Class of 1949

Kinsey Anderson
Both Lilica and I are enjoying our golden retirement years, filling them with family, fun and travel. Here at Carleton, our granddaughter Dylan Welch made front-page news as she led her soccer team to an exciting overtime victory. Our children and grandchildren continue to be a source of joy and pride enriching our happy lives.

Class of 1954

Bill Frazier
Email: frazer@berkeley.edu
I miss LIGO (Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory), where I chaired their Program Advisory Committee for five years, and met Nelson there. But I have a new committee: I am chairing the External Advisory Committee for the new Thirty-Meter Telescope project involving Caltech and University of California. Can you imaging a 30 m mirror made up of 738 hexagonal segments, each 1.2 m wide and 40 cm thick? Using an advanced adaptive optics system to defeat the atmosphere and make it diffraction limited over the full aperture, it will be an incredible advance. But don't ask for telescope time just yet. If it stays on schedule construction will start in 2009 and first light in 2016.

Harry Leffmann
E-mail leffmannh@aol.com
Phone: 410-236-2280
Address: 407 Murdock
Baltimore, MD 2121

Class of 1955

Fritz Phelps
Address: 290 Cedar Drive
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

During the past 37 years I have been on the faculty of Central Michigan University and I have also assiduously refrained from contributing to the annual newsletter. My hypothesis is that while some people think you are a fool, it is better to remain silent than to remove all doubt.
I learned about the Carleton Wind Turbine at the Reunion of The Little Class That Could (1955) – so designated by President Oden during Reunion Weekend a year ago. Since then I have been plowing the ground for equipment money to monitor the wind in central Michigan using first our main public broadcasting tower on campus, second two very tall PBS towers, 414m at Atlanta, and 294 m at Barryton, and third 25 PBS towers sprinkled across the upper half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Gathering data from all of these sites should keep me busy for at least a few more years. My original plan to retire at age 70 seems to be stuck on stupid and I may just have to keep working until I hit 80 or will it be 90? Actually my hero is Harrison Randall who retired in 1939 after 40 years as Chairman of the Physics Department at the University of Michigan. Professor Randall accepted his last PhD student at age 96. I had lunch with him when he was a few weeks short of 100 and he had gotten up a 4 am that day to write another chapter of his book. Professor Randal wore out but HE DID NOT RUST.

Class of 1956

Lawrence Becker
Email: beckerlc@hiram.edu
Phone: 330-569-7468
Address: 11865 Plum Ridge Drive
PO Box 735
Hiram, OH 44234

Class of 1958

Dave Smith
Email: d.h.smith@worldnet.att.ent

After 4 years of retirement, I don't know how I ever had enough time to go to work. I guess it is all a matter of focus. This fall I joined some old friends for a week of canoeing in the Boundary Waters after a hiatus of 12 years.