Class Notes: March/April 2020

Class Notes: March/April 2020

This edition of the magazine will arrive in time for those of you who haven’t yet registered for the 55th to do so. The program is taking shape nicely, as are the dining and entertainment arrangements, thanks to our veteran committee of David Roscoe, Bob Leich, and Carl Farrington. Hopefully all of you who wished to put an update in the 55th reunion book did so and posted a flattering recent picture. Thanks to Ralph Protsik and John Schenck for leading this effort. We’re hoping for a record turnout for the 55th.

Your notes sent along with class dues are always welcome around this time of year. (It’s good to get news and good to know you’re paying.) Gordon Bear sent a note reporting on a visit to Boston during which he shared a meal with roommate Henry Steady, who retired to Boston after practicing pathology in Madison, Wisconsin: “By coincidence, Henry‘s wife Filomena was retiring that month from her position as professor of Africana studies at Wellesley. Henry celebrated his 80th birthday in October. Henry hails from Liberia, Filomena from Sierra Leone. Hurrah for all the immigrants who’ve made America great.”

John Ingham sent news from Key West that he expects to attend the 55th with his partner of five years, Cathy Sembert: “We bought a cottage on the water in Sedgwick, Maine. I am restoring an old sailboat that will bob on a mooring visible from my porch, and plan to spend much of the summers sailing from Penobscot Bay to the Bay of Fundy.” And Bill Lake sent this update: “The 2016 election brought an end to my service at the FCC. (You can’t fire me, I quit!) Now doing a bit of consulting but mostly finding everything I can do to make a small contribution to fighting climate change. We spend much of the year now on Martha’s Vineyard, and there’s nothing like living on an island to sharpen the mind about climate impact.”

I received this email from Hugh Levick, who is a composer living in L.A.: “Ten years ago I created the HEAR NOW Music Festival. The HEAR NOW Music Festival selects and performs contemporary classical concert music written by Los Angeles composers. In ten years HEAR NOW has presented the work of over 150 L.A. composers, ranging in age from 15 to 95. With new, innovative, and out-of-the-box music, HEAR NOW extends the classical music tradition into the present. Anyone interested in knowing more about HEAR NOW and how they might be supportive, please contact Hugh and/or visit the website.”

Brief notes: Earl Potter announced that he’s opened a five-and-dime general store in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The announcement was accompanied by a picture of a very inviting rustic storefront. On November 13, Hardy Brereton was honored with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) fourth annual Ellen L. Stovall Award for Innovation in Patient-Centered Cancer Care. I was pleased to be able to join Hardy and Leslie at this prestigious event. Fred Roberts continues his photographic workshop program, heading for Mozambique in November, “the first of three new locations which we will launch in the next year. In addition to Maputo, we are establishing new workshops with groups of high schools in Gilgit/Hunza in Pakistan and Da Nang in Vietnam. I always urge you to sign up for the blog on our website.” 

Bob Hammond continues to do a terrific job as our YAA representative. His most recent contributions are his excellent summaries of the YAA Assembly and the class council/class dinner. Both are posted on the class website. And David Roscoe, another tireless contributor to the class, will be traveling in India in January after successfully engineering the transition from our old listserv to the Y65 discussion group. I hope many of you will return and more will join as this will be a more reliable way of staying in touch and sharing news and ideas. 

Finally, Jim DeAngelis alerted the discussion group that Bill Lynch passed away on January 2, 2020. His obituary will be posted on the website when available. Please visit the website and post remembrances of Bill.

Reminder: 55th reunion May 28–31, 2020.