Reunion Panels and Events

’82 Panel: “Reel Lives: Working in Film and Television”

What exactly does an executive producer do? Was the main character on the TV show Frasier modeled after Carleton English professor Owen Jenkins? How did you break into Hollywood? Reunion attendees who have made it big in the TV and film industries discussed their work, showed clips, and fielded questions like these from the audience. The panel, moderated by Bob Elhai ’81, a composer and orchestrator in Hollywood, included Tom Szentgyorgyi ’82, co-executive producer of Journeyman, which premieres this fall on NBC; Grace Guggenheim ’82, executive producer of documentary films, including the 1989 Academy Award–winning film The Johnstown Flood; and Bob Daily ’82, co-executive producer of the Emmy Award–winning TV series Desperate Housewives and Frasier.

Wonders of Wood

A standing-room-only audience packed the Gould Library Athenæum during Reunion weekend to hear Ruth Harkison Waterbury ’57 and her husband, David, speak about their extensive wood art collection. Woodturning, the art of turning wood on a lathe, was used for centuries to make functional objects such as bowls and spindles before the 1930s Arts and Crafts movement raised it to an art form. The Waterburys’ collection includes pieces made by a once-starving artist in Vermont, by a Vietnamese artist who fled the country by boat after the Vietnam War, and by a Carleton parent.

Summer Help

Service projects were on the Reunion agenda for two classes of Carls. On Friday morning about 25 volunteers from the Class of ’67, headed by Hal Hart, performed routine maintenance at Laura Baker School, a local residential facility for developmentally disabled adults. In the afternoon, volunteers took a break from painting and cleaning to enjoy pizza and a round of bingo with Laura Baker residents.

For their part, members of the Class of ’72 helped restore sections of the Arb and Lilac Hill on Saturday afternoon. “People were thankful that we made this opportunity to connect with the Arb,” says Fred Rogers ’72, who organized the service project. Thirty people had fun in the sun—planting lilacs by Lilac Hill on Route 19 near the Recreation Center and clearing brush and invasive species on the shore of Lyman Lakes to open the view for the Council Ring, a 50th-reunion gift from the Class of ’54.

Update: South Africa

In a talk titled “Progress and Challenges in South Africa,” former trustee the Reverend Earl Neil ’57 discussed the state of South Africa’s economy, the country’s approach to the HIV/AIDS crisis, the resurgence of both violent and white-collar crime in its cities and townships, and the challenges facing its educational system.

“The government is initiating a program for educating the poorest of the poor, including revising the curriculum, holding teachers accountable, and providing resources to the schools,” says Neil. “Education is facing monumental challenges.”

Neil, a retired Episcopal priest from St. Paul who currently lives in Johannesburg and is married to a South African woman, ended his talk by highlighting what he called “positives” for South Africa: separate legal rulings approving civil unions for same-sex couples and expanding the definition of rape, ongoing discussions about affirmative action, a free press that is allowed to criticize the government, and an emerging arts culture. Pictured are Neil, left, and John Smith-Ricco ’07.

On the Ball

A record field of 104 golfers teed up at the Northfield Golf Club for the Carleton Open/Jarchow golf outing—Reunion weekend’s popular opening event. Prizes were awarded to teams in four flights, including the overall low-gross and low-net team of Pete Hendrickson ’74, Mike Barnes ’75, Gary Bubalo ’76, and Dave Beck ’76. Closest-to-the-pin winners were Professor John Ellinger ’69 and Barb “Putter” Beck ’49. Pictured here (L–R): Paul Van Valkenburg, Julie Mackin, Bob Mackin, and Brad Gustafson—all Class of ’82.