Milne Alumni October Newsletter
October 15, 2009

by Judy Koblintz Madnick, '61

Dear Milne Alumni and Supporters,

In this issue:

* Milne '59 Alumnae Get-Together
* From Geoff Williams, University at Albany Archivist
* Milne Alumni in the Military
* Sad News

MILNE '59 ALUMNAE GET-TOGETHER

Several alumnae from the Class of '59 recently gathered for lunch and talked for hours and hours on end. Great fun!!!

FROM GEOFF WILLIAMS, UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY ARCHIVIST

"I came across a bit of interesting information recently in The Normal College Echo, our [UAlbany's] monthly student newspaper/literary magazine/alumni magazine from 1892 until 1916. That publication regularly carried a feature called 'High School News' about the literary events and sporting events at the high school. So high school news goes back beyond our earliest Crimson & White in 1905 to the early 1890s, but was not carried in a high school newspaper.

"The other interesting fact that I came across was about Charles Kilpatrick, a Normal College high school student from Albany who became a national and internationally known track star. As a Junior and then Senior at the Normal College High School, Kilpatrick established an incredible series of racing victories. On April 30, running at the Armory in Albany and carrying a seventy-yard handicap, Charles Kilpatrick won the mile race against thirty-two contestants 'many of whom were from Williams, Union and other colleges,' according to the May 1893 Normal College Echo. The September 1893 Echo reported that Kilpatrick 'is rapidly becoming famous as a runner.' Since April Kirkpatrick had run in twenty-seven races, winning them all and bringing home six gold medals won against runners at the Manhattan Club, the Royal Arcanum, the Saratoga Athletic Club, and the Columbian Exposition. Kilpatrick was also a leader of the Adelphoi Literary Society.

"Kilpatrick would have been Normal College High School Class of 1894 but left school early in 1894, before the end of the year, to attend Union College, where he established a record as America's best college runner. He should have graduated with the Union Class of 1898 but instead transferred from Union College to Princeton University in his senior year, according to the Union Encyclopedia, to accept financial aid from Princeton and to run against better competitors. While at Union, the Union archivist told me, he set a national record for the half-mile....

"Kilpatrick never graduated from Princeton, according to their archivist, but left school in the spring of 1899 to become a professional runner, running match races in England. According to the Union Archivist, Kilpatrick's frequent switches from one school to the next came to the attention of running authorities, who reputedly instituted a one-year eligibility rule specifically to deal with situations like Kilpatrick. Tales of Kilpatrick's exploits can be found on the web by searching 'Charles H Kilpatrick runner.'"

In an additional email, Geoff updated the Union record as follows:

"Looking through the book by John Cummings, Runners & Walkers Nineteenth Century Sports Chronicle, I came across an account [of a] dual meet between the London Athletic Club and the New York Athletic Club held at Manhattan Field on September 21, 1895, at Manhattan Field. Both athletic clubs brought in outside runners for this match between England and the United States. The New York Athletic Club recruited all of the best college athletes in the US. One of them was Charles Kilpatrick of Union College, who competed in the half-mile and won in 1:53 2/5, setting a new world record."

MILNE ALUMNI IN THE MILITARY

In an earlier newsletter, I told you about Mara Elliott, who, as a parishioner at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was helping to put together a special service for Memorial Day 2009 and provided biographies of the eight young men from her parish who died in World War Two.

Mara said, "One of these young men...was Richard Alexander Selkirk. I know from the Milne website that he graduated from the Milne School in 1938. I know he died in France in 1944 and is buried there. I believe he had two sisters, Ruth and Jeanne, who also attended Milne."

I contacted Frank Steinhardt, Milne '38, and he sent Ms. Elliott copies of yearbook information regarding Richard Selkirk's high school activities and accomplishments.

Then Ms. Elliott told me about another Milne alumnus who died during World War II, Jack Benjamin from the Class of '32. I called Annette Worthman Rosenstock, '34, who provided a 1932 yearbook, and Ms. Elliott was able to photocopy the appropriate data.

You can read about Richard Selkirk here and Jack Benjamin here.

I am mentioning this now for two reasons:

1. I am hoping that a Milne alumnus or alumna (or perhaps a "team") would be interested in helping us find information about Milne alumni who died serving our country...and also those who served and were fortunate enough to return home.

2. If you have any information regarding Milne alumni in the military, please send it to me until such time as we have a volunteer for this project.

Thanks to Mara Elliott, we have a starting point. Her work was very comprehensive, and I don't want to scare you from volunteering. We may not be able to find as much information as she did, but anything we do to remember our alumni would make this project worthwhile.

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 D. MOSHER, Jr.,Milne Class of 1946, and sister of Joan MOSHER MacDonald, '49, passed away on September 15, 2009. 

Christina "Chrissy" Sokaris , daughter of Mary DANES Sokaris, Milne Class of 1960, passed away on Thursday, September 24, 2009.

Florence Irene Spath, mother of Dr. Edwin A. SPATH Jr., Class of '50, and the late Elaine SPATH Berkun, Class of '60, and mother-in-law of Howard Berkun, Class of '60, passed away recently.

Ruth T. Baldes , mother of Peter J. BALDES, Jr., Class of 1963, and Dawn BALDES Van Pelt, Class of 1971, passed away on Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Elizabeth Chapin DOUGLAS Barrows, Class of 1938, passed away on Thursday, October 8, 2009. John DOUGLAS, '45, may have been Betty's brother; if you can confirm this, please let me know.

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