1941

Not having any recent mail from classmates or access to Internet, America On Line, or any of those other fancy systems, I resorted to old-fashioned Ma Bell and her offspring to get some late-breaking news of old friends.

Bob Sieburg out in Santa Barbara, Calif., was experiencing flooding rains in early January, but his spirits were as high as his mountain home's elevation. From his 1,000 foot aerie he has a great view of the Pacific and is safe from mudslides and floods. After a successful career as a metallurgist and inventor of a testing machine, Bob is now planning to manufacture reinforced cement shelters so that homeowners in California can survive firestorms and preserve their valuables in these little solar-lit, burglar-proof fortresses. A late marriage for Bob and Jane has produced two boys,and the older son has just applied to Dartmouth.

On the other coast, Bob Steele reported from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, that he is recovering from a serious illness that started in 1993. A misdiagnosis of kidney stones turned out to be aneurisms in his aorta and right knee. Surgery corrected these conditions, but he is now facing hernia operations before he can resume his hobby of metal-detecting and travel. He and Barbara have made 11 trips to Hawaii and want more.

Out in central U.S.A.,Bob Nissen answered the phone in Hinsdale, I11, where he has been since his return from WW II. Retirement from a career as a distributor of machine tools gave him more time to play golf and earn a 7 handicap. He missed our 50th because June was having a hip replaced that summer, and now she's facing an operation on her other hip, poor gal. Bob thinks often of his Big Green teammates Bob Krieger, LouYoung, and Ray Hall and mourns their early passing, as do we all.

Dr.John Reed's mellow voice came to me from Gainesville, Fla. He retired from the active practice of medicine (up in the Cleveland area?) in 1984 and later moved to Gainesville, where his daughter works at Florida University. John had open-heart surgery last April, and his recovery was slow. But now he's back to playing golf, and he and Marjorie enjoyed a trip to England for Christmas, where they saw a new grandson. John promised to try and make the '4l mini reunion in Sarasota on March 31.

Line Wales sounded hale and hearty when contacted in Northfield, Minn., where this DOC alumnus still enjoys cross-country skiing. A graduate of Cornell Med School in 1944, he served in internal medicine in New England for many years, retiring in 1986 after 15 years at a VA hospital in Maine. Despite their present Minnesota address, where their daughter's family resides, Line and Gretchen (sister of Dave Heald '42) have strong ties to New England and recently had a family reunion in Raymond, Maine.

5975 Camelot Drive North, Sarasota, FL 34233

Bob Sieburg is planning to manufacture reinforced cement shelters so Californians can survive firestorms. Dick Jachens. '41