1957

How many times have each of us traveled near where a classmate lives, thought about calling, and then bagged it? Well, becoming class secretary seems to have changed the equation for me. One late afternoon in August, while my wife Gittan and I were touring eastward on the southern coast of Norway, I called Bob Baehr and his Norwegian wife Inger. What ensued was a wonderful, unplanned three-day visit which included gourmet meals, home-produced wine, and the great fun of attending a neighbor's 60th birthday celebration with all its Scandinavian festiveness. The lesson is clear: when you're tempted to make that call, do it.

After leaving Dartmouth, Bob studied law, taught, ana obtained a Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. While in American Samoa during the early 19705, Bob conceived and produced for the federal government a TV-based course of instruction in Polynesian history. Since then, he has taught American Studies at a college in Kristiansand, Norway, and written extensively on the history of U.S. aviation. Last year both Baehrs took sabb aticals in Washington, D.C., Bob to do research at the Smithsonian and Inger to take graduate courses in education. Inger and Bob have restored an early nineteenthcentury home in Grimstad, a storybook seacoast town where Ibsen lived and wroteWhen there's a fjord in your future, they look forward to seeing you.

Russ Brignano, remembered for his baseball prowess despite graduating cum laude (both at a college where emphasis on one is alleged by some to diminish the other), served a couple of years in the army and then went on to obtain a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin. Now a professor of English at a branch of Penn State, Russ teaches writing, American literature, and humanities courses starting with the Greeks and ending up with contemporary works. As an outgrowth of his dissertation and subsequently a book on the black writer Richard Wright, Russ sometimes teaches black literature. "It takes a great deal of emotional and psychic energy to make a course like that work. On one side you have white racist kids whose vision you're trying to turn a little bit, and you have black kids who are immediately very suspicious of a white dude trying to teach black literature."

The Brignanos live in Pittsburgh. Wife Mary is a professional writer, specializing in corporate histories which are often lavishly illustrated, full-length books. Russ and Mary frequently travel to Europe, particularly France. They rent a car, picnic every day they can, stay at country places, and dine out at good restaurants in the evenings.

Last summer, Tom and ShirleySchwarz's son Douglas '81 married Beth Marcus in Sanborn House, and the reception was held at the Dartmouth Outing Club. Among the guests were Ben andBetsy Bixby, Joe ana Jane Stevenson, and their son Brad 'BO. Bob Mobray reports that he and family are now in Quito, Ecuador ... a new posting by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Adam T.Block, 90 Tanglewylde Avenue, Bronxville, NY 10708