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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Richard W. Bankart
classnews1965@alum.colby.edu
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Enjoyment . . . it comes in many forms. When the e-mail request to you was issued, I was in Egypt tacking down the Nile in a felucca . . . enjoying myself. . . .We have reached that year in which most of us are "celebrating" the big 6-0. An increasing number of us are retired. Many have moved south. David Hatch is in Ft. Myers, Fla., and "plans to spend some time at the beach. Perhaps I'll help someone rent jet-skis.". . . Jean (Hoffman '66) and Neil Clipsham enjoy visits to their sons David in Colorado Springs and Doug, who lives nearby in Pennsylvania. Neil writes, "Jean and I have an annual vegetable garden that serves as a weekend activity in between travels, house projects, etc." . . . Other classmates now have time to act on desires put aside for decades. Nancy Kendig Montagna, Ph.D., has chosen to blend her professional life of private practice in solution-focused psychotherapy in Silver Spring, Md., with a long-deferred plan for humanitarian service. "I am finally fulfilling elements of the longing that made me apply to the Peace Corps upon graduation," she wrote. "I chose not to go at the time but always told myself I will do something like that later in my life. Well, now is later. I am working with International Partners as a volunteer. I went to Peru in 2002 seeking ways to be useful. I had wonderful contacts that allowed me to go into two indigenous villages. They need to find markets for the things they makeÑbeautiful rugs or wall hangings with traditional designs in one village and finger puppets in the other (for which they get five cents apiece, net). I have found a way to get a catalogue of their wares online but have no idea how to connect this with the people who might buy from them. If anyone can tell me how best to do this, please contact me: nantagna@aol.com or 301-587-5735." Nancy is also working professionally, giving seminars to colleagues who deal with people being released from jail in Peru after years of "unwarranted imprisonment and sometimes torture." Nancy is also modifying a series of USA classes for treating domestic violence offenders, "adapting them for a low level of literacy." She would like help in arranging a pilot program for this somewhere in Latin America and requests contacts and connections that you may have. Over the years I've compiled this column I've been impressed by the number of classmates who have found time for public service. Here is your chance to channel your energy and professional background. Give Nancy a call. . . . Marty Dodge is very much involved in promoting global sustainability through courses at Finger Lakes Community College, speaking before the Unitarian Church, on the speaker's circuit and writing newspaper editorials. His recent travel ecology courses include number 10 to Alaska and the second one to the rain forests of Costa Rica. He says his label "as liberal/radical sticks by virtue of speech content at peace rallies." He also performed as a storyteller/poet for the Bristol Valley Playhouse in Naples, N.Y., last May. . . . Our Alumni Council representative, Jan Wood Parsons, released a newsy update on plans the College has to expand facilities, international programs and civic involvement with Waterville needs. Those of us who saw the bleak remnants of a once vibrant downtown Waterville at our 35th reunion wish them every success and hope they enjoy the process. . . Hail, Colby, Hail.
--Richard W. Bankart
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Meg Fallon Wheeler
classnews1966@alum.colby.edu
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Susan Mahoney Michael contacted me last July to ask if anyone has news of Britt Carlson Anderson. I couldn't help Susan (Britt, where are you?) but did entice her to send in her own news. Since 1998, Susan has worked in local government training projects in Romania and Macedonia; her more than two years in Macedonia included time during the ethnic conflict there in 2001. Along the way she met a Portuguese professor who was raised in Mozambique, educated in England and will soon be (perhaps already is?) Susan's husband. They now live in Portugal, where Susan has learned Portuguese and enjoys time on their sailboat in the Algarve. She likes the cosmopolitan lifestyle of living abroad, loves Portugal's beauty and history, keeps in close touch with her two stateside children by phone and e-mailÑand misses Redenbacher's microwave popcorn, Pepperidge Farm herb stuffing, artichokes and Maine seafood. She hopes they will someday have a place in Maine. E-mail Susan at susana_michael@yahoo.com. . . . Fran Finizio's new job at Fidelity entails long hours and an intense workload. Dreams of five more years till retirement keep him going. His son is a freshman engineering student at Syracuse, his daughter a Boston College graduate contemplating a Ph.D. program in philosophy. Fran had dinner in July with Dag Williamson, who has retired from John Hancock, and with Eric Werner, who is back from England and living in New Hampshire. . . . California geologist Peter Anderson was also at that July dinner gathering. He wrote me about a late summer trip: "My brother (Colby '69) called to see if I wanted to join a group in a hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This is like asking the devil if he wants to sin. We both made it down and back (the canyon is about a mile deep and the temp at the bottom was a hundred and change), proving once again that I can hike in temperatures almost twice my age as long as the mileage is around one tenth my age." Peter added that he was the slowest hiker in the group only because he spent so much time looking at the rocks. . . . Pam Harris Holden spent almost a month traveling in England last summer with Mary Bryan Harrison Curd '65, who is working on her Ph.D. in art history. They rented a flat in the medieval town of Ely for the majority of their stay. . . . Another summer traveler, Diane Leach Wilbur, took a cruise to Alaska on a luxury liner, had perfect weather, did boat, float plane and helicopter side trips, saw abundant wildlife, calving glaciers, magnificent mountain views and summed it up as "the trip of a lifetime." . . . Paula Mc Namara happily stayed put last summer running her new Seven Knots Gallery in a restored two-room schoolhouse on Islesboro, just off the coast of Camden, Maine. She showed the photography of her husband, Jack McConnell, and works of many painters, weavers, woodcarvers, glass blowers, jewelers and fiber artists. She ran painting, photo and writing workshops in the mornings and brought in local musicians to play at the 10 weekly openings. Check out Paula's Web site at sevenknotsgallery.com. . . . Nice to hear from Terry Eagle, who wrote to say that he and Sally (Vaughan) were anticipating the October 4, 2003, wedding of their son. Terry is leadership gifts director at Cate School in Carpinteria, Calif. . . . Martha DeCou Dick and Peter Anderson have been keeping me informed on Allen and Janet Meyer Throop of Corvallis, Ore. I reported on Allen's battle with Lou Gehrig's disease in my last column. Couie sent a copy of a wonderful article about Allen from the Corvallis newspaper, telling of his courage in the face of such adversity. Peter sent a picture of Allen and Janet, Lynne Egbert Eggart, Jerri Hamilton Bost '65, Cary Parsons '65 and himself taken during a summer reunion of this group of loyal friends in Santa Cruz, Calif. Find the picture on our class page of the Colby Web site. . . . Liz (Drinkwine '68) and Ted Houghton sold their home on Chesapeake Bay with heavy hearts last May after 12 wonderful years there, stored their "stuff," bought a new Lazy Daze RV and camped in it until they could find a new home in their old home of New England. Find it they did, a condo in Sturbridge, Mass., near family, which includes their twins, Kate and Geoff, and six (seven by the time you read this) grandchildren. Their cold weather plan was to head south and spend at least part of the winter as volunteer campground hosts at Ochlockonee River State Park in Florida in exchange for a free campsite. . . . Russ Monbleau and Joyce were looking forward to a trip to Michigan last fall to visit grandchildren, Tyler, Payton and Logan. Russ had six grandsons at last count. . . . All the news for this column came to me via e-mail, but don't forget there's a class correspondence form in the back of every Colby magazine that can be sent to me via U.S. Postal Service. My phone works, too. Please communicate!
--Meg Fallon Wheeler
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Judy Gerrie Heine
Robert Gracia
classnews1967@alum.colby.edu
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Classmates have become more introspective and are refocusing their priorities. The Maine Holocaust Human Rights Center at the University of Maine in Augusta received a generous gift from Phyllis Jalbert to build an educational resource center honoring her late husband, child Holocaust survivor, Michael Klahr. Michael, a successful real estate developer in Brooklyn, and Phyllis were together for 25 years, marrying in 1997. Michael was diagnosed with cancer six months later and died in December 1998. The center will give Michael a permanent connection to the woods of Maine, which he learned to love. . . . Rick Sadowski, recuperating from a total right hip replacement, says he can walk again without pain. "The one thing I did learn is that I really missed nothing by not being a participant in the drug culture during the '60s and '70s. The only problem I had was with the drugs the doctors prescribed and I felt a heck of a lot better after I took myself off them." His grandson, Max, continues to grow and delight. "As most fathers of our generation, I missed a lot of the milestones of my children's early years, working too many hours. It is a joy to be able to watch my grandson explore the world with wide-eyed wonder. It's also nice to see my daughter and son interact, and I come away with the feeling that just maybe I didn't get it all wrong." . . . In May 2002, Jean Howard Bleyle finished a two-year program at Antioch New England Graduate School for her master's in marriage and family therapy. Now she's a community social worker on the child and adolescent team at Monadnock Family Services in Keene, N.H. She said, "I came to this work through my involvement in PFLAG, an educational, advocacy and support group for parents, friends and families of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender folk." Last summer she attended a week-long training session at Colby in working with children who have experienced early trauma and have problems forming healthy attachments to their foster or adoptive parents. "Being at the College for an entire week," she said, "walking across campus to the bookstore at Roberts, eating at Dana and Foss, made me feel I had come full circle!" Diana Weatherby and Elaine Dignam Meyrial visited Jean for a foliage weekend in late September. . . . Kurt Swenson received a lifetime achievement award from Northern New England Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation for his ongoing support of their work since his father died of rheumatoid arthritis in 1979 at age 59. He's been busy traveling but managed three weeks with Elaine in Italy last fall, two weeks in the Caribbean on vacation, a long weekend in May in Ann Arbor, where his youngest son, Jake, received an M.S. in resource management and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, two weeks in Luxembourg on business and a week in Japan on business. . . . Newland Lesko was appointed executive vice president of International Paper's industrial packaging division and chair of the company's manufacturing leadership council. Newland, who has been with the company since 1967, is responsible for the implementation of company-wide manufacturing initiatives and technology. He lives in Stanford, Conn. . . . We were saddened to hear that in May 2003 James Coriell passed away suddenly in Moorestown, N.J. Memorial contributions may be made to Coriell Institute for Medical Research, 401 Haddon Ave., Camden, N.J. 08103. . . .Carol and Bob Gracia worked on a Habitat for Humanity project in Providence in June. Also there was Nick Jansen, who has retired from New England Life and is now living in Westport, Mass., where he is building wooden sailboats. . . . Irv Faunce, previously the mayor of Gardiner, Maine, was a recent candidate for selectman in Kennebunk, Maine. Irv has four adult children and three adopted children who are in middle school. He's a strong supporter of public education and feels that selectmen should "take a leadership role in encouraging the state to change how education is funded.". . . Vickie and Eric Meindl traveled to Rio de Janeiro in October. Eric is in his fifth year as vice chair for North America of the Data Buoy Cooperation Panel, a group of scientists and engineers that is sanctioned by the World Meteorological Organization and International Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations. The panel members represent nations around the world that operate automated observing systems (such as buoys in the world's oceans), which are increasingly important as scientists try to understand climate variability and long-term climate change. Eric plans to retire from the federal government in early January after more than 30 years of service. . . . Leanne Davidson Kaslow is still in Birmingham, Ala., retired from direct social work in child sexual abuse and on the board of a women's counseling center that screens and offers treatment for depression to uninsured, pregnant women. She sings barbershop music with the local Sweet Adelines, is devoted to power yoga and is president of the University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty women's club, which raises money for women over 25 who have not been financially able to complete their undergraduate degree.
--Robert Gracia and Judy Gerrie Heine
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Peter Jost
classnews1968@alum.colby.edu
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Peter Roy writes that although he didn't make it to reunion this year, he was fortunate to play host to a number of classmates at his home in Ellsworth, including Ted Allison (and his now famous Harley) and son Jake, David Lanman '72 and Jeffrey Smith. Also there were Reed Harman, who attended Colby but transferred to Middlebury in his sophomore year, and Michael "Hago" Harrington '66 and his wife, Nancy (Ault '70). . . . Dr. Bruce McDonald has retired from his surgical practice in Dallas, purchased a 31-foot motor home and is traveling around the country enjoying his photography business. He also plans to work in underserved areas of the country. . . . John Leopold is chief judge of the 18th Judicial District of Colorado. John has fond memories of Prof. Weissberg's senior international relations seminar, where some of us got to role-play as members of the Senate International Relations Committee, sometimes with humorous results. John and his wife plan eventually to retire to New England. John also communicates with Peter Rouse, who was recently the subject of a Senate leadership bio in the National Journal of Washington, D.C. Peter is chief of staff for Senate minority leader Tom Daschle and is said to be his closest confidant and right-hand man. Peter is also said to have a not-so-secret love for cats, particularly his own two Maine Coon cats, Earl and Junior. . . . Joe Jabar was to be inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame last fall. Joe, who of course also pitched at Colby, compiled a 21-4 record in three seasons in the Cape League with the Chatham A's, now the Yarmouth Indians. He won 15 straight games over three seasons, a league record that still stands. . . . John Morgan writes movingly of his pride and trepidation on dropping off his daughter and new Colby freshman, Sarah, at Mayflower Hill at the end of August while he flew back home to Colorado Springs. John and Sara stayed with Phil Merrill and his family in Appleton for a few days before heading to Waterville. He had hoped to visit Bob Hughes in New York but ran out of time. He also usually stops by for a cup of coffee at Bob Hayden's when passing through Santa Fe at Christmas. . . . Edward "Ric" Rawson writes that he is enjoying retirement (including seeing his wife off to work every day at 7:30 a.m.). He has lost 40 pounds in water aerobics and is feeling great. His oldest daughter married a resident of St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2002. . . . Judith de Luce, professor and chair of the department of classics at Miami University in Ohio, missed our reunion because she was in Russia on a trip she has wanted to take for many years. She writes that the longer she teaches classics, the more interested she becomes in "non-Western" cultures. Last year she journeyed to China. She also continues to be heavily involved in instructional technology. . . . Jessie McGuire writes that she missed our reunion due to foot surgery but did enjoy last year's graduation. She notes that the Al Corey band still plays for Colby graduations, "a great nostalgia trip for us older folks." (Sad to say, Mr. Corey passed away last November.) Jessie is living on Long Island and directing the educational division of Langenscheidt Publishers and travels throughout the country on business. She also has organized several group tours to India. She says "I feel like I'm back immersing myself in a Jan Plan experience . . . without the stress of the final paper." . . . As for yours truly, I now have two metal plates and 16 screws in my right leg as result of a little slip and fall mishap on my office steps. How horrible, a lawyer with nobody to sue but himself! At any rate, I hope to be out of the cast by the time you read this. . . . Due to publishing schedules several months elapse between your communications and their appearance in Colby magazine. If you don't see yourself mentioned, you will probably appear in a subsequent issue. If you would like to receive a class letter with details that had to be edited out due to space limitations, please advise and we will try to accommodate.
--Peter Jost
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CLASS CORRESPONDENT
Sari Abul-Jubein
classnews1969@alum.colby.edu
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I apologize for missing the column in the last issue. It was another glitch that couldn't be helped. If you find some of the info is a bit stale, it's because this column is a combination of both. . . . Jane Chandler Carney reminds us of the lovely time we had at the start of our last reunion at Eddie Woddin's home. The good news is that Eddie is willing to do it again next June, so get ready. Jane spends her summers in Maine. . . . Ron Caruso is back to singing and playing, and we may see a reunion of his band next June. . . . Robert Stecker is a professor of philosophy at Central Michigan University, where he has taught for the last 20 years. He recently published "Interpretation and Construction: Art, Speech and the Law." He also co-edited a new edition of Hume's "Treatise of Human Nature." . . . After 16 years as chief of emergency medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, George Higgins has assumed the position of associate vice president for performance importance at the center. In this position, George oversees safety and error-reducing strategies to further improve the quality of health care. Along with his wife, Cheryl (Morierty '70), they live between Peaks Island and Cape Elizabeth. Daughter Jenny '97 is also a Colby grad. George lectures at one of the summer conferences held at Colby and gets to live in the dorms and eat at Dana and reminisceÑnot about the food, I trust! . . . Laurie Wiggins lives in Alabama and spends time caring for her mom. She is also involved with her local church choir. The 30th was not the same without you, Laurie, so start getting ready for the 35th. . . . I enjoyed a brief visit with Jerry Farnsworth and his lovely family. Jerry is director of development at the Dublin School in New Hampshire. . . . Sandy Reed Clougher sends this update: "My younger daughter, Erin, graduated from Colby in May '03. My older daughter, Allison '98, was married to Kristopher Keelty '99 in November 2002. I am continuing a 34-year career in Vermont Social Services as the district director of the Barre, Vt., district office, which services the families and children of central Vermont. Since 1996 I have enjoyed being Jan Plan host to several students who have been interested in public social work." . . . Contrary to the opinion that upon graduation Rob Oldershaw crawled into the eaves of the old DEK house where he has been ever since, he writes, "Since last writing my wife became a full professor, our two kids continue to amaze in sports and academics (I take no credit), and the dog now sleeps 24 hours a day (it may be dead). I have morphed into a tennis addict and cigar lover. I remain an unabashed liberal and nature-lover (search on ÔFractal Cosmology')." They planned on going to the Balsams (northern New Hampshire) for Christmas and New Year's. . . . Donald Clark writes, "After four-and-a-half wonderful years at USAID/Senegal, we have been posted (for the second time) to Katmandu, Nepal. We are excited to reconnect with old friendsÑboth Nepalese and expatsÑand delighted to be back in magical Nepal." . . . Lawrence and Susan Johnston Morse's son, Canaan, joined the Class of 2007 to pursue, in all likelihood, a major in East Asian studies. . . . After receiving a master's in educational leadership from USM in May, Lee Graham took a new job as curriculum director in Maine school district #44 in Bethel, Maine. . . . Last fall, Ines Ruelius Altemose planned to take her daughter to Paris and Florence. Kristen was born at Thayer Hospital in Waterville our junior year, in October 1967, and they were looking forward to a mother-daughter trip, Kristin's first time to Europe. . . . As for me, last spring I went back to Damascus for a second visit. I wanted to make sure that my decision to leave Syria and come to Colby and settle here was the right choice. It sure was! In June I went to Argentina for some bird hunting and restauranting, and in July I attended a wedding on the Island of St. Maartin. . . . By the time you read this, our 35th will be close. So start packing, and come one come all.
--Sari Abul-Jubein
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