By Rich Banbury
Our Hounies are tight. In the good way. For five classmates to rendezvous in happy spirits is such evidence. Notice the absence of the individual for whom their College was originally honored. Santa Barbara was the wonderful venue for Ken Blackford (Los Altos), Owen Cylke (Ft. Lauderdale), Harry Clein (Los Angeles), Tom Dent (Santa Barbara) and Harold Hammet (Fort Worth). The activities were arranged by the Dents, Tom and Joan, a talented and celebrated ceramicist. Santa Barbara, east of Reno, is great for southern California, as Carmel would be further way up the coast. “And students who lived in Calhoun College today are encouraged . . . wearing apparel emblazoned with it or calling themselves “Hounies.” The Washington Post View, Editorial Board, February 19, 2017.
The Class Executive Committee gathered at Branford College on October 25, 2017, with Peter Wells sure and sturdy in the Chair. Bob Ackerman, our prudent Treasurer, advising that our class is appreciating our funds through Yale Endorsement at about 11.3% on an account of $39,366. Last year we earned $2,009 just by interest.
The Giamatti Bench project, to enhance the life of the Bench and the man for whom it stands, is going forward. There will be a video posted on our class website, and on at the Tourist Office site, will be available, as perhaps on the You Tube site. John Wilkinson, Peter Knudsen, and premier architect Dave Sellers are all involved toward the many aspects in site. Mark Aronson, Chief Curator are at the British Art Museum, is working on an article for the Bench in the Yale Alumni Magazine, which may play in this edition.
Jim Taylor has put together a grand Class adventure for destination, a Chicago geographical reunion on May 15 through May 18. Twenty-two mates have signed up, with another 17 partners.
During our common years in the autumn, it would not be unusual to fill the Bowl for our team, sometimes companied with a small flask of rum. There was Handsome Dan at the sideline, looking up at us with a nonchalant demeanor. Senior year, our team ran from out the tunnel, led by a halfback with the number 30 on his blue and white uniform. That would be Captain Rich Winkler, who has since lived in places such as colorful Rodeo, New Mexico. Rich has been a lawyer, judge, and now a rancher, all in the southwest area of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and at places along the Mexican border. After 30 years in the courtroom, including 12 years as a judge in Bisbee, Arizona, Rich followed the example of Nature Conservancy. The Winklers and several other ranching families preserved considerable open spaces, along with ranching work. Beyond his unique and rewarding life, Rich has published a book, Selected Poems by Richard A. Winkler, which can be acquired through Amazon.
During September last year PBS released Ken Burns documentary entitled The Vietnam War. David Elliott, a Professor Emeritus at Pomona College, is extremely knowledgeable from his military intelligence assignment and learning the Vietnamese language while he was in the military. His experience in Vietnam, as well as his decades of teaching, reflects on how Vietnam and the war shaped David’s life as a scholar and writer on the subject. Along the way David finished his Ph.D. at Cornell. Mai Elliott, David’s wife, was interviewed several times for the documentary, which David was an adviser on the project. One of David’s theme is “The Vietnamese War: Revolution and Social Change in the Mekong Delta,” one of the few academic studies which examine the war from a Vietnamese perspective. In the long run, the dominos failed to dim the lights of Saigon.
Stayoung.