1951

This spring's long-awaited warmth seems to have been anticipated by last January's brief thaw conditions in nature that may be reflected in the spate of news from classmates during the early winter months. Perhaps my plea in desperate doggerel, which comprised the entire November column, and the offer to express your views on retirement, life, etc., in the winter DAM, are beginning to "bud out," as "green cards" have cropped up in my mail every week for some time. Thanks, Batch, for putting my name and address on those info-stimulating Cards. Here are some of the results.

Jeff O'Connell, continuing to attend diligently to his law-teaching vocation, writes that he and Virginia spent last spring in England, where he was the Thomas Jefferson Visiting Fellow at Downing College, Cambridge University. "Cambridge is a breathtakingly beautiful place," Jeff says, "and we had a charming flat on the river Cam," adding that "the college's common room provided nourishment of all kinds." Now, we all know Jeff to be a friendly, outgoing sort of guy, but imagine getting paid to be a visiting fellow!

A card from Nelson Bellesheim, of Toms River, N.J., reminds us of the ups and downs he has experienced in his life. At the College he was a V-12 Navy air cadet, and now he tells us that he has retired after 35 years with the Otis Elevator Co. Nels goes on to say that he and Betty just celebrated 42 years of wedded bliss and, in an interesting juxtaposition, that they are traveling extensively "Alaska was fantastic this year!" and "at last count we have nine grandchildren from our five offspring!" I guess that makes Nels a traveling fellow.

On a postcard mailed with a stamp of Buffalo Bill, Charlie Breed offers the following news of a big move in his life: "In September, Sarah and I sold our house in Lincoln, Mass., and moved to her hometown in St. Louis, Mo., where we have joined forces with her mother in what was once a log farmhouse, built in 1850. We are busily working on the landscaping and gardens, as well as some renovation and additions." Charlie doesn't say how he got to Missouri, but I half expected him to tell us about an arduous journey in a Conestoga wagon, especially as he ends, "It's quite a change for a lifelong New Englander, but I'll be okay if I can just learn how to talk right!" O Pioneers! (The Breeds' new address: 9743 Litzsinger Rd., St. Louis, MO 63124.)

George and Jean Biggs write of retirement in Texas after a career in music teaching in Kingsville: "We've moved to Georgetown, just north of Austin, where we enjoy a full music life and new as well as old friendships." George adds that his freer schedule has allowed him to "spend a couple of nights in October with Dune and Mille Booth in Rhode Island." (The Biggses' new address: PO Box 961, Georgetown, TX 78627.)

Next month look for news of Bill Birkenmeier, Chuck Eccles, Earl Brabb, Len Smith, Will Wolfe, and Ted Laskin. It goes well: keep it up!

Take care, be good to yourselves, and keep in touch.

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