Class Secretary: Marjorie Poznansky Getz, 33 Old Powerhouse Rd., Falmouth Foreside ME 04105, Bates76@aol.com

Class President: Douglas Shick, 7 High Hill Rd., Canton CT 06019, doug_shick@alumni.bates.edu

Selections from the recent Class Letter: Diane Arrato Gavrish is the assistant director of the Merrimack Public Library in Merrimack, N.H. Prior to that, she had been head of reference for the Leach Library in Londonderry, N.H., and reports that she is very happy to be returning to Merrimack having worked there eight years previously…. Ann Austin-Beck has co-edited a book entitled Paths to the Professoriate: Strategies for Enriching the Preparation of Future Faculty…. Roy Catignani is in the construction business on Cape Cod, Mass. He is in the perfect spot to enjoy his son’s ski boat and his own sailboat for cruising the coast of the Cape…. Paula Cowles Mikkelsen studies the systematics and biodiversity of marine mollusks, known collectives as “seashells.” She specializes in two groups: shelled opisthobranch snails (or “bubble snails”) and bivalves (including clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, etc.). One of her primary interests is describing the anatomy of mollusks, many of which are only known, even in these days of molecular biology, from the empty shells they leave behind. At the American Museum of Natural History, Paula co-curated the exhibit Pearls, co-produced with The Field Museum, and co-authored Pearls: A Natural History, published in 2001 by Harry N. Abrams Inc…. Michele Dionne met President Bush over a bucket of mummichog, an important bait fish, when he toured the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve in late April. “He talked about grassland restoration,” she said, “so I was able to get in my two cents about cutting down trees and planting lawns all the way down to the water, which can have a deleterious effect on the coast.”… Tod Gobledale works for United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He and Ana have been chaplains at the Churches of Christ Theological College in Melbourne, Australia, since June 2003 and think they will be there until December 2005, when their son finishes high school. They dream of returning to rural Africa after that…. Carol Gordon Ladd spent spring 2004 on sabbatical from Maranacook High School in Readfield, Maine, doing coursework towards a second master’s, in curriculum and German. Mike counsels adolescents at the YWCA in Lewiston, seeing kids for drug abuse and anger management, and also doing family mediations…. Ruth Hirsch loves living in Jerusalem, where she has been since September 2002. She says she is still dealing with many aspects of making a significant transition — learning the language and adapting to a different culture as well as living with the realities of life in the Middle East…. Paul Joyce teaches special education on the island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands…. Marge McCormack Davis has been writing a murder mystery for the last three years. Set in a woodshop in Connecticut, its title is The Dovetail Murders…. Muffin Milligan has ended her tenure as an editor at the Univ. of Oregon and moved on to greener pastures, wherever they may be. Husband Dana Johnston took a six-month sabbatical leave, during which he and Muff spent time at Woods Hole on Cape Cod and exploring New Zealand and Western Australia. Dana has signed on for another three-year term as head of the department of geological sciences at the university…. Kerry Moore completed his third year as director of Choate Health Management, the one and only psychiatric emergency services provider for the Greater Lowell area. Kerry says he is getting itchy to pursue a doctorate, but hasn’t quite gotten beyond the contemplation stage… Susan Moyes Baydur is director of development at the Goddard Riverside Community Center, home of the New York Book Fair…. Sparks (Marjorie Poznansky) Getz enjoys retirement and life on the Maine coast. She volunteers to represent abused children in the Maine court system, and also works with Marine Animal Lifeline on the rescue and rehab of marine mammals, mostly seals. She also got her private pilot license. She travels three months out of the year, usually to French Polynesia in the fall and Antigua in March…. Christopher and Heather Tardif Stockard cruised toward Mexico last winter on their 43-foot sailboat, Legacy. They originally left Juneau in May 2003 after Chris retired, after 27 years, with the Alaska State Troopers and Heather retired from her management position with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and sailed along the Pacific coast to winter in Mexico. They put the boat in drydock during summer (2004) and enjoyed a long road trip toward the East Coast. Photos and trip log at www.legacysailing.com.