Class Notes, March/April 2005

I am so pleased to report on the Great 1953 Mississippi Riverboat Adventure of November 2004 courtesy of Dave Halloran. Forty strong, our classmates, wives and friends arrived in New Orleans, convened for a wonderful dinner, and passed the weekend in the Big Easy doing Dixieland Jazz, Cajun food, and enjoying the ambiance of that wonderful city. The cruise began ashore! All convened for a fabulous dinner at Rene's Bistro on Sunday and the real party was on. From there a move was made to the American Queen and a delightful five days on the River with stops for various tours. We were indeed fortunate to have brought along Professor Donald Pease, an authority on all aspects of the life, writings and times of Mark Twain and of the River, and a superb lecturer and seminarian. He wowed our classmates as well as an itinerant group of Princeton 51s as he spoke on "The Persona of Mark Twain." For Donald's second lecture, this one titled "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the steamboat's captain requested permission to invite all 400 of the shipboard travelers. It was their good fortune, and they responded appreciatively with a thunderous ovation for Professor Pease. Music, parties, a floating Mardi Gras parade peaked with the crowning of Phil Beekman and Carole Sue Emmons as King and Queen kept all in a state of high excitement. Many thanks to Bob Callender and Dave Halloran for all their hard work to make this another in the long line of wonderful mini reunions for our class. For a report that catches the rhythms, sights, and tastes of the trip, please see Dave Halloran's loving descriptions in print on our Class website.

And speaking of min reunions, Harlan Fair, who along with Dave Donovan did such a wonderful job this fall in organizing our superb mini's, has been elected Vice President of the Class Mini Reunion Organization. We can look forward to his becoming its president next year. Congratulations, Harlan.

Byron Menides writes that after serving as an adjunct professor in the Department of Management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and its School of Industrial Management since 1978, he decided to join the football staff this year as an assistant coach for wide receivers and tight ends. He worked hard getting himself into shape by biking , and has been able to sustain the three-hour practice sessions six days a week. He reports that he loves it though it has been physically and emotionally draining. He plans to continue in 2005.

You can tell by the broad smiles on Nancy and Allen Collins's faces that their granddaughter Kate Parizeau has been accepted as a member of the Class of 2009. She joins her parents, Ernie Parizeau '79, T'84, Kim Collins Parizeau, Middlebury '79, T'84, her great-grand father, a member of the Class of 1926, a grand uncle, who is a '51 and three uncles, members of the Classes of '83, '86, and '92 as a member of the Dartmouth Family. Congratulations to all!

Cheers! Mark H. Smoller, 4 Schuyler Drive, Jericho, NY 11753; (516) 938-3616; dartmark@optonline.net