Reunions 2003

Photographs by Ricardo Barros and Frank Wojciechowski

The wet weather that greeted alumni at Reunions 2003 had some members of the Class of ’78 recalling their senior-jacket theme of “Singing in the Rain” – complete with umbrella hats – 25 years earlier. “Maybe it was a premonition,” joked David Keyes ’78.

But Mother Nature showed her true colors – orange and black – as the bad weather held off long enough to let the P-rade go on as scheduled, giving nearly 17,000 Princetonians and relatives the chance to regale in all that is Princeton. Severe weather did, however, force public safety officers to evacuate reunion tents and direct reuners indoors Saturday evening. The weather, including a lightning strike near the boathouse on Lake Carnegie, briefly delayed the annual fireworks, but there were no injuries, according to Associate Director of Public Safety Donald Reichling.

Alumni started taking over Princeton Thursday; by Friday they were all over campus meeting up with old friends, touring new facilities, and attending dozens of faculty and alumni forums. Attendance was strong at many forums, which covered topics from homeland security and health care to writing and Princetonians in the television and film industry. According to the Alumni Council, the most popular panel discussed America’s responsibility as the world’s lone superpower. It featured Woodrow Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80, who moderated; U.S. Army Colonel Dallas Brown ’78, who traveled to Reunions from Iraq, where he is serving as a peace operations director; and Joseph S. Nye Jr. ’58, dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “You can’t go to all of them, that’s the problem,” Don Taylor ’53 said of the forums. “They’re all so good.”

At the Old Guard luncheon, where 63 alumni and 25 widows gathered with their families, the silver cane – awarded to the oldest returning alum – went to 99-year-old Leonard Ernst ’25, who traveled from Arizona to claim his prize for the second consecutive year. President Tilghman presented a stuffed tiger to 2001 silver-cane winner Malcolm Warnock ’25, Ernst’s junior by three months. The Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni held a Tribute to Teaching at the Graduate College, where retiring faculty members were honored for their work and four graduate students received teaching awards.

There were a few reunion firsts, including an R.O.T.C. luncheon, which drew 140 alumni of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine programs, and the introduction of Graduate School alumni blazers. “It only took them 101 years,” kidded P-rade emcee Gregg Lange ’70. The jackets and the festive drum band that accompanied graduate alumni drew boisterous locomotives from undergraduate alums, which made graduate alumni feel more a part of the event than ever before, said Angel Brunner *97, the A.P.G.A.’s reunion committee chairwoman. “This was a tremendous Reunions for us,” Brunner said.

Watching Princetonians at Reunions gave freshly minted alumni a new insight into Princeton. “I feel like I’m becoming a part of history,” said Danny Park ’03. “I can definitely picture myself walking in the P-rade when I’m as old as they are.”  

By A.D.

Bob Pickels ’63 shows no signs of fading during the P-rade.

Spiffy at 50: The Class of 1953’s Lynn Parry, left, and John Baay strut their stuff.

“Going Bacchus to Nassau Hall” for the fifth are ’98ers, from left, Kindra Lanford-Crick, Andrea Rodriguez, Love Slipock, and Cheri Silverstein.

Alexander “Bink” Dannenbaum Jr. ’33

A pair of grand 25th smiles from Grace Williams ’78 and Chris Noll ’78.

Vinnie deLuise ’73 cooks up a locomotive.

David Lubowe ’83 and daughter Carly “Having a Ball” at his 20th.

From left: Hal Haenel s’93, Amy Benton Haenel ’93, Greg Newell, and Luisita Francis ’93 drying out on their class’s “’93-Hour Tour.”

Cheryl Mills s’48 and her tiger-print pooches march with the Class of 1948.

From left, Jack Herbert, Bill Hines, George Howell, Dennis Love, Ed Shapiro, and Hall McKinley revel at 1978’s “Midlife at the Oasis.”

At the sailing team alumni regatta on Lake Carnegie are, standing, from left, Todd Field ’76, Woody Greenberg ’63, Powell Fraser ’06, and Elsbeth Field ’04; seated, from left, Hilary Burt ’03, Ben Hammond, and Kate Holdsworth Hammond k’54.

Silver-cane winner Leonard Ernst ’25.

Leading the way for a feisty 55th for the Class of 1948 are, from left, Brad Mills ’48, Robbie Wassmer, and Lou Schelling ’48.

Professor John Fleming *63 models the new graduate alumni blazer.

“It’s (still) About Time” for Regan Kerney ’68, on the megaphone, to lead his class in a locomotive.

Five’s alive: ’98ers Jasmine Karalakulasingam, Na-Koshie Lamptey, Mercedes Torres, and Sandhya Gupta.

Playing the fearless crew of castaways from Gilligan’s Island on the Class of 1993’s S.S. Tiger are, from left, Jason Liljestrom ’04, Lauren Loban ’05, Maggie Todd ’05, Andrew Elken ’04, Taylor Rettig ’04, and Paul Hess ’05.

Angel Brunner *97, left, and Eileen Guggenheim *82 enjoy the fun under the A.P.G.A. tent.

It’s all in the Tiger family as Thomas Herndon ’43, right, marches with his daughter, Julia Herndon Reynolds ’82, and her husband, Steve Reynolds ’80.

Former roommates George Spencer ’73 and Austin Starkey ’73 fry up some memories.

Freshly minted alumni from the Class of 2003 cheer on P-rade marchers.

’88 Days of Summer all-stars, from left, Kathleen Schmeler and husband Stephen Brown, Chuck Fontana and son Matthew, and Pat Curtis.

Carrying on: Bill Plonk ’83 and son Wilson.

President Tilghman waves her college yearbook photo, given to her by the Class of 1968.

True colors: John Currie ’58, left, and John Haws ’58.

John MacGuire sports the Class of 1978’s 25th reunion jacket.

Serious side: Maria McElroy ’93, Emily Wood ’03, the Rev. Sue Anne Steffey Morrow, and Laura Kaplan ’02 load food for the Crisis Ministry food pantry during a Reunions service project.

Back for their 65th are Connie Moore ’38, left, and Ed McLean ’38.

The Class of 1993 shouts out a locomotive at a stop on its “’93-Hour Tour.”