1955

A very successful fall minireunion was held in Hanover in connection with the Dartmouth Homecoming Weekend. The festivities began with a class reception in Blunt Alumni Center during the Friday night bonfire and Dartmouth Night program hosted by Bruce and Mary Jane Alexander. The conference room overlooking the Green was furnished by Skip Hance. Saturday morning a class breakfast and executive committee meeting was held at the Inn with Bob Fanger presiding. Class officers and committee chairs presented reports. John French, newly appointed class newsletter editor, outlined his plans for an expanded schedule and revised format, the results of which have already been seen in the latest issues. Brooks Parker reported on the Alumni Fund results of $170,000, with 65 percent participation. Peter Thompson reported that the class had given the Hood Museum and Athletic Sponsor Program $4,000 each under the program adopted last year. Bruce Alexander outlined mini-reunion plans for the coming year: a post-Harvard-game party at the Fanger's; a New York reception to be organized by Bernie Siskind; and an event in the Washington, D.C., area to be organized by Frank Chase. John French announced that the 40th Reunion is officially scheduled for June 12-15, 1995. Tom Byrne is working on a class video for the reunion, compiled from older media. The minutes of this meeting have been published in the class newsletter.

Following the alumni luncheon in the Field House, at which we had two tables, we had the pleasure of watching the talented 1992 football team best Yale. Skip and Lou Hance hosted a post-game reception at their home near Hanover. The Sheraton Inn in West Lebanon was once again the site of the class banquet, during which the Class of 1955 Award was presented in absentia to Gordon Russell by Peter Thompson. Gordie was honored for his many contributions as an outstanding businessman, philanthropist, community leader, and father. Among the other 1955s encountered during the weekend were DickBarr, Stan Bergman, Jack Cogswell, JereDaniell, Mike Gorton, Woody Goss, AceHall, Sky Hill, Al Keith, Dick Mount, BobPerkins, Mike Plummer, Ralph Sautter, and Dave Zimmerman.

Recently I had the chance to visit with classmate John Callahan. Since graduation John's career has included 25 years as general secretary of Amherst College, deputy director of the Winterthur Museum and Gardens, and now assistant to the executive officer of The American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, the oldest learned society in the country. According to John, the society, which promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities, maintains "a program as eclectic as the imagination of our founder, Ben Franklin." APS will celebrate its 250th Anniversary in April, 1993. Busier than he was ten years ago John recently helped the Association secure congressional approval for the Thomas Jefferson Award for Distinguished Achievement in Humanities, to be awarded initially next spring. His wife, Virginia, is a teacher specializing in learning disabilities, and children Laura and Clark are both involved in education at Wheaton College and the Wharton School, respectively. All'sss are invited to visit APS for a tour and look at some of the historical treasures when they are in Philadelphia.

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