problem after 3 weeks in the hospital. They hoped to return to CT in June. Nan and Brad’s 2 sons have been helping in CA, and they have daughters who can help when they get to CT. Those of you who don’t attend the minis will not be aware of what a mainstay Nancy has been to the planning and shopping for the lobster dinner. She has been the Northfield rep to all the Hermonites and spouses who originally began that ritual. Brad has become a true member of the group with his photography of the gatherings. Nan lovingly took care of Brad through his cancer and even came once by herself in order to take pictures when Brad couldn’t. Her spirit of support and caring is monumental and all-encompassing. Our hearts go out to her and the family in this time of distress. Such a determined and positive-minded person probably has a better chance of recovery than most. The address for cards is: 36 North Glenwood Rd, Gates Ferry CT 06335. Brad says he and Nancy “will be attending the mini, even if he has to carry” her. Several classmates have been reading the class notes, and it made them realize how much delight there is in knowing about the lives of the others from ’52. Here is their news. Ruth “Pete” Murdick Walker writes: “I have wonderful memories of my 4 years at Northfield and hope to spend some time at our 60th reunion.” Ruth worked for the federal government, moving from PA to MA and buying a “little house on my own.” Then she started square dance lessons to meet others outside of work. “I quickly got involved in a very large family of square dancers” and they traveled to conventions—even Bermuda and Hawaii. “After almost 16 years of dating Dick Walker, we married and now live in East Longmeadow MA.” They still square dance and are officers of their local club. Ruth gardens, quilts, and regularly visits her sister Joanne Murdick Noyes ’47 in Camden ME. She travels to PA to visit son, daughter, and grandchildren. Her grandson, who is chef at the Biltmore in NC, presented Ruth with her first great-grandchild last winter. Diana “Pooh” Fuller Sears reports that she has “embarked on a personal adventure—building a house.” Diana purchased rural/forested creekside property adjacent to her daughter. Over the last 18 months, Diana has been deciding between buying and building. Husband Bill is in a facility that specializes in Alzheimer’s dementia some 50 miles away. His illness and her need to “occupy my 76-yr-old brain” led to the decision. “Always thought about building a house—from mansion to ranch and now it’s a 2-bedroom cottage. My children are fabulous in walking me through the permitting for well, septic, road, etc. I’m looking forward to a sun room and expect to enjoy it yearround, even in the OR rain. My view is reminiscent of the one Jean Munro Bedell and I had from Holton Hall freshman year, looking north up the river toward Brattleboro. This one looks toward Mt Hebo in the Coast Range. There’s a resident turkey couple on the acreage and a bear. Hopefully, the latter will move back into the hills when I take up residence.” Diana admits that it’s an emotional
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wrench to leave the beach and areas she and Bill shared, but it’s a good thing in that their children will worry less about her. “It’s a win/win—I give up a bit of independence to keep most of it. The distance to see Bill remains the same—55 miles.” Pooh sends her best wishes to classmates as she builds her “House at Pooh Corner.” Another classmate talks of extensive travels and adds her news and travels with her husband of 52 years, Tom Beers. Judy Richardson Beers writes: “We usually take a trip in Sept and ’10 was among the best. We flew from NYC to Capetown, South Africa, and enjoyed 5 days there, including a day trip to the Cape of Good Hope. Then we flew to Zambia and Victoria Falls, then flew into Botswana for a 9-day safari. We had luxurious accommodations at 3 different bush camps, saw animals galore in the wild from our Land Rover, and met wonderful people. Africa tugs at our hearts and souls—the people, the landscape, and their problems.” Judy visits daughter and family in Dallas twice a year and sometimes at Christmas. She also visits Mary “Sudsy” Sutherland Adams ’54 (Diana’s college, Syracuse ’58), who lives nearby and is raising a grandson (17). Other ties to ’52 and Syracuse include Audrey Haeberle Krois and Winnie Bogardus Luche. Judy is still active in their business, Sudberry House, and has lots of energy, helped by Pilates and yoga classes 4 days a week. Your scribe Julie Taylor Clemens and husband Drew just returned from a 55th reunion (I mistakenly said 60th in the last letter to the class) at Mt Holyoke College. It was especially nice to see Northfield classmates Arlene Bailey Prince (Seattle) and Libby Barrett-Connor (CA). We wondered why we hadn’t been able to convince Nancy Stuart Philippi and Mary Newman McMahon to attend as well. Libby gave a delightful talk on recent news in the medical world about aging and what one should do (exercise) and eat (now whole milk has some good attributes, as do chocolate and caffeine—all taken in moderate amounts, of course). Arlene and I exchanged family news, then went to the alumnae office for college catalogs (for my granddaughter and for Arlene’s college recommendations and counseling work). A questionnaire was passed out for some thoughtful thinking about where we are in life. “How old are you?” “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” “What is old?” “What would you have done if you had chosen a different life path?” Libby helped produce the questions. The instructions said: “Questions are meant to be fun with no correct answers.” Will Libby use this in her research on aging? There was even time to take in some memorabilia to the alumnae office: an original newspaper article about my mother skiing at Mt Holyoke in the ’20s. It was well worth the effort to drive from OH to MA and then to our cottage on Lake Chautauqua for the last day of Memorial Day Weekend. Now let’s hear about other college reunions and your experiences. Did you see the people you really wanted to see again? Did you meet new and unusual classmates you didn’t know well before?
Did you have time to renew your acquaintance with the college campus and/or faculty? Did your class get together for a big sing? (They did last year at Drew’s Wesleyan U in CT.) Was there any kind of memorial service for class members who have died? There’s so much to share in the way of news and experiences. Don’t hesitate to write; it encourages others to enter the exchange and communicate with past friends from the Northfield years. Please give NMH your new address and email if there is a change. Without your email, you won’t receive the many letters being sent through the NMH office to the class between magazines. There have been 4 long class letters sent since 1/11. If you haven’t received these, let me know and I’ll be sure the office gets the proper address. Remember our 60th NMH reunion—June 8–10, 2012. Take care and keep in touch.
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NMH
WILL LANGE 1309 Towne Hill Rd E Montpelier VT 05651-4143 willem.lange@comcast.net
ABBY “AJ” NICHOLSON HODGES 2300 Totem Trail Minnetonka MN 55305-2242 ajhodges@comcast.net
From Will: Dick Beers wrote in mid-Mar to say that Bobbi Wilson Merkl was in OR to be with her youngest daughter, who’d just had her 1st child. Dick and Bobbi are tentatively planning a trip to NE this fall. Bob Chutter’s wife Aileen broke bones in her lower leg during the winter. But Bob wrote in Apr: “Three months to the day, Aileen was freed from her nearly constant foot cast . . . She has new HI hiking boots and uses a cane when out and about and seems to be more comfortable each day with her movements. She will continue with PT and we see her surgeon in mid-May. She has reclaimed part of the kitchen and I expect to be given the total ‘boot’ shortly. Since our spring has yet to spring, we’ll enjoy it even more now with her expanded scope of coverage. We’ve planned a fall celebration with a trip to Turkey and maybe more.”
Stewart Crawford ’53 was featured in the spring issue of the MIT alumni magazine.