Class Notes

1953

Stanford B. Vincent (508) 457-6473 stan@vincentcurtis.com

Bruce Whitney writes from Sanbornton, New Hampshire: “Things are quiet around here; we have kept a low profile and stayed clear of COVID. Mud season was bad this year and the road is finally getting back to normal. We have not set a date for the boat launch yet. Last year it was in the water, but we never sailed just used it like a cottage, swimming and socializing. We will see how the summer develops. Maybe a Navy reunion in September in Baltimore. Hope all is well with you; we see your notes in The Laconia Daily Sun.” (This is a reference to my history pages, which appear weekly in the local Laconia, New Hampshire, newspaper.)

Howie Goldberg wrote he “had an appointment for an annual physical at 8:30 [in May] and got there to find out the doctor is home with COVID. Thus, a little time right now before my exercise class. I guess you now get a feel for how exciting life can be. Regarding grandkids, we had a great time recently attending our grandson’s graduation magna cum laude (unlike his grandfather) from Northeastern in architecture. Part of the festivities was a visit to the architecture studio to see what he, and other department mates, including Ph.D. candidates, had done. It was mind-blowing to me. The actual ceremony took place at Fenway Park. The speaker was very good but made the same points too many times, keeping the kids and the rest of us out in the sun and heat too long. Another highlight for me was a great conversation with Byron Koh. It was wonderful to catch up with By and Fran. Before COVID we used to get out to Lenox for music, art, and theater, and on the way home we would stop and have lunch and great conversation with them. It’s been too long since we have been able to do that. I felt like we were back on The Hilltop discussing something from Mosh’s class. We also discussed his time with you [Warren] and others at Cardigan. As in the past, George Place and I get together for lunch about once a month. It’s always great having time together. We are going to see the Worcester Red Sox play in early June with a non-KUA friend. I’m not much of a baseball fan, but the camaraderie is always good. George and I are going up to, and looking forward to, the dedication of Al Munro’s portrait in the Munro House in June.”

George Place, as usual, has been supporting the Academy. In early May he attended a meeting in Boston with Head of School Tyler Lewis, some KUA staff, the board chairman, and some alumni for a brainstorming session about strategic planning. George said he was “very impressed by Tyler’s commitment to pursuing innovative ways to improve the educational experience of the students and not accept the status quo of any aspect of Kimball Union’s mission.” George noted that, although not a reunion year for 1955, the portrait of Allan Munro would be officially presented to the school and hung in the Munro House following a ceremony during reunion. In late May George weighed in with, “I recently bought an investment property, and it has diverted my focus away from my class agent duties!” George talked to Ron Harrison recently, “and although he is experiencing some health issues, he is upbeat and actively teaching art lessons to a full class of students. I received a call from Joe Dickinson, and we are rescheduling a lunch date in June. The date of the Munro dedication is June 4, a Saturday. As I’ve indicated to our class members, I will send a copy to all of my remarks at the ceremony. Carolyn, Sheila, Howard, and I will be traveling to school for the event. Oh yeah, I called Dick Rose to see if he could attend, since the portrait was his idea, and he declined—a health issue being the culprit.”

I’ve had a couple of phone calls from John McIntyre ’56, who was a Laconia boy. He’s doing well and still skiing.

The latest address list from the alumni office indicates that Doug Dodge is now in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, instead of in North Carolina as previously listed.

I have continued my routine of Zoom meetings and getting a sec- ond COVID-19 booster shot. The Laconia Historical and Museum Society has taken on several new projects, along with which I continue to produce a two-page history section for the local newspaper each week. In the “25 Years Ago” section there have been several references recently to that thennew phenomenon, the Internet. I remember it was only a couple of years before that when the Laconia newspaper had introduced personal computers—with color screens and a mouse! Prior to that, everything was keystrokes for commands— and yellow letters on a dark-green screen. Back to the present, the historical society has been posting on Facebook, which seems to generate a lot of interest. (It can sometimes be a bit disconcerting, of course, when the discussion turns to current politics and personalities!)

1955

Warren Huse (603) 524-6593 warrenhuse1@gmail.com

From Dick Rose: “Betty and I head up the Prime Timers ministry for the seniors in our church, where I serve as an ordained deacon. I am on home dialysis, which gives freedom to get out. I have made several trips to Virginia to visit our daughter. I can’t make the reunion.”

Ron Harrison writes: “Just finished my 13th year teaching watercolor painting to intermediate-level painters. Many, who have not won honors when they came to the class, are now winning prizes or selling their works.”

Howie Goldberg wrote in early June: “Thankfully, I am still able to keep in touch with some of our ’55 brothers. I had a great phone conversation with Byron Koh a couple of weeks ago. Just like on The Hilltop, I always enjoy my visits, even if on the phone, with By. He seems to be doing okay. I hope he is recovering from Fran’s loss. We used to get together with By and Fran during the summer, when we went to the Berkshires to go to museums and Tanglewood. We haven’t done that since before Covid. I haven’t mentioned it to By yet, but we may be going out that way this summer. If we do, we would like to see him. This may be his first notification of our plans. I have also connected via email with Ron Harrison. We used to have lunch with George Place and have made plans to do so in a couple of weeks. One of my sons-in-law studied for his master’s at Michigan and made me aware of the Fantilli brothers, who graduated from KUA, went to Michigan, and are on the hockey team. Adam Fantilli was their leading scorer and won the Hoby Baker Award as a freshman. He also played for Team Canada in the World Cup and scored the go-ahead goal in the finals. Obviously, I watched him as much as I could. He is an amazing player and still growing. Along that vein, two of my grandsons went to

Northeastern. I started following Northeastern hockey and discovered that a KUA grad was one their leading players and captain his senior year. He has gone on to play for the Montreal Canadiens. This year, the team nominated him for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, ‘given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.’ As you can see, I’ve been busy following KUA hockey. After Covid and my brush with cancer, I have just rejoined the gym at Brandeis to get in playing shape. It started very well. My membership started on a Friday. I went to use the gym for the first time Sunday to discover that they are closed on Sunday during the summer. Oh well, enough said about good intentions.”

Charlie Darling wrote in early June: “Being octogenarians, Ann and I have slowed down a bit. We are sitting here on the banks of Delaware Bay, watching the tides rise and fall and the moon rise over the ocean. We have celebrated our 61st wedding anniversary. We have not done any serious traveling since Covid and not seen any other KUA alumni. I have been a director on our homeowners association and am retiring in two weeks. Our skeet shooting gang fell apart when several of the members passed from Covid. Our daughter has remarried a sterling guy and we are very pleased. Our granddaughter recently graduated from the University of Delaware with a master’s and immediately found employment with a spin-off of DuPont’s agricultural chemical business, Food Machinery Corp. She is extremely knowledgeable of nematodes in soybeans. So far, our health is holding up, the only complaint being not able to work a full day and needing a short nap after lunch. I hope all is well with the remaining classmates.”

From George Place in midJune: Walter Phelps and Joe Dickinson called. Both are doing well. Walter is still actively keeping Wall Street on its toes, and Joe, Howie and I will look at our respective calendars for a lunch plan. I received a note from Dick Rose, who said he was already in touch with Stan ‘The Major’ Vincent, who will be driving up to his 70th reunion next week with his wife, Carol. My offer to drive him was quickly nixed by my wife, who reminded me that she drives me around to keep the streets safer, so who am I kidding? Stan is on his own and in a recent phone call, I learned he will be the only ’53 to attend the reunion. My wife’s cousin called me two years ago with a unique investment opportunity to buy a condo in a community being developed in Pinehills, Mass. The site overlooks Cape Cod Bay from about Truro down to the Sagamore Bridge. After a brief consideration, I decided to take the plunge and spent the next many months working on the finishes and the furnishings and all the while spending very little time there. Carolyn was never a fan and wouldn’t consider living there, so after all the blood, sweat, and an occasional tear, she asked: ‘Okay, big shot, now what?’ Two weeks ago, we sold it to the cousin who introduced us to it in the beginning, so we’re back to square one—with a small profit! One of my sons-in-law owns a 42-foot sailboat and last year sailed in the Marion, Mass., to Bermuda yacht race. He came in sixth in his class of about 12 boats. We were able to follow his boat, Pax, through a GPS tracking system. Last April he invited Carolyn and me to visit him and my daughter, Oi, for a week in Antigua on the boat. Carolyn doesn’t like to fly and likes sailboats even less, so I took my other daughter, Diane, who likes both. Antigua has 365 beaches, so you can guess how some people spend each day in a year in the 80-degree weather. Thank God for the warm weather that’s finally arrived back home—86-year-old thin blood doesn’t like the cold!”

As of mid-June, Bruce Whitney wrote: “We are still in the same house on the same hill, but things are changing. No sailing for the last two summers. This past November, Ruth had a bad fall in the bathroom and broke one of her artificial hips, needing special surgery followed by five weeks of rehab care and two months of followup care at home. As a result, we are not able to get onto the boat and no longer can sail after 33 years on Lake Winnipesaukee. Time to drop the anchor. We