Click here to play the Route 66 theme song.

Spring 2001

Dear Classmates:

35th REUNION

By now, you should have received a letter from Reunion Chairman Al Keiller outlining plans for our 35th from June 11 to 14 in Hanover. In case you have not, I've enclosed a copy of Al's letter, the schedule and a response envelope that you can use to send your confirmation of attendance to Jim Weiskopf. Please note that this envelope is for '66 activities only; you will get a separate mailing from the College with reservation procedures for on-campus housing.

The reunion is shaping up to be an outstanding one, thanks to our Reunion Committee. These creative classmates have assembled panel discussions on societal trends and financial planning; a host of athletic activities for both the buff and the baggy; a reception and dinner at the new McLane Lodge at the Skiway; dinner at the Hanover Inn; entertainment by the Injunaires (sorry, old habits die hard); and two nights of "tent music". And that's not the full list by any means.

The latest tally shows that a group of at least 180 '66 classmates, family members and guests will be gathering in Hanover for the festivities, and we hope you will add your name to the list if you have already done so.

CALL FOR CLASS OFFICER NOMINATIONS

Our upcoming reunion is the time when we will elect a slate of new officers to direct class activities for the next five years. As chairman of the Nominating Committee, I would appreciate your sending me names of classmates (including your own if you are so inclined) whom you would like to be considered for the following positions:

If you submit names other than your own, we will of course contact those people prior to reunion to assess their interest in serving. Please get your submissions to me by May 1.

CLASS NEWS

Green cards, e-mails and press clippings from the College made for ample news this time around. First, best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Jack Bennett, who underwent lung surgery on February 8. Chuck Sherman writes that Jack had one lobe of his right lung successfully removed, and it appears that his cancer was caught early.

We have a couple of career changes and retirements, with Al Ryan among the former as he takes on new responsibilities at Harvard. Al writes: "Last month I left Harvard's Office of General Counsel and the practice of law after 15 years to become Director of Intellectual Property at Harvard Business School Publishing. HBSP is the publisher of the Harvard Business Review, the HBS Press, B-school cases, and a raft of digital media endeavors, all dedicated to improving the practice of management. In the new position of DIP (I'm going to have to find another acronym for this job), I'm responsible for acquiring, licensing and protecting the content that HSBP publishes. I had been acting as their lawyer, and this position came along at just about the time that I was beginning to think that actually doing things must be more fun than just giving advice. And it is.

"Nancy and I are in Norwell, MA, daughter Elizabeth is a junior at Columbia, and son Andrew is taking a year or maybe two off before college working as a photographer. I teach courses at Boston College Law School and at the Harvard summer school on the law of war, war crimes and genocide, and am now and then working on a book on the subject. We'll b e up for the 35th."

Mike Handelsman joined the ranks of happy retirees just last month: "I've found the way to improve scheduling and working conditions while increasing my net pay, all at once. Accordingly, my retirement became effective on 2/1/01. I taught for 32 years, mostly math. 'T.G.I.M.' feels much better. That's when weekend crowds step aside on the hiking trails and roads, in the restaurants and stores (while workers still outnumber retirees). My travel plans will start 'locally', probably in Central Vermont after the mud season." Mike will be doing the northern trek from his home at 303 Beverly Rd., Brooklyn, NY 11218-3151.

Bucking the trend and rejecting retirement is Tom Brady, who actually took the advice that Dustin Hoffman was given ("Plastics!") and is on a roll. Tom writes: "Retire? No way! I'm having a ball. Our companies keep growing at 25%/year (plastics R&D and recycling). We design and engineer all the Coke, Colgate, Gatorade, Ocean Spray, Tropicana and other bottles you use, and do business now in Switzerland and Brussels. And we have some great news! Our first grandchild, Caroline (9 months now) was born with a Dartmouth blanket. We also built a new house. No, we did not downsize, but instead built it for hobbies (auto mechanics, woodworking, etc.) and a playground for the grandchildren." The Brady's new place is at 531 Laguna Pt., Holland, OH 43528; e-mail t.brady@plastictechnologies.net.

The College sent a related article from the Toledo Business Journal that reported on the significant contribution that Tom and his company are making to the economy of Ohio. Quoting that article, "Brady's business has become a model for future development in the region. PTI wasn't lured here from another community; it was born and developed locally…(As a result) Governor Taft named Brady to his Technology Action Board, and Mayor Finkbeiner asked Brady to chair the Regional Technology Alliance." Tom sees tech growth as key to reversing the downtrend in per capita income that Ohio has suffered since 1960, moving from 11% above the average for all states to 5% below and falling.

Bud Heerde sent a short and sweet note from Switzerland, where he is a "partner with Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Geneva…married to Betsy since 1969…two children: Matthew (Dartmouth '98) and Alison (Dartmouth '03)." Their address is Chemin de Chantefleur 41, 1234 Vessy, Switzerland; e-mail frederick.heerde@ch.pwcglobal.com.

From the recently shaken but idyllic North Olympic Peninsula, Bill Jevne writes that "…for the last 6 years my wife Juanita and I have run and taught at the Five Acre School, a fifty-student, pre-K through fifth grade school here. Our 8 year old son, William, is a student at the school, which we founded ourselves. It has been very successful educationally but hard to keep going as a business. For fun we ride our Icelandic horses and go dancing. This spring I'm taking a three-week trip to Vietnam, where I served 32 years ago as a Marine platoon commander." The Jevnes are at 91 Holgerson Rd., Sequim, WA 98382; e-mail fiveacre@olympus.net.

David Johnston reports on career-related challenges that resulted in his doing some very meaningful work with kids in the Hartford area: "It's amazing how an extended period of under-employment and relative poverty, pitted against the need to maintain a sane family life, simplifies one's priorities. After 'losing' a political power struggle on one job, I started a grass-roots youth organization (Healthy Community, Healthy Children), did some fun consulting, and after 18 months landed a similar job directing the Windsor Youth Violence Prevention Partnership. Pay is adequate, benefits good, and psychic rewards pretty high. Wife Hera continues in her part-time psychiatric practice in West Hartford. Life is rich and full! P.S., two classmates were very helpful to me during my tough times; yeah for the old boy network!" David, I apologize but I had a hard time reading the names of your children in your note, so I'll just report that the Johnstons have four: a senior at Smith, a freshman at Tulane, a junior in high school, and an eighth grader. Address: 22 Beverly Rd., West Hartford, CT 06119; e-mail johnston@townofwindsorct.com.

Ever creative and on the move, Peter Dorsen has a new medical practice called Consulting Pain Associates and works in concert with Clinica Medica Hispana: "I continue to be the only doc doing housecalls to hotels or anyone who needs a visiting MD. Working on next book called "Crazy Dr. -- One Doc's Fight Against Bipolar Disorder" (me). Still cross country ski at least 3 times a week from a trail that's 10 feet from my home. Suzy's singing group of three middle-aged women doing jazz is great but work is hard to find. Brian (18) has left for LA to audition for the pilot LA season. Gabi (a look-alike for Courtney Cox with a Jewish nose) is doing very well out of home schooling and into alternative school. Katie (12) has just completed a clean-up course after trying her hand at shoplifting. Everyone tells me they tried it; I didn't. Success or failure; starting or finishing; we are all struggling through the seasons of a man's life." Address: 2510 West 22nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55405; e-mail DrDee6969@aol.com.

Undergoing rapid-fire corporate ownership changes, Bob Cohn reports that he is now a soldier in the AOL army: "I've been through a hectic year as our company (Times Mirror) was merged (with Tribune Corp.), then our magazine division put up for sale by the new owner. We spent the better part of the summer and f all going through the auction process, and as of late December 2000 became part of the Time Inc. division of AOL Time-Warner." Bob is at 44 Gramercy Park North, NY, NY 10010; e-mail rcohn@nyc.rr.com.

John Harbaugh paints a bucolic picture of life as a teacher in chad-ridden Florida: "I sit at the living room desk at 10:00 at night checking the reading logs of my high school senior English students. Outside, the 48-degree night drops a chill upon the house. I light live oak logs I have prepared in the fireplace and return to my stacks of papers. Each student expects my comments and grades. I respond to the truth in each student's message. The flames reach higher into the chimney and the heat from the fire allows me to turn down the thermostat. Pam calls me to take a walk under the cold stars. I return to the warm room, resume reading by the crackling fire. Analysis, synthesis, evaluation. The papers display their understanding. The fire of understanding has turned their cold indifference to flame, and I am happy on this frigid Florida night. Pam and I will rub toes to stay warm in bed." Clearly, John is unlike some professors I knew who used my papers to save on firewood. The Harbaughs are at 480 Trinidad Dr., Satellite Beach, FL; e-mail jharb@480.com

From an article in The Dallas Morning News comes word that Steve Nash, former Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dallas Museum of Art, has been named the first Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center in the downtown arts district. (Sure, Steve, the name had nothing to do with it.) The $32 million project is scheduled to open in fall 2002, with a ceremonial groundbreaking set for January 22. Steve had been in Dallas until 1988, when he left to join the Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco as Associate Director and Chief Curator. In his new post, he will be responsible for staffing the center and directing the Nasher Institute for Modern Sculpture, an associated research and educational institution.

According to an article that appeared in The New York Times on Christmas Eve, Bill Dowling is viewed as a Grinch by those at Rutgers University who love big-time athletics. Bill is the point man for Rutgers 1,000, a group of students, faculty and alums who believe that the school should drop its emphasis on football and basketball programs and leave the Big East for a lesser league where no athletic scholarships are given. And his position goes far beyond money: Bill contends that revenue-producing college sports are not a fun adjunct to a college experience but the main reason for the decline in academic standards and quality admissions in many cases. A literature professor at Rutgers, Bill feels that non-football students are "marginalized". Pointing out that Nebraska graduated only 47% of its entering freshmen in six years, he declared "we don't want that to happen at Rutgers and we feel we have a chance to stop the cycle". Bill offered the Dartmouth athletics program as an example of how scholar-athletes are part of the academic fabric of an institution, and cited Jay Fiedler (QB of the Miami Dolphins) as an example of someone whose attendance at "an Ivy League school hasn't hurt his professional ambitions". The odds of the Rutgers 1,000 having their way? Bill put it at 50/50: "As more alumni and students realize what is happening, or could happen, to academics here, I think we will win the day".

A few weeks ago, my wife and I had the pleasure of having lunch with Gus and Susan Southworth during their visit to NYC. Their son, Hunter, a junior at Colgate, is an avid rower and has a shot at competing in the Henley Regatta in the UK this spring. His enthusiasm for the sport has inspired his dad, a former coxswain for Dartmouth, to shop for a boat. A couple of days before we met the Southworths, their daughter, Taylor, left with some of her high school classmates on a tour of France. As of yet, there is no evidence of Susan's shopping for a chateau.

IN MEMORIAM

I am sorry to report that Dr. Stephen Kroll passed away on November 19, 2000. Stephen was a member of Bones Gate while at Dartmouth, and most recently practiced at the Anderson Medical Center of the University of Texas. He is survived by his wife, Satre, and two children, Kimberly and David (address: 6406 Mercer Ave., Houston, Texas 77005-3734).

THANKS AND SO LONG

Given the fact that this newsletter will reach you within a few weeks of reunion, it's safe to say that this is my last gasp as your editor. To those of you who got in touch, thanks for sharing the ups and downs of your lives with your classmates, and for making my job pretty easy. It was personally rewarding to follow what you've been doing, and I offer a blanket apology for any typos, contextual errors, etc. (hey, the eyes aren't what they used to be). To those of you who didn't correspond, please do so now and I'll make sure that my successor gets your cards and e-mails so he can get his first newsletter off to a roaring start.

All the best,

Jim Lustenader
7 Boudinot Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
973-775-6307
E-mail: jlustenader@dvc.com

Attachment: Preliminary 35 Year Reunion schedule: