1967

There's been a steady flow of material into my "next issue" folder over the last two months, so that now I have my work cut out for me. Understand, please, I'm not complaining. Wish I had a few more months like this!

Using the last-in-first-out approach, I quote in its entirety the following delightful note I received a few days ago from Jim Jackson:

"Weyah jes' hidin' out up heyah 'n no'th Georgia neah 'Hotlanta,' wukkin' fuh a li'l ol' engineerin' fuhm (Ebasco Services, 6,000 strong and headquartered in N.Y.C.), hidin' out fum da revenooers 'n 'lumni funders, 'n seein' how many apostrophes we c'n use 'n one sentence. Wife Charlotte (Bryn Mawr '70), daughter Jessica (seven), and son David (four) can't comprehend why we ever lived in 'Joyzee' —neither can I."

Speakin' of 'lumni funders. . . . Ahem, excuse me ...

Speaking of Alumni Fund matters, Alumni Fund chairman Joel Portugal '58 asked me to pass along the following message: If you haven't made your 1984 donation or pledge, please do so promptly. This is the fund's 70th anniversary, and the goal is $10.3 billion, with 70 percent alumni participation. So, please increase your pledge and follow through early.

After 12 years of living within minutes of his office in Peterborough, N.H., John Talbott is now at the opposite extreme, each day facing a two-and-a-quarter-hour (each way) commute from Peterborough to Boston. John is associate creative director in the direct response group of Quinn and Johnson, one of Boston's larger advertising agencies. In that capacity, he creates direct response advertising for a group of clients which includes Fidelity Mutual Funds, Honeywell, and Harvard University.

"Suzanne is teaching reading in two nearby schools," John continues, "and doing double duty at home since I now am out of the house at 6:15 a.m. and not home until 8:00 in the evening. Amanda (eight) and her twin Melinda are enjoying school, while Megan (12) is getting tall, lean, and good-lookin' like her old man. We plan to move to the Boston area after the school year is out."

(John wrote the foregoing note on the train bound for Boston, just before he learned the bridge was out to Boston's North Station "so let's add another 45 minutes at least to the commute. Eeeyagh!")

Pete Golenbock also took typewriter in hand recently and helped to swell the class mailbag. The letter was entirely newsy and relevant, so once again I offer an extended quote. Pete's letter begins with an expression of regret that he missed our "20th" reunion last summer. I hasten to assure you, Pete, that you haven't missed the 20th yet!

On a recent business trip to the West Coast, Pete called on Bob Span, who practices law in Santa Monica. "Bob and his wife Crystal are the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy, whom they named John Sloan Dickey Span, after you-know-who.

"The Spans just bought a beautiful new home in Pacific Palisades, and Bob says that any '67, Big Green alum, or L.A. Raider fan who needs a place to stay when they're out on the Coast is welcome to stay with them.

"How small the world is. One of the benefits of being an author is that one can mold one's schedule to one's whims. Thus, in the spring, I take time from my writing to coach the baseball team at the Dwight-Englewood School, up the street from me. I get paid a dollar a year, and I earn every penny of it.

"Two weeks ago, the school released the name of its new headmaster, one James E.Van Amburg. I said to myself, 'I know this guy. We used to work together on The D.'"I called him up at his home in Chicago and told him I was his new baseball coach. He said that next year he was going to double my salary. We discussed his views on education ('learning to become a decent human being is more important than getting into Harvard'), and when I hung up I smiled, because I felt that Jim was going to make a significant, positive impact on the school. I forgot to ask him if becoming a decent human being is more important than getting into Dartmouth."

Pete reports he has two books on G. P. Putnam's list for publication this year. Recently he was talking with Rich Hershenson, who practices law in New York, "and we were wondering about the whereabouts of Maine's renowned orator Chuck Rancourt. During freshman year Chuck and I decided we could save the price of a barber if we gave each other haircuts. For the next four weeks I wore my freshman beanie everywhere, even to bed with me. Chuck didn't fare much better. If Chuck should see this, write me at 99 Booth Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631. That goes for anyone else who might want to say hello."

Dave Mangelsdorff is back in the news. Dave is technical director of the Army's Health Care Studies and Clinical Investigation Activity at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Tex., where he was recently named "Employee of the Year."

Larry Ufford has been named secretary of the Associated General Contractors of New Hampshire. Larry, Shelley, Matthew, and Christian live in Lebanon, and Larry is vice president of Trumbull-Nelson Construction Company in Hanover. He's also a director and ex-treasurer of the Lebanon Rotary Club.

Michael Darby dropped me a note in December. He's still "plugging away" at UCLA, where his major current research project is the international productivity slowdown. He continues to edit the Journal of InternationalMoney and Finance and recently also joined the editorial board of the American EconomicReview. His fifth book was just published by the University of Chicago Press. Number six is due in the spring, and number seven, a macroeconomics text, is due in January 1985. "I should be tired," he writes, "but I'm heving a lot of fun traveling and generally enjoying life."

Ralph Kirmser has recently received the 1983 Magida Award, presented by the Rosenthal Foundation of Stamford, Conn. The Fairfield County Medical Association made the award last October. It cites Ralph for his outstanding performance and capability in patient treatment and care at Cardiovascular Associates of Westport, Conn., where he practices cardiology and internal medicine.

The Industrial Technology Institute of Ann Arbor, Mich., has named Ron Martin the acting director of its communications and network laboratory. Ron joined ITI in 1983. He was the founding president of Digital Graphics Inc., a management consulting and computer development firm in Ann Arbor, prior to joining ITI. Previously he was technical vice president and a member of the board of Lowry and Associates of Brighton, Mich.

660 Penn Sq. Ctr., Box 61 Reading, PA 19603