WINTER 2004

"Fiftieth Reunion Fervor" rolls on, but we will truly miss one of our stalwarts. Eugene Young died in New Brunswick in October. Gene spent most of his professional life - 33 years - as an administrator on the New Brunswick campus before retiring in 1991. He served as an associate vice president for academic affairs and similarly for computer and information services. He was a member of the class's 50th anniversary campaign committee, and he was a very energetic and generous supporter of the university.

Herman Adler, one of Tau Delta Phi's finest products, is lending his talents to our reunion committee's meetings. Herm is today retired and a well-known New Jersey attorney. He has resided in Toms River since graduation.

There is no retirement on the horizon for Alan Rockoff, former judge, county prosecutor and deputy attorney general. Last June, SCI - the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation - appointed him as its executive director. Alan will manage and administer the operation of this large, independent watchdog agency in Trenton. SCI's statutory purview includes the investigation of organized crime and corruption, waste of tax money, and other abuses of the public trust.

We regret to announce the death of classmate Dr.Wayne Choper, who died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Pemberton last July. Born in New Brunswick, he lived in Highland Park virtually all his life, practicing dentistry there for 32 years until 1992. Wayne attained the rank of U.S. Air Force major, and remained very active in aviation groups after his retirement from military service. He was co-owner of Pemberton Airport.

Classmates, this is the last class notes column prior to our parade up College Avenue. The RAA and our reunion committee are determined to fashion the weekend in New Brunswick beginning Friday morning May 14th into an attractive array of events and re-connections enjoyable for you, spouses, significant others, even for children. Sights, sounds, and sentiments will reward you who come from afar, be it afar geographically or chronologically. Make no mistake about it, the Class of 1954 is the weekend's marquee name. Friday's highlight is the Old Guard installation dinner honoring us. The culminating event is the class dinner Saturday night at the Hyatt Regency 732/ 873-1234. The hotel is 10 walking minutes from Old Queen's.

By now, components of the reunion package have been sent to you. To review reunion information, to provide breaking news, and to chart fundraising efforts for our class gifts, Charles Cooper (charlesl962@comcast.net) has taken on the key role of class Web master.

Class President Herb Hersh received a letter from University President Richard McCormick in response to Herb's congratulatory note. McCormick's letter says, in part, "The good works of the Class of 1954 are well known and appreciated throughout the university. The love of alma mater, outstanding generosity, and true 'Rutgers Spirit' of the Class of'54 are an inspiration to us all." Which takes us to how fast time flies. Just about this calendar point 53 years ago, when President McCormick was two years old, we gathered in Kirkpatrick Chapel sporting our "scarlet-dinky" headgear to be warmly welcomed as the university's new freshman class. Now fast-forward-just a little-to Thursday, June 9, 1954, when we received our diplomas in Rutgers Stadium.

Now fast-forward-a lot-to Friday, May 14, 2004. In Brower Commons on that special evening, the celebration of our class's golden anniversary commences. We, the 50th-anniversary class, will be inducted into the ranks of the university's Old Guard. The Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) will celebrate with us on the occasion of our milestone event. A fete for a feat!

Previous columns have limited 50th Reunion commentary to save-the-date reminders, so you could make plans far in advance to be on campus May 14 and 15. In this fall column, we will begin to pass along as much up-to-the- moment specifics as our reunion committee can provide. First, we can say that the reunion committee's goals are to create: 1) a very substantial attendance; 2) a very substantial class gift; 3) a very substantial amount of fun. Next, we can say that access to reunion details will come to you via special class mailings, telephone calls, a Class of 1954 link to the university Web site, the winter column in this magazine, and via the RAA's Spring 2004 issue of its magazine, 1766.

Reunion Chairman Richard Plechner is going to be busier than you think. Last November, Dick retired as a New Jersey Superior Court judge. This November he will be on the ballot as a candidate for the New Jersey State Senate, representing the 18th District. Good luck, Dick! It was a pleasure to chat, reminisce, and anticipate the 50th with Wilson "Bill" Andrews of FIJI fame. Bill is retired and lives in Bridgewater, not too far from campus. We asked him of the whereabouts of another FIJI, Bill Groman, a certain correspondent's first Rutgers roommate.

Alumni records say Bill G. lives in California, which Bill A. confirmed. We look forward to seeing classmate Groman and many other West Coast folks next May. Looking cheerleader-fit as ever, George Witte tells us he splits time between Madison and Sanibel Island, Florida. George, who megaphoned and exhorted us to many a team "rah," is a retired attorney. He plans to be active in the 50th Reunion committee work.

Continuing in the class's noble tradition, Class of 1954 Merit Scholarship awards were once again presented in April at ceremonies at the Rutgers Student Center. Five outstanding undergraduates were grateful recipients of '54' s generosity.

SPRING 2003

How does the song go? "It's June in January ..." It's mid-January as we write, and not before late May will you be reading this column. So, sing along patiently with us. And was that you we saw at Reunion 2003? No sooner than now can we say, "The Class of 1954 congratulates and welcomes Dr. Richard L. McCormick."

In December, at age 54 (there's that special number again), he became the 19th president of our alma mater. All of us wish him well. Some of us (not this unlucky correspondent) were the fortunate students to have had classes with our new president's father, and few can forget what an outstanding educator and historian his father was, and still is. Dr. McCormick is the sixth president to serve our class in its days as undergraduates and then as alumni.
When we arrived as freshmen in September 1950, Robert Clothier was in the 19th and last year of his presidency. Lewis Webster Jones greeted us as sophomores in 1951 and presided over the remainder of our undergraduate years. Mason Gross, who was on campus with us as provost, assumed the presidency in 1959. He was followed by Edward Bloustein in 1971 and Francis Lawrence in 1990. We note, as well, that Dr. Lawrence remains at the university as a professor, continuing his service to Rutgers. We write during the basketball season as we did a year ago, identifying in that Web- site-only column the group of 54ers who played Rutgers basketball. As a result, we should be charged with a "technical."

Our apologies go to classmate and basketballer Roland Horn, whose name we omitted. Alumni records indicate that Roland now resides in Newberry Park, California. Norman Brocard made a successful cross-country drive to New Jersey in seven days in a fully restored 1928 Model A Ford Tudor sedan in the fall of 2001. His plan was to drive it back home a year later. Unfortunately, a herniated disk got in the way. However, Norm reports that he plans to fly to New York in July with his partner, Elisa, and drive the car back home to Clinton, Washington. On the way, they plan to drive through Dearborn, Michigan, to attend the National Meeting of the Model A Restorer's Club. They also hope to stop in northern Saskatchewan, where he worked for some years in timber development, and where he "bought this wrecked car from a farmer' s field in 1967," he writes. Want to hear more about his trip? Email Norm at NBWoodsy@whiedbey.com.

"Now Hear This." May 14-15,2004, is not only pretty soon, it is strategically positioned. Studies commissioned by the governor are already underway for forming a new, one-name state university system this decade that could possibly bring together New Jersey's three public research institutions. In this regard, the timing for our 50th Reunion couldn't be better. By the time we meet on campus, all the issues involving Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey may not be finalized, but they will certainly have crystallized. Want to know firsthand about the Rutgers of the future? All the more reason to show up for our 50th!

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