1976
1976
CLASS NOTES
The view from the Hanover Inn to Baker Tower still stirs the excitement of possibility I felt one snowy night in 1971 at dinner with my parents after my admissions tour and interview. Admissions officer Sam Smith ’49, a pioneering Dartmouth alum himself, had told me I was the first woman he had ever interviewed and encouraged me to apply. I couldn’t wait! To this day, that quintessential campus view across the Green pinpoints my coordinates of place and affection. I asked classmates their own memorable spots. Former lightweight crewteam member David Slade chose the Connecticut River and the boathouse because they helped him “stay mentally connected” with his family’s summer place on Lake Winnipesaukee. Dave and wife Marilyn have now restored his grandparents’ lake home. He is hoping for extended stays when he “finally manages to retire” from duties as general counsel of the U.S. Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C. Rip Fisher cites Occom Pond, where he and Noreen Quinn Fisher took their first stroll freshman fall. He writes: “Trying to be the gentleman, I walked along the muddy outside edge so Noreen could be on higher, dryer ground. Much to my surprise she looked at me with a mischievous grin and pushed me into the pond. Reacting quickly, I grabbed her hand and pulled her in with me.” They emerged mud-covered and smitten, a fitting prequel to one of the first and longestrunning double Dartmouth marriages, now in its 47th happy year. A recent, random confluence of classmates involved Martha Johnson Beattie, Jim Beattie, and I running into the ebullient Jack Boyles at a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert. Jack is Boston’s best ambassador, a fixture at Red Sox games and ever-enthusiastic at cultural events. We then happened upon Rick Hill’s wife, Sue, who reported Rick was away skiing even after just finishing a major ski adventure in Japan with Jim Beattie, Bruce York, Eric Copenhaver, Craig Reininger, Craig Stone, Kim York’77, and Gary Schillhammer ’77. Condolences are due Dave Clark for the loss of his mother, Mary Higgins Clark, best-selling suspense novelist. When Dave’s dad died in 1964, she persevered in earning not only her own college degree but in working to send to college five children, including Dave. Her first big hit, Where Are the Children? debuted our junior year and is now in its 75th printing. We mourn the passing of Jeff Shiffrin, beloved by family, friends, and a devastated world skiing community. Tributes can be found on this magazine’s website, our class website 1976.dartmouth.org, and multiple media outlets, including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. Look for a class newsletter tribute by Steve Bell gathered from heartfelt reminiscences of longtime friend Jeff Long and multiple Psi U brothers, including Chris Daniell and Scott Simons. Jeff’s daughter, Mikaela, Olympic and World Cup alpine ski champion, called him “our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything.” Contributions maybe made to “Friends of Dartmouth Skiing.”
—Sara Hoagland Hunter, 72 Mount Vernon St., Unit 4B, Boston, MA 02108; sarahunter76@gmail.com
Sara Hoagland Hunter
