Dear Milne
Alumni and Supporters,
WHY
"SUPPORTERS"?
You may wonder why I have added "Supporters" to my
salutation. There are many individuals who are very interested in
Milne connections and history that have been supporting our
alumni projects. These include not only Class Contacts and other
alumni but also faculty members and alumni spouses and/or family
members. I would like to highlight a particular supporter, Tom
Winshurst, but first a little history if you don't
mind:
My mother, Harriet RICHTER Koblintz (1920-2005) graduated from
Milne in 1938. This past spring, Franklin J.
STEINHARDT, '38,
provided me with a recent class contact list that was maintained
by two classmate sisters, Mary WINSHURST Goodwin and Damia
WINSHURST Anderson. Their list had served for the Class of
'38's 50th and 60th reunions and thoughts of a 70th
reunion. My husband and I moved to Jacksonville in June, so I
didn't have a chance to contact either sister immediately to
help update the list.
Later in the summer, I tried calling Mary Goodwin several times,
but there was no answer. Finally, I left a message, and that same
day I received a voice-mail response from Mary's daughter
telling me that Mary had recently passed away.
I was able to find Mary's obituary in her local paper and
noticed that she had a brother Tom living in Jacksonville! Not
knowing his age or condition, I hesitated to call him, but a week
or so later, I received an email
from . . . Mary's brother Tom!
Tom told me that
his sister Damia had asked him to advise members of the class
about Mary's death. Damia also told him that she had learned
from Franklin Steinhardt about the Milne website, database, and
what Mary Welch and I have been doing to improve communication
among Milne alumni. Tom wrote to me . . . not
knowing that I, too, live in Jacksonville or that I already knew
of his sister's death.
As
a result of that communication, Tom and I have been in close
contact. In addition, Tom, his wife Fran, my husband, and I met
for lunch at a local restaurant, which resulted in the sharing of
many memories. But even more important, Tom's effort to
contact members of the Class of 1938 has enabled us to update the
website and database.
Tom attended Milne in 1934 and 1935 as a member of the Class of
1936 (which I did not know originally because his name didn't
appear on any of the alumni lists) but moved on to graduate from
Castleton High School. However, he remembers many of the members
of the Class of '38 and has shared memories of Milne events,
parties at his house, and his sisters' involvement in Class
of '38 reunions.
Mary and I are so thankful for alumni and supporters like Tom who
have helped us develop and maintain an accurate Milne Directory
and database. Please continue to send updates!
REUNION PLANNING
Peter Bulger, Class of
1973, has announced that there will be a Class of '73 Reunion
in 2008. "We have not set a date (weekend), but probably
will schedule a few events to include an informal 'meet and
greet' night in downtown Albany, a structured event (e.g.,
dinner or boat ride) on Saturday, with maybe a golf outing for
those interested." Please contact Peter for further
information and/or to help with the planning.
MILNE COMMONS
ROOM
Having participated in the dedication of a Milne Commons Room
at the University at Albany in 1984 (see Commons
Room), I decided to ask Geoff Williams, the University
Archivist, whether that room still exists. I provided information
from the program of events, and he did some investigating: In the
UAlbany Education Building Room 335 there is a plaque on the wall
by the door to the room that says "Milne School Commons
Room." So it appears that the dedication of the room has
been permanently memorialized. I am going to find out whether any
Milne memorabilia is stored in the Milne Commons Room as part of
our attempt to gather trophies, etc., and have them displayed in
one central location.
GOOD NEWS
Ralph J. Benko, '70, has announced his engagement
to Laura Kuhn of Red Hook, NY/NYC/Phoenix/Rockville/the World!
His www.pnosis.com website
welcomes visitors. Best wishes, Ralph!
Charlie Levitz, Milne '72, recently received a 2007
Sante magazine Spirits Hospitality Award for the Mid-Atlantic
region. He is the chef/owner of both Charlie's Restaurant and
T-Bar and Chair 6 Restaurant in Lake Placid, NY. Charlie runs the
region's largest catering operation. Congratulations,
Charlie!
If you have any good news to share, please let either Mary Welch or me know.
SAD NEWS
The following Milne alumni or attendees passed away in October
and early November. 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 365 days after the initial posting. Other
newspapers may have different timetables.
Anthony SROKA, Jr., Class of '58 (October 2, 2007) -
Times Union
Shirley JACKOFSKY, Class of (?)* (October 5, 2007) - Times
Union
Alan TAMAROFF, Class of '54 (October 12, 2007) - Times
Union
Thomas DAWES, Class of '61 (non-grad) (October 13, 2007)
- New York Times; also see
Tom for more comprehensive background information
Abbie GILKERSON Perrin, Class of '30 (October 14, 2007) -
Times Union
Geraldine SILBERBERG Abrams, Class of '71 (November 5,
2007) - Times Union; there is a more complete obituary on
the
Post Star site, which will remain online for 30 days
*I do not have Shirley Jackofsky on any class lists, but
according to her obituary, she was a Milne graduate. If you know
in what year she graduated, please let me know.
Thanks to all of you for your interest in Milne Alumni
activities.
Judy (Koblintz) Madnick, '61
For contact information, see the Milne Alumni homepage: www.albany.edu/~milne/