1949 - 55th reunion

Our 55th reunion was great fun as well as educational. Yale Medical School continues to offer its students and faculty exciting new opportunities in education, research and service. The guided tour of research and teaching labs in the new Anlyan Center for Medical Research and Education showed us not only the huge investment in bricks and mortar Yale is making, but also some of the innovative approaches to student teaching introduced in this new facility. In this regard, we were pleased to see that the truly innovative Yale System of Medical Education is thriving. At the annual meeting of the Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine we heard presentations by two students (Sharon Gill and Jessica Yager) who had taken time off to carry out research/service projects, one in Africa, and were astounded that roughly half the class now takes such an additional year off in order to pursue a particular interest. In our time, only about 10 percent did.

One of our classmates, Frank Dana Law, died earlier this year, so our number now stands at 31. Eight attended the reunion, most with their wives: Bill Anlyan, Bud Baldwin (still hard at work for the AMA), Bill Bevis and Dorothy, Dan Elliott and Betty, Paul Goldstein and Betty, Jack Miller and Anne, Julian Pichel and Cecile, and Larry Shulman and Reni. Few of our classmates are still working full time, but Hal Holman does, at Stanford. A few still work part time, but most are actively retired. Gordon Jensen has just finished writing another book, his first novel. Carl Russell is busy with his oil painting and watercolors. He attends painting workshops in places like Chattanooga, Sedona and Taos, where he fancies a golf course nearby. It is at 9,000 feet and facilitates long drives! Nora Gordon Baird continues her translations of ancient Greek classics. Nora skipped the reunion in order to attend the high school graduation of one of her five grandchildren.

The luncheon and wonderful clambake at Harkness provided opportunities to chat with old friends from other classes as well as our own. Breakfast in the Beaumont room held a special significance for Jack and Anne Miller, who held their wedding reception there 50 years ago. Dinner at the Graduate Club had to await the running of the Belmont. The disappointment of the enthusiastic supporters of Smarty Jones when he lost in the last few seconds was quickly erased by the animated conversations that accompanied a wonderful meal.

Jack Miller