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50 | A happy letter from Miriam McCloskey Jaso, Sarasota, FL, reported on the induction of her late husband Jack '49 into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame. Jack was recognized for his contributions to the winning teams of '48-49. Fourteen of her family were able to attend the event prior to the Dartmouth football game last fall. Son Rich '77 gave an hysterically funny acceptance speech--"a wonderful memorial to a great father, athlete, and human being." Fred Immen, Defiance,MO, is great-grandpa of Ty Hunter, a future Cornellian. DonaldMcCurry, Amelia Island, FL, is retired to golf, travel, photography, and books.

Naomi Knauss Drummond, Pilesgrove, NJ, was elected an Alumni of Distinction at her 80th high school reunion, recognizing her public service as a New Jersey administrative law judge in adjudicating the state's only full antitrust case. She is planning her "last big trip--to St. Petersburg, Russia, so I can see the family home of my favorite professor, Vladimir Nabokov." John MacNeill, Homer, NY, is still self-employed as a civil engineer and remains active in a number of civic and professional organizations, including Cortland Rotary Club, Cortland County Chamber of Commerce, Crown City Toastmasters, and Baden-Powell Council/Boy Scouts of America. John has served Rotary for over 30 years as Youth Exchange Officer. This role has taken him abroad to 17 countries and to five exchange-student weddings.He maintains e-mail communications with over 150 foreign exchange students.

At the time of this writing Joan Noden Keegan, Greenwich, CT, was eagerly looking forward to our reunion and arranging for an affinity group to share nearby rooms. She and husband Dick '49 attended his 55th Reunion last year and thoroughly enjoyed fellowship with friends from different classes. Bernard Roth, North Dartmouth,MA, enjoys Elderhostels, five recently on such topics as repertory theater, film festivals, standup comedy, biomedical ethics, and the life of Richard Rodgers and his music. His day job is doing pro bono work for local charities through the Executive Service Corps.

Like some, Rosalyn Shapero Alpert,Watertown, NY, found that "retirement is a real job and leisure a great burden." She and husband Arthur enjoy the climate of northern New York, but in winter flee to Ft.Meyers, FL, where she relieves some of the leisure burden by serving as docent for the Southwest Florida Symphony.Houston Flournoy, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, dodged the hurricanes and became a regular viewer of the Weather Channel.His pessimistic neighbor Rodger Gibson left the plywood up so long that wife Betty Lou told him that she was not Wilma living in a cave and ordered the extra paneling removed. But just as it came down another hurricane was predicted. The plywood went back up, and they left for Ireland.

Pat Fritz Bowers, New York, NY, is a retired professor of economics. Pat has enjoyed travel with Cornell's Adult University (CAU) to study Aztec archaeology, and to Normandy with Cornell alumni, including classmates John and Carol McMillan Lawes. Day job for Gretel Russell Hackel,Manzanola, CO, is everyday housework and caring for livestock, as well as eating out daily. Her second great-grandchild, Avery, was born on the birthday of her great-great-grandfather, George Russell, a 1920 law graduate of Cornell. As she does yearly, Gretel will be traveling to our June reunion.

Richard Hudes, Flushing, NY, audits courses at Queens College and loves exempting the midterms. He is a volunteer tutor for Women in Need--those who, because of abuse, need help in turning their lives around and also need help in preparing for the GED exams, a work he finds most gratifying. Grandchildren Ben and Sarah, at the urging of their parents Steve '89 and Jill, persist in wearing Big Red T-shirts. Richard and wife Sonia regularly attend CAU courses on campus. Sonia Pressman Fuentes, Sarasota, FL, was selected as one of 87 Jewish women to be included in a special exhibit of the Jewish Women's Archive to go online June 2005. The exhibit commemorates the 350th anniversary of the Jewish community in the US and Jewish women who contributed to the women's rights movement in the US.

John Timmerman, Lakeview, OH, continues in the retirement day job he has had for many years, Public Relations Officer for the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies in Chicago, IL. John has also served as archivist for the Center, which coordinates the work of scientists worldwide that take a scientific approach to solving the ongoing UFO enigma. On campus John was accompanist for the men's Glee Club and wrote music for Octagon shows. He has written over 200 songs and continues his lifelong interest in piano performance and song writing.

An absolute must-read is a new book,Women at Work: Demolishing a Myth of the 1950's, authored by Marion Steinmann and the Women of the Class of 1950. The 154 women who contributed and share in the authorship will receive free copies. The book demolishes the persistent stereotype that during the 1950s women had no choice but to be housewives. Cornell women were a full decade ahead of the women's movement of the '60s. Of 344 graduates, 110 earned graduate degrees, including five physicians, 11 attorneys, and 22 who earned PhDs or other doctoral degrees. To order online go to Orders@Xlibris.com or phone 1-888-795-4274, ext. 276.

Midge Downey Kreitz has moved from Virginia to Colorado and with the move ends ten years of faithful and exemplary service as class correspondent, five with Bob Fite and five with me.We shall miss her competent work and patience in dealing with our dotage-related idiosyncrasies. She'll remain active in class activities.-- Paul H. Joslin, 6080 Terrace Dr., Johnston, IA 50131-1560; tel., (515) 278-0960; e-mail, phj4@cornell.edu; Ruth "Midge" Downey Kreitz, 3811 Hunt Manor Dr., Fairfax, VA 22033; tel., (703) 860-2991; e-mail, rdk12@cornell.edu.

51 | John Ravage's son Ethan reported that John passed away peacefully in San Francisco on December 18, 2004. John had courageously fought a chronic form of leukemia for the past few years, but had a certain wisdom about knowing when to give up the fight.Mercifully, he had a very quick departure. In his final year, he still had impressive energy--he hiked the Andes in February and took a ten-day bicycle tour of the Loire Valley in September. Right up to the end he was active in local political and environmental groups, plus he gave generously of his time, particularly to the Adult Literacy League and to local musical organizations. He and his wife Nan initially retired to Savannah, GA, and then re-settled in Cloverdale, CA, in early 2000.After his early childhood in France, Ithaca became John's first long-term home in the US, and is where he really felt he grew up--and where he was most at home, visiting there as recently as this past summer.

Marshall Berger, New York City, participated in the Cornell Adult University (CAU) session on elections last summer. George Hano,MBA '52, Lyme Center, NH, chose to go to Russia in January 2004 for The Russians' Russia:Moscow and St. Petersburg in Winter with Patricia J. Carden as the instructor. Anthony Ferrari, Naples, FL, and Elliott Oldman,Martinsville, NJ, learned about History and Horticulture in the Hudson Valley from Stuart Blumin and Donald Rakow in June 2004, and Bill Field, MBA '53, went to Rome in October for Barry Strauss's study of Caesars, Senators, Citizens, Slaves: Life and Power in Imperial Rome. Elliot Siff,Westport, CT, spent two weeks in London with David Feldshuh and Glenn Altshuler, PhD '76's doing theatre (The Play's the Thing: London Theatre) and with Franklin Robinson doing art (The World of Art in London) in May. Howard and Caroline Baigell Krasnow '50 participated in the discussion of the 2004 elections at Mohonk with Glenn Altschuler, Richard Burkhauser, and Jeremy Rabkin '74.

Florence Sweet Benzakein, Newburgh, NY, is delighted to report that people have been buying her artwork in Orange County. She does mainly etchings and aquatints, but also tries her hand at sculpture, collage, and graphics. She went on from a BFA at Cornell to an MFA from SUNY New Paltz in sculpture and has won Best in Show locally. Jack and Betty Meng Howell report a solar-powered mountain hut reunion in Colorado with all four children, two spouses, and three grandchildren. Other trips included an Elderhostel with Carol and Russell Schuh in Carbondale, IL, and visits with friends in Charleston,WV, Detroit, and New Hampshire. They recommend a Canadian Elderhostel entitled The Tale of Three Cities: Ottawa,Montreal, and Quebec. "Lots of walking, but very educational."

Harry Merker writes from Las Vegas, NV, that he is looking forward to the 55th Reunion for a visit to New York, where he is trying to arrange that a section of NY Route 96 be renamed the 96th Infantry Division Memorial Road. The Board of Supervisors of Ontario County is the main sponsor and with the help of Senator John R. "Randy" Kuhl, it may be approved by the State Legislature. The 96th (and Harry) was in the Leyte, Philippines, and Okinawa campaigns ofWWII. Don and Corinne "Corry"Watkins Stork, after having served for years on the Finger Lakes Health Hospital and Health Foundation boards, became co-chairs of their church's first-ever capital campaign. A church committee is planting a crabapple tree as a thank-you in Penn Yan, NY. They enjoy watching their grandchildren play basketball, volleyball, baseball, and lacrosse.

Nancy Carver Shene,Morrisonville,NY, took her youngest daughter,Dorothy, on a Panama Canal-Caribbean cruise in April 2004, making several new friends. Two granddaughters recently graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh. She continues to write fun information skits performed in senior centers, and is a local Democratic committeewoman. Jack and Marybeth Weaver Ostrom, Ithaca, went to Richmond,VA, for an Elderhostel with Louise Squire Bishop and Betty Grimm Hague in March 2004. Jack has been elected a trustee at Kendal, the continuing care community where they live. He sees Bob Matyas at their Gourmet Group affairs, and George Bantuvanis at local concerts. Marybeth serves on the board of the Tompkins County Office for the Aging, works once a month at the Kitchen Pantry, and is a member of the Long-Term Care Committee of the County Health Planning Office. 2004 was the 200th anniversary of Ithaca's First Presbyterian Church, and Jack chaired the celebration planning committee. Daughter Kathy Ostrom Nollner '75 organized a family get-together at a B&B in Vermont for four children, two spouses, and ten grandchildren to celebrate 75th birthdays.

Barry Nolin's Class of '51 Web page is http://classof51.alumni.cornell.edu. Please send your news to -- Brad Bond, 101 Hillside Way,Marietta, OH 45750; tel., (740) 374- 6715; e-mail, bbond@ee.net.

52 | Spring has come to western Pennsylvania, and it's lovely. So much so, that in a week or so we will complain about the lack of rain.

Honors. A January 2005 Cornell Chronicle clipping announces that the newly created Tanner prize will be "awarded annually to a person, couple, or family who has made significant contributions to both Jewish life anywhere in the world and to Cornell."Appropriately, the prize is named for Harold Tanner who, in addition to serving on Cornell's Board of Trustees, raising a great deal of money for the university, and being named a foremost benefactor, has been a long-term member and president of the American Jewish Committee. I also have notice that Roy Payne, MBA '53, was honored by Cornell staff, family, and Delta Chi brothers as Foremost Benefactor to the university on October 16, 2004. Congratulations to both classmates.

The mail told of various people doing many things. Jeremy Judge wrote in March to say that he and his wife Margot have been working with others in Roxbury, CT, and neighboring towns to "do something helpful for those suffering in Afghanistan and Iraq." Their group, Our Towns for Sar-E-Pol, has raised $50,000 to provide immunization of children in the Province of Sar-E-Pol, Afghanistan. The Judges "continue to see a lot of Carr Ferguson, LLB '54, Bud Freeman, and Stu Haskins and their families, which we like a lot." Alice Sena Scherer writes, "We live in a continuing care community,Willow Valley, in Lancaster, PA. Our son Andrew and daughter-in-law Wendy run an Internet information service. Three grandsons: Davis, Reed, and Max. Our daughter Elizabeth is a medical researcher and lives in Annapolis."

Donald Biles, Skytop, PA, retired in 1988 as president and general manager of Skytop Lodge. He and Elly, whom he married in September '47, have two children in California and one in Massachusetts."Most importantly, we have seven grandchildren--five in Massachusetts and two in California--whom we love very much and visit whenever we can."Don, who hadn't seen anyone very much, saw Jack and Lib Hunsberger Craver. The Bileses have cut way back on travel, but went to D.C. for the dedication of the WW II memorial. He was flying to Florida in October for his "final" military reunion. "Not too many left to attend a reunion--sad!" Elaine Willis Hazard writes from Bemidji, MN, that she and Evan '51 are happily retired and have done some traveling. Their three children are grown, and their three grandchildren are "spread too far apart" from western Minnesota to Chicago. Elaine volunteers as parish nurse at her church, is active in local theater, and serves on the board of Northwoods Interfaith Caregivers. She reads a lot, mostly detective mysteries, but sometimes "real" literature.

Evelyn Hoffmann Huffman, whom we knew as Kris, writes from Kansas City,MO, "Inspired by the art show at reunion, I have taken up painting and am enjoying it very much. Also, it's very challenging. Had an exhibition last spring and hope to have more." Henry Ver Valen, Monkton,MD, has been busy--skiing Steamboat Springs and spending two weeks in Sarasota in February and two weeks at Kiawah in September. He's active with the Peabody Inst., enjoys lots of dancing, and still works on maintaining and restoring his four vintage Jaguars. He was at the vintage races at Watkins Glen in September. The Ver Valens' two sons live in California.

Pierre Tonachel wrote in December that in October he married Julia Healy, a fellow Manhattan artist. "We are happily ensconced in our Greenwich Village penthouse." Pete works in a studio in Soho and had just finished their fall open studio shows. He writes, "I managed to sell a few canvases and etchings. Kind of a long haul from the former career as a lawyer, but after all, I started out at Cornell in painting and drawing with Profs. Hansen and Evett." Barbara GaleWood, Hancock, NH, wondered in November where the year went. She had visited a son in Oregon in July and gardened. She wrote, "As a Regent of Gunston Hall, near Mt. Vernon, spent some days at meeting there in October, and then to southern Italy with the American Horticultural Society seeing not only several gardens but old churches and ruins from the history of invasions over the centuries. Too brief a visit, but a great pleasure."After Thanksgiving with their daughter's family in Littleton, CO, the Woods were to be home for Christmas.

Dave, JD '58, and Phyllis Perl Stearns '54, Sarasota, FL, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary with family at Cabo San Lucas in November 2004. Dave reports that Phyllis's newest works, mixed media, were to be exhibited at the Palm Avenue Gallery in downtown Sarasota beginning January 7, 2005.

Twenty items to go and no more space.Make sure to pay dues and subscribe when the annual class mailing comes this fall. -- Joan Boffa Gaul, 7 Colonial Pl., Pittsburgh, PA 15232; e-mail, jgcomm@aol.com.

53 | Presuming that most of the vast, widely dispersed Class of '53 navy, from kayaks on up, has been launched for summer cruising by now, we forward yearround skipper Harry Hutton's report from Long Beach, CA.He and mate Joanne circumnavigated Catalina just before last Christmas in their aging but faithful 38-foot sloop. ("Well, okay, it was cool, but no ice axes were needed.") When not "sanding, varnishing, changing fuel injectors, and other such intellectual pursuits as bilge cleaning,"Harry sits as commissioner of the Long Beach marine advisory commission and on the board of the Long Beach Marina Boat Owners Association. "A small-scale import/wholesale business keeps me in Dacron and diesel fuel," says he. Harry and Joanne have been watching a 7-year-old granddaughter five days a week ("Think that doesn't keep you young?"), and Joanne "has morphed into a soccer mom."Other than that (mostly): "No climbing Mount Everest, no Nobel prizes. Just hanging out here and enjoying life." William H. Smith tells of an intracoastal waterway voyage (Middletown, RI, to Sanibel, FL) in his 48-foot offshore trawler, stopping to see friends here and there. That was about five years ago. The good ship Laura M was docked right outside the Florida door, along with the 24-foot Pursuit runabout (for water sports and shelling) last fall and escaped the wicked winds that bashed Florida.

John and Lea Paxton Nixon (Atlanta, GA) went Elderhosteling in France with Jim and Recie Miller Scott last year. "We all ate too much and drank too much wine." Earlier, the Nixons saw Gordon and Janet Kilby Lankton for dinner and reminiscence. Herb Neuman (NYC) and Stephanie, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in '04, note that Stephanie holds the all-time record for attending houseparties at Sigma Alpha Mu. At last look, Herb was deep into developing real estate and Stephanie was teaching and researching at Columbia. The Neumans make annual trips to Moscow and Jerusalem for Jewish studies. Jim and Judy Logsdon sold their Pacific Palisades, CA, digs a while back and have made the transition to "the Desert," i.e., Palm Desert, CA.

Alan Raynor is settling into a new condo in Venice, FL, selling real estate, sculpting ("getting to be an expensive hobby"), and competing in track and field events (still). Retired from the practice of law since 1994, Elliott Solomon, LLB '55, has been doing the cooking at home in Scottsdale, AZ. (Spouse Paula "couldn't stand the R word" so she's gone into real estate--seven days a week.) Elliott says he's trying to become a golf pro. Pete Rufe (Waynesboro,VA), "enjoying new-ish grandchildren, Rotary, and church library," is, like others our age, "trying to reduce mountains of clutter" around the old homestead.

"How could my first son be 50?" wonders Roslyn Miserentino Kerr (Farmington, ME), president of a women's finance group, secretary of a nonprofit group that provides quality service to mentally retarded adults, volunteer eucharistic minister at church, election worker, Food Closet helper, and nutrition writer for a local newspaper. Barbara Linn Janner (Oceanside, CA) told us she stays busy listening to her children and grandlings, collecting artifacts and beads from all over the world, creating intricate, exotic necklaces from them, and attending to her cactus garden. Janis Peet Thomsen (Homer, NY) is "a friend of Bill W., Sweet Adeline member, active in YWCA and community." Eugenie Gilbert Taub, MEd '54 (Westfield, NJ) has become a bat mitzvah. She's continuing Hebrew reading and has been taking art appreciation and music history at a nearby college.

We're indebted to Dottie Clark Free for a Burton Spiller update. She forwarded word from the LeRoy, NY, Pennysaver that Burton has been honored in his old hometown (LeRoy), where the Historical Society has established the Burton Spiller Archival Research Center. After Cornell, the Air Force, and Columbia, Burton settled in Rochester, where he was an orthodontist for 29 years. Along the way he became a collector of Jell-O memorabilia and a chronicler of same for antique magazines."His real interest in antiques, though, has been bottles," and, the Pennysaver reveals, "he has a collection surpassed by few."More than enough, apparently, because Burton has donated lots of it to the historical society. Engineers were consulted to see whether the floor of the archive center could hold it all. It turned out that the weight of the many people visiting the Jell- O exhibit might very well be too much for the floor to support. The New York State Council on the Arts found money to save the day.

Wild geese and pigskins will be overhead before you know it and continuing improvement is in the air, too, following last fall's astounding turnabout under coach Jim Knowles '87.We're planning the traditional Homecoming bash (tailgating, block seating for the gridiron battle with Georgetown, and gracious dining with friends from Fifties classes) for the weekend of October 15, when Elliott Cattarulla will receive the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award. Jane Little Hardy,Mid-Winter Meeting chairlady for the Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO), advises that the annual meeting will be in Philadelphia over the Presidents'Day weekend (Feb. 16-17, 2006). You'll be hearing more about all of the above.-- Jim Hanchett, 300 First Ave., Apt. 8B, NYC 10009; e-mail, jch46@cornell.edu.

54 | The closest I think I have ever come to witnessing perpetual motion is reading the yearly report from Ed and Joyce Dudley McDowell '57. This past year they broke their own record by being away from home more than in residence at any of their abodes. The McDowells are now residents of Kilauea, HI, but left home for several points both north and south in 2004. Their adventures took them from 90 degrees north (aka North Pole) aboard a nuclear icebreaker and south to the Falklands via a six-week cruise billed as "Stepping Stones of the Atlantic."Having gone north and south they then had one itinerary that took them around the world.When at home Ed is still on the go and on the water via one of his sailboats. Richard Weil also resides in Hawaii in Wailea on the north side of Oahu. Dick retired two years ago as legal counsel to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' public auditor.He had previously been the Commonwealth's attorney general.Widowed four years ago, Dick participates in community activities including tutoring at the local elementary school. He has also taken up the strenuous sport of outrigger canoe paddling.

Robert Rogus, BArch '57, writes, "Travel we must." In 2004 Jane and Robert left Redding, CT, bound for a South American circumnavigation, a hop to Japan/Taiwan, thence to London, and finally some fun time in Mazatlan,Mexico. Somewhere in all that travel, Bob had an emergency quadruple bypass; apparently, it did not slow him down for long. A retired architect, he now does colorful 36" x 36" paintings. Does that qualify for painting by the yard?

Sounds as though golf was not enough for Willard Wheeler after his retirement.He is un-retiring.Willard, with nine other founding directors, has created a new independent trust company chartered and licensed in the state of Florida. The company, Coral Gables Financial Corp., is located in Coral Gables.Will this be a trend? A not-retiring Michael Stone, MD '58, has completed a book, Personality Disorders–Treatable and Untreatable. He lectured in Athens on serial killers and in Berlin on adolescent psychiatry this past year. The Greeks have also recognized Joan Schwartz Danziger's talent. Joan was artist-in-residence at the Skopelos Foundation in the Arts in Skopelos last September. Steve and Carol Krauss have been staying close to home and visiting their scattered grandkidlets of late with a bit of skiing in Colorado to keep limber.When at home, their farm, gardens, and horses occupy their time.

Don '53, BS '55, and Eloise Mix Unbekant were a part of the group gathering in Sarasota in February. In attendance were Bob '53 and Lou Schaefer Dailey, Rosemary Seelbinder Jung, Clancy and Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy '55, your correspondent, and the newly married, looking exceedingly happy, Sallie Capron Marchant and Bill Schroeder. Sallie and Bill will spend their lives traveling among their homes in Naples, FL, Kiawah Island, SC, and Chagrin Falls, OH. Sounds like they are following the Bus Ryan formula of always living at a comfortable 70 degrees. They probably don't believe some of us actually like the white stuff. Eloise and Don also had a reunion week at the Outer Banks, NC, with a group of Cornellians, including Phyllis Pertsch Marshall. Hiking the beach, singing Cornell songs, and exploring the Wright Bros.Museum were agenda items.

Mildred"Midge"Meyers Weiner enjoyed reunion and wished to thank all those that did the planning. She wrote a delightful note detailing the lives of her eight children and their offspring. Even after diagramming it as we were taught in Lit courses, I am still not sure I have them all located. Five live in the US and three in Sweden. Vincent Rospond, LLB '58, brought three of his grands to reunion. They fell in love with the campus. Sounds like a successful job of recruitment.Now only time will tell.Meanwhile, Vincent is still enjoying the law in New Jersey. Kenneth Roberts sent copies of his new book to the Cornell Library, What if: Out of a Black Hole. Ken says it tries to make current some important ideas that have been lost in the black hole of time.--Leslie Papenfus Reed, 500 Wolfe St., Alexandria,VA 22314; e-mail, ljreed@speakeasy.net. Class website, http://classof54.alumni.cornell.edu/; Cornell Directory, https://directory.alumni.cornell.edu/.

55 | Now, here's where this job gets tricky. The column I'm writing today (in April) will appear in the July/August issue of the magazine, and while I know you're eager to read the write-up about our reunion, that won't reach you until the Sept/Oct issue. But hang in there--it's definitely coming! Dick Shriver e-mailed me that he is currently general manager of the European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin. This is an English language college, offering students from 20 countries a truly international environment. Sounds like a perfect choice for a semester or year abroad.More information can be found at www.ecla.de.

Liz Burroughs Miley is president of the Champaign/Urbana Symphony Guild in Illinois, and also serves on environmental stewardship and community mission committees, among many other volunteer activities. Martha Bliss Safford continues to work for her husband and son, who are partners in Safford Investment Counsel.Martie and Nick live just 300 yards from the ocean in Rockport, MA, where they grow all their own fruit and vegetables.Martie says that she uses her art background teaching her grandchildren, collecting local art, and painting.

An e-mail message from my Comstock roommate, Sue Spooner Olsen, confirmed that she was planning to be at reunion, and was looking forward to seeing old friends. Sue Liebrecht Joyce and her husband Bill get out of Minneapolis to spend four or five months a year in Crested Butte, CO, and another month in the San Diego area, where they have four grandchildren. Other travels for the Joyces included a visit to their son, who's doing volunteer work in Guatemala, and a trip to Lima, Peru, to see their daughter and her family. Don Farley, PhD '60, says he's now in "phased retirement" on the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell. "I still enjoy teaching, but it's nice to do it only every other semester," Don adds.

Sandra Wiltse Leininger retired in 1995 after practicing pediatrics for 32 years at the Walnut Creek, CA, Kaiser Hospital. Not only does Sandy keep tabs on her 99-yearold mother in Florida, she's also the grandmother of 23 and great-grandmother of two! Everyone in the family is "happy, healthy, growing, bright, and accomplished." Sandy's newest adventure was learning to use eBay--"What a disaster!" Reminds me of TomStafford's comment that he's "learning how to sort of operate my first computer." Henry Purcell is still in the ski business in Santiago, Chile, "and probably always will be--the Portillo ski area is just too much fun to quit," says Hank. He just completed a Cornell home study course in bird biology, and otherwise keeps busy with "travel, writing, and all sorts of sports." Anyone traveling to Chile is welcome to give Hank a call (56-2- 361-7000) or send an e-mail (hpurcell@skiportillo.com).

Frank Ryan,MPA '59, continues to work in Abu Dhabi for the Investment Authority there. "After hours" he can be found golfing in the desert or sailing on the Arabian Gulf. Frank's newest discovery is the fauna and flora of the Arabian Desert. Friends and family convened in Hidden Valley, PA, for a "gala celebration" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Martha Gorman King and husband Bruce, PhD '57.Marty draws and paints at the Venice, FL, Art Center, and sings with the Venetian Harmony chorus, a chapter of Sweet Adelines Int'l. Konrad and Dell Bald celebrated their 52nd anniversary by taking an Alaskan cruise; also cause for celebration was the fact that he escaped serious injury after being broadsided by a speeding mail truck. Konrad was the number one CROP Walker in the US again last year.

Barbara Brott Myers and husband Jerry divide their time between their home in Orchard Park,NY, and Englewood, FL. Barb devotes time to music, shelling, and birding, and is proud to say that the Englewood Shell Club,which she founded in 1996, now boasts over 100 members. Our other Mrs. Myers, Mary Ann (Monforte), writes that despite having to use a walker, she loves to travel with her "major caregiver"--husband Bob '54. They spend a month each year in Savannah, GA, where they stay in a condo with an elevator, and enjoy watching the freighters come down the Savannah River from the Atlantic Ocean. "Come see us on Tybee Island," Mary Ann adds. In 2004, Art Yelon was named professor emeritus at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, and colleagues threw a party for him to celebrate his emeritus status, his 70th birthday, and the 20th anniversary of the research group of which he was the first director.

Phil Harvey, who along with Dick Estey, MBA '60, chaired our Fabulous Fiftieth Reunion, spends his free time biking, sailing, and going to the theater,movies, and jazz clubs. Phil's idea of a perfect moment is to be "at anchor on the Chesapeake Bay, drinking a fine Riesling and watching the sunset." After all the work that goes into putting reunion together, no one deserves that perfect moment more. Finally, it is with a heavy heart that I report the news of the death of Otto Schneider. Otto was the tireless copresident of our class, and served Cornell well for many years. He will be greatly missed, and our sympathy goes out to his wife Barbro and his daughters. -- Nancy Savage Petrie, nancypetrie@juno.com; tel., (631) 329-6430.

56 | Barbara Rapoport, New York City, is back in Paris for a month renting the same apartment she had last fall in the Left Bank just off St. Germain des Pres. She will be returning to Paris in the fall as well. Margot Lurie Zimmerman,Washington, DC, and husband Paul just returned from Israel on a study tour sponsored by the New Israel Fund (NIF), as well as a week in Jordan. As expected,Margot wrote a very detailed report on her trip, which Paul promptly mailed to friends and family. I wanted to share a portion of Margot's report with you:

"For the most part, Jews and Arabs within Israel lead very separate lives.With very few exceptions, all schools are segregated.Most towns are all Jewish, or all Arab (Moslem and/or Christian). And where they are mixed, for example in Haifa, Romle, and Lod, neighborhoods are separated and there is very little interaction among the adults or the children. The workplace is also often segregated. Our map of the Galilee showed small Jewish towns, but failed to include the large Arab town (population 17,000) of Arabe. But, on a more positive note, in each of these communities there are non-governmental organizations trying to bring about change.Unfortunately, behavior change is not easy, and the process is slow."

Margo continues: "We visited one small community (only 90 families),Ma'ale Tzvia, that could be a model for improved interaction among different ethnicities. For starters, there are two Moslems and one Christian living in the village (because they are married to Jews). All members of the community are encouraged to engage in pro bono activities. For example, 15 women began a project with a Bedouin village only one kilometer away. They began by going twice a week to give lessons to the Bedouin children. This led to a project with an equal number of Bedouin women. They began by meeting every week for collaborative arts and crafts projects, which gave them a common frame of reference. They then began to exchange knowledge of local herbs, and ways these can be used, both in cooking and medicinally. Right now I think they are at the ‘cooking together and sharing recipes' stage."Margot concludes: "It's a beginning."Margot describes NIF as a 25-year-old progressive organization dedicated to strengthening civil and human rights, protecting minority populations, fostering religious pluralism, and promoting social and economic justice in Israel through training in--and strong emphasis on--advocacy, and by making grants to social change organizations active in these issue areas.

I met Ellie Goldman Frommer on the Madison Avenue bus in Manhattan twice this week.Not a long time to chat, but a nice coincidence. Ellie is a residential broker with Stribling, for those of you planning to sell or buy your New York apartment. George and Judy Cohen Lowry, New York, had a quick vacation in Anguilla. As many of you know, Judy is one of the owners of the Argosy Book Store, THE antiquarian book store, and George is the chairman of Swann Galleries (rare books, prints, maps, etc.). Ellie Schaffer came to the US for a short medical visit from Paris. It was great to see her, and I know she would enjoy seeing classmates who are in Paris.

Percy Edwards Browning is hard at work planning our 50th Reunion (June 8-11, 2006), and I know she will attend to all the details to make this a very special reunion. Please be sure it's on your calendars. I am working on a "Sideways" trip to the vineyards of the Finger Lakes for all of us, and Ed Berkowitz is plotting a special treasure hunt to find all the buildings on campus that have been constructed since 1956! Let's see how many we can find.

Keep your news coming to Stephen Kittenplan and myself.-- Phyllis Bosworth, 8 East 83rd St., Apt. 10C, New York, NY 10028; e-mail, phylboz@aol.com.

57 | Now that many of us have reached another milestone this year, perhaps it's fitting to include a comment from Mary Neill Hanna's news form. She writes, "It's a great era to begin being in the 70s! Dreams can still be realized, health can be recovered and/or enhanced, and old age is still 15 years older than one is now."Mary is a psychologist at the Community Health Center in Iowa City, IA, and enjoys living in this idyllic small college town near her physician daughter.

Fredda Ginsberg Fellner's daughter Melinda Fellner Bramwit '89 is an attorney. Rochelle Krugman Kainer, an analytic psychologist in Washington, is finishing her novel about a woman who has four husbands. Although a graduate of the ILR school, she says that being the literary type,maybe she should have been in A&S. Rochelle was a Fulbright Scholar at St. Petersburg U. in Russia last year. Gloria Welt Sage is a consultant with the Syracuse Research Corp. and president of the Outer Comstock Neighborhood Association in Syracuse. Martin '55 and Gloria celebrated the recent engagement of their son Daniel, a math professor at LSU, to Marla Kameny, MBA '00.

Phyllis Lorberblatt Kahn was reelected in the fall to the Minnesota state legislature, where she has served since 1972. Connie Dimock Sebald accompanied Al '54, JD'59, to Middletown, OH, when he was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame last August. Connie is a volunteer at Roxborough State Park and a caregiver for some elderly dear friends. For Joyce Dudley McDowell her most pressing problem is "finding enough time to do everything I want to do."After reading her annual Christmas letter I can understand why. The year started aboard the Clipper Adventurer for a cruise to South America and Africa.When she returned to California, Joyce had to undergo successful surgery for spinal stenosis. Then she and Ed '54 headed east by car to attend Ed's 50th Reunion and to make a circuit of Atlantic Canada. In the summer they cruised across the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole from Murmansk to Pevek in Siberia. London in the fall and an October visit to Patagonia capped a year of worldwide travel for the McDowells. Phew!

Marj Nelson Smart and Mary Hobbie Berkelman, both living in Ithaca, managed to get in a bit of skiing at Greek Peak this past winter. In March,Marj visited Tom '56 and Marilyn Way Merryweather in Tucson. In addition to hiking, bird watching, tennis, and golf,Marj and the Merryweathers did a lot of reminiscing--something we'll no doubt find ourselves doing in just two years. -- Judith Reusswig, 19 Seburn Dr., Bluffton, SC 29909; e-mail, JCReuss@aol.com.

The "R" classification reports cover the range. "Semi-retired" Al Collard has been a patent attorney for 38 years, having founded his own company in Roslyn, Long Island. Son Bill married last July, and daughter Liz Collard Richter '91 has two children and has followed in her father's footsteps with Collard & Roe.While waiting for more grandchildren to arrive, Al has become a junior Bill Schmidt by learning to photograph, crop, and paint color photos by computer.He saw Al Suter,MBA '59, at a Cornell engineers Christmas party in NYC last year, and recently ran into Russell Taft '58, who works at the observatory at the 9,000-ft. level on Mt.Haleakala on Maui.

At the "mostly retired" level is Jeremy Fitz-Patrick, who is most certainly one of the few great-grandfathers in the class, and who will celebrate in September, with Judith, 50 years of marriage. They still go to Bermuda in the summer/fall and "south" in the winter. He has seen Mike Linehan, who now lives in Virginia Beach.

Straight up "retired" is Roy Hassel, who was senior pastor at the Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church in Ridgefield, CT, for 18 years, where a section of the church has been named in his honor.He and Judy have five grandchildren, and their oldest son, Jeff, is in his fifth year as a missionary in Lithuania. Ditto for Dennis Greene, who was in commercial real estate for 18 years after 30 years in the Army. Last fall, he and Riitta cruised to southern Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, and Malta.

Retired "again" describes Ike Eisinger, this time from teaching religion at an Episcopal school for nine years.He is now investing and playing with his ten grandkids. Ike might be investing with Dwight Emanuelson, who is active as senior VP of Wachovia Securities in Hilton Head and Palm Beach, specializing in estate planning. Don Singer has a few more years as a reference archivist at the National Archives in College Park,MD, working with WWII military records.He ran in the Baltimore marathon last fall, qualifying for the Boston marathon in April.

Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers has announced the appointment of Alan Altshuler as dean of the Graduate School of Design. Alan received a master's degree and doctorate in political science from the U. of Chicago, teaching at Swarthmore, Cornell, and MIT, where he chaired the political science department for several years. Alan has served on the faculty of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, as well as that of the GSD prior to his appointment, and brings a unique combination of expertise in political science and urban planning to his new position. He has also distinguished himself in the public sector and has authored enough books and articles to fill up several libraries.-- John Seiler, 221 St.Matthews Ave., Louisville, KY 40207; e-mail, suitcase2@aol.com.

58 | We have some News to report of the diverse activities, travels, awards, and events of our current lives. Cal Allen and his wife Marsha (O'Kane) '59 hiked the Austrian Alps for two weeks last summer, traveling over from their residence in Sisters, OR. Leonard Horn (with whom I still associate Miss America, whose pageants he headed up for decades) writes that he retired but is "of counsel"with a Memphis law firm doing part-time trial work.His and Brenda's three children are married with children and living on or near the East Coast. Phil Marriott, MBA '60 (philiott@hotmail.com) wrote in at the time of last year's election and said he hoped to survive it; he and Beatriz did survive two hurricanes last summer at their home in Vero Beach, FL. Herb and Nancy Whittall had the same experiences in the same town with hurricanes Frances and Jean, whose centers passed directly overhead. The house stayed dry, they write, "but the pool filled with Indian River lagoon water, the screen blew down, and all the leaves were blown off the trees."A little further south in Jupiter, FL, Robin Bielski Kadar and husband Richard had the same hurricanes to survive, and they did. Otherwise, Robin says, "there is little new here . . . trying to balance the hurricanes against the usually glorious weather." Ann Gaffey Coyne spent most of last summer in Nicaragua on a special needs adoption on behalf of a woman in her university town of Omaha. During the academic year, Ann still teaches social work at the U. of Nebraska and lives in nearby Lincoln.

Two writing awards have been bestowed. Rocco Angelo, hailing from southern Florida at Key Biscayne, introduced his co-authored 5th edition of a textbook last August, Hospitality Today: An Introduction. He was given the Lamp of Knowledge in recognition of his lifetime achievements by the Ed. Inst. of the American Hotel and Lodging Assoc. Laurence Pringle, author of more than a hundred books, many for children and all based on science, nature, health, and the environment, won the AAAS SB&F Prize for excellence in science books. He and three other authors and one illustrator were honored in this first year of the prizes sponsored by AAAS and Subaru. Laurence's latest book is Sharks! Strange and Wonderful. Another '58 writer, Art Shostak, edited nine new books and wrote his tenth during his first year of retirement after 42 years of college teaching.He also gave ten invited talks and traveled to Brazil, Cuba, and Turkey, so writes his wife Lynn. Congratulations to these busy writers!

Bob Mayer is another awardee, who, with wife Susan, was honored by their Atlantic County, NJ, community for 30 years of community service. Bob writes, "It was a fun and rewarding night with family and friends coming in from all over; we even raised $115,000 for our local assisted living home for the elderly." The Mayers travel, too-- nearby to Bob's 50th high school reunion in West Orange (where he caught up with Mike Griffinger and Bob Mangino, all three entering Cornell in 1954), and to Budapest, Vienna, and Prague last summer. They had perfect weather, he writes, and they really enjoyed the history and fabulous architecture there. Jack and Diane Baillet Meakem '61 had some '58ers visit them at their Jupiter, FL, home last winter, namely Glenn and Maddi McAdams Dallas and Chuck,MBA '59, and Jan Arps Jarvie. A little cool for swimming, they wrote, but all had a great time in the hot tub. This writer also enjoyed reading the fine article on Jack and Diane, and their support to Cornell, in the recent issue of Communiqué. It was good to see such support from '58ers continuing.

Dr. Gerald Freedman remains on the Yale Medical School faculty, although he retired from hospital duties. All three children are in their 20s and somewhere in the medical field: David, PhD from Harvard Medical School; Julia, a physical therapist in Boston; and Sarah, a med student at GW. Betty Ann Fong Zuzolo and her husband Ralph continue at City College in NYC teaching microsurgery and micromanipulation courses for cell transplantation and related techniques. Betty (fong@scisun.sci.ccny.cuny.edu) writes that they enjoyed their 50th high school reunions, like so many of us did, meeting with classmates and friends of the family from her old hometown. Our final note is from Ed Vaughn (ed.vaughn@snet.net), who writes: "I had a wonderful time early this year when I hooked up with my roommate and fellow hockey team member Brian Curtis.We met in Hanover, NH, and watched the present Big Red hockey team play Dartmouth." That's all of the News in hand.Have a good summer! --Dick Haggard, 1207 Nash Dr., Fort Washington, PA 19034; e-mail, rhaggard@voicenet.com. For other news and events of our class, see: http://classof58.alumni.cornell.edu.

59 | From Linda Rogers Cohen of Great Neck, NY: "A friend asked what had been my most surprising experience in India when I was there in February.My answer: the Taj. Surprising because I had thought I understood the beauty of the Taj Mahal, but I hadn't. I was simply overwhelmed in its presence. The most beautiful anything I have ever seen. Pulsating with beauty. A living, vibrant wonder. Completed in 1649, the design and decoration are alive today and seem almost modernist, the essence of ‘less is more.' The significance of the Taj Mahal as a symbol of India on the cover of tour books is one of the many apparent contradictions in India. It is a Hindu country but the Taj, after all, is a Mughal tomb.A Hindu country and the president is Moslem and the Prime Minister is Sikh.Women are essentially hidden in their saris but it is impossible not to stare at the brilliant colors of the fabric used.We keep reading about the wonders of the Indian IT and software industries but everywhere barbers, shoemakers, and others are doing business literally sitting on the street.We read ‘developing,' but we see ‘third world.' The saddest thing I saw was a private elementary school without connection to electricity. One of the most uplifting was a line of perhaps 75 people waiting to vote in Rajasthan."

From Carole Parnes of Alameda, CA, who spent six weeks traveling the length and breadth of the North Island of New Zealand earlier this year: "We took in mountains, beaches, wineries, golf courses, cities, and small villages. Accommodations ranged from hotels in the middle of busy Auckland and next to the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Wellington, to motels (with kitchens), B&Bs where the host/hostess cooked wonderful meals, and even a golf resort thrown in for good measure.We put 5,000 km on the car, at least half as many km on the feet, and a few extra pounds on me--the ice cream isn't to be missed! Highlights included hiking in national parks, on Waiheke Island (a ferry ride from Auckland), and on the Northern Walkway high above Wellington.We also did short walks (up to three hours) around various lakes and through the ‘bush.' The nice thing about hiking/walking in NZ: no bears, mountain lions, snakes, or any of the other things that we worry about in Northern California."

Dan Brock took early retirement from Brown U. in 2002, where his position was University Professor of Philosophy and Medical Ethics. He joined the Dept. of Clinical Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, but left in April 2004 "because of censorship of my work by the NIH senior administration." Since then he has been the Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School, where he directs the Division of Medical Ethics and a new university-wide Ethics and Health program.He and his wife now live in Newton, MA, with their "kids finishing up school and gradually moving out into the world."

Fred Brustman, also of Newton, MA, escapes winter by heading south. Last winter it was the Grenadines: "Together with friends, I spent a week sailing on a 45-foot sloop we chartered in St. Vincent. Each day's sail took us from one beautiful anchorage to another. The nicest was Canaouan Island, where we anchored close enough to swim ashore for a walk on the sand beach and a beer amid the palms."While at home, Fred spends time volunteering at the Boston Museum of Science. "I blow soap bubbles! They are a great hook for the school groups that come through, entertaining them while we sneak in a little physics and some ideas on what science is about."He also takes Learning in Retirement classes on subjects ranging from Hemingway to making kinetic jewelry. "The jewelry class was a way to ease gently back into metal working. I got some ideas for pieces that move and I started making some pendants and rings that incorporate simple movements. Better yet, it has gotten me to think about articulated jewelry as fun to play with. So I now entertain myself by sketching ideas for playful jewelry during slack moments."

Like Fred, Kip Rogers, BS '61, of Aurora, CO is enjoying retirement, though his recreational vehicle of choice is a motorcycle. He is the current president of the Rocky Mountain BMC Riders Club. Classmates who participated in Cornell's Adult University courses last summer--on topics ranging from Who's Afraid of Beowulf? to Sculpture Studio: Interpreting the Human Figure--included Sylvia Rich Alderman, Linda Rogers Cohen, Robert Uris, MPS '73, and Phil Yarnell.-- Jenny Tesar, 97A Chestnut Hill Village, Bethel, CT 06801; tel., (203) 792-8237; e-mail, jet24@cornell.edu.

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