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CLASS NOTES
George Koplinka
Robert Kandel This past October, Joe Di Palma was honored at a reception in New York at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Joe received the Tiffany Smithsonian Benefactors Award and was admitted to the Smithsonian Benefactors Circle. His wife, Joycelyn, gave an emotional speech and made reference to the September 11 terrorist attack. Joe sent in these updates about ’52-ers: Former law school dean Frank Walwer and his wife, Mary Ann, have settled in Bradenton, Fla. They purchased a second condo in the same complex where they live so that family and friends can have their “own digs” when they visit. Rick Tashjian and his wife, Isabel, enjoy babysitting their two grandchildren, who live in Putnam County (north of Westchester). Rick and Isabel were joined by Jim Santos and his wife, Ruth, at the above-mentioned reception. Unfortunately, Evelyn and I were not able to attend because we were visiting England, Scotland and Wales. By this time, you should have received the mailing that explains the changes in the dates and details for our 50th Reunion. The Alumni Affairs office was able to make arrangements so that we can be accommodated on campus. The dates are now as originally planned, and the reunion will start on Thursday, May 30 and run to Sunday, June 2. We will have air-conditioned rooms with private bath on campus. And we have a lot of things planned, including Broadway shows. But, you have to act quickly! The Reunion Committee is sorry about all the confusion, but we believe that the final result will prove worthwhile. If you did not receive the revised information, please contact Heather Applewhite at the Office of Alumni Affairs at (212) 870-2757. This is our “big one,” so don’t miss it!
Lew Robins George Lowry: “I’ve been to several Cornell reunions (with my wife) and they were very successful because her class was involved in the planning, rather than leaving it up to the Alumni Office. Since we’ve got a big one coming up in 18 months, I think it’s high time we got involved. I’d like to form a reunion committee that would work out the details, get involved with promotion and fund raising and make sure we’re not stuck at Faculty House with a speaker not of our choosing.” “So my questions to you are “My e-mail at home is lowrys@aol.com.” Frankly, I think George has a superb idea and this is the best way for us to ensure that our 50th anniversary is a memorable (reasonably priced), wonderful event. Would you please let George know as soon as possible if you would like to participate in our 50th Reunion committee! Our goal is to have every living member of the class attend. On a personal note, George is now semi-retired. His older son, Nicholas, has taken over as president of his company. His wife is a partner in the famous Argosy Book Store in Manhattan, where she works full time along with George’s younger son, Benjamin. Ralph Schoenstein: As you may recall, Ralph is a class humorist who is the co-author of a number of Bill Cosby books. Several days ago, I received a copy of the jacket for his new book, Toilet Trained for Yale, which will be published by Perseus Books in March. The subtitle is, Adventures in 21st Century Parenting. Ralph reports that Toilet Trained for Yale is a blend of humor, social criticism and a memory (with a few lines about Columbia). Ralph’s note didn’t indicate which (if any) of our classmates are mentioned in the book. Given Ralph’s wonderful zesty sense of humor, next March, we’ll all have to buy a copy and carefully read every page looking for our names.
Howard Falberg A couple of months ago, I was talking to (actually e-mailing) Jim King who, as many will remember, was captain of Columbia’s baseball team during our era. We were talking about the whereabouts of our classmates who were members of the team. Jim offered to contact as many of these classmates as he could. The baseball office and the Alumni Office were helpful, but there are a number of people I will list below whose telephone numbers were missing or did not return calls. If anyone who reads this knows how to contact them, please do so and let us know how they are doing. The information below is about those who Jim was able to contact. Hal Jorgensen (infielder) is living in Brooklyn and retired five years ago from an executive position with the computer division of the NYC Human Resources Department. Hal’s main wish was for a world free of nuclear disasters and one in which children and grandchildren could grow up in freedom and happiness. It should be noted that this conversation took place prior to 9/11. Dick Lomakin (manager) is semi-retired from the real estate business and spends much of his time antiquing. He is most happy about his three sons contributing to society after some rough starts. Dick has spent most of his life in Union, N.J. Dick Wall is married with nine children and living in Bountiful, Utah. He has led an active, varied and productive vocational life: architecture major, Naval officer, Ph.D. in French linguistics, and taught and served as a department chair at Michigan State University. His career has covered government and the environmental and communication fields as well as owning companies. His retirement was scheduled to take place in November. Bob Sherry (outfielder) retired eight years ago as a vascular surgeon at the Montclair Community Hospital New Jersey. He and his wife have four sons. He lives in Centennial, Colo., which is a suburb of Denver. The following classmates are unreachable. If you know them or of their whereabouts, please let Jim or myself know. They are Andy Biache, John Ryan, Leo Bookman, Berge Hampar, Tony Palladino ’55 and Bob Thomas. Jim has done a wonderful job, and I hope this sets the stage for others who may have been part of a team, a club, a publication or a fraternity to contact those with whom they shared common experiences. Herb Frommer’s son Ross (who went to Tufts and Georgetown Law), has finally joined the Columbia family as deputy VP for governmental and community affairs of the Health Science Division (P&S). He joins our classmate (and also his father), Alan ’57, Paul ’57, Michele ’86 and Ben ’91. Herb is working on his grandson Evan as the next Columbian in the family. Herb also reports that Ron Sugarman has a beach house about 200 yards from his in Westhampton, and they see each other often. Tom O’Reilly is recovering quite nicely from a heart attack. At the time of this writing, I’m hopeful that Tom and I, along with many other Columbia alumni in the San Diego area, will have cheered our basketball team to victory against San Diego State on December 31. A win will be a nice way to end what has become a difficult year. Please be healthy, wealthy in spirit and outlook, and wise (which is a given, as we are Columbia graduates). Also, please keep in touch.
Gerald Sherwin As we move into the cool winter weather in New York, the Columbia campus looks like a scene one would see on a postcard. The tall, majestic buildings surrounding South Field and Low steps, with their distinctive lighting, make our Alma Mater unique in terms of ambiance and feel to the casual and not-so-casual observer. The Hamilton Hall renovation moves onward with the completion getting closer. For those who have been up to campus in the past few years, you will be happy to know that the temporary “building” (Lion’s Court) that has housed displaced offices and departments soon will be removed (or so we have been told). Newly selected President Lee Bollinger will officially take over on July 1, 2002 to effect a seamless transition in terms of leadership of the University. The report from many sources (all reliable) is that he is great with students, faculty and even alumni; he is a runner (medal winner in the prestigious Millrose Games); he is a lawyer (Columbia Law ’71); and he and his wife love New York. On another positive note, the admissions staff reports that the early decision applicant pool is greater than last year’s, and that interest in Columbia College is as high as ever, even in the wake of the September 11 tragedy. There also has been a lot of interaction between students and alumni in terms of networking and mentoring. As usual, there is constant activity at your favorite school. The traditions continue: Orgo Night, the Tree Lighting and Yule Log ceremonies all recently took place, giving a festive and party-like atmosphere for students, faculty, administrators, deans and alumni to enjoy. As for our classmates, an award or two is always there to be picked up by one of our guys. Allen Hyman, professor of anesthesiology at P&S, was one of two recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award for the Year 2001 given by Presbyterian Hospital in the late fall. Not quite as impressive, but an award nonetheless, was the MVE (Most Valuable Engineer) selection given to Jack Freeman at the Baseball Alumni Reunion. We espied Anthony Viscusi at the Dean’s Scholarship Reception held at the Columbia Club in early November. Anthony is working on myriad consulting projects. Also at this overflow event was Larry Balfus, who among his many activities is chair of the Nassau County Alumni Recruitment Committee. Donn Coffee made an appearance at a special Alumni Federation Luncheon where the keynote speaker was the chairman of the Board of Trustees, David Stern. Donn also is deeply involved with the Remembrance Memorial Project. Up north in Rochester, Beryl Nusbaum is still practicing what he does best — law. He stays in touch with our classmate who owns the Cleveland Browns, Al Lerner, and Harlan Hertz from the same city. Dan Hovey stops by every so often to visit Beryl from Fairport, N.Y. Alfred Gollomp left his Brooklyn residence recently to journey to the Midwest, where he saw Jim Berick among his many stops. Ed Francell has passed on to us an Alumni Song, which was composed at the turn of the 20th century and given to his grandfather on his 90th birthday in 1954. Talk about oldies but goodies — a true collector’s item. Ed, by the way, works for Prudential Realty in Atlanta. Out West, Jack Stuppin keeps on painting and exhibiting. Jack had an exhibition at the L.A. Art Show held at UCLA entitled “Sonoma Landscape.” We wonder if Jack’s good buddy, John Helmers, made it out there. In looking through some old issues of Spectator, we happened to see some of the exploits of Saturday’s heroes — Bob Mercier, Dick Carr, Neil Opdyke, John Nelson and Massachusetts’ own Al Ginepra. Rumor has it that the retirees in Florida are looking for a challenge game against anybody, anywhere, and Bob, when he is not practicing dentistry in Arizona, is playing flag football. Harvey Greenberg, living on Manhattan’s fashionable West Side, should be pleased to hear that after a long lapse (not his), Jester will reappear on the Columbia scene. This should be good news as well to Ohioan Don Price and Salem, N.Y.’s Carlo Caffuzzi. In researching what our classmates are doing, everyone should be aware that there are a great many with doctorates in various fields. Stewart Musket, originally from South Charleston, W.Va., has retired from computer consulting and lives in Richardson, Texas. Bob Suggs also has retired to a very pleasant environment in Boise, Idaho. Everyone is encouraged to visit Bob. Another classmate who makes Ohio his home is George Stark, chairman of research at Lerner Institute. We could have used George’s Glee Club talents at our 45th Reunion. Gareth Janney, who left Berkey, Ohio, to seek his fortune in Bend, Ore., has retired as chief scientist at Hughes Aircraft. If you have wondered where David Winter is, wonder no more. Dr. Dave is president/CEO of Human Organ Sciences in Gilroy, Calif. The Freeport, Long Island, native makes good! Onto a more esoteric occupation: Bill Kronick, the former Columbia Players and Gilbert & Sullivan star, has his own film/TV company in L.A., where he does a lot of good writing. Another retiree to Florida is Warren Schindler, who is enjoying himself in Boca Raton, although he still misses the winter weather in Brooklyn. Gentlemen. Fellow 55ers. Be of good fortune. Stay well. The best is yet to come. Take care of your minds and bodies. It’s almost three years to the 50th. Love to all! Everywhere!
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