NAP Network

[This following letter is the response of Bill "Comf" (for "Comfort") Higman '33 #116 to my request for the enumeration of those qualities of character which he and John Alman '33 #110 saw in Professor Chet G. Jaeger which they thought eminently recommended him to be faculty adviser to NAP back in the glorious, golden years of our time.

Comf and John were the first to recognize his aptitude for the role he played in so many of our lives and the last to see him just before he died. They visited him just before he died to play the tape they made at our first Alumni Weekend Sunday Brunch get-together just before his death.

Someplace in the historical files of the Oak Leaf is Comf's story about that last visit between that elder counselor and dear friend and the two brothers to whom his influence meant so much. --Zib]

Comf Higman `33 #116

Dear Zib,

You ask what were the special qualities that Johnny Alman and I saw in Dr. Chet Jaeger in 1932 that led to our recommending him for Nu Alpha Phi membership as our Faculty Advisor.

I'm sure we didn't sit down and list various qualities, but in our view, Chet:

1. Demonstrated a genuine interest in students and their activities.

2. Liked to engage students in conversation outside the classroom as well as inside.

3. Had diverse interests in college life--athletics, social affairs, ideas to improve college life, etc.

4. Displayed an uncommon sense of humor--always a plus and Chet had it!

5. Was easily approached and easy to talk to.

6. Was reasonably young--(I'd guess about 30ish) and obviously was well liked as a person and as a math prof by his students.

I'm not too sure that those qualities were too different from those we sought in new student members of the Fraternity. As a social fraternity I think we looked for "good guys" with whom we would like to spend much of our spare time while in college, likely leading to long-time friendships beyond our college days. Chet filled that bill!

Regards, Comf

Grant McCully `42 #233

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Have no idea where I stand on back dues. This will at least reduce the deficit. This was a particularly fine Oak Leaf. Thanks for your good work.

My maggot number has disappeared in the mists of memory. If the record is available, I would be grateful if you could send me a postcard with the number.

Best regards, Grant

P.S. Thanks for this handy form.

Roger S. Smith `64 #606

[Sent dues, back dues, and scholarship funds.]

Thirty-three years of witnessing the dedication of others to the Oak Leaf has finally had an effect on me. Thus the dues and the note, even from a Nappie who was normally off campus.

The effect of Pomona ties is felt in the Great White North. It has been just over 20 years since Ward `64 #588 and Cheryl Heneveld `65 hosted my wife in Surabaya, Indonesia as we were adopting a child from an Indonesian orphanage--something they had done the year before. The native Indonesian is now in his third year at the University of Puget Sound, and my wife has good memories of the time in Indonesia with the Henevelds.

When serving as dean of the business school at the University of Alberta in the 1980s my executive assistant was a Pomona history graduate who had gone on to Yale for her Ph.D., and later when I served as vice president (academic), I did battle with another Pomona graduate over the issue of extra pay for summer teaching. Pomona graduates create a more exciting environment even in the Great White North. An Edmonton friend started at Pomona this fall, just one day after completing a six week canoe trip paddling North on the Mackenzie River across the Arctic Circle. So Edmonton blood is stimulating the Pomona Community.

With my mother in Mt. San Antonio gardens a mile west of the colleges, I regularly get a chance to jog through the campus. An activity which continues to bring back good memories.

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Hank Cobb `30 #81

[Sent scholarship fund donation.]

With the passing of Ted Walker `30 #92 last winter I seem to be the sole survivor of the "Myer House Gang" who joined NAP in the class of 1930. My old buddies have dropped by the wayside over the years. I enclose a small contribution to their memory via the NAP Memorial Scholarship fund.

Marc Stanton [Not on rolls but #94 info is missing. --Eds.]
Jack Miller `30 #87
Bertie Adams `30 #79
Rob King `30 #85
Karl Stromsaur `30 #91 [Rolls say Stromsem?]
Ted Walker `30 #92

Please give my remembrance and best of good wishes to the honorable "eminence grise" of the fraternity. Walter Wilhelm Xeblahblahblah Yurgut Zabriskie. "Zib" who joined with our class but took time out and graduated with the class of 1932. One of the best.

Cordially, Hank

Gordon H. Clarke `54 #414

[Sent dues.]

Robert N. Shaffer `34 #135

[Sent dues, back dues, and scholarship funds in memory of Zibby (who is still with us, thankfully) and Gordy Pettit `34 #133.]

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Matt Chavkin `86 #916

[Sent dues and back dues.]

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Dr. Bill Bowie `75 #762

(Lone Alpine County NAP)

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Hi everyone! Enjoyed the latest Oak Leaf! I think I'm the only Nappie in Alpine County, California!??

David Smith `70 #697

[Sent dues, back dues, and general funds.]

Dear Nu Alpha Phi,

Hello Nappies. Greetings from the desert side of the Rockies. Enclosed is a check to cover past delinquencies. Divide any remainder as you see fit.

A brief resume follows for any old friends since I didn't attend my 20th reunion. Left Clareville in `70 for the UCSF School of Pharmacy and married Sue Nelson one year later. In `73 we moved to Milwaukee for med school, and nine years later I emerged as an assistant professor in radiology with emphasis on CT and ultrasound. Played the academic game for a few years with many papers and talks, but finally left the Midwest in `88 for the western slope of Colorado. Sue and I split several years ago, but not before we produced a current PC sophomore (Sarah Smith) and a high school senior PC applicant. Sue is heading for grad school in English next year, and I practice general radiology in a small, private hospital, no doubt a target for managed-care acquisition by some other PC grad.

Contacts with others of my era have been few, but here are a few notes. Bill Keller `70 #714 has been named managing editor of the New York Times, and Henry Breithaupt `70 #709 is a successful attorney in Portland (or so I read; somehow I became persona non grata to these two). Saw Brian Campbell `70 #667 (AKA Janitor of Oldenborg) in Las Vegas where he teaches. Found Charlie Henderson `70 #712 just before I left Milwaukee where he did a lot of legal work for the Bucks' arena. Joel Lorimer 70 #710 is still doing theater but he moved to Albuquerque.

I was reviewing my photo collection from the days when I was unofficial NAP historian, and I sometimes wonder how we survived. My favorite shows four long-haired, drunken (or otherwise) bums arm-in-arm around a keg in the frat room, and each would appear to have a great future as a server in the fast food industry. Who would predict they would turn into a radiologist (me), a city attorney (Steve Eckis `70 #700), a Pulitzer Prize winner (Keller), and a biology professor (Bruce Hargreaves `70 #702)?

[Due to space limitations, The Challenge will appear this issue, but never fear, the records are current. Next issue it will return. Good work, David. --Eds.]

Life is good and full. Best to all. Onward!

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Burdette Boileau `34 #125

[Sent dues and scholarship funds in the name of Gordon Pettit `34 #183.]

After being in active practice since 1937, it seemed appropriate to retire which I did on January 1 of this year. Helen and I are enjoying our residency in Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Pomona, California. It is one of the retirement homes given national recognition in the country. During the past year, Jimmy McNabb and Bob Ringle `38 #169 joined our community. Ben Millikan, prior to his passing, was also a resident and his Peg is still here.

Congratulations to our co-editors and all their predecessors, for the wonderful way in which they have kept the Nappie spirit alive and well.

Fraternally, Burdette

John Barrett '44 #265

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Dear Zib,

Many thanks for your gracious note. With alumni brothers like you, how can there not be a vital NAP?

Excuse my word-processed response, but the keyboard is my best friend. My classmates (or some of them) will recall I was so awkward and slow in writing by hand that I was allowed to take essay exams on my typewriter in my dorm room--with a pledge of no cheating. My handwriting has since deteriorated and no doubt will continue downhill while there is any hill left. So, be grateful, as I am, that I have a computer and that I use it.

The computer also permits me to practice law, which I am still doing as a sole practitioner from my downtown office. My scratchy practice would not begin to pay for full stenographic support in the old style, and I find that I like being my own stenographer and probably generate a better product than I used to. Most of my work is litigation--trials and appeals in both D.C. and federal courts and before administrative agencies. As to subject matter, it is pretty much across the board, with some emphasis on civil rights and discrimination issues. I am now not only a passable stenographer, but a messenger, process server, file clerk, and general factotum. All of which I like. When I don't have sufficient clients who are willing to pay, I work for non-paying clients referred by several non-profit organizations.

As to family (and you may yet regret having asked for lots of "news"), Elisabeth and I are about to enter our 38th year of happy married life with five children, five grandsons, and more coming. The kids (all now married) and their progeny seem to be doing well--at least they are neither alienated from nor dependent on us. Two boys (twins) are practicing lawyers here in Washington, and a third boy is a computer programmer (I think he terms himself a "systems engineer") in San Francisco. Our two girls both live in the Washington area, one married to a struggling architect and the other to a personnel manager.

Elisabeth and I get to California occasionally, and my sister Nancy and I still own (but may soon be disposing of) a cabin on the Sonoma County coast.

As to "opinions," I wish only to say I remain somewhat ambivalent about admission of female brothers. Undergraduate males are not altogether a mature, self-confident lot, and gender diversity in this particular alcove of their lives may or may not speed them on their way. In any event, the pluses are obvious--the Oak Leaf is a livelier publication: the female perspective is no doubt valuable in fraternity activities and planning; and many a brother may have been saved from narrow and benighted views and feelings that could have badgered him the rest of his days. And if the ladies can benefit from the experience (which may be more doubtful), then indeed we have done a good thing.

Zib, I cannot tell you how much I appreciated (and envied) your handwritten letter. This letter has turned out longer than I intended, but I hope I have discharged my obligation for news and views beyond my dues.

Fraternally (without regard to age or gender), John

Raymond Neutra '61 #547

[Sent dues and cabin fund donation.]

Dear Friends,

How are you? Last year seems so far away, squeezed backward by the press of so many adventures and travels. This was a year of anniversaries, fifty years since the founding of my cherished Happy Valley School, forty years since high school graduation, and twenty meaningful married years with Penelope. In June we celebrated quietly at Tassajara by renewing our vows.

At 5:30 a.m., in the dark, the distant jingle of the herald can be heard at the far edge of the encampment, then the thudding sounds of his running feet and the jingle jingle of his bell calls everyone to the meditation hall. Soon the wooden clapper, tock tock tatatatatatat announces the entrance to the hall. Left foot first over the threshold if the left side of the door is open, a mindfulness practice. Bow to the Buddha and the Sangha and swivel round on the meditation pillow and face the wall for an hour's meditation. Then more bowing and recitation of the Heart Sutra. "Form is emptiness, emptiness, form." Gongs, bells, incense.

We go to the founder's tea house for our ceremony with Katherine Thanas Roshi, dressed in dark mustard colored robes. Tatami straw mats on the floor, sliding panels open on one side to the creek and the other to a gravel garden with old Indian grinding stones. The altar has incense and candles with a large black and white picture of Susuki Roshi staring at us with a friendly alert look. We chant the heart sutra again, take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, we take the ten prohibitionary vows. Our rings are smoked over the incense box, a beautiful carved wooden box with a glowing ember on to which powdered incense is sprinkled. Putting on our rings, we take our respective candles to the alter and set them alight, bringing them back to our own little table where we simultaneously light the candle sitting there. Then we read each other the poems which we wrote and reciting a closing sutra we emerge into the morning sunlight brushing the canyon treetops and reflecting onto the raked curving lines in the garden's gravel.

The Happy Valley reunion was designed through a series of phone conferences between alumni of various eras in the school's history. It extended from a Thursday evening through the following Sunday afternoon, proceeding at a leisurely pace. We attended Friday assembly and classes with the sixty current students, conducted workshops by selected alumni, held era dinners, a morning of mixed activities and browsing through a "history wall." We held a "council," American Indian style, taking the talking stick and reflecting on our respective lives and the role of the school in them. It was sobering for me to realize that my 1957 graduation is as remote in time from that of the 1997 senior high school class as the 1917 graduates were from me. A few weeks ago, in a Department of Health Services administrators retreat we carried out an exercise in which we all stood, and then sat down as the group leader called out the years of service to public health. In this group of about 100 people I with 31 years and another colleague with 45 years of service were the last two standing. Without noticing, I have become a wrinkled old fart!

Our family proceeds as before. Penelope's studio is peopled by an army of small clay nudes of various stages of dryness, accumulated from the weekly workgroup where she and other artist friends do three hours clay studies from a parade of different nude models. The garden this year yielded a bumper crop of corn, tomatoes, beans and plums. Tim has a one man show coming up at his usual gallery in San Francisco, he has been painting remote parachutists in vast gray skies. Abe has finished his doctoral dissertation and is an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Cal State San Luis Obispo. My older son Justin came out for a visit in June and has a job in Massachusetts casting Space Shuttle parts out of a new beryllium/aluminum alloy. Matthew is working on his master's thesis in computer mapping and doing three dimensional computer illustrations. You can see his work and Tim's on the world wide web at:

http://www.tiac.net/users/mneutra/timlynn.html

I was bemused to see my father's 1927 Lovell "Health House" in the movie "LA Confidential" as the domain of a fancy pornographer.

Travel memories from Taiwan/Japan, Rome, and northern Baja California. I had been invited to Taiwan meeting of the International Society of Environmental Epidemiology to run a session on Asian perspectives on the ethics of environmental research and this gave me the opportunity to satisfy a lifetime wish to visit Japan with Penny. A WHO seminar on cancer clusters got me to Rome for the first time in early fall and a few days to visit my epidemiologist counterpart in Mexicali gave us a memorable introduction to the rocky landscape and the warmth of extended Mexican families. Here are a few mental snapshots:

Japan: In the hot summer night, Kenji Igarashi '61, and I watch the passing of chanting and bobbing crowds of men or women as they pass supporting on their shoulders lacquered and gilded shrines. On the shouldered lacquered poles little barefoot boys balance. Beyond them, on the beach burns a bonfire of 100,000 chopsticks, accumulated the year long for this chopstick festival.

In Kaju-ji Temple (AD 700) to the east of Kyoto elephant ear Lily pads sway on slender stalks above the surface of a pond, the floppy leaves flatten and fold so that the evening sun shines through them brilliant yellow green while the cicadas zing in the woods. A white crane high in dark pine looks down for frogs. Afterwards our guiding friend tells us over coffee, scones and strawberry jam that his two story high school stood between him, his gymnastics and the fireball of the Hiroshima bomb a few kilometers away. The next day we saw in the Peace Museum the donated belt buckle with the family crest, all that remained of his father, a kilometer from ground zero.

Rome: After flying all night into Paris and then on to Rome, the sun is setting as I arrive at the hotel on the Aventine Hill. Pines with long trunks and spanning limbs tower over the ocher and rose colored villas. Dutifully peering through the key hole of the big iron door which protects the estate of the Knight Templars I see a parade of green black Italian cedars marching down to the horizon line on either side of a dusky walk, perfectly framing the tiny distant dome of St. Peters, blood red at sun down.

I discover to my delight the curvilinear perfection of Borromini, smooth and white at St. Ivo alla Sapienza and rough brick textured at San Andrea della Fratte. All intimate details perfectly resolved. To my surprise I find myself outraged by the bullying gigantism of St. Peters. THIS was the response of the Catholic hierarchy to the spiritual challenge of Martin Luther and William Penn?!

Balmy October weather in Rome changed to thunder lightening and rain in front of the Pantheon on my last night there. Like magic, oriental men appear selling little umbrellas. Lightning flashes blaze briefly on facades in narrow streets. I pause in the doorway of a closed shop protected from the downpour and wait in vain for the many lightning bolts to connect with the iron horseman atop the Garibaldi monument in the sky above me. Then picking my way through puddles, the rain spent, I climb to my hotel.

Mexicali: Giants had a rock fight here, our rented car hairpins endlessly down among the mountain of pink boulders to the desert below. That night, we go to our epidemiologist host's parent's house for his mother's 80th birthday. The eleven siblings, some driving south from California and the 40 grandchildren join the potluck. The children, like schools of fish, sweep back and forth happily among the adults. This campesino family has done well along the border without losing its Mexican identity.

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Maryellen "Mellon" McQuade '96 #1099

I had really good intentions of sending you all my fond memories of working with Zibbie--but I see I seriously missed the deadline. Ooops--

But anyway I wanted to say "hola" to Nappies all over... Since graduation I've been sucked into graduate school at Georgetown. The program is really great; I've met a lot of interesting folks. I spent the summer in Chile doing research and will graduate (hopefully) in May.

Unfortunately, my work will probably prevent me from returning to the West Coast anytime soon. I'm hoping to keep traveling in Latin America, my time in Chile was amazing. I awoke every morning to the sun rising behind the Andes. I spent a day in Uruguay & time in Argentina, too. Although I was still a "gringa" I had a great time.

D.C. is good, but I definitely miss the West Coast--

If any Nappies are my way--Give me a call.

P.S. I'll send $ when I finish grad school!

YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN—Traditional Jazz aficionado Chet Jaeger '47 #296 coaxes sweet stylings from his valve-bearing implement as his acclaimed Night Blooming Jazzmen sell the goods to another satisfied audience at the 1997 Sacramento Jazz Festival. [By the way, we confused his grad year and maggot number with his dad’s in the last issue.]

Robert Benson '63 #578

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Nappies,

Enjoyed the last issue of the Oak Leaf as it brought back many pleasant memories. Jerry Kelly's '64 #583 letter was interesting--caught me up on his activities, and also because his mother bought the house at 455 University Circle in Claremont from my parents. Lois gave me a tour of the house and yard a few years ago. The letter reminded me of how small the world of academia is.

Also, I note the Nappie Hero stamp with Chet Jaeger `47 #296 on the cover. Enclosed is a photo of Chet concentrating on a score at the Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Jubilee. As many of you may know, Chet is the leader of a well-known band called the Night Blooming Jazzmen, and Chet is wearing their unique shirt. Many of you may still have a copy of his father's Introductory College Mathematics by Jaeger and Bacon on your bookshelf.

I am still an internal auditor for CalPERS. I recently gave a presentation to the Association of Public Pension Fund Auditors in New Orleans (Read Beans, Gumbo and Jambalaya forever!). Life at CalPERS is busy as we prepare for the Year 2000. I am involved in projects on both the new investment accounting system (for $120+ billion) and the new financial accounting system. Happily, CalPERS should have the cash flow statements by the direct method when all this is done (one of my pet projects).

This week Lois and I will travel to Austin, Texas, to watch our younger son Phillip graduate from the University of Texas. How time flies! My older son is busy retooling into computer programming. He is concentrating on the newer languages, but, I am hoping he will learn COBOL and become rich by the time Year 2000 rolls around!!

This year we took a vacation in Washington (I recommend hiking around Mt. Rainier and visiting Mt. St. Helens). We also went to Chicago and St. Louis to visit Lois's family. I continue to do photography as a hobby, but my photography business is dormant right now. Perhaps I will try "on-line sales" one of these days.

Sincerely, Robert

John Sellman '60 #532

[Sent dues.]

Bob Casady '65 #598

[Sent dues.]

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Michael Glass '79 #842

[Sent dues, back dues, and Wash fund donation.]

The Oak Leaf feature on the "History of the Wash" brought back fond memories and, more importantly, reminded me to reach for my checkbook.

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Paul Schmidt '66 #619

[New address.]

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Donald K. Smith '53 #384

[Sent dues, back dues, and Cabin fund donation.]

Enclosed is my check for dues et. al. Lynn (Landes '54) and I have been retired to Twain Harte for three years after raising our boys and completing our business careers (management consulting) in the S.F. Bay Area.

We've traveled and trekked in Central Asia, Russia, Turkey, Italy, France, and Switzerland for several months over the past two years. Great Trips!!

We are active volunteers in several local community activities including SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) where I am a current chair of The Mother Load Chapter.

We'll be in Portland and Seattle for the holidays with our three sons, their wives, and eight grandchildren. How time flies when having fun!

The Oak Leaf is GREAT!! Please keep up the good work!

Thanks.

Martin Olson '60 #526

[New address.]

SHOWING THAT THE SNOOTY BAY AREA doesn't have a monopoly on the expression “trainwreck,” four stolid Rocky Mountain Nappies bravely came together in communion with malt and nature (or, in this case, the inside of a house on a rainy day) in a triumphant alumni Wash. Enjoying a variety of delicious and well-chilled beverages (far beyond the dreams of the average Active) are Diane Decker, Kelly McDonald (with underage date), Zach Solomon and Vance Allen (whose fetchingly rendered cut-offs are hanging at the same angle as the banner), and the mysterious, presumably well-lubricated stranger who snapped the photo.

Kelly McDonald '89 #1001

Enclosed: Scary picture of '97 Denver Wash at Diane Decker's `91 #1019 house after being rained out.

Chuck Vogel '55 #430

I enjoy receiving the Oak Leaf and reading news about the brothers and sisters and activities at the College. The September edition was especially interesting for two reasons.

First, I had lost complete track of Bill Atkinson and I got a kick out of his letter referencing, among other things, the fact that he was the head waiter at Frary. My memory of him in that capacity was that he wore white bucks that looked mighty smart with his head waiter jacket. The Frary waiters were notorious for how quickly they could clear a table. If you put down your fork, dinner was over and Bill and his crew could close up.

Second, I am very pleased to read that Caroline Beatty `41 #298 was inducted into Nu Alpha Phi. She and Shelton were great friends to all of the students and in my era their home was adjacent to the dormitory, providing easy access to both of them. Shelton was not only our fraternity advisor, he and Caroline were friends with all the students, helping and encouraging them as they progressed to graduation.

When I returned to Pomona in 1959 to practice law with Agee Shelton `32 #103, I resumed contact with the Beattys and was well aware of Caroline's leadership in the community. I agree with those who call her "Claremont's civic conscience." When Agee and I were representing the College regarding the construction of the Hahn Building, Caroline was present at all of the City Council hearings and was one of the most articulate and loyal supporters advocating the College's position. In spite of her substantial influence, the matter was not resolved at City Hall, but was favorably concluded in the courts. This was just an example of her involvement in her community and I was impressed with her performance and appreciated her perseverance.

We are surely honored to have Caroline Beatty on the Nu Alpha Phi roster.

The news here is that we are grandparents to six with two on the way. Fortunately, we have enough space to have them around often, but we have put all breakables in storage--except for me.

Miriam and I are still plugging away at the California Court of Appeal, Second District. At the beginning of the year I became the Administrative Presiding Judge for the District which has not produced an iota of control over Miriam. However, the challenge is rewarding (not in the monetary sense) because I am more involved with the operation and funding of the appellate courts.

Enclosed is a check to apply to my dues and in appreciation for those that keep the Nu Alpha Phi torch burning.

Fraternally, Chuck

Fess Reierson '92 #1033

[Sent dues, back dues, cabin and Wash fund donations.]

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Richard P. Gist '49 #315

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Reading the most recent Oak Leaf has prompted me to send in some back dues and to write a few lines in response to "the challenge."

I keep overly busy looking after a few rental houses as well as our own and on the side spend some enjoyable time keeping in shape by lap swimming and tennis (and mowing lawns). I delight in playing handbells in our church group and in travelling to visit family and far away places. Just returned from our second trip this year to Nicaragua (newest grandson being a stellar attraction). Also, I'm promoting EDCS, the Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society, an international bank of sorts that makes big loans to poor people who are in co-ops and other groups around the world. We deal only with the loan recipients and avoid the involvement of governments. Lastly, but not least, Alison and I have been married for 45 years and still like it!

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William Schultz '56 #447

[Sent dues and back dues.]

William H. Snyder III `58 #497

[Sent dues, back dues, and cabin fund donation.]

Thanks for continuing the great tradition of the Oak Leaf. I remain active as a Professor of Surgery at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and enjoy my practice and teaching medical students and surgical residents. My main contact with Pomona and NAP days is David Green `58 #482 (my roommate in college). We both are doing wonderfully.

Best wishes, William

Jack T. Bradford `47 #271

[Sent dues and scholarship donation in the name of Jim DeFriest `46 #292.]

I was most moved by Virginia DeFriest's recent letter.

Her topic was the same on I once wrote a long letter to Zibby about--the strange lack of cohesiveness and true brotherhood that seemed to occur among those of us who had our college career interrupted by WWII. We all really lost several years of closeness that those before and after us enjoyed.

And yet--as I look at the `43 and `47 annuals I feel as warmly toward the brothers of those days as I did then.

Eumi Lee `94 #1060

Hey everyone--

First, to Chris and Paul, thanks for all the work you put into the Oak Leaf! Sorry, I've been delinquent about staying in touch, so I'll give a quick summary of my life post-Pomona.

I finished two years of teaching in Oakland, CA (with Teach for America). Now I'm in my second year at Georgetown Law! (Only 1 1/2 more years!) I miss SF tons, but I'll be in LA and NY this summer and would love to catch up with folks.

P.S. By the way, I heard that some of the present members were looking for the recipe for the Colorado-MF party. If this is so, ask them to email me because I still have it and may be using it next semester.

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Ted Anderson `54 #387

[Sent his and Gerhard Vehlhaber's `54 #449 dues.]

Greetings!!

We want to send you our warmest greetings in this Christmas season and hope that your year has been as interesting and rewarding as has ours. Our annual letter is a bit later than usual because we returned from a trip the first part of December.

Travel is again the key word to describe our year's activities. Much of it was in connection with Ted's continuing work at the Desert Botanical Garden, which have both of US involved in several conservation projects and in gathering photos and data for a book that he is writing on cacti. Visits to family in various parts of the country also accounted for some of our travel time.

Adele made her usual two trips to Southeast Asia, the first to Thailand in February-March and the second in August-September. She was joined on the latter trip by son Clark, her brother Marlin, and two friends. They all converged on Thailand at the same time in order to attend two concerts given by Zachary Roesemann (tenor), one in Chiang Mai and one in Bangkok. He was a featured event in an established concert series in Bangkok and sang to enthusiastically receptive audiences. They then visited both Thailand and Laos, having interesting experiences and finding many wonderful treasures. They went down the Mekong River in small boats from Thailand to Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos with its obvious signs of ancient royalty and lingering evidence of French colonialism (French bread for instance). Between trips at the end of November we hurried to southern California to pick up three crates of Asian treasures that Adele had shipped. Our house looks more and more like a museum with every trip!

In April we took another trip to Mexico in order to finish the cactus conservation project in which we have been involved for the past three years. This journey took us first to Copper Canyon and then across the Sea of Cortex to Baja California, where we worked our way northward for the length of Baja studying various populations of cacti. Our CITES-sponsored research has involved a careful monitoring of populations of rare cacti in various parts of Mexico, including Baja California.

Ted officially fully retired from Whitman College, having been associated with that institution for 35 years. We went to Walla Walla in May to finalize retirement arrangements and to visit friends. We look back at our Whitman years with good memories.

We flew to the Caribbean in July to study some of the cacti there. Our main destination was the island of St. Croix, where we visited a colleague's cactus collection, a botanical garden, and several natural habitats with cacti. We also spent a few days in Puerto Rico.

During the year we made nine trips to California to visit family and to attend meetings. Ted was a featured speaker at meetings in both San Diego and Pasadena.

HOPPIN' IN JAPO—Those travelin' Andersons—who knows where they'll turn up next? Well, you can bet your spines and barrel-like body that there'll be succulents at the bottom of it all, as Ted ferrets out the world's rarest and most elusive cacti. Here they take a breather on market day in Japo, Bolivia, where at 13,000 feet not much of anything grows.

Our major trip of the year was to South America in October and November, with long-time friends Bill and Sue Maule. Ted's primary objective was to observe and photograph as many different cacti as possible in Bolivia and Argentina. This took us to several out-of-the-way places that provided fascinating experiences, both with regard to cacti and to bird watching. He took over 20 rolls of slides, so the trip was a success. We began our adventure in La Paz, and spent several days working on the altiplano, admiring snow-covered peaks, vicuñas, flamingos, rheas, and cacti. The enclosed photo was taken at a special market day in the Bolivian village of Japo at an elevation of 4,000 meters (13,125 feet), where we stopped briefly in our field work. We flew from La Paz to the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, and we then explored areas of the lowland region for cacti and birds, where we again saw many new plants and animals. We flew to Salta, Argentina for the next part of our field work, providing us with the opportunity of observing cacti on a variety of habitats in the northwestern part of the country.

Almost as soon as we got home from South America we went to California to visit Adrienne and family in the Bay area and then to New York for Thanksgiving with Clark. Ted came home via Farmington, New Mexico, where he gave a talk in the Distinguished Scholar Lecture series at San Juan College. Adele briefly visited Walla Walla on her way home.

Clark continues to live in Pelham, New York and is a Vice-President with Goldman-Sachs in the Credit Department in charge of Sovereign Risk. His work in political risk analysis takes him all over the world, a job that he thoroughly enjoys. He is especially busy in Asia now with the financial crisis raging.

Adrienne, Steve, and son Alex live in Menlo Park, and Steve continues his work at Arbor Software in Cupertino. Adrienne is working part-time at a financial office in Menlo Park. Alex is now four and attending a nearby pre-school.

Duc and Chelsea continue to live with us in Phoenix, taking care of house, plants, and dog while we travel. Duc left Microage and now works as a Unix Systems Administrator at the giant American Express computer facility in north Phoenix. Although he has a strange work schedule, he loves his work. Chelsea will begin college in January.

Erica continues to work at the University of Seattle and has applied for admission to vet school. Washington Medical School research labs in

Stephen is going through a divorce and has moved to Seattle, where he is now Sales Manager for a huge new Golfsmith store at South Center.

Monica continues to attend Whitworth College in Spokane enjoying her art.

Bruce has been living mostly in Seattle, but he again went to Alaska to work on a fish processing boat that works in the Bering Sea out of Dutch Harbor. He plans to do that again next year. He visited us recently.

It is nice to be home at Christmas, with some of the family joining us from various parts of the country. We continue to praise God for the many blessings He has given us in our children, family, and friends. May this Christmas Season be a real joy to each of you and a reminder of the continuing love of Christ.

P.S. For those of you now using email, see below!

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Malcolm Hege '57 #462

[Sent dues.]

Jack Dwan `41 #211

Your reference in the last Oak Leaf to brother Bob Shaw `38 #170 conducting Brahms triggered off a memory that I can't resist sharing.

Sometime around my sophomore year--probably the summer of 1938--one of the big movie studios, I believe it was Warner Brothers, used the Pomona campus as the site for a musical called Varsity Show featuring lots of singing, dancing, and campus high-jinks. The lead was Dick Powell and I think Doris Day. Also billed were Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians who provided the musical numbers. Waring and the Pennsylvanians were hot in those days, appearing on national radio and at big dances everywhere. Waring was famous for having a chorus in addition to his orchestra, both of which he directed.

Bob Shaw was then a senior majoring in music, and had a natural talent for conducting. Somehow Waring got wind of him, and used him to rehearse his chorus before takes. This led to his getting hired by Waring after graduation as the leader of the Pennsylvanians, and started Shaw on a spectacular lifetime musical career we all know about.

But my point is, a year or so after he had graduated and joined Waring, Shaw visited the campus. The word got around one Sunday that he was willing to get a bunch of pick-up voices together at the Student Union for some singing. I went principally because his brother, Jim, the organizer, was a Nappie and a good friend (he had made a great speech nominating me for student body president to which I attribute my success). Jim rounded up a bunch of us. We assembled in the ballroom of the Student Union. In came Shaw who handed out some sheet music, the well-known ballad, All the Things You Are, and he took over.

I was amazed. This guy, not much older than I, by the sheer force of his charismatic personality and musical talent within an hour molded this motley group of college boys into a chorus that sounded close to professional. It was an inspiring experience. His commanding presence, his demanding standards, his dramatic gestures, his expressive face all combined to weld us into a single musical entity. If any brother remembers being part of this motley crew let me know. I've followed his career ever since. And, needless to say, memories surge whenever I hear All the Things You Are.

Fraternally,

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Doug Buckmaster `54 #388

I suppose Spencer Garrett's `69 #687 lament, "too many people are afraid of stepping out and learning how to make use of today's technology" was directed in part at me. Well, here I am, retired, online, and in self-imposed exile in Cambria for five years. Now I can escape Postal Service use from time to time. (The check is in the mail!)

It would be impossible to live up to Roving Ambassador Ken Smith's `33 #138 track record, but I can report on a few of the brothers. Lee and I saw Doug Davidson `54 #394 and Carole in Massachusetts recently. He is semi-retired from insurance but they still present great music every Sunday at the Old North Church in Boston, he directing the choir, she accompanying on organ. They walked us around Walden Pond to see the autumn colors, so now I am reading "Walden Pond"--sometimes for up to 20 minutes at a stretch, in bed.

Chuck Carpenter `54 #389 and Alice visited us for lunch recently now that both are retired, he from Harvey Mudd, she from Scripps. We took them to see the burgeoning elephant seal population nearby. December through February it is a real spectacle--over 4,000 last year--and many are here all year now.

Occasionally I see Earle "Bev" Blakeslee `36 #154 and Diane whose financial planners now are in every Mid State Bank branch on the Central Coast. I talk to Bob Sorensen `47 #283 too, and Bert Maxted `61 #546 lives just two blocks from us. He is adding on to his home and doing all the work himself--unless surf conditions lure him away. Any other brothers or sisters nearby?

My major interest right now is in trying to stop inappropriate development on the North Coast. You may have heard about the Hearst Corporation's ambitious plans to ruin San Simeon point and heavily impact this rural area. East West Ranch wants to do the same thing right in the heart of Cambria. If you are interested, write or email for details. You can also send money to help meet what may reach $50,000 in costs! Gifts to "Friends of the RanchLand" are tax deductible! Come visit us!

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Rev. Robert R. Wood `65 #602

Jan and I have children in Nashville and Indianapolis. We have three grandsons in Indianapolis and try to get there as often as we can, but weekends and preaching just don't allow enough time for grandchildren.

In two weeks we head for Hong Kong to give workshops in spiritual formation and work with the Emmaus Community there in training leadership. I have an opportunity to lead a retreat for all the pastors and church workers of the Methodist church in Hong Kong. It will be exciting to see what direction the church takes with the changing times in China.

I hope that I do a better job of staying in touch with my friends in the fraternity. Maybe email will help.

Grace & Peace.

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Dan Wright `87 #967

Wow! I got to get my name on the Washmeister Roster!

I found a different vegetable patch. Living about half the time in Bristol and half in London. Married. No kids. Doing Psych-ish things. Learning to play (and watch) what I now call football. I miss the wash!

My best fishes

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Charles Annis `98 #993

I have been living in California for more than two months now. I work for a tech company in San Jose, marketing in East Asia. I am going to Korea and Taiwan on Wednesday, my third trip to Asia since the end of October. Adjusting to life in America has been difficult in a lot of ways [Charlie spent several years in Japan. --Eds], but I am starting to grow horns and feel more at home now. I am unbelievably busy though, never been busier, still living out of boxes. I have talked to Joel Halverson `90 #1000 a lot since I have been back. And I hang out with Sonny Jin, a friend from Pomona, in Santa Cruz every weekend that I am not traveling. I would like to see some old friends and make some new ones sometime. Give me a call if you have any exciting plans.

Take care, Charles

Dana Cogan `88 #968

My wife (Fumiko), son (Arashi) and I have been here in Hawaii since May. I'm in the MA program in Asian studies. I'm likely to be doing field research on the values systems of Japanese middle managers at foreign firms in Japan. This relates to the work I was doing until recently as a cross-cultural trainer.

All sunny-personalitied Nappies have an open invitation to any to come to Hawaii, sleep on the floor and play with my son while I sleep in the library.

See ya, Dana

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Micah Orliss `96 #1156

Some info for your directory: Micah Orliss `96 #1156--no subterfuge, I'll give you the handshake if you want.

[Micah's comment reflects the fact that we didn't have his maggot number in the Nu Alpha Phi Member Information System on the website. --Eds.]

I'm up in Berkeley, rooming with Matt `Nappie Assault' Henderson `95 #1072. Adam Richards `96 #1103, Zara Lawson `97 #1124, and Anthony McConnell-Collins `97 #1143 are all around as well. Looking forward to my next visit to the cabin and wash, whenever that will be. Thanks for the hard work on all alum materials (Oak Leaf, web page, etc.) Over and out.

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Ingrid Havneraas `95 #1076

Hi. I haven't received in Oak Leaf in the mail for quite some time. Maybe you don't have my correct mailing address. [Or, maybe we've let five months slip by without an Oak Leaf. Not good! --Eds.]

Bruce Prestwich '55 #426

[Sent dues, back dues, cabin fund, and Scholarship fund donation in the name of Ken Irvin '55 #443.]

Thank you for the Oak Leaf. It is a joy to receive and I immediately read it, cover to cover. As instructed, I'm sending a check for current/past dues and a separate check to the NAP Memorial Scholarship Fund.

I wanted to remember Kenny Irvin '55 #443 who died tragically in 1958 in a skiing accident on Mt. Baldy. Ken had just married and returned from two years in the army. He was a splendid athlete in football and high jumping. His tenor voice was of professional quality and he was a soloist for four years with the Glee Club. He was a devoted brother who loved NAP.

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John Dern `83 #887

Hey Paul--It's November 19 and I just saw your email of last August (which do they call snail mail?!) All may be attributed to operator error on my end. Please note my new e-mail address: edern@gte.net. The CompuServe address from which I'm sending this will soon go away.

You and Chris have made the Oak Leaf a must read. Thanks for busting your tails. I will try to send a more proper report of Nappie contacts in the Pacific Northwest as winter drives indoors to my computer screen...

Best--John Dern

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There once was a frat brat named Bruiser, Who'd gained great renown as a boozer. Turned his back on The Wash, To partake of the Mosh, And thereafter was lame, and a loser.

John K. Sawyer `82 #876

Here is my contact information. Also, das limerick:

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Milt Schroth '55 #429

[Sent dues and back dues.]

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Charles B. Neff '54 #405

[Sent dues and back dues.]

Enclosed is a check to defray or pay off long over-dues. Any extra can be used for good purposes.

I'm still in Alaska, though I don't know for how much longer. Any potential visitors better come soon! Technically I'm retired, still doing part time work with the program in the Russian Far East which I directed for the last five years. We have sustained four small business development centers in Russia and worked with over 16,000 Russians in short and long courses at last count. We also directed 33 cultural and educational exchange programs through which about 700 people traded ideas and experiences across the Bering Strait. All in all it has been the most stimulating and rewarding work I've ever been involved with.

The future should bring more travel to the "lower 48" so I hope there will be many chances to see old friends.

Fraternally, Charles

Ron Sege `79 #838

[Sent dues.]

Great work on the Oak Leaf (virtual and hard-copy versions), keep it up! I especially appreciated the recent letters describing 'life in the wash.'

Apparently now relegated to only such existences...

My latest address is:

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Peter LeCompte `84 #883

We thought of ourselves as meisters for the cause. It was not a frat event, but Nappies were the proud and selfless stewards of the tradition and most important social event in the 5 campuses. It was an honor to serve. Once a meister, always a meister, always a meister to be!

Sheryl Gorsuch `83 #869 and Minot Weld `80 #880 succeeded Mart and Kao as kegmeisters in the fall of '80.

Ah yes, and what do I remember? The official title holder might be off, and dates may certainly be a little waivery. Sheryl's algae green early 70s full size station wagon was the honorary boat. What a great car! That car took us everywhere for a year. Life could not have been nearly as fun without the good cheer of Sheryl and that car. John Carr `82 #886, myself, and Chris Totten `83 #884 (among others) served as peonies for the Wash. We bought our kegs from the meat company with the big cow on top out on Arrow highway. [Arrow Meat Company. --Eds.]

East of the quarries. Nice folks selling to us marginal aged and clearly dubious delinquents. The meat company was great. Minot, who had by this time influenced myself and Totten into militant vegetarianism would scowl and cringe as we would weave between the hanging carcasses on our way to the beer room. I am glad we always remembered to flick the chunks of fat off the barrels before tapping them (generally before loading them). Eventually, we just walked in, said hello and got our own barrels. It must have been quite funny to see us skinny dead heads waddling those barrels from the car to the steps. A hand truck would never have seemed right.

Most Washes were 4-6 barrel days.

Spring '81 Meisters were Peter LeCompte and Henry Flores `81 #882....and Henry's white roadster. What was that beast Henry, DAB? John Carr and Totten always seemed present Fall '81. Uh oh...I was there, but all those pre Wash Soaks wreaked havoc on my memory? Sometimes I am amazed at the adaptability and survival instincts of the human college student. Even those of us on the edge then really have ended up as reasonably sound and responsible (and even professional) adults.

Spring '82 I don't remember. Me? John Carr? John, Help us out here...

Aaron Montgomery `89 #1011

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http://faculty.purduenc.edu/agm

Milton Schroth `55 #429

Aside from the above, I do some "expert witnessing" to keep my hand in plant pathology and to keep from becoming bored. Trees fall over, plants die and there are lots of attorneys and so-called plant experts that claim all this could be prevented and that visual inspection easily can reveal or predict problems. Total nonsense. Most plants have far more diseases (viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes etc.) than humans and they are just as complex.

My most time consuming and enjoyable hobby (20 years+) is making a large variety of vintage wines (cabs, shiraz, petite sirah, merlot, zins, chardonnay, S. blanc, white cabernet and more). The picking of grapes, crushing/pressing, tasting and competing involves lots of great socializing.

All Nappies are cordially invited to Schroth's Twincreek winery (two creeks cross our property). The cellar is always open. We don't sell but give bottles away--only if the commentary is flattering. Thus, the price is right.

Aside from the above, I thoroughly enjoy life playing tennis, gardening, traveling with my wife [Nancy] of 38 years to distant countries, interacting with our three grown kids, and playing catch and jogging with Shasta, my loyal German Shepherd. That's enough news! Please visit us.

Fraternally, Milt

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Alison Sekuler `86 #921

So I'm teaching and doing research on visual perception (effects of aging on vision, form/object perception, motion perception, visual attention, etc.).

The only real news these days is that we're expecting a NAPpie Jr. in about 6 weeks (plus or minus 2--I'm hoping for minus 2...).

As our dog has his own web site, our kid most likely will too.

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http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/people/vislab/sekowebpage.html

Kate McKinley `90 #1012

I'm no longer at HotWired, so please change my email address in your database to katem@sirius.com.

Thanks, Kate

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Chris Frost `83 #888

For everyone's information, I am now in Jakarta keeping an eye on things while my wife Erin does good for the country.

We have a dog named Tupelo who worships tennis balls.

We have an extra bedroom in case someone calls. Maybe that can be the prize for getting an email address listed on the member directory: "Free board at Chris Frosts' house in Jakarta."

chris frost #888, late adopter

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Amy Lyford `86 #934

Amy Lyford is changing email addresses. From now on, I can be reached at:

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Amy

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Scott Kratz `92 #1059

Hello from maggot #1059, Scott Kratz. Thought I'd give you all some good cabin news. I went up to the cabin last night (December 15, 1997) and have nothing but wonderful reports to give. The actives have indeed been very active up there. To begin with it was clean, (always a pleasant surprise) and some nice new additions have been made. The bar had been recently refurbished with no sign of decades of beer spills and candle wax splattered on top. There were bar lights giving off a nice warm ambiance that complements firelight quite nicely. The kitchen was freshly painted (probably adding coat # 47) with appropriately bold colors to make any Nappie happy. There was also a wonderful collection of Savon and Vons brand hard liquors plus the ubiquitous Lucky Lager cold in the fridge. We didn't imbibe though I swear, well, o.k. just a couple of the lucky lagers. All in all it was a wonderful escape from the hassles that accompany an L.A. experience.

Thanks again to all the actives and keep up the good work!

I do have one question though, there used to be a photo album of initiations and rushes from about 1988 - 93 that I could not find. Does anyone know where that resides? In my humble opinion it should live at its appropriate home up at the cabin. Thanks again and I hope all is wonderful in the Nappie kingdom.

[Your editors confess to possession of several photograph albums and other memorabilia that were rescued from the cabin (and, much earlier, the room) by various alumni who felt, at the time, that the were in danger of irreparable damage. Many of these items are slated for restoration, preservation, and, finally, digitizing. --Eds.]

Sincerely, Scott Kratz

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