1951

The task is daunting; the criteria blurred: cast the net over '51s who have made a gift to the world. I won't describe the selection process. It had nothing to do with personal achievements, professional success, boards served on, or toys accumulated. Let it suffice that the subject can be continued in future issues with nominations from any corner.

We start right in Hanover with Worldwise Peter Martin's monthly world-affairs newspaper for students and teachers. Pete compares it to My Weekly Reader, but this one covers the major world events. In just its fourth year, the paper is regularly reaching 20,000 high-school students.

In California, Earl Brabb is an acknowledged authority on geological hazards. Among his achievements is a landslide map for San Mateo County. The map has been used by local government to reduce the density of housing to just one house per 40 acres in areas felt to be especially dangerous. By prohibiting over-development in these areas, lives have undoubtedly been saved.

In New York City Dr. Aaron Rausen has devoted his medical career to cancer-stricken kids. A job that might terrify many of us gives Aaron a sense of satisfaction so enriching that he cannot think of retiring not yet.

University of Virginia Law Professor Jeff O'Connell's work on no-fault insurance is featured elsewhere in this issue.

You'll recall our story last July about Les Biereck, who in 1961 was fired from his professorship at the University of Alaska for his outspoken objection to and vigorous campaign against the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's plan to use nuclear blasts to dig a harbor in Western Alaska. Les was eventually proven right and was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by that same university. John Hoskins, now of Richwood Ohio, spent 30 years with the U.S. government and U.N. organizations, mostly as administrator or mission director (despite his formal legal training). He served in Saigon, Mauritania, Kampala, Bangladesh places you immediately associate with war, famine, flood, drought, refugees, and political chaos. His job was usually to set up aid programs and install systems to avoid recurrence. Another who chose the noble path was Bob Kidd, now of Fairfax, Va. Bob also worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development in equally distant places.

Many, many more names emerged during our ruminating. Bob Hustek for his work in Bridgeport, Connecticut's inner-city schools and for fathering our own class projects: the 43 or more teachers our class sent into the nation's high schools and colleges a great gift; Bob Pack and his poetry; Charlie Hood, working in Boston with the internationally respected Joslin Diabetes Center and other family philanthropies; Mike Heyman whose leadership decisions as chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley and chairman of Dartmouth's Board of Trustees affected thousands of students in both institutions; Wally Bush, elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame; Berl Bernhard, for his work with several Presidents on civil rights and being elected one of the Outstanding Young Men in the U.S. not so many years ago. Nice work, men. Don't despair if we overlooked you. I know you were Salesman of the Year back in Next time!

48 Webster Point Road, Madison, CT 06443