From Head Hog to   School Builder

 

  
  

 
   

Classes of:
| 10-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50 | 51-55 |
| 56-60 | 61-65 | 66-70 | 71-75 | 76-80 |
| 81-85 | 86-90 | 91-95 | 96-99 |

Class of 1946

Henry S. Coleman
P.O. Box 1283
New Canaan, Conn. 06840

In spite of my many pleas, the mailbox has been empty so far as '46ers are concerned. I had my usual call from Howard Clifford who now resides in Forget-Me-Not, Oklahoma where he is working on a memory system for the Internet. He hopes that some classmates will log on to the system and remember to send in some class notes. Howard insisted I report to all that once again 1946 is serving the University since Bernie Sunshine has taken over the reigns as president of the Alumni Federation. Bernie is truly a classmate who never says "no." I hope all have a great millennium year and please let me hear from you.

Class of 1947

George W. Cooper
P.O. Box 1311
Stamford, Conn. 06904-1311

There is an old saying, not always valid or reliable, that "no news is good news." For entry in the current column, there is virtually no good news. Regrettably, there is some news of the opposite kind. First, we must record the passing of our classmate, Jack Bonomi, characterized in The New York Times obit as the "lawyer who sought to disbar Nixon," which then proceeded to list his many other accomplishments. Second, word has been received that Marilyn Wasserman, wife of Arnold Wasserman, died after a long illness. Condolences may be sent to Arnold and his family at 14 Fern Way, Orinda, Calif. 94563.

On the "good news" side of the equation, the only item catching the attention of this writer is the retirement of his wife, Isolde, from her position in Avon Products' legal department after 28 years. Not that she will take Voltaire's suggestion to "cultivate her garden" - she will remain a consultant to her former employer while developing her private practice in international intellectual property law. She refuses to let her husband take the same step, insisting, "You're too young to sit home in utter idleness." Watch this column for the resolution.

Well, that's it for now - news about three classmates, a minute percentage of the rolls. Pardon the corny, overused reference to the new millennium, but that might well be a good marker for encouraging all of you out there to help fill future columns with noteworthy items. Keep, or start, writing!

Class of 1948

Theodore Melnechuk
251 Pelham Road
Amherst, Mass. 01002-1684

Robert R. Beffie, who was a pre-law student back in college, did not in fact become a lawyer, but instead became an investment banker. He is now retired and spends time in volunteer activities, such as reading to the blind. Bob and his wife, Daryl, have lived in their home for 25 years, on acreage beside a swimmable reservoir, at 6931 Fairview Drive, Boulder, Colo., 80303. It was in Boulder that he met Daryl, when she was a grad student at the University of Colorado. They have one married daughter, who has a 16-month-old baby and lives in Northboro, Mass.; the Beffies look forward to visiting soon.

G. Durham Caldwell has worked in communications media since his Columbia student days, when he was on the staff of WKCR. (I seem to remember that it used to broadcast Henry Morgan's comic monologues, spiced by sidekick Arnold Stang). He met his wife while she was at Barnard. After graduating, he spent the next 40 years with radio and TV news shows, mostly in Springfield, Mass. From 1989 to 1993, he was editor of The Register, a weekly newspaper serving Ludlow, Mass. He then semi-retired and now works (mostly out of his home, by computer) part-time, as editorial page editor, while serving on a historical commission compiling the experiences of local veterans of World War II. He and his wife live at 15 Ashland Ave., Springfield, Mass. 01119.

Charles D. Cole enjoyed seeing so many classmates at the 50th reunion and looks forward to the 55th. He tries to get to most Columbia football games, along with his eldest son, who also attended Columbia. While Charlie still does some labor negotiating for small firms, he mainly keeps active tending his 10 acres, which include vegetable and flower gardens as well as three acres that require mowing. Moving an 1884 peg-type barn onto his property took two years. The local duplicate bridge club that he's been president of for four years has three members listed in the World's Who's Who of Bridge and is represented at most national tournaments. In five years of running, he remains undefeated at 400 and 800 meters; last June, he broke the record for the 400 in the age 75-79 class. As a result, he weighs no more than he did at Columbia, but his wife says he's too skinny. Their address is 1010 Coddington Road, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.

Two weeks after celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on October 8, Ted Melnechuk and his wife, Anna, attended the wedding of their youngest child, daughter Vera, to Charles King. Then, on Pearl Harbor Day, they celebrated eight years of living in the wonderful town they retired to from San Diego-Amherst, Mass., which has five great university and college campuses in or near it, and which is only a few hours driving time from Boston, New York, and Montreal.

Class of 1949

Joseph B. Russell
180 Cabrini Blvd., #21
New York, N.Y. 10033

I sit here at the keyboard almost speechless and devoid of news, as nobody has sent any either to me or to the College. It is, however, a pleasure to felicitate Stan Godofsky on his recent marriage, and to wish him and his new bride long life and happiness. To the rest of you layabouts, my message is plain - WRITE!

Class of 1950

Mario Palmieri
33 Lakeview Avenue W.
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. 10567
mapal@bestweb.net

Let's look ahead to next June. The Class of 1950 reunion committee has settled some of the details of our program so that we now can give you a few specifics.

The evening of the first day (Friday, June 2) will be devoted to a reception and dinner at the Museum of the City of New York. Saturday morning you'll have an opportunity to tour the campus and view the many changes that have been made. At our class luncheon we'll have Alan Brinkley, a noted historian on the Columbia faculty, as guest speaker.

Saturday afternoon we'll conduct a panel discussion on a subject that we as students never anticipated: women at Columbia College. (As coeds, that is!) Saturday evening we'll have our class dinner, possibly with a guest speaker. After dinner we'll join the other classes for a reception and dancing on the plaza in front of Low Memorial Library.

The alumni office will soon be sending you information about registration and accommodations. Look for it and start making plans to join your classmates.

Class news: Three portraits painted by Les Chace are in Columbia's art collection on campus. The subjects are Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1778), George Washington and Lou Gehrig '25. Les is still active as a portraitist in his hometown, Pekin, Illinois.

On the move: Glenn Lubash has moved from Arizona to Corpus Christi, Texas. Bob Weissmann left Manhattan for Florida where he is affiliated with a law firm.

Classes of:
| 10-35 | 36-40 | 41-45 | 46-50 | 51-55 |
| 56-60 | 61-65 | 66-70 | 71-75 | 76-80 |
| 81-85 | 86-90 | 91-95 | 96-99 |


 
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