By John A. Wilkinson ’60, ’63MAT, ’79MAH
The Yale Daily News often publishes a brief column, “Cross Campus: This Day in Yale History.” From September 13, 1956, our freshman year, “The Rheingold Girls travel to Yale as ‘star attractions’ of open houses for the News and the WYBC. The close quarters provided near riot conditions as freshmen panted (!) and pressed for a better view of the star girls.”
The class executive committee met this fall to discuss our 65th reunion. Present were Bob Ackerman, John Bing, Doug Guiler, Rob Hanke, Peter Knudsen, Harry Mazadoorian, Chuck Schmitz (via Zoom), Peter Wells, John Wilkinson, and Rusty Wing. Peter Wells, who has served as class secretary for 20 years, announced that he will be stepping down at the 65th reunion and that Peter Knudsen has agreed to serve in that role. Our new secretary cochaired the 50th reunion, planned and ran the hugely successful minireunion in Madison, Connecticut, preceding the major events in New Haven, and also conceived of the class Tuesday Tea program, which he oversees along with Alan Caplan, Ray Crystal, Owen Cylke, and Dick Danford. Bob Ackerman agreed to continue as class treasurer and yours truly as corresponding secretary, though both would gladly welcome willing successors.
Reunion chair Chuck Schmitz submitted the following report: “Our 65th reunion coming up in May 2025—save the date—the weekend of May 22–25. Gents, this is likely to be our Last Roundup, since Yale has yet to decide whether or not to support 70th reunions. So, this will be it! Our overall Yale ’60 theme is ‘Old Yale,’ made up of 1) us old Yalies having the opportunity and time to rekindle old friendships and to talk about whatever we want, 2) the Yale of the 1950s as it was then and as we experienced it, snowball riots and all, on campus, and 3) the old tradition-filled Yale that we found when we got there and which left its enduring traces on all of us to this day. Our headquarters and celebration space will be Jonathan Edward’s College adjacent to the renowned and celebrated Yale Art Gallery and near the refurbished and newly (to be) reopened Center for British Art. We will have special programs there and offerings in Sterling Library, just for us.”
Note also that the class treasury is sufficiently solvent so that the formal reunion will be free of charge to attending classmates.
John Levin, John Pepper, and David Wood have agreed to head the reunion class gift effort. Be prepared for a solicitation.
From George Rieger comes a request that remaining golf volunteers write to him their availability and level of interest. George can be contacted by email.
Bill MacKinnon has announced his soon-to-be published, coedited, On the Overland Trails with William Clark: A Teamster’s Utah War, 1857–1858 . Howard Lamar wrote the forward. You can preorder at the University of Nebraska Press. Bill has published over 30 journal articles on the history of the American West.
New York Historical, formerly The New-York Historical Society, has announced the creation of its new Tang Wing for American Democracy, made possible by a gift of Oscar Tang and his wife H. M. Agnes Hsu-Tang. The facility is being designed by Robert Stern, former dean of the Yale School of Architecture.
In anticipation of Dean Pericles Lewis’s Tuesday Tea talk, I announced that he would emphasize the four Cs—Character, Community, Citizenship, and Conversation. That he did, in part, but he also stressed the five vowels with the topics Access, Excellence, Imagination, Opportunity, and Understanding. Watch the session at our website.
Also recently added is Dean Jeffrey Brock ’92: “Exciting Times at the School of Engineering and Applied Science.” Learn about the school’s resurrection.
Obituaries new to our In Memoriam pages:
Robert Northrup. Perhaps Rob’s greatest professional achievement was the development of a therapy for cholera. As resident physician to the world (Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Haiti), his research saved millions of lives. Chautauqua was his lifelong retreat, where he immersed himself totally in its rich offerings, particularly choral music, which he directed at our reunion memorial services.
Peter Ness. With diminutive Cricket at his side, 6’5″ Pete filled any room with his unbridled enthusiasm and a resounding laugh. His Columbia legal training served him well at Shearman & Sterling, Dun & Bradstreet, Continental Can, General Foods, and Chase Manhattan. Pete volunteered at gardens and hospitals, relished sacred music, both choir and organ, and played tennis and squash with vigor.
Jeremy Sprung. Following his undergraduate major in chemistry, Jeremy earned his PhD at UCLA and spent over 40 years as a nuclear physicist at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. His research included developing methods for the detoxification of hazardous, including nuclear, wastes. Refereeing soccer matches and grandfathering were his major pastimes.
Tempus fugit, sumus hic.