CURRENT ISSUE | SUBSCRIBE | ADVERTISE | WRITE TO US | CORNELL AUTHORS | PAST ISSUES

31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39

31 | Since the Class of 1931 has now graduated to the "emeritus" (Latin for out of merit?) status of senior citizens of the alumni/ae body, with no more routine "News and Dues" letters going out annually to all '31ders, there is no longer a ready source of news for your correspondent. Now it is up to you loyal classmates who subscribe directly to Cornell Alumni Magazine to keep me informed!

So you think you don't have news to report? Please, think again! How about that visit with a great-grandchild? You bragged to your friends and neighbors, didn't you? Brag to us! (You won't mind, will you, if the rest of us brag right back about our handsomer, more beautiful, brighter great-grandchildren?) Or how about your recollection of life on the Hill in our day--things common to us but unknown to the more recent classes, some of whom may read this column now that we are near the top? For instance:

The crews traveling to the Poughkeepsie Regatta in Pullman sleeping cars a week or ten days ahead of time to practice on the Hudson River course and get in shape for the four-mile race (freshman and sophomores in the upper bunks, upperclassmen in the lower, coxswains and managers in the bar car or equivalent). Lodged in Vassar College dormitories (all girls then), but with the girls all gone! Training table. Steaks for dinner. Bountiful breakfasts. (Dodie Butler '30, Varsity number 2: two large pieces of toast with four poached eggs on each piece! Weight at start of training in January: 172 lbs.; weight at Poughkeepsie in June: 172 lbs.)

Or spectacular events like the time the shell of the old Psi U house on Central Ave. burned to the ground (it was being torn down to make room for the Law school and Anabel Taylor). The Kaps across the street enjoying the blaze in the comfort of their pajamas. And speaking of blazes, what is the truth about the Alpha Delt fire? The brothers rescued their piano, but was it just gravity that made it slide down the hill (on the ice from the fire hoses), across the street, and into the old Tri-Delt house?

While I am on this nostalgia trip, perhaps I can add a personal footnote to the Cornelliana article on the last page of the May/June issue of this magazine about Hall of Famer and Cornell baseball coach Hughie Jennings. Jennings "quit the Tigers in 1920, finishing his baseball years as an assistant coach on his friend McGraw's New York Giants." That line ties in neatly with a tale by my late wife Rosamond, of a New York Giants coach who lived across the street from her when she was a child in New Rochelle, NY. He annually took all the kids on the block--boys and girls--to a ball game at the old Polo Grounds. I had long forgotten the name, but am now certain it was Hughie Jennings who made her a Giants fan. -- Bill Vanneman, Thirwood Place, #250, 237 N.Main St., S. Yarmouth, MA 02664-2088; tel., (508) 760-4250.

32 | From time to time the editors of this publication distribute to those of us who write Class Notes a four-page document titled "Suggestions for Class Correspondents." The most recent one opens with, "Your classmates look to your column for news of all their friends in the class. For this reason, try to use items about many different people . . ." They go on to say that the returned News and Dues forms will provide much of interest and satisfy the great hunger for material about our contemporaries. Sounds great, but for those of us who deal with a limited number of senior citizens, it doesn't work. No one is to blame for this problem. It's probably all part of growing up.

Since I submitted my previous copy I have spent more time poking through my precious copy of the Cornell Freshman Handbook 1928-1929 and continue to find it both entertaining and, if the term may be applied to an artifact created in my lifetime, quaint. The rules for rushing were, and perhaps still are, complex and strict. The opening sentence under the heading "Sororities" is: "Fourteen national sororities, two of which are Jewish, have chapters at Cornell."A little deeper into the matter, the little book says: "From the time of arrival in Ithaca until Monday, Oct. 8, 1928, there shall exist natural intercourse between sorority and entering girls except for the period of nonintercourse specified below. A) Natural intercourse shall mean, 1) No calling, 2) No entertaining or spending of money, 3) No voluntary conversation, 4) No initiative at any time on the part of a sorority girl toward an entering girl." There follows a baffling section dealing with the meaning of "natural intercourse existing between ‘grandmothers' and regularly assigned ‘grandchildren.' " If any reader understands any of the above, please DO NOT trouble to explain it to me.

Incidentally, under the most stringent conditions possible to insure the careful preservation of this little book, which I consider irreplaceable, I took the relic to a table of friends with whom I often have lunch and entrusted it to Frank Harding '50. Despite a time warp problem, he claims to have enjoyed it. If I can obtain the same assurances from David Newcomb '45, BS '48, I may entrust the treasure to him for a few days.

Following is another excerpt from the e-mail Ben Falk sent me under the subject: How Did We Survive? I call them Ben's Musings. "Oh, yeah . . . and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got a bee sting? I could have been killed! We played King of the Hill on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out a 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a pile of gravel where it was such a threat." --Jim Oppenheimer, 140 Chapin Pkwy., Buffalo, NY 14209; tel., (716) 886-1314.

33 | not available this issue

34 | Reunion Report

35 | After an old-fashioned winter with plenty of North Wind, spring arrived reluctantly, and we looked forward to the rare days that June promises.

We recently received a note from Ginny Lauder Sayles of Lodge 117, 200 Tabernacle Rd., Black Mountain, NC 28711, reporting that husband Henry had passed away March 16 after a five-year illness and 64 years of married life. Following law school, Hank served in the Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, and joined Corning Inc. where he became assistant secretary for 20 years before retirement in 1972. In the mid-seventies they moved to western North Carolina where they became pillars of the community for many years. They have four daughters.We send our deepest sympathy to you and your family, Ginny.

Charles A. Ernst Jr., 1400 Waverly Rd.,V-51, Gladwyne, PA 19035, writes that he served in the US Navy in 1942 through 1945, on one destroyer that was lost in the Mediterranean and on another that was hit by a kamikaze off the coast of Okinawa in April 1945.What a record, Charles! Bill Mudge, 105 Clubhouse Dr., #257,Naples, FL 34105, recalls that he and wife Melisande eloped to Etna, NY, on Spring Day 1935 between the morning ballgame and the afternoon crew race. They now live in retirement in Naples and "dream about our days on the Hill." They have one son, three grandchildren, and four great-grands.

Kitty Morris Lockwood, 79 Sutton Manor, New Rochelle, NY 10801, has traveled to 50 countries and now spends much of her time on church activities and visiting in the hospital. She belongs to a serious Shakespeare Study Club, which was founded in 1908. Two of her sons are Cornellians, a third went to Penn, and her daughter attended Wellesley.

I have just learned that Frances "Sansie" Lauman passed away at Kendal at Ithaca, where she lived for several years. Sansie was class secretary beginning in 1935 for the women's class and continuing in 1985 for the joint class.

We are pleased to have received new News Forms, which we will pass along as space permits. Thank you for sending them. I hope that you had a pleasant summer and are looking forward to a beautiful autumn. -- Albert G. Preston Jr., 252 Overlook Dr., Greenwich, CT 06830; or e-mail, davada35@aol.com.

36 | Art Glasser (8001 Sand Point Way NE, #C33, Seattle,WA 98115) tells us, "The key event has been the publishing of a book.While at Fuller Theological Seminary I taught a course--Announcing the Kingdom--on the great theme enunciated by the Lord, only I developed the theme in terms of its worldwide proclamation today, with no thought of publishing.However, recently two fellow faculty members and a doctoral student asked for permission to prepare the material for publication, and they did (about 350 pp, Baker Book House, 2003). I understand that it is in considerable demand."Congratulations,Art. He continues to keep busy working with former students, etc. Then he says, "Good news. Harold S.Wright, MD '39,my first roommate and key Cornell friend, is still flourishing. He made my entrance into Cornell life a delight, and by all accounts is a good doctor."

By coincidence, this came from Harold (PO Box 7044, Cape Porpoise, ME 04014): "All is OK here. Enjoy hearing about fellow Cornellians.We're ‘trying' to enjoy being real seniors!" William D.Kyle Jr. of River Hills, WI, passed away in April. He had written us previously about the death of his wife Norma and his new marriage to Nona four years ago.William had five daughters and 15 grandchildren, with new twins on the way. Impressively, he continued to go to the office, where his family has an investment firm. Richard Vonnegut (8140 Township Line Road, #4110, Indianapolis, IN 46260) moved to this "old folks home" three years ago and says he is not as agile as he used to be (who is?).He thanks us for the 2004 pocket calendar and hopes to get back for our 70th.Another classmate hoping to return is Jack Bauernfeind, PhD '40 (3664 NW 12th Ave., Gainesville, FL 32605), who is in good health but, sad to say, kept busy caring for his wife, at home with dementia. Hope you can make it, Jack. Dr. Jerome Sherk (19333 W. Country Club Dr., #1626, Aventura, FL 33180) is in good shape and "still tutoring illiterates."

And now we hear from Ralph Heinicke (1124 Rostrevor Cir., Louisville, KY 40405), who sends this tantalizing bit of information: "Still working furiously. I always hated working, but loving it. This fall I had to hug hundreds of women in Copenhagen. I did not get to hug the mermaid. She was taking a bath and I dislike acid baths." Sounds like a tough job, Ralph, but I guess somebody has to do it. Carlton Edwards (4 Leifs Way, Ithaca, NY 14850) says that his time at home is "spent on body maintenance (medication and doctor visits).We travel to visit family members from here to Georgia, Seattle, and Victoria, BC." Enoch Bluestone (5773 Island Reach Lane, Boynton Beach, FL 33437) spends his time between Florida and NYC.Meanwhile his family keeps growing, with daughters Judith Bluestone Wexler '64,MS '65, and Michele (Wisconsin '67), four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Now, from the ladies: Elizabeth "Fessy"FessendenWashburn (6000 Park South Dr., #348, Charlotte, NC 28210) has this news: "I am in the process of making a major change in my life, what one friend under similar circumstances called moving to a ‘pleasant penitentiary of my own choosing' (an assisted living facility), except that the choice was forced on me by circumstances beyond my control, what my father called ‘too many birthdays.' Basically,my knees were paying me back for all those miles I hiked and all those mountains I've climbed, none of which I would have given up. As many of you have already found out, it is a difficult adjustment at our age,much more so than when we were introduced to a room in Sage complete with a strange roommate (who soon became a best friend after we discovered that we both were wearing braces on our teeth). But I'm blessed with three nieces and two nephews who are most athletic and helpful, and I still have my 40-year-old parrot with me."We're sure you will handle the adjustment well.

Gladys Godfrey MacKay (162 Kendal Dr., Oberlin, OH 44074) writes, "At this age I guess I've had my travel, but it must be ‘gold watch retirement' time for I'm in Marquis's Who's Who in America." Gladys was also in the first class of women officers, USNR WWII. Margaret Wilson Van Winkle has a new address: Freedom Plaza #5551, 13373 Plaza del Rio Blvd., Peoria, AZ 85381. And Jean Sherwood Williams (5100 Highbridge St., #22C, Fayetteville, NY 13006) keeps active by interacting with family from San Francisco to New York State and points in between. She hopes to get to our 70th, and we hope so, too. If you are looking for Katrina "Puss" Tanzer Chubbuck, you'll find her at 1624 Stickney Point Rd., #102, Sarasota, FL 34231 in the winter and 51 Miles Ave., Fairport, NY 14450 the rest of the year. More next issue. -- Bill Hoyt, 8090 Oakmont Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95409; e-mail, subilhoyt@SBCglobal.net.

37 | It was good to hear from Helen Saunders Engst, MS HE '65, who attended Reunion in June as our class alumni representative. Helen said that she thought that those of us who attend reunions just enjoy luncheons at Barton, browsing, visiting, and campus tours. According to Helen, her grandchildren and children are too many to mention by name--five children, ten grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 15 spouses. For Helen, travel days are almost over except for possibly once a year. She keeps busy by reading and participating in local organizations and their meetings.

Mary Schuster Jaffe's son John '74, PhD '82, is now with Pacific Northwest Lab in Richland,WA.Mary's hobbies are music and playing the recorder. Her last vacation was a cruise from Chattanooga to Memphis.We heard from Grace Jones Henley, LLB '39, who said that her son Peter was involved in the organization of a church 11 years ago that now has 3,000 members. He just opened another church in Seattle. She adds, "We're still kicking! Living in our own house and enjoying our swimming pool."

Margaret "Margie" Kincaid Look, who wrote the 1937 Women's Class History following our 50th Reunion, sent a wonderful note: "It is sad to read of the deaths of classmates, many of whom I had reconnected with when I wrote the Women's Class History. I enjoy living in Nye,MT, in the home my late husband Travis and I purchased in 1991, at the foot of the Beartooth Mountains on the Stillwater River.My children and grandchildren visit me every year, and I visit them often. I continue to write for publication and for pleasure, such as the family history in story form. I write a column entitled ‘Stop, Look, and Listen' for the Post-Journal in Jamestown, NY, where I worked for many years. This lifestyle suits me just fine. I can sit at my computer,my lifeline to the entire world, and still watch a resident bald eagle as he sits on a tree branch, scanning the river for fish. We call this place ‘Paradise.' Come visit me (P.O. Box 519, Nye, MT 59061)."

Please keep the news coming and enjoy your lives! -- Selma Block Green, 15 Weaver St., Scarsdale, NY 10583.

During our 2002 reunion, Irving Friedman was tempted to try a nostalgic climb of the Library Tower to revisit the lofty perch where Cornell's fabled chimes are rung. Irv, an assistant chimesmaster in his undergraduate years, decided--at the 40th step--that he wasn't as spry as he had been in 1937 and called off the adventure. These days his music-making is mostly on the violin or the piano. During the three mid-winter months, the Friedmans escape New York City's inhospitable weather to live at a lovely retirement center, The Classic, in West Palm Beach, FL, where it turns out the general manager was a Hotel school graduate. In June 2003 Janet and Irv, veterans of more than 50 cruises over the years, enjoyed a delightful cruise to Bermuda.

Following a Mediterranean cruise last fall, Robert Brown was booked on a transatlantic cruise from Portugal home to Florida. Unhappily, en route through the Costa del Sol in Spain he broke a leg and spent two weeks in a Spanish hospital. That was in "interesting experience" as, Bob reports, his only Spanish is "Feliz Navidad!" and the caretakers seemed to have difficulty understanding even that! Bob is home now and on the mend.

Dr. Selig Finkelstein has shared his expertise in the use of hypnosis in the practice of dentistry in an article published last year in the international Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis: "Rapid Hypnotic Inductions and Therapeutic Suggestions in a Dental Setting." Selig practices dentistry five days a week in Pleasantville, NY. He also teaches a course in hypnosis for the dental residents at the Westchester Medical Center. He is a fellow of both the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and the only dentist on the board of editorial consultants for the latter. Selig was president of the American Board of Hypnosis in Dentistry for ten years.

It was good to hear from Charles Gray, PO Box 271, Clay Center, KS 67432-0271. Charlie is a retired hospital administrator.He has three sons and two daughters. Activities include "golf when able." Travel is limited to short trips--like the 175-or-so miles to Pittsburg, KS, for a grandson's wedding last year.

We express sincere thanks to Peter Cantline for his service to the Class of '37 as he relinquishes the "portfolio" of treasurer. Pete was class president from 1967 to 1972. The Office of Alumni Affairs will watch over our treasury till the next election.-- Robert A. Rosevear, 2714 Saratoga Rd. N., DeLand, FL 32720-1403.

38 | Clara Rhodes Rosevear (DeLand, FL) writes that she is keeping busy as a parliamentarian for the Woman's Club of DeLand and the Presbyterian Women of Central Florida, as treasurer of the local P.E.O. chapter and of the DeLand Museum Guild, and with home responsibilities. She likes to travel but is not doing as much. "Home looks pretty good in these times!" she says. Gerald Fried (Scottsdale, AZ) is also still active. He plays tennis and has won three awards for his extensive volunteering. Gerald and his wife Cecile enjoy their two beautiful granddaughters who live close by with his son and daughter-in-law.He had a wonderful time at the 65th Reunion: "The Doolittles did a tremendous job."He travels a lot and says that he's lived a full and happy life. "When I mention I attended Cornell, people look at me with respect."

We're sad to report the deaths of two classmates: Charles Hall died on February 14, 2004. He is survived by his wife Margaret, three children, and five grandchildren. Holt "Pete" Andrews died on November 26, 2003.

William Kumpf reports from Elk City, OK, that he's slowly becoming an adopted Oakie. Bill moved to be near his son and family, and though he doesn't miss the snows of Rochester, NY, he can't get used to the wind on the Plains.He's thankful for reasonably good health. Thomas and Helen Brew Rich (Venice, FL, in winter; Skaneateles, NY, in summer) both report good health. "Doctors keep us going!" they say. In Florida they have three daughters most of the time. Tom hurt his leg and has not been doing much, but grafts and operations are fixing things up. Tom adds: "Cornell Golf can use money. Help! Help! Call for what to do."

Elizabeth Shanaman Meier (St. Petersburg, FL) has "moved next door" from Isla Del Sol to College Harbor, a retirement home she enjoys immensely. "There are several of us Cornellians here: Emily Gorman '31, a great lady, and Al Goldman, JD '29, who turns 100 this year. Eckerd College is next door.We attend some classes there. It is great having a college so close." Elizabeth remembers her old roommates Betty Tompkins (Staten Island), Bucky Buckman (California), and Mary Randolph Prozeller (Rochester, NY), who became great friends. John Kittle (Tucson, AZ) would love to hear from '38 friends. His e-mail is: jkittle@mailbug.com.

Margaret Brown Coryell wrote from her home in Barefoot Bay, FL: "I have the first cold I've had in years. I suppose these horrible things go with age. I will be 87 in October. How many do you suppose will attend our next reunion? My golf game has suffered over the past couple of years, but I refuse to quit as long as I enjoy it! It was great to see so many friends at reunion. I had not known what to expect. Hang in there, girls, for another four years."

John Pistor (Marco Island, FL) reports that he took a cruise last July on the inaugural cruise of the Crystal Serenity. Julie Andrews did the christening before the beautiful ship sailed from Southampton to Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Scotland, and Ireland. His young son and his two daughters sailed with him. "This fall my older son and his wife will sail with me on the Crystal Symphony from New York City to Montreal. I spend time here in Florida on the 4H Foundation Board and too much time with doctors." John regrets that he doesn't see any Cornellians.

Send news to this magazine and we will keep you in touch with old friends through the Class Notes! --Class of '38, c/o Cornell Alumni Magazine, 401 East State St., Suite 301, Ithaca, NY 14850; e-mail, cornell_magazine@cornell.edu.

39 | Reunion Report

Return to top of page