FEBRUARY 2010 newsletter
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
Newsletter Editors: Peter Oudheusden • [email protected] • Robert Goldbloom • [email protected]
Alumni Fund Goal: 50% for 50th BD
After the word went out from our Head Agents
Hallidie Haid ‘81 and David Edelson ‘81, and their
volunteer committee of over 50 classmates, we
have surged from a December 2009 participation
level of 16% to the February
2010 level of over 35% - more
than a 100% improvement!
In 2009 we surpassed our
GOAL
participation goal set by the
College - one of only nine
classes break their goals. Today, with 4 months
to go in the Dartmouth College Fund year, we are
only 7% back of this record, and 15% back of our
goal.The purpose of our drive is to show support for
our Class and Dartmouth during these economically
troubled times, and to offer a vote of confidence
for our new College President, Jim Kim. • Some of
us are able to give far more than a token, but any
amount is welcome as long as the participation is
registered. Please take the time right now to use
your credit card and click on this web address:
Steve Pignatiello ‘81
and his daughter
Stephanie.
50%
http://tinyurl.com/81-Participation
Goal 2010 - 50%
Total 2009 - 42%
Today - 35%
Dec 2009 - 16%
If you want to check to see whether Dartmouth
has registered your gift, or to see whether you
gave during this year or last year, please check
out the participation list online at this web
address: http://tinyurl.com/81-Given
“The Dartmouth Family” is the real deal
for many classmates. by Abner Oakes
Chris Neihaus ‘81’s
kids: Elizabeth ‘14,
Scott ‘10, and Emily ‘12.
At our 25th reunion, classmate Lawrence Serrano’s daughter was graduating
from Dartmouth, and I remember being amazed by classmates with kids that old.
Our Charlie was just five in 2006, and worries about law school applications and
job hunting and a first apartment in NYC or Chicago were far -- still are -- from
my mind. But there are more and more classmates with kids in Hanover -- such
as those on the panel that Pat Berry moderated at our homecoming birthday
party -- and I wonder what it must be like for them and for classmates to have
that connection, that bond. • Toby and Sally Reiley had one of their cherubs
graduate from Dartmouth, Kendall, while another, Heather, is a sophomore. Toby
wrote a great note about having his girls at Dartmouth, that he and Sally are
“excited for the opportunity that Dartmouth offers to its students that we only
recognize once we’re out,” that he and Sally are “expectant, as in wanting more
from them than what we produced on campus,” and that they are “enormously
proud that Heather and Kendall worked hard enough to make the grade.” •
Anne Swire wrote that “having our son Nate at Dartmouth gives us a unique
mother-son bond. While Nate’s intellectual interests are closely linked to his
dad’s, he loves that I ‘get it’ when he tells me about his 14 mile day hike with
the Outing Club, freshmen bonfire antics, and his spring break white-water
kayaking trip with buddies from Ledyard. The pine-scented soul of Dartmouth
that’s in my bones is now becoming Nate’s -- I love it!” • Sue McLaughlin Jangro
-- Sue Mac! -- wrote that “Joe and I tried to let each of our boys have their
Continued on page 2
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Continued from page 1
constantly have to keep in mind that it’s his college experience, not
own Dartmouth experience. There seems to be more of everything
ours. Along that line, our advice to potential Dartmouth parents
there: academic programs both home and aboard, sports and club
would be to know when to say good night when visiting your child.
competition, fraternities/sororities, arts offerings. We had a desire to
Definitely invest in a local hotel room. Spending the night in your
have the boys experience it all but made a conscious decision to back
son’s dorm room is not a good idea nor is it appreciated, even if
off and let them each create his own Dartmouth experience. Seeing
he does have the biggest triple on campus.” • And lastly from Jake
the college through a different set of eyes is enlightening and taught
us a great deal about our boys, the school, and even our own years
Winebaum, whose daughter Jenna started this fall: “A couple words
at Dartmouth.” • Steve Pignatiello, whose daughter Stephanie just
of wisdom. First, I wish I hadn’t told her so many stories about my
non-academic experiences. She seems
finished an FSP in China, commented that
intent on checking out for herself the
“I’m proud as can be that my daughter is
veracity of those stories. The good news
following in my footsteps. Dartmouth is
is that she seems much more interested
very special to me. I’m honored that it has
and excited about her freshman classes
become special to her, too. Probably that
than I remember being. Second, seeing the
feeling was expressed best by Stephanie
campus through the eyes of your daughter
in an email to me not long ago. She
makes you appreciate things about
basically told me that before she went
Dartmouth that you took for granted when
to Dartmouth, she thought I was a bit
you were there, the variety of courses, the
too enthusiastic (almost cultish) about
quality and energy of your fellow students,
an experience and time in my life that is
Charlie Jacobs ‘81 and his
and the physical beauty of the campus and
decades removed from today. Well, while
the Hanover area.” Now, I wonder what
trying to guard against that when she
Dartmouth family.
Charlie with his wife Cindy and daughter Katie,
Detective Jenna Winebaum has uncovered
went to Hanover, she is now just as gung
who
is
in
the
Class
of
‘13.
They
met
up
in
Northern
about Jake? • Now, what did the offspring
ho as me. Maybe even more so. To put it
Maine to help the Dartmouth Outing Club attempt
mildly, she has found a ‘home.’ And I think
have
to say? Stephanie Pignatiello wrote
to do a group hike of the Appalachian Trail in one
it surprised her. Makes me smile.” Steve
from China that “I love having an alum as
day as part of the club’s 100 year anniversary.
“She did an amazing amount of interesting things
a parent. I felt like I had a connection to
continued with a comment reflected by
her first term,” reports Charlie. “She was on the
the College before my freshman year even
several others: “The thing that strikes me
woodsmen’s team, she hiked from Hanover to Mt.
started, and it is great to be able to write
(maybe most) is not that she and I both
Moosilauke after school was over in December, went
to the equestrian center for her gym credit to get
home and talk about Dartmouth-specific
love our respective Dartmouths. But that
riding lessons, and signed up for a winter and spring
aspects of my college experience and be
her Dartmouth experience is very different
internship in one of the biology professors’ labs
understood. It is occasionally jarring to
from mine. And not because Dartmouth
where she will study the genetics of fruit flies.” mention something and have my father
is different 30 years later. But because
say that it did not exist when he was at
she and I have different interests, desires,
Dartmouth, but those incidents are just testimony to the changing
and circles of influence. Our college lives are so very different -- one
times. When I hear people talk about events at Dartmouth from the
not any better than the other. Both are very enjoyable and pleasing.
early eighties, I can call him and ask his perspective. Dad was right
A testament to Stephanie and me -- and also to the diversity of
when he said our experiences are very different, but they both have
Dartmouth.” • And from Chris Neihaus - House! - another former New
the same qualities that make them ‘Dartmouth.’ It is a connection
Hamp denizen: “Lori and I are the proud parents of Scott ‘10, Emily
to my father I value very much.” • From Nate Swire: “When I was
‘12 and Elizabeth ‘14. It’s been a great experience to have a child at
Dartmouth. My perspective, almost 30 years later, is that Dartmouth
deciding which college to apply to my senior year of high school,
remains a phenomenal place to attend college and, if anything, is even
both my parents did their best to promote their alma maters. It
better than when we attended. The student body seems even more
was my mom, with her tales of days spent in the wilderness, travels
accomplished, the faculty has retained its focus on undergraduate
abroad, Dartmouth traditions, and the wilds of New Hampshire
teaching, the physical plant is substantially upgraded, and the social
who won out, and I’m glad she did. I love Dartmouth and all the
scene is better balanced with the 50/50% ratio. It is a real thrill to see
opportunities I’ve had here. It’s great to be able to go home to my
your child on campus and experiencing many of the same highlights
family and compare notes on how the College has changed - and
that we did plus new ones. I have enjoyed reconnecting to Dartmouth
how it has remained the same.” • And Kendall Reiley gets the last
at a very personal level but try to give our kids the independence and
word on having alums as parents, since her father had the first word
space to explore Dartmouth on their own.” • Pam Donovan Gehret
in this article: “A great conversation starter on the AXA staircase
was to point out how ridiculous Dad looks in his composite picture.”
echoed House and made me laugh: “It’s wonderful to have Sam at
Dartmouth and to see the college through his eyes. However, we
Continued on page 4
FEBRUARY 2010 newslette r
Class Officers
What is Facebook really all about?
By Phil Odence ‘79 (Reprinted from the November 2009 1979 Newsletter)
President
Greg Clow
[email protected]
Vice President
Pam Gehret
[email protected]
Treasurer
Molly Van Metre
[email protected]
Secretary
Abner Oakes
[email protected]
Secretary
Julie Koeninger
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Peter Oudheusden
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Robert Goldbloom
[email protected]
Webmaster
Greg Clow
[email protected]
Head Agent
Hallidie Grant Haid
[email protected]
Head Agent
David Edelson
[email protected]
Mini-Reunion Chair
Alex Doty
[email protected]
Alumni Council Rep
Mark Davis
[email protected]
Josh Muskin is beardless, married, and flying from Morocco to Senegal and back for a wedding this
weekend. Dave Stone, a witty guy with an amazing story, is way into quoting scripture. Gina Barreca
just published a very funny blog on the Psychology Today website. Darcy Prendeville Lawes’ (tall)
son just graduated from Vasser. My first high school girlfriend (no there weren’t that many) looks
like a 35 year old aerobics instructor though she is in reality a jewelry designer. Alan Rassmussen
who moved away in third grade, now a realtor in Westfield NJ, coincidentally sang with Boylan
in a Barbershop quartet. My 20 year old daughter attended a
party on Saturday night that began at 1 a.m. at which alcohol
was served… on a ping pong table, if you can believe it. By what
avenue do I possess all of this non-essential knowledge? • Why,
Facebook, of course. If you’ve not trod this still less traveled road,
you probably don’t get it. I certainly didn’t. I remember several
years ago my (other) daughter saying, “Dad, only old people use
email; we use Facebook.” Huh? What does Facebook have to do
with email??? I thought it was like a yearbook or something. I
work in the tech/communications industry and signed up because
I thought it might be important someday. Is it? I think so, but
more so, it’s pretty fun and has been a great way to hang out
with (among others) 300+ classmates who are already on board.
And, it’s certainly not just kid stuff. If you don’t believe me, Google
“facebook fogies” and read the Time Magazine article “Why
The 1981 Facebook page is moderated
Facebook is for Old Fogies.” And, if you want a little more What
by Pat Berry ‘81 and it is a great place
and How to… read on. • OK, I understand all the Why Nots. First, to see your friends and catch up.
the biggie: Privacy… the big “P” word. I’m guessing this tops the
list of reasons why otherwise tech semi-savvy folks don’t do the FB thing. It is, in short, all under
your control. You post the info that you want and don’t what you don’t. And, pretty much only your
“friends” see it, they being people that you invite or who’s invitations you accept. My Charlotte has
it set up so from my account, she essentially doesn’t exist on Facebook. I really don’t think privacy is
an issue if you use a little common sense (which personally I rarely bother with). Other objections?
It’s too hard? Humbug, take a look at the Dartmouth diploma. • So what the heck is this Facebook
thing? It’s multi-faceted, but let me take you through its basic aspects: • Yearbook - Clearly this
was the original concept. You get your own page (or Profile as it’s called) and there you can provide
a picture of yourself and a range of information: Schools, employers, birthday, hometown, marital
status, contact info. You can also list your favorite movies, books, music, interests, quotations, or
leave those blank. Nothing is required. Obviously different from a yearbook, you can modify any of
this any time you want. My sense is people don’t tweak this stuff with great frequency. It’s fun when
you reconnect with someone, to give their info a quick scan and catch up on however many decades
it’s been. There are various ways to customize your profile too. I’ve added a Book application - you
can find out what I’m reading at any time and see everything I’ve read since I started more than a
year ago. You can also check out an automatic feed of what music I have been listening to lately on
my iPod. And there are more etceteras than you can shake a stick at. • Photo Album - You can also
create photo albums and post photos. This is often the most fun stuff to check out when someone
“friends” you. Man, he got fat! Wow, check out her husband. Oh, that vacation to Tuscany looks
awesome. I post a number of my paintings in an album. Did I mention this is really easy? (Everything
is dirt simple, point and click.) There’s also a concept of tagging. If you’re my friend, you can tag me
in a picture that you or a friend has posted. Then if someone goes to my photos, they can also see
any photo in which I’ve been tagged by anyone. • Email - Yes, it’s like email too! There’s a simple
application that lets you exchange private messages with other Facebookers. • Message Board - They
Continued on page 4
DARTMOUTH College CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Continued from page 2
But maybe the best reason for having alums as
parents? “During senior week,” Kendall wrote, “my
parents actually put up a good fight during our
family pong tournament.” • I need to ask my father,
class of ‘56, this same question: What’s it like having
a son that went to Dartmouth? I wonder if he
remembers his 25th reunion, when I graduated, as
Lawrence Serrano’s daughter did at our 25th. There
are photographs from that weekend, the two of us
standing next to each other, with the ubiquitous
folding wooden chairs beside us, under a tent with a
view down Tuck Mall. We look so young. And happy
and proud. Maybe there’s no need to ask. Maybe
those photographs - and what they share - are
enough.
“It was amazing.
I’d never been to
that part of the
country and was
blown away by
its beauty.”
Mini Reunion brings ‘81s together at Zion
Patsy Fisher ‘81 reports in: “Lucy Irwin ‘81, Gail Chen ‘81, Judy Yun ‘81 and I celebrated
our 50th last November at the Red Mountain Spa in St. George Utah. Here is a photo of
us at the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. It was so scary I was practically
hyperventilating on the summit but we made it safely up and down. It was a smaller
step (just one) that did me in on Christmas Eve and caused my broken leg!” Patsy is
recuperating in Hanover this month and surviving the snow and ice in an inflatable cast.
Continued from page 3
Claudia Sweeney Weed ‘81 has
two undergrads this year.
Claudia sends in this photo of Kelley ‘10 and
Zach ‘13. “Our biggest news is that now both our
children are at Dartmouth (and we couldn’t be more
thrilled!) Kelley is a ‘10 and has loved her time at
Dartmouth. She’s a psych and brain sciences major
with a linguistic minor. She’s been in Barbary Coast
all 4 years playing alto and soprano sax, she went to
New Zealand on an FSP, is President of her sorority,
was a UGA and is a tour guide. In short, she’s been
having a blast. Our son, Zach is a ‘13 and he thinks
he’ll be a geography major. He loved his first term, is
a member of the improv troupe Casual Thursday and
is really enjoying living in Russell Sage. We get up to
Dartmouth quite a bit but unfortunately had to miss
the 50th birthday party.” We missed you too, Claudia!
NB:
There are a large number of undergrads and new
alums who have family ties to our class. If you would
like to write and tell the newsletter editors about your
children, we would love to include it. Find our email
addresses on the Class Officers page.
FEBRUARY 2010 newslette r
call it your “Wall” and it’s conceptually like those dry erase boards that everyone had on their dorm
doors, on which you could write a note or draw a smiley face for all the world to see. In this case,
all the world, is still only your friends. And any of your friends can leave a note, link, picture or video
which all can see (and comment on, by the way). And you, of course, can keep people apprised of
“where” you are with your status. • Groups - There are groups with which you can affiliate (or start
up on your own). Someone from your high school class has probably started up the XHS Class of
‘75 group. There’s a group for almost any cause or interest you can imagine. • Those are the basics.
You get it, but you still don’t GET IT, right? OK. I think what really makes it all work is the one part I
haven’t told you about. Rather than making you go find all this info, Facebook proactively apprises
you of what’s going on with your friends. Once you build up a stable of friends, you get constant
flow of information on your home page about who is doing what. Chip posted a new pic today.
Julie is at Fenway for the Paul McCartney concert (obviously posting her status from her FB mobile
app). Pete disgustedly posted an article about J Lo’s
half million dollar birthday party. Shaun wants to
know if anyone knows any good salesguys. Olga’s
son went back to base in Texas. And often these
updates generate a bunch of chatter (comments). My recent posting about breaking my mast last
weekend set off a lot of conversation, some of it sexually suggestive. • How to do it - Getting an
account is pretty easy. You just go to www.facebook.com and follow your nose. If you really need
help go to www.dummies.com and search for “facebook,” but I really don’t think you need to. How
about making friends (albeit not necessarily influencing people)? Facebook makes it pretty easy.
Once you’ve entered your college and high school affiliations, you go to “Find Friends” and you can
get a listing of every other classmate on Facebook. Similarly, it will connect you with co-workers
and former colleagues. You can also search for other people you know, though if it’s John Smith
or Mary Jones, good luck sorting through the chaff. Once you build up some friends, Facebook will
proactively suggest others. Once you are up, before you run off to find your high school sweetheart
(or HTH as we used to say), take a minute to join your Dartmouth class group. Just use the
Facebook search capability to find it.
Who Knew…
…about John Sconzo’s double life?
Anesthesiologist AND Foodie. • A classmate
spotted an article about John in the TimesUnion. http://tinyurl.com/81-Sconzo. It is
a very enjoyable piece, describing how John
came to combine his love of food with his
interest in photography and computers to
create what is now a very popular blog. The
article also recounts how John took his sons to
Europe on food adventures and how he guided
his son L.J. (Dartmouth ’12) in founding a local
chapter of the Slow Food Movement when L.J.
was in high school. John is apparently now a
very recognizable name among high-end chefs
– even in Europe, and they scramble to please
when they know he’s coming. • Definitely
check out John’s blog: Docsconz - the Blog. It
is absolutely firstrate: interesting
and fun to read,
and high-tech in a
polished way that
makes everything
easy and clear,
not complicated. Reading the blog,
it is clear that
John Sconzo ‘81 wears the
John
has a very
t-shirt from his son L.J.
discriminating
Sconzo’s ‘12 “Slow Food
Movement.”
palate. But, what
makes it so great is how John describes – in
colorful words and beautiful photos -- an
adventure to a restaurant or a food market in
a way that makes you feel you experienced it
yourself. [I only stopped exploring the blogsite
because it made me so hungry that I needed to
get something to eat. -ed.] Jonathan Prager ‘81 keeps
Gamma Delt connections bowling
Jonathan dropped a note the other day: “Our
Gamma Delt brothers are in touch if they are
very close and have remained in contact. There
is an annual bowling tournament called “The
Bersell Cup” every year the weekend before
the Super Bowl - named for Sean Bersell, the
organizer and commissioner. I have participated
in it for the past 7 or so years - some others
much longer. It centers around the ‘81’s and
‘82’s and is held in Westport, CT.”
Map: Head of the Charles
Dubai represented at the Head of the Charles
by Peter Bogin
No rowing club seemed further from my home in Dubai as I stepped into the bow seat of a
double scull at the Greenwich Rowing Club (GRC) at 5 pm on Wednesday, October 14th last
year. The thermometer read 35° and I had stepped off the plane from Dubai just a few hours
earlier. I was there to practice with my rowing partner, Jenny Bresler, who I had met through
fellow classmate and rower Peter Oudheusden, who is a GRC member. Peter had put me in
contact with Jenny to row the Directors Challenge, a part of the 3-mile Head of the Charles
Regatta (HOCR and www.hocr.com) in Cambridge Massachusetts reserved for mixed doubles,
mixed fours, and parent/child doubles. That race would take place on October 17th and then
Peter and I would row the the Enrnestine Bayer challenge (or the EBRoC as it is known
locally) on the same course the next morning. The EBRoC, named after one of the founders
of women’s rowing in the US, is open to recreational boats and Peter had secured a top of
the line Maas double scull that weighed only 65 pounds. • I found out that you warm up
pretty fast, even in 35°, and as Jenny and I practiced I started stripping off layers. In my fear
of rowing in anything below 90° Dubai heat, I think I had started with about 5 layers and by
the time we returned to the boathouse I was down to 2. I don’t usually row doubles,
actually I never row doubles, so everything was new: my partner, the cold, the shell, the
course in Greenwich. But we rowed well together, me steering and her rowing at about a
continuous 28 strokes a minute during our power pieces. We were fortunate to have been
assigned a coach who followed us in a skiff and helped us to align our rowing as best one
could before darkness set in at 6. • We were scheduled to practice again the next day but
Jenny got caught up in some meetings at school (she is an 8th grade teacher) so we decided
to go out Friday morning. Too bad for us because Friday morning all of the shells were being
put on the trailers as the GRC had many boats entered in the HOCR. So we would row the
race with the benefit of one hour of practice. • It’s worth looking at the HOCR website to
get a view of the course. The Charles River empties into Boston Harbor but we would
actually row it upstream, starting from in front of the MIT boathouse. It is a winding course
that passes under 6 bridges and which finishes with a 180 degree bend in the river known to
rowers as the never-ending-curve. I would be steering our way down this course.
Fortunately, the GRC organized a get-to-know-the Charles session on Thursday night,
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DARTMOUTH College CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Continued from page 5
complete with instructions, a map, and insights from oarsmen, and
more importantly coxswains, who had rowed the course before. • The
Directors Challenge was scheduled as the last race of the day and
Jenny and I were to be the last shell to launch, with a start time of
5:58 pm. It might be a good place to note that in the 2 days of the
HOCR, there are 1900 shells in competition with 8000 oarsmen and
women. So they launch the boats in 15 to 20 second intervals and you
row against the clock. Its quite a spectacle. We drove up to
Cambridge from Greenwich on Saturday morning and found the GRC’s
parking space among crews who had driven in from as far away as
California and Washington State, a good 5000 km across the country.
Others were from Texas, Florida, Canada, Ohio, and just about every
place in the US you can imagine that has a rowing program. I’m fairly
certain I was the only one from Dubai, proudly representing the Mina
Seyahi Rowing Club. • The cold had not let up and the temperature
Ocean City 50th Celebration
was still hovering around 37 or 38°. Since I am writing about the race
Lynne Gaudet got together with her girl group for this “mini-reunion.”
and not about the week after, let me just add as a footnote that those
She writes: “I have enclosed a photo from our “mini-reunion” the girls
who live in the area will remember that the following week the
and I had in Ocean City, Maryland to celebrate our 50th birthdays last
temperatures were back up in the 50s. At 4:30, after standing around
October. This photo was taken on the boardwalk of Ocean City (hence,
trying to keep warm for the day, we launched our shell at the launch
the mural behind us). From left to right the women are Barbie Anderson
Gogan‘81, Becky Nyren Shepherdson ‘81, Anne Minnich ‘81, Lynne
site by the end of the course and rowed the three miles to the start of
Hamel Gaudet ‘81, Cathy Haley Rost ‘81, and Suzie Sudikoff Weixel ‘81.
the race. The adrenaline really does start to flow as you get to the top
of the course and you hear the regatta chairman call your boat,
“Number 25, approach the start” and then, “Number 25, you are on
Join the 1981 Facebook Group!
the course. Have a good race”. Now in all honesty, I rowed the Head of
Recently, Pat Berry ‘81’s daughter Meg got the great news that she was
the Charles freshman year when I was 7 years younger than the
admitted early decision to the Class of ’14. Within a couple weeks, she was
number I wore on my back which, by some mathematical feat was
one of 419 [yes, 419!] members of the new Facebook Group for the Dartmouth
now just half my age. But I’ve been doing a lot of rowing in Dubai so
Class of 2014. Maybe we’ll never be as technologically current as the ‘14s, but
with this practice and the adrenaline being pumped into my system
certainly we can add to our current
we started down the course,
92 members. It’s an easy way to
immediately making it through
keep up with what’s going on with
the first two bridges before
our class. All you have to do is:
hitting the longest straight of
Vote for two new trustees - go to www.voxthevote.org for full information.
1) Join Facebook if you haven’t
the race, about 1500 meters
already, 2) Search Facebook for the “Dartmouth Class of 1981” group and ask
until the first big turn. • I said we were the last boat to launch and I
to join, 3) Hang tight for confirmation from Pat, and then, 4) Visit, initiate
can’t say we were passing any boats but it felt good. Jenny was
discussion topics, tailgate virtually! John Kemeny would be proud!
rowing at 28 strokes a minute and I was actually keeping up although
I usually row at a 26. Now, when you talk to people who have rowed
the race you hear, “Weeks Bridge is the worst”, “Just get through
Gerry Peters ‘81 heads back to Japan
Weeks Bridge” and so forth. And at our Thursday night study session
“It has been great reconnecting with ‘81 classmates. I’m glad I did while
we heard the whole strategy about the sharp turn as you go through
I could, as it looks like our family (less Koji who is in college at Syracuse)
Weeks Bridge. Well I really did listen at that study session, seriously,
will soon be heading off to Japan for another extended stay so that our
and my steering had been pretty good until then but at Weeks Bridge
daughter can attend Doshisha International High School in Kyoto. I will
continue to do Japanese translation
we did not so much go through it as almost go into it. Fortunately, we
and U.S. patent practice from Japan.
avoided a boat-on-bridge collision, but we almost came to a complete
I would be thrilled if any classmates
stop as we pulled our port side oars in to avoid hitting the side of the
would look me up if they happen to
bridge. • Of course that caused a terrible lean to starboard but
visit anytime during the next three or
somehow we managed to regain our composure and continued as if
so years.”
nothing had happened. We were on our way for the second 1.5 miles
of the course. These were rather uneventful although we continued to
Continued on page 7
FEBRUARY 2010 newslette r
Gerry’s family looks plenty happy
to be returning to Japan!
Continued from page 6
pull hard and to keep the rate at a constant 28. • It wasn’t until
the final 800 meters that we passed our first boat which really
gave us the stamina to pour it on to the end of the course. And
we did. The splits showed that we rowed those closing 800
meters faster than almost any other boat. But we had lost some
time in the first part due to our bridge incident and, let’s face it,
our lack of practice as a crew and not exactly the best double
scull boat in GRC’s armada, and ended with the 14th best time
out of the 21 boats in the race, finishing in 21:45. Didn’t matter,
we felt great, even exhilarated by the fact that we held it
together and were able to really bring it on in those closing
final minutes. • Now, you’ve probably heard enough at this
point about one classmate’s rowing antics but just a word on
the EBRoC so you can hear about the antics of two classmates.
Not 12 hours after finishing the Directors Challenge after dusk
with Jenny, Peter Oudheusden and I launched the Maas into the
Charles in pre-dawn darkness. Now we did not just have cold,
but rain as well. Fortunately my mother, thank you Mom, had
given me a rain jacket on a beautiful sunny day in Greenwich
two days before telling me, “you never know”. Yes, I was
wearing it as we rowed up the river. The EBRoC attracts a wide
a variety of single and double sculls of every type you can
imagine. This time I stroked and Peter rowed bow and did an
amazing job steering. OK, enough publicity for Oudheusden.
Niels Sokol arose at the crack of dawn to cheer us on from the
shore of Magazine Beach a mere block from his home. As the
race progressed, we literally cruised through Weeks Bridge at a
perfect angle. And did we pass boats. Blowing the doors off the
other boats in the race is a lot of fun, even 32 years after my
first Head of the Charles. We ended up finishing second, just
12 seconds off the winning time. Later in the day, after
returning to the hotel and warming up only to then drive
through a snowstorm (!) back to Connecticut, I kept rowing
both races over and over again in my head. It was a fantastic
experience and with a little bit of luck I’ll do it again next year
- and Peter has agreed to arrange for better weather!
Peter Heymann ‘81, John Davis ‘81, Harry “Hap” Brakeley ‘81, Peter Corren ‘81,
Barnes Darwin ‘81, Ben Pierce ‘81, Scott Halsted ‘81, Tom Kiernen ‘81, and Shep Burr ‘81.
Big Montana 50th Birthday
Celebration
Ben Pierce ‘81 reports in from fishing in the
wild, wild west: “Attached is a good photo
of 9 classmates gathered at my ranch
(LF Ranch) in Montana to celebrate our
collective 50th.” To the right is a photo of a
trophy from this remarkable weekend...
Listen to Billy the Bass sing:
“Take me to the water...”
http://tinyurl.com/81-Bass
Nancy is flanked by two
of the subjects of her
documentary, legendary
baseball players
Juan Marichal and
Orlando Cepeda.
Tom Kiernan ‘81 returns to NH
Tom was recently promioted from President of the National
Parks Conservation Association to President of the New
Hampshire Charitable Foundation. He writes: “Kathy
has been teaching 4th grade at the National Cathedral
School for the last 8 years while I have been heading up
the National Parks Conservation Association for the last
12 years. Been a great time for us and our family in our
nation’s capital - and now is time to return to the granite
state. Our two eldest kids will be in college nearby (Joey
a senior at Williams and Katie a freshman at Williams as
well). Tommy will be a softmore in high school - not sure
where yet. Among other activities, look forward to visiting
campus and the college grant!”
Nancy Oey ‘81 and “El Beisbol” to air in 2011
Nancy writes that she is currently producing and fundraising for her
documentary “El Beisbol: The Story of Latinos in Baseball” which will air on
PBS. The film is described as telling the story of “overcoming great odds and
the remarkable individuals who have become cultural icons and heroes to
millions of ardent fans.” They “want to trace the history of players from Latin
American and Caribbean heritage and look at the culture and the influence it
creates. (They) want to provide an intimate look at the players’ lives on and
off the field.” Filming will take place in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto
Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the U.S. Nancy is looking for additional sponsors
if any classmates are interested. The website is www. beisbolproductions.com
and you can email [email protected].
DARTMOUTH College CLASS OF 1981
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81
Mailing Panel
Mark your Calendars NOW!
June 16-19, 2011 is our 30th Reunion!
FEBRUARY 2010 newsletter
Visit our website at www.dartmouth.org/classes/81
FEBRUARY 2010 newsletter
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CLASS OF 1981
Newsletter Editors: Peter Oudheusden • [email protected] • Robert Goldbloom • [email protected]
Jim Kenealy ‘81 in MA
the H1N1 flu outbreak and the earthquake in Haiti,
this has been one hectic year for her. We have one
son, Aidan, who is 13 and, when he puts down his
video games long enough, he plays his saxophone
or with his bo staff. (He got his 2nd degree black
belt this past year.) He’s already better at his sax
than I ever was in the DCMB. We live in Hopkinton
just about 100 yards down from the Boston
Marathon starting line and, as they are want to
say in these parts, “It all starts here!” – at least on
Patriots Day. We have the distinction of owning
the oldest home in Hopkinton (1715), so there
are always lots of repairs and renovations in the
works!” Thanks, Jim!
Jim wrote in an email recently: “I am a partner
in a small, single-specialty Ear, Nose & Throat
group practice with offices in Framingham and
Milford. I operate out of MetroWest Medical
Center in Framingham. I’ve been very active
in organized medicine and sit on the Mass
Medical Society’s Board of Trustees. I’m also the
current chair of their Committee on Legislation.
My wife, Vanessa, is an attorney by training
but she works as a consultant in preparedness
and disaster planning at the bureaucratic
intersection of the CDC, the Mass Dept of Public
Health and the Mass Medical Society. Between
www.alum.dartmouth.org/classes/81