Classmate News/August
More news from John Curtis ‘62 BCE ’64 MCE ‘65: “After enjoying a short trip to Quebec City for our 60th anniversary, Janie and I traveled to India in December as representatives of our Rotary District in the Dallas Metro to observe several gifts to hospital from our local clubs. First though, we experienced the Taj Mahal and the several forts and well-known structures in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Our group then flew south to Cochin where we visited three hospitals that had received dialysis machines, ambulances, blankets and publishing equipment, all to better serve their communities. Our trip was completed with a ride into the mountainous area of Kerala State to visit the tea plantations and the herb gardens that have made the region world famous. More journeys are in the planning stage.”
“As part of my volunteer activities in retirement,” writes Mike Miller, “I am chairing a charitable foundation endowment fund and continuing my 50-year tenure on the Allentown (PA) Economic Development Authority.
“Recently, I also found myself presenting talks (telling jokes) to three different groups on the history and nature of Jewish Humor.
“Here’s a sample: ‘The Yeshiva rowing team was competing against all the Ivy League teams with eight men shells and a coxswain, but they were coming in last in every race. They decided to send out two spies, Joshua, and Caleb, to spy on Harvard to see what they might be doing wrong. So, the spies went to the Charles River, hid behind a bush, and watched the Harvard rowing team. The spies came back to Yeshiva and gave their report. The Harvard team had eight men rowing with the coxswain yelling out the cadence: Stroke, stroke, stroke. We have the coxswain rowing and the eight men yelling out the cadence.’ ”
From Bob and Barbara (Garson) Stern comes the following: “Well, having never submitted any news before, there’s a lot to enter. We have three daughters and seven grandkids. We lived in Nassau County, NY for about three months after graduating our joint 5th years (I in electrical engineering and Barbara in History/Government). Moved to Suffolk County, LI in 1963 and lived in Smithtown/Hauppauge for 11years with me changing jobs several times gaining experience in Electronic Warfare and Barbara in teaching, then relocated to Maryland/Potomac from 1974 until today (2023). I jumped around even more times from EW to airline communications, and finally to satellite Communications for the past 30 years or so having worked for 18 companies over the years. Barbara taught private school, then went into headhunting for several years and then got her accounting degree, and became a financial wizard, ending up as CFO/VP of a small company doing work for the National Institutes of Health and drug companies for her last 20 years. Our daughters are married and gainfully employed and all our grandkids now out of high school and college. We both retired at the end of 2012 and have been happily enjoying life in suburban Maryland and our Bethany Beach, DE, beach house since then. Latest plans are to relocate nearby to an Erickson Senior Living facility in North Bethesda, MD in two years.”
Victor (Vic) Erickson has sent along lots of news. He and his wife Connie are residents of Indianola, WA where they enjoy hiking and cross-country skiing in the North Cascades with their daughter and her family. The president of his 137-member homeowner’s association, he is also a park steward of the 800-acre County Preserve. This longtime rower – one of his favorite Cornell memories is rowing on three national championship crews (1959, ’60, ’61) – has, over the past four years, built a 16′ lapstake canoe and a teardrop camper, using kits from Chesapeake Light Craft!
Mary Van Vleck, now retired, has been deeply involved in the development of a co-housing community in Charlotte, VT for the past 18 years where she funded the construction of two houses. “I stayed there through the pandemic,” she writes, “then moved 9 miles away to an elegant retirement community” where she no longer needs to shovel snow or mow the grass!” She writes of her enjoyment of making things in the woodshop…”I made a small bookcase and smaller projects.” She has also joined “a group studying ‘Green Burials’ and related issues–the next inevitable adventure for us all!!”
Poet John (Jack) Foley – “not retired from anything” – continues to do “what I’ve done throughout my life: write.” He presents his poetry on his Berkeley, CA radio show (Tuesdays a 2 p.m., KPFA-FM). His recent books include The Light of Evening: A Brief Life of Jack Foley (Academica Press), A Backward Glance O’er Travel’d Roads (Academica Press), Bridget Und Andere Gedichte/Bridget and other Poems (a selection of his work edited and translated by German poet Andreas Weiland), and a book of new poetry, Creative Death: an octogenarian’s wordshop (Igneus Press). For even more about Jack, check him out on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Foley_(poet)
