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Class of 1956 Indicator Log

Class Secretary: Alan E. Lager

Oct. 30, 2015 — Dear Classmates, Jim’s letter, concerning our 60th Class of 1956 Reunion at the June 2016 Alumni Weekend, which you all should have received from Stevens, reflects his first lead- ership act as class president. It was an excellent letter. Please give Jim the support he deserves.

I hope by the time you read this that many of you will have responded with your suggestions and have volunteered to join the Class of 1956 60th Anniversary Planning Committee. I personally let my preferences be known in the last log that I wrote in July, but am having second thoughts that maybe we should try something new. For example, Friday night dinner at the hotel. Regardless, I think if we have a good turnout in June we can enjoy as greata time as we had in 2006 at our 50th and again in 2011 at our 55th.

Regarding our pleas for contributions to Stevens, I’d like to note that the statistics on class giving  have been improving the last two years. I think we should have a slogan reflecting a goal for the Class of ’56 to celebrate our 60th year. Something like “56% for 56”or even “60% in our 60th year.” I should note that perhaps unattainable results like that would exceed the highest previously reported performance by 10 percent, but remember any money amount counts. So everyone can afford something without breaking the piggybank. If you can increase your contribution, please make an extra effort to boost the balance in our Class of 1956 Endowed Scholarship Fund. If you can’t, even a small contribution will help Stevens’ percentage of participation, an important factor in its status and rankings.

Howard Sculthorpe was the first to reply to my urgent plea for input for this log. Thank you, Howard, you made my day!

Howard wrote: “Allene (my bride of 59 years) and I are still enjoying the environs of Jekyll Island,Georgia, with occasional sojourns to PA, NY, VA and OH to visit friends and family. It’s getting tougher as the years race by, and medical issues mount. (Lager note: You can say that again.) Our first ‘great’ is now 2 years old - hard to believe our son is a grandfather!

“My first job out of Stevens was at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA. My fellow Alpha Sig, Dick Owen, started at the same time at Douglas in Santa Monica. From there I went to Vickers Inc. (the hydraulics company, not the British aircraft compa- ny) where I enjoyed a career in CA, CT, MI and MS, where I finished up as director of engineering in the Aerospace Division, from which I retired in 1993. I’ve often reflected on our good fortune at graduating at a time with high demand for engineers. I probably overdid it a bit, taking 10 job interviews, but getting 10 job offers.

“I gave up consulting some years ago and now volunteer on many fronts including church activities, packing medicines at MAP International, manning the desk at our island art museum and, until recently, recording books for the blind and dyslexic through Learning Ally (formerly Reading for the Blind & Dyslexic). I’m quite active in the Lions, raising money for many good causes. For the record, Lions Clubs International is the largest service organization in the world–but you probably knew that.”

Always reliable Dick Joel also came through. Thank you, Dick.

Dick wrote: “The summer was quite busy. In July, Lucille and I spent two weeks at Martha’s Vineyard with our daughter, Annie, and her brood. We have a house by South Beach and our kids take turns using it during the summer. In August we visited Burgundy in France on a river cruise. In September we returned to the Vineyard for another week. The grand finale was a trip around Iceland on the Ring Road, which my son Bill and I accomplished in two days.

“I also work, but the above is only possible because I have two sons in my law practice.

"At last count we had 22 grandchildren, which also keeps us busy.”

Finally, since I have a busy day ahead and am reaching the word count limit, I will close with congratulations to Stevens and the SURE House team for winning the 2015 Solar Decathlon Championship, a momentousachievement we can all be proud of. 

Any additional inputs will be saved for the next issue.

Per aspera ad astra.
Alan