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George Koplinka What would you do if you had an Ivy League family of children, none of whom were Columbia College graduates? Alan Wagner solved the problem by forming his own television production company called Boardwalk Entertainment with daughters Susan (Princeton) and Liz (Brown), and some legal advice from son David (Yale). "Ouch!" says Alan, but the group is doing great with a new series called Hope Island. Do you remember Burt Erickson Nelson? He spent three years with '51 before transferring to the University of Minnesota. Burt continues to be active with several German-American publications in the metropolitan New York area. We know our e-mail is working. Most recently we got a message, with a bit of philosophy, from Jay Lefer. He is alive and well and reads the class notes! Class Treasurer Ron Young and his lovely wife Marge participated in a family athletic outing this summer. It was a reunion in the Catskill mountains of New York with five grandchildren and five nieces, ages 6 to 10. The kids played soccer all day, while Ron (who works out regularly at a Staten Island YMCA) cheered from the sidelines. The steering Committee for our 50th anniversary reunion in 2001 is enlarging. The USA has been divided into six zones, each with a "zone leader" accepting responsibility for following up on all '51 grads in his area. We are pleased that Harold White has accepted responsibility for the Southeast region, which includes all states from Virginia south to Florida and west to Mississippi. Harold retired from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in 1995 but continues to do some consulting for the institution. Harold and his wife Carolyn have two children and three grandchildren. They are looking forward to attending the 50th anniversary and hope to bring along a good group from the Southeast. Tom Powers has agreed to be the zone leader for the Central states, including the Great Lakes region, Kentucky and west to Iowa and Minnesota. Tom and Marlene's daughter Tracey is completing her second year at the School of Social Work, a prestigious institution that recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Tom continues to be very active with the Lima, Ohio Rotary Club, where he has served as the organization's treasurer for many years. Needless to say, the '51 anniversary committee will benefit greatly from Tom's continuing College enthusiasm. Please contact your class correspondent if you would like to be a zone leader. We need help on the West Coast from California to Washington and Nevada. Do we have a volunteer for the Mountain states, perhaps a Denver resident? Watch your mail for additional 50th anniversary details!
Robert
Kandel Neil Holbert is living and working in London. Neil is teaching marketing, and he and his wife, Barbara, would love to hear from Columbia people either living in or visiting London. Their home number is 0171-723-3683...give them a call. Dudley Ferris says that, despite the years, he feels "as young as ever. And it's not second childhood!" He makes periodic trips to Japan and will tour Morocco this fall. He "would like to hear from anyone out there." E-mail him at DudJean@Juno.com. Alan Bomser and his wife Betsy have a new weekend home, which they love, on a lake north of New York City. Al's daughter Jennifer recently presented him with his first grandchild, Annabel Sophy. Channel 13, PBS in New York, sent out an announcement celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Nightly Business Report and thanking Joseph A. Di Palma for his continued support in underwriting the program. Jim Hoebel has retired in Virginia after years with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He plans to keep active and do consulting. Arlene is progressing well after her second knee replacement. Our daughter-in-law Vivienne had her second son, Spencer Scott Kandel, in June. Evelyn and I have moved and we are renting a brand new townhouse in Glen Cove, N.Y. There is a park a few blocks away where they have concerts (classical and big band) and ballet, so we are quite pleased. Why don't you let the rest of us know what you are doing?
Lew
Robins Howard Pettebone: There is miraculous news! After Howard needed a walker for a number of years, his doctors discovered that he had been infected with Lyme disease almost a decade earlier. Howard told me on the phone that he's now walking with only a cane, and his doctors have promised that by next spring, he'll be striding without help. He and Barbara are approaching their 46th wedding anniversary and have enjoyed sailing down the Mississippi River on the Delta Queen. "Better food than an ocean liner, but traveling 10 miles and hour downstream and seven miles an hour upstream makes it no place for honeymooners. The average age is 65," he told me. New Years Eve will find the Pettibones on a cruise to South America. Howard quips, "We'll be out to sea with no need for a designated driver." Great going, Howard. We're looking forward to hearing the blast of your trumpet at our 50th reunion. Paul Plein II: Sadly, Phi Kappi Psi's Paul passed away on June 25 after a 10-year battle with cancer. Marian told me that she met Paul on a blind date in 1950. It was love at first sight; they were married two days after graduation, and lived "happily thereafter." The Pleins produced four children and nine grandchildren. Paul had a fulfilling career with the Federal Prisons Corporation, where he became second in charge and secretary of the board. Peter Piecuch: Peter retired two years ago after a fascinating career helping to clean up America's water as the executive editor of publications for the Water Environment Federation. The Federation is a non-profit organization with more than 30,000 members. When I asked Peter for examples of the Federation's success he found most satisfying, he quickly pointed out, "PCBs are gone from the Hudson River. Lake Erie is being rejuvenated. The pollution that was threatening the water supply in the lower Mississippi has been removed." Peter married Kathleen in 1956. They have three children and eight grandchildren. Their two daughters are Barnard graduates, and their son graduated from the College in 1980. Peter and Kathleen enjoy the luxury of traveling, especially to Kathleen's homeland, Ireland. Arthur Elkind: "My son, Mitchel, is an attending neurologist at P&S, Presbyterian Hospital and on the teaching faculty. He completed his masters degree at the School of Public Health in 1998." Milo Jesel: Milo sent the following short recommendation. "I enjoyed reading Max Frankel '52's recent book. I recommend it to all our classmates." Please write or send along an e-mail with your latest news.
Howard
Falberg This is going to be somewhat of an anemic report. The summer doldrums seem to have settled in (although by the time you read this, things should be a bit nippy in most parts of the country). Several classmates continue to make significant contributions to their community even though they are "retired." Robert Clark retired several years ago as planning director of the DuPont-Merck Pharmaceuticals Company and is pursuing a second successful career as an "abstract" sculptor. His work can be seen at the Philadelphia and Delaware Art Museums. Bob Schaefer, who is a great booster of the Pacific Northwest and is retired from the practice of diagnostic radiology, is working diligently as a volunteer for the Seattle Opera and the Seattle Symphony as well as excelling in woodworking, hiking and painting. My wife Carol and I had a wonderful week at Lake Tahoe with two of our children, their spouses and their children. Len Moche mixed R&R with intellectual pursuits in Maine during part of this past summer. After many years of owning and building a successful regional sporting goods company in southern Ohio, Jerry Gordon is now successfully retired and engaging in some of the activities he formerly sold others on...namely tennis and boating. I was in New York briefly for a meeting and went up to campus, which looked beautiful, then went to a reception for the opening of the newly renovated and world famous Swann Galleries, which is owned by my college roommate George Lowry '53. While there, I ran into Jay Seeman, our classmate who also represents George as his attorney. Please let us hear from you. You might be amazed by the interest and curiosity our classmates have about one another.
Gerald
Sherwin We are now over two months into the 1999/2000 school term. The first-years don't look or feel like first-years anymore. They've been experiencing New York to the fullest (even those who were born here), and have immersed themselves in the Core Curriculum, the football and soccer season, the advising system, dorm life, labs, Lerner Hall, the West End, Tom's (without Seinfeld) and more. Some have even taken the swimming test. There's a rumor going around that as part of their reunions, alumni will have to validate the results of the test they took when they were in school. To be on the safe side, classmates should bring an extra pair of bathing trunks to our reunion next June. Did we say reunion? There has been a huge response to this upcoming event. The reunion newsletter everyone recently received outlines dates, events and a list of the committed classmates. We are still waiting to hear from Ohioans Don Price (of Jester fame), Norm Robbins, Harlan Hertz, and Lary Faris, the Windy City's finest, Stu Perlman, Gerry Tikoff in Hines, Ill., Burnell Stripling in Menominee, Mich., and even Peter Pressman from New York. (We're hoping to hear a few "oldies but goodies" from past Varsity shows at the reunion. No pressure, Peter). Sam Astrachan may join the crowd from Gordes, France. By the way, if Bill Kronick comes in from Los Angeles, he might consent, with some pleading, to enthrall us with some Gilbert & Sullivan ditties. As many of you Northern Californians are aware, there will be a special alumni event in San Francisco just before the millennium. This get-together will be in conjunction with the men's basketball team's appearance in the Stanford tournament. The '55ers who are on the "must invite" list are Bob Teichman from Mill Valley, Napa's own Bill Mink, Marty Molloy in Palo Alto, the San Francisco group consisting of Tom Morton, Marty Salan, Ron Cowan and Jack Stuppin, Berkeley's Harry Scheiber, Stan Lubman, Marvin Greenberg and George Kaplan, Bill Cohen in Los Altos, and Alan Pasternak, who we know will be at the 45th. Guys, it should be a pretty neat affair. The "new and improved" Class Survey must have hit the proverbial "hot button." Responses have continued to come in, even past the deadline. For those who have put the survey in a closet out of harm's way, send it in. No one will know your answers. One thing Columbia recently has been doing more than ever before is bringing the College to its alumni. The National Council is involved with events throughout Florida in February and Kansas City and St. Louis during March. Special lectures and appearances by the dean, administrators and faculty will bring everyone up to date on what's happening on 116th Street and Broadway. For those classmates in our nation's capital, don't forget Dean's Day on April 15. (There will be one in New York as well.) Take note Sheldon Bloom, Roland Brown, Ronald Dubner, Lew Mendelson (if you're not in some far-off land), Jack Swanson, Stan Zinberg, Wally Previ, Les Trachtman and the rest of the crew living in or near the D. C. area. We've heard from Marty Dubner, who is still practicing OB/GYN in Suffern, N.Y. (and is looking forward to the 45th). Jeff Broido happily reports on his fourth retirement year. He is running, playing golf, traveling and stays busy as President of the Columbia University Alumni Club of San Diego. Jeff is managing a reunion of the Navy guys he served with in the Philippines. Ezra Levin notes that Jesse "Buddy" Roth received an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University several months ago. Did you know that Jesse was a member of the first graduating class of Yeshiva's Albert Einstein School of Medicine? Joe Vales, still living just outside of Pittsburgh in Sewickley, Pa., says his golf game has improved so much that he's ready for the PGA Tour. Hmmm. Maybe Willy Storz in Hamden, Conn., could test his running skills in the tryouts for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Flashbacks: The Dean's Drag with Lester Lanin; the "Ugly Man" contest orchestrated by Mel Odze, Harold Kundel, and Henry Nachamie; the Soph/Frosh Rush on grassless South Field. Gentlemen of the Class of Destiny, keep your sunny side up. Avoid the evil spirits or the Blair Witch will get you. It's about six months to reunion. If you haven't committed yet, please do so. We'd love to see you. Love to all. Everywhere!!!
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