Class News '03
Dave's Digressions
New Music!
The music you are listening to is
"It's Hard To Laugh or Smile" followed by "She's No Trouble" by Benny Moten's Kansas City Orchestra, recorded in September, 1928.
The second song may not be ready to play immediately, so please be patient!

Remember to scroll down to see all of the news!

Archived Class News from Years Past:
1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | Current

December 31st, 2003
As the year draws to a close we can't help but remember some of the fine people we lost from both '33 and '58 in 2003. I'm sorry to report we have just learned we must add John Sutter to that list. John passed away suddenly on August 31st, but news of his passing was delayed due to a major hurricane in the region during that time. He was thought to be in great health, but Madeline reports he never knew that he had a very occluded artery; he had a recent test showing no problems. He was quite a wonderful guy who will be missed by all of us.

December 30th, 2003
John Boatwright tells us they are extending the early bird discount for The Charleston Mini Reunion until January 15th. Please look at the Charleston Mini Reunion Webpage to see who has already signed up!

December 24th, 2003
Hope you've all been good because Santa will be coming tonight to find you; if you really are on his (her) list!

December 22nd, 2003
Although this may not be the most important thing you read daily, we are proud that we beat "The Big Guys" on a regular basis. This Sunday-in The Venerable New York Times (Not quite as venerable as it once was, but pretty important nonetheless), the Class of '33 made it to the front page-as well they should! And there you are- exactly what you have read about here constantly: that the Class of '33 is astounding! We are honored that we are allowed to wear their Class Jacket, and that they often come to Reunions with us. It is a great honor for many of us in '58 to have been able to get to know these fantastic people. We met them first at our 25th-and their 50th.We will be publishing more from them shortly, and hope that all of you are able to say hello to as many people as you can in this Class soon. We hope to put up some new letters from them in the near future, and possibly download more of what they write.

Click here to read the New York Times article!

December 21st, 2003
Here's a holiday present for you: some marvelous music from the great Benny Moten of Kansas City, recorded in September of 1928. These are personal favorites of your web site manager. There is no better example of how this music reached its greatest heights in Kansas City in the 1920's. If this music doesn't lift your spirits and make your toes tap, nothing will.

And if that wasn't enough, we've also got new music for your listening pleasure over on the Email Page: some great tunes from the Princeton Triangle Jazz Band. The first song, "Broke Again" was recorded in 1924, and it is followed by "Twilight," recorded in 1926. By the way, the vocalist with this band a little later on was a guy by the name of Jimmy Stewart '32. Maybe one day we'll give you a sample of that!

December 20th, 2003
Regular readers of this column remember that I had proposed a "mini-reunion" on the Sea Goddess for many years, but dropped the idea because of the high price. The same ship is now called the Sea Dream, (the price has dropped substantially) and we just returned from a week’s cruise on her.

I had an interesting experience on board. We met one couple that we liked, and the gentleman and I were discussing manners and respect toward older people. He mentioned the college he had attended retained a ceremony where they put the oldest person in the front and the youngest in the back. When I said that they did the same thing at my alma mater, we smiled at each other and he introduced himself as John O'Brien '65.

I learned that he is the President of the Milton Hershey School, where he had gone himself as a young orphan. John was one of the first people to go to Princeton from the Hershey School. John became a very successful individual, and when he was getting ready for early retirement, Hershey School said they needed him. To John, the school is his family; so he is back there and loving it.

The reason I'm telling you this story is that the Princeton Alumni Weekly will be featuring a big article about John in the near future. Notice that you get the Princeton news here first!

December 8th, 2003
We'll soon have a nice Christmas present for you here, with some new tunes especially good for keeping you happy during the holiday season. As soon as we can get them up on the site, we'll do so. You'll like them!

December 7th, 2003
I guess you can all remember where you were 62 years ago today, on a Sunday just like today. It seems like yesterday, but sometimes we forget the horror and shock of it all. We were just little boys, learnng that the world was changing fast, and we didn't understand how all that could happen.

December 4th, 2003
One of the great joys of working on this site is that I have the opportunity to tell you about The ASTOUNDING Class of 1933, with whom we have built a wondrous relationship. As we approach our 50th, you might want to remember it was at their 50th when we started to really bond with them. I have just received "The '33 Tiger Cub News" the winter edition; it is wonderful! If you wish I'll send you a copy. Meanwhile we will try to get a copy of it up on this website. Remember that these guys are 92-at a minimum- and their attitude and effort at these things is a goal we can only dream about!

November 27th, 2003

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 23rd, 2003
The Annual "Tailgate" Party before The Yale-Princeton Game was wonderful fun once again, seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We saw that nothing really ever changes when we saw the new game (New to us, at least) of Beer Pong. It is played on a Ping Pong Table with the little white balls floating in the cups, which are of course partially filled with Beer, and are consumed when you lose a point. We had Beer Baseball which was more of an outside sport, but you needed about 18 people to play it. The great young people who were showing us this alternate idea were intrigued with our description of what we did, and I think they probably are already trying it. The Yale Game is in New Haven next year-try to make it-because that really is a Tailgate party which is held on Tailgates.

November 10th, 2003
John Boatwright writes:

" Dave - Thanks for putting the teaser on the '58 web site. I hope to get a class mailing out in the next couple of weeks, but am ready to at least put up the info on our site so we can start getting in reservations. The only information missing from this is the DoubleTree response card, but I'm sure you can call their toll free # 877-408-8733, specify the dates (March 25 - 28, 2004) and the fact that it is the Princeton Class of '58 mini reunion. " 

Click here for the special page we have put up for this event. John expects a big response!!

November 5th, 2003
The Princeton Yale Game is almost upon us. We hope you've seen the fantastic moving picture of the one taken 100 years ago by Thomas Alva Edison on this website, and that gives you further impetus to join us all at 11AM on the upper porch of Cap and Gown for our semi-annual Class Party. It's a BYO food and drink bash, and it gets better every year! More and more of our friends and family are coming, and that makes it especially nice.

November 4th, 2003
If you are in the Princeton Area, we strongly suggest you try to attend The Roaring 20 Bash at Alexander Hall at 8PM this Friday, November 7th. Aaron Prescott, the other half of the team that makes this website work will be singing a solo! You'll remember them all as an outstanding feature at Reunions last year. They are a great group of people.

October 31st, 2003
As we've told you over the years, the Washington Class Dinner is possibly the most outstanding event the Class has each year. On October 23th, at The Embassy Row Westin, Leo Welt once again brought us all together for a wonderful evening. The large group-about 40 people- were seated around a long oblong table, and we went around the table and each person told us a little about where they were in life, and anything else they wanted to talk about. And at the end of the evening, we all gave Leo a standing ovation to thank him for making this such a special event each year.

October 29th, 2003
We've just returned to our posts and had been sent the following two notes from Bill Trimble right after we had left over a week ago:

"Hi David,

I have just received a letter from the Alumni Council at Princeton notifying me that Joe Nye--Professor Joseph S. Nye, Jr.--will be awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award at Alumni Day, February 21, 2004. In connection with the award, Joe will be giving a separate public address at 10:30 AM in Alexander Hall. This honor to one of 58's own is something we should all be proud of."
        

And regarding the Mini-Reunion of 2004: 

"Hi David,

I learned to my surprise last Saturday that due to a confusion over the date of our Mini-Reunion, our speaker is now unable to attend on that weekend. He apparently had put us down for another long weekend, entirely by mistake, and had filled the correct one with an engagement he could not possibly change.

The good news is that he called me back to announce he had entered my Mini from September 30, to October 3, 2004, and then, perforce, is when it will take place. Thank goodness he at least entered us, as he is far and ahead my first choice."

October 19th, 2003
Today, on our Main Page we are happy to present an amazing New Feature. You can see The Princeton Yale Game of 1903 (That, friends in case you hadn't noticed, is 100 years ago)! as it was filmed by one Thomas Alva Edison. To fully enjoy this 3 minute and 47 second glimpse of History, make sure you click on the lower right button to view it in full screen. We are indebted to Ray Hogan of The Alumni Council for bringing this to our attention. Our goal is to keep this website vibrant, and this certainly fits our criteria for great things we can share with you!

October 8th, 2003
The mini-reunion activity and reports are picking up! There is obviously a lot of interest in these wonderful events. Bill Trimble writes that some, in their initial reading of his final letter as Class Agent, misinterpreted that the date for the event was set in 2003. But, as you will see-it is in 2004! That, dear friends, in case you hadn't noticed, is a year from now!

Bill writes:  
  "The Civil War mini-reunion will take place in 2004, beginning October 7th and running through the 10th. On the night of October 6, 2004,  Leo Welt is planning his annual dinner in Washington, D.C., which should start the festivities. Possibly a motor coach could be arranged to meet those attendees flying in to DC, the morning after Leo's dinner. Some may want to drive directly to Fredericksburg."
             
Further details will follow.

             The event will be headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA and will be focused on the two battles of Fredericksburg, as well as the battles of Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Courthouse. Thirty six individuals have shown preliminary interest, and Bill would like to hear from anyone else interested by the end of November, 2003. Please write, call, or E-mail him at williamtrimble@msn.com.       

October 7th, 2003
Shortly the Class will be getting a mailing about the Charleston Mini Reunion scheduled for Thursday, March 25th to Sunday, March 28th. John Boatwright has sent us a little "teaser" for you to read: " We have a fantastic set of activities planned - staying in the heart of Charleston, classmates will enjoy an excursion across the harbor to Fort Sumter, a cocktail buffet in the downtown home of a member of the Class of '50, an afternoon visit to two plantations culminating in an oyster roast and "genewewine" low country supper, a gourmet dinner at one of Charleston's most popular restaurants, walking tours of the historic section, carriage rides, golf for the grass worshippers, perhaps a ghost tour and a surprise or two. Optional time will be available for antiquing or just walkin' around, which is one of the natives' favorite pastimes. I have reserved 30 rooms at the hotel - so space will be limited for this very special gathering of The GREAT CLASS OF 1958!"

September 24th, 2003
There is a very tender and beautifully written Memorial in the most recent Alumni Weekly (September 10th) about Bob Keidel '33. We've mentioned him a number of times here over the years as he was a great fan of this Site, and his Email address was listed on our Email address page. Bob was forever young, and had computer skills long before many of '58 had even tried it. What a joy it was to have known him.

September 22nd, 2003
There will be a meeting of a number of experienced P-rade Marshalls on October 15, 2003, reviewing the P-rade that took place this last year. We've heard from a number of people how disappointed they were in the presentation in general and the constantly increasing "sloppiness" of the entire event. The Twenty Fifth Reunion Class approached the gates at the wrong time, and the whole thing, from the beginning, left a lot to be desired.
There were not many compliments about the Class of 1958 either, as it was waiting for their chance to join the line of march. And then in the P-rade, the way it actually appeared. Obviously some of the problems were due to the bad weather, but overall there was the view that it could have been much better. We're very interested in your opinions and anything you have to say. We will certainly forward them, if you choose, to the "powers that be."

September 13th, 2003
The new music format has been warmly endorsed by many of you. We will be changing all the music to this form soon. Is everyone OK with this? Any complaints or problems-tell us now. We'll be putting some more neat music and other good stuff up soon!

September 11th, 2003
If you are in The New York City Area the evening of September 24th, you might want to go by the Princeton Club and hear our own Tony Brandt discuss his book: “Lewis and Clark: The Quintessential American Adventure Story. This is a free event, but they ask for advance reservations. Call the program office at 212 596 1261 or contact events@Princetonclub.com. Tony is the editor of a new condensation of the Journals of Lewis and Clark for The National Geographic Society. He writes for the National Geographic Adventure Magazine, and has been featured on NPR and in Newsweek. Come out and support one of the boys!

August 29th, 2003
We've been a little lax in keeping up with News Notes during the last weeks of August, with very good reasons. Aaron Prescott, our engineer in charge of mechanics on this site, has been away in Houston working with NASA for the past week, and we felt that might be more important than this. Your humble servant was in New Orleans keeping up with what is happening there so that the music you get here remains the best available. And, in case you wanted to know, and if you'll excuse me, I had a great time there. Previous to that we were involved, to some degree, in the Blackout in the Northeast, and also entertained some dear Friends from Plymouth, England who were here to visit us. We've previously mentioned the Princeton connection here, so if you scroll way back you'll find it. We'll be out of touch till September 7th when Aaron gets back to Campus after a tough Road Trip singing with The Roaring 20. You'll remember them as a wonderful hit at Reunions on Saturday Night. Hope you like the new music format. Tell us what you think! Have a nice Labor Day Weekend!

August 10th, 2003
Available now for your listening enjoyment, we proudly introduce The Great Class of 1958 Flash Music Player (see the top of this page). You must have Flash Player version 6.0 or higher installed on your computer in order to listen to the music, otherwise you are out of luck. But don't worry, you can get Flash Player 6.0 for free by clicking here and following the instructions they give you. Beginning here on the Class News page, we are attempting to make the wonderful music on this site accessible to more of you without waiting for very long. So to prove the point, we are giving you two versions of the same song, both of which will download faster than it took to download just the one song before!

Just a note on the second version of "What a Wonderful World": Milton Batiste of the Olympia Brass Band, one of the nicest guys ever, was at a number of our Reunions. He's gone now, but hearing him sing here brings back many wonderful memories.

August 6th, 2003
Coming this weekend, we will be introducing a brand new way to listen to a number of the songs on this site. If this proves to be as successful as we think it will be, we will change all the songs to that format so there is practically no download time. Many of you still work with very slow internet connections, but once you finally all get DSL, or it's equivalent, seeing and especially hearing this site (and everything else on your computer) will be a joy. Unfortunately if you don't get the newer technology, signing on to all of this can be a real waste of your time. Once you get “with it”, you will have much more time to play golf, party, to chase members of the gender that you choose to chase, or just use the time you save to remember how you used to do that with regularity. We have instructions on the pages where these “new” songs are to help you.
Hope you like it!

July 31st, 2003
Well-The Washington Dinner will happen this year! The notice was sent out in a very timely fashion so we could all make plans. I talked to Leo and told him how happy we all are that he is healthy enough to do it. When it was at The Hay Adams, Leo had us all around one big table and he asked each person to introduce themselves and say what they were up to. That was wonderful, and I hope it can be continued at The Westin on Embassy Row. I also told Leo that 67 year old men don't like long speeches and although Bill Greider is a great guy and we're proud to have him, the shorter the presentation the better. The whole point of these things is to see each other, and the shorter the presentation, the more we communicate with one another. I've never understood why we have Speakers anyway, but if it is preordained that we need one, it might as well be Bill. On top of that anyone who still writes for The Rolling Stone at 67 is OK with me.

July 15th, 2003
This morning I had the pleasure of joining Bob Schmalz '54 at Breakfast. Bob has worked tirelessly for Princeton, having interviewed more candidates who have been accepted than anyone I know. This will be Bob's 50th Reunion, (as will be classmate Don Rumsfeld's-scroll down to News Note of September 28th, 2002) which he and I both can't believe, as it all seems like yesterday. We were both noting the amazing interest our University President has in the students. One can't help but compare that interest to that of the person who really made Princeton what it is today. He died in 1924, and his primary interest was in educating the students. He was often addressed, because he liked it that way, by his first name, as is often the choice of this President. Ask the students (as I often do) what they think of Shirley Tilghman, and you will be extremely impressed.

July 2nd, 2003
Just in case you haven't noticed, for the past seven years this website has not tried to preempt or "compete" with The Class Notes Column in the PA Weekly (which now comes out Monthly-but I presume you figured that out by now!) but every so often there is a necessity to add to what has been published. In the July 2nd issue (delivered at our house on July 1st- EXCELLENT! -Not only on time- but EARLY!) the excellent article written by Mr. DeGroff about our 45th Reunion left out the absolutely superb performance by Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks. Nothing short of amazing, this Orchestra's performance was talked about on The Campus and elsewhere for about three weeks. They were clearly the Number One Musical Aggregation on Campus. They were at our 25th, now they were back as the featured band at our 45th, and we hope they are back as one of the innumerable featured Bands at our 50th. Although 99 per cent of you told us they were unbelievable, I must admit to you that one spouse told me they were absolutely terrible. And that is exactly why I am not The Reunion Chairman anymore. If I really was still in charge I would have been really upset, but since I'm not, I thought it was sort of cute. All opinions are welcomed you see, but I've learned that not all are worthwhile. Anyway, Vince and his group of some of the best musicians around, were in Essex CT. for another amazing performance this past weekend, and he told me that he was thrilled to have been at Princeton again, and appreciated the wonderful comments he received there.

On another "Note" we will be changing some of the Great Music on this website soon. We want you to stay "intrigued" with the entertainment here! Lots of you tune in just for the music-and that's fine with us!

June 20th, 2003
We are sorry to report that Asa Baber died on June 18th, one day short of his 67th Birthday. Asa shared that birthday with Lou Gehrig, his childhood hero, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as did Asa. Asa wrote the Playboy "Men's Column" for a very long time. He wrote lots of things that many of us thought but were afraid to say. He was a brilliant and wonderful writer, and more importantly, a nice guy. A public memorial service is planned for Monday, June 30th at The Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago, at 6:30 PM. It is not always fun to write this column for this website.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/obituaries/cst-nws-xbaber18.html

June 19th, 2003
The new Class officers are listed on The Email page. Work is already started on The Yearbook for the 50th! It is a giant undertaking and Bruce Carrick is going to make sure it is superb. I think it is somewhat of a shock that we are here already. It really seems like yesterday when we started to bond with '33 as they were preparing for their 50th. There are 60 great people left in that Class as of today. By the way- '33 has their own web page now! We'll give you the link shortly!

June 8th, 2003
An outstanding aspect of this year's Reunion was the Memorial Service put together by our own Dennis Day. The names of all in The Class who are not with us anymore were read. Unfortunately our good friend Bob Rock died right at Forbes during Reunions (not a bad way to go for someone who loved it all as Bob did) so his name was not yet on the list. Jack Cannell who was in office as President of the Class for the last five years, delivered a wonderful presentation. Jack talked about getting to know people you never knew at College, and said that is what this is all about. We will put Jack's comments up on The Reunion page soon. What is remarkable here is that Jack never knew many people in The Class when he started this job, was not involved in Class activities, and was in fact only involved as an individual who asked for donations from some for Annual Giving, and was, to be frank, rather distant to most. But when you read what he said, and when you follow the development of his thinking, perhaps it may inspire many of you to also get involved soon in getting to know some wonderful people that you never knew before.

June 6th, 2003
Another wonderful Reunion Weekend has come and gone. Bern Deichmann and his committee and Undergraduate Crew gave it their all and it worked! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! We'll write more about it soon, but your humble servant is traveling, and will be back soon to tell you more about it.

May 20th, 2003
In The Reunion Section we've given you as much information as is available now-you have the Schedule of The 1958 Reunion and The Schedule of Campus Activities with Speakers and Forums. We will keep updating this right up to next Wednesday if more information becomes available. As far as the weather is concerned, we are not responsible, but bring an Umbrella just in case, as this is the season when the odds of some precipitation is fairly high. This is, of course, Princeton and the weather pattern has been about the same for the past 250 years.

Check www.weather.com for the latest forecast of Princeton, NJ.

Here's a letter from Bern Deichmann about Reunions:

Dear Classmates,

For those of you who registered these schedules will give you advance information on what has been planned for your return to Old Nassau. For those of you who are prevented from being with us it will give you an idea what you missed.

The Reunion Headquarters is at Forbes College FORMERLY THE PRINCETON INN near the Railroad Station. We suggest you start at the Headquarters to pick up the packets of information which have been prepared for all registrants. This is where you can pick up the items ordered such as the REUNION JACKET, THE POLO SHIRT(S) etc.

Some of you have made reservations at the Merrill Lynch Conference Center. We suggest you first register at our headquarters. We will provide directions to Merrill Lynch, the Seminary, etc.

Looking forward to seeing all of you at the end of May.

Bern E. Deichmann

For the schedules- see the Reunions Page and scroll down!

May 7th, 2003
In the previous News Note we showed you the Evening Entertainment as is best reported at this time. On Friday of Reunions at 2PM, The Class is sponsoring a concert that is outlined in The Program we have on The Reunions Page. If you want to know what's happening at Reunions stay tuned!

May 2nd, 2003
Look on the Reunions Page and see the first printing anywhere of Entertainment at this years Reunions. This site is always the first with this sort of VERY IMPORTANT information each year. Have Fun!

May 1st, 2003
Joshua Atkins '96 has come up with one of the best Alumni ideas we've heard about in a long time. He really wants the older classes to REALLY interact with the younger classes. He talked about this at The Princeton Club of NY the other night and one could not help but be intrigued. As these people who are extraordinary (He has his PhD, is about to get his MD from Columbia in 3 weeks, and his wife Priscilla Lo '97, who is also extraordinary, is at Oglivy and Mather and has an uncle in '58) want to get together with the likes of US (believe it or not!) and let us share thoughts. They would be great at our Class Dinners as they would enliven the whole evening and bring in fresh ideas. We ought to be highly honored and reach out to them in any way possible. We look forward to hearing from you on this, and let's see if you agree, and see if we can make this happen.

April 21st, 2003
On Saturday Evening of Reunions, down at the Boathouse, the Roaring 20 will be entertaining the Class with a wonderful selection of songs from this fine singing group. And in that group you will meet, in person, the wonderful people who have worked on this site for the past 5 years. David Segal, who graduates this year, will be there. Aaron Prescott, who is on the job now and will be on it for the next 3 years, will be there as well. And as a special added attraction, Adam Friedlander, who has graduated, and is presently in Medical School at the University of Maryland, will be coming back to join the group. Please say hello to these wonderful people, and see, in person, why this site is so technically excellent!

April 17th, 2003
A few weeks ago we told you about some previews of where you can go for a taste of what you'll see at Reunions this year. And to that point, on May 5th you can see Ed Polcer and his group perform at the The Tilden Arts Center in West Barnstable, Mass. Ed will be onstage as well on Thursday Night at 58's 45th at Forbes College. And small world that it is, Vince Giordano, who you can listen to on this website, and is leading his Orchestra for us on Friday, will be playing with Ed up there.

April 4th, 2003
You can tell it's time for reunions when our honorary Classmate Al Bates returns to the campus to put things into high gear. Although Al formally retired some years ago, his expertise is still really wanted there, so he is returning from his home in Florida this week to work at Princeton and to make sure that the perfection he brings to the table is adhered to. It is because of people like Al that Princeton Reunions are unmatched anywhere.

March 23rd, 2003
We had heard that Vince Giordano's Nighthawks were better than ever, but we had to see for ourselves. The other night, at The Cajun (129 Eighth Ave at 16th Street in NYC), they were outstanding. There are some World Class Musicians playing with him. I am happily surprised to tell you that the Service and Food were surprisingly good as well. So if you want a preview of what you'll see and hear Friday Night at Reunions, go there. You will have a great time!