R Connections

1969

Scott A. Nyquist

(h)239-732-0523 / (c)630-632-1619 / [email protected]

Hello Class of ’69!

As Ripon Chemistry Professor Jack Powers would say, the theme of this letter should be “intuitively obvious:” the Class of 1969 will celebrate its 50-year Reunion next year, June 29, 2019. Plans for the reunion are well underway.

Here are the members of the Reunion Committee as of June 15, 2018:

Frank Anders

Bobbi Suess Anders

Nancy Gonia Bajorek

Sam Johnson

Tom Mace

Phil McCullough

Scott Nyquist

Don Park

Chip Retson

Steve Ruoff

Bob “Otto” Wachholtz

John Wolfe

Dan Wolfgram

Joan Knutson Wolfgram

It’s not too late to join the Reunion Committee. We need more people!!!! Just call or email me if you’re interested. Each committee member is calling a modest number of others in the class, encouraging them to attend the reunion. Our goal is to have all 213 members of the class (for whom we have contact information) receive a call urging them to come. Whether you join the committee or not, pick up the phone and call your old roommate, fraternity brother/sorority sister, guys you played with on the football/basketball team, etc. Tell them you are coming to the reunion and you want them to come, too. Need a phone number or address for them? Email me.

There is a Facebook page for Ripon College Class of 1969. Watch for posts about the reunion. Join the group and post info about yourself and your reunion plans.

Alumni Weekend 2019 will start on Thursday evening June 27th. The college has a slew of activities for the Golden R class (that’s us!). Plan to be in Ripon all weekend from the Thursday night Welcome Party through the Service of Remembrance and Farewell Breakfast on Sunday morning. Make your hotel reservations NOW because there are only a few hotels in Ripon and they fill up fast. There are also plenty of places to stay in Green Lake, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, and the college offers dorm rooms to stay in over Alumni Weekend. There is no charge for Golden R Class members to stay in the dorms. (But also no A/C).

Now I know some of you are a little hesitant to come to the reunion. Maybe you’ve lost some hair. Maybe you’ve put on a little weight. Maybe your career didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would. Well, I have news for you: people don’t care if you look like a billiard ball or have to get your clothes from Omar the Tentmaker. They don’t give a hoot that you didn’t become CEO of a Fortune 500 company. They just want to see you and talk about those days back in the 60’s when we all roamed the Ripon College campus together. They want to relive those times spent together at The Spot or cramming for that Econ final. They want to talk about the game against Lawrence our senior year or the crazy 8:00 a.m. classes we had  . . . even on Saturday. They want to remember the jokes you played on your roommate (and the ones they played on you). This is your chance to relive your misspent youth and laugh together with the friends you made so many years ago.

If you have pictures from our days at Ripon, please send them. An electronic version is best so please scan them (or take them to a place that will scan them for you) and email them to me. Also, we will set up a Memorabilia Room in Pickard Commons where mementoes of our time at Ripon will be on display. So, if you have beer mugs, fraternity/sorority pins, freshman beanies, letter sweaters . . . anything from our days at Ripon that you can share, please send them to Amy Gerretsen, director of constituent engagement at Ripon College. Items you send in will be returned . . . or if you don’t want them back, they will be donated to the College Archives.

Finally, it is traditional for the 50-Year Reunion Class to make a special financial contribution to Ripon College in celebration of their induction into the Golden R Club. So I’d like to ask you to make an exceptionally generous gift to Ripon this year. Remember you can designate how your gift is used: scholarships, faculty, library, building fund, endowment, athletics, unrestricted, etc. You can also make your gift in memory of a classmate or professor.

So are we clear?   50-YEAR REUNION . . .  JUNE 29, 2019 . . . BE THERE!

To get you started thinking about 1969, here are a few things about that year:

• Richard M. Nixon inaugurated 37th President. Spiro Agnew is VP.
• Sen. Edward M. Kennedy pleads guilty to leaving scene of fatal accident at Chappaquiddick, Mass. in which Mary Jo Kopechne was drowned – gets two-month suspended sentence
• In August, more than 500,000 people gather in the small, upstate New York town of Bethel (near Woodstock, N.Y.) for four days of rain, sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
• Children’s Television Workshop introduces Sesame Street.
• US population: 202.6 million. Median household income: $8,369
• The FCC bans all cigarette advertising on television and radio.
• Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the moon.
• ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) goes online in December, connecting four major US universities. It is the foundation upon which the Internet will eventually be built.
• Films: Midnight Cowboy, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Easy Rider, True Grit
• Billboard Hot 100 Single Most Played by DJ’s: “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies.
• Record of the Year Grammy Winner: “Mrs. Robinson,” by Simon and Garfunkel
• Books: Mario Puzo, “The Godfather”; Philip Roth, “Portnoy’s Complaint;”  Kurt Vonnegut, “Slaughterhouse-Five”
• Born: Jennifer Aniston, Ellen Pompeo, Matthew McConaughey, Brett Favre, Cate Blanchett, Renee Zellweger, Chaz Bono, Matthew Perry, Jack Black, Sheryl Sandberg, Emmett Smith, Donnie Wahlberg, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Gwen Stefani, Ice Cube

Updates from Classmates

Here is the recent news I got from you guys.

NANCY GONIA BAJOREK ’69 of Elmhurst, Illinois says: “ANNE SHILLINGLAW ’69, TIM TRIER ’69 and I took a recent trip to New Orleans celebrating the 50th anniversary of a European trip we took together with MARY PATTERSON STEVENSON ’69 in 1968. We still miss Mary and have fond memories of that trip . . . especially meeting up with some other Ripon students in Rome and climbing the Trevi Fountain together (with local Polizia joining us). Great to continue to share and make memories with friends from Ripon.”

MARK BAUER ’69 of Pewaukee, Wisconsin sent me this: “Still married to my first wife, Dr Cindy Bauer, (who is still working in Urgent Care). I have been retired from orthopedic surgery for 3 years, enjoying free time to attend the Apple Store, take German classes, travel and raise carnivorous plants. We live in Pewaukee, Wisconsin but also have a small condo 60 miles north of Milwaukee, on Elkhart Lake. TIM TRIER ’69 has a condo next to mine. PHIL MCCULLOUGH ’69 visits him each summer.”

We have two adult children in New York, my daughter in Manhattan and a son in Brooklyn. Another son, a radiation oncologist, lives in a suburb of Phoenix. Two other sons live in the Milwaukee area, a pediatrician and a dentist. We all gather during the July Fourth holiday in Elkhart Lake.”

MARGARET WALKER BLIGHTON ’69 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin writes: “I finally retired on March 30th! I spent 30 years managing the design and development of In-Store Displays for various companies like Brach Candy, Nabisco, Kraft, ConAgra, and Miller Brewing. I just moved to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, my 14th since I packed up boxes for Germany where FRED POETSCH ’68 was stationed for a year after a tour in Vietnam. Spending my summer playing golf and sailing…and enjoying my grandchildren!  I highly recommend retirement!”

DAN DYKSTRA ’69 of El Macero, California sent this: “A little over five years ago, I retired from work as an attorney with the Corps of Engineers. That lasted 6 months as my office asked me to come back part time. Now it feels right to retire on a permanent basis as of July 1st. It was a good ride. While I was working part time, I received recognition as a Distinguished Employee. This means I now have my picture on the wall with pictures of a bunch of other old guys. However, I am the only attorney so recognized, which is an honor. The part time work also helped to finance some wonderful trips to South Africa, the Dalmatian Coast, Tuscany and Amsterdam. And, hopefully, our 50th reunion. That pretty much sums up my past 5 years. See you all next June.”

ALICE HALL HAYES ’69 of Washington, DC writes, “The past 8 months have been busy ones for me and Ed Hayes, my husband of 45 years. We celebrated the occasion of our anniversary at a family brunch on April 22nd. The next month, my family enjoyed our son’s celebration of his milestone 40th birthday. Our daughter, Kia, flew in from New Orleans to surprise her brother. She came straight from her work at the Innocence Project of New Orleans (IPNO) and from a ceremony recognizing the successful release of an innocent man who had been imprisoned for 40

years.

Prior to the “busyness” of 2018, my Ripon College roommate, JANE CREWS CONWAY ’69, and her husband, Steve, visited DC and we arranged a rendezvous in October 2017. Jane had lived in our

same DC neighborhood before we moved here. We enjoyed an evening of joyful catching

1. Additionally, I am keeping very busy with community organizations which support boomers

like us in staying in our homes, stimulating our brains with travel and events, and promoting

public safety by speaking out against gun violence through the “‘Yellow Tape Project.’”

ERIC “RICK” HENRY ’69 of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sent this update: “Hard to believe nearly FIFTY years have passed! Remain anchored in Pittsburgh after 40 years with Hearst Broadcasting and after retiring. Spend winter months on Longboat Key in Florida.”

FRED HUSSEY ’69 of Tiverton, Rhode Island emailed this update: “After graduation, I attended law school at the University of Illinois for two years, broken up by a stint in Stuttgart, Germany in the Army Signal Corps. I quit law school when I found out that I didn’t like law, and would hate being a lawyer. I started working as a civilian in human resources at a Navy R&D lab in Newport, RI in 1976. While working there, I earned an MBA from the University of Rhode Island. I retired as a Government employee in 2007, having worked my way up to Human Resources Director. The highlight of my HR career was the responsibility for implementing a pay-for-performance personnel system as a DoD S&T Demonstration Project. I had the opportunity to work with other DoD Demonstration Project managers in Washington and actually influence legislation to address hiring, performance, and retention issues at the DoD S&T labs. A week after retiring, I went back as a consultant and worked for nine more years as a contractor.

I met my wife, Jo Ann Faris, in Newport, and we have been happily married for 35 years. I am now on the administrative board of the Stone Bridge Fire District, which provides water for fire protection and customer use for our small town of Tiverton. For several years I worked at the Essex Steam Railroad in Essex, Connecticut as a student fireman on a steam locomotive, until the migraine headaches that were triggered by the noise, bright light, and heat became too much. It was an incredible experience, almost worth the migraines.

As a lifelong Cubs fan who was terribly disappointed in 1969, 2016 was a special year. I knew it was a good omen that my street address (108) matched the number of years without a World Series win. I was happy to play my part.”

DAVE LEE ’69 and SUE STEGER LEE ’69 of Appleton, Wisconsin want you to know: “Sue and I have led high tech student vision screening through our Appleton Noon Lions Club. Working with area school districts our club has screened 34,000 students since beginning the program in 2014, and more than 13,000 screenings this school year alone. I will become a district governor for the Lions Clubs for 2018-19. It will be a busy year for Sue and me as we visit 70 club meetings in east central Wisconsin, host a convention, and attend the international convention in Las Vegas. We will be seeking to get two or more campus Lions clubs started within our district. Sue and I celebrated our 50th anniversary last fall by doing the sweltering Fox Cities Marathon. You know that life is a marathon.”

STEVE LEITSCHUH ’69 of Ft. Myers, Florida emailed me: “As I approach my 71st birthday (July 11th), I find myself both musing back and looking forward. I play back all the great memories from wonderful years at Ripon College and time spent with the brothers of Beta Sigma Pi. And I am excited for the new adventures to come at next year’s 50th class reunion!

Because I live in Ft. Myers, Florida and SCOTT NYQUIST ’69 and CYNTHIA SANBORN NYQUIST ’69 are Naples, Florida residents, we get together regularly. Last year the Band of Four (Beta Sigs), Scott Nyquist, ART SCARLETT ’69, ROB HANDEYSIDE ’69 and I rented a home for a week on Anna Maria Island, Florida. It was wonderful fun… the beach, cooking, cards, memories. This year BroKation 2 is at Cape Canaveral, with an awesome day’s adventure at the Kennedy Space Center. 

I am semi-retired, continuing to do Medical Administration consulting. I find my head in the game helps keep me mentally sharp. I want to travel more. Bucket list includes the state and national parks. My passion is riding my Harley. I participated in the 2013 Harley-Davidson 110th anniversary in Milwaukee and plan to be in Milwaukee this Aug 29-Sept 2 for the 2018, 115th anniversary. Great experience! And if you can make it, check out the H-D Museum. It is incredible! Many music and other events are on the lake shore festival grounds. 

I enjoy time with my wife, sons and grandkids and my brother ROB LEITSCHUH ’73 in Vermont. We ride our Harleys together. Look forward to seeing you all at the Ripon college 50th next year!”

SCOTT A. NYQUIST ’69 and CYNTHIA SANBORN NYQUIST ’69 of Naples, Florida: “Travelled to Miami March 29 for Opening Day at Marlins Park where we watched the Cubs beat the Marlins. Flew to Pittsburgh in June for the wedding of ART SCARLETT’S ’69 and SHERYL SWENNES SCARLETT’S ’70 son, Jamie. Enjoyed a visit with DON PARK ’69 and his wife, Dana, at the wedding. Met FRANK ANDERS ’69 and BOBBI SUESS ANDERS ’69 in Punta Gorda, Florida for dinner on Memorial Day. Enjoyed visits with many Beta Sigma Pi fraternity brothers in Ripon over Alumni Weekend ’18, including all those mentioned above, plus BOB FLECK ’65, DON MCDOUGALL ’66, RICK BECKER ’66, BRUCE BUBACZ ’67, MASON SHERWOOD ’68,  JAY TAYLOR ’69, KURT THORNBLADH ’70, WAYNE YAKUMA ’72, BRUCE TAMMI ’72, GREG DRYANSKI ’74, MIKE POULOS ’77, BLAINE GIBSON ’81 and, KEVIN DYKSTRA ’83. ”

KEN PORTER ’69 and BARB KNIGHTS PORTER ’69 of Killington, Vermont: “We are enjoying our first summer in Vermont where it is “cooler in the mountains.” We are here as Barb recuperates from recent hip replacement surgery and the welcome physical therapy to get her feeling better after a rough few years of hip pain. This past winter ski season at Killington Mountain was good for Ken with 100 days on mountain and trying hard to keep up with 5 grandchildren. As Barb gets stronger we plan day hikes on the Appalachian Trail which passes nearby.”

NICK “CHIP” RETSON ’69 of Aiken, South Carolina writes: “I have begun a long RV trip to Oregon in the international Airstream gathering. I am in Wyoming right now following part of the Oregon Trail. The airstream event is from June 23 to July 1 and then I will pick up the end of the Lewis and Clarke Trail that I missed last summer and head across country to Wisconsin for a visit. Hope everyone else is having a great summer.”

JOHN RODGERS ’69 of Menominee Falls, Wisconsin sent this update: “My wife, Carol, and I recently returned from a river cruise along the Danube, Main, and Rhine Rivers from Vienna to Amsterdam. We had an enjoyable time and unexpectedly ran into another alum from Ripon College. On our last day, we were walking through the Amsterdam Central Railway Station when CHRISTOPHER SHAW ’65, from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, approached us and asked about the Ripon College hat I was wearing. Ironically, we discovered we had been on the same river cruise and had even eaten dinner together, but had not discovered our Ripon College connection until he saw me with my timeworn Ripon College hat. We got together with Chris and his wife Pat for lunch, reminisced about our Ripon College days and discussed our travels, past and future. What a wonderful highlight to a marvelous vacation.”

BOB “OTTO” WACHHOLTZ ’69 of Papillion, Nebraska writes: “Recent (Jan 31) retirement isn’t going as I had hoped.  Now that winter hibernation is over I still haven’t found time to resume my golf game and join the senior circuit.  However, softball and ice hockey take up four days of each week with new and aching muscles reminding me of my motto ‘never too old to be stupid’.”

JOHN WOLFE ’69 of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania says: “My main news is I am still working as I am fortunate enough to still have NIH funding.”  

That’s all for now. Remember to send Ripon College your new address if you move and to notify them of a new email address if you create one. Keep in touch. I love hearing from you guys.

Always for Ripon,

Scott

Scott A. Nyquist

P.S.   50-YEAR REUNION . . .  JUNE 29, 2019 . . . BE THERE!

Submitted by: Olivia Heck

TOM HORVATH ’84 and LARRY HUEBNER ’83 were in meetings at Kennedy Space Center where they reconnected. On the last day, they had a few hours to visit the historic sites at Cape Canaveral. This picture was taken at Launch Complex 5, with a replica of Freedom 7, the capsule that took Alan Shepard into space as the United State’s first astronaut.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Drew Lufrano, grandson of NED LUFRANO ’54, at Camp Thunderbird for Boys in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

DU Gathering, classes of 1979 – 1982: Bill Kriese ’81, Jeff Gilmer ’81, Greg Cox ’82, Andrew Schmidt ’81, Rick Roseneck ’80, Dirk Wilkin ’81, Phil Ouellette ’80, Dan Bestul ’80, Sandy Vahle Bestul ’79, Tom Abendroth ’81, Andrew Miller ’80, Susan Angell Schmidt ’80, Bob Furniss ’81 and Jon Sterling ’80.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

PAT ANDREWS GANDER ’67, SUZANNE BALDWIN LENNOX ’67, BOB LENNOX 67′ in Charleston, South Carolina.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

BECKY HADLEY ’75 & JONDI GUMZ ’75 met up in December at The Pearl in San Antonio where Becky lives before viewing the John Marin art exhibit. Shout out to TERRY HOFFER ’74 in Vermont!

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

JONDI GUMZ ’75 class agent chats with well-wishers at her goodbye gathering after 26 years on the news staff at the Santa Cruz (California) Sentinel. Jondi won regional, state and national awards during her career as a reporter, the latest from the San Francisco Press Club, first place for a series of stories observing law enforcement training on how to respond to people in crisis due to mental illness and/or drug use. The training came in the wake of two fatal shootings by officers but since then, no officer-involved fatal shootings have taken place locally.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

The Wardens and Vestry of the Church of the Advent are pleased to announce the call of our new Rector, The Reverend HENRY ALAN LEONARD ’86. He will officiate at services beginning on Sunday, February 3, 2019

TOMISSA PORATH FREISLEBEN ’10, DAVE FREISLEBEN ’07‘s wedding on October 13, 2018 at the Wisconsin Historical Society. L to R: VINNY ROCCO ’11, DANIELLE SCHOLFIELD ROCCO ’10, HANNAH WENDLAKE DUFFEY ’10, KATERINA YOUNGBERG ’10, SARAH GUSTAFSON RUMPF ’10, KASEN RUMPF ’12, TOMISSA PORATH FREISLEBEN ’10, DAVE FREISLEBEN ’07, WESTON RADFORD ’07, RYAN LUEDTKE ’08, PAT KERSTEIN ’07, JAKE SEVERANCE ’07, LESLIE REINKE LUEDTKE ’08, EMILY YOUNG ’10.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

TODD BAKER ’92, CRAIG SCHAEFER ’87, GREGG PETERSEN ’78, ERIC ATKISSON ’94, BRENDAN MCCOY ’17, BRI CYR, SARAH ANDERSON ’10, GARRISON ANDERSON ’16, and SCOTT GUSTAFSON ’88 get together on February 6. 2019 at Virtue Feed and Grain for the D.C. Rally Hour.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

November, 2018 at Thrasher Opera House before the the Judy Collins concert. L to R: CHRIS OVERLY WALLACE ’74, her Green Lake neighbor, JAN PETROVSKI MACLEOD ’74, and DEBRA HORN-PROCHNO ’74.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

DAVID MINOR ’68  runs into Hon. JON WILCOX ’58, of all places, a grocery store in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

RANDY KAWAMOTO ’69, taken in Oslo, Norway in October 2018.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

ALICE HALL HAYES ’69, taken in Mountain View, California with JANE CREWS CONWAY ’69 and her family.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

Kennedy Space Center-Four brothers of Beta Sigma Pi: L to R, SCOTT NYQUIST ’69, FRANK ANDERS ’69, ART SCARLETT ’69, ROB HANDEYSIDE ’69, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida in October 2018.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

BILL MIKOLYZK ’68,  DIANE KING MIKOLYZK ’68, NANCY OLIVER LEIFHEIT ’69, DAVE LEIFHEIT ’67 taken in January 2019 in Green Valley, Arizona, where Bill and Diane live.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

VINCE AYE ’69 and DAVID CHIONG ’69 taken at the Louvre in Paris, France.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

The Ripon 50’s Reunion Group at their reunion last fall who return to Ripon every year for the past 60 years. L to R: BILL DONALDSON ’54, BOB WITT ’55, NED LUFRANO ’54 and VERNE CHURCHILL ’54.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

NED LUFRANO ’54 and his very own bobblehead that was a gift from his son, Michael, when he heard Ned was the oldest living member of the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. My son had this made for me when he heard that I am now.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus

NAOMI JAHN SKULAN ’14 and NICK SKULAN ’14 with new baby Charles Xavier who was born on July 21, 2018.

Submitted by: Yvonne Nicklaus