Class Notes: January/February 2024

Class Notes: January/February 2024

We are experiencing a pleasant fall with the return of geese and the brilliant colors of maple trees. Missing this year so far are the hundreds of geese who assemble on our lawn to trim the grass and deposit guano—they are in the neighborhood and visible across the creek, but happily not yet making daily visits. Instead, we have increasing numbers of deer browsing unafraid, and occasionally bold enough to look in our windows with quizzical expressions before eating our holly trees. 

The September Zoom program featured Kelly Shue, professor of finance at the Yale School of Management. Professor Shue spoke on an important contemporary topic: “Could Green Investing Backfire? A Case Study in the Law of Unintended Consequences.” The session was ably moderated by Mike Booth and Dick Hoey. Professor Shue raised important questions about the effect of green investing on large polluting industries, noting that so far, most companies benefiting from green investments are not major polluters. The November Zoom program will feature Nicholas Christakis, Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, speaking on Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society—his 2019 book exploring the essential goodness of humanity. Duncan Bremer and Rick Fabian will moderate. In December, our own Jerry Libby, the general counsel of the World Justice Project, will speak on the Rule of Law, focusing on the recently released World Justice Index. As the year draws to a close, our Zoom team is actively planning for another year of outstanding programs. The team (Roscoe, Mack, and Hammond) deserves a rousing round of applause. 

Donna and I had the pleasure of attending the Santa Fe minireunion with 34 other classmates, spouses, and guests. Earl and Deborah Potter arranged a fascinating program, managed and presented by Southwest Seminars, a nonprofit educational organization in Santa Fe. The program included presentations on the anthropologic, geologic, and cultural history of the area, with visits to Pueblo reservations and the opportunity to meet with tribal leaders. The highlight of the event was a visit to Cochiti pueblo and a lunch hosted by the family of Mikayla Suina, a first-year student at Yale. In appreciation for the wonderful visit, a gift has been made in the name of ’65 to the Keres Children’s Learning Center, which is preserving the native Keres language. A note of caution for those of you who don’t always read your emails from the class—several spouses complained that their husbands didn’t know or didn’t tell them about the Santa Fe mini: We are exploring adding spouses to our mailing list.

The class dinner, as usual ably orchestrated by Bob Leich and Chris Kinney, was held on the traditional last Friday of October featuring a presentation by David Hawkins, which substituted for the October Zoom program. The dinner was a refreshing return to a more “normal” post-COVID world with 68 classmates, spouses, and guests in attendance. We welcomed Steph Hartnett, our new YAA assistant director, who has been enormously helpful and responsive to our various calls for help. After dinner, David spoke about some of the positive developments and potential policies to address climate change—all in the context of the massive adjustments we’ll need to make to adapt to the inevitable changes in our environment. David’s talk is posted on the class website, yale65.org, as are all prior Zoom programs.

The class council met prior to the dinner and discussed plans for future activities, most importantly, our 60th reunion. I’m delighted to announce that the team of Roscoe, Leich, and Farrington has agreed to serve once more as our reunion committee, which includes suffering through ’64’s 60th reunion to observe how our elders handle the event. I’m also delighted to announce that the team of Trotman and Shaftel has agreed to serve again as our class gift committee for the 60th. Please begin thinking about coming to New Haven in the spring of 2025—it will be here before we know it. Other things to look forward to in the coming months include the likelihood of another minireunion in 2024 as well as local/regional lunches to stir up enthusiasm for the 60th. Finally, the council welcomed Bill Crosby, our new YAA representative, who graciously agreed to sign up for the three-year term and fill the shoes of Dennis Mack, whose service to the class has been and continues to be exemplary. 

Brief notes: Heaton Robertson sent me the following: “Currently in France (Normandy) on a bike trip. Schenckwill be pleased to know we have converted to electric power. Earlier this summer Felix was celebrated in Vermont, and Charlie Beaumont and I joined to send Felix off into his 80th year like the rest of us. Lastly in August I flew around the country for a week with the theme being presidential libraries and aviation museums. The surprise was Lincoln’s in Springfield which has been redone. Good fun but maybe my last year of flying, which of course will please Henrietta.” In October, Landon (Bunky) Carter continued his prolific production of self-help books and seminars with an online course entitled The Happiness Handbook, based on his book of the same name. 

Finally, I received a much-delayed note that Frederick Root died on October 23 of last year. His obituary is posted on the class website. 

I wish you all the best for 2024 and look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming class events.