50 | Class Business. 1) The annual class dinner of the Class of the Century will be held at 6 p.m., Saturday, February 18, at the Union League, 140 South Broad St., Philadelphia, PA.Why Philadelphia? Our dinner has always been held in connection with the annual meeting of the Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO) because a nucleus of our class officers would be in town. In the past, CACO has met in New York; this year CACO is instead meeting in Philadelphia. There was some interest in holding this annual event, as in the past, at the Cornell Club in New York, but it was decided best to coordinate with the CACO meeting this year. The cost of dinner is $60 per person, and reservations can be made with Marion Steinmann (237 West Highland Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118; tel., (215) 242-8443; e-mail, cjoiner@ix.netcom.com). The Union League has reserved a block of rooms for our use. Call (215) 587-5570 and ask for the Cornell block.

2) President Dick Pogue represented the class at the CACO officer leadership training session on September 24 in Ithaca. He reports a couple of things: that as of September 1, we had 460 duespayers; and, over the years, while our class gifts in the reunion years (5th, 10th, etc.) have exceeded those of other classes, we have never set a record for reunion attendance.We came close at our 40th with 246 against a record of 264 held by the Class of '52. Let's shoot for the attendance record for our 60th.

Ted and Melba Schoenberg, Charlton, NY, are enjoying summer amenities at their summer home near Saratoga. They are proud of their three Cornell offspring: Jon '85, Robin '87, and Ted '89. Robin has an MBA, Jon a PhD in electrical engineering, and Ted a PhD in environmental engineering. Barbara Britton Sedwick, Knightdale, NC, still breeds, trains, and sells Hanoverian sport horses at her farm outside Raleigh and is now into antiques.With husband Lee she traveled to Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean Islands.

William Atkinson, Weston,MA, has a titanium hip that now enables him to engage in what he calls moderate outdoor exercise such as whitewater rafting and rock climbing! He had his usual three-week time in France visiting friends in Brittany and Paris. Dorothy Bauer Deering, MS '70, Buena Park, CA, now lives with her daughter, but continues to work as a dietetic consultant. "Finally made it to Ireland--gorgeous, so historic, and wonderful people." William Reynolds, LLB '54, Buffalo, NY, was honored as the 2004 Defense Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Western New York Defense Trial Lawyers.He had previously celebrated the 50th anniversary of his admission to the NYS Bar. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and formerly taught trial technique at the U. of Buffalo School of Law.

Pat Haller Harbach,Melbourne, FL, plays bass flute in the Space Coast Flute Orchestra and writes publicity releases for it and the Space Coast Ballet formed by former Kirov dancers. She toured and performed in China with the American Flute Orchestra. William Brownlee, Chevy Chase, MD, serves on the local municipal council and is a trustee of St. Anne's Episcopal School in Middletown, DE. He rows when it is warm and enjoys time at his house in England.

Louise Passerman Rosenfeld, Chappaqua, NY, was honored as Chappaqua Citizen of the Year. She is president of Interior Design-Arrangements Inc., and board member of the American Society of Interior Designers, New York Metro Division.Her current "work projects" include renovating the community center's Senior Club and helping restore FDR's Top Cottage at Hyde Park. Fred Jamison recently retired and moved from Euclid, OH, to Round Rock, TX, so that his wife, in declining health, can be near family members. Eugene Jacobs,Whispering Pines, NC, plays bridge, golfs, travels, and builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. He attended the dedication of the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC, with 15 of the 10,500 original members of his military division.

Donald Snyder, JD '52, Pittsford, NY, and wife Dorothy celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a two-week Mediterranean cruise. They winter in Fort Pierce, FL. Three of their four children are Cornell graduates: Don Jr. '79, Anne '81, and Richard '86. Joseph Parr, Granite Bay, CA, reports that his weekend fun job is operating a 60-acre recreational fish farm in Northern California. He was an Air Force brigadier general and in retirement was thrilled to be able to fly an F-16 at a nearby air base. The eyes of two Florida hurricanes passed over the home of Dan Chabot, Palm City, FL. He reports that his house came through with only minor damage, but the shrubbery was shredded. Sand piled to the ceilings in neighboring condos. Jean Michelini Farley, Sarasota, FL, is still employed on flextime with an investment firm, assisting with marketing and seminars and doing quarterly reports and customer updates. She travels and home-hosts with Friendship Force Int'l and enjoys bridge and the activities of her children and grandchildren.

Charles Bauerlein, Spring House, PA, is active with religious, peace, and justice organizations, especially Veterans for Peace. He works three months in the spring and three in the fall for a swimming pool design firm. The other six months, he is on the road with wife Agnes, traveling in a van/RV for purposes of visiting their 11 children scattered about the US, and "enjoying the wonderment and beauty of our natural environment." Philip Steinman, Staten Island, NY, is the last living officer of his WWII B-17 flight crew; only his tail gunner and radio operator survive with him. He traveled to Belgium and the Netherlands in a failed attempt to find his plane that was shot down in 1945 over the Zuider Zee. Last year he taught outdoor watercolor painting to a class of retired teachers. He bought a computer and, after climbing the steep learning curve, now has his best paintings computer imaged.

Bob Entenman, Hudson, OH, enjoyed an intercoastal cruise on the Nantucket Clipper from Jacksonville, FL, to Charleston, SC, and did a bareboat sailing cruise to Tortola, BVI. He stays active in local community activities and tutors at the Youth Development Center. Charles Cole, PhD '57,Worthington, OH, is retired from Ohio State U. where he was professor of natural resources. He is faculty adviser to the OSU chapter of Theta Xi and vice president of the Navy League. He is active in the Dublin Rotary Club and was named Rotarian of the Year.

And finally, how about this nice note from Caroline Madden '93? "I attended the Class of the Century's 55th Reunion last June with my father, William X.Madden. I just wanted to thank the Class of '50 for your hospitality. I felt welcomed by you all and enjoyed your stories of how Cornell and the world were during your tenure at our alma mater. You truly are the ‘Class of the Century' and it was a privilege to meet you all. See you in five years for your 60th!" -- Paul H. Joslin, 6080 Terrace Dr., Johnston, IA 50131-1560; tel., (515) 278-0960; e-mail, phj4@cornell.edu; Marion Steinmann, 237 West Highland Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118; tel., (215) 242-8443; e-mail, cjoiner@ix.netcom.com.

51 | Our late classmate Harry Petschek, PhD '55, was born in Prague in 1930 and came to the US with his family in 1938 to escape the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. An Engineering Physics major at Cornell, he was involved in the physics of reentry from space at Avco, devising successful reentry heat shields for NASA through the Apollo moon missions.He was also involved with magnetohydrodynamics power generation, the study of laboratory and space plasma physics and how magnetic energy could be transformed to kinetic energy as it is on the sun.While vice president and later president of Avco, Harry collaborated with four others in creating the intra-aorta balloon, a device for treating heart failure that has been used by millions of patients around the world and remains in common use today. His contributions to the civil rights movement are documented in the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Common Ground, which describes Harry's masterminding of the first racial discrimination test case in Lexington, MA. After leaving Avco,Harry founded two companies, OmniFlow and Autogen, which were both eventually acquired. At Omni- Flow he led the development of a more versatile hospital bedside infusion pump, widely used in hospitals today. At Autogen, he developed an automated device for extracting DNA from biological samples. In the mid-1990s, Harry joined Boston U.'s Center for Space Physics (CSP) as a research fellow, where he published scientific papers on the emerging field of space weather, nano-satellite mission designs, and the theory of magnetic reconnection. During his last years Harry felt lucky to be able to spend more time with his wife Mary in Lexington, MA, and he limited his academic work to helping his grandchildren with their math homework.

Jack Howell, Tonawanda, NY, sent a copy of an article in September's Discover that included an interview with Frank Drake. An excerpt:"Today Drake, a director at the SETI Inst. in Mountain View, CA, is disappointed that his dreams have not materialized. The disappearance of government funding in 1993, he says, slowed progress, but he still holds out hope for the future. ‘The idea that there is life to be found, including intelligent life, has been greatly supported since 1983 with the detection of other planetary systems, and clear evidence that there were once bodies of liquid on Mars,' he says. Any idea how long it will take? No, says Drake. These days he is ‘a little gun-shy about making predictions.'"

Mary Ellen Turnbull Longley, Paoli, PA, thrives on the frenzied activity of the annual family get-together at her son's Truro, MA, beach house. All the children--eight grandsons and one granddaughter--show up. Shirley "Sherry" Flanders, Phoenix, AZ, is recovering her energy after surgery and radiation and offers her best wishes to all. Sam Serata, Bridgeton, NJ, is still practicing law, "although not as strenuously as before."He's secretary of the Cumberland County Bar Association and received an award in 2004 for professionalism in practicing law from the New York State Bar Association. He still travels and takes pictures. Art Bingham,West Tisbury, MA, is still enjoying the good life salt-water fly-fishing on Martha's Vineyard. He says, "We should hold a mini-class reunion/meeting in the fall here on the Vineyard."

Don and Elizabeth Jones Johnson,Macon, GA, are both well at 81 and 76 years. They recently traveled on a South China Sea cruise, starting in Hong Kong and flying home from Singapore. They are great-grandparents to Nicholas Florto Stagliano, born October 26, 2004. Elizabeth keeps in touch with Dorothy "Dot" Glover Grimball in Greenville, SC. Steve Rounds, Princeton Junction, NJ, continues to compete in indoor rowing races on ergometers (a strength and endurance machine for oarsmen and oarswomen). His world record (age 70-74 years) is still up for grabs, as is a more recent one (75-79 years).

Richard, PhD '53, and Carol Burns Hayes, Broomfield, CO, moved from Scottsdale, AZ, in December 2004. Carol has had multiple sclerosis since the 1980s. She has been using a walker to get around for several years. The past few months she has been in a hospital and now the Broomfield Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center. Their two daughters live nearby, and that's why they moved. Two sons live in Oklahoma and West Virginia. Charles H. and Judith Moore and 27 members of their family--including nine children and 12 grandchildren--celebrated his 75th birthday last August at their Washington, DC, home. He and Judith traveled to Antarctica (CAU), China/Cambodia (Smithsonian Board trip), and France in 2004. Charles is a member of the Smithsonian Institution National Board, Commissioner of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,member of the President's Council for Physical Fitness & Sports, and a member of the Board of the National Art Museum of Sport.

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 | The responses to our annual News and Dues mailing had not arrived as I wrote this column, so there's no new news. As I need news, I'm at the somewhat fun part of this job where I hunt for it. Phoning people you haven't seen in 50 years is iffy. The responses range anywhere from "Well, hello!" to "Who?"

Despite that cheery first paragraph, it is now September 13 and the shadow of Katrina will be with us for a long time. Therefore, the first phone call was to Lynn Heidelberger MacEwen, with whom Joan Nesmith Tillotson, MD '56, and I spent a wonderful weekend in New Orleans some years ago. Lynn's husband Dean, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, was then at LSU and Children's Hospital. Thanks to Lynn, along with Carol Lovejoy McNeal (who with husband Bill '51 was a long-term resident of New Orleans), we did, saw, and ate everything there that was famous--and fun.

As it turned out, after days of trying to reach her, Lynn had just spoken to Carol, who was in a Houston hotel, having made it out of New Orleans by train. The McNeals' newly redone house in Algiers was OK. Their son Rob, a lawyer, was in Mississippi, and his wife and family were with relatives in North Carolina. Their son Steve's family had remained in Mandeville, where they expected their daughters' school would open in a few weeks. Lynn reports that Carol, who has built a fine career with weddings and fabric restoration, was simply glad that her family was accounted for and well. The McEwens were to leave shortly on a road trip to Nova Scotia.

Lynn sent an e-mail postscript: "I forgot to tell you we are in a little travel group with Jim '51 and Pat Gunderson Stocker '53 and Ken and Joanne Huntington Tunnell '51. This year we did the paddlewheeler on the Columbia River to see places connected with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.We had a great time and enjoyed the scenery, food, and interesting side trips. Two years ago we did the Mississippi Queen from Memphis to New Orleans. It was such fun, we did the Columbia River.We hope to do a boat trip in 2007 that will do Canadian cities along the St. Lawrence and Saguenay."

As class correspondent, you get to thinking of people you knew and liked. At our last reunion, Harriet Scannell Morgan mentioned that she had seen O. Frank Richter, and he'd asked about me. I thought, call him.We had worked together on Willard Straight committees and boards. Otto, after a 36-year career with Procter and Gamble, lives in Annapolis, MD, in a retirement community where he is active on boards and committees, and with the Dining Club. Said club consists of 500 people.When it ran out of food last month, Otto learned how to keep old people young: make them mad.He works out regularly and has continued his 66-year run of attending Redskins games. His wife of 52 years, who had been his childhood sweetheart and also a Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, died last year. "It's hard," he said. Otto was able to tell me about my former Straight co-chairman JimWade '53, who now lives in North Augusta, SC, after a career with DuPont in atomic energy, and he filled me in on Jim Diefenderfer, Emmaus, PA. Jim has been a very successful family court judge, filling the same seat as his father. Jim Strub, a retired Air Force officer, lives in Colorado. Otto was about to take off on a European trip that covers much of the same territory we plan to visit in a couple of weeks.

I cannot close without mentioning again that on Friday, October 14, Richard C. B. "Rik" Clark and Charles '51 and CarolWinter Mund were to be among the seven people awarded the 2005 Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award. I seem to have reported it in the spring as a 2004 award, but it is 2005. Congratulations, you three. And, I absolutely cannot close without thanking Lynn Heidelberger MacEwen and O. Frank Richter for effectively writing my column for me.

Finally, finally, you should have this in time to arrange to get to Philadelphia for the Cornell '52 class meeting on Saturday, February 18, 2006. The meeting is part of the annual CACO (Cornell Association of Class Officers) Mid-Winter Meeting gathering, February 17 and 18. In the past we've joined adjacent classes for a Saturday night dinner. These are fun gatherings, so if you are, or can be, in the neighborhood, try to attend. -- Joan Boffa Gaul, 7 Colonial Pl., Pittsburgh, PA 15232; e-mail, jgcomm@aol.com.

53 | Homecoming 2005:We met at the Statler on campus to hail Elliott Cattarulla, the eighth member of the class to receive the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award. That keeps '53 first of all classes in that category. Someone was saying at the reception that they'd heard a light plane had hit a house and landed upside-down in Lansing the week before and hoped it wasn't too near Bill, JD '59, and Nancy Fitzgerald Bellamy. "Across the street," was the answer. It was scary all right, but there were no severe injuries. Cattarulla told the diners he had been lucky for a) being talked into going to Cornell; b) studying under another Rhodes, F. Hoffman "Dusty" Rhodes, in Chem E; and c) finding wife Karin (Hartell) '55. Kay's sister, Mari Hartell Quint, was among the '53 persons present.

The football team eased past Georgetown, 57-7, on a mostly perfect fall day (except for a two-minute mini-typhoon at halftime).We dined graciously at the Ithaca Country Club with friends from other Fifties classes.Winner of the Came the Farthest to Be Here award was H. DeForest "Cork" Hardinge, MBA '54 (Mercer Island,WA), on a reasonably high-tech walker.Winner of the Good Guy award is Dick Thaler, LLB '56, who provided wheels around Ithaca for Cork. The dinner was magnifique, and so was Tom Foulkes '52 at the ivories. There was singing, as in the good old days on the Hill. Once again, we honor thee, Paul Blanchard '52, for a grand blast and repast.

BillWhelan, Dick Cliggott, Todd Kolb, Jack McCarthy, Vinnie Giarrusso, and Bob Dilatush represented our unbeaten fall of '49 Big Red freshman gridiron guys, relishing one more time the mashing of Michigan and all those other golden days of yesteryear, at the nearly annual reunion of the 1948-52 teams. They saw the season opener, a highly satisfactory 24-7 bopping of Bucknell.

Bill Marsh was out of touch with son Andrew, a New Orleans emergency room MD, for ten days during the floods. Andrew worked 120 straight hours during the calamity, treating, among other victims, some who had been bitten by snakes while in the water. Someone asked '53 what's keeping you busy these days. "Following world events," replied Erwin Geiger (Palm Harbor, FL), formerly an international consultant in economic reforms in places like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Yugoslavia. A visit to wife Marcia's kin in Australia led to wine-tastings. He speaks well of activities to help keep septuagenarians in shape: walking, tennis, lap swimming, and biking.

Marcia Miller Marsh (Rochester, NY) observes that she's "been married just five years and between us we have seven children and 22 grandchildren." Three of her nine grandlings are at Cornell. Church is "the highlight our lives," says Marcia, who enjoys concerts by New Horizons Band. Husband Dick is a member. It often performs for audiences of 200 or more "all over 55 years old," she reports.

Robert Stafford, MD '57 (Colorado Springs, CO) is one out of many of us who remains in medical practice. Sam Cassell (Wyckoff, NJ) is a volunteer teacher at the U. of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, NJ. He gives a course on "getting a history from a patient, examining her or him and putting it together" and has been creating a free medical clinic for the uninsured of Bergen County. He's into Judaic studies, bridge, sailing, and a celestial navigation course. Lester Simon (Locust, NJ) "finally retired after 44 years as a small-town family practitioner. I am enjoying myself immensely, working outdoors at home and in a cellar workshop, reading, and traveling" (skiing in Utah and "a three-week long meandering and lazy 4,000-mile road trip of the Canadian Maritime Provinces accompanied by two young and enthusiastic Labradors").

Elliott Stone (Boston, MA) is "happy as a clam in my retirement," featuring rewarding hours at Lifetime Learning in Cambridge, MA, says "I am obsessed with the theory that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, was the true author of the Shakespeare canon." Elliott is a trustee of the Shakespeare Oxford Society. Ingvar Tornberg (Longboat Key, FL) is busy "sitting, looking at the beach (not actually on the beach), reading, finally getting comfortable with retirement, and living for now," saith Swede.

Nancy Walldorff Harvey (Norfolk, VA) has been literacy tutor to a middle-aged inner city woman, teaching her verbal comprehension and increasing her vocabulary. Judith Ginsberg Harrington (Rochester, NY) put five years into cataloging historic photos by Albert B. Stone, a Rochester newspaper photog from 1903-34. There are 14,000 "Rochester Images" on the web (www.rochester.lib.ny.us/rochimag). Joan Werbel Eisenberg (NYC), a non-profit event management specialist, has devoted two decades to developing memorable occasions for groups of 200 to 2,500.

Summer in Ithaca is gorges, swimming and/or sailing those waves of blue, and, for many, summer school. Classmates drawn back to Mater for Cornell's Adult University (CAU) were offered a wide range of scholarly pursuits. BernieWest, JD '55, sampled the waters in a course on naval power's role in history.World girdler Bob Ashton came back to study investment alternatives in a week given to Wall Street-on-Cayuga. Sue Halldorson Fuller essayed a writing workshop. And Diane Danziger Singleton became more familiar with Joseph Conrad.

Here's hoping many will mush to Philadelphia for Jane Little Hardy's Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO) Mid-Winter Meeting and associated festivities, Feb. 17 and 18. -- Jim Hanchett, 300 1st Ave., Apt. 8B, New York, NY 10009; e-mail, jch46@cornell.edu.

54 | Jason Pearl, JD '56, stepped out of his lawyering role to write a charming children's book entitled Charlie--The Sailboat that beat the latest Harry Potter to the bookshelves by three days last July. Sales, however, have not surpassed that of the Boy Wizard even with the lead time. Jason's granddaughter Alyssa, for whom Jason made up the story, illustrated this little gem. It is published by Vantage Press and would make a delightful gift for small sailors and landlubbers alike.

I wonder how many of us who attended any of the past five presidential inaugural balls, dinners, and receptions knew we were looking at floral decorations designed and arranged by one of our classmates? During the last inauguration the Cosentinos, Carmen and Anne Marie, arranged flowers at nine balls and two dinners, including the Pension Building. Carmen Cosentino was featured in the CALS publication this past summer, which noted his many awards, including his 1998 election to the Floricultural Hall of Fame, of which he is proudest.

AnneWendt Nagy says, "I'm quite privileged to be able to spend my time doing what I most enjoy--day-trading stock index futures, gardening, writing, and reading. Four full-time jobs, but that's part of the fun." Bruce Boselli, MD '57, responded immediately to my e-mail request for news with the following: "My wife Shirlee (Zettle) '56 and I have been retired for 13 years. Our ‘passions' include travel, especially visiting children in California and Alaska. Still manage to play tennis and golf regularly.Have been found by several NPO boards, but my favorite and the one I feel most pride in association is our county Regional Arts Council.We have restored three theaters and are bringing live theater to the general public in a rural setting, as well as bringing the arts into schools throughout northeastern Pennsylvania."

Robert Morrison of Stamford, CT, is still running his courier business and is also developing voiceovers for radio and television. He continues to teach fly-fishing at the Rockefeller Estate at Pocantico Hill, is an active member of the board of directors of the Croton Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and is chairman of the Fairfield County Group of the Sierra Club. Bob said Peter B.Miller of Nedrow, NY, is recovering nicely from a stroke that prevented his joining us at our 50th. Interesting e-mail from Phyllis Hubbard Jore, who is still teaching math part-time at the community college level. The math is that which should have been taught at lower levels, but such is the condition of many of our educational systems today. Phyl went into teaching years ago, as it meshed with her sons' school year. She found she enjoyed the theatre, so has continued on even if she has officially retired from the field.

Clancy and Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy '55 moved north in November to Ridgefield, CT, having been in New Canaan for several years. There are some of us who just like winter and refuse to head south. Barbara and Morty Rochman celebrated a couple of milestones in the past year or so. First they moved from traffic-snarled Long Island to Cedar Grove, NJ. Then they celebrated their 50th anniversary with guests coming from near and far to toast the happy couple. Along with their offspring and grands, there were several classmates in attendance. In Morty's own words:

"David Narins neglected birding for a day and flew in from Florida. Alcibiades Musso and Alicia came in from Valencia, Venezuela.Maxine and Paul Nemiroff came in from Scottsdale to cool off. Paul has taken up his oil painting and is selling to a national market. Robert and Harriet Friedman arrived from Garrett Park,MD, where Bob (as previously reported) is still doing research at NIH and in India. Sam Goodman, having retired from a New York career in video news, along with his wife Jane, now lives in Rockville, MD. Sam in his spare time is a grossly underpaid docent on Washington, DC, tour buses. Lennie and Leslie Zucker drove over from Springfield, NJ, to share in the festivities. Lennie's law firm benefits from his presence about 50 percent of the week. Ruth and Bernie Meyers, MNS '53, live in Niskayuna. Although retired, Bernie is taking assignments around the country to replace doctors on leave. Ann and Stan Seeb '55, in from Boca Raton, gave up bridge for a few days."

The nation's panda cub did indeed receive a name on his 100th day to great fanfare at the National Zoo. It is Tai Shan, Chinese for Peaceful Mountain.With his growth rate, we do believe the name will fit splendidly. If any of you, with or without grands, are in town and would enjoy meeting our handsome fellow, it would be my pleasure to tour you through the zoo. January and February are delightful months to be there--no crowds.

Keep the e-mails coming. It is a great manner in which to communicate. -- 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 | In keeping with our designation of "Super Class," 1955 set amazing reunion records both in attendance and giving. According to Ned Arps, MBA '57, Cornell Fund chairman for our class, the goal for Tower Club gifts was 75, and we surpassed that. The goal for total dollars was $35,500,000--and we went two million dollars over that goal, setting a new record for any Cornell class at any reunion! Thanks again to the hardworking members of the Major Gifts committee and participation committee.We also want to recognize our newly elected class officers and members of the class council, who have volunteered to guide our class through the next five years. Check out our class website, http://classof55.alumni.cornell.edu, for everyone's names.

Washington, DC, was the site for a mini-Cornell reunion last August. Lorrie Pietryka Plamondon and her husband Peter '54 were surprised with a combination 50th anniversary/wedding vow renewal party, hosted by their three children and 13 grandchildren. All eight members of their wedding party showed up! Bridesmaids from Cornell days were Marty Bliss Safford, Marcia Kelley Wills, and Jan Kahn Marcus; groomsmen were Bob Malatesta, Al Eckhardt '54,MBA '55, and Frank Quinn '54. Spouses came, too, including our own Jane Rippe Eckhardt. The Plamondons continued their celebration with a trip to England.

Pre-Katrina, Dick Lewis wrote that he and wife Edyth were "enjoying the jazz and food, and wandering the bayous in and around New Orleans," since going there from their home at Lake Tahoe. Five weeks of consulting for NASA/Lockheed-Martin "stretched into a new discovery of this exciting, beautiful area,"Dick explained. Here's hoping that recovery and rebuilding will progress swiftly and smoothly. Good news from Don Huene. Don was a Naval flight surgeon from 1961 to 1963, and stays active in Navy affairs. He marked his 20-year survival date (colon cancer) and continues to do orthopedic surgery. Don and Annette (Spittal) '56 have two sons who are also board certified orthopedic surgeons.What's that they say about the apple not falling far from the tree?

Similarly, Deborah Golub Leibowitz's daughter Paula is active professionally in early childhood education, as was her mom. Debbie is participating in interfaith meetings between her synagogue and the neighboring Presbyterian church, and gives thanks that she's happy, healthy, and contentedly single. Caryl (Salomon) and George Bernstein have moved the operations of the Bernstein Law Firm to their home in Bethesda, MD, with a virtual office in nearby Washington, DC. Brian Dillon is writing and teaching fiction, getting published in literary magazines, "though not yet in Cornell's Epoch." Brian also coaches homeless women in work skills, and has become active in the Democratic Party. Tops on his wish list? "To be able to play the piano, speak Italian, have more sense of rhythm, and tap dance"--all worthy goals. Let us know how it's going!

After 42 years at the National Institutes of Health, Mike Mage has become "Scientist Emeritus," and continues to do research in basic immunology.Mike was a chimesmaster during our undergrad years, and is proud to report that he's just learned to play the "Jennie McGraw Rag" on the banjo. Carroll "Duke" Dubuc moved his office to Fairfax,VA, and joined Attorneys Arbitration Services Inc., which serves the Virginia court system. Duke has been arbitrating 9/11 victims' cases for the Dept. of Justice, and adds the good news that his wife Mary Jane is selling a lot of real estate--"to keep me in the manner to which I've become accustomed."He also enjoyed talking to former fraternity brothers Al Ehringer, Pete Eschweiler, MRP '57, Axel Hochkoeppler, Dan Phelan, Dave Sheffield, MRP '61, Pete Bowell, and CharlieWolf about plans to celebrate the recent renovation of Greystone, their Sigma Chi home.

Joe Silverman shares the same sentiment: "It was such a joy to call classmates about reunion.Why did I wait 50 years to talk with Roger Rothballer, MBA '59, Baron Bernard, Paul Romano, MD '59, and the others?" It was good to hear from Rishon Stember, who's enjoying a full-time private allergy practice in Norwalk, CT. Rishon's two older children have followed their father into the medical profession, and his youngest son is completing a doctoral program in physical chemistry at Cornell. Rishon stays in touch with Al Greisman, Greg Siskind, and Harvey Gordon, who were classmates both at Cornell and at NYU med school.

Peter Hoss didn't turn up at reunion, but he did write a nice note explaining that he has "few contacts with anyone in our class," having attended Cornell for only two years before returning to California. Still, he continued, "out of nostalgia, I thought it would be appropriate to pay class dues." Thank you for that, Peter! Although Robert Jones says he spends "more time on my boat than on land," he still finds time to practice architecture, "but only for clients I like, and there are few of those!"Marlene Medjuck Green retired in 1997 after 29 years in the interior design business. She was given "the grand tour of the North Shore" by Flossie Schehr Grinell when visiting Chicago last year, and she and Gerald see Bob '51, MBA '53, and Sandy Chachkes Temkin occasionally. The Temkins also keep up with Stan '51 and Doris Rein Rosen, and Phil '52 and Doris Gottleib Sherman, and enjoy their summers at Canandaigua Lake and winter months at Hilton Head, SC. Sandy volunteers at an inner city school and Reach for Recovery, and Bob is a Medicare counselor at Rochester General Hospital.

Carol Rittershausen Byron got together for lunch with Pat Wells Lunneborg and LauraWeese Kennedy to talk about reunion. Ritt was shocked to learn the next day that Pat's husband Cliff had died suddenly.We send our deepest condolences to Pat and the Lunneborg family.We were also saddened to receive a notice from RitaMichaels Epstein's husband Herbert '52, informing us of her death in February '05. Too many, dearly loved, and gone too soon. I sincerely hope you and yours are well and happy. -- Nancy Savage Petrie, nancypetrie@juno.com. Class website, http://classof55.alumni.cornell.edu.

56 | I am writing this column after being treated to a great meal at Pietro's by my friend and our class president Ernie Stern. Since he paid, I am compelled to ask ALL of you to come to our reunion, June 8-11. It will be great fun and we can't wait to see your handsome and pretty faces.We are low-keying the donations to Cornell, but if you insist on giving, we and Cornell would be appreciative.

Steven Alexander and his wife Roselle just returned from a urologist conference in Vienna, where Steve read a paper. He has practiced in New Jersey for over 30 years and still lives in Wayne. Last June, the Alexanders went to Washington, DC, where they performed at the Capitol before members of Congress on behalf of the VA-National Medical Musical Group, of which they are members. Steve performed a mini-concert, while Roselle sang as part of the 70-person chorus. For those of us who might not remember, Steve is a talented pianist who specializes in jazz.

BaxterWebb leaves his home in Palm Beach, FL, when it gets hot and travels all over the place. Just this past year he went to NYC and then, via the QM2, sailed to England and flew to Paris. The rest of the time was split between Georgia, North Carolina, the Berkshires, New York State (including Cornell), Canada, and Niagara Falls. There is more, but I give up! Susan Sylvester Teunis of Arlington, VA, has retired, but maintains a 450-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which she rents for family reunions. Susan is also involved with hospice and the Arlington Free Clinic.

Alan Gast is retired from Procter and Gamble but still lives in Cincinnati. Last year he had a reunion with high school and Cornell classmates Marlene Jensen Eldridge, Tom Dawson, and Greg Hill. They spent the winter months at Sanibel Island, where Alan loves birding. Jacqueline Barnett Sandler, Garden City, NY, is retired. She goes to the New York Philharmonic and the Noel Coward Society, as well as other concerts and some theater. The Cornell Club of New York is one of Jacqueline's other favorites.

Speaking of reunion, Henry H.Hubbard III, Tryon, NC, and his wife Marianne (Smith) '59 will be at reunion. A very nice note from Vivian Goodrich Schmidt, MS '59, from Bartlesville, OK, tells us that her family is doing well with their travels, gardening, being with the grandkids, and working for the Democratic party. Vivian is a member of the Board of Elections and other organizations in her home county. She and husband Bill '55, MS '59, take many cruises and are visiting their son and his family in Singapore. Bonnie Smith Whyte has retired from the US Dept. of Agriculture to her home in Reston,VA. This past year she traveled to Antarctica, Argentina, Bermuda, and France! She is a member of many organizations, too numerous to mention.

Martha Bentel Lovell of Roseville, CA, is retired after 28 years of teaching. She is a volunteer at Kaiser Hospital's emergency room. She is happy because all of her children live in the area. Bob Seraphin has retired three times, but keeps going. He is involved with Capitol Hill, helping clients as a consultant on their congressional activities. Bob and Barbara, his wife of 45 years, took all of the family to Bermuda on a cruise. Paula Johnson Camp drove down from her home in Downey, CA, to visit with Anne Buttrick Irwin and Virginia "Gina" Dudley Mortoccia '55, BS Nurs '56, and her husband. She also enjoyed seeing Norma Leidenberg MacLellan, BS Nurs '56, in Henderson, NC.

Best regards to EdwinWolf, who has written from his home in Phoenix, AZ, that he is involved with the Phoenix Symphony as chair of their marketing committee and that he wants to come to reunion if his body permits.We wish him well--I personally miss his great company. Henry Lavarnway, MBA '57, of San Antonio, TX, just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary at the family summer home in Clinton, NY. Norman Some has retired, but still puts in time helping companies with equity and debt financing. His wife Barbara has also retired as a college librarian. They live in Cherry Hill, NJ. Ruth Heit is working with students of all ages who have dyslexia and other language/organizing difficulties. She lives in NYC and travels a lot.

Please remember to come to reunion! If you want to help, contact me and I will send your name on. Stay well! -- Stephen Kittenplan, 1165 Park Ave., New York, NY 10128; e-mail, catplan@aol.com.

57 | Some of you may have friends or relatives who had to deal with all the hurricanes that came through the South last year. Dennis put Burt '55 and Adele Petrillo Smart out of their Destin, FL, home. A huge sinkhole appeared at the front door, and decks with stairs that had been replaced after Ivan in '04 were washed away. While Katrina missed their Lafayette, LA, home, Rita hit them hard--no power for three days. Their house was spared a huge tree that fell; it hit the neighbor's house instead. But 2005 had its bright moments for the Smarts as they welcomed their sixth grandchild last June.

With one of their twin sons living in Australia and the other in Germany, Chuck and JeanneWaters Townsend spend time traveling, which they always enjoy. In April they had a marvelous birding trip to Bhutan before embarking on a three-week trip to Europe in June. Last September friends and family celebrated Jeanne's 70th at the Townsends' home in Woodstock, with her Cornell roommate Alice Brunner in attendance. In October Chuck and Jeanne were off to Churchill,Manitoba, to see the polar bears.

Ann Stevens's music career is keeping her busier than ever. She is the writer/musical director/pianist for a cabaret show she created featuring the best of Broadway and presented at the Northport (NY) Community Theater. In addition she is part of a trio that performs in libraries, cultural centers, and concert halls throughout Long Island, with bookings into '06. Ann's three children are working not far away--in Poquott, Stony Brook, and Manhattan. Ann took a first-time trip to Italy at the end of September with Cornell alumni.

An e-mail from Olga Duntuch Krell chronicles her activities as a magazine publisher in Brazil. Olga recently launched another one and has been busy selling ads and the magazine's concept. She is traveling as well, most recently to the Dominican Republic and Hong Kong. David '54, MBA '55, and Carol Cobb Diver have been enjoying warmer winters and the active community at the Landings on Skidaway Island in Georgia. Carol is becoming quite involved with the "art of the needle." In addition to doing Japanese embroidery and needlepoint, she has traveled to China to study double-sided embroidery and the techniques of the Miao Chinese people. Carol recently returned from her third trip to China, where she traveled the Silk Road in western China. -- Judith Reusswig, 19 Seburn Dr., Bluffton, SC 29909; e-mail, JCReuss@aol.com.

Like many of us, BobWatts enjoyed a string of family celebrations in conjunction with his 70th birthday. It started in Tucson in March, visiting with some favorite first cousins, proceeded to Antwerp, Belgium, in April for his granddaughter's First Communion, on to Martha's Vineyard in July, where Linda organized a week in a rented house with all the children, spouses, and grandchildren (the house was near what the locals call the "Kennedy car wash"), then to New Hampshire's White Mountains in August for a sentimental hike with two sons, a grandson, and an array of chums from the Cornell years' summers when Bob worked in those mountains.More hiking in September preceded a two-week trip to New Zealand in October. (Pardon me for a minute while I take a quick nap.)

Bob also enjoyed visits with Judy Madigan Burgess, Joe '56, MBA '58, and Sue Derosay Henninger, Phil McIndoo, and Ed and Adelaide Russell Vant (on the way to Ed's 40th Reunion at Harvard Business School).When Bob was commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in San Diego, Phil Monroe was commanding officer of the adjacent Naval Aviation Depot.When Phil retired, he moved to Coronado, CA, served five years on the local planning commission, and is currently in his second term on the City Council, "having a ball."

Paul Tregurtha reports that his 70th birthday was marked by a Labor Day Weekend visit by all four children (all Cornellians), spouses (two Cornellians), and 14 grandchildren. Paul is currently chairman/CEO of Moran Transportation Co. and vice chairman of Interlake Steamship Co. If you are a fraternity brother of Paul, expect a call encouraging you to attend our 50th (my bet is that it won't take a lot of arm-twisting). Brad Howes attended the 50th wedding anniversary of his brother Ray '55, M Ed '58, last summer in Hamilton, NY. Ray's wife Mary (Wheeler) '56 attended both Cornell and Colgate. Bob and Nancy Stewart Bond were also there. Brad and wife Jackie recently hosted a Phi Psi reunion in Greensboro, NC, and mentioned that Clayt Chapman (Hilton Head) and Ed Burdick (Wilmington, NC) didn't have far to travel to get there.

The CAU program seems to get stronger each year. Paul Rockman studied Natural History last summer, and Tony, MBA '58, and Gail Lautzenheiser Cashen churned up the waters of Lake Cayuga in the rowing program, skulling around in eights, fours, and singles. Your correspondent enjoyed catching up with Tony and Gail, as well as Debra and Dominick Pasquale and Caroline and Tony Murray '60 at Homecoming in October. Friday evening was highlighted by swapping lies over a few adult beverages, with the stories getting more accurate as the beverages became more numerous. -- John Seiler, 221 St.Matthews Ave., Louisville, KY 40207; tel., (502) 895-1477; e-mail, suitcase2@aol.com.

58 | Cornell's Adult University on campus last summer had some '58 attendees, including Howard Abel and Ann Smith, who took the Sailing Clinic. Lawrence Severino studied Naval Power and the Flow of History with Prof. Barry Strauss; Betty Anne Steer Merritt looked into Move over Fellini: Digital Video for Everyone with Stanley J. Bowman; Ronni Strell pondered the Great American Trials of the 20th Century with Glenn Altschuler, PhD '76, and Faust Rossi; and David Tobin enjoyed the sculpture studio with portraits in clay, presented by Prof. Roberto Bertoia. These all show there's quite some breadth to the studies offered by CAU; maybe more of us will enjoy them in the future as our time becomes more available.

Russ Taft wrote last October. "Just sent in my dues via the website and thought I'd write to you directly with some recent activities. I'm celebrating my first year of retirement and am pleased with the new lifestyle. Had a wonderful three-week trip to Tuscany, Umbria, and Cinque Terre this spring. Visited friends and family in Atlanta and Tampa in June and then back to Upstate New York for a gathering at Lake Sacandaga in July. I then took a wonderful four-day cruise around the San Juan Islands as crew on a 127-ft. two-masted schooner. Gearing up for a four-weekend performance of Scrooge the Musical and also a Christmas concert with the Maui Chorale Group. Aloha." Good to know that you're having such a great time, Russ.

Al Podell sent the following at deadline last October, sensing that we were desperate for news (which, of course, we were), but this merits coverage even if we're swamped. Al writes, "I'm still practicing law, but only about two hours a day; filling in a few holes in my library (anybody got a copy of Jack London's Children of the Abyss that they don't want?), which I've agreed to donate to NYU. I'm still trying to get up to 180-190 countries (visited) before I get too weak and weary to carry a backpack. I'm up to 146, planning to add six more around the Arabian Gulf in December '05, eight in southern Africa next summer, and the five 'Stans, former Soviet Republics, in September. And, of course, I'm still looking for the perfect woman." Thanks, Al, with our best wishes that you can keep up the good life in health and safety. -- Jan Arps Jarvie, 6524 Valley Brook Dr., Dallas, TX 75254; fax, (972) 387-0160; Dick Haggard, 1207 Nash Dr., Ft.Washington, PA 19034; e-mail; rhaggard@voicenet.com.

59 | In September, Carl Leubsdorf was among 360 alums of the Cornell Daily Sun at a New York dinner marking the paper's 125th anniversary. "The dinner attracted Sun editors and staffers from 1938 to the present and was a blast," says Carl. "Carl Kowalski was the only other member of the Class of 1959 there, but a lot of my Sun colleagues from 1956-61 were present. There were so many old Sun staffers who had gone astray into the world of law I said it almost felt like a meeting of the American Bar Association. At one point after the dinner, I found myself standing next to two former Sun editors-in-chief, John Marcham '50 and J. Kirk Sale '58, and realized that, not only had I known both since our Cornell days, but I'd had both of their fathers--William M. Sale Jr. and Frederick Marcham-- as freshman teachers a half century ago!"

"We had a Cornell-style house-party weekend,"writes Barbara Hirsch Kaplan in her description of the June wedding of daughter Emily '91. Held in Santa Barbara, the occasion included a wine-tasting on Thursday, a golf tournament on Friday, a Mexican fiesta at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum on Friday evening, and the wedding on Saturday. Later in the summer Barbara and her husband traveled to the Baltic countries. "The architecture is amazing. Those czars knew how to live!" Another Cornell wedding joined Gail Freeman and BertramWarner '49. Both widowed, they met at a Rochester Cornell Club picnic in 2003 and were married on April 9, 2005, with many Cornell friends in attendance. The couple has a house in Rochester, as well as a "cottage" in a retirement community.

Paddy Hurley has moved back to the Connecticut River area, in Ivoryton, CT. Richard Franke of Baltimore,MD, edited and co-authored a special issue in 2005 of the International Journal of Business titled "Taking Business Seriously."His younger son, Erik '01--a Chemical Engineering student like his father--married in 2003.Watch for The Listening Leader, a book by Richard Harris, PhD '66, of Teaneck, NJ, scheduled for publication by Praeger Publishing this spring.

"I finally made it to grandmotherhood and have a darling granddaughter named Olivia,"writes Naomi Johnson Dempsey ofWilton, CT. "I also finally made it to semiretirement as a kitchen designer for Ring's End, working only three days a week and loving it." Since retiring in 2004, physician Jeanne McKibben of Oberlin, OH, has more time for community activities and hobbies. Among her interests is videography: she has made eight documentaries for local groups plus lots of family and vacation footage. She has traveled to all 50 states and six of the seven continents--"I still hope to get to Antarctica, but that's probably wishful thinking." Outdoor activities include hiking, canoeing, skiing, and scuba diving, with over 100 dives in the past 18 years. Jeanne does some part-time consulting for the Cleveland Clinic's online continuing medical education programs and is a member of the Governor's Advisory Committee of the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Physicians and of the Allen Medical Center Foundation Board.

Rick Dyer, MD '63, who rows in masters (senior) competitions, had another great year, racing at World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada; the National Masters Games in Worcester, MA; and the FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta at Strathclyde Country Park in Scotland. And let's not forget Cornell! Every year since 1990, Cornell has entered the Alumni Masters Race at the National Collegiate Championships, earning more medals than any other college alumni entry. Rick has stroked the Cornell eight every year--"15 years in succession, and it's usually on my birthday weekend!" notes Rick. "All masters entries must be alumni and have rowed for their college as undergraduates. During the rest of the year, we all row regularly and competitively in our own rowing clubs and enter masters races around the world."

The 2005 Alumni Masters Race was held on the Olympic-distance, 2,000-meter course at Cooper River Park in New Jersey. In addition to the Cornell team, the field of Alumni Masters Eights included Syracuse, Brown, Northeastern, Penn, MIT, Boston U., and the U. of Minnesota. The Cornell eight got off to a strong start and held on to its lead for its second gold in succession, this time winning by a length and a half of open water. "Life is good!" says Rick. "Life gets even better when supporting Cornell!" -- Jenny Tesar, 97A Chestnut Hill Village, Bethel, CT 06801; tel., (203) 792-8237; e-mail, jet24@cornell.edu.