Dear Classmates:
Well, another highly successful Class of 1965 Mini-Reunion is in the books! Over the weekend
of May 7-9, Ken McGruther and Linnie, Pete Frederick and Marcia, Mike Orr and Jeannine, Bob McConnaughy and French, Mike Divak
and Yvonne, Steve Farrow and Donna, Jim Griffiths and Debbie and Hank Amon assembled at Allenberry Resort Inn & Playhouse
in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. Allenberry, selected by Ken as a suitable location for a class min-reunion, was well
known to him from many days spent at the nearby War College in Carlisle. As its brochure trumpets, Allenberry is a wonderful
place to escape from everyday hassles and enjoy some relaxation, great food and entertainment!
Friday evening got underway with an extended cocktail hour and a chance for all to re-acquaint and
catch up on jobs, retirements, family and friends. A lovely dinner was followed by more libations and an extended effort
by McGruther and Frederick to entice others into a midnight cribbage game! After breakfast on Saturday (the Allenberry
stickey buns were irresistible!), we all (other than the Orrs (golfing) and the Griffiths (back to Hanover), headed to Gettysburg
where Ken had arranged for Colonel Kavin Coughenour (U.S. Army Retired) to give us a guided tour of the battlefield.
Kavin was in the Special Forces and retired some ten years ago, and is now a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg.
The day was beautiful, and Kavins descriptions of the tactics, the triumphs, the tragedies, the communications failures and
the lives lost (not just human; some 25,000 horses and mules were killed during the battle) were at times chilling.
Kevin knew every detail and his portrait of this seminal, but accidental, battle left a lasting impression on us all.
Mike and Yvonne Divak went on their own personal tour. We later learned that Yvonnes great, great
grandfather, John Peter Piguet, a volunteer in Company G,
147th New York Regiment, had fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and had been shot in the leg during
the first days fighting. Wounded and unable to move, he had remained on the battlefield for three days without food
or water. He was found after the battle, whereupon his leg was promptly amputated. At age 25 he returned to his
hometown in New York and lived to be 80! Eighty percent of his Regiment had been killed or wounded during the first
day of battle. Yvonne is descended from his fourth child, a daughter born after his return from Gettysburg.
Among the many heroes and characters described by Col. Coughenour was General Dan Sickles. General
Sickles hailed from New York City, had been a U.S. Congressman, had shot in Washington in view of eye witnesses, an individual
who was allegedly having an affair with his wife, was cleared of wrongdoing through the intervention of higher ups, had received
a political appointment as a General in the Civil War, had determined at Gettysburg that the troops under his command would
be better placed in the Peach Orchard rather than on Little Round Top (an incredible tactical error as was amply demonstrated
to us by Col. Coughenour), had been wounded in the leg at Gettysburg and after the legs amputation had ordered the body part
shipped with him to Washington where the bones of the amputated leg remain to this day in Walter Reed Hospital, had been appointed
after the war as Ambassador to Spain and had proceeded to have an affair with the then Queen of Spain, earning the moniker
the Yankee King of Spain! Read all about this fascinating character in American Scoundrel, the Life of the Notorious
Civil War General Dan Sickles!
Upon our return to Allenberry, we settled into cocktails and a buffet dinner before enjoying Smokey
Joes Cafe, the musical recently on Broadway which was performed Saturday evening at the Allenberry Playhouse. Before
the show began, the Class of 1965 group was warmly welcomed by the Stage Producer who introduced the show! While we
werent dancing in the aisles, there was much foot tapping to the beat of the songs, most of which were from our high school,
college and twenty something days! Many of us lingered over breakfast on Sunday morning before heading back to our respective
homes. It was a wonderful weekend and a big round of snaps to Ken for having organized such a successful out-of-Hanover
mini-reunion!
Finally, please remember that the current Dartmouth College Fund campaign ends on June 30, 2004.
If you have not already done so, please consider a contribution to the Fund. The College and the Class of 1965 appreciate
your support!
I look forward to seeing many of you at Bill Websters in Old Saybrook, Connecticut on Thursday, June
24, for our Class Executive Committee meeting and even more of you in Hanover over the weekend of October 15-17, 2004 for
our annual Hanover mini-reunion.
Hank Amon
