stay connected... PHILLIPS Hugh Kelleher 12 Atwood St. Newburyport MA 01950 617-448-8073 hughkelleher1@gmail.com
Sometimes people ask me why I want to spend time writing the class notes. Short answer: You guys are interesting. Also, people invite me to their nice residential properties. It was just a few years ago, for instance, I was in Greensboro, N.C., where my son was attending college, and had a great visit with the incomparable Sid Stern. Sid stays in touch via the occasional text message and sometimes leaves a voice mail that includes audible greetings from our class agent, Bill Schink, who is also now living in Greensboro. One especially pleasant visit occurred back in November 2014, when I was on a business trip to LA. My friend Heather and I spent a wonderful evening with Larry Uhl and his wife, Valerie Casey, in gorgeous San Marino, Calif. Larry and I inevitably recollected the days we were roommates in NYC, as well as New Year’s Eve 1974, which we spent in perhaps excessively vigorous celebration in Times Square. From LA, Heather and I traveled up the Big Sur coast for a few days, and, not finding any classmates along the way, were forced to stay in the rustic Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for lovely, simple lodgings in one of the world’s most beautiful settings. Fortunately, after leaving Big Sur we were able to find quarters for a couple of nights at the home of Anki and Larry Gelb, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. A couple of days in Tiburon and one understands why a New Yorker like Larry chose to live in the land of sunshine. His home and its setting are magnificent: bayfront property with gardens, a stream, a little orchard, and even a tiny redwood grove. One sweet thing was that when we were meandering along the paths, Larry’s dog, cat, and chickens followed behind us. One night we were joined for dinner by Pete Olney and his wife, Christina Perez, and Suzanne and Nate Cartmell, all of whom, like Larry, made the clever move from the Northeast to the Bay Area. All I can say is that we managed to partake in the pleasures of wine and friendship very much as if it were still New Year’s Eve 1974. The next day, I was not sure whether to celebrate our continuing ability to par-tay or regret that my head hurt so much. At the time, the San Franciscans were still celebrating the Giants’ World Series victory. One of those not so happy with last fall’s outcome was Kansas City’s own Crosby Kemper, official class researcher and documentarian. Cartmell had sent along a USA Today article quoting Crosby, who had some insightful things to say about the renaissance of his hometown. Crosby is now the head of the KC Public Library. If ever a man and his job were made for each other, Crosby and libraries are it. It
92
Andover | Spring 2015
may have been that same year, 1974, that I visited Cros while he worked in the bookstore in Grand Central Station in NYC. His devotion to books has never waned. Also, check out online the fascinating series of interviews he’s conducted with actors portraying prominent historical figures. That series, called “Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III,” is shown on some PBS outlets. One who continues to appreciate the charms of New England is devoted cross-country skier Bill Holland. Bill and his family moved from Vermont to Durham, Maine, to be close to both his daughter’s school and his aging mother’s assisted living facility. Bill is working on a film project based on a novel about a village in Indonesia and is interested in speaking with Evan Thomas about CIA history in that part of the world. I had a recent visit right here in my own hometown at the classy condo of classmate David Tibbetts, who has moved from the nearby countryside back into downtown Newburyport, Mass. Nice digs, Dave! Turns out Dave was in communication with former local Sam Brainerd, now of Maryland, during the Patriots’ run-up to the Super Bowl. Received a fine e-mail from Dan Peters, of Cincinnati. Dan was recently in San Diego at a conference on high-performing Catholic schools for low-income kids. That’s good and important work, Dan. He regretfully missed last year’s reunion, since he was in Rome, where his son was doing a summer program at the Vatican Observatory. From Switzerland, our classmate Phil Santucci wrote to say that he would be coming to the States this summer. I’m hoping he will take advantage of my reciprocity offer regarding home visits. He and his wife, Lisa, will bring along their son and daughter, now of secondary school age. They are thinking about Andover. It’s certainly quite unlike the school we left 45-plus years ago. Still tough and competitive, but it seems a humane decency has replaced the emotional blockheadedness we experienced back when it was not beyond the pale for a faculty member to refer (personal experience) to a student’s comments as “stupid.” (Well, maybe they were stupid.) Happily, this remark did not come from Kelly Wise, whose career we celebrated last year in NYC. Kelly was always amusingly direct yet diplomatic when grading Novel & Drama papers. We are planning a dinner soon, and I steel myself to hear his critique of the novel he spent a number of decades encouraging me to write. Fortunately, the current draft is being improved by editorial comments from Alex van Oss, Jeremy Bluhm, and Jim Shannon, all superb readers and critics. Down in DC, Alex stays in touch with Brendan Doyle and his companion, Larry Kirkland. As usual, I conclude these notes with the feeling I have left out some important news from someone—maybe you. For that, I apologize. To rectify this oversight, please forward your residential address, so we can plan a visit.
1970 45th REUNION June 12–14, 2015
ABBOT Penny Snelling Sullivan 972 Summit St. Lebanon PA 17042 717-274-0498 sullivan@mbcomp.com Sandra A. Urie 38 Prospect St. Winchester MA 01890 781-729-4480 sandraurie@gmail.com
It is with deep sadness that we share with all of you that Beth Andrews died peacefully at her home in Acton, Mass., on Sept. 23, 2014, with her family beside her. She was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in 2010. Beth’s husband, David Hoffman, shared with me a beautiful piece on Beth’s life. You can find it at https://beth-andrews.info/. When I read it, I was reminded of Beth’s authenticity and her kindness, along with her many accomplishments as a psychotherapist, potter, photographer, devoted mother, and wife. She is survived by her husband; her son, Jacob, and his wife, Allyse; her daughter, Lily; her stepdaughter, Jessica; her two older sisters; and her stepmother. Also online is another of Nan Quick’s wonderful travel articles. This one is on Rome. If you are familiar with past articles, you know they are chock-full of information and that they are beautifully written. You can find her latest at http://bit.ly/1919H9Z. Finally, a reminder. Our 45th (!) Reunion is coming up this June 12–14. Lots more information will be forthcoming. For now, mark the date. I plan to be there and hope that many of you will attend as well. Our Abbot 70@60 was so much fun in 2012, and it will be great to get together again this year. Please continue to share news about what you are up to. See you in June. —Sandy and Penny PHILLIPS Peter Williams 3070 Shamrock North Tallahassee FL 32309 850-893-3342 Petewilliams1@hotmail.com Frank Herron 38 Prospect St. Winchester MA 01890 617-852-0126 ffherron@gmail.com
The stunning news in this corner was the sudden death on Nov. 4, 2014, of Burr Tweedy. He died of complications following surgery at Massachusetts