1979
It's 4 degrees in Hanover, there's enough snow to build the snow sculpture on the Green, and all is right with the world. At least that was our world 20 some odd years ago. Remember Chip Debelius sitting proudly on the shoulder of the 35-foot clown sculpture that he so artfully supervised. And the ice "Matterhorn" at Heorot awaiting unsuspecting high-school honeys up for Winter Carnival. We were so lucky and safe at mother Dartmouth.
My prayers go out to those shmen at Seton Hall who were killed and seriously injured in the dorm fire. All I could think about was my freshman dorm, South Mass. I had a first-floor triple and could have just jumped out the window. But I had friends on the fourth floor who might not have been as lucky. Then again, "Wild Bill" Conway probably would have been one of those guys who slept through the whole thing. Wild Bill has had some interesting turns in his life recently. Last spring he accepted a senior vice president and chief legal counsel position for a holding company for Illinois Power based in lovely Decatur, III (a great place for raising kids and crops, I'm told). After being on the payroll a week, he led his company in serious merger negotiations and they agreed to move the company's headquarters to Houston. Unfortunately, Wild Bill will not have a position in the new organization so he spent his summer flying out to Decatur every Monday and back to D.C. every Friday to help close the deal with a golden parachute safely strapped on.
Betsy Arledge ("Little Roon" to those of us who didn't know her) is an independent documentary film producer for public television, based in Boston, working primarily for WGBH on the science series Nova. A program that she wrote, produced and directed called "Surviving AIDS" just won the top award for science journalism from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Betsy lives in Cambridge with her 9-year-old daughter, whose best friend's dad is a Hahvahd '79, so they recently got to watch the Dartmouth women's ice hockey team wipe out the Johnettes.
Judy Ornstein is hoping to make it to Hanover this June for our reunion for the first time. Judy is living on the South Shore of Long Island, teaching high school social studies. She also takes care of two sons, ages 7 and 2 (piece of cake for a high school teacher). Margot Schaaf Barker sends a hello from Port St. Lucie, home of Club Med and spring training for the N.Y. Mets. Margot works in the financial aid office at Indian River Community College, is raising two teenage boys and is getting her master's in educational leadership.
Lastly, here's a guy you want to slip a few shots to at reunions and hear some stories. Gerry Cox has been assigned as the Navy's physician to the White House. In this capacity, Dr. Cox is responsible for providing comprehensive health care services to the president, vice president and their families. One of Dr. Cox's first moves was to open an account at Edith's drug store in Hanover. Prior to accepting the White House assignment, Gerry served as director of clinical operations on the staff of the Navy surgeon general at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C. Gerry lives in Arlington, Va., with his wife, Catherine, and their two children.
See you at our 20th. Make plans to be there.
7 Griffin St., Simsbury CT 06070; (860) 651-0085 (h); (800) 982-6810 (w); 203) 949-5670 (fax); Jwasz 1979@aol.com 765 Teresita Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94127; (415) 337-7737 (h); Zeke79@ix.netcom.com
D'79 June 16-18
