Classes of 1948 – 1955

msarons@optimum.net

 

rhdefeo@gmail.com

           

joanvicinus@yahoo.com

 

Elizabeth Devane Edminster: Lizzy told me recently that she was doing well after her second knee replacement and has recovered so satisfactorily that she is back comfortably using her regular walker. She celebrated her 90th birthday this past December. She had a family gathering which included her two children, both of whom live in Washington, D.C., and their children—just the way she wanted to celebrate. Sukie Hilles Bush: Sukie moved in January into a retirement community, and her new address is 1010 Brookhaven  221 E, Waltham St., Lexington, MA 02421. Quite by accident, I communicated with her by FaceTime. That was a treat. At that time, she had gone for the summer to her Westport, Connecticut, home, where she was sorting through boxes and papers in
an effort to downsize. Her 90th celebration was held in August, and by the time she had included her family, four Chinese artist friends plus other friends, she ended up with a catered party of 75! She seemed in fine shape, no hearing or seeing issues, and no creaky joints. Joan Haskell Vicinus: It appears that all three of us are in retirement communities and happy in our circumstances. I think we have chosen well, with many services and our comfort and care topmost on the administration's mind. As far as my limited travel is concerned, I flew to Toledo, Ohio, in the fall, and had a wonderful visit with old friends. Then in May, I took a bus to New York City to help celebrate my daughter’s birthday.

 

dsteinmul@msn.com

 

bobsmail1936@yahoo.com

 

woolcon@aol.com

 

From Bill Branon: “Yo, fellow Hilltoppers. Thanks for your good words on my wife Lolly’s battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia. We two are about to enter the promising world of tNIR (transcranial near-infrared light). Results are scary-positive. Take a look at tNIR. Fingers crossed… In other news, I notice that the Class of ’55 is about to move into first place in the Class Notes listing in Views from the Hill. How cool would it be, just for the mulish heck of it, to maintain and claim that citation for, let’s say, a couple of years. With noble Sir Woolsey in the fore and all you former word zombies staggering out of the mist, we could raise a smile and a ‘Hey, look at this!’ from one of our precursors up there chasing angels. ‘Hank. Get Sgro and Larry over here. Yo, Chico! Go get Reid and Raynor. They gotta see this.’ Think back, mates. Hymns every morning. Neckties all day. Sharp shades of England’s ‘public’ school. Musty stiff discipline. ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘No Ma’am.’ And the games, our 40-man class taking up field, mat, and sword against college hundreds. And winning. The ever-present loom of college acceptance. My friends, we had something special. Really special. Something to be proud of. Gentlemen, start your pen-gines. It doesn’t have to be all trophies and bank accounts. Maybe a victory over systems. Observed or personal. A lesson learned almost too late in life. Rumination or conclusion is unexpected. A freshly peeled memory. Perhaps an event out of character or expectation. As example, may I present my ‘proper’ wife: Scene > hospital, post fractured femur, pelvis, skull. Being an RN by profession and all that, Lolly was ever available to aid the healthcare team with honest feedback. One night at about 11 pm, as my son, Steve, was taking over his nine-hour, two-man rotating bedside shift from me, Loll, wearing only a hospital shirt, lay abed, uncovered, pinioned for the fifth continuous day in what is sportingly called ‘The Wedge’ (a solid eight-inch thick equilateral triangle of wood, steel, and foam rubber anchored at both ankles and crotch in order to immobilize the now nailed-together pelvis). Two nurses, three techs, one M.D., and a fellow I’m pretty sure I recall buffing the hallway, were also in attendance. A second M.D. bounces cheerfully into the room with a clipboard. ‘So how’s our best little nursie tonight?’ chirps Dr. Clipboard. Silence. Ten seconds. Fifteen. Then Loll’s right arm, the only limb not sporting IVs, begins to rise. Slowly at first. Then with purpose. Now serpentine. I think of cobras I’ve seen in WesPac. Fully raised, the arm slowly rotates. The back of the fist sweeps the assembled. The middle finger straightens to its biological limit. Locks.” From James T. Golden, Jr.: “As a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, I tried to involve my grandson in the military (Sorry too woke)! Maybe things will change next year. He graduated from the University of Oregon (a Duck). This past week, I attended his graduation from fire fighting school—a 16-week course that is quite competitive (22 made it out of 32). On another note, I took a 12-day Seabourn Cruise on the Encore with my significant other, Kathryn the Great, round trip from Lisbon to the Canary Islands. After departing Lanzarote, our last port of call heading back to Lisbon, Kathryn fell and broke her hip and part of her femur. Great cruise, great ship, one formal night, etc. But then the nightmare began, she was stretchered to the ship’s medical facility and x-rayed, where it was determined she needed immediate medical care, not the two days to Lisbon. So they turned the ship around, back to Lanzarote at 4:00 a.m. We were met by an ambulance to the hospital. A hotel was arranged for me and our five bags a good distance from the hospital, and I was going back and forth for six days. This is a Spanish island, and the ortho doctor told us through an interpreter that he couldn’t do the operation. Finally, USAA Travel Insurance relented and Kathryn was air ambulanced to Denver, Colorado. A Citation with two medical personnel and two pilots, and one bag, weight restricted.”

 

alice.houston@yahoo.com

 

Two Class of ’55 alumnae from the two schools that joined Hopkins (Day and Prospect Hill), joined at their college
alma mater, Smith College, to take part in the reunion of the Class of ’59. Mary Alice “Bamboo” Koplik Solzman '55 phs flew in from Chicago, Illinois, and I, Alice Watson Houston, drove from Stonington, Connecticut. We enjoyed catching up as dinner partners during this 65th reunion. Throughout the weekend, Bamboo always looked lovely, wearing her signature flower behind one ear. We have high hopes to be together again with high school classmates for a 70th reunion at Hopkins in May of 2025!

teegarden_lucie@comcast.net

 

As I write this column in early June, it’s the season for graduations and reunions for some, and celebrating the return of warm weather, for many of us. Vicki Meeks Blair-Smith says that she and her husband, Bear, both retired, still “live on family turf on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.” She continues “sleuthing ancestors,” including one great-grandfather who went from Moravia, in what’s now the Czech Republic, to Vienna, Austria. Vicki and Bear’s son, Rob, is still with T-Mobile, and daughter Caroline is still a safety officer for Outward Bound, USA. Rob’s daughter lives/works in New York; his son is a senior at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), doing photography. Vicki mentions “no winter on the Cape this year, so into lovely lush spring,” and says she’s still enjoying “yard work,” but kayaking is a bit on hold due to a femur fracture last year. Judy Bassin Peknik says she’s still painting and swimming and enjoying lovely weather in Connecticut. She’s also still involved in theater, and reports: “We are producing another of Alex’s plays this summer. It’s called Pandaemonium and will be presented by the Broadway Bound Theatre Fest in New Canaan, Connecticut, for five days in August. We’re thrilled that we can do something locally.” Anne “Pickle” Haskell Knight now has two great-grandchildren! She emailed this update: “My daughter, Catie, had two children with her first husband and two more with a second husband. The two oldest of her children each married someone who already had one son. But last year (2023), each couple had their own child—a boy each. The one born to Kelsey was one year old in May, and I got to hold him for the first time when they visited Philadelphia for a weekend (and I did too). Shane and his wife had their first child together and he is now 8 months old. I will get to see him in a few weeks when we all gather in Tennessee at Catie’s 60th birthday. All these events make me feel older by the month, but fortunately I am still in good health, so I can go visit the growing families. This past April, I enjoyed a wonderful river cruise in Belgium and the Netherlands. The highlights were the Keukenhof tulip gardens outside Amsterdam and the cathedral in Ghent. I am trying to go on as many adventures as I can before I can no longer afford them or physically manage them.” Judy Buck Moore was able to attend her granddaughter Sydney’s graduation from the University of Maine Augusta in early May, and her own Wellesley reunion at the end of May. She says both were very enjoyable. Her Maine trip also provided a chance for us to get together for a lovely in-person visit. I, Lucie Giegengack Teegarden, also enjoyed a wonderful recent trip to celebrate my granddaughter Becca’s completion of a master’s degree at St. Andrews University in Scotland. As she is staying on for her Ph.D., her parents brought both grandmothers to visit—a two-week family tour of a part of Scotland, from Edinburgh to St. Andrews, featuring gardens, museums, touring a castle, lots of good food, not too much rain, scenic drives on narrow roads, and the very best of company. I’m looking forward to more summer family visitors here—one of the benefits of living in Maine. Please consider sending a brief update before our next column is due in early November.