Class of 1959 - Bulletin Board

This page is for anyone to have an opportunity to display information, questions, or concerns. (But, don't forget that we haven't put security on our web site, so be discreet.) Send me what you would like to have posted here and I'll put it up as soon as possible.

Bulletin Board Topics (Click to see more)
Greetings from Incoming Class President Bonnie Downes Leonard
Reunion Recap from Former Class President Tucker Ayers Harris
Memo from Reunion Chairs, Jo Coke and Ann Cole
Reunion Committee
Saturday Workshops
Madeleine Korbel Albright Presentation Saturday Afternoon
Class of 1959 Continuing Education Scholarship Fund Update
Classmates in the News: Articles, Exhibits, Publications
Photos: 50th Reunion June 12-14, 2009

Babs has asked me to write a few words of welcome as your incoming Class President. I’d like to begin by thanking Tucker Ayers Harris, our outgoing President, and the other former Class Officers: Alice Helpern Gross-Vice

President, Ellen Franck Jamieson-Secretary, Pat Beers Mraz-Treasurer, and Linda DuPlan Rieke-Annual Giving Representative, for their fine work over the past five years. I want to acknowledge their dedicated creativity in encouraging the ongoing spirit of this most lively, and original of Wellesley Classes!

I do not have sufficient space to thank all the folks who made our 50 th Reunion such a magnificently big, blowout event. We set records for the largest percentage of any Class returning for Reunion and for the largest percentage of any Class for Annual Giving–a whooping 80%! Despite the space constraints, I would be remiss, if I did not acknowledge the fine organizational work of our indomitable Reunion Chairs: Ann Sherby Cole and Jo Cornforth Coke, as well as our fabulous Record Book producer, Sally Blatz Wilkins.

I’m delighted to introduce your new team of Officers: Muriel Rosenblum Fleischmann-Vice President, Jeanne Gleason Register-Secretary, Sally Blatz Wilkins-Treasurer and Joyce Hirtz Davis-Annual Giving Representative. I’m blessed with an energetic group of Officers, who are full of ideas and rarin’ to go. We’ve already met to sketch out plans for the years ahead. A giant thank you to everyone who filled out the Mini-Reunion and Class Trip forms Muriel passed out at Reunion. She is busily at work trying to manifest some of the ideas we collected. One hint – the location of Chicago won the most votes for our big Mini-Reunion. You will be hearing more about this opportunity and others in the future.

I’m also pleased to announce that Marnie Mueller has agreed to step into Babs’ shoes as Web Manager for the next five years. Thank you Babs, for keeping our website alive and updated. Since Marnie originally mounted this website, I’m especially grateful she is willing to return for another tour of duty.

As Class Officers, our goal is to connect with you and to connect you with each other. In other words, we want to keep in touch via every fun and exciting way we can imagine. Let us hear from you; you can count on hearing from us. I can be reached via email at coach@bonnieleonard.com.

I can't believe our 50th reunion is behind us. The actual weekend went by too fast, given that we had fifty years to celebrate and reminisce about.

Jo Cornforth Coke and Ann Sherby Cole and their team provided us with great opportunities to meet classmates we'd never known before, catch up with lives we'd lived since we met at previous reunions and share pictures of grandchildren and even a few great grandchildren! You have never heard so much talk as filled Tower Court at drink time!

Many thanks to our Adorable Fedora Milliner, Joan Capelin Helpern (Insignia Chair)

Nobody missed us coming and we all stood a little straighter as we walked in the parade, even when the raindrops were falling on our heads.

"That Was Then, This is Now", a skit about life in the 50's, conceived and written by Ann Sherby Cole with assistance from Dusti Wilkins Towager, was provided by a stellar cast to get us up to speed Friday night.

Anne Sugden Kipp, Ann Sherby Cole, Bonnie Downes Leonard, Babs Tiger Rubens, Dusti Wilkins Towager, Wini Shore Freund, assisted by Nell Stier Mecray (holding GLOVE SONGS sign), and backed up by Fritzie Mills Culick at the piano

The Class Meeting was what class meetings usually are - a time to review the state of the class and to thank the many people who have carried the Class of 1959 through the last five years. I have had the pleasure of working with my own great team. Our vice-president Alice Helpern Gross produced our spectacular maxi-mini in Santa Fe in 2006 as well as stimulating people to get together for mini-reunions in our own regions. Secretary Ellen Jamieson Franck recorded class happenings with her own quiet grace, writing up class notes for the Alumnae Magazine, sending out birthday cards as we all hit 70, and keeping the officers focused with her meticulous minutes. Pat Beers Mraz was the kind of treasurer every organization needs, guarding the class coffers so that money would be available to cover the expenses of the five years and have the reserves to pay up-front expenses related to reunion costs. Linda DuPlan Rieke, our Class Representative, facilitated gifts to the College leading up to and including the collection of a fantastic reunion gift that included the participation of 80% of the class and 94 Durant Society members - both great numbers! I also have to mention the diligence of our web manager, Babs Tiger Rubens, in learning the mechanics of web design and then uploading photos and text, moving us into the technology of our children and grandchildren. The meeting ended with the election of our nominees to lead the class for the next five years. President Bonnie Downes Leonard has taken over with her zesty sense of fun and direction to carry us on to our 55th.

Saturday morning workshops gave us all the opportunity to learn from our sisters and to share our own questions and insights in the company of topics of special interest to us.

Once again, she was able to give a talk that engaged us at many levels. She reviewed the state of the world spiced with her wit and wisdom. She talked about her hopes for the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global affairs, making the distinction that we have entered an era when the United States must adopt a global outlook characterized by engaging nations as equal partners rather than continuing the earlier paradigm when the country was the leader of the world stage. As never before, our leaders will need to be well-versed in the art, literature, history and politics of cultures beyond our own.

In a Memorial Service held in the newly renovated chapel, Kay Churchill Collette provided us time and space to reflect on the lives of our classmates who have passed on.

The musicians among us filled the space with glorious music, others read their own poetry that reflected on the evanescence of life with eloquence, and we all sang and celebrated the lives of those present and ended.

It has been an awesome honor to serve you as president of the Class of 1959. Thank you for the last five years. Many things made the time special. They are the same things that always make working for Wellesley special. I got to spend time with old friends and to make new friends. Working with the staff of Wellesley is another joy that always comes with the responsibility of having a role at the college. What dedicated people they are - our unsung heroes and heroines. Now I look forward to the promises of the next five years under Bonnie's leadership.

A very special Reunion indeed! What a delight to see the familiar faces, albeit a little more mature than in 1959, but just as friendly and outgoing. It was such a pleasure to co-chair our 50th, and it created memories for me that will last a lifetime: our marvelous yellow fedoras with the feathers and plumes as we strutted in the parade; achieving the highest attendee rate of all reunion classes, as well as the highest participation financially; the incredibly moving memorial service for our 62 missing mates.

As Hillary said, it takes a village..... and the village that created this Reunion was competent, dedicated, and extremely willing to serve. What a fulfilling experience! I thank every one of you. The Yellow Brick Road did indeed lead to Oz!

And here is our formidable Reunion Committee , those who put it all together for the rest of us to enjoy, along with our outgoing Class Officers, at Alumnae Leadership Council, October 12-14, 2007:

Saturday Workshops - Descriptions, Comments, Addenda

What an exciting time we had Saturday morning with 9 fabulous programs running with everyone really engaged. Topics were wide ranging and fascinating - the arts, photography, bridge, what lies ahead, philanthropy, conservation, weight, and international feminism. The morning was bookended by an oustanding panel of Wellesley alums in Massachusetts state government on Friday afternoon and a very special dynamic presentation by Madeleine Korbel Albright after dinner on Saturday.

Sarah Maccracken Donnelly, Program Co-Chair

International Feminism - Carolyn Elliott

Carolyn asked if any of us had attended any of the international forums on women's issues that have been held in various parts of the world over the past decade or so. Elena Harap said she had gone to one in China as a performer, and had presented her Eleanor Roosevelt program. Carolyn then summarized the history of these multi-national assemblies, and her response to them. The early ones, she said, really surprised her, due to the antagonism and resistance to "western" ideas, ( specifically to the U.S.) that she encountered from so many women representing underdeveloped countries. Cultural norms were more important to these women than the "improved condition" of women in western societies. All the women who came from the U.S. and western Europe also found this attitude unexpected. As time has gone by, though, she's noticed women from the third world countries becoming more and more pro-active (instead of re-active) and taking the lead in developing their own solutions to various problems, and in designing the forums and their agendas. It's becoming more universally recognized that women's rights are human rights, and that the two can't be separated. It is pretty much accepted that aid given to women is more intelligently used to help families than aid given to men.

Someone asked what we as individuals could do right now, right where we are, to make a difference. Carolyn said we could write to members of Congress and urge them to support programs that empower, help, or educate women everywhere. She also noted that there are thousands, if not millions, of women right in the U.S. who could use help, and we didn't need to look far afield to find ways to improve conditions for women. She had a hand-out listing websites that carry additional information and links to organizations dealing with women's issues.

Someone else mentioned that access to clean water was a big health issue throughout the developing world, and suggested it would be helpful to protest all attempts by corporate interests to make water a commodity to be sold, rather than a basic resource to be freely shared by all.

Weight, weight!! We'll Tell you... - Judith Hirschorn Wurtman, Gretchen Van Alstyne Vickery

Hi Babs,

Sarah wrote me a lovely thank you note for being a program presenter and asked that any of us who had material from our programs forward it to you for possible inclusion on the class web page. Judy Wurtman also presented material on her research, but she is going to Europe at some point during the summer so I don't know when or if she will get to it.

It was a really great experience for me and for Ed too - this was also his 50th reunion at Harvard Business School, but their reunion plans left us totally cold. Ours on the other hand, was warm and fun and very well done. We know how long and hard all you organizers must have worked to make that the case, but it is an event we will remember for a long time! Many, many thanks!

Gretchen Vickery

Summary of Gretchen's Approach to Weight Loss:

Three years ago, I weighed 80 pounds more than I do now. I’ve been doing some thinking about how that came about, wondering if there are any insights that I could pass on to others. What follows is an attempt to distill what I learned. But first I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask you:

Three Questions:
1. How many here have lost more than 10 pounds in the last 10 years?
2. How many of that group kept it off for more than a year?
3. Of those that said yes to the last 2 questions, how many used a system or product or book?

OK, now I’d like to give you a statistic: Consumer Reports, in their Feb. 09, issue reported that they had interviewed 21,632 readers in 2002. 83% of those designated “Super Losers” – those that had lost at least 10% of their weight and had kept it off for 5 years of more – did so entirely on their own – no commercial diet program, book or diet pills. So there seems to be an advantage to making weight loss a Do It Yourself project. It certainly was for me and maybe what I did will prove useful to you if you want to lose weight.

I. Why Diet?

Define the benefit you expect to gain from losing weight – what is your own motivation?

II. Make up your own plan or buy one?

If you make your own plan, you can take into account your own particular health concerns and taste preferences.

III. What does it take to make your own diet plan?
It sounds like re-inventing the wheel to make up your own diet plan – a whole lot of work.
a. Spend about $100.00 on equipment.
b. Spend about a week (30-40 hours ) initially to work out the fat, protein, carbohydrate and fiber as well as calories.

IV. What do I do? How do I start?

a. Sit down and figure out what you aren’t willing to go without entirely. Life is short!
b. Figure out what you actually eat.
c. Run the numbers and set your goal.
d. One Magic Pill: exercise.
e. Now you are ready to decide what targets to set for your calorie, protein, fat, carbohydrate and fiber intake each day.
f. Work out the calories and nutrients in the foods you normally eat.
g. Develop a list of seven or eight menus with varying degrees of indulgence.
h. Now you are ready for the actual menu-making.

TRICKS AND TIPS:

Give yourself time to adjust to the smaller portion sizes.
Mine the web for products and recipes – also spend time reading labels in the grocery store.
Play in the kitchen.

Performing Arts Panel - Joann (Soloff) Green Breuer, Alice Helpern Gross

Alice Helpern's Addendum to her Saturday Workshop which focused on her work for and with Merce Cunningham.

Dear Babs,

These are some of the links that I wanted to show during Reunion but we didn’t have time (or the proper setup to the screen):

For those who attended my talk about working with the choreographer, Merce Cunningham, here are some links on the Internet where you can see some images and film footage about his work:

http://www.merce.org/
http://www.thirteen.org/sundayarts/merce-cunningham-2/269
http://www.merce.org/p/living-legacy-plan.html
http://www.merce.org/mondayswithmerce.html

The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/arts/dance/12maca.html?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/arts/dance/12maca.html?_r=1

Alice Helpern

CREATING A LIFE IN THE ARTS - Nan Tull Wezniak and Susan Dubinsky Terris

In their program, Nan Tull and Susan Terris discussed their thoughts and ideas on this subject and solicited comments from the audience. They spoke about the choices and decisions leading to their life-long pursuits of painting and writing, as well as about the intersections between the two. Their individual presentations included examples of work to demonstrate the creative process as well as ideas about the risk-taking and courage involved if one is going to continue in these endeavors. They tried to offer insights into how they balanced personal and family lives with their artistic and creative selves. In addition, they attempted to inspire others to follow their own paths to personal legacies in the arts. In the group discussion at the end of the session, audience members talked of their personal experiences in the arts.

(back to top)

'59 Friends --

Who better to describe Madeleine's speech last Saturday than my grandson Ben Terris, reporter for the Boston Globe? Madeleine gave him an exclusive interview afterwards. This article appeared on the front page of the Metro section of Sunday's paper!!! (article pasted in below.)

Fun seeing you all at Wellesley - rah!

Susan (Dubinsky) Terris

Albright says Wellesley to mint leaders

Her alma mater graduated 2 female secretaries of state
By Ben Terris, Globe Correspondent | June 14, 2009

WELLESLEY - With Wellesley College already the alma mater of two of the nation's three female secretaries of state, trailblazer Madeleine Albright hopes a new institute at the college created in her honor will pave the way for more.
"I don't want to say women necessarily make better diplomats than men," Albright said in an interview yesterday, having returned to Wellesley for her 50th reunion and to announce the creation of the Madeleine K. Albright Institute for Global Affairs.
"But in a lot of ways we do have advantages. Diplomacy is about being able to put yourself into someone else's shoes, to be able to empathize, figure out their perspective. At the risk of making a gross generalization, women are often much better at that."
Albright said she hopes the institute, which will begin classes in January and admit about 40 students, will produce graduates who become diplomats and international leaders.
The program will begin with a series of guest lecturers, the last of which will be Albright, followed by summer internships both here and abroad.
"Wellesley's commitment to international education is both timely and bold," Albright said in a speech yesterday to hundreds of alumni and families. "The subject is an elementary but vital role for education in the 21st century. We cannot prepare students for a life without making aware the hopes and thoughts of counterparts."
Albright became the first female secretary of state in 1997, serving in that post until 2001. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is also a Wellesley graduate.
While most people speak of diplomacy as a game of chess, Albright, whose liberal education at Wellesley taught her the importance of interconnectedness, said she thinks it's closer to billiards.
"Diplomacy and billiards are rooted in the idea that everything is connected," Albright said in her interview with the Globe. "A lot of people come to the table hoping to get the ball to the other side, but you can't do that without knocking around all the other balls. Energy and the environment, health and migration flows, land and violence, you can't hit one without knocking another."
In a time of American involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as mounting tensions with Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea, the fear of nuclear proliferation, global pandemics, climate change, and financial woes, Albright believes that increased attention to international education is "elementary and vital" in creating a generation of people equipped to deal with these issues.
"Wellesley has always been great about being multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, and this institute will continue with these values," she said in the interview.
"What happens in a lot of colleges is that they are put in silos and if you are a political science major you might not spend enough time thinking about health policy and religion."
Speaking to the crowd at Wellesley, Albright talked about how far the institution and the country have come in becoming global entities.
"Our horizons were much more limited than they are today," she said. "We cared about the issues of war and peace, but we didn't know as much as we should about people who lived elsewhere.' . . . We need leaders, also educators."
Recalling members of Congress who "only a decade ago bragged about not having a passport," Albright said that Americans can pretend to live in a world where their ideas go unchallenged, but in reality "we don't live on an island of adolescent dreams."

(Below is an update on the Class of 1959 Continuing Education Scholarship Fund including some information on Priscilla Watson the appreciative recipient.

The Fund was established in 1984 at the time of our 25th Reunion. Of our total dollars raised that year, $41,520 was designated for this Fund. Since then, classmates have made additional gifts to the Fund so that the total amount gifted is $244,607. Each year Wellesley’s Board of Trustees allocates approximately 5% of each endowed fund to income which, in our case, is used to fund scholarships for continuing education students. In 2006-07 that amount was approximately $26,600. The Resources Office estimates that as of last year about 35 students have received assistance from our Fund in the last 23 years.

Priscilla, a senior Davis Scholar, received her third year of support from the Class of 1959 Continuing Education Scholarship Fund. She is an environmental studies major with a minor in philosophy and president of the Davis Scholar House Council. This semester, her courses included Tropic Ecology, Marine Biology, and Images of Africana People through the cinema. During the winter break, Priscilla conducted private research in the Tropical Rainforest and Coral Reefs of Belize and Costa Rica. Prior to her trip she wrote, “I’ve never traveled to Central America, so I’m extremely excited about the trip and the studies I will be conducting there. Following my graduation, I’m hoping to transition into Raytheon’s Leadership Development Program, with an interest in an environmental, health and safety position.”

I have attached a recent photograph of me at Cedar Lodge that can be used for the website.

Thank you for taking the time to write me to let me know about the website, and please let me know if there is anything else I can do. I am extremely thankful for the generosity of everyone that contributed to my educational fund and would do anything to show my appreciation.

Classmates in the News: Articles, Exhibits, Publications