1960

Beach Blanket Babylon, the show class members will see on the first night of our 60th birthday celebration in San Francisco next April, opened a two-week stand in London and drew a gala crowd, including Mayor Willie Brown, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and scattered members of the royal family.

"London went dark for a moment last night, but when the spotlights came back on, a piece of San Francisco was center stage," said the S.F. Chronicle story forwarded by Dick Foley.

We're sure to enjoy this and other events. The initial commitments from the East are encouraging, but Southern Californians already familiar with Northern California delights should be signing up in greater numbers.

On a recent trip to a San Francisco wedding, I stopped by the Stanford Court hotel, where we'll have a special rate and a hospitality suite. On top of historic Nob Hill, it is splendid.

Speaking of reunions, our Homecoming mini-reunion will be the weekend of Nov. 1-2, the Harvard game, with our headquarters again at the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farms.

As I write this note comes sad news in an e-mail from Alan Shaver in Maine that our classmate, A. James Sniderman, M.D., is dead of a heart attack in Dayton, Ohio.

Much time can pass and yet our memories of departed classmates remain fresh. That was reflected in a recent note from John Richardson recalling his days in a Hitchcock room with a corner fireplace, along with Hap Dunning, Dennis Cherlin, and Andy Purdy.

"Sadly only two of our foursome are still living, Hap and myself," said John, who is director of the Ph.D. program at American University's School of International Service. "Dennis was killed in a tragic accident, and Andy finally succumbed to the heart problems that he fought so courageously and with such good humor for so many years."

Dennis has been gone 29 years and Andy 20. Yet to John and so many others, in a real sense they remain with us.

Rey Moulton writes that he and Urban Hirschey and their wives, Phyllis and Sally, went on a deep-sea fishing expedition

off Costa Rica. "We were on the Pacific side, about eight miles north of Panama," he relates. "I was equipped with special gear, which allowed me to catch two 130-pound sail fish, several yellow fin tuna—80-90 pounds and a mess of Mahi Mahi." Urban also caught sail fish and yellow fin, he reports.

Our intrepid fisherman were close to the legendary Jurassic Park, of Hollywood fame, but do not claim to have seen any dinosaurs.

Other tidbits: Denny Goodman and his wife, Laura-Beth, have bought a home in the Hanover area and will be leaving Washington. The Boston Globe reports Joe Alvord, former Shawmut CEO, is forming a $150-million venture capital fund to invest in financial services companies.

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