By Tommy Bourgeois
I file these notes as I prepare for a week in New York and New Haven, looking forward to representing ’75 at the AYA assembly for the tenth consecutive year—my eighth as your scriba. Of course, the 134th edition of The Game beckons, as well. By the time you read this, you’ll know more about the sustainability of the Elis’ fledgling winning streak. Treasurer Nancy Young and I welcome Russell Leavitt to the ranks of class leadership. Russ succeeds Joan Berliner Spear to a three-year term as appointed class representative. We’re grateful to Joanie, a stalwart classmate, for her service.
News from hither and yon: from Julian, North Carolina, Minta Phillips writes, “Hello, all, hope you are doing well! Yes, I joined the post-retirement sector. I’ve spent the past two years witnessing the peaceful passing of two wonderful parents and seeing my two millennial kids embark on careers in medicine and environmental energy policy—the arc of life we all share. With balance and well-being in mind, I am enjoying a second year of a local women’s book club; a near-daily exercise regimen finishing with my favorite pose, Shavasana; volunteer work with children’s art classes in a local public school (creativity is alive and well!); and a third year of beekeeping—keeping me aware of directly-felt climate vicissitudes and the biology of bees with their altruistic (primarily female) work ethic, and yielding some honey! Just back from a wonderful visit to the Pacific Northwest, including Olympic National Park, with my younger brother. I am looking forward to a three-week trip to India with a friend in February. Namaste.”
Barnaby Conrad sends this update from Accomac, Virginia: “My wife Martha Sutherland and I live on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with our eight-year-old son, Jack. Our house overlooks a tidal marsh and barrier islands. I’m taking piano lessons with Jack while writing a book on 91-year-old French artist Jacques Villegle.” A copy of Barnaby’s last book, the handsome Pan-Am: An Aviation Legend, sits nearby as I write.
There’s more literary news from playwright and author Wendy Jones: “An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones was recently published by Ida Bell Publishing, LLC. It tells the story of my mother, a South Carolina sharecropper’s daughter born in 1920. She came to New York City in 1946 to work as a cook in private homes. By the 1960s, Josephine E. Jones was the first black woman in management at a Fortune 500 company, as well as a Harlem activist. A single parent, she worked on three jobs as a culinary artist to pay my tuition at private schools. Her biography is intertwined with aspects of African American history that illuminate the racial, gender-related, and political obstacles she had to overcome. In addition, in the Appendix, I detail how she nurtured my education from kindergarten through Alexander Robertson School, the Dalton School, Yale, and beyond. The book is an American story, a Great Migration story, a New York story, a black family’s story, a mother-daughter story, and the story of a woman’s fight for creativity in the workplace. It is available for sale through the publisher’s website: www.idabellpublishing.com.” Kudos to Wendy for undertaking a project that is deeply personal, as well as socially and historically resonant.
Thanks to Seth Walworth, who manages to find his way into this column with astounding regularity, for bringing some very important news to our attention via the class Facebook page: namely, Richard Lincer received the 2017 Thurgood Marshall Legacy Award at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s 30th Anniversary Awards Gala last October. A partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Rich was honored for his work in diversifying the student body at New York City’s Cooper Union, where he has chaired the board of trustees. Owing to the marvels of the interwebs, you can find Rich’s gracious and inspiring acceptance speech on YouTube. Congratulations, Rich, on this well-deserved honor!
For our October lunch, the L.A. chapter ventured to Pasadena for dim sum at the celebrated dumpling palace Lunasia. Joining your intrepid reporter were the aforementioned Mr. Walworth, Wendy Goodman Thum, Pennlee Lanselle, Arthur Greenwald, and newcomer to our company Julie Moll, who has recently returned to her native Southern California from the DC area after retiring as Marriott International’s senior VP, portfolio strategy and research. Those of us with sufficient energy to converse between bites and sips talked about the ghastly early October heat wave we had braved just to get there.
Our New York contingent marked its 70th consecutive monthly lunch in November. Hats off to Nancy for keeping this impressive train on the tracks! Her companions on this historic occasion included fellow locals Andrea and George Miller, Laurie Stevens, and Ariane Van Buren, along with out-of-towners Les Bronstein from White Plains and Connecticut residents Fred Cantor from Westport and Bridgeport’s Chris Donnelly. Laurie and Chris recalled the many eye-opening aspects of last year’s class trip to Cuba, and there ensued a lively conversation about possible future destinations—among them Alaska, Antarctica, Iceland, Colombia, Croatia, Estonia, and Russia. As Nancy notes, rigorous market research may be in order to determine what the next stop will be. Speaking of class travel, my next installment will chronicle the Veterans Day weekend mini-reunion in Savannah.
As usual, I welcome your news, and I encourage you to check out the class listserv at www.aya.yale.edu/lists, and to sign on to our “secret” Facebook page by e-mailing me at the address listed above or Nancy at hawaiiyoung54@gmail.com.