PRINCETON'S CLASS OF 1951
MINI-REUNIONS
The fox knows many things. The hedgehog knows one great thing.
The squirrel knows next to nothing… but is willing to learn.
Princeton’s Class of Fifty-One
Academic Mini-Reunion
in Concord, Cambridge, and Boston Massachusetts
Tuesday, October 20 through Saturday, October 24, 2009
RALPH WOODWARD, 45 WAYSIDE INN ROAD, FRAMINGHAM, MA 01701
Telephone: 508-877-5328 E-Mail: naipr@aol.com
August 15, 2009
Squirrels, Tigers, Friends, Guests, etc.:
Our
plans for our Boston Mini-Reunion are almost complete and attached is
the very latest information for your files updated to August 15, 2009.
There are new materials and a number of changes since our last report
(6/15/09). Please discard previous schedules and print this attachment
for your current file. If you have not registered there is still room
if you wish to join us.
(See last page for registration form.)
We
will continue to refine and improve on the master plan. Consult our
website for the latest information:
http://tigernet.princeton.edu/~class51/minis.html
We look forward to seeing you, hearing from you, working with you as Tuesday, October 20 approaches.
Best wishes from the Committee for 1951,
Ralph
Woodward, Squirrel-in-chief
P.S.
Please note the list of classmates attending, the speaker biographical
material and your assignments for “homework” which follow on the next
nine pages.
Princeton Class of 1951 Participants in Boston Academic Mini-Reunion October 20-24, 2009
Charles and Louise Albert
Heywood and Bea Alexander
Dan Anderson
Bob Bloom
Jack and Eve Bogle
Bill and Sally Brown
Farrell and Pamela Bushing
Ray and Marty Close
Dwight and Mary Degener
Sprigg and Ellie Duvall
William and Utako Dwyer
John Ellicott/Bea Meyerson
Louis and Marie Emanuel
Art and Peggy Folli
Joe and Joanne Howell
Marty and Katherine Ill
Bob and Cissie Ix
Bill and Cathy Jahos
Bob and Louise Keeley
Walter and Eugenie Kissinger
John B. Lambert
Edgar and Nan Lawton
Richard and Joan Madden
John and Verna Matthews
Ray Maxwell and Lois Rathman
Shirley and Bill Paxton
Dick and Kitty Pierson
Jerry Rose
Don and Jeanne Scott
Bill and Marilyn Swearer
Ted and Penny Thomas
Frank and Alice Traylor
Ralph and Corinne Woodward
Dick and Carol Wythes
(Several
couples and individuals who are coming but have not yet registered are
not included among the 64 persons listed above. We expect a total of
75 to 80 and there is room for more if you wish to join us. Call me at
508-877-5328. Ralph)
Jeffrey S. Cramer
is Curator of Collections at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods
He
will speak to us on Tuesday evening on “Thoreau in Context” and will
answer questions about Concord in this extraordinary era of the
Transcendentalists. His introductions and notes to these volumes are
recommended background reading for our reunion:
Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition (Yale University Press, 2004),
I to Myself: An Annotated Selection from the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau
(Yale University Press, 2008)
“I
to Myself” in particular provides unusual glimpses of Thoreau in his
simultaneous aspects as writer, thinker, naturalist, social reformer,
neighbor and friend. “The Quotable Thoreau”, edited by Mr. Cramer will
be published by Princeton University Press in 2010.
"I have
sometimes imagined a library, i.e. a collection of the works of true
poets, philosophers, naturalists, etc., deposited not in a brick and
marble edifice in a crowded and dusty city. . . but rather far away in
the depths of the primitive forest." H.D. Thoreau, 3 February 1852
The Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods is owned and managed by the Walden
Woods Project. Subscribe to their e-newsletter. Go to:
www.walden.org/Institute/ThoreauUpdate/ThoreauUpdate.htm
For further information: http://www.jeffreyscramer.com
Michael D. Smith (Princeton 1983)
is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University
Mike
Smith took the reins as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in
July 2007. A member of the Faculty since 1992, Smith is known for his
innovative work on computing systems, particularly on issues involving
a detailed knowledge of both the hardware and software in these
sophisticated systems. He is also a leading figure in a range of
interdisciplinary activities that explore the interplay of technology
with other fields, from the life sciences to economics to philosophy to
law.
He will greet our group and speak to us about his work on
Monday morning at the Harvard Faculty Club. Some idea of the scope of
the responsibilities of the Dean’s Office at Harvard can be gathered by
visiting:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/about-fas/fas-at-a-glance.shtml
Alan Lightman (Princeton 1970)
Is Adjunct Professor of Humanities at MIT
As
both a distinguished physicist and an accomplished novelist, Lightman
is one of only a small number of people who straddle the sciences and
the humanities. He has lectured at more than 100 universities
nationwide about the similarities and differences in the ways that
scientists and artists view the world. He will talk to us on Wednesday
morning about “The Physicist as Novelist” and field questions about his
“split personality”.
Recommended as background reading is the
first essay and, indeed the entire small book of essays, “A Sense of
the Mysterious” (Vintage Books, 2006). It is, in every way, a
remarkable, accessible and engrossing example of writing about
scientists and science.
His novels include the international
bestseller, “Einstein’s Dream”, but there are a number of other works
of fiction to choose from. For full details visit:
http://www.alanlightman.com
Alan
is also the founding director of a foundation empowering young women in
Cambodia. An account of its work among potential leaders there is
detailed at:
http://www.harpswellfoundation.org
Marjorie Garber
is Professor of English and Chair of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard
She
has also published fifteen books and edited seven collections of essays
on an intriguing variety of subjects from “Academic Instincts”
(Princeton University Press, 2001) to “Dog Love” (Simon and Schuster
1996). Most of her work has been centered on Shakespeare (recently,
“Shakespeare and Modern Culture”, Pantheon 2008) but she also writes
and lectures widely on many fascinating aspects of art and culture.
She
will talk with us on Wednesday afternoon and has suggested Chapter 4:
Arts and Sciences from “Patronizing the Arts” (Princeton University
Press, 2008) as a useful bit of background reading for her discussion.
(Readers will also want to note her comments on pages 116 and 117 in
this work about Peter B. Lewis’ multi-million dollar gifts to Princeton
“to enhance the role of the creative and performing arts in the life of
the University and its community.”)
For further information about Professor Garber consult:
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~garber
Geoff Gardner
is the Chef-Owner of Sel de la Terre
Prior
to opening Sel de la Terre in the spring of 2000, Chef Geoff Gardner
spent eight years as the sous chef at Boston’s acclaimed L’Espalier
restaurant, where he immersed himself in the teachings of his mentor,
chef and proprietor Frank McClelland, who later became his business
partner when opening his own restaurant. Named one of the “Top 100 New
Restaurants in the World” by Conde Nast Traveler and one of the "Top 22
New Restaurants in the Nation" by Esquire Magazine, the Sel de la Terre
is a favorite of our classmate, Heywood Alexander and his wife, Bea,
who arranged for our evening there.
“Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus” by Frank McClelland
and
Christie Matheson (Harvard Common Press, 2008) celebrates the
traditions of French cuisine at L’Espalier and Sel de la Terre and is
recommended background browsing for our Wednesday evening at one of
Boston’s premier restaurants.
See http://www.starchefs.com/chefs/rising_stars/2006/boston/html/bio_g_gardner.shtml
And http://www.seldelaterre.com
http://www.lespalier.com
Dr. Richard Thornton (Princeton 1951)
is Chairman & CTO of MagneMotion
As
Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Technology Officer at MagneMotion, our
classmate, Richard Thornton, contributes to the technical and business
development of the company as well as the electro-magnetic designs of
new products and processes. Prior to founding MagneMotion, Dr. Thornton
was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology for more than 40 years. During
that time he was a Professor and researcher in areas of magnetic
levitation (maglev), linear motor propulsion, electro-mechanical
systems and electronic circuits. At MagneMotion he has helped pioneer
development and commercial application of linear motor propulsion and
magnetic levitation for movement of people and goods. Richard and his
wife, Marian, will be our hosts for Thursday’s events in Devens and
Concord.
Further background information about magnetic levitation can be found at:
http://www.magnemotion.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_levitation
John Hanson Mitchell
is an author, naturalist and editor of Sanctuary
John
Hanson Mitchell is editor of the award winning magazine, Sanctuary,
published by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. In 2000, he was given
the New England Booksellers’ Award for the body of his work. Mitchell
attended the Sorbonne and is a graduate of Columbia University.
Writer,
journalist, naturalist, Mr. Mitchell has published ten books of
non-fiction and numerous essays on a wide variety of subjects.
Recommended for background reading is “Ceremonial Time: Fifteen
Thousand Years on One Square Mile” (Addison-Wesley, 1997) or “The
Paradise of All These Parts: A Natural History of Boston” (Beacon
Press, 2008) which will be, in part, the subject of his talk with us on
Thursday.
For more information click: http://www.johnhansonmitchell.com/
Edward S. Steinfeld
is Associate Professor of Political Science at MIT.
A
China specialist, he focuses on the political economy of reform in
socialist and post-socialist systems. His book, “Forging Reform in
China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry” (Cambridge University Press,
1998), explores the process of state enterprise restructuring in China.
His current research examines financial reforms in China and, in
conjunction with the World Bank and MIT Industrial Performance Center,
the impact of globalization on Chinese industrial policy and structure.
For
background reading follow the link below to China’s Real Energy Crisis
(co-written with Richard Lester) in the Harvard Asia Pacific Review
(Winter 2007)
http://web.mit.edu/polisci/faculty/E.Steinfeld.html
Mrs. Jack Gardner
is the founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
And this is good old Boston,
The home of the bean and the cod.
Where the Lowells talk only to Cabots,
And the Cabots talk only to God.”
A toast given in 1910 by an American poet, John Collins Bossidy (1860-1928)
No
visit to this city can be considered complete without a tour of the
famous Italianate palace and museum on The Fenway conceived, built, and
given to the people by the notorious “Mrs. Jack”. And no visit to the
museum will be complete without reading:
Mrs, Jack: A Biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner (by Louise
Hall Tharp)
for
an understanding of “cold roast Boston” in the era of the Brahmins.
The portrait above by Anders Zorn (1860-1920) captures the spirit of
the young and wealthy Mrs. Gardner in Venice at the beginning of her
extraordinary career as a connoisseur and collector of art. For
delicious gossip read Mrs. Jack and click on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/collection/artists/artists.asp
“Preview the Future, Review the Past” (Revised 8/15/09)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
5:30 PM Registration/Check-in at the Colonial Inn, Concord, MA
6:30
Cocktails/Dinner at the Colonial Inn
Jeffrey S. Cramer, “The Quotable
Thoreau” Princeton University Press
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
7:00AM North Bridge and/or Free Time for Breakfast
9:00 Bus to Harvard Faculty Club
10:00
Michael Smith ‘83, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
10:45 Coffee Break at Harvard Faculty Club
11:00
Alan Lightman ’70, MIT, Author “Einstein’s Dream”
12:30
Free Time for lunch and/or tours of Harvard Yard and Harvard Square
12:30
Bus to Colonial Inn, Concord (for those who prefer afternoon nap)
2:30 Marjorie Garber, Harvard
3:30
Walk to Harvard Bookstore, Harvard Square
4:00
Public reception/autographing party. Harvard Bookstore
5:00
Bus from Concord to Sel de la Terre (for afternoon nappers)
5:30
Bus from Harvard Bookstore to Sel de la Terre, Boston
waterfront.
6:00
Chef’s Tasting Dinner at “Sel de la Terre” hosted by Chef/Owner,
Geoff Gardner
8:30 PM Bus to Colonial Inn, Concord
Thursday, October 22, 2009
7:00AM Great Meadows and/or Free Time for Breakfast
8:30
Bus to Springhill Inn, Fort Devens, MA
9:00
Richard Thornton ’51, CEO (MagLev and the Future)
9:30 Coffee Break
10:00 Evergreen Solar plant
11:00
MagneMotion
plant
12:00 Lunch at Springhill
12:30
John Hanson Mitchell, Audubon Society, Author
1:30
Bus to Colonial Inn (drop-off nappers) and Minuteman National Park
2:00
Film, “Battle of Concord” or walk on Battle Road.
3:30
Colonial Inn (nap, dress for dinner)
4:30
Bus to home of Richard and Marian Thornton for cocktails.
6:00
Bus to The Wayside Inn, Sudbury for dinner
6:30
Dinner at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn
10:00 PM Bus to Colonial Inn
Friday, October 23, 2009
7:00AM Thoreau at Walden Pond and/or Free Time for Breakfast
8:30 Bus to MIT Faculty Club
9:30 Edward S. Steinfeld, MIT,
10:30 Panel of Harvard/MIT undergraduates.
12:00 Lunch at MIT Faculty Club
1:30
Bus to Colonial Inn, Concord, for nappers
1:30
Bus Tour of Historical Sites and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or
Free Time
5:00
Return to Concord Colonial Inn
7:00PM Cocktails and dinner at Concord’s Colonial Inn
Saturday, October 24, 2009
7:00AM Author’s Ridge and/or Free Time for Breakfast
8:30
Seminar on U.S. Foreign policy
10:00 Bus to Cambridge
11:00
Alumni Lunch, Princeton Tent at Soldiers’ Field
12:00
Princeton-Harvard Football Game (Tickets Included)
5:00PM Return to Concord Colonial Inn
Proposed events for the Class of 1951 Academic Mini-Reunion --- Fall 2009
“PREVIEW
THE FUTURE, REVIEW THE
PAST”
Revised 8/15/09
Tuesday,
October 20, 2009 We will gather at 6 PM for cocktails and dinner at
The Colonial Inn. Founded in 1716, the Inn faces the Concord town green
and is within a five or ten minute walk of the North Bridge, the homes
of Emerson, the Alcotts, and Hawthorne, and most of the shops,
churches, restaurants and museums of this quintessentially New England
town. Jeffery Cramer, Curator of the Thoreau Institute, will introduce
us to the cultural history of Boston and Concord in its heyday. Night
owls can then retire to the Inn’s pub and tavern while others may
simply retire.
Wednesday, October 21 For early birds, a tour
of the nearby battlefield where “once the embattled farmers stood, and
fired the shot heard round the world” will be optional. At 9:00 AM a
45-minute journey by bus or car will bring us to the Harvard Faculty
Club in Cambridge where we will be greeted by Michael Smith (Princeton
Class of 1983), Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and
a professor of computer science. His talk will be followed by a coffee
break and then a discussion with Alan Lightman (Princeton Class of
1970) about his multiple roles at MIT as a professor of physics,
prolific novelist, and Adjunct Professor of the Humanities. Free time
for lunch and/or exploration of the Harvard Yard with student-led
Unofficial Tours will be followed by a talk at the Club by Marjorie
Garber Harvard’s distinguished Shakespeare scholar and author. (As an
alternative, individuals may wish to return to Concord by bus at 12:30
PM to nap and rejoin the group at 6:00 PM at the Sel de la Terre.) At
the Harvard Bookstore on Harvard Square we will attend a reception and
autographing party for local authors. A bus to the Boston waterfront
will provide a brief glimpse of docks and markets before we convene at
the Sel de la Terre for a gourmet dinner in the intimate atmosphere of
one of the city’s finest restaurants and a chat with its chef-owner,
Geoff Gardner. And home by bus to the Colonial Inn and an early
bedtime.
Thursday, October 22 Birders and walkers who wish to
can take advantage of a dawn (7 AM) excursion to The Great Meadows
National Wildlife Sanctuary. At 8:30 AM we will travel to the
Springhill Inn at Fort Devens Industrial Park for a discussion with
Richard Thornton (Princeton Class of 1951), our classmate, professor
emeritus at MIT, and CEO of MagneMotion and executives and engineers
from Evergreen Solar Panels, a nearby manufacturing plant. Tours of
these plants will be followed by lunch at the Springhill Inn and a talk
with John Hanson Mitchell, author, naturalist, and the editor of
Sanctuary, a publication of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. We will
then proceed to the Minuteman National Historical Park to walk on the
Battle Road trail or view a short film of the history of the Battle of
Lexington and Concord before returning to the Colonial Inn. Richard
and Marian Thornton will be our hosts for drinks at their home outside
of Concord. A fifteen-minute ride will then bring our group to The
Wayside Inn in Sudbury and dinner in the setting of Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow’s celebrated Tales of a Wayside Inn.
Friday, October
23 Early risers on Friday will be invited to stroll on the edge of
Walden Pond with Henry David Thoreau (or, at least, a reasonable
facsimile thereof). At 8:30 AM we will go into Cambridge to the banks
of the Charles River and the MIT Faculty Club. Professor Edward
Steinfeld of MIT, an expert on China and its economic potentials, will
discuss his views on Asia’s future. Then a panel of undergraduates will
discuss academic (and other aspects of) life in Cambridge, answer
questions, and join us for lunch. Following luncheon at the faculty
club a bus tour of historic sites in downtown Boston will include a
visit to the renowned Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Or you may
choose to spend a free afternoon to explore other activities in Concord
or Boston. At 7:00 cocktails and dinner at the Concord’s Colonial Inn
will conclude with a farewell to the troops by our president, Sprigg
Duvall.
Saturday, October 24 On Saturday morning those who
can’t sleep are invited to inspect Author’s Ridge at the Sleepy Hollow
cemetery, the Old Burying Ground, and the First Parish Meeting House
(all within walking distance of the Colonial Inn). A discussion of
U.S. foreign policy around the world conducted by class members and
visiting experts will be held at the Inn during the morning until buses
carry us to Cambridge for lunch in the Tiger tent and tickets provided
for the Harvard-Princeton football game. After the game a bus will
return the group to Concord.
We
urge you to extend your visit
in New England by visiting Vermont, New Hampshire, the coast of Maine,
Cape Cod, Newport, or western Massachusetts in the final days of the
foliage season (or come in the week of October 12 to catch fall colors
at their peak.). If you plan to extend your trip before or after
our
mini-reunion consult http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com for useful
and reliable information. It is a beautiful time to travel in
this
part of the
world.
Useful Websites
http://tigernet.princeton.edu/~class51/
http://www.concordscolonialinn.com
http://www.expedia.com
http://www.airportcoachltd.com
http://jeffreyscramer.com/about.aspx
http://www.hfc.harvard.edu
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/home/dean-and-administration/deans-office/deans-biography.shtml
http://www.mit.edu/~humanistic/faculty/lightman.html
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~garber/
www.harvard.com
http://www.seldelaterre.com/
http://www.magnemotion.com/corporate/magnemotion-lsm.shtml
http://www.nps.gov/archive/mima/vcenter.htm
http://www.johnhansonmitchell.com/
http://www.wayside.org/
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/wldn.htm
http://web.mit.edu/polisci/faculty/E.Steinfeld.html
http://www.mfa.org/
www.gardnermuseum.org
http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com
Ladies and Gentlemen of ’51:
You
are invited to attend the Academic Mini-Reunion to be held this fall in
Concord, Cambridge, and Boston, Massachusetts, from Tuesday, October 20
through Saturday, October 24. We think you will enjoy seeing old
friends, the opportunity to hear a variety of interesting speakers, the
ambience of an historic area, and the natural beauty of New England in
the foliage season.
Hotel Reservations
Concord’s
Colonial
Inn
By Phone: 1-978-369-9200
48
Monument
Square
By Fax:
1-978-369-2170
Concord, Massachusetts
01742
ByInternet:
http://www.concordscolonialinn.com
Main
contact: Jerell Green, (Ext.
532)
Click on:
Book
Now
E-Mail:
jgreen@concordscolonialinn.com
Click on:
Group Reservations
Attendee Code: Princeton
1951
Attendee Code: Princeton 1951
We
have reserved a block of double rooms in the Prescott Wing at $179.00
plus $17.36 tax (two rooms in the Main Inn are reserved at $209.00 plus
$20.37 tax). These rates are available until September 15, 2009 if you
identify yourself as members of “Princeton University Class of 1951”.
Ten rooms have twin beds. The rest (35) are double beds. First come,
first serve. There is no single rate. The premises are non-smoking.
We recommend you make reservations before September 15, 2009.
Transportation
Air
fares to Logan Airport, Boston, will, of course, vary but should
average $400 roundtrip per person from the West Coast and $300
roundtrip per person from the South and Mid-West. If you are within a
day’s journey of Boston we recommend you drive, as there is ample free
parking at the Inn. Cambridge and Boston, though challenging, are not
impossible to navigate. For transportation from Logan Airport to
Concord (25 miles) reserve in advance to be met by Airport Coach Ltd.,
866-647-7600 or 781-647-7600, www.airportcoachltd.com, $85.00 one-way
including tips, taxes, tolls etc. All other transport will be supplied
by bus or car as part of the Academic Mini-Reunion fee.
Academic Mini-Reunion Fee
$700.00
per person for scheduled luncheons, dinners, and open bars;
honorariums; admission fees; bus transportation; tips etc. Breakfasts
and miscellaneous personal expenses are not included.
Football Weekend Mini-Reunion Fee
If
you wish to participate only in the activities on Friday and Saturday,
October 23 and 24, you may do so for a single payment of $350 per
person.
Suggestions
Pack a sweater, raincoat, one
outfit suitable for a good restaurant, and otherwise casual clothes.
Temperatures will be in the 50’s during the day and the 40’s in early
morning and at night.
To reserve your place: Please send your deposit of $350 per person before September 15, 2009
Checks should be made out to “Princeton University Class of 1951” and mailed to:
Ralph Woodward
45 Wayside Inn Road
Framingham, MA 01701
The
balance of $350 per person (for the full Tuesday-thru-Saturday program)
will be due on October 1, 2009. (Cancellations will be accepted and
deposits refunded at any time before that date.)
For further information or questions
Ralph Woodward
1-508-877-5328 or naipr@aol.com
Your
committee is working hard to make this mini-reunion memorable. We all
look forward to being your hosts and celebrating Princeton in New
England in the fall.
See
you
then,
Ralph Woodward
for the Class of 1951 Mini-Reunion Committee
Before September 15, 2009, please register below and send with your deposit to:
Ralph Woodward, 45 Wayside Inn Road, Framingham, MA 01701
Names for
Badges
Address
Telephone
Cell
Phone
Fax
E-mail
Enclosed Deposit for 5-Day Academic Mini-Reunion (October 20 through October 24, 2009):
________persons
X $350.00 $___________ ($350
balance per person will be due October 1)
Enclosed Payment
for 2-Day Football Weekend only (October 23 and 24, 2009):
________persons X $350.00 $___________
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