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COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
Class Notes
Due to a production error,
the first three pages of Class
Notes in the Spring 2013 issue
were a reprint of the columns
from the Winter 2012–13
issue. The news from those
columns (1925–48), along
with their new submissions,
can be found in this issue.
CCT regrets the error.
25
40
Columbia College Today
Columbia Alumni Center
622 W. 113th St., MC 4530
New York, NY 10025
cct@columbia.edu
Bernard Queneau ’30, ’33E writes,
“This 100-year-old is slowing down
but hopes to attend the Senior Society
of Sachems centennial celebration
in New York on Friday, October
18.” He signed off with a smile.
CCT also received a note from
Steve Georgiou of the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif.,
a scholar of the late Robert Lax
’38, that St. Bonaventure University
in upstate New York has initiated a
Robert Lax Week featuring lectures,
performances and discussions. The
inaugural Lax week took place
March 4–8, and it will be celebrated
every two years. Lax, who died in
2000, was an American poet, artist
and spiritual thinker. At Columbia
he studied under Mark Van Doren
’21 GSAS and developed influential
friendships with Thomas Merton
’38, ’39 GSAS (a Trappist monk and
writer) and Ad Reinhardt ’35 (a
painter).
The following update was not
printed in the Spring CCT due to a
production error:
Milton Kamen ’40 writes from
New York, “When I recently signed
in at a senior citizen expo in NYC,
the young woman at the registration
desk noticed my year of birth
and asked if I had been in WWII.
Class Notes are submitted by
alumni and edited by volunteer
class correspondents and the
staff of CCT prior to publication.
Opinions expressed are those of
individual alumni and do not
reflect the opinions of CCT, its
class correspondents, the College
or the University.
I answered, ‘Yes. During WWII I
proudly wore an Army uniform for
over three years,’ fully expecting
the usual response of, ‘Thank you
for your service.’
“But what I got was, ‘It must
have needed a good dry cleaning.’”
41
Robert Zucker
29 The Birches
Roslyn, NY 11576
rzucker@optonline.net
Albert Sanders writes, “I have
been vaguely aware that the reports
on activities of the Class of 1941
have been gradually working
their way forward in Class Notes.
How far forward I hadn’t realized
until recently, when I noticed that
it was the oldest of the numbered
classes reported by a correspondent.
That and two other observations
impelled this letter. First, the entire
[Spring ’13] cover being devoted
to ‘Lit Hum Turns 75,’ and second,
your appeal for something to print.
“‘Lit Hum’ turned out to be what
we called Humanities A. It brought
back the memory of my first confusing
day at the College in 1937, when
someone that my notes indicated
was ‘Mr. [Mark] Van Doren [’21
GSAS]’ told us that we were the
first freshman class in a large
American college to spend a year
studying great books. He said part
of the reason for this experiment
was that great books were easier
to read than to read about. He also
said that undoubtedly there would
be books written about us and the
experiment. (My second day’s notes
referred to ‘Dr. Van Doren.’ All my
notes for the rest of the year called
him ‘Prof. Van Doren.’)
“And what a year it was! I consider
this extraordinary teacher
to have molded my character.
Further, long after I graduated and
he retired, I went on visiting him
at his home and he continued to be
friendly and gracious to me.
“I transferred to Columbia’s Engineering
School in 1939 to study
industrial engineering. There were
only six of us. Soon this had been
reduced to four. With war about
to break out, our most charming
and nicest fellow student, Henry
(Hank) Wheeler, got a fantastic
break. His uncle was the commander
of Naval Base Cavite in
the Philippines and Hank dropped
out with a direct naval commission
to be with his uncle. We were all
so envious. Sadly, however, Hank
died in the service in 1943. Another
dropout left because he was fortunate
enough to get draft-avoiding
employment riveting P-47 fighter
planes (Thunderbolts) on Long Island.
Of the four who graduated, I
lost track immediately of Jacobson,
and I hardly ever again saw the
brilliant Fred Lightfoot ’42E, [who
began with our class but graduated
in ’42 from Engineering and] who
also became a naval officer and
spent the rest of his life teaching
in a school near Greenport, N.Y. I
saw the most of Seth Neugroschl
’40, ’41E in New York City; he had
a variety of engineering jobs and
consultancies and may be remembered
by readers for his tenure
as Class Notes correspondent for
the Class of 1940, until he died [in
November 2010].
“Immediately upon graduation, I
became an ordnance engineer at the
Pentagon (then still under construction)
in Virginia, and then at the
Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.
However, in a fit of boredom and
ill-considered youthful rebellion, I
enlisted in the Army Air Corps to
enter its military academy (then at
Yale) as an aviation cadet to gain a
more practical technical education
and become an Air Force officer.
This academy was once described
as ‘a concentration camp on our
side.’ In addition to harmless terrorism,
we had to listen repeatedly
to how inferior we were to the
cadets ‘back at the Point.’ Finally I
was commissioned and became a
squadron engineering officer.
“After the war, there was
tremendous confusion resulting
from the ‘re-conversion’ in which
all the industry that had become
part of our magnificent war
machine now underwent the same
process in reverse. My problem
was that in those days, before the
civil rights law, large corporate
engineering employers (the most
likely employment prospects) still
sought people with WASP names.
So our last name became ‘Sanders,’
a variant of the old family name
‘Sokalner.’ Nevertheless, after losing
several jobs, a kindly relative
suggested I might be better off
on my own and loaned me a few
thousand dollars. (My father had
died suddenly in my junior year.) In
eventual partnership with my two
younger brothers, both mechanical
engineers, we started Allen-Stevens
Corp., a die casting foundry in
Queens, N.Y., making all sorts of
precise metal parts and assemblies
used in hardware, appliances,
automobiles, toys and so on. I was
president and CEO. Starting with
one employee, the business later
had plants in three states, up to 300
employees and lasted for 35 years,
at which time we sold it. The new
owners moved it to Pennsylvania,
Illinois and Iowa. (Sadly, the main
plant in Queens was shut down.
I believe the savings in electricity
and gas, plus lower taxes and
union wages, paid for most of the
purchase price. I was sorry that
generations of employees — my old
friends — who couldn’t or didn’t
relocate, lost their jobs.)
“My youngest brother, barely
50, left first. I think he was bored,
possibly because he did little engineering
work. Our middle brother,
in his middle 50s, was in poor
health. I was just 60, and would
probably have continued because
I loved my work. Still, under the
circumstances, I fantasized that this
was an opportunity for my ‘second
chance,’ a way to spend the rest of
my life doing work that was more
significant and more fun. I tried to
get my middle brother interested,
but without success. After a lifetime
in which the moment I entered
my office, my phone was ringing
and people were waiting for me
with sheaves of papers to read and
sign, I responded by doing little for
months — just an extended vacation.
I tried to get into some similar
business but found it difficult without
support. The most minor things
became time-consuming tasks.
I had to find and visit a typing
service. I had to go to the post office.
I hired an assistant but there wasn’t
enough work for him though there
was too much for me.
“Since then I have spent a happy
33 years, doing all the reading I
had never had time for, thinking
about all of humanity’s important
problems and solving many of
them (at least to my own satisfaction),
traveling, writing essays and
letters to the editor. I divorced and
remarried happily to Margot Wellington,
a sweet-natured and intelligent
woman interested in some
of the same things that interested
me and, actually, with a career
involving them, like architecture
and urbanism. She is retired now
but was executive director of the
Municipal Art Society of New York
for many years. I am so proud of
her. I am proud also of my son,
James ’76, ’82 Arch., an architect
and an author (Celluloid Skyline)
and screenwriter (the PBS series
New York: A Documentary Film); my
daughter, Avis, a lawyer; and my
stepson, John Wellington, an artist.
“My wife and I, collaborating
with my son, designed our apartment
in New York City. It is high
over the city, small but with a
magnificent view of Midtown. We
also worked on the design of our
home in East Hampton, N.Y., an address
that has become much more
fashionable in the 25 years we have
lived there. Several times yearly we
occupy our apartment in Paris in
the 6th Arrondissement for weeks
at a time. We have as many friends
there as in New York. Fortunately,
my wife speaks French fluently. If
need be, I can add, ‘What’d they
say’
“I owe a lot to Columbia College
and the Engineering School for
the tools they gave me, including
building my character. I learned
that setbacks can’t all be avoided
but what can be avoided is dealing
with them in less than the most
effective way. This, plus learning
what ‘really counts,’ has helped to
make me a happy person.”
From the Spring 2013 Class
Notes, which were not printed in
that issue due to a production error:
Robert Zucker: “I returned
from a wonderful vacation at the
Grand Velas Riviera Maya Hotel in
Mexico with my friend, Fran, and
her family. There were 17 of us. I
then took a February trip to Ixtapa,
Mexico, with my family of 26,
including 12 great-grandchildren.”
Wm. Theodore “Ted” de Bary
’53 GSAS also sent an update: “It’s
not exactly news but I still teach
three days a week, conducting an
Asian Humanities course and an
upper-level Core course, ‘Classics
of East and West,’ on the theme
of nobility and civility. I commute
by shuttle bus from Columbia’s
Lamont-Doherty Earth Institute in
Rockland County. Among other
things I conduct a series of public
meetings on Keys to the Core,
starting with John Erskine [(Class of
1900)], Mark Van Doren [’21 GSAS]
and Jacques Barzun [’27, ’32 GSAS],
meeting Fridays at noon in the
Heyman Center for the Humanities.
My next book, The Great Civilized
Conversation, is due out in spring.”
Ted is an amazing classmate. We
all graduated 72 years ago, but Ted
does not pay much attention to the
passage of time.
42
Melvin Hershkowitz
22 Northern Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
DrMelvin23@gmail.com
On March 1, Bob Kaufman reported
from his home in Scarsdale,
N.Y., that he was preparing for his
annual family and golf holiday
on the island of Jamaica. At 92,
Bob, the most senior member of
the Sunningdale Country Club in
Scarsdale, N.Y., has been trying
to improve his distance off the tee
by at least 15 yards with special
exercises with his driver. He also
reports with pleasure that his
younger granddaughter, Ruby
Lee (4), has been admitted to the
Riverdale Country School, the
alma mater of Bob’s wife, Susan.
Ruby Lee’s older sister, Maddy
Kate (13), already is an excellent
age-group golfer and is a prospective
Columbia cheerleader, having
attended several Homecoming
game celebrations with Grandpa
Bob and Grandma Sue. Fore!
Arthur “Wizzer” Wellington
has been in touch via email and
snail mail from his home in Elmira,
N.Y. Art, at 92, still drives around
town in Elmira, with frequent visits
to the Off Track Betting venue,
where he recently won a few
substantial trifecta wagers. Despite
numerous physical ailments, Art’s
cognitive status is excellent, as
evidenced by his sharp handicapping
at OTB and his lucid letters
to me, written in perfectly legible
longhand script. As of this writing,
he was scrutinizing the entries and
odds for the 2013 Kentucky Derby.
Here’s to the winners!
Dr. Gerald Klingon has kept in
touch with me via frequent telephone
conversations from his
apartment on York Avenue in
NYC. He remains attentive to all
developments with the Columbia
football, basketball and baseball
teams, with many insightful comments
about recruitment, game
strategies, coaching, and wins and
losses. Gerry, 92, has been in touch
with former athletics director Al
Paul, who lives in Maryland. Gerry’s
son, Robert, an Amherst and
Boalt Hall Law School alumnus, is
an honorary Columbian and shares
his father’s enthusiasm for our
athletic teams. Roar, Lions!
Don Mankiewicz and his wife,
Carol, are doing well in Monrovia,
Calif. They have sent me several
written cards and notes, and I have
talked with Don on the phone in recent
months. He is 91 and functioning
well, despite the usual ailments
of chronologic age. He told me
that his granddaughters, Sara (13)
and Rebecca (10), are both brilliant
students; he already is planning to
help them apply to Columbia. One
of the major television networks is
planning to revive the crime series
Ironside, for which many years ago
Don wrote the pilot and several
later episodes, starring the late,
great actor Raymond Burr.
Columbia’s men’s basketball
team ended the season in last place
in the Ivy League; we lost our final
two games on the road to Harvard
and Dartmouth, for a final record
of 12–16 (including four wins and
l0 losses within the league). Among
our notable victories were a 75–57
rout at Villanova on November
20 at Villanova, Pa., and a 78–63
win over Harvard in Levien Gym
on February 10. Harvard won the
Ivy League championship for the
second consecutive year and played
in the NCAA tourney.
Columbia coach Kyle Smith
recruited two talented backcourt
freshmen, Grant Mullins ’16 and
Maodo Lo ’16, for the team as well
as returning sophomore Steve
Frankoski ’15, a 3-point sharpshooter.
We lost our gifted point
guard, Brian Barbour ’13, to graduation.
He was among the best in
the nation in assist/turnover ratio
and in foul shooting percentage.
Let us hope coach Smith will lead
this team from the bottom to the
top of the Ivy League in the 2013–14
season.
St. Bonaventure University has initiated a Robert
Lax [’38] Week featuring lectures, performances
and discussions.
Among the Class Notes that were
not published due to a production
error in the Spring CCT were:
Robert Kaufman, a young 91,
in a telephone call on October 14
reported the sad news of the death
on October 11, 2012, of Margaret
L. Cicchetti, wife of our loyal
friend Nicholas Cicchetti. She is
survived by Nick; son, Stephen
James; and daughter, Laraine Ann.
In the Spring 2012 issue of CCT,
I reviewed Nick’s distinguished
career as an educator and administrator
in the New York State school
system; by the time he retired, he
was superintendent of District 11
schools. We send condolences to
Nick and his children on their loss.
[Editor’s note: Arthur Smith
passed away on April 10, 2013. He
sent the following note last winter.]
On October 9, Arthur Smith
sent a picture of his 9-month-old
great-grandson, Landon, lying
on his back, looking at the photo
of Dean James J. Valentini on the
cover of the Fall 2012 issue of CCT.
Art’s son and grandson were wondering
if Landon might grow up to
be the fourth generation of Smiths
to attend Columbia, possibly with
the Class of 2034. Art’s son, Arthur
Jr. ’71, ’73 TC, became an environmental
attorney. Arthur Jr.’s son,
Jeffrey ’07 SIPA, is an environmental
engineer. Art (92) and his wife,
Audre, together for 65 years, reside
in an independent living facility
in Venice, Fla., where Art, who has
chronic myelogenous leukemia,
has done well with seven years
of therapy with “miracle” drugs
Gleevec and Tasigna.
Your correspondent, accompanied
by his devoted designated
driver, son-in-law Steve Hathaway,
came from Northampton, Mass.,
to the Homecoming game versus
Dartmouth on October 20. It was a
beautiful, warm fall day, and I was
impressed by the large number
of enthusiastic, rambunctious
undergraduates who came out to
support our team. I was pleased
to greet our talented CCT editorial
staff under the Big Tent before the
game, giving me the opportunity
to thank Alex Sachare ’71, Lisa Palladino
and Alexis Tonti ’11 Arts for
their exceptional skills in producing
this excellent publication.
Sitting with me at the game
were my lifelong friends, Ray Robinson
’41 and Dr. Gerald Klingon.
Ray (91) and Gerry (92) shared
my anguish at yet another painful
Columbia loss, 21–16. Dartmouth
has two good young quarterbacks,
a freshman and a sophomore, and
an outstanding freshman running
back, Brian Grove, who looks like
a potential All-Ivy star. Dartmouth
coach Buddy Teevens has recruited
several good young players. We
hope that Columbia coach Pete
Mangurian has done the same and,
with his experience and leadership,
we continue to hope for an Ivy
League championship sometime
soon.
Although they were unable to
make it for Homecoming, Robert
Kaufman of Scarsdale, N.Y., and
Dr. Arthur Wellington of Elmira,
N.Y., reported that one week later,
on October 27, they greatly enjoyed
watching Columbia beat Yale
26–22 in a game shown on the
YES Network. Columbia scored
the winning touchdown in the last
minute of the game, which was
called “an Ivy League thriller” by
ESPN. Not such a thriller was our
subsequent 69–0 loss to Harvard
on November 3 in Cambridge, a
score that ranks high in Ivy League
annals as one of the most crushing
defeats since the League began in
1956. Columbia also lost by 69–0 to
Rutgers in 1978 and lost 77–28 to
Holy Cross in 1983.
Easing memories of these prior
defeats, Columbia bounced back
from the Harvard loss with a surprising
and gratifying 34–17 win
over Cornell at Wien Stadium on
November 10, with strong running
by Marcorus Garrett ’14 and three
touchdown passes by quarterback
Sean Brackett ’13. We finished the
schedule on November 17 with a
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