1953

What? The U.S. Library of Congress for sale? Yes, it's true, and our own Ted Spiegel is selling it. On behalf of the Library he negotiates with companies who pay royalties for the right to use manuscripts, documents, coins, etc., making these treasures of Americana available to the public while collecting fees for the Library.

I got down to the Saturday program at Lincoln Center following the capital gifts campaign kickoff. All of these sessions were superb. I saw Bob Callender, Dick Cahn, Hilty Rosen, Ron Lazar, Dave Siegal, Al Collins, and Mark Smoller there, among others, but there wasn't much time for talk. Sadly, a number of those who would have been there were at Charley Fleet's funeral on Long Island.

We had a good turnout two weeks earlier at the Cornell Homecoming game. Outside of our eastern group we had newsletterman Norm Carpenter, Larry Lewis, Skip Adams, Dick Blum, and Phil Fast, among others. Larry is based in Chicago and is riding out the recession well by representing clothing manufacturers and selling their products primarily to Walmart. Skip is in D.C. and Houston and has moved from contracting to construction consulting. He says it's easier working with other people's money.

Dick and Harriet Blum were here carrying on their long-distance, modern-day romance that would challenge the younger crowd—running their business careers around the country during the week and connecting on weekends. Phil Fastmade the game and cock with his daughter, a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon, and then left to visit Jack Patten at his place in Stowe. Phil loves his life in Idaho where he's an investment advisor in Boise and has a lovely home in Sun Valley.

Tom Bloomer gets credit on several counts—making the trip from Skaneateles, N.Y.; bringing along young Tom, a fine boy who may be our last chance for a legacy in the class of '00; sliding into retirement while putting Arlene back to work in her new beautician's shop; and for getting some final mileage on his old hip before getting his new one in December.

On November 23, the latest date for a home game anyone can remember, we celebrated the Ivy League title victory over Princeton at Bill and Nancy Johnson's. It was a great game with the stands fairly full for the first time in years. A lot of the class was here. I caught up with Pete Wagner, who's spending less time with Segrets, his high-class women's clothing distributor, but more time caring for his fleet of 12 wooden boats and pursuing new business ventures around his home base of Rockport, Mass.

In the October 28 issue, Forbes magazine carried in its personal-affairs column a fine article on Herb Solow. Straying from his movie producing and writing, he's developed a passion for collecting Venetian glass made between 1920 and 1980. For hundreds of years, Venice had been the glassmaker for European royalty, but then business declined. Glassmaking revived in the 19205, and Venice has become a center for glass artistry. Herb chases glass pieces by contacting private sellers and dealers around the country, avoiding New York, and has done a lot better in glass than most have in the stock market.

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