Milne Alumni August Newsletter
August 15, 2009

by Judy Koblintz Madnick, '61


Dear Milne Alumni and Supporters,

In this issue:

* Class of '57 Mini-Reunion Planned
* Natalee WOOLFOK Everett Paintings
* Ralph BENKO, Co-Emcee of The Boston Tea Party
* "Fun" Reunion Poem
* Sad News

CLASS OF '57 MINI-REUNION PLANNED

According to Dan Brown, Class Contact for the Class of '57, the Milne Class of 1957 has scheduled a small reunion for the 3rd of September at The Commons in Colonie, New York. The event will be held rain or shine.


NATALEE WOOLFOK EVERETT PAINTINGS

The Dorset Theatre Festival exhibited a collection of paintings by Natalee WOOLFOK Everett, Milne Class of '48, at the Dorset Playhouse from July 22-August 8. The exhibition kicked off with a reception at the playhouse in her honor. Art was available for purchase, and part of the proceeds were donated to Dorset Theatre Festival in support of its 2009 Summer Season.

Everett, originally from Connecticut, moved to Vermont in 1956. She is known for her paintings depicting landscapes, and Vermont has become the inspiration for many of her paintings. She has been painting since she was young, and once her children grew up, she returned to college and graduated cum laude from Keane College of New Jersey with a BA in art. She then embraced "primitive paintings" of two-dimensional farmhouses and scenes of Vermont, for which she is known and highly praised today. She has become exceedingly prominent in the art world and has been featured in Good Housekeeping, Women's Day, New York Times, and House Beautiful. Everett also has a dedicated group of collectors and patrons globally; some of her most notable commissions have been for Williams College, Manchester Village, and Goldie Hawn. (From the Berkshire Eagle website, 07/17/2009—article is no longer available free.)

Thank you to Joan FRUMKIN Martens for bringing this information to my attention.

RALPH BENKO, CO-EMCEE OF THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

Ralph Benko was invited to serve as co-emcee of The Boston Tea Party on July 4th. It (though not him) was covered by the CBS evening news.

According to Ralph, "There is a very cute unreported piece of the backstory of this one, perhaps the most iconic of the 1000+ tea parties held on July 4th nationally. Its organizer, Brad Marston, had duly applied for all permits for this anti-government-spending rally. Boston would neither issue the permit nor deny it nor discuss it. So, nearing the very last moment, I called Sen. Kennedy's Boston office and asked for their help, even though the Tea Partiers are in opposition to much that the Senator champions. They duly phoned City Hall and left a message. Within an hour of that call, magically all of the permits appeared! That says a lot about Sen. Kennedy's authenticity in devotion to civil liberties. And I thanked him from the rostrum at the beginning of my comments. Just goes to show that there are decent people on both sides!"

See what Ralph is up to by visiting the Websters' Dictionary website.

"FUN" REUNION POEM

Thank you to Joan FRUMKIN Martens for sharing this:

THE CLASS REUNION . . .

Every five years, as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail.
A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed "most apt to succeed"
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted "least" now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts, and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs.

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans.
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the 40th year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they're setting the date;
Our 60th is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party;
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun, but I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

Author Unknown

SAD NEWS


The following Milne alumni, attendees, and family members passed away recently. Please note that I rely upon the Albany Times Union and input from other alumni for this information, so if you become aware of someone who has passed away, please let me know. If a name is underlined, it represents a link to the obituary. The Times Union links are available free for 30 days after the initial posting; after 30 days you will have to use the Times Union archives (which now appear to be free also). Other newspapers may have different timetables.

Kenneth W. JARRETT, Jr., Class of '57, passed away on Saturday, July 25, 2009.

Khodamorad "Rod" Kermani, father of David KERMANI, '64, and Karyl KERMANI Bisson, '66, passed away on Sunday, July 26, 2009.


Clare Feldman , mother of Elaine FELDMAN Leib, '60, passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2009.

Corrine Ribner , mother of Melinda RIBNER, '67, passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2009.

William S. LATCH, Class of '61, passed away on Friday, July 24, 2009.

Seeley M. Phillips, husband of Mary MAPES Phillips, Class of '46, passed away on July 25, 2009.

Jerome Pearl, husband of Helen BIGLEY Pearl, Class of 1949, passed away on Friday, August 7, 2009.

Waldo Greene, husband of Shirley VANDENBURGH Green, Class of 1956, passed away on Friday, July 24, 2009.



Thanks to all of you for your interest in Milne Alumni activities.

Judy (Koblintz) Madnick, '61

For contact information, see the Milne Alumni homepage: www.albany.edu/~milne/


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