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31 | Ethel Bache Clark (Mrs. Ethel S., 1912 Marsh Rd., #235,Wilmington, DE 19810-3954), our first vice president and perennial, imaginative reunion co-chair, responds to the Class News Form with: "I have been ‘recovering' from my 95th birthday celebration (95 used to be old).My six children and spouses came from various parts of the country and we had a really big weekend. I am involved in arts and crafts here, and my church. I keep busy. Reunion? Of course! My eldest son, Frederick E. Schmitt III '59, is already planning to escort me. (This will be the first Reunion since 1971 that Frank O'Brien and I will not be working together.) I don't use a wheelchair--yet, but who knows?" (Ethel, I can remember when I thought 40 was very old!)

Faithful correspondent Rosemary Hunt Todd (Mrs. Stanton W. Jr., 200 Alliance Way, #239C,Manchester, NH 03102) as usual came through with a nice report: "At age 96 I feel blessed. (As do all of us '31ders who read this.) I am in good health and am beginning the third year of living in an independent living facility, where I have an attractive apartment.My three children are most supportive. Last summer they took care of getting me to Chicago to see a new grandchild, to Michigan to spend time at my son's summer home there, and to my daughter's on Martha's Vineyard. I now have 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren--our own population explosion!" Rosemary closes with the extra special good news, "I do hope to be at our 75th, accompanied by a daughter."

Another faithful correspondent Tom Kelley (Thomas D., 11770 N.E. Yeomalt Point Dr., Bainbridge Island,WA 98110) responded with a nice letter and three full pages of single spaced typing in reply to the form's question, "What is the best trip you ever took?"His letter contains the good news that his family gave him a fine 97th birthday party on his front porch overlooking Puget Sound, with Seattle in the distance on the other side, and the bad news that, "sadly, I won't be able to attend the 75th Reunion, as I am now in a wheelchair." To Tom and all the other '31ders who get around with the help of canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and "handicapped" parking permits, if you think you can't get to Ithaca next June, think it over again! Like the "girls" above, get a family member or a friend to come with you. It has amazed me how well the airlines and the air terminals handle us "cripples"! My knees won't carry me very far or very fast, so whenever a trip requires a change of planes, I reserve a wheelchair to get me from gate to gate, and when necessary from taxi to gate and vice versa. It has worked perfectly every time. Try it! You'll like it! And we'll all like to see you at Reunion, where our ever-helpful Alumni Office staffers will see that we don't miss a thing. Let's set a record at Cornelliana Night in the rebuilt Bailey Hall for the number of wheelchairs at a 75th!

Tom's "best trip" was with his daughter down the Danube River on a Russian riverboat all the way from Slovakia to Bucharest, Romania, and on to Istanbul, Turkey.His yarn is entrancing, and anyone contemplating the trip is invited to ask me for a photocopy of his essay. Because of this column's space limitations, the rest of you will have to get along with the three caveats he gives us. 1) When sightseeing, don't let the bus get away without you! In Vienna, Tom was so interested in a "very old chateau or castle" at which the bus tour stopped, that all transportation was gone when he got back to the parking lot. His lament, "I was pretty miserable and wet," sums up his plight. 2) Watch out for pickpockets--especially when standing in a crowd in a Romanian Orthodox Church. Tom lost his US passport to a light-fingered worshipper in Bucharest. However, there was a good side to this adventure--the Russian tour guide, named Marie, took pity on him and gave him an individual tour of more "sights" than the rest of the party ever saw! 3) In case you need "muscle" at a US consulate, take along the name and phone number of your US Senator. It took the threat of a call to Tom's personal friend, the Senator from Washington State, to get the necessary quick action in replacing his passport.

More news to come in the next issue! -- Bill Vanneman, 237 N.Main St., #250, S. Yarmouth, MA 02664-2088; ggrampi@yahoo.com (new e-mail); tel., (508) 760-4250.

32 | Ben Falk has apparently suffered a severe case of nostalgia, which broke out as an e-mail entitled, "Words from the Past."Here are a few of them, with Ben's comments: "I haven't thought about ‘fender skirts' in years.When I was a kid I considered it a funny term. That started me thinking about other words or combinations of words that seem to have quietly slipped from our language."

Following are a few more relating to automobiles: "Curb feelers"; "steering knobs"; "Continental kits" (these were rear bumper extenders that were supposed to make a less costly motor car look like a Lincoln Continental); "cutout," a device to bypass the muffler and make the racket now so dear to motorcyclists.

Ben asks, "Didn't you ever wait at the street for Daddy to come home so you could ride the ‘running board' up to the house?" The answer to that question is,"No." Our driveway was narrow and short and not a handsome, miniature roadway.My father would not have risked the damage I might sustain if I got scraped off. Grander considerations carried Ben's thoughts to the loss of impact for "coast to coast,""worldwide,""divorcée," and many others. I fear that friend Ben is slipping into advanced maturity.

From time to time I've mentioned the late John Van Buren Rice, son of James E. Rice 1890, head of Poultry Husbandry in the Ag college and thereby making John a fully qualified Campus Brat. I quote from a letter John wrote me in 1999, telling of the friendship between Prof. Rice and Dean Liberty Hyde Bailey. It was Prof. Rice who raised Cornell's Poultry Husbandry to international prominence: "One night when Dean and Mrs. Bailey were over for dinner he presented me with a book of his poems called Wind and Weather, which I still have. That was certainly a first, and I have had the privilege of meeting every dean except one who was recruited from Washington and lasted about two years. The farmers didn't like him." John once told me that he used to fly paper airplanes from the skeleton of Rice Hall while it was under construction.

Forgive me for introducing an experience that involved me. I had, for some reason or other, been asked to serve as an usher in Schoellkopf during a football game. The seating in the Crescent was, and perhaps still is, a bit crude. A continuous bench ran from aisle to aisle without interruption. Seats were marked by numbered metal tags. They had been spaced by someone who underestimated the width of our alumni. The game was in progress when a gentleman who seemed to have been delayed by a stop for a drink, arrived with a lady. He handed me his tickets which, to my dismay, were in a fully occupied row.While my drunk fretted, I managed to get everyone to move a few inches. They seemed to be annoyed by my request, but they finally compressed sufficiently to squeeze in the newcomers. He was very angry with the university authorities, the seated folks who were causing him discomfort and humiliation, and most of all, he was furious with me.He bellowed, "And as for you, I'm going to have you fired!" He probably did because I never served as an usher again. -- Jim Oppenheimer, 140 Chapin Parkway, Buffalo, NY 14209-1104; tel., (716) 886-1314.

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35 | Summer in the Northeast has been delightful except for a lack of rain, from which we are currently recovering with the wettest October on record. Those in the know predicted the leaves would change color early and drop. Certainly at this time they should be right, but the trees are still covered with green leaves.

I was recently informed that ten of our active classmates have been added to the list of non-duespayers. Hopefully it was a case of forgetfulness and it is not too late to correct the record.

Mary Rowe Ferguson writes from 2944 Greenwood Acres Dr., De Kalb, IL 60115 that she and her husband Donald have two children, Robert and Jean, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Emily Ockenfels Thomas of 506 Moss Creek Dr., Bloomington, IN 47401 points out that Cornell's Records department has replaced her middle name with her deceased husband's middle name, Hastings. Emily, we hope this has been corrected. She has an active life doing volunteer work with the American Red Cross and as cashier for her church resale shop. She is also a member of an aerobics class three times a week. Keep it up, Emily O.

Virginia Lauder Sayles of 200 Tabernacle Rd., Lodge 117, Black Mountain, NC 28711 writes that her husband Hank passed away on March 16, 2004. He had been failing since 1999 with Alzheimer's or a related ailment. They had four daughters, seven grandchildren, and five great-grands.We send our deepest sympathy to the whole family.

Alvin R.Mintz, MD '38, 9 Normandy Parkway,Morristown, NJ 07960 and his wife Beatrice were active participants in all the Reunion activities last June. Al retired as a pediatrician in 1986 and has been playing "a great deal" of golf and spending winters in Florida. They have a Cornellian son, Marshall, MD '77, and five grandchildren.

I hope that you are all enjoying the winter and that you know that we look forward to your News. -- Albert G. Preston Jr., 252 Overlook Dr., Greenwich, CT 06830; email, davada35@aol.com; tel., (203) 869-8387.

36 | As usual (at least recently), our news is very limited, so for the benefit of those of the Class of '37 who may read this column, as well as for the '36ers who like to check up on our younger friends, I'm going to report on a letter I recently received from Doug King '37 of that class. Doug and I were close friends for a while after he graduated, but time and circumstances beyond our control eventually brought that to an end, so after all of these years it was very nice to hear from him.

He starts, "For as long as I have been reading your excellent reports to the Class of '36 I have been intending to write to you."What a nice compliment! "Miriam and I feel happy we are not in a nursing home--so far.We are still able to get up every day and move around, though frequently without much vigor.We still walk every day as we have been doing for over 30 years. I can still make one or two miles,Miriam somewhat less.When our four children all finished school we eventually gave up the city streets of Maplewood, NJ, opting for the country. I wanted to be near the water, so we landed on three acres with a 100-year-old house near the Chincoteaque Bay of Maryland. Upgrading the house goes on forever, but we now have excellent help. About 15 years ago one son in Colorado decided he liked this area and built a house adjacent to ours. Another son decided to buy a farm six miles from us. Our daughter lives in Silver Spring,MD, and the other son in Rocky Mount, VA, but we are fortunate to have two close at hand. They are painting the house right now.

"Several years ago, Dan Macbeth '37 hosted a weekend for six members of Seal & Serpent '37 at his summer place on Lake Owasco.We had a great time and it was particularly unusual in that all six of us had our original wives of over 50 years. Now, Dan and I are the only ones left--we miss old friends.

"Over the past 20 years I have had three sailboats--obviously a favorite pastime. Unfortunately, practically no one else around here feels the same, so now I have little company or competition. Currently I am reduced to my original 11-ft. dink, which suits me OK when the weather is reasonable."Well, all I can say is that my hat is off to anyone our age who can still walk two miles a day and scramble around in an 11-ft. sailboat. One of the benefits of this job is that it generates news from old friends.

Sadly, Elizabeth Fowler '65 sends news that her father Francis R. Fowler passed away in August 2005 after a short illness. Frank worked for General Electric designing military navigation and electronic systems from 1936 until his retirement in 1985. He was an active leader and choir member in the local churches of Burnt Hills, NY, Ballston Spa, NY, and Wayne, PA. Always finding pleasure in fixing things, one of his chief activities in retirement was helping the Wayne Methodist Church with some of their maintenance.He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Julia, children Lucy, Elizabeth '65, and Charles '73, two grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter. Charles has established the Francis R. Fowler '36 Scholarship in the College of Engineering.

The only other comment that I would like to make is not news, since all of us have received an interesting letter from Harry Bovay about Cornell's and the many Cornellians' activities in support of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Once again, Harry is working on behalf of Cornell and of our class as 70th Reunion Campaign Chair-- and whether or not we are able to get to our reunion, I hope that those of us who can, will respond to Harry's request. -- Bill Hoyt, 8090 Oakmont Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95409; e-mail, subilhoyt@sbcglobal.net.

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38 | Ann Rosenberg Rosenberg of Sleepy Hollow, NY, sent a short note with her class dues payment that she was moving to Kendal on Hudson. George and Libby Schempp wrote from Florida: "We are well and happy.We have lived at the Crane Creek senior apartments for four years in Melbourne, FL, and enjoy living here. George was president of the residents association during 2002-03, and is now the acting chaplain. The association meets each month to solve problems and plan parties and entertainment.We have a birthday and anniversary party on the third Saturday of the month, with a dish-to-pass supper, a sing-along, and gifts for the residents."

After moving to Crane Creek, Libby asked George to plant a flower garden, which she could see from the apartment windows. "We found that hibiscus and azalea were best for our shady area.We now have six azaleas and eight hibiscus in bloom, and Libby is enjoying the flowers.We had a phone call from Marion Howe keeping us up to date on 1938 people in Ithaca and elsewhere. I see in the alumni magazine that Jack Stewart is planning on our 70th and 75th reunions. I hope you make both of them, Jack!"

George Hobby, who graduated from Cornell with degrees in both chemistry and chemical engineering, sent a copy of a report he wrote long ago about an important chemical plant that he and his associates designed to produce quantities of ethylamines needed for the manufacture of synthetic rubber tires. It is clear from the article that, WWII progressing in earnest, these tires were needed fast for use on Army Jeeps, military planes, and military cars. He was a second lieutenant from ROTC training and expected to go to war, but received a letter that he was officially excused from military service in order to design this needed chemical plant. George still has the 20-foot-long flowsheet that he signed off on in November 1942. The reactor equipment, including distillation columns and raw materials, was installed in Riverview, MI, and as of 2003, the plant was still in operation day and night. In the early days, he worked any and all shifts as needed to work out the bugs. "I often slept a little on a couch in the ladies' bathroom lounge. Each morning I would meet the vice president as I came from the laboratory after picking up the results of the latest sample that was analyzed to determine if we had attained the necessary purity. The morning I was able to show him the prized analysis of purity was remembered for a long time."

On a personal note, George adds that, during this whole process, he met and married a lovely woman named Eileen. "She had a cute young girl named Marlene from a previous marriage, so I also gained a family upon marriage. I have traveled a lot. Before Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic, I went by boat to France and then to Holland, England, and Germany.When Eileen became ill with emphysema, we spent a little time traveling--wherever she wished to go in the US, and across the Atlantic to visit several countries, too. After her death, I continued to make occasional visits to Marlene, and we spoke frequently on the phone. On one trip, I met her friend Grace, a widow with two children, and we married shortly after. Time marches on, and I feel good. Grace is a great cook, which helps a lot. I drive the car, so we get to the places we wish to go to."

Anyone interested in reading George's full article, "Engineering a Key Ingredient of Automobile Tires," can contact the magazine at the address below. Thank you, George, and thank you all for writing. -- Class of '38, c/o Cornell Alumni Magazine, 401 East State St., Suite 301, Ithaca, NY 14850; e-mail, cornell_magazine@cornell.edu.

39 | It's October--and a wet, windy one.We're getting lots of rain to make up for the drought last summer, and the fall colors have been delayed. All is green, no falling leaves yet.

The first two dormitories, the Alice Cook House and the Carl Becker House, are occupied and running smoothly. Located on Stewart Avenue, their inception was the brainchild of President Rawlings. They embody a whole new concept of student living for upperclassmen, including faculty residents, dining hall, library and recreation rooms, study rooms, lectures--self-contained units that hold 350 students each. Those students I have spoken to are very enthusiastic. The Redbud Woods brouhaha ended quietly with both students and faculty coming to an agreement with the university to ensure an in-depth discussion of environmental concerns before any direct action is taken. But, of course, the trees are now gone and the new parking lot has been completed as expected.

June Thorn Cobb still lives in her home in Ann Arbor, and visits her daughter in Utah, who has five married children, with 12 great-grandchildren so far. Her son lives in Lake Forest, IL, and has chosen to have dogs instead, she says. During our college days, her husband Gilbert '41 had a singing quartet that was very popular on campus. Only one, Dick Lee '41, is still around.

On July 28, Helen Frank Sheingorn suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage while swimming at the Y and died without regaining consciousness. Helen was one of my good friends.We even made junior Phi Beta Kappa together. The Washington Post described her as a "witty puzzle-solver, poet, and writer." She won that newspaper's "Style Invitational" contest in 1994 after offering this "really bad excuse for a moral lapse": "You are not guilty of DUI if you thought someone else was driving." She "worked tirelessly at Common Cause in Washington for many years for campaign finance reform and other causes." She had so many interests that kept her young--economics, golf, Dixieland jazz--and a huge appetite for laughter that infected everyone around her. One son, Dr.William L. Sheingorn, survives her, and condolences can be sent to him at 3139 Tennyson St.NW,Washington, DC 20015.

Our garden at the Plantations is flourishing. Please remember that a gift in memory of a dear friend is always a great way to remember him or her. Barbara Babcock Payne, MA '70, who looks after the '39 garden contributions, can be reached at 335 Savage Farm Dr., Ithaca NY 14850.

Our annual News and Dues mailing should have arrived sometime in the fall. I do hope you will inundate me with news to fill my very empty mailbox. A happy, healthy New Year to you all. -- Ruth Gold Goodman, 103 White Park Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850; e-mail, bg11@cornell.edu.

Dr. Eugene Gerberg, MS '41, of Gainsville, FL, writes that he is still trying to be useful at the Dept. of Entomology and Nematology at the U. of Florida and also does some consulting work. Recently he fractured the end of his femur after tripping over a phone line. He has made rapid improvement and now walks with a cane.

As my co-correspondent mentioned, our annual News and Dues mailing was sent in the fall, and your updates should get forwarded to us soon. If you haven't done so yet, please take a moment to renew your membership in the class and fill out the News Form.We look forward to hearing from you. Happy New Year! -- Phil Twitchell, 1963 Indian Valley Rd., Novato, CA 94947; e-mail, philtwitchell@comcast.net.