1971

Editor's Note: Don wrote the firsthalf of this column for March andwe misplaced it. We regret therewas no column in that issue and hopeyou enjoy this double dose.

Exactly how nominees for the MacArther Foundation Genius Awards are selected has remained a closely guarded secret until now. Mitch Wallerstein (a VP at MacArthur) convened the nominating committee last June on a kayaking trip down the Rogue River which was organized by noted rafting guide, Bob Cushman. Oddly, the committee consists entirely of Dartmouth grads, many of whom were members of the same fraternity on the eve of coeducation. The group includes lawyers Bob Valkevich and Andy '74 and David Krakoff, Dr. Al "Wrong Way" Gabbard, housing developer Dab "Shoot the Dog" Dabney '70, business executive and chairman of the Hair Club for Men, Scotty Mitchell, banker RodMorgan, and Internet extrovert JohnEaton. The group spent four glorious days trying to recapture their youth and discussing Wilt Chamberlain's autobiography (see photo on website).

Nels Armstrong has "been on the road again with President James Wright. Our journeys have taken us to Silicon Valley, where Tim Barron, Tim Dreisbach (and family), John Eaton, and Michael Everett came out for an alumni club event, as well as Washington, D.C., where Gene Elrod,John Hammerschmidt, and Steve Muller joined us at the National Press Club. It was great to see Patrick Granfield, son of the late Richard Granfield, at the event as well. I'll be looking for more '71s as I visit cities across the country."

Gordon Downing, former head of Bell Atlantic's tax and benefits law group, has been named a partner at Pepper Hamilton, a Philadelphia law firm where he had begun his legal career. And Glenn Brit was named president of Time Warner Cable last summer. Bill Phillips "is working on adapting R.L. Stine's The Beast for IMAX (the huge format multi-soundtrack film medium). It will be a 3-D film about a haunted roller coaster. And two of my students recently won Dartmouth's annual Alexander Laing Screenplay Award."

Ike Heard says "son Addison '98, now enrolled at Thayer in the fifth-year engineering program, wants to become a materials engineer, apparently a variation on chemical engineering. Even though she got thoroughly soaked at his graduation, his 13-yearold sister, Meredith, has since announced that she intends to go to Dartmouth. So I guess I need to start saving my pennies again."

Rick Bates "is living in the ancestral home in Chester, Vt., working for the state as superintendent of the department of corrections for Windham County. With a staff of 20, we supervise 700 probationers, parolees, and furloughees. I amuse myself by writing, and some years ago a couple of friends and I wrote a very successful parody of Vermont Life magazine. The dust has settled from that one, and all is forgiven: VI. just published an article I wrote about raising daughter Elizabeth. Small-town Vermont is wonderful as scenic as New Hampshire, but without the mean-spirited reactionary edge. You can vote Republican here without having to buy into the bigotry."

It looks as if we've seen the last new Bentley or Rolls-Royce in Hanover with BillKennedy at the wheel (you should have seen the Bentley turbo convertible at last fall's Homecoming game!). "Just before Christmas (love the timing) it was announced that our New York operation will close down shordy and emerge in re-redownsized format at new-parent Volkswagen headquarters near Detroit. So it's Next Adventure time in New York and environs or wherever else legal intrigue leads."

Call him Grandpa David Aylward. Daughter LeAnne's 7-pound,, 10-ounce baby boy was born in January; Grandmother and grandfather are still in happy shock. "I was in the hall outside with my wife and other two children listening to the whole process," wrote David; "What an incredible experience!" Here we are starting to keep track of potential legacy grandchildren, while some of us (who shall remain nameless) continue to develop first generation progeny! David also notes: "Our consulting firm continues to chew up the hours, but most of it is devoted to my three loves communications, highway safety, and educational technology so I can't complain too much. Just as relevantly, after an eight-year construction process, our weekend house by the Chesapeake Bay finally has a master bath with a functioning shower and toilet. So the most important things are getting addressed."

In January Barry Brink was settling into the new home among the ridge tops of Pennsylvania, waiting for the winter that never came. "So the golf clubs are still out and the skis are still in storage. Our kids are both out of the house. Malia '96 is at Penn Law. We have a date at next year's Penn-Dartmouth game in September. Dani (almost 16) attends Oldfields in the Maryland Hunt Valley. She's applying for admission to the international baccalaureate program and would like to go to school in Italy. I'm sure glad they acquired their mother's love of learning and my love of exploration."

Pete Webster and wife Ree went to Washington, D.C., to view the Van Gogh exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. "We didn't realize at the time that our government would conveniently schedule an impeachment hearing, debate, and vote while we were there! Through the efforts of our congressman, we viewed the entire impeachment debate and vote from the gallery of the House of Representatives, in the section reserved for family members. The entire drama was truly riveting. We were sitting no more than 120 feet from Speaker-elect Livingston when he dropped his retirement bombshell in that very intimate chamber."

Bruce Tepper and wife "Belinda traveled from Los Angeles to Hanover over the Halloween weekend with two missions: first to visit our daughter, Laura Kate, who is experiencing her first year at Dartmouth (the visit was timely; she had been on the verge of homesickness after Belinda and I finished yelling at her about the state of her dorm room and her propensity for sleeping through certain early-morning classes, Laura knew why she had chosen to attend a college 3,000 miles away). Our second purpose was to honor the life of classmate and fraternity brother, John Warren, in whose name a Thayer School scholarship was established by Gerry Nielsten and John' spouse, Robin (a high-octane corporate lawyer with a hyper-acquisitive bank in Charlotte, N.C.). Classmates attending included DavidParadise, Art Hittner, Jeff Ashworth, and Peter Farr. Robin gave a moving eulogy about John, describing with humor his life's work as a civil engineer, and with sensitivity his role as husband and father. The dean of the Thayer School of Engineering graciously accepted the gift on behalf of the College."

Sadly, I must share news of the deaths of two more classmates: Henry Miller, who lived in Wethersfield, Conn., and JohnMacuga, who lived in Dudley, Mass. More information will follow in the obituary section of a future issue and is available on the class website (). Peace.

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