Recently I enjoyed lunch with Bruce Grove, who has sold his Williamsburg home and returned to his old stomping grounds of York. I understand that Bruce was able to attend our last class luncheon. Finally, yours truly was pleased last year that his youngest daughter Madeline was married at the Greenbrier, and she is already expecting the 21st Franklin grandchild in June. Unfortunately, I myself succumbed to a heart attack in August and underwent quadruple bypass surgery performed by none other than Reddy Finney’s son Stewart. Keep the faith and let me know what is happening in your world!
1951 Robert Swindell bbncc@verizon.net A nice 60th Reunion. Fourteen of us were in attendance plus Brucie Gibbs and Mimi Cooper. It was fun to get together and nice to know how many are still interested. Perhaps those not there will send some information in the near future. Tom Calloway writes “alles in ordnung in LaLa land.” Not sure what that means, but presume he is happy in California. He has a grandson at University of Georgia, and three others still in high school. Says he is doing well, just a little slower. Aren’t we all! Henry King welcomed a fifth grandchild in November. Lonnie and he recently traveled through parts of Russia where his grandfather was governor before the revolution. They also visited South Africa earlier in the year. Certainly, no moss growing under their feet. Gibby Carey has children and grandchildren scattered (Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland and Ohio). He and A.K. are trying hard to keep up. In the meantime, he is fighting a corporate giant who wants to put in a limestone mine across the road from their idyllic farm. Always something cropping up when least expected. Tom Eastman was the only classmate to join me at Gilman’s annual alumni banquet. He is in good health and enjoying his retirement at his Lake Avenue address. Four grandchildren (three girls and one boy) keep him busy, along with his mountain hiking, bicycling and mandatory yard work. Saw Rich Diffenderffer in November looking well. He said that outside of 10 days at the Outer Banks and meeting Prince Andrew last winter in London not much to report. He adds that when his backhand goes, “please send for Dr. Kevorkian.” Tom Offutt writes that he “retired from a great job at TPL buying land for the National Parks and U.S. Forest Service and went from the frying pan into the fire.” In an attempt to keep their large farm overlooking Lake Erie solvent, he started an equestrian program. Their acres are filled with horses and 50 kids (from eight different high schools) who come to ride once or twice a week. “All of this is only possible because of the proximity of Lake Erie College and its excellent
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equestrian program. The girls pretty much run the program and me.” Tom Parr and Bingy and Danny Moore keep me posted on local events. More information is always welcomed. Keep it coming. Nancy and I have made the final move. We relocated to the Blakehurst Retirement Community last summer, and we love it. Everything is taken care of very nicely. The grandkids seem to be aging gracefully. UVA, Brown and James Madison are college choices. Two at Gilman, one at Garrison Forest and four at Calvert for the Baltimore group. My usual plea. Let me know what’s happening. It might sound trite and mundane to you, but we do like to know how and what you are doing.
1952 Bruce Follmer bf0629@verizon.net Well, the class kept its usual solitude and produced NO information for this issue of the Bulletin. I have, therefore, taken it upon myself to call another of our long-lost classmates (not really lost, just more close-mouthed than the rest of you). I had a nice conversation with Dick Johnson, who, as you probably know, currently resides outside of Tacoma, Wash. Dick tells me that after graduating from W&L, he enlisted in the Marines and served in the same unit with Jimmy Menton, and, like most of us, was so surprised and saddened when Jim died so unexpectedly a year after they were discharged. Dick went into the family business, which involved moves from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, to Seattle, to Boston and back to Seattle, before he finally settled. He and wife Kathy have three children, two sons and a daughter, the oldest son being 53 now (I thought that was awfully old until I realized my oldest daughter is the same age!). They have three grandchildren, two of whom are soon to be married. Dick’s brother lives in the East, and Kathy’s sister is in Roanoke, so they get back in the general area once in a while, but Dick hasn’t been back to Gilman since graduation. They have a cabin on the Sound, and Dick says they spend about four months a year there, off and on. I asked about sports, and he said he plays a lot of tennis and “too much” golf. Dick says the only other person from our class that he had seen was Bill Campbell, who was out in his area a year or so before he passed away. I told him I thought the class was holding up well, considering the fact that 17 or 18 out of the original 36 of us were still kicking around after all these years. He said he won’t make it back for the 60th Reunion, but he wanted to send his best wishes to those who do. Your secretary continues to plow along, having directed two shows in 2011, one in the spring and the other in November. Still constructing crossword puzzles that the New York Times doesn’t see fit to print.