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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Ken Van Pragg
classnews1955@alum.colby.edu
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As the Class of 2003 graduates, we find ourselves moving relentlessly closer to the year 2005-the year of our 50th reunion. I hope all class members are beginning to think about their presence in Waterville-it'll be here before we know it! . . . On a sad note, this column, on behalf of the Class of '55, would like to offer its condolences to the family of Don Hoagland, who passed away in September 1999 in California at the age of 66. I regret that we were not notified until recently. . . . Also belatedly, and on a much happier note, we have learned that Peter French has, at long last, made an "honest woman" out of Marietta Roberts '57 with their marriage on July 6, 2002, in Kennebunkport, Maine. I am told that they had a three-day celebration-must be all those years to make up for. Our congratulations to both. . . . Chan and Jane Whipple Coddington report that all is well with their three daughters and their seven grandchildren, 7 to 16 years of age. Like so many of us, they're hitting both the 70-year benchmark as well as approaching 50 years of marriage, which they'll be celebrating in 2005 (though my body says otherwise, I'd still prefer to think we're getting better, not older-wishful thinking, I guess). Jane notes that she spent a ski weekend with Kathy (McConaughy '56) and Lou Zambello this past winter in Vermont and also had a great luncheon visit in Florida last February reminiscing about "old" times, "sad" times and "fun" times. . . . Kathy Flynn Carrigan, the winner of the commencement speaker contest (Oveta Culp Hobby, then Secretary of the Treasury, I think-at any rate it was her signature that appeared on all those American dollar bills we had at that time, though I didn't have any $5s, $10s, $20s, etc.), spent two weeks this spring in France, floating up rivers from the Mediterranean to Lyon-stopping to see flowering gardens, castles, chateaus, truffle harvesting and vineyards-and then on to Paris. She notes that there were no problems regarding politics, that she was greeted cordially and treated well. Kathy's Christmas book, When Christmas Comes, has been published and is available at the Colby bookstore as well as on the Web (click on to Bookstore and then "authors of the '50s"). . . . Judy Holtz Levow, having settled in Florida, decided to travel to Sedona, Ariz., and the Grand Canyon and enjoyed the experience immensely. . . . Jane (Daib '58) and John Reisman continue to travel. They sailed on a five-masted square rigger this past winter in the Caribbean and then spent two weeks on the West Coast doing northern California and southern Oregon. John is yet another to celebrate his 70th birthday and their 45th wedding anniversary. (I don't recall any of us making a big deal out of our 60th birthday. What a difference a decade makes!) . . . Every now and then a name comes through one or more channels of communication that really surprises me. First, I received a call from Dick Temple, a fellow third-floor Averill Hall resident. Neither he nor his closest friends at the time, "Hoot" Wetherell and Pat Horgan, were Colby graduates-how I made it, I'm not sure I'll ever know. Dick did return for his sophomore year, but personal family tragedies caused him to leave Colby. We lost contact with Dick, but as it turned out, like so many others did at that time, Dick served his country for two years, married and raised a family (daughter with one grandchild, younger son with two grandchildren). He went into sales with the U.S. Envelope Co. in Worcester, then worked for Boise Cascade in Washington. He then went into the furniture restoration business in the Framingham area for 27 years before retiring. For some seven years he has been living on Pine Island in Florida-with his boat. I look forward to getting together with Dick next winter and hope I can get him back to Colby in 2005. . . . Then I received a call from Don Martin, also an alumnus of third-floor Averill. Following graduation, he, too, spent two years in service and then went to work for Western Electric for 35 years, retiring in 1989. The father of three children and grandfather of three, he currently resides in Kennebunkport and, like myself, winters in Florida-Jensen Beach-practically my neighbor. Next year we'll endeavor to close a gap of some 49 years. . . . And then came correspondence from Carol Dauphinee Cooper, who writes that she was looking for a liberal arts college small enough not to overwhelm a Cape Cod clam digger from a high school class of 42 and progressive enough to stimulate her mind and social development. She found the right place and never regretted her choice. Her family of three living children and eight grandchildren live in four different states. Recently retired as an administrative assistant to the former majority leader of the Arizona State Senate, she is engaged. Last September she spent a wonderful few hours in Damariscotta with Joanne Bailey Anderson. Carol, I hope you show up at our 50th. We all need to touch base again! . . . By the way, did the photos accompanying "The Forgotten War" story in the last edition of Colby magazine bring back some memories for you? A great majority of the male members of our class are in this photo. Recognize anyone? Can you pick yourself out? Get a magnifying glass and have some fun. . . . Help us keep in touch with each other . . . 21 months and counting down!
--Ken Van Praag
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Kathleen McConaughy Zambello
classnews1956@alum.colby.edu
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As I write this column on June 15, the sun is shining at last. This is the weekend of the third annual bike ride for the American Lung Association, which the children and grandchildren of the late Jean Pratt Moody participate in. The ride is from Bethel, Maine, to Belfast, Maine, and the second night they stay on the Colby campus. Each year it is our hope to rendezvous with them all there, but again we needed to be in Amherst and couldn't do it. I am sure they were happy to have only one really rainy day this year. Jean's granddaughter Jennifer Pratt Moody will be attending Colby this fall, so I hope to catch up with her there. . . . We had a visit with John and Joan Williams Marshall. They arrived on June 11, and Joan reminded me that exactly 47 years ago that day was graduation. The fellows play each year in the Don Rice charity golf tournament in Greenfield, Mass., and each won a door prize this year. Joan and I talk non-stop while they are away. . . . We also had a visit from Ed and Karen Johnson Fenton '63. We met them on our Colby Tuscany trip last June and hope to visit them next year in Jacksonville. . . . Tess and John Jubinsky finally are grandparents. Colby John Pankas was born in November, and they were there for his christening. Later in June we plan to see them up in Maine, where a large gathering is planned. . . . Mary Ann Papalia Laccabue stays in touch with Jackie Huebsch Scandalios and is hard at work trying to get her to commit to our 50th. Jackie and her husband spend several months twice a year boating in Greece. Jackie, would you consider a travelogue presentation for our class? . . . Bobbie Barnes Brown writes that she and Bob (Brownie) are both retired but still very busy. Their five children have given them two grandsons and seven granddaughters to keep track of. In spite of such a big family, Bobbie says they have been to every reunion and would encourage everyone to come back for the 50th. . . . Let me hear from you.
--Kathy McConaughy Zambello
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Guy and Elenor Ewing Vigue
classnews1957@alum.colby.edu |
Don Tracy's e-mail is our sole contribution in this column. Don still resides in Rockport, Maine, although he and his wife, Linda, are in the process of building a new home there. They sold their larger home last May and found a wooded lot only a few hundred feet from the ocean. They are downsizing but still have room for visits from both family and friends. Always enjoying the ocean, Don and Linda recently took a six-day schooner cruise out of Camden Harbor. Although there were hazy, cool days, the wind was brisk, and the vessel moved along at a speed of eight knots or more most of the time. Don keeps busy all year doing taxes and "pulling people out of the turbulent tax waters they sometimes find themselves falling into." For him it is enjoyable work, and he looks forward to moving into his new office and home sometime in October. Summer has been pleasant in a temporary apartment on the main street of Camden, where he and Linda have taken many evening walks around the harbor, enjoying the atmosphere and working at removing the six pounds gained on the schooner cruise!
--Guy and Elenor Ewing Vigue
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Ann Segrave Lieber
classnews1959@alum.colby.edu
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Sandy and Steve Levine are enjoying life in Sarasota, Fla. They have one son and grandson in nearby Fort Myers, one son and grandson in Seattle and another son working in San Francisco. Sounds like some good travel opportunities! . . . Greg Mac Arthur is president of Viewpoint, a teleconferencing company. Cancer has been a frequent visitor to the MacArthur family, but all are doing well now. Greg agrees with me that having a positive attitude is a huge plus. . . . Real estate broker Melly McKevett Grolljahn has recently joined Re/Max Properties in New Hampshire and is a member of several committees devoted to the arts. Her hobbies are skiing, fitness and painting. Go, Mel! . . . Stanley Painter, D.O., practices half time and occasionally plays organ for his church despite quadruple bypass surgery. During some recent genealogy research, he discovered that his freshman roommate (who was it, Stan?) is a direct descendant of a War of 1812 general, David Meade (for whom Meadeville, Pa., was named); Capt. Abraham Brinker, one of Meade's assistants, was Stan's ancestor. Now what are the odds that, 140 years later, those two would end up as roomies? . . . Do you play clarinet or saxophone? Use French American Reeds? If so, you are dealing with the company brought to the U.S.A. in 1939 by the parents of Eliane Maccaferri Reese. Upon her mother's recent retirement, Eliane became owner and president of the firm. She and Gene have lived in Tennessee for 23 years. . . . I recently had a great phone conversation with Bob Brown, who lives in Largo, Fla. His son, Peter, is currently staying with him. Music is still Bob's great love, and he wishes he could do more performing. He's still really funny and is at the pinnacle of punning. Hope we'll be seeing (and hearing) him at our upcoming reunion. . . . Jessica and Bob Cockburn take an annual canoeing and hiking vacation; this year it will be followed by travels in Ireland. Bob has retired after 37 years of teaching English at the University of New Brunswick. . . . Lloyd Cohen recently became a step-great-grandfather, and I'm guessing none of the rest of us can make that claim! He and Sheila recently took their children, their spouses and the grandchildren on an Alaskan cruise. Lloyd keeps in touch with several classmates and says he is grateful to be standing on the grass rather than lying below! . . . I love hearing from you; please keep that correspondence coming.
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