Forties

40 Class Secretary: Esther Strout Allen, RR 1, Box 1750, Hebron, ME 04238Class President: Harry B. Shepherd, P.O. Box 674, Bath, ME 04530-0674Next Reunion in 2000.
41 Class Secretary: Barbara Abbott Hall, Box 151, Sullivan Rd., Franklin, ME 04634Class President: Gale Rice Powers, 33 Francis Ave., Newington, CT 06111-1213
42 Class Secretary: Martha Blaisdell Mabee, 94 Fifer Ln., Lexington, MA 02173Class President: John A. Kenney, Jr., 1442 Iris St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20012-1410Next Reunion in 1997. In a nice escape from Maine’s snow and ice, Mary Bartlett Gardner spent the holidays on Prince George Island, Florida, with her children and grandchildren…. This May, Martha Blaisdell Mabee and Betty Moore Thompson are “venturing” to Russia on a Volga River cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Martha attended the memorial service for Beatrice Donovan, widow of classmate John. Each of their four children spoke and Frank Coffin delivered a moving eulogy…. Richard and Shirley Raymond Blanchard ’45 celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary as well as Shirley’s 50th Reunion, an event that they enjoyed last June. During the holidays they visited Greg, Sherri, and granddaughter Dana…. Judith Chick Downing, who has been administrator of St. Mark’s Home for the past twelve years, still deals with crises even in the middle of the night. She finds time as well for Garden Club, weekly tennis doubles, and biweekly bridge games. Having been involved with Camp Aloha for thirty years, Judy and Fred ’40 were thrilled to receive the affection of 150 former couples and counselors at the camp’s ninetieth reunion reception. “To see the women we had trained as teen-agers, to learn of their success as mothers and careerists, to receive their expressions of love and appreciation was an unforgettable, heart-warming experience.”… Arthur Cole sold half of his ranch as a “joint venture” to get building expertise and funding for his house. At Thanksgiving he spent the holiday at son David’s “fix-up” in Santa Cruz, “old” by California standards, but “new” compared with Art’s birthplace in Standish, Maine. He also enjoys the visit from David and his family with their “well-behaved, mature three-year-old son.”… “No boredom here,” say Lloyd and Althea Comins Cliff. Along with house and garden chores and community activities, their major event of this year was a Great Canadian Train Trip from Toronto to Vancouver via Jasper, Banff, and Victoria, British Columbia. Also, no less major, was the arrival of grandchild five and a visit from Germany of Nancy and family…. “So many new possibilities in life keep us from slowing down,” says James Doe after he read the fall alumni magazine article “Wired.” His son wants to scrap the Heathkit-Zenith 100 Jim built at retirement in 1983 and buy a new PC so he can join the Internet “on which we will all communicate” soon…. Paul Farris says, “It was an emotional high” when he went in search of his roots and found relatives he had never seen or heard of in a small town in Lebanon…. Barbara “Boo” Fish Briggs enjoys the golden years with tennis and bowling. She still has a cabin in Wilsons Mills, Maine, visits old Cape haunts, and sees four grandchildren frequently. Her travels have extended from the Canadian Alps to Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, and England…. Speaking of grandchildren, Hildreth and Jean Keneston Fisherentertained three “greats” at Christmas which kept them on their toes. Jean talks to Ruth Ulrich Coffin and saw Wes andFran Harlow Evans at monthly church suppers…. Lester andMarjorie Lewis Forbes say their new home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, is “all we expected and more.” In addition to an Army reunion in St. Louis, they had fun stops at Opryland in Nashville and at a Christmas tree farm in New Hampshire and spent the winter holidays at Laguna Beach, California. Last fall, an exuberant mini-reunion in Wellesley included Nat Webber Gulbrandsen, Tom and Virginia Day Hayden, Dave and Connie Blaisdell Nickerson ’45, and class secretary Martha Blaisdell Mabee…. Also moving,Bernard and Alice Turner Francis have sold their Florida Keys home to try out Florida’s west coast in a Marco Island rented condo. Alice hopes “Red” won’t be too bored without his tomato garden and house to paint! Good news is that granddaughter Abby Francis is a first-year student at Bates and “loves it.” Expected visitors included Mary Margaret andJack McSherry and Alice and “Bing” Crosby ’39…. L. Dexter Green hopes to make Reunion in 1997 — a good plan since he hasn’t seen classmates since the 1947 Reunion. After a hot summer near family in Cincinnati, he and Bobbi were in Pensacola, Florida, for the Feast of Tabernacles when a hurricane hit. They winter in South Texas…. Raymond Harvey was happy to get back to La Jolla, California, weather after two trips in the tropics. He fulfilled a lifelong wish to visit the East Indies, flying to Singapore, then took a two-week cruise to Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Bali — alone worth the trip. He continues to play tennis and golf three days a week…. Two trips in 1995 for Tom and Virginia Day Haydenincluded a Saga cruise from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to the Panama Canal, Ocho Rios, Costa Rica, and Cartagena, Colombia. They also attended granddaughter Katherine’s graduation in civil engineering from Berkeley. Our hearts go out to them on the death of son Donald last May…. “Still steaming ahead” in his law business, as county treasurer, and as chairman of the Bristol County retirement system, Patrick Harrington notes that this past year marks fifty-five years since he joined the Navy, fifty years in the law business, and forty years in elective county office. He says, “I’m obviously not in favor of term limits!”… Most satisfying moments forLouis Hervey are traveling to visit his family and having them come to visit. He may have the grandparents’ record for ’42ers, an eighth in Texas and a ninth in Vermont this past year. Although Lou didn’t seek reelection as village mayor, he still belongs to the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization and to a task force planning the future of Watertown (New York) International Airport…. Richard Hitchcock looks forward to our 55th Reunion and hopes there will be some dancing — “for us the golden years have not been tarnished in any significant way.” He and Dorothy travel to visit relatives, and have attended a reunion of Navy LST vets, a reunion of ex-Air Force OSI agents in the Bahamas, and an ex-FBI convention in Fort Lauderdale…. The greatest delights for Malcolm andLucille Leonard Jewell are their two-year-old great-grandchildren who joined them along with most of the rest of the family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ongoing cribbage games and bridge fill part of the days; Mal is entering Masonic records on the computer and reading the Wall Street Journaland detective stories…. While he tapers off on his insurance business, Robert Langerman spends eight months at his home in Naples, Florida…. Marking the end of World War II, Mary Margaret and John McSherry joined the thirty-ninth reunion of the 58th Bomb Wing Association. They attended the Hartford Bates Club Christmas party with Red and Alice Turner Francis. Their children’s professions include a medical doctor, an attorney, a funeral director, a political consultant, and a nurse…. A regular volunteer at Cincinnati Pops and her local museum, and as a cuddler in the Special Care Nursery at Christ’s Hospital, Helen Martin Aucoinlooks ahead to four high-school graduations from Texas and Indiana to Atlanta and Columbus, a granddaughter’s graduation from medical school, and a September wedding. She also watched grandsons from Miami and Furman participate in the Atlanta Rowing Regatta…. John and Patricia Miller Howarth enjoy the
senior center that they helped start thirteen years ago. She writes the weekly Senior Newsletter, takes care of memorials for the center, and takes part in many activities such as weekly senior dances. Pat still travels to conferences in an aging RV…. Can you still bend over and tie your shoes? Norm ’43 and Priscilla Simpson Boyan can, thanks to a good exercise program. All kids live in the Bay area, where the Boyans took a “Christmas in San Francisco” tour, staying at the St. Francis Hotel, and taking in Phantom of the Opera. Grandchildren are starting off to college…. Bob and Elizabeth Stafford Sturcke drove to Schenectady, New York, for Thanksgiving and to see grandson Steve’s last hockey game before college. They spent five days at Disney with daughter Anne, and Christmas with eight of Bob’s family…. At her camp in the summer Muriel Swicker Haggerty competes with the deer for her garden produce. She visited in Oklahoma with children Judy and Charlie and all their horses, dogs, and cats. Muriel is OK after an accident that totalled her car…. Another ’42 grandchild at Bates is Allison Collrath ’96 who participated in the College Christmas Concert attended by grandmother Dorothy Tuttle Carr. Joining them for a mini-reunion dinner were Marion Ludwick Hewett, and Lennie and Malcolm Jewell…. From their home on Cape Elizabeth overlooking Portland Harbor entrance, Frank ’40 and Ruth Ulrich Coffin celebrated the marriage last September of their daughter, Susan. With fewer judicial duties for Frank and the good health they both enjoy, the Coffins go on land cruises to explore Maine, and took in a Vermont Elderhostel. Ruth says, “I’m still feisty enough!”…Jane Veazie Nelson and Mary Bartlett Gordon are taking the same painting class. Jane and Eleanor Wood Gearyenjoyed lunch together before “Teddy” left for the winter in Florida…. Last July Herbert and Vera Vivian Peci were in England to help a cousin celebrate birthday and wedding anniversary parties, and to spend a week touring Yorkshire. In August they went sightseeing on a boat trip from Quebec to Montreal, then from the St. Lawrence Seaway via Oswego and the Erie Canal, and the Hudson River, ending at Warren, Rhode Island. Vera later visited Mary Curtis Hall with Rose Worobel and Althea Comins Cliff…. Erland Wentzellhopes “all are enjoying retirement as much as I am!” He volunteered for a week’s work at Kidney Pond in Baxter State Park, had several lobster feeds at his Five Islands camp last summer, and the Wentzells hosted the whole family of thirty-one for Thanksgiving. After three years of work, “Hoody” completed a scale model of the largest load of pulpwood hauled by one pair of horses to the lake on his dad’s logging operation in the winter of 1933-1934. The Bethel Historical Society has accepted the model — much to Hoody’s pleasure…. Retired and “slowed down,” Bob and Barbara White Morrishave sold their Cape Elizabeth home and plan to retire in a Southern colony. She has started an heirloom baby quilt for “whenever.” They see the children of the late Bob and Ruth Nuckley Morris as often as possible…. Franklin White, brother of the late Ruth White Mitchell, wrote us about the White Memorial Lounge in a corner of the Bangor-area library which has been dedicated to Ruth and her late father, Lewis White ’16. He thought classmates of Ruth and her husband,Bill, would like to know about it. Franklin White is “a faithful follower of the Class of ’42”

and enjoys reading about its members in the alumni magazine…. No grass is growing under the feet of Harry ’40 and Bea Wilson Shepherd, who enjoy tennis, boating, skiing, and golf plus short trips on Shep’s motorcycle. Their oldest grandchild talked them into going online via e-mail “to save thirty-two cents postage versus snail mail.” In February the Shepherds were in Tarpon Springs, Florida…. Although they still call Maine home, Ed and Eleanor Wood Geary find the warm weather and golf in Bradenton, Florida, good therapy for them both…. A member of several advisory boards, Jane Woodbury Quimby keeps in touch with her church, the community, the hospital, a mental health service, a children’s center, and senior housing. Attending the Woodbury reunion on Cape Cod and the traditional family jaunt to Monhegan Island filled the early summer days. She also participated in a retreat for “elders” at Pine Mountain to explore together “Age-ing and Stage-ing,” topping it off with two weeks in Hawaii. The class was saddened to learn of the death of daughter-in-law Bonnie, and sympathize in her loss…. In Rockland, Maine, Dave and Ruth Wyer Haines enjoyed lunch at the Black Pearl with John and Dorothy Milliken Sigsbee, who were en route to their home in Brewster on the Cape from a visit in Bangor. Ruth and Dave volunteer at church, at the Farnsworth Art Museum, and the library, and enjoy the good life playing golf and duplicate bridge. She heard from Jim Scharfenberg that his son, Kirk, was mentioned in The Good Life by Ben Bradlee…. Still involved with managing Zonta Club career talks and travelogues for children, Rose Worobelalso serves on the board of the World Affairs Council. She was responsible for collecting clothing for a Ukranian city through her branch of the Ukranian National Women’s League. With the help of other churches, including that ofAlthea Comins Cliff, all ages were helped.
43 Class Secretary: Jean Lombard Dyer, RR 1, Box 191, Chebeague Island, ME 04017-9722Class President: Minert N. Thompson, Jr., 716 Trombley Rd., Grosse Pointe, MI 48230-1861Next Reunion in 1998. In April 1995 author Roy Fairfieldwas one of the first two people to be inducted into the Buckeye Trail Hall of Excellence by the Buckeye Trail Associates, Inc., held at Camp Asbury in Hiram, Ohio. One of the founders of the Trail Association, Roy served as its first president. Retiring from the board in 1987, he was made trustee emeritus of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, having served that organization as the second president…. Francis Jones has published his father’s biography, The Life of a Plant Pathologist: Fred Reuel Jones, which his mother, Edith Seymour Jones, had written during her lifetime. Fred Jones was a member of the Class of 1909. Francis writes in the foreward, “My hope that it will be a joy for the descendants of Fred Reuel Jones to be treated to so many of the details of his life.” Besides Francis, his descendants include son Fred R. Jones, Jr. ’47 and daughter Phoebe Jones Samuelson ’50…. Members of the class are sorry to learn of the death on February 8 of Paul Witham, Jr., husband of Margaret Soper Witham. We extend our thoughts and sympathy to Margaret and her family.
44 Class Secretary: Virginia Stockman Fisher, P.O. Box 7631, Portland, ME 04112-7631Co-Class Presidents: Edmund H. Gibson, 13 Wheeler Park, Brunswick, ME 04011-1635; Richard L. Keach, 51 Randy Ln., Wethersfield, CT 06109-3763Next Reunion in 1999. The Honorable Vincent L. McKusickreviewed a border dispute between Louisiana and Mississippi over the ownership of Stack Island on the Mississippi River. Justice McKusick recommended in favor of Mississippi on the grounds that “the rule of law is that sovereignty over an island does not change when the navigation channel shifts to the other side.” The U.S. Supreme Court upheld McKusick’s findings. It is the second time he has served as “special master” for the court, a task he enjoys and would do again. And adding to his many honors and awards, the Bates trustee emeritus has received the Big “M” Award from the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C., “for juristic leadership as Chief Justice, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, 1977 to 1993, and wise and dedicated judicature in service to his state and nation.”
45 Co-Class Secretaries: Carlton and Arline Sinclair Finch, 137 Marshall Rd., Fitchburg, MA 01420-2032Co-Class Presidents: Eugene and Carolyn Peterson Woodcock, P.O. Box 1979, Helendale, CA 92342-1979Next Reunion in 2000.
46 Class Secretary: Ruth Small Harris, P.O. Box 11, Sunset, ME 04683-0011Class President: Jane Parsons Norris, 93 Field Ave., Auburn, ME 04210-4522
47 Class Secretary: Elizabeth Hill Jarvi, RR 1, Box 414, Ludlow, VT 05149-9601Co-Class Presidents: Stanley and Madeleine Richard Freeman, 13 Glenwood St., Orono, ME 04473-1309Next Reunion in 1997. This past year has seen much travel for the Dick Baldwins. He and Phyllis (Smith ’48) spent a month in Geneva, Switzerland, at an international telecommunications conference. Dick also spent a week each in Ecuador, Oman, and Venezuela, with more overseas trips in the works for 1996. When they are at home in Waldoboro, Maine, they are involved in many area activities…. Correction:Walter Beaupre‘s e-mail address is wjbeau@uriacc.uri.edu….Wayne ’46 and Cam Carlson Gilmour sold their Stuart, Florida, home and live full time in Sunriver, Oregon, where they had been in the summer. Along with attending Elderhostels in Portland, Oregon, and Flagstaff, Arizona, they spent a week in the summer with a fun family reunion near Aster Lake…. In 1995, from their home in Portland, Oregon, Dick and Agnes Carter Clark went to Washington, D.C., and Sarasota, Florida, and visited Aggie’s Iowa farmland. Daughter Irene works at the Housing Authority in Portland, and son David is nearby in California as a senior programmer and supervisor in his computing business. Planned for 1996 are Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises…. After being in Vietnam and Cambodia for sixteen days, and in Japan for two weeks, Phil Isaacson was in Italy during February. Does this mean that more good books for children are in the works?… Their move to a Lincoln (Massachusetts) condo is the big plan this year for Ralph and Ruth Moulton Ragan — no lawns to mow, no roofs to shovel, no drives to plow! Instead there is time for travel, volunteer projects, social activities, and companionship…. Avid golfers, Ken and Marcia Wilson Lindberg play in North Reading, Massachusetts, in the summer, and at Tarpon Springs in winter. Her big news is a hole in one. Two daughters are in Florida, one in California, and one in New Mexico.
48 Class Secretary: Marjorie Willard Travis, 185 Grant St., Lexington, MA 02173-2126Co-Class Presidents: John and Isabel Planeta Gaffney, 36 N. Branch Rd., Concord, MA 01742-3808Next Reunion in 1998. Jean Anderson Parsley is a guardianad litem in family court, and says working with kids is “a challenge.”… Family visits occupied Margaret and George Billias with a trip to California to see two sets of grandchildren. Then, for Christmas, they planned a reunion in Victoria City, Canada, where others have relocated. They enjoyed a visit from Stan and Madeleine Richard Freeman’47, who are now working on their Class Reunion…. Russell Burns looks forward to the 1998 Reunion…. The Bill Chamberlains’ move to Yuma, Arizona, occurred much faster than they anticipated. Their house in East Poland sold within ten days so they left Maine September 6, U-Haul trailer and all. “Here we are, in sunshine and checking newspapers each day for the temperature in Maine! We plan to be there for our 50th Reunion.”… Living in San Francisco, Marjorie Daggettspent a week in Wyoming last August, and was with her brother in Virginia at Christmas. She takes courses when at home…. We were glad to hear from Barbara Davis, widow ofCarlton, who died June 18, 1995. His obituary was in the winter magazine. We hope she will continue to keep in touch with the class…. During her sabbatical, Karen and Brenton Dodge had a wonderful three months in Australia. For the past two years, Brenton has been the volunteer coordinator of the St. Louis chapter of the Concord Coalition. “I have learned a lot about how Congress goes about taxing and spending,” he says, “and about moving into the realm of political activity.” Flower gardening is another favorite hobby, probably somewhat more soothing, we suspect…. Elderhosteling has been fun for Barbara Fienemann Muise, who attended classes in Northern Scotland, Orkney Islands, Cape Cod, and Martha’s Vineyard. Now retired from the biology department at Wellesley College, Feenie is a docent at the New England Science Center in Worcester as a specialist in tide pools. She keeps plants in some displays “alive,” works on a nature trail, and interprets in the Curator’s Workshop…. For a “rare and special occasion,” John and Isabel Planeta Gaffney had Thanksgiving with the entire family…. Peripatetic Jean Holden and her sister have covered a lot of territory — a Northwest trip of 4,400 miles out of Denver, a wine and food tour of the Champagne area in France, and an unexpected “lovely” stayover in Berkshire, England, when they missed their connection at Heathrow. Then in November they were off to an Elderhostel in New Zealand with a stop in Hawaii on the way home…. Also doing lots of travel, James andRoberta Sweetser McKinnell spent their fourth winter in Locke Mills for skiing in Maine. They had been to Prince Edward Island, attended the fiftieth reunion of Scotty’s ship, the Nashville, and took a two-thousand-mile trip in twenty-five states around the country. On their way home they had a visit in Springfield, Massachusetts, with Hugh and Sally Mitchell `49…. While in his hometown of Appleton, Maine, caring for his ninety-two-year-old mother, Roger Miller has been immersed in genealogical research and local history. He has published several monographs for the Appleton Historical Society (computer publications) and he has written several articles of local historical interest for the monthly paper Good Neighbors, published in Union, Maine. In October Rog attended several mini-reunions that included Donald Learyback from England for his fiftieth high-school reunion, Ted Hunter visiting from Sweden, plus Leighton Shields andKeith Cunningham…. From Las Cruces, New Mexico, we are glad to hear that Elinor Mills Schulte now enjoys good health again…. Barbara and David Ramsdell have moved to a condo in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, after thirty years in their West Boylston home. They see Margaret and George Billiasonce in a while, and by now have their seventh grandchild…. Since he retired from Raytheon eight years ago, Perry Schwarzer wonders how he ever had time to work full time (as do we all!). They have moved their art gallery operations back to the original gallery in Littleton, Massachusetts, where business is picking up for art and framing. He attended the Navy V-12 luncheon last October in Old Orchard Beach along with two dozen other veterans…. From Scotia, New York, Phyllis Simon Albright writes that Don started his own business after consulting for three years, a family affair in which one son works full time and others help out. Their daughter, Janet Albright Ruckel ’76, lives in Phoenix. Phyllis and Don are golfers. They plan to attend Reunion….Wayne Sweatt says, “Retirement? Forget it!” He is a full-time volunteer in New York City with the Salvation Army, where he coordinates food programs for the needy and homeless. “The business is growing, unfortunately,” he adds…. At home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Arthur and Dorothy Tillson Young volunteer at church and hospital, and play golf. They saw several family members from Indiana to Connecticut and Cape Cod last summer…. For a long time Elizabeth Whittaker Bunnell has wanted to take piano lessons, and now does so. She retired as a librarian, but volunteers at two other libraries. Most recently her new endeavor is work with the Stephen Ministry, a group of caregivers who assist their church rector in his pastoral duties…. Among her volunteer jobs, Marjorie Willard Travis is class secretary, keeping in touch with classmates and planning for the 50th Reunion in 1998. Midge visits a son in Arizona when she can, and also travels to California and Oregon…. Leonard and Ella Loud Wilmot ’50 enjoyed representing Bates at the installation ofJohn Strassburger ’64 as president of Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Attending one Elderhostel in Vermont last October, they also went to a two-week program in Arizona in November…. From Wells, Maine, Lois Youngs Dennett would love to see people as they visit the state. Heading into Kennebunkport from Wells, you pass right by her house.
49 Class Secretary: Edith M. Routier, 2 Wellington Terr, Apt. 2, Brookline, MA 02146-6747Class President: Hugh Mitchell, 31 Mattoon St., Springfield, MA 01105-1715Next Reunion in 1999. Sally Gove Caterine says she is not really retiring from her teaching position at Proctor Academy, just continuing part time to teach English as a Second Language. For twenty years Sally has taught learning disabled students through the Learning Skills Department at the Academy. She and colleagues also worked in the Rural Prescriptive Clinic to help local teachers address differences in students’ learning styles, and helped train teachers and worked with volunteers at Andover (New Hampshire) Elementary School. Recently, an article in Proctor Press featured Sally and her wonderful relationship with her grandmother, Clara May Currier, who taught English, Latin, and Greek at the academy for twenty-five years. “Like my grandmother, I love to teach,” says Sally, who remembers growing up with a variety of learning experiences promoted by her grandmother. “At mealtimes we would play `ghost,’ which was really a spelling bee,” Sally notes, “with my aunt, cousins, my mother and brother.” Bates was well represented in this family group — Sally’s mother, herself a teacher, the late Hazel Currier Gove ’13; brother Richard ’53; and her aunt, the late Elaine Currier Gove ’13. What a wonderful legacy Sally received from her grandmother!… Classmates send love and sympathy to “Sue” McBride Schulze whose husband, Lou, died last July 23.