YAM Notes: January/February 2011

I missed the class council meeting before the Princeton game this year but Ed Greenberg sent a complete report, for which I am grateful. The meeting took place at Calhoun, with whom we have had a special relationship over the years, underwriting something called the Calhoun Fund for Excellence which enables the present master, Jonathan Holloway, to  send Calhoun  students all over the world pursuing various projects and interests that would  otherwise be beyond reach.   

We have agreed to continue our support for the fund, and also to underwrite another Yale Summer Community  Service fellowship. That brings to four the number of these fellowships the class supports, three of which are permanently endowed, one by Ed and Sue Greenberg, one by Bill and Arlene Waldorf  and one by the class as a whole. The money for the non-endowed fellowship  and the Calhoun fund  COME solely from class dues. Some other classes do the same thing but we were among the pioneers.

John Moss and Fred Vanderkloot  reported on the successful Chicago Reunion they co-chaired, Al Atherton agreed to poll classmates about  where we should have the next mini-reunion, Charlie Hoyt reported on 1959’s strong support for the Alumni Fund and Ben Gertz stressed the  importance of the dues —  which also help underwrite your subscription to this fine magazine.

Following the game, Al and Peggy Atherton once again provided  drinks and sensational hors  d’oeuvres at  their lovely house on Bradley Street in New Haven. ,Classmates on hand –most with spouses and  guests —  included  Atherton, Greenberg, West,  Stackler, Gertz, Ittner, Piroumoff,  Hallas, Staley, Weaver,Buchanan, Krakoff, Griffith, Hoyt and Frank Porter. A great turnout for a couple of great hosts.

Sandy Wiener reminds me of an event that I knew about but have so far neglected to report — namely, the  annual dinner, in April, of the Yale Tennis Association, which this year honored the 1959 and 1960 tennis teams, both undefeated, and without question among  the greatest in Yale history. Donald Dell and Sam Howe attended from the class of 1960,  and from our class came Jon and Priscilla Clark, Tom and Brenda Freiberg, Ted and Sally Prince,  and Sandy  AND  his wife, Sarah.

Sandy also reported that Peter Sears’s third full-length book of poetry has  now  been published. It is called “Green Diver. A previous poetry collection, “The Brink,” won a Western States Book Award, and Peter’s work has appeared in  many magazines and journals, including The Atlantic, the NY TImes, and Rolling Stone.

This, too, is belated news: Dick Celeste is  into his 9th and final year as President of Colorado College. His son Sam, who made a memorable appearance at one of our mini-reunions, is now a grown-up 8th grader, and sometime this spring Dick and Jacqueline will lead a group  of Colorado College parents on a tour of India, where Dick served as ambassador during the Clinton administration.

Randy Ney was among the old Whiffs welcoming the new (Greenberg, Krakoff, Buchanan and Cowperthwait  into the fold in Chicago. Randy’  s  high-end travel  business in Houston continues to prosper. As the song said, nice work if you can  get it. As this is written, Randy is heading for Morocco and d will be in Antarctica in January and Southeast Asia in May.

And now for some this is sad news .

Rick Reynolds died in September of unknown causes. Rick  attended Loomis Chaffee, Yale Law School and Georgetown Law School. He lived most of his life in and around Hartford, and served as chairman of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Antitrust Section and in many charitable organizations.  Predeceased by  his wife Deborah, Rick was an avid traveler, golfer, squash player and raconteur. He loved London and, in particular, the Goring Hotel. He asked that any donations in his name be made to Yale or Loomis Chaffee.

Frederick Mish, who also died in September,  had one of the more unusual careers among our classmates. Fred served for many years as editor-in-chief and editorial director of   Merriam  Webster, in  Springfield,  MA. A graduate of Mercersburg  AND  Yale (where he wrote for the Lit), Fred received a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of Minnesota,  where he met his wife of 41 years, Judith. Though active in  the Longmeadow, MA., community as a soccer  and baseball coach, he was at his core a student of language who lectured widely,  appeared on Bill Buckley’s Firing Line, and was routinely cited by Bill Safire in his column in the Times Sunday Magazine on  matters of usage and grammar. He  is survived by Judith and several children. Memorial  contributions can be made to Mercersburg, where Fred  received in 2005 the Class of ’32 Plaque, the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus.