YAM Class Notes: May/June 2015

YAM Class Notes: May/June 2015

It appears the last edition of the alumni magazine arrived ahead of the registration package for the 50th—hopefully my prediction that you would already have received the package didn’t cause too much confusion. You will definitely have heard about (and hopefully visited) our revamped class website (yale1965.org) and used the links to registration and other reunion features. And, if you’re counting the days to the reunion, you can watch the countdown clock on the site, measured down to the second. (The many classmates who’ve been hard at work on the reunion may not appreciate how little time is left!) Thanks to David Roscoe and our web administrator, Jean McKillop, for the redesign.

As Jeff Miller reported to the class via e-mail, ten pre-reunion lunches had been held as of March 3, with four more scheduled and the possibility of a few more in the works. By the time we’re done, over 180 classmates will have attended pre-reunion lunches and the reviews so far have been overwhelmingly positive; almost everyone attending indicated they plan to attend the reunion. This may reflect selection bias, but I take it as a good omen for reunion attendance. I had the pleasure of attending the Washington-area lunch, hosted by Bill Nelson, Bob Woodward, and Bill Crosby. Senator Bill arranged for us to convene in the Kennedy Caucus Room, famed for a number of major events in our lifetime, including the Watergate Hearings. He also presented the class with a Yale pennant that traveled on the 24th space shuttle flight. Bob and the senator engaged us all in a discussion about the current state of affairs in domestic politics and foreign policy. No solutions were forthcoming.

Thanks to the hard work of the reunion gift committee and class agents, our 50th gift campaign is moving forward with strong momentum. We hope that everyone will participate; every dollar makes a difference and helps bring us closer to our goal. There are a number of options for planned giving that I personally found attractive. Contact Mel (mashaftel@rosettapartners.com) or Stan (stanleytrotman@cs.com) if you want to learn more.

Dan Bergfeld filed the following report on our annual class hockey event: “Twenty-two Yale ’65 hockey fans attended the February 6 Yale v. Harvard game and witnessed the third Yale win over the Cantabs of this season. Yale bested one of the nation’s top scoring teams, skating to a 3–0 shutout. Prior to the game, classmates and guests wined and dined at Mory’s. Attending were Jeff and Susanne Miller, Dan Bergfeld and Holly Adams, Peter and Anne Conze, Phil and Katie Crane, Dennis and Anne Cross, Bob Dunlop, Carl Farrington, Richard and Nancy Hoey, Doug McPheters and Joelle Bentley, Christian Murck, Marne Obernauer and Jane Michaels, Kyle and Olivia Pruett, and Barry Stott. We plan to gather again next year for dinner at Mory’s and another exciting game at the Whale.”

Doug McPheters called me out for not fully recognizing David Martin’s contributions to the remembrances effort when I filed the January class notes. Doug and Dave shared the effort and I apologize to Dave for the unintended oversight. As he has at past reunions, Ron Wilmore is leading the effort for the memorial service to be held on Friday, May 29. With the addition of the lunch organizers, the number of classmates working on the reunion has grown to an impressive level; thanks to all of you.

Since you appear to be saving your noteworthy contributions for the reunion, I continue to scour the listserv for news. Among the worthy items: Jim Danly posted the news that the Alabama All State Festival Orchestra premiered his tone poem, The Door in the Wall, on February 15 at the Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus.

In January, David Hawkins began a teaching assignment at the Law School as a visiting lecturer. According to David: “Students are from the law school and from the forestry school. Outside organizations submit project proposals and student teams are formed for each project. The teachers supervise the students and there are a few lectures. I will be doing one on the federal legislative process (in theory and in reality).” Bob Woodward is also teaching a journalism seminar at Yale.

Those of you who watched the Oscars may recall that when the winner for costume design was announced, the cameras zeroed in on Milena Canonero being kissed by her gleeful husband Marshall Bell. Milena has been nominated nine times and this was her fourth Oscar.

While it’s fitting that we focus all our attention on the upcoming 50th, I hope to encourage lots of post-50th class gatherings; it would be a shame to generate so much enthusiasm and goodwill and then let it dissipate. I mentioned this at the Washington lunch and Sam Black immediately followed up with a proposal: “’65ers and family members may be interested in a summer 2015 hike up Mt. Yale, near Buena Vista, Colorado. Mt. Yale is a fourteener—14,202 feet. The six-to-eight-hour round-trip hike is not difficult, with a 4.5-mile trail most of the way to the top and no technical climbing. The views are spectacular. A fit 72-year-old and a fit teenage grandchild could equally do the hike and stand together at the summit. We will do the hike in late July or early August. There is a 12-person limit. Cost for the guides will be about $235 per person. If interested, contact Sam Black, sblack.net@gmail.com.”

The next class notes should be easy, with lots of material from the reunion. (Relax, what happens in New Haven stays in New Haven!) All you need to do is show up and have a great time. I look forward to seeing everyone on May 28.