Class Secretary: Louise Kennedy Hackett, PO Box 35, Merrimack NH 03054, lhackett@dhhs.state.nh.us

Class President: Joyce Mantyla, 28 Yorkshire Dr., Voorhees NJ 08043, tiojack@aol.com

Selections from the recent Class Letter: Sam Aloisi chose to celebrate “the Big Six-O” on Nantucket with his grandchildren. “They continue to be such a great counterbalance to any aging taking place.”… Book expert Nick Basbanes had an op-ed piece in The Boston Sunday Globe describing the sad fate of a rare book sold at auction then disassembled for its illustrations. Called “one of the most celebrated 18th-century fruit books” by Christie’s, the two-volume Nurnbergische Hesperides was assembled between 1708 and 1714, but in 2002, then-owner Massachusetts Horticultural Society sold it and others at Christie’s in a move to shore up its finances, according to Basbanes. “[T]he two volumes were taken to Europe and shorn of their plates and calfskin bindings. Once disassembled, the black-and-white engravings were colored in by hand, a process that makes them more appealing as wall adornments, and thus more salable at prices from $500 to $1,500 each, as numerous Internet searches have confirmed,” wrote Basbanes, who criticized the Horticultural Society for putting the books up for auction. “Though not illegal, tearing apart a perfectly serviceable work of scholarly importance…is roundly regarded as a form of cultural vandalism.”… George Beebe says the family loves Maine so much that they are going for a “college trifecta.” Daughter Brooke ’04 is on the dean’s list and captain of the women’s hockey team at Bates. Son Peter is a dean’s list sophomore and club hockey player at Bowdoin. And rallying for the show spot, son John, a 6-4, 200-pound sophomore lineman at the Berkshire School (Sheffield, Mass.), is considering Colby…. Jim Callahan says it has been very gratifying to see firsthand how Bates has become one of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges through his work on the Board of Trustees. He continues to work on his golf game. “I now know what I am doing wrong. Unfortunately, I am not sure that there’s enough time remaining to fix it all!”… Newt Clark continues to enjoy his work as the district-wide director of adult, continuing, and summer education for the West Hartford Public Schools. His wife, Patricia Lord Clark ’67, heads the reference department at the Trinity College Library. Daughter Sarah ’95 just finished her first year as a doctoral student at the Univ. of Florida in Gainesville, while daughter Abby is a second-year Spanish teacher at Simsbury High School…. Bruce Cooper and Carol (Johnson) ’67 have been in Pittsburgh since they married. He works for Alcoa, and is on his last assignment before retirement designing and implementing a global human resource system for the company. Carol works part time in a music store. Their two daughters live nearby. Bruce took up rowing five years ago and is president of the board of directors of Three Rivers Rowing Assn…. Seth Cummings is semi-retired in Florida. “The Villages is the No. 1 golf community in the country with 22 golf courses. It’s a dream place to live.” His first book, Simplified Personal Financial Planning, can be ordered through Barnes & Noble or firstbookslibrary.com. He’s working on a second book, A Solitary Soul — Reflections of a Manic-Depressive, subtitled “‘Til Death Do Us Part ‘Til She Finds Out I’m Crazy.” It is an autobiography…. Jane Downing writes that’s she’s still living in Pittsburgh in a “wonderful Craftsman-style bungalow.” She works at the Pittsburgh Foundation as a senior program officer. “I chair a 40-member Access to Work Task Force that grew out of the foundation’s response to welfare reform and am having fun trying to figure out how to bring workforce development and public transit into planning for regional economic development projects… Peter Gomes appeared at the Massachusetts State House to speak in favor of same-sex marriages in February 2004. He also wrote an op-ed piece for The Boston Globe on the same topic, arguing that marriage in Massachusetts was established specifically as a civil institution, not a religious one…. Bill Goodlatte writes that his Bates daughter Suzanne ’04 spent her entire junior year in Spain…. Evie Hathaway Horton continues to work full-time as the principal of Pleasant Hill School in Scarborough, a small K-2 primary school. “Fantastic staff, supportive parents, and great kids — can’t ask for more than that in education today!… Judith Magyar Isaacson was honored as the 2003 Woman of Distinction, an award given by the Kennebec Council of the Girl Scouts of America. Cindy Holmes Andrews ’74 attended the event with her. Judith was also inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame on March 20. She is involved in establishing an educational facility for the Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine…. The highlight of summer 2003 for Louise Kennedy Hackett was reading the Scripture on the podium with Peter Gomes ’65 at Ocean Park. She continues to work full time, but is looking forward to retiring sometime in the next year…. Jean Ellen LeSure is enjoying retirement, especially since she has had cataract surgery that has vastly improved her eyesight. “Although I still wear glasses, my vision is better now than I ever remember its being. That’s great as I continue to draw and paint, especially in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.”… Last September, Karin Mueller McElvein, Judy Morris Edwards and Ellie Spare Quattropani spent time at the beach, saw an air show with the Blue Angels at Oceana Naval Air Station, and had a great time at Karin’s home in Virginia Beach. Karin continues to quilt and is getting in some golf…. David Olson has been appointed vice president and general manager of Goodrich’s Danbury, Conn., electro-optical facility. The site manufactures state-of-the-art optical and sensor systems for space, defense, and scientific applications…. Carol Stone Beyna writes, “My art is progressing, I’m still enjoying it very much, and I have actually sold a few paintings.” 

Next Reunion in 2005. Got news? Tap out a note to magazine@bates.edu!