November 4, 2009
“Oh, East is East, and West is West,” but the twain, in this case 54, did meet in Milwaukee Sept. 23-26. They came from 16 states and Canada for a “mini,” our 26th off-campus reunion.
Deeann GUTENKUNST with husband CHARLIE and Aline and JIM WALLACE had Milwaukee primed for us. An orange and black Harley motor bike was on display in the lobby of our Intercontinental headquarters, and orange was the hotel motif. At Ten Chimneys, the Alfred Lunt-Lynn Fontanne home, the host greeted us with unbounded enthusiasm, explaining that she had not been with so many Tigers since a student at Ripon (Wis.) High School, whose mascot was a tiger with colors orange and black.
Since motorcycle history was foreign to us, the Harley-Davidson museum was an unexpected learning experience. However, DICK FORD had some foreknowledge as photos of Harley’s replacement parts for its catalog and its promotional photography are products of his son’s Midcoast Studio. Viewing the bikes, LEW BANCROFT recalled that he rode a motorcycle to work, much to the consternation of his safety-minded employer in Wilmington, DuPont.
No Milwaukee visit would be complete without a brewery tour, and, of course, sampling. Ours was at Sprecher Brewing Co., Milwaukee’s original microbrewery. We later learned that the grandfather of “DUTCH” PRIOLEAU’s wife, Diane, was once the largest hops grower in the world.
Bird watcher FRAN WOOD, quick on the draw with his binoculars, spotted a Double-crested Cormorant on the lake cruise.
At Saturday evening cocktails, high up in the University Club and overlooking Lake Michigan, we viewed the ethereal opening of the art museum’sBrise Soleil (aka “wings”) and considered it an appropriate salute and “auf wiedersehen” to the Class of ’50.
Class webmeister CHARLIE ROSE has downloaded photos from Milwaukee to our Web site. (See address above.)
The class has memorials in this issue.
October 21 , 2009
We well remember our Baltimore mini when Ellie Kelly’s niece-in-law, Janet Marie Smith, described her work as Red Sox vice president and architect responsible for modernizing Fenway Park, major-league baseball’s oldest stadium. This June, Ellie and “BO” KELLY and two of their grandchildren not only received a VIP tour of Smith’s product, but Ellie’s 80th birthday was recognized on the Fenway screen in front of a sold-out Red Sox crowd.
Bo also reported that he saw CAREY MATTHIESSEN while on Fisher Island off the Connecticut coast. Carey is an eminent authority on oysters, and once had a thriving oyster nursery in a pond just below the Kellys’ island home. Bo “nostalgically” recalled that at one time Carey put some dye in the Kelly sanitary system to make certain it was not contaminating his pond.
DICK PRENTISS’ last publication, written as an undergraduate, was about Father Charles Coughlin, a political activist in the ’30s, whose weekly radio program was carried on 130 stations.
Now, many years later, and after a career in law and dedication to his Palm Beach Society Band, Dick is seeking a publisher for a novel. Drawing upon his residences in both NYC and Palm Beach, Fla., and his love of tennis, he writes about a lovely divorcee who leaves her Fifth Avenue penthouse “to try her luck “at a wealthy Florida tennis and golf club. All that Dick will reveal is that she “finds more than success.”
DAVE BILLINGTON, formally known at Princeton as the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering, was the honored recipient of the 2008 distinguished award of merit from the American Council of Engineering Companies.
News reached us that KEN SAMUELS died in Texas, Aug. 25, 2009, and “BOGEY” TAILER died in West Palm Beach Aug. 30, 2009.

October 7, 2009
The bells were ringing in Greenwich, Conn., June 6, when Phoebe Ballard and DICK FORD were married. Dick cites our 24th mini- reunion in Minneapolis in 2007 as the catalyst for their union. Phoebe and Dick now join Jean and SID FOX, whose romance also began at a mini-reunion. Representing ’50 at the wedding festivities were Lela and JACK BOGARDUS.
JOHN SCOTT reported from his home in London that he had talked with CHARLIE SLACK in Perth, Australia. Charlie is chairman of the board for the Perth’s drug-rehabilitation program and was recently invited to join the board of Tabor Bible College after completing a theology course there. Charlie and his wife, Sue, continue as co-pastors of the Greenwood Christian Fellowship in a small town of 300 some 200 miles north of Perth.
One of John’s London compatriots, GEORGE BAILEY, wrote earlier in the year that his “life was very full,” especially as he and his wife, Yvonne, enjoy their first grandchild, who is now 3.
CHARLIE SWIFT has moved to Eufaula, Ala., the hometown of his wife, Donna, in the southeastern part of the state. Their home is on Lake Eufaula, a lake with 640 miles of shoreline and known as “The Big Bass Capital of the World.” In recent years they have traveled to China and India, and they plan to return next year to Australia, where Charlie has some family and lived in the late ’80s.
At last report, MACKNIGHT BLACK was still in Virginia breeding and raising Airedales. Last year he sold a litter of 10.
JIM BRALLA sent news that JOHN LINCOLN died in New Hampshire Aug. 1, 2009.

Recently PAW asked if any of our classmates were authors whose books had been made into movies. A survey came up dry. However, the question prompted Bill Dippel to volunteer that he once slept in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Princeton room in Little Hall.
Our sympathy goes to WHARTIE SHOBER, whose wife, Sandra, died in February. Attending her funeral in London were classmates and UK residents, JOHN SCOTT and COLUMBUS O’DONNELL. Whartie will be moving from London to West Palm Beach, Fla. 
We will miss ROD EDWARDS, who died May 5 at his Bay Head, N.J., home. Rod was our class president from 2000-05 and a stalwart of our class in many ways.

September 23, 2009
Could it be that most of us began our Princeton journey 63 years ago, and that next May we will mark our graduation in 1950 with our 60th reunion?
FRED KNIGHT and RICHARD RHAME paid tribute to two of our classmates in recent notes. Fred wrote that he has not participated in AG, since he and his wife favor local charities. However, this year he was making an AG gift to honor PETE BUCHANAN who “was a classmate at Deerfield, a gifted Princetonian, and a good friend.” Fred, better known to us as “Snuffy” while an undergraduate, retired from business in 1994 but still teaches communications at Eastern New Mexico U. He and Carol will celebrate their 47th anniversary this December.
Richard, whose undergraduate monikers were “Raymer” and “Rick,” is a urologist in Alexandria, Va. With his AG gift, he recounted the 17 years classmate GEORGE RIESZ was his patient, during which they “became good friends and I developed a great respect for his [George’s] courage, energy, and good humor.”
Two of Richard’s roommates were heard from earlier this year. JOHN BROTHERTON, who is in his 22nd year of retirement from Exxon, reported a phone conversation with JIM CAFIERO that evoked reminiscences of their 1955 tiger hunt in India. John added that the hunt was unsuccessful, which, considering the tiger’s endangered status today, was a fortunate outcome.
In May, our class was represented at the 134th Annual Princeton Club of St. Louis Dinner by JOHN GOESSLING, Cici and JOHN MINTON, class associate Georgia Van Cleve with JOHN COLWELL, and your scribe with wife Garie. (The club was founded in 1875, 21 years before the University officially became Princeton.)
We will miss the following four classmates who died in recent months: JACK STONE, May 15; ALLEN DALEY, June 1; AL GALLUP, June 22; and AL NICHOLSON, July 18.

July 15, 2009
Our 59th is now history, and reunion chairman BILL HAYNES has plans well under way for our 60th next May. Of course, there will be a warm-up in Milwaukee this fall when our 26th mini takes place Sept. 23-27. 
Our Princeton stringer, BILL OSBORNE, who also doubles as off-year reunion chairman, reported that there were 45 attendees at Friday’s class dinner in Fine Hall Tower. At the dinner or seen elsewhere on campus during Reunions with wife, friend, or singly were: ABBOTTS, BEATY, DAVE BILLINGTON, BOGARDUS, CAMPBELL, CHASE, CHRISTENSEN, COHN, DIPPEL, DUNCAN, ERDMAN, FISHER, FREEMAN, HAYNES, LAMASON, LOWMAN, MCALPIN, MINTON, OSBORNE, POWSNER, RENTSCHLER, RIVINUS, JACK ROBINSON, ROSE, BILL and FRED SCHLUTER, SHEPHERD, STAATS-WESTOVER, and BILL WALLACE. Bill, no doubt, checked out the environs where his two grandchildren, William ’09 and Sara ’12, are studying. 
The world has been well represented by the recipients of the scholarship Ricky and PAUL DIDISHEIM established three years ago. Pictured here (l-r) between Paul and Ricky at a February luncheon at Prospect are Hyeon-Ju Ryoo ’11 of Seoul, Quzhao Hu ’12 of Nanjing, and Namita Biala ’10 of London. Each received the scholarship for their freshman year. Paul also reports that he plays tennis several times a week, and he and Ricky relish the activities of their three children and six grandchildren. 
Another tennis player, MIKE TURNER, is on the court three or four times a week, and despite a variety of medical ailments, is enjoying life. 
News came from Kentucky that BO NIXON and his son, Ted ’74, were inducted into the Louisville Business Hall of Fame in March. Those of us who attended our 23rd mini-reunion in Louisville that Bo orchestrated know first-hand the respect he has in that community. There to bask in Bo’s glory were Grace and VADEN FITTON and Aline and JIM WALLACE. After the ceremony, joined by Bo’s daughter, Edie ’79, they retired to the bar for a round of stingers — the traditional drink they have enjoyed through many years of traveling and partying together.
Early this year BO KELLY spent a few hours with Dave Billington at a Princeton Art Museum exhibit on Felix Candela’s sculptural buildings. The exhibition coincided with the publication of a book on Candela by Marcia Garlock and Dave.

June 10, 2009
The Alumni Council awarded the 1898 Trophy for the 2007-08 academic year to our class for the highest percentage of members attending a gathering during the year between Reunions. The award recognized the 11.9% of class members who attended our 25th mini-reunion in Baltimore in April 2007. Kudos again to the Baltimore committee — Ellie and BO KELLY, PAS MITCHELL, LUKE HOPKINS, and BILL GILBERT.
Our 26th mini is less than four months away. Plan on being in Milwaukee Sept. 23-27 when Deeann Gutenkunst and committee have arranged, as class president AL ABBOTTS describes, a “wonder-filled event.”
Mention of Wisconsin reminds your scribe of one of the 32 Princetons he and his wife visited in 1996. Princeton, Wisconsin, is a town of about 1,500, 75 miles northwest of Milwaukee. It was the home of the Princeton Brewing Company, which thrived before Prohibition and whose product, Tiger Brew, was known locally for its “flavor and head” and was advertised as “the beer with a purr.” A painted head of a generously bewhiskered tiger, the company’s logo, dominated the front of the brick building that once housed the brewery. One of the locals recounted that her father, who drove a horse-drawn beer wagon, would report how kegs of Tiger Brew sustained Polish wedding celebrations for days. Unfortunately, the brewery’s revival after Prohibition was short lived.
JACK AULD wrote from St. Louis that he is on his third pacemaker after a quadruple bypass in 1991, but is “physically quite fit except for vision.” Downsizing from a five-bedroom home is in his plans. Jack, who attended Grover Cleveland High School in St. Louis, recalled meeting Mrs. Cleveland as a freshman at Princeton and sitting next to Einstein one evening at Princeton Playhouse.
FRED GREGORY died in Indiana March 29. GRAHAM “DOC” SHANLEY died in Spain March 30. 

May 13, 2009
It may surprise some of the younger set that the invention Alexander Graham Bell patented in 1876 is still an effective way to communicate. KEITH LORING suggests a phone call to him if anyone wants information about prostate cancer. You can reach him at 512-868-3337 or e-mail lorings2@aol.com. 
As a non-physician, prostate cancer survivor, and cofounder/facilitator of several support groups, Keith has gathered extensive material about this disease and made national connections during the 13 years he has aided men. Keith lives in the Sun City Active Adult Retirement Community in Georgetown, Texas, but makes no mention of “actively” using his Terrace Club softball-pitching prowess there. 
JACK SHEPHERD phoned to inquire whether Nobel Prize winner John Nash *50 (A Beautiful Mind) and resident Princeton mathematician and economist, whom he recently met, had any connection with our class. (Graduate school at the same time.) Jack has been retired for 20 years, after peddling securities for many years at Goldman Sachs. He is doing well in Tenafly, N.J.
BOB MCKINLEY reported that JOHN LOWMAN sounded fine during a recent phone conversation. Bob added that he was in “pretty good shape,” but has curtailed the extensive traveling that he and his wife had done in the past.
A phone call following an e-mail from ALLEN DALEY found him in California. Sadly, Allen’s wife, “Canoe,” died suddenly from a stroke last March. Allen, who is fighting Alzheimer’s, has moved from Delaware to an assisted-living community in Morgana, Calif., to be near his son, Tom ’75.
FOR THE RECORD: LEN PALIN wants all to know that he has no relatives in Alaska. He continues his pastoral ministry in Monarch Beach, Calif. BILL AHRENS is in his second, four-year term as councilman in Indian River Shores, Fla.
News arrived from North Carolina that ADDISON “AD” GOBLE died March 18.

REMINDER: Warm-up for the 60th by coming to Old Nassau for our 59th. BILL OSBORNE has arranged our class dinner for Friday evening, May 29, in the professors’ lounge atop Fine Hall. Saturday meals will be available at ’49’s 60th headquarters at Forbes College. Attend the 59th and double up by coming to Milwaukee for our 26th mini-reunion Sept. 23-27 (see Web site).
And did you know that minis can be catalysts? So reports DICK FORD, with the news that he and Phoebe Ballard are engaged. Dick cited our 24th Mini in Minneapolis in September 2007 as the catalyst for their romance. (Recollection is that some earlier minis “catalyzed” the romance of Jean and SID FOX.) Dick and Phoebe were in Minneapolis in January for the opening of Henry V at the Guthrie Theatre. Dick’s son, Rick, who is a member of The Acting Company based in NYC, played five parts in the play, which is now on a 26-city tour. Dick and Phoebe also had dinner with Merle and ROLAND MINDA. Merle is bouncing back from a hip replacement. Roland still has his weekly TV show, Strictly Seniors.
CHARLIE ROSE recently discovered that “BARK” GUMMERE was a townhouse-community neighbor in Newtown, Pa. Bark, whose career was in banking, has remained single and has lived in Newtown for the past 25 years. He still researches electric railways, especially the bygone trolley system of his native Trenton area.
We note the passing of two classmates. BOB PEARCE died Aug. 1, 2008, and RALPH MCGILL died Feb. 12, 2009. Another sad note: JOE TILT’s widow, Judy, was killed in a car crash in California last Memorial Day. It was a second tragedy for the Tilt family, as Joe was killed in a car accident in 1997. 

1 April 09

While we normally report the loss of a classmate with a brief notice at the close of Class Notes, an exception is in order. Class stalwart "PETE" BUCHANAN died in Beverly,Mass., Feb. 9 from complications of prostate cancer. The class owes a great deal to Pete, who was a longtime member of the executive committee, class secretary for 15 years, a one-term AGchairman, a memory bank: of class history, the initiator of the tradition of class minireunions, an organizer of four '50 minis (in Newburyport, Mass., in DC, and two in Salem, Mass.), and a source of guidance for organizers of our other 21 minis. We will miss Pete.

Last fall there was a mini of sorts when JOHN SPEED and AL SHANDS  traveled from Louisville to Tigertown to join BILL HAYNES and DAVE BlLLINGTON at the welcoming celebration for the Rev. Paul Jeanes, a former Louisville resident, who became the new rector at Trinity Church in  Princeton. It was Princeton day at the White House Dec. to when Librarian of Congress JIM BILLINGTON and two other Princetonians received the Presidential Citizens Medal. The medal, awarded in recognition of exemplary deeds of service to the nation, is one of the highest honors a president can confer on a civilian. Also honored with Jim were Princeton's McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert George and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp '89.

North Carolina is now horne to two classmates. After almost 50 years in Princeton, Betty and DICK MCCLELLAND moved to Charlotte. This brings them nearer their three sons and their families, whose count comes to 17 McClellands. Cynthia and BILL BERNART have moved south from Virginia to Raleigh, likewise to be closer to their children.

18 March 09

1950 IN THE MEDICALWORLD: JOHN COLWELL was awarded South Carolina's highest civilian honor, The Order of the Palmetto, by Gov.Mark Sanford in December. John was recognized as an outstanding physician and a leader in the medical community and for his dedication to the cause of diabetes research, patient care, and education. Later in December, Medical U. of South Carolina trustees designated the school's diabetes research center as The John A. Colwell Diabetes Research Center. John is a past president of the American Diabetes Association and a master of the American College of Physicians.

DICK SHARRETT, a cardiologist, presented a paper titled "Facilitation of the Development of Resiliency Heart Care Systems in the United States" at the 61St annual meeting of the Gerontological Society in November. Dick noted that his first professional paper, which was co-authored, was published in 1957.

Bill WINTERS reported from Texas that he survived Hurricane Ike with minimal damage. Bill is still practicing cardiovascular medicine, and is editor of the Journal of the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center and chief of the Methodist Hospital Education Institute.

"HEW" RYAN, a psychiatrist, traveled from Alabama to attend his 50th reunion at the Rochester School of Medicine last year. He suggested that he and wife Valerie had better come to Princeton for our 59th so they would
be able to recognize classmates at the 60th.  Not a bad idea. Reunion dates: May 29-30.

Bill KORNFELD, also a psychiatrist, wrote from Kentucky that "after three years of hard effort, I am finally divorced, and very happy, working hard, and in pretty good health."

We have lost two classmates. Medical researcher DUNCAN MCCULLOCH died in Hanover, Pa., Jan. 20, and BOB PERLEY died at his home
in Westfield, N.J., Jan. 26.

4 March 09

What do a recycling station, a pipe organ, and a weekly radio program have in common?
Answer: The Class of '50

According to an article in the Morgan (W.Va.)Messenger: "Cars and trucks
were lined up to mark the opening of Morgan County's permanent recycle center Monday, Dec. I5." Specifically, it was the Charles R. Biggs Recycling Center, named for CHARLIE BIGGS. Charlie and his wife, Margaret, have promoted recycling over the 13 years they have lived in the county. He undertook design and construction supervision of the center. It took $75,000 in cash and in-kind donations to prepare the site, install receptacles, and put the finishing touches on the two-acre facility.

CHARLIE KRIGBAUM, university organist and professor in Yale's School of Music until 1995, also has his name on something. He was honored last year by having a new Taylor and Boody mean-tone pipe organ named for him. The organ is in the Yale Divinity School. Charlie wrote that it is "one of very few in such an early temperament."  (Your musically naive scribe consulted his church organist for clarlflcatlon.)  Charlie added, "Wonderful for pre-Bach music.

Last October, Little Rock, Ark., TV station KLR broadcast a five-minute interview with DAVID MILLER to mark the 25th anniversary of the syndicated weekly radio jazz program he produces. Swingin' Down The Lane with David Miller is now carried on 50 National Public Radio stations plus a station in Hamburg, Germany.  Ironically, the program has been running far longer than the "Big Band" era, which is one of its main features. And to think, the program is rooted in David's boyhood in Elizabeth, N.J.,where he saved his nickels and dimes to purchase 78 rpm recordings of popular music.

11 February 09

Couldn't help noticing a 'Tiger" award for an item in recent Class of '75 notes
recognizing Doug Schutte. He is Virginia's top blood donor, having given platelets 328 times by Reunions. Congratulations, Doug, but let the record show that our own CHARLIE ROSE was 50 donations better - having given
372 times by Reunions. In addition, Charlie has given 183 units of whole blood.  When Charlie was recently honored with the first-ever New Jersey Blood Services Lifetime Platelet Donation Award, he recounted his first donation. "I started with whole blood at Princeton, where I was given
a shot of whiskey afterward. Who cared if I was underage," he said. Reflecting on the award, he mused, "Since they analyze my blood chemistry every two weeks, perhaps they know something that I don't. You know,
like the Academy Awards where each year there is a lifetime award for someone who they expect may not be around the next year."

STAN PLENINGiER is our only classmate who resides in Alaska. He recently called seeking his roommate JOE GREEN's number. Stan has lived in Alaska since 1975. He has cut back on his law practice and now is directing his
energies toward developing a retirement community on land he acquired many years ago. It's choice property with lake frontage and easy highway access north of Anchorage, and not far from Wasilla. So if you believe
Sarah Palin, it also might have a good view of Russia.

BOB SCHELLNG is one of our four classmates who live in Canada. Bob took Sylvie, his wife and tennis fanatic, to the French Open last June to celebrate her birthday. Prudently, he quantified Sylvie's birthday only as "significant."

We lost two classmates at the close of 8 BOB PRICE died Dec. 3 and GENE NOBLES died Dec. 22.

28 January 09

Mark your 2009 calendar for two class reunions: Our next mini-reunion will be in Milwaukee Sept. 23-26, where CHARLIE GUTENKUNST's wife, Deeann, is forging ahead with plans for an influx of classmates for our 26th mini. BILL OSBORNE off-year reunion expertise continues to hold him in good stead as he shapes plans for our 59th during Reunions weekend, May 28-31. Both will be great warm-ups for our 60th in 2010, which the Chinese presciently designated as the Year of the Tiger, as they did for 1950, our graduation year.
TRAVELIN'TIGERS: Last August, Joan and GLENN SILER visited Russia, where they "enjoyed an interesting and challenging holiday." Starting in Moscow, they boarded a riverboat for an eight-day cruise up the Baltic waterway to St. Petersburg with its Hermitage and Peter the Great's Palace. They ended their trip in Stockholm. 

DON WEST did not tell us - but we have pictorial evidence - that he was in Europe last fall. HANK RENTSCHLER sent a photo of his sister, Liz, and Don in Dresden last October. All Hank learned from his sister was that they had met Don at breakfast. 

Thyrza and GEORGE ZABRISKIE traveled last summer from their Montana horne to the Zabriskie family house in Hancock Point, Maine, for their annual sojourn there. All 12 members of the Zabriskie family branch were present for the first time in 10 years. 

Ann and BILL LUCAS celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Dec. 19.  They continue to travel from their LA home to summer in Martha's Vineyard. The Vineyard population swelled last summer as the Lucases' four children
and their spouses and nine grandchildren joined them. Bill continues in the family investment business, with nonprofit organizations in education, the arts, and Third World development, and on the advisory council of Princeton's Department of Art and Archaeology.

Joyce and TED MELDAHL have had a full year of experiencing the medical system, but were able to fit in an Elderhostel stay, a trip to North Carolina mountains, and a cruise on the Danube. Ted noted that more recent travels
have been of a "rehab" nature to hospitals in South Carolina. He is most complimentary of the "competence, dedication, and just plain caring" they found in so many people in the medical world. This is especially reassuring
as they address Joyce's heart problems.

Maybe at this very time RUSS KIRBY, onetime Princeton swimmer, is soaking up the sun on a beach. Russ left the chill of his Minnesota home in December for six months in Hawaii. He added that he now has a new heart valve - the pig variety. Hope this doesn't ruin his appetite at a traditional luau.

BUT SOME STAY HOME FOR GOOD REASON: Gloria and RALPH CARDELLO welcomed home one of their eight grandchildren, a grandson who returned in October from the war in Afghanistan. They are living a "quiet life" in New Jersey, where two of their daughters living nearby keep tabs on
them. That's harder lately since Ralph has fully recovered from 2007 back surgery. Their other two children live in Virginia and California.

We extend sympathy to two classmates who have lost their lifelong spouses: ROBERT FORREST, whose wife of 60 years, Jean, died Sept. 11; and STUART HAYES, whose wife of almost 59 years, Louise, died Oct. l.

News of the death of two classmates has reached us. Bill STEVENSON died Oct. 9 and SAMUEL ROBINSON, affectionately known as"Tizo," died Nov. 10.

17 December 08

I recently heard from BEN LAWRENCE who was trying to catch up with his roommate, JOHN MINTON.  He enjoys summers at his Lake Michigan cottage, and now is back in his Ohio home for the winter, where his voice bolsters the church choir.  John just celebrated both his 80th birthday and completion of radiation treatments for prostate cancer. He still plays tennis several times a week in St. Louis, and is contemplating retirement next year. In Richmond, maybe.

In case you missed them, recent editions of PAW carried two letters with '50 authorship. The Sept. 24 edition ran a thoughtful letter from John Minton on attacking alcohol abuse. The Oct. 8 issue printed a letter from HARLEY FUNK'swife, "Petey," that revisited life and travails of married WWIl veterans and their wives who resided in "The Project."

It has been a busy and rewarding time for Pablo Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Sciences. On July 1, Professor Debenedetti assumed the position of vice dean of the engineering school. On Class Day he won the School of Engineering and Applied Science Distinguished Teacher Award, and at Commencement, he received the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching.

With a dearth of news until the class dues start flowing to treasurer JOE GREEN space permits tribute to our previous eight class secretaries.
In order since 1950, they are: PETE ERDMAN, JOEL NIXON, EV FRANK, DON COHN, BOB READ, STU DUNCAN PETE BUCHANAN and SID FOX- with Pete and Sid covering the class beat for 30 years by alternating every five years. Faced with a news shortage, one scribe (name withheld) chronicled the doings of a fictitious classmate he created, much to the consternation
of PAW's editors.

EDWARD   'DOUGH" HOLYOKE former chief surgeon at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, died Sept. 29 in Sandy Pond, near Oswego, N.Y.

19 November 2008

The saying goes that "old soldiers just fade away." This is not true of some teachers, especially two classmates who reside in Princeton. Bill HAYNES has retired from office practice, but still teaches third-year medical students using cardiology case studies. He also conducts seminars about healing, faith, and prayers based on personal experiences recounted in the book he co-authored, Is There a God in Health Care?

DAVE BILLINGTON, Princeton professor of civil and environmental engineering, was quoted in the E-Quad News as saying, "Equations are only part of engineering .... I don't consider engineers educated unless they learn something about history." To this end, he continues to teach two cross-disciplinary courses - "Structures and the Urban Environment" and "Engineering in the Modern World." Two hundred or more students sign up for each course in which Dave's lectures illustrate that engineering is intricately connected to economics and politics, to history and art. The News described his lectures as "entirely given from memory, but as enthusiastically as if for the first time."

In September, Dave's brother, JIM BilLINGTON, began his 21st year as the 13th Librarian of Congress. Since Congress authorized it in 1800, the library has greatly broadened its outreach, as exemplified this year when Jim named children's book author Jon Scieszka as the country's first national ambassador for young people's literature, a kind of children's-book version of the library's poet laureate.

There was a time when "hip" referred to a mindset, but now that we have "aged" ... oops, cancel that ... "matured," it more likely brings to mind a body part. Point in hand:

SID FOX had his left hip replaced in August, to go along with his right one done nine years ago. "Hip" again, he and Jean were off on a Columbia River cruise in October.

News came from Maryland that HOWARD COHEN died Oct. 2.

5 November 2008

We trust that when you read thls Column, written in late September, meaningful action will be under way to address the financial crisis. And surely it will bear the mark of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke has said that many of his actions are based on his study of the Great Depression while at Princeton. So where does the Class of '50 fit into this scenario? Here is what I gleaned from HANK RENTSCHLER:

Going back to our 25th, there was pressure to give all our memorial insurance to AG. BILL MARITZ and JACK WILSON led the resistance to this proposal and succeeded in establishing a class fund for the economics department. Since then, on an annual basis, fund income has been used by the Financial Research Center for collecting data that have been the underpinning of economic studies such as Bernanke's. Thus our class action in 1975 has manifested itself in the "nation's service" 33 years later.

After leading our class to 71.3% participation in last year's AG, chairman BILL DIPPEL writes, " I am sure our classmates will be astonished to learn that in spite of the financial meltdown, it will be business as usual in the AG department, and they can expect to see my first letter in mid-November."

JIM CALDWELL is enjoying his retirement from Westinghouse in Maryland with time aplenty to pare some strokes from his golf handicap. BOB CRONHEIM is still working as a Realtor/developer in New Jersey. Even though his grandson qualified for this year's US Amateur Golf Tournament, Bob's golfing friends often remind him that his grandson's talent obviously was not inherited from his grandfather.

After a long struggle with Parkinson's, JOHN CORNOG died in Connecticut July 26, 2008.

22 October 2008

SIDNEY VAN DEN BERGH joined previously recognized astronomers such as Edwin Hubble when he was awarded the 2008 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal. This annual award, dating back to 1898, is the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's most prestigious award for lifetime achievement in astronomy. Sidney is now researcher emeritus of Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia.

There is much more than most of us envision when looking skyward, as attested by Sidney's distinguished work on galaxies and their stellar content. His fundamental work has included contributions to studies of local group galaxies, dwarf galaxies, and galactic morphology. He has added significantly to the understanding of the extra-galactic distance scale, globular and open star clusters, supernovae, and metal abundances and chemical evolution of the universe. All of which brings to mind Plato's observation:

"Astronomy compels the soul to look up, and leads us from this world to another."

The previous column sadly noted the death of GEORGE RIESZ, chairman of Planned Giving for our class. The 1746 Society recognizes those classmates or spouses who have made gifts to the University in the form of an annuity. After the death of a donor, the gift goes to a University program that the donor designated. Our class now has 48 society members (including some who are deceased) and a fund value of over $4 million.

ERNIE RUBENSTEIN wrote that he and DON COHN attended the memorial service for SHELDON ElSEN's wife, Gerri. She died Aug. 15 from multiple sclerosis. Despite being diagnosed with MS in her early 20S, Gerri led a happy and extremely productive life. Our thoughts are with Sheldon and his family.

News arrived that ROBERT BAIRD died in New Jersey Aug. 22, 2008, and BARRY VROMAN died in Maine Aug. 24, 2008.

8 Oct 2008

No, this is not Lawrence of Arabia (he went to Oxford). Rather, it is WHORTON "ED" SHOBER, who just published his third novel, Royal Sands. Ed lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for 10 years, participating in the still-secret negotiations for an Iraqi oil pipeline over Saudi territory and a maintenance contract for Saudi helicopter gunships. He co-founded and was CEO of Saudi Arabia's first and largest hospital management company. Ed Withheld publication of this "page-turning plot of Royal skullduggery and intrigue" for 18 years to avoid any quesition of breaking confidentiality and trust.

Ed is part of Our London contingent that routinely gets together. The latest gathering reported by JOHN SCOTT was with COLUMBUS O'DONNELL, Ed, and their wives at a reception by William Polk Carey '52 in Spencer House, St. James. JOHN wrote that hundreds partook of endless Veuve Clicquot, canapes, and caviar, while a string quartet and harpist played Mozart divertimenti. Not too shabby!

If homegrown crime is more to your liking, ROLAND MINDA's wife, Merle, recently co­authored Famous Crimes: Stories of Law & Order in Minnesota, which begins with the St. Paul gangster era in the 1930S, when John Dillinger and Ma Barker were safely holed up there. We 2007 mini-reuners vividly recall the stories of the St. Paul gangsters during one of Our city tours.

We have lost a dedicated classmate. GEORGE RIESZ, who led our Planned Giving in recent years, died Aug. 23, 2008, after an 18-year fight with cancer.

24 Sep 2008

Sixty-two years ago the Class of '50 entered Princeton as the first truly post-World War II class. Our ages ranged from 16 to the early 30s. Our number, now officially set at 782, was swelled by veterans who opted for their graduation year instead of their acceptance year. WWII veterans constitute over one­quarter of our class roster.

Speaking of veterans, TONY FRYER, who served in the Navy, reported that earlier this year he and wife, Angeline, took a Pacific theater cruise from Auckland to Osaka, stopping off at such bitterly contested islands as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Tony was the first Japanese consulate general in Buffalo, acting in that honorary post for 22 years. He now dabbles in the travel business.

Another seagoing tiger was BO NIXON. He and his wife, Edie, sailed on the first leg of the maiden voyage of the Queen Victoria from NYC to LA via the Panama Canal. Eva and DON COHN sent them off in proper New York fashion with a bon voyage dinner.

STEVE HALLIDAY, also a Navy veteran, is now in his 51st year with Renite. His family business, founded in 1932, manufactures lubricants and other products used in the hot forming of glass and metalworking.

The summer has brought some sad news.

ROGG COLLINS died May 17,2008. DAVID POOR died June 11. ORVILLE "JACK" ANDERSON died July 15· In seeking the whereabouts of a Peddie classmate, AL ABBOTTS learned that RAYMOND LAST died Oct. 12, 1996.

On another sad note, SID FOX reported the death of David Humphreys, our "class baby" and son of our late classmate, ART HUMPHREYS, July 25, 2008. David was the husband of Sid's daughter, Lydia '81, and Sid's godson.

16 July 2008

58 AND COUNTING: Marking 58 years since graduation,Sl classmates, wives, and guests gathered for a class dinner in Fine Hall Tower Friday night of Reunions weekend. Classmates present were: ABBOTTS, BEATY, DAVE BILLINGTON, BOGARDUS, CAMPBELL, CARSON (all the way from Santa Fe), CHACE, CHRISTENSEN, CRONHElM, DIPPEL, DUNCAN, EDWARDS, ERDMAN, FISHER, FREEMAN, HAYNES, LAMASON, MCALPIN, MINTON, OSBORNE, RENTSCHLER, RIVINUS, ROSE, BILL and FRED SCHLUTER, and STAATS-WESTOVER. Kudos to dinner chairman BILL OSBORNE

On the Saturday of our Baltimore mini, an event honoring a classmate was taking place in Baltimore County. That was the Benjamin H. Murray. Memorial Steeplechase race. "Laddie" is one of Princeton's most highly decorated war heroes. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second-highest military honor, for" extraordinary heroism as a forward outpost commander" in the Korean War. On the night of March 26, 1953, he suffered severe wounds while exposing himself to rally his men and repulse a fierce enemy attack. Laddie went on to be an outstanding rider on the Maryland point-to-point circuit. Unfortunately, he died prematurely in 1964, perhaps in part from the trauma of his Korean War wounds. PETE ARMSTRONG, whom we lost in March 2007, had written that he was no more than 2,000 yards away from Laddie that night. Pete added, "If you were an infantryman as I was, you might as well have been 100 miles away. The world of an infantry platoon commander is a very narrow one. I never learned about Laddie's award for months thereafter."

Class president Al Abbotts and others attended the annual luncheon at Prospect House in April for undergraduates who were recipients of the 11 scholarships associated with our class. Al described the group as "diverse, intelligent, and sociable." In March, Ricky and PAUL DIDISHEIM had lunch with Hyeon-Ju Ryoo '11, who benefited from their scholarship. The class scholarship, 50's Fund 2000, has grown to a market value of $824,000 with income of S36,000.

BOB STEVENS just shared the news with us that he married Anne Adams March 10, 2007. Bob's first wife, Nancy, died in 2004. He and the new Mrs. Stevens are residing in Andover, Mass.

Apologies to JEREMY MAIN for belatedly reporting that last October he was among members of the Time-Life Alumni Society who spent three days in DC. He wrote that the highlight of the trip was lunch at the Library of Congress, where his roommate, librarian JIM BilLINGTON, "held us spellbound with a brilliant, soaring talk on libraries, reading, education, digitizing, and other subjects within his vast grasp."

After completing his training regimen at the Baltimore mini, BOB BROWN drove back to his other home in North Carolina to compete in the annual Sun City Hilton Head Triathlon. Bob finished first in the over-80 division. Not surprisingly, he noted that he faced fewer competitors than he did last year when he was in the 75-80-year-old division.

TIGER BITS: At last report, DICK PRENTISS was looking for a literary agent for his novel. Leah and JOE MCDONOUGH are still enjoying retirement in Palo Alto, especially with family living in California. Bette and Bill KRAMER have moved from Richmond to DC with plans to keep their minds stimulated by the many cultural, political, and athletic opportunities the nation's capital provides. Earlier this year, Betty and STEVE ZIMMERMAN sat with Allison and DAVE WilSON at the big Pacific Life Open professional tennis tournament, as they have for the last 10 years.

JACK CRITES died March 15,20°7. Our sym­pathy goes to PETER DE ROETTH, whose wife, Lisa, died in early April.

1 June 2008

Although the calico cat is Maryland's official cat, the tiger's orange and black was a far greater presence in Baltimore April 16-20, when '50 gathered by the inner harbor for its 25th mini-reunion.

PETE BUCHANAN, archivist of mini data, announced that of the 106 attendees, 54 were classmates.  Three first-timers, MACK BLACK, JIM EARL, and TOM PAINE, brought the total of classmates attending at least one mini to 255.  Associates Phoebe BALLARD, Virginia CRAWFORD, and Ouida DAVIS graced the group.  Missed were Baltimoreans, CAMMY SLACK and JOE HOOPER whose health precluded their attendance.

BO and Ellie KELLY, with PAS MITCHELL, LUKE HOPKINS and BILL GILBERT, skillfully orchestrated a full schedule of sightseeing, events, and dining.  Just some of the highlights were: a Naval Academy visit with a private recital on the chapel's 15,000-pipe organ and lunch at the officer's club, where an ESPN commentator/Navy sailing coach dramatically traced the history of competitive sailing: a breakfast cruise of Baltimore Harbor well after "dawn's early light"; and a lecture on genomes by Pas' on, Dr. Braxton Mitchell '78, in the U. of Maryland's historic Anatomic Theatre.

Did you know that Maryland's history is intertwined with the Class of 1950?  Two of the state's most prestigious institutions were founded by members of classmates' families:  BO KELLY's grandfather was a founder of Johns Hopkins Hospital and LEW BANCROFT's great-uncle was founder of the Naval Academy.

The Saturday evening dinner with Sen. Paul Sarbanes '54 as honored guest climaxed the reunion.  Honorary classmate BOB MILNE, fresh from Tokyo, provided dinner music, and afterward Joan and Addie "cut the rug" to the applause of their mates, AL ABBOTTS and JACK ROBINSON, and the assembled.

Reports (unconfirmed) are that a few loitered in the city on Sunday to get a final Maryland crab cake.

May 14, 2008

REPORTS FROM OUR EAST COAST STRINGERS. From New Hampshire: GUTHRIE SPEERS sent a January clipping from the Rappahannock (Va.) News. A front-page headline proclaimed Linda and Bill DIETEL the county's "2007 Citizens of the Year." As a friend said, "The Dietels have been involved with practically every major initiative in the county that is concerned with education, self­help, and community service." Among the accolades, Bill was described as an "eloquent and charismatic speaker" who last year urged a full auditorium to support a school budget that he felt critical for the system's continued improvement.

Linda and Bill coauthored The Board Chairman Handbook, which has become a standard in the nonprofit community since it was published in 2001. They also run their own philanthropic fund. Bill's activities are not limited to Rappahannock County. He is chairman of the board of GuideStar International, a London organization that promotes charitable giving, and president of NYC and LA foundations.

From Pennsylvania: CHARLIE ROSE wired that Princeton resident BOB STAATS-WESTOVER was acknowledged by the author of New Jersey Graveyard and Gravestone Inscriptions Locators - Mercer County for his graciousness in producing the fine, computer-rendered maps for this series.

From Delaware: Bill DIPPEl sent a release that the U. of Chicago Press has published the Hard Road West. The book was written by South Carolinian TED MElDAHl's son, Keith, who is a professor of geology and oceanography at Mira Costa (Calif.) College. It is described as "an amazing book ... which opens up a whole new dimension of the California Gold Rush." Wrote another reviewer, "Fans of John McPhee '53 will find many familiar pleasures in Hard Road West."

Three classmates have left our ranks. JOHN MAY died March 23, 2008; TOM DUNN died March 25, 2008; and FRANK EWING died Sept. 1, 2004. We regret that the date reported for the death of DAVE JORDAN's wife, Bess, was in error. It was Feb. 6, 2008, not 2007.

April 23,2008

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"PDQ" (but not what you think).

"P" FOR PRINCETON REUNIONS:

Celebrate our 58th at the class dinner in the Professors' Lounge atop Fine Hall Tower Friday, May 30.

"0" FOR DOCTORS: HEWITT RYAN was recently elected chief of staff at Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Ala., one of the psychiatric hospitals Dorothea Dix help found before the Civil War. The hospital was almost burned down during that conflict by Croxton's Raiders. Fortunately for Hewitt, Dr. Peter Bryce talked Gen. Croxton out of torching it. Familywise, Valorie and Hewlitt's four children and three grandchildren are "spread to the four winds."

LANSE HOSKINS claims he is enjoying life in the "slower lane." He is teaching medical students 12 weeks this year, seeing patients half a day each week at Cleveland (Ohio) VA Medical Center, and continuing research in his lab. What was the faster lane like?

At last report, HANK Betts is working every day at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Hank retired three years ago as its president/ CEO; then, as its chairman, after a $93 million fundraising campaign. He also works with six other organizations dealing with disability, and has worked for better rehabilitation for severely disabled veterans from the war. With Mayor Richard Daley and civic leaders, Hank helped assemble a dynamic approach to the employment of the disabled.

Sadly, the medical community lost a member when ED SCHOTT died Feb. 13, 2008.

"Q" FOR QUANDARY: BOB CRONHEIM writes that his grandson and namesake is one of the best amateur golfers in the New York metro area. With him now playing NO.1 at Cornell, the Big Red has moved up to top­rated Ivy men's golf team, surpassing Princeton and Yale, which have dominated in recent years. Laments Bob, "When Princeton and Cornell are in the same tournament, what's a loyal alum to do?"

April 2, 2008

NO GRASS GROWING UNDER THESE TIGER FEET. BOB SCHElLING spent three weeks in Italy last fall to celebrate his 80th birthday. While visiting wellknown locales such as Siena, Assisi, and Verona, he learned quickly that "cinque minutes could be from five minutes to five hours, 500 meters could be up to five miles, and everything is uphill."

Three days after the Minneapolis mini that they hosted, Merle and ROLAND MINDA flew to Venice. Soon thereafter they went to New Zealand and Australia. Roland commented that traveling like this is "the challenge of being married to a 13-years­younger bride who is disconcertingly vibrant. It does require the senior partner to keep up or be left in the dust," he says.

JOHN MAXWELL took time out from consulting and serving on five nonprofit boards to cruise the Mediterranean from Nice to Athens with Adrienne last fall. About the same time, Nell and ROGER SMITH were sailing on the Rhone and Saone rivers in France and tacked on five days in Paris.

Perennial travelers Maggie and GEORGE RIESZ made two trips: in spring to Brazil and the Amazon; in fall on a Norwegian coastal ship from Bergen around the North Cape and back. Seta and JOHN NORTHROP found exploring the Galapagos Islands on an eight-cabin motor sailor a delight for nature lovers.

Your scribe and his wife, Garie, took an ecological tour of Costa Rica and a passage through the Panama Canal this February.

Last June, along with JULIE BUXTON's widow, Anne, we represented '50 on a Princeton Journeys trip to Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula that featured 17 zodiac landings to study birds, animals, geology, and archaeolo gy on this sparsely populated land.

News reached us that BILL WELBON died Feb. 5,2008, and JAY REESE died Feb. 7, 2008. Our sympathy goes to DAVE JORDAN, whose wife, Bess, died Feb. 6, 2007.

March 19, 2008

Gloucester , Mass. , America 's oldest seaport and a town we visited during our 22nd mini­reunion, has a new mayor, ALAN KIRK's daughter-in-Iaw, Carolyn. Elected last November, she, like mayors of most old cities, faces an urban "perfect storm." In the case of Gloucester , this has been spawned by budget deficits, a depressed fishing industry, and a crumbling infrastructure. Carolyn's husband, Bill, and two other Kirk offspring live in the Gloucester area, so Alan has a good reason to visit the Bay State . However, this did not preclude a trip he and wife Joan took to Egypt last March, and his ongoing efforts to shoot his age on the links.

STEVE ZIMMERMAN's son-in-law, Gil Reavill, has two recent publications. The first, Aftermath, Inc., deals with a bona fide company that cleans up gore at crime scenes. Probably not bedtime reading, since it has been described as "violence on steroids." The second book, which Reavill co-authored with Tiki Barber, is Tiki, about the retired New York Giants running back and now TV personality.

JOHN GOESSlING, who has joined the ranks of great-grandfathers, still goes to his office daily, That is, when he is not traveling or duck and dove hunting with his two dogs, a Labrador and an English setter.

And speaking of dogs, MACKNIGHT BLACK wrote that his Airedale bitch, Wildwood's New Yorker of Armack, won her AKC championship last June. He was explicit that this item could be used if needed for filler, "but please not sandwiched between breaking news that one classmate has won a Nobel and another will receive 'brain surgeon of the year' recognition." Thus, it is a fitting close for this column.

March 5, 2008

TIGER TREASURES: All our classmates are treasures in their own right, but Georgia and BILL CARSON are officially included among Santa Fe's Living Treasures. And rightfully so. In 1997 they started a volunteer literacy program in a public K-6 school with 90%, low-income students. Today, there are 85 volunteers helping in two schools. The program has expanded to provide physical education, health-care support, and books, and has touched almost 20,000 youngsters. Bill is also chairman of the city's children and youth commission.

TIGER PREPPIES, IN THE BEST SENSE: Belatedly, we report that the Pennington (N.J.) School honored DICK SHARRETT in October 2006 with isTower Award. This award is the schoo\"s highest recognition for long and faithful service. Bill attended Pennington from the second grade until his graduation in 1946. He is now on its board of trustees.

BILL FLAMMER sustains his lifelong commitment to Loomis Chaffee, where he is midway through his second term on its board of trustees. This still leaves him time for interests in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks.

TIGER MINISTERS: LEN PALIN continues to minister on the pastoral staff of South Shores Church in California. CHARLIE SLACK, our most distant classmate, continues to pastor a Christian fellowship in a tiny western Australia fishing village 300 kilometers north of Perth.

ROWLAND ROBERTS died Jan. 1, 2008. We extend condolences to JOHN COLWELL, whose wife, Jane, died Dee. 6, 2007, and to Connie and ROY WELCH, whose daughter, Alyson, died Nov. 12, 2007.

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