1953

Washington lawyer Ron Scheman demonstrates '53's global impact. He recently co-founded with Russian artist Yankel Ginsburg the Fund for Democracy and Development (F.D.D.) to promote economic growth in the Commonweath of Independent States (C.I.S.), the former Soviet Union. Ron is President of F.D.D. which is co-chaired by John Kluge and Walter Mondale. F.D.D. is a clearinghouse for collecting food, medical supplies, and other goods from U.S. companies and non-profit groups and sending them to the former Soviet republics.

Ron says many U.S. groups will respond to well-presented needs, and by handling the logistics of getting material delivered, F.D.D. makes it easy for 30 companies and organizations such as the United Way and Alaska Airlines to make donations.

After Yale Law he worked with the OAS and then pioneered the concept of making loans to small businesses in developing countries. In 1989 Gorbachev and Yeltsin sought economic assistance from private and non-profit U.S. sources, which led to F.D.D.'s formation.

In March Ron testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Thanks to Bob Malin for sending me the transcript.) He proposed U.S.-C.I.S. privatesector development foundations with relatively small government funding to encourage economic and democratic progress in the C.I.S. "No programs . . . made in the U.S.A. will prosper unless firmly planted in C.I.S. soil."

A vox clamantis from Dick Werner in Anacortes, Wash, (north of Seattle). He was one of the last WW II veterans at Dartmouth along with Dr. Jack Auerbach, who is now practicing in San Francisco. He keeps in touch with jack. Dick majored in geology, wentwest with Kennecott, and was involved in several ski resorts. He now helps his wife, Joy, market a home remedy with many uses and with chains like Safeway as customers.

If any of you are looking for work, give Pete"Honus" Wagner a call in Rockport, Mass. He's recession-proof with ventures from Segrets women's wear to vending machines in Florida to boating equipment catalogs, lumber, etc. He collects old wooden boats (a dozen or so) like others collect stamps and just ended a sail in Maine on one of the bigger ones, a 40- footer.

A good start for Dartmouth football under coach Lyons against Penn, followed by a party at the Gosses'. In addition to our regulars we had the peripatetic Dick Dunham back from the Olympics, and he'll be around for a while. Fred Stephens has followed the trend from headhunting to outplacement with the Harrison Company and has his schedule down to four days a week. Harlan Fair has moved to the safer side of the building business as a construction manager (their money, not yours) and serving as an expert witness. He says things have never been better. The game was incidental to Phil Beekman who was here to build some new Hook-SupeRx drug stores.

I watched the last part of the Kennedy saga on PBS last night, and there was our Washington Brock Brower, as a major commentator.

K-Ross, P.O. Box 436, Lebanon, NH 03766-0436