ON TO THE 65 - Dartmouth Alumni

Al Collins, President, Dave Halloran, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster, Mark Smoller, Class Notes
th
POST, POST REUNION ISSUE---1953 SETS ALL-TIME 60 th RECORDS—ON TO THE 65
Lest we forget our Heritage--- the ’53 Moosilauke Mountaineers kicking off the 60th at the Peak
“Dartmouth, the gleaming, dreaming walls of Dartmouth, miraculously builded in our hearts”
Collins Corner
We’ve got a lot to talk about including some reunion wrap up, a few awards, a
1953 Memorial Cabinet, a Maxi-Mini, the Inauguration, Class Officer’s Weekend,
Homecoming and our Class events this fall. Let’s start with wonderful award
recognition. ’53 Out has been the College’s most outstanding newsletter for
decades and the related Class Website carries every recent issue and so much
more. Finally, your dedicated editor, Dave Halloran, has been awarded the
College’s Webmaster of the Year Award. If you haven’t visited our extensive
website you are in for a treat. It’s not only a wonderful nostalgic trip but carries
current editions, pictures and class events. The web site is at:
http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/53/
Here is Dave’s well-deserved award:
And speaking of awards, the great Class of ’53 has garnered a few additional
kudos following our gala 60th reunion. As you know, we hosted the highest
number of classmates at a 60th reunion, ever, as well as the largest total
attendance including spouses, widows, wives of disabled classmates and guests.
We also now hold the record for the largest Dartmouth College Fund figure ever
achieved at a 60th reunion as well as a staggering record breaking participation
percentage of 75.2% of our class.
As a result, we have once again been awarded the Roger C.
Wilde Award for setting a new Reunion dollar record as well
as the Harvey P. Hood Award for setting a new Reunion
participation percentage. Congratulations to all!! The Legacy
of Leadership Lives On!
Homecoming – Oct 11 - 12:
This year Dartmouth will host Yale at Homecoming – game time 1:30 PM.
Friday night: The pre-game parade will be starting at 7PM at Lebanon Street
down by the football stadium. Following the parade and the speeches and songs
from the steps of Dartmouth Hall the bonfire will be lit. It is suggested that '53s
meet either at the Hanover Inn lobby or at the adjacent bar prior to the parade
to either share a libation and/or to make plans to march together. Harlan Fair
has our Class parade banner and will be at the Inn and later at the parade start.
Post-Game Event Saturday: We will be meeting for a post-game reception and
dinner at Dowd's Country Inn in Lyme following the game. To get to Dowd's
Country Inn you go north up Main Street in Hanover on route 10 to Lyme. The
distance is 10 1/2 miles and The Inn is on the North side of the Green in
Lyme. The reception will be a cash bar starting at 5 PM and the dinner will be
scheduled for 6 PM. The total cost will be $60.00 per person and that will
include table wine at dinner, 20% gratuities and the 10% NH restaurant tax. The
menu will offer shrimp scampi, tenderloin tips or a chicken dish. Please let
Harlan Fair know your menu preference when you make your reservation.
Please send your check to Harlan Fair, 80 Lyme Road, Apt #1018, Hanover, NH
03755-1237. If you decide late, you may also pay on your arrival. You may
contact Harlan to make reservations at harlan.w.fair@myfairpoint.net or at his
cell at 914-263-6555 or at home at 603-643-5713. We realize this is short notice,
but please advise as soon as possible, preferably by October 7th, in
order to prepare the Inn for our numbers. The enclosed link will provide you
with all the information you will ever need for Dowd's Country Inn including
phone numbers and detailed directions. http://www.dowdscountryinn.com/
Other Fall Happenings in Hanover:
Our Mini-Reunion co-chairs, Dave and Bonnie Siegal, have put together some
great events for us this fall. Following the 1:30 PM Columbia game on October
26th, Donna and Chuck Reilly will once again host a post-game reception at
their home at 49 Ferson Road, Hanover, NH. Although reservations are not
essential, it would be nice to let the Reilly’s know you plan to attend at 603-6437281 so they can plan accordingly.
For the 4 PM Cornell game November 9th, Marge and Russ Cook will host a pregame luncheon at their place at 2356 Gove Hill Road, Thetford Center. This
game will be televised on CBS and the late start time is related to that. A call to
them as to your plans to attend would be appreciated. Please RSVP to Marge
and Russ at 802-785-4961. Directions – about 10 miles. From the Norwich Inn,
drive west 9 miles (Main St., Norwich, becomes Union Village Road) to Gove Hill
Road, on the left. Turn on to Gove Hill Road. Number 2356 is approximately 2.5
miles from the turn off, on the right. (TVs will be available for those who wish to
remain at the reception for the game).
For the Princeton home game on November 23rd the plans are still in the works.
Will keep you advised.
Proposed Maxi-Mini Reunion:
Save the date for another 1953 Maxi-mini reunion in Philadelphia, October 7 10, 2014. Charlie Buchanan and Phil Beekman, the creators of the wonderful
Maxi of 2011 up the Hudson Valley, are in the process of putting this event
together. Although the details are still in the making the event will include a
reception dinner, tours, speakers, time to gather with your classmates and a
farewell dinner. The preliminary plans look great and I hope many of you will be
able to attend. Much more to follow.
The 1953 Memorial Cabinet:
’53 Commons has a new Class touch. We have just acquired
a cabinet such as the one pictured here. It will be known as
the ’53 Memorial Cabinet and will be placed in ’53
Commons right next to the Marilyn Monroe pictures which
were donated by our recently deceased classmate Ted
Spiegel. The Andy Warhol Monroe pictures will be
mounted soon in the space already allotted for them. The
cabinet has been delivered and is awaiting our decisions as
to what memorabilia, awards, pictures etc. we would like
to have in it. Much of what was part of our Dartmouth
experience is totally unknown to today’s students. Things
like beanies, senior canes, fraternity paddles, the tug-of
war, our freshman bonfire, the steel dinner trays, President
Eisenhower at our graduation and so much more. Give it some thought and let
me know if you have some great ideas.
Inauguration and Class Officer’s Weekend:
The inauguration of Philip J. Hanlon ‘77 as Dartmouth’s 18th president in the
Wheelock Succession took place on October 20th, 2013. The inauguration and all
the related pomp and circumstance were all you would expect and the event
was very well done and went off flawlessly. The well attended ceremony was
preceded by a luncheon on Tuck Mall which was attended by 4,000 alums,
students, employees, Trustees and friends of Dartmouth. The speeches were
both appropriate and good and it was a thrill to have been part of it. Trying to
describe and report the event is futile, so please take a look at the attached link
for a detailed look at all that transpired. http://dartmouth.edu/inauguration
It was a busy weekend as Class Officers Weekend was held at the same time.
Your Class Officers in attendance at those meetings were Vice-president, Tom
Bloomer, Treasurer Dick Fleming, and Head Agent Ron Lazar, Co-Mini Reunion
Chairs Dave and Bonnie Siegal and yours truly. In addition to the usual range of
meetings on class activities, performance, ideas and enhancement there was
considerable discussion on a new class metric system to try to objectively
evaluate a class’ performance in all of these areas. Our Class fared exceptionally
well on a comparative basis. The one area in which we were more active in prior
years was participation in student or College based projects. We have a long list
of projects initiated by the Great Class of 1953 over the years, and your
Executive Committee will be revisiting those opportunities available to us to
consider our involvement in one or more of these important initiatives.
All ’53 officers attended the gala Awards dinner on Friday evening accompanied
by their spouses, Arlene Bloomer and Liliane Lazar. At that dinner, President
Hanlon spoke at some length to the Class officers. It was a wonderful weekend
for Dartmouth and an inspiring one for your Class officers.
As many of you know, Dave and Bonnie Siegal had a late night break in at their
home in Hanover while they were sleeping. The thieves took some small things,
but most importantly, they stole Dave’s computer with all of his pictures and
class activity information. The Siegals, though a bit distraught, are fine and in
the process of replacing their computer equipment. Two pieces of advice for
the entire class – back up your computer today and get your flu shot.!!!
Be well, and I hope to see many of you on the Hanover campus this fall.
Best regards to all, Al
The Class of 1953 on Facebook
Dartmouth Alumni Newsletter Editors
To Your Delight, or Chagrin, Depending on Your Point of View on Social
Media, the Class Website in its Entirety is on the Dartmouth Newsletter
Editor Page on Facebook. Newsletters from the past few years are included
along with this note on our record newsletter size!!!
August 14 Massive (49 pages!) post-reunion issue from stalwart scribe Dave Halloran '53. Printing
company Brayshaw reports this is one of the largest class newsletters they have ever seen. Check it out
here: http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/53/reunions/reunions.php
The Magnificient Outreach of George Cull and Family.
In one of the most moving notes we have received in this wonderful role of Newsletter Editor
and Webmaster, George related a recent experience that many of us have contemplated
doing, but have never done. We all take care of those in need in our own ways, but few
actually invite those in need into our own homes. George and family did. Here is their story
told by George:
“‘What a good thing it is that people donate time and money to help others, but
how many of us invite them into our homes.’ That comment of a church
member really grabbed me. So, we got kids from local missions and taught
them how to swim: i.e. the Red Cross Water Safety Instructors we imported did
this. Reward: youthful exuberance. [Editor Comment, you can see it in the
pictures that follow]. Highlight: on day one a little girl who was so afraid of the
water she could not put her face in it just to blow bubbles…on her last day she
was going off the diving board!!!! Soon we will be kicking off our daughter’s
therapeutic horsemanship program----ring and fencing completed and an open
air horse carriage for disabled kids is nearly here. We are living it up.”
George and family, of all the years I have been reporting class news this one has touched me
the most deeply. We have such a generous class in so many ways ---Time, Money, Activities,
Institutional Support, and on and on, but doing all those things in the intimacy of one’s own
home is, as our British friends would say, is Capital. Joanne and I do many things too,
primarily through our church and our institutions, and we have often spoken about
something in the home. Your story has moved us to “Just Do It” and you will be the first
recipient of our report which I hope to be as moving as yours. We salute you George and
family, and thank you for this very, very moving story. Our senior representative in the Great
Beyond, Donald Carpenter Goss, is leading the cheers of the gathered throng. Cheers from
here too, Dave, and God bless you all.
Mark Smoller’s Class Notes to appear in the November/December
Dartmouth Alumni Magazine and a lovely note to your editor on their
time in Hanover this summer.
Hi David,
I am enclosing the new Class notes for November/ December Issue of the DAM. Nothing like current
up to date news......Have just spent a couple of weeks in Hanover...very beautiful weather, not a bad
town you know!!!........we had a ball. Already hard at work on Class of 2018. Trying to line up our 145
interviewers for the coming year. Can you imagine, 2018? Still great kids! Hope things are humming
along down there........Cheers! Mark
‘One
month after the last ’53 cars have left Hanover carrying
their tired but exhilarated reunion participants, and our local
alums retreated to their homes; we are still basking in the glow
of our Sensational 60th. Our peerless scribe, Dave Halloran
outdid himself producing a sensational “”53 Out”, our Class
newsletter.
There
are
forty-nine
pages
of
pictures,
reminiscences, and stories which in fact are a quick glimpse
into the heart and soul of the Class during the past 60 years. It
is beautifully produced in exquisite color and printed on lovely
stock. I heartily commend future classes to refer to this as the
template for future 60th’s.And while I am still on the subject of
the reunion, I would like to mention once again that the
addition of Sarner Underground to our beautiful 1953
Commons is the perfect complement to the Commons. Patty and
George Sarner have provided a magnificent facility in
which the students can gather and relax.
Our peripatetic ambassador, the Honorable Peter Bridges is at
it again. In May, he and Mary Jane visited Pavia, which Peter
describes as a peaceful Old Italian university town twenty miles
from over-sized Milan. Peter gave two talks at the university,
one to graduate students on his experiences as a diplomat in the
Cold War and the other on the development of links between
Italy and America in the 1800s."
For those of you who remember the trial of Captain Jeffrey
MacDonald, the Green Beret doctor who was convicted of
killing his wife and two children, I recommend that you watch
Dick Cahn as a guest panelist discussing that case for the law
students at Truro Law School this past spring. Dick was the
attorney for the parents of Mrs. MacDonald, and was intimately
involved in the bringing of the case to trial in the federal courts
after the military tribunal declined to try Captain MacDonald.
Dick presents a fascinating look into one of the most
sensational trials of its day.
Once more I close with the sad news of the passing of our
classmates, Deane Hillsman and Jack Runyon. On behalf of our
Class, I offer our condolences to t their families.
Mark H. Smoller; 4 Schuyler Drive, Jericho, NY 11753; (516) 9383616; Dartmark@gmail.com’
Profound Signs Seen Around the Countryside
DAVID PICKER’S BOOK “MUSTS, MAYBES AND NEVERS:STA BOOK ABOUT THE
MOVIES” RELEASED --- OCTOBER 1
David Picker, former studio President of United Artists, Paramount and Columbia, independent
producer, and television executive released his first book titled MUSTS, MAYBES AND NEVERS: A
BOOK ABOUT THE MOVIES on October 1st. In this narrative, Picker, a wonderful story-teller with an
amazing recollection of films, producers and events has written a book for all movie-lovers and
students of film. Picker, who has been nominated for an Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe, was also
involved with many films that everyone knows and loves from James Bond to the Beatles to Woody
Allen, and even the first X rated film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy. He
is also responsible for such iconic films as TOM JONES, LAST TANGO IN PARIS, LENNY, THE CRUCIBLE,
THE JERK, and many others. Among the European filmmakers he brought to United Artists were
Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle and Sergio Leone. David has written a
wonderfully engaging history of a time period when the screenplay was the star; the director was
allowed his vision; studios were run by filmmakers and film-lovers not corporations; and a hand-shake
was your word. Picker is a sought-after lecturer at film schools, including The American Film Institute,
Columbia University, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts, among others.
The book is available from amazon.com and for college bookstores and libraries order through Baker
and Taylor, or Ingram. Softcover and e-book, 332 pages. www.mustsmaybesandnevers.com
CONGRATULATIONS DAVID AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE READ. CHEERS.
MINI REUNION REPORTS FROM DAVE AND BONNIE SIEGAL
Our first mini-reunion for 2013 began with the figurative “bang.” Lillian Goss graciously
offered their beautiful log cabin summer home on Goose Pond for a pre-game gathering prior
to the Holy Cross game. We had 26 attendees, including 10 classmates and wives, two class
widows, and two adopted classmates and their wives. We all enjoyed a wonderful time and
fine refreshments outside on the deck. The day was nothing short of a magnificient New
Hampshire fall day. Unfortunately, this lovely afternoon was followed by a loss to Holy Cross,
but we won the party, still undefeated. Those attending were Clark and Linda Brink; Put and
Marion Blodgett; Al Collins; Fred and Mitzie Carleton; Russ and Margie Cook; Max and Ginger
Culpepper; Harlan and Anne Fair; Lillian Goss; Bob ('61) and Ann('77) Hargrave; Don Perkins;
Chuck and Donna Reilly; Jane Springer; Dave and Bonnie Siegal and Jack and Jodi
Zimmermann. A marvelous ’53 time was had by all. Next ’53 party stop is the Homecoming
Weekend October 11 and 12. Cheers All. Bonnie and C, no Dave!
“Other days are very near us, as we sing here soft and low,
We can almost hear the voices of the boys of long ago.
They are scattered now, these brothers, up and down the world they roam
Some have gone to lands far distant, from the dear old college home
Some have crossed the silent river, they are looking down tonight
And the thought of these old brothers, makes our love now burn so bright.”
Since the 60th, several more of our Brothers in 1953 have crossed the
silent river, and we cherish the memories we will always have for:
Jack “Boomer” Runyon. “Boomer” returned to his Creator in August
following a short but aggressive bout with recurrent melanoma.
He was born Oct. 31, 1930, in Glen Ridge, N.J., the son of Medford
Ross Runyon and Janet Benson, raised on Shippan Point in Stamford
and later Darien, Conn., and he grew up outdoors and on the water.
After summers in his teens on the H Lazy Branch in Ennis, Mont.,
where he rode horses and fly fished, ranch hands gave him a new
name, Jack. He graduated from Phillips Academy Andover in 1949,
and Dartmouth in the Great Class of 1953, where he was a brother of
the Sigma Chi fraternity. While there, he earned a second nickname,
“Boomer”, which also stuck, after a popular record he played to the
hilarity of his classmates, the Great Crepitation Contest of 1946. In
1952, Boomer worked as a cabin boy at York's Log Village in
Rangeley, Maine, a lakeside retreat he had visited with his parents for
several years. That summer he fell in love with a waitress, Phebe Dow,
a Colby College co-ed from Presque Isle, Maine. They married on Feb.
20, 1954, in the chapel at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.,
which he attended during World War II when his dad was in the Navy.
After college, Jack enlisted with the United States Marine Corps, did
basic training and led advanced warfare instruction at Camp Lejeune,
NC. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain. He loved
the esprit de corps of being a Marine. Daughter, Anne, was born on
Camp Lejeune in November 1954. From there, the Runyons moved to
Westport, Conn., had two more children, then to West Grove, Pa., and
then back to Westport, where he and Phebe grew their brood to five
children.
Jack worked the first half of his career with mainframe computers
doing data processing for the Columbia Broadcasting System,
Sikorsky Aircraft and Emery Air Freight. The Westport years are best
remembered for summers sailing and vacationing with family and
friends in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine, and for winters at
pre-dawn ice rinks and cheering on the New York Rangers at Madison
Square Garden. The Runyon household and property were a
menagerie of dogs and cats, goats, chickens, ducks, hamsters,
gerbils and guinea pigs, and a wide assortment of snakes, lizards and
tortoises. At one point, the Runyon house qualified as a local school
field trip. A productive vegetable and rose garden were also staples.
The love of the land and animals led to the Runyon's flight to Vermont
in 1973. Once there, Boomer put away his suits and ties and worked a
variety of jobs, including bus driver and milkman, before he joined the
United States Postal Service, from which he retired in 1995.
Boomer’s expertise with computers coincided with his love of family
history and genealogy, which was triggered after finding a box of
Runyon letters from the Civil War. Jack was a descendent of Vincent
Roignon, a French Huguenot who settled in Piscataway, Jersey in
1665.
He leaves his family and Runyons everywhere with a
prodigious database of several thousand Runyons. His years in
Middlebury included a long career as an actor with the Middlebury
Community Players. His role as Mr. Bumble in Oliver Twist, in which
his two youngest children performed as paupers, earned him a
favorite review from friend and homemaker Joan Anderson: "I don't
care what you say." In 2002, he acted in the independent film
Pursuing Happiness. He was also a devoted member of the Salisbury
Congregational Church, the Lions Club, Rotary International and Saint
Andrews Society.
Jack is survived by his wife, Phebe of Middlebury; daughter, Anne of
Brandon; son, Will of Katonah, N.Y.; son, Jim of Benicia, Calif.;
daughter, Phebe of Suwanee, Ga.; and 10 grandchildren, many of
whom are named after Runyon ancestors. Jack was predeceased by
his son John in 2002.
Deane Hillsman returned to his Creator in July in Sacramento. Here is
the obit in the Sacramento paper. What a swimmer was Deane!
Christmas Luncheon in New York City
Our annual Dartmouth ’53 New York Pre-Holiday
Luncheon, and arranged by Cathy Callender will be
on Wednesday, December 11th, 2013 at the Yale
Club - 50 Vanderbilt Ave, just west of Met Life
Building (Grand Central area)on 17th Floor with a
new dining room this year organized especially for
the Dartmouth Great Class of 1953 . Bar opens at
Noon and luncheon will be served at 12:30 p.m.
Please wear jacket with your green 1953 Dinosaur
tie. All Class members & widows and their guests
(spouses, SOs, family, friends, et al) are invited.
Agenda: None other than relaxed conviviality,
affability and camaraderie for which we’re justly
famous. Cost: $53 per person. Mail check (payable
to "Dartmouth 1953") to Cathy Callender, 785 Park
Ave., New York NY 10021-3552
Reservations, please. RSVP to Cathy Callender and
Bob Malin (email addresses below)
Queries:
Cathy Callender at CCallender@Marymountnyc.org
or Bob Malin at MalinRobertA@Gmail.com
Note: This traditional 1953 NYC pre-holiday
luncheon was initiated by Bob Callender many
years ago and has been a mid-December fixture
ever since. You’re cordially invited to join with
your NY/CT/NJ/PA/MD Classmates and others to
celebrate and enjoy our renewed bonds of
friendship. Please come—Wed, Dec 11th. Noon at
the Yale Club, 17th Floor.
Some of the Better Senior Citizen Bumper Stickers Seen
Around “The Villages” in Florida
BOB HOPE IN HEAVEN
ON TURNING 70
'I still chase women, but only Downhill’
ON TURNING 80
'That's the time of your life when even your birthday suit
needs pressing.'
ON TURNING 90
'You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than
the cake.'
ON TURNING 100
'I don't feel old. In fact, I don't feel
anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.'
ON GIVING UP HIS BOXING CAREER,
'I ruined my hands. The referee kept stepping on them.'
ON NEVER WINNING AN OSCAR
'The Academy Awards or as it's called at my home, 'Passover'.
ON GOLF
'Golf is my profession. Show business to pay the green fees.'
ON PRESIDENTS
'I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only six.'
ON WHY HE CHOSE A SHOWBIZ CAREER
'When I was born, the doctor said to my mother
Congratulations, you have an eight pound ham.
ON RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL
GOLD MEDAL
'I feel humble, but I have the strength of character to fight it.'
ON HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY
'Four of us slept in the one bed. When it got cold, mother
threw on another brother.'
ON HIS SIX BROTHERS
'That's how I learned to dance. Waiting for the bathroom.'
ON HIS EARLY FAILURES
'I would not have had anything to eat if it wasn't for the
Stuff the audience threw at me.'
ON GOING TO HEAVEN
'I've done benefits for ALL religions. I'd hate to blow the
hereafter on a technicality.'
The Great Dartmouth College Class of 1953
122 Classmates at the Sixtieth Reunion
Only 6 on Wheels; 5%
Must Have Been That New Hampshire Cider.