'66 Tiger Tales

Purpose: This page is for nearly anything and everything that classmates may want to share. Did you have an encounter with fame, power, celebrity, or 15 minutes of fame? Do you have an amusing, adventurous, traumatic, poignant, uplifting, depressing, transformative, or otherwise interesting tale, essay, or travelogue to share? Perhaps you have an interesting hobby? What about your experience with the Princeton admission process? Do you have a blog or website that classmates would enjoy? A Princeton connection is great but not necessary. If so, please contact John Hart (jmhart62@gmail.com), and the ad hoc '66 Tiger Tales Committee will be in touch once it's posted.

The 50th Reunion Book and 55th Reunion Book each contain about 8 additional tales.

January 16, 2024. Steve Harwood, as previously reported on this page, used the pandemic time to sharpen his digital video skills. The '66 Tiger Talks have benefited from Steve's expertise. On Jan 14, a day before MLK Day, Steve wrote:

"I have always considered Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington to be one of the most powerful and inspirational speeches I’ve heard.  Among other aspects that make it so effective, vivid imagery is used throughout. 

July 16, 2023. Webster Tarpley's extended reminiscences of Jeff Graf is a great read.

July 16, 2023. Some memories have been shared by Monty Gray's daughter Liz on Monty's thesis experience,  career advice from Professor Alpheus Mason and how he met and eventually married his wife Jill. 

July 23, 2023. Ten years ago, the Johnson Society of London invited Terry Seymour to speak at their  annual wreath-laying ceremony in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. Here is Terry's Address to the Johnson Society of London, with the full story and both text and video of the address.

July 3, 2023. Jamie Spencer's Keeping the Mind up front and Active tells of his thoughts and feelings as he deals with a difficult medical diagnosis. Jamie's story will be helpful and inspiring to many of us as the years go by.

July 3, 2023. You may think you know all there is to know about the J. D. Oznot caper, but John Classen reveals more in The Rest of the Story of Joseph David Oznot ’68 from the Unknown “Fifth Roommate”.

May 23, 2022. In  Playing in the Band Rob Goldie recounts his experiences. It's wonderful to be reminded of our times at college and to hear stories of what happened behind the scenes. Rob's band story has it all. 

July 12, 2021. In Bike Racing Tales - Episode 1: For Want of a Fig Newton, Mikk Hinnov describes his near miss, for the want of a fig newton, in the 1964 state-level Olympics cycling pre-qualifying races. Mikk  sets the record straight regarding an encounter in a Physics 101 lab with spurring him on to greater efforts which contributed to his later cycling success. This success included Individual 1st place in the 1964 and 1965 National Intercollegiate Championships;  and National Intercollegiate Team Championships in 1963, ’64, '65, and '66. For more on Princeton cycling, including a reunion ride at our 50th, see this 2016 PAW story.

• July 9. Mikk follows up with Bike Racing Tales - Episode 2: Princeton Cycling History, 1962-66. Bike racing was a club sport with minimal support from the University. Nonetheless. the Princeton team compiled a distinguished record of team and individual performances against top competition, as described in the second episode. You'll also find hints of senior theses, romance, and other undergraduate distractions as well as mention of classmates Leighton Chen and Peter Waring.
• July 12. Leighton Chen's Tiger Tales: Hetchins History - Leighton wrote this piece back around 2004 in response to a request by a Princeton rower who bought his racing bike 20 years ago when he figured he had no more racing days left. It was an orange and black Hetchins and was custom built by a renowned Brit whose bikes are considered the Rolls Royce of racing bicycles.

July 11, 2021. During the early years of his post-Princeton career, Sandy Kirkpatrick lived in Denver and purchased a cattle ranch in 1974 (See Sandy's essay in the Class Directory for the full story). To quote Sandy, "To 'tenderfeet', branding is one of the most romantic rituals of ranching, so it wasn't hard for us to pull together three couples from Denver to help brand our steers ...". Ranch Tales: Branding tells the full 1974 tale. Readers may have differing regarding the romance of branding.

November 22, 2020. Here we introduce a new 66 Stories genre, letters from our far-flung classmates. Paul Corcoran, a retired professor of political philosophy (political science to the rest of us) at the University of Adelaide in Australia, wrote to Ted Walworth about his thoughts regarding the 2020 presidential election and whether and how President Trump would concede. The letter (click here) includes links to an article from The Atlantic which quotes Paul as well as a podcast from NPR's The Radio Diaries in which Paul speaks multiple times. Many thanks to Ted for sharing the letter and to Paul for permission to use it here.

October 20, 2020. Steve Harwood writes, "Since COVID restrictions began, I have pursued a new hobby: making videos. These are hardly of the caliber of the ’66 authors in the Plohn Hall library. However, it turns out that widely available video editing software enable anyone to mimic Ken Burns. My efforts were for my own enjoyment and that of my family. But classmates might view them and say, “Hey, I can do that too” and find their way to a new fun, activity. Here is a selection of some of the videos I’ve made."

For starters, the class webmaster has viewed a couple and recommends Steve's A Brief History of the Universe and Man for a 22-minute equivalent of a four-year liberal arts education. Watch this space for additional recommendations.

'66 Sailing Stories

July 19, 2020. The Boston Area Virtual Lunch group, with members from all the New England states, has many sailors and Navy veterans with some near death experiences. They've shared a few of their stories, and some more may be on the way.

• Jay Lagemann tells of Life Saving Sailing Lessons from an Albatross while in the Roaring 40s.
• Tim Barrows, in Shipwrecked, tells a tragic story in which six lives are lost.
• Bruce Furie, in Columbus Didn't Have a Radio Either, tells of danger off the Jersey coast sailing with his postdoc mentor and Nobel Prize winner, Christian B. Anfinsen, a high-risk researcher and sailor.
• Dave Lee tells what happens when your destroyer looses power during the Cold War in Losing the Load on the USS Basilone.
• Gambling with a Casino Ship by David Williams narrates a near miss in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

Coronavirus Experiences

The current COVID-19 epidemic is affecting everyone's life, and it is particular concern for our age group. If you have any stories to share, please send them to the webmaster (jmhart62@gmail.com). Our stories and experiences will be helpful to other classmates.

• Michael Peterman and his wife Cara recently returned to their home in Ontario from Florida and started a voluntary 14-day self-quarantine. Michael's What Some Local Seniors are Doing During Their Coronavirus Self-Quarantine describes their experience and reflections in the first two weeks. They are now in the sixth week and would likely change a few things but not the general tone. The column appeared in the "Peterborough Examiner" on 7 April 2020.

Other 66 Stories

• Jon Holman has his own ROTC story. The title, Some Can Do No Wrong, says it all. Victory is snatched from defeat with the Drill Team and the Army pre-induction physical.
• Death of Our Sort Of, Not Quite, Honorary Equine Classmate, Senior Senator by Ned Groth honors the memory of the champion steeplechase horse who won the Grand National race three years in a row (2017-2019), thrilling all classmates and friends attending "'66 at the Races" with Julia and Stas' at Zasteria in Maryland. Ned's story includes photos from all three races. Check out our 2019 meeting here.
• Seven by Nelson Hendler - Tales of admission, hunting the Big 5, encountering fame and faculty, stowing away, and military glory.
  • One more coming soon.
  • ROTC Dropouts tells of Nelson and '66-ers during a time of innocence when few of us had even heard of Vietnam. Posted June 20, 2020
  • Throwing Beer on One Another relates the tale of good times for most if not all at Cannon Club. Posted June 20, 2020.
  • The Stowaways has it all. Romance, adventure, fame, travel, international diplomacy, luck, and more as Nelson makes his way to Africa for the next story. Posted June 16, 2020.
    
  • An Old Fashioned Big Five Safari, an article from the official publication of the Safari Club International, along with several photos. Posted June 16, 2020.
  • Jose Ferrer '33 and Professor Uwe Reinhardt by Nelson Hendler. Originally posted August 21, 2017.
    
  • The Princeton Interview with C. William Edwards '36 by Nelson Hendler. Originally posted August 21, 2017.
  • One more thing - scroll down a few lines to see Nelson's coauthored Now It Can Be Told.
• Brief but spectacular encounters with fame.
  • From Tom Benghauser: Posted June 16, 2020.

• From Robert Kopf: About 20 years ago I was fly fishing on my beloved Wood River in Idaho with one of my best friends. We were enjoying fabulous fishing with a great hatch, landing several trophy trout. As we moved up the Wood and were separated by a small island in the middle of the river, I noticed a solitary angler fishing out of our space above a separating beaver dam. A short fellow, he obviously did not know what he was doing, casting downstream. Suddenly, he climbed over the dam and marched through the area where I was casting, scattering all the trout. Fishing for me was over. I was so pissed off that I did not even look at the guy, knowing that a fight would have ensued, thus ruining an exquisite day. I then told my friend that I should punched out that short shit. My friend said that if I had done that, I would be floating face down into the town below us. The culprit was Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Terry O'Keeffe passed away on February 5, 2020. Previously, he had responded at length to recent class birthday cards, and Terry's responses are collected in A Life Through Responses to the Class Birthday Cards.
• Kit Mill has fond memories of his four years at Princeton of great times, great friends, and great football, not to mention some terrific courses and professors. If you knew Kit back then, you might be in the story, or you might remain nameless. Posted January 25, 2020.
• Bud D'Avella shares his memories and a photo of leaving Vietnam and returning home 50 years ago on July 29, 1969. Bud is one of many classmates served in Vietnam. Posted August 31, 2019.
• Now it can be told. Some stories are part myth, part legend, part fantasy, and may even contain some truth. In any case, the statute of limitations has expired and 55 year old memories are not admissible in court. Nelson Hendler and John Edie collaborated on this story, with Bob Moya contributing a photo that has its own story and photo of Princeton cheer leading. Bill Bethune, Graham Findlay, John Theobald, and Ron Van Buskirk are in the picture. Posted June 28, 2019.
• Ned Groth has been friends with Joel Primack (the spring 2019 Locomotive Award winner) since our time at Princeton. Ned's Me and Joel, Somewhere Near the Center if the Universe tells the story of their friendship, careers, and public service activities. Posted June 3, 2019.
• Charlie Gogolak and the "Ticket to Freedom" - Sandy Kirkpatrick writes (March 27, 2019):

"Years ago a group of us sat spellbound in my Denver living room as Charlie Gogolak told the harrowing story of his family's daring escape from communist Hungary in 1956.

"Recently I became aware of a video "Ticket to Freedom", made by Charlie's son Steve, which is an expanded version of the story also covering Charlie's and his brother Pete's U.S. college and pro football careers, as well as other accomplishments and adventures. It is a well-done and moving account, available to stream from Vimeo.com at no cost.

"I may be one of the last classmates to know of this video, but enthusiastically commend it to anyone who hasn't seen it."

Here is the NFF Award Presentation to Charlie and his brother Pete.

• Oral History from PAW online: "Tony Zee '66 made an improbable journey from China to Brazil and eventually to Princeton, where he studied physics under the tutelage of legendary professor John Wheeler." Tony made this recording at the 50th reunion. Posted March 11. 2019.
  
• Model railroading is a hobby numerous 66'ers have pursued before, during, and after Princeton. Who can forget John Scully's FLIX 66 video? Mike Burrill is among many others involved in the hobby, and his current project reflects a professional interest in urban design. Mike writes, "I finished one new building for the railroad - Curry Merchantile. I took new photos of several buildings ... to illustrate how adding ballast for the tracks, streets and parking lots, more people, and sidewalks has livened things up a little. I still need to add vehicles (not cheap), trees, more street lights, more people, and street furnishings like benches and planter boxes etc.  That will likely take several months.  Stay tuned for updates in the Spring." Posted March 9, 2019. Mike passed away May 12, 2019; here is Mike's memorial.
  
• Podcast Spotlight: Jon Wiener ’66 Digs Into Politics, History, and Trump, published online by PAW February 21, 2019, tells Jon's tale of becoming host of The Nation magazine's podcast, Start making Sense.
  
• Fireworks is Mike Witte's story of coming of age in "Witteville", MO. Mike writes, "[Here is a] photo of my extraordinarily generous, self-sacrificing, hard-working parents. Looking back from 75, my life has been extraordinarily blessed to have known them." Posted February 11, 2019.
  
• In Be Careful What You Wish For, Philip NIcholson joins a men's group to expand the range of his emotional experiences . Posted November 2, 2018.
  
• Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat - A Krispy Kreme Story by Rich Reinis. Posted October 12, 2018. Also see Rich's Permission Granted - In this PAW online interview, Rich recalls undergraduate days, including getting the dean's approval to get married and playing football, especially the Nov 14, 1964 Yale game.
  
• A Meeting and Photo with President Clinton by Jeff Shafer. Posted September 12, 2018
  
• An Aeronautical Odyssey by Ed Aiken. Posted June 11, 2018
  
• Jose Ferrer '33 and Professor Uwe Reinhardt by Nelson Hendler. Posted August 21, 2017
• The Princeton Interview with C. William Edwards '36 by Nelson Hendler. Posted August 21, 2017
• Nixon in Berlin by Terrence O'Keeffe. Posted August 20, 2016