1957

Last summer Wendie and I agreed to serve on the staff of the Boy Scout National Jamboree. We posted an offer on the '57 listserv—two weeks free vacation on Cape Cod in exchange for caring for our house. Jay Greene in California accepted. Here is Jay's report: "The Greene family (Jay, Paulina and daughter) arrived at Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday, July 16. We were met by the Howlands and driven to Bourne, Massachusetts. They treated us to a superb lobster dinner and off they went.

"Five 70-year-old guys attended a Boston Red Sox game. Bob Shirley, Herb Roskind (flying over from Marthas Vineyard) and Laura, Tom Schwarz (from New York), Susan, and their daughter, all met before the game. Bob Macdonald and June took the train from Rockport, Massachusetts. The Greene family took the MTA.

"Our '57s converged on Fenway Park. Bring your memories here. Ruth played here. And Ted Williams. All the great and near-great Red Sox teams, culminating in last autumns World Series triumph. The game was terrific! 5-0 Boston at the end of one inning. Final score, 9-4.

"Bob Shirley arranged a long table in the restaurant, Eastern Standard, close by. A leisurely dinner followed, catching up on what we have been doing since we last met, etc. It was Tom's birthday but he kept insisting he had been born very late on July 20 and thus was not yet 70 years by the time we were having dinner.

"One week later, we drove the very short distance to Falmouth, Massachusetts, to lunch with Rod Hinkle and Kirsten. Quiet, warm conversation about his retirement as dean of an academy outside Boston and her retirement as Brown dean for students studying abroad.

"On July 28 we took the ferry from Woods Hole, Massachusetts, to Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. Herb Roskind had just returned from an Angel Flight (donated transportation to medical appointments), something he does several times a week. A good lunch with Herb and Laura at the Farm Neck Club and then exploration of Oak Bluffs, where Methodists began meeting in tents in the 19th century and eventually built Victorian cottages.

"Back to chez Roskind, called Sandpiper, a tastefully decorated, three-bedroom, two-story cottage' on the beach, with a 180-degree vista of Vineyard Haven Harbor. Enhanced by a good Chilean red and a sharp cheddar, the conversation flowed. We headed for Home Port, a Roskind favorite in Chilmark, Massachusetts, for a full meal, more good talk, and a pleasant surprise—at the next table, George Johnston and Anne. George's 70th birthday was in April and this dinner was a family celebration.

"Leaving the Johnstons to dancing and the Roskinds with thanks for their hospitality, we slipped across Vineyard Sound, to Woods Hole and home."

The arrangement was very rewarding for the Howlands and the Greenes. I encourage other classmates to follow our example.

P.O. Box 3328, Pocasset, MA02559; (508) 564-6484; fphowland@aol.com