By Bill Sargent
David Schurman died on April 2, 2018, following an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease and, eventually, Parkinson’s as well.
Anthony Deere Velie died in Los Angeles on October 10, 2018. Tony was a dedicated teacher and a gifted writer.
Reid Victor Rapport died on February 14, 2019. He earned his master’s degree in hospitality management at Michigan State University and was a member of the Alliance of Sommeliers. Reid was also the founder of a local single malt whisky education group.
Charlie Hamlin writes, “Phillip Periman and I enjoyed some wonderful fall fishing in the tailwater below Glen Canyon Dam at Lees Ferry, Arizona. We were joined by Jock Reynolds, recently retired director of the Yale Art Gallery, and Yale Art School graduate, Eric Paddock, curator of photography at the Denver Art Museum.”
Robert Olmstead writes of his passion for teaching and for fly fishing. Now retired, he has become a guide and has traveled the world, including three trips to Russia. He says, “I stay in touch with my surviving roommate, Raul Matos, whom I have fished with for many years.” And Robert adds, “Andy Block and I talk often of fly fishing and the need for grace in being 80.”
Doug Rosenthal reports that he is being honored by the American Antitrust Institute and by his law firm for his role as an international antitrust lawyer. He also says that he keeps in touch with Bob Killebrew, Rich Weinert, and Don Murphy, and plans a trip to Japan.
At its recent annual meeting in Buffalo, New York, the American Folklore Society
presented its Lifetime Service Award to Tom Davenport. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Tom and his wife Mimi made a series of documentary films about American, and most often Southern, traditional culture. In 1999 Tom founded Folkstreams as “a national preserve of documentary films about American roots cultures.” Folkstreams presents the documentary work of independent filmmakers online and has now grown as a repository of more than 300 such films. And Folkstreams keeps growing, as ethnographers and filmmakers whose work has outlived its commercial phase continue to put that work into the public domain. On a personal note, Tom says, “I visited Yale with my grandson, who has applied along with 46,000-plus others.” He adds, “Honor grades from a great school, athletic skills, and community service are not necessarily assurance of acceptance these days.”
Six years ago, Nick Gardiner moved to Paris, to the neighborhood where Ben Franklin lived from 1777 to 1785 and where his Passy Press published essays and articles on American independence, many of which were inflammatory and provocative. Nick liked the idea of once again publishing position papers of interest in the United States and obtained the rights to use the name The Passy Press. Lee Gaillard and George Cadwalader worked with Nick, and to date “we have published 12 essays by writers, including some classmates, who describe the problem and propose a solution. We have 300 participants across the spectrum, who are not shy about weighing in. Many of the letters on the subject are as good as the essays. It operates like a think tank with everyone trying to solve the problem.” Nick adds, “The website explains it better than I can.” Nick also notes, “Last year I adopted Sigrid’s son, daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren at their request. They may regret it, since I’m inclined to hand out lots of unsolicited advice. Instant French family. Last year I qualified for a kidney transplant at 79 and got one just before New Year’s Eve. So far, so good.”