the number one grandchild will have arrived. All this has allowed Lyn, whom Jay married during our senior year, to take up painting seriously.

For those of us who watched Malcolm Forbes' yacht in some disbelief, JohnFrench has had the opportunity to become a believer. Last winter, John was a representative of the city of New York to greet Prince Naruhito, the eldest son of the crown prince of Japan, as John and the prince were guests of Malcolm Forbes' aboard the Forbes' yacht. The prince had just finished two years at Oxford and was traveling his way back to Japan. He indicated that he is an avid skier and was taught skiing by Dartmouth's ChickIgaya.

Another of our New York classmates is Bob Ankerson, who in February became a partner with Ward Howell, a leading executive search firm. The firm was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest recruiting firms in the country. It is also one of the strongest, with 35 U.S. partners and offices throughout this country and 15 countries worldwide. "I am now in my thirtieth year in this business and have yet to find it boring. I think it's safe to say now that I won't." (Did Bob enjoy the city on the 4th of July or desert it?)

But not everything happens in New York. Jon Kropper, living in Cambridge, four blocks from Harvard Square, is now in the position where he is president and CEO of Hadco Corporation, engaged in the manufacture (and presumably selling) of printed circuit boards. After having served as executive vice president of Wang, Jon finds it tremendously satisfying to now be responsible for his own

corporate destiny. He does see an eight to -ten-percent growth in the computer industry, which would certainly offer an opportunity for the one hundred million dollar Hadco (and presumably be an encouragement to IBM). Jon, having graduated as an mechanical engineer, had one course with John Kemeny, who made him aware that computers are here to stay and indeed, to change the course of the economy. Jon and Nancy have freedom to travel for their son, Steven, a graduate of Cornell, now works in Washington and a daughter, Jean, a graduate of UVM, works in Sydney, Australia. There is not much to keep the Kroppers from going to their home in Waterville Valley, N.H., to ski every available weekend in the winter. Having lived in Ireland and Scotland for eight years, the rigors and adventure of travel for business and pleasure has created "the happiest time of my life." As Jon says, "we take ourselves less seriously and roll with the punches." (It must be nice to visit the British Virgin Islands one month and ski in the Alps the next.)

Ron Murphy has taken a page out of both Bob Ankerson's and Jon Kropper's book for he and his wife, Kitty, live in Geneva, Switzerland, where Ron is a partner in the consulting firm of Roberts and Associates, principally engaged in executive search throughout Europe and the U.K. The Murphys live in a small village outside of Geneva, and having lived there practically since graduation, they have become "integrated" into the local scene. For a change of pace, Ron and Kitty have an apartment in Monaco, which, makes the Murphys another one of our international families. Their daughter, having graduated from Smith, lives in New York, while their son is at the University of Geneva. That all gives Ron and Kitty the chance and reason to return to the United States a couple times a year.

Hopefully they, as many others, will return for the next '55 mini-reunion in Hanover. It's still a good place to have come from and return to.

Last winter John French '55, left, representingNew York City, greeted Prince Naruhito of fa-pan, right, aboard Malcolm Forbes's yacht.

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