Modern nations enter history formed of peoples of varied languages, religions, ethnicities.  From these diverse origins, nations endure and flourish through the institutions they create to frame their common life.

On graduation day of June 1969, the Class of 1969 formed as a Class.  Like the peoples from whom modern nations emerged, the individuals who would become the Class of 1969 were, until then, a varied, some would say motley, lot.  Since graduation, through the institutions by which they constituted themselves as a class, they have flourished as a community with an impressive record of initiatives and accomplishments.  In so doing members of the Class of 1969 have accumulated a treasure of memories that together form a legacy. Profiled here are some of the highlights of that legacy.

Making the Class

The Class of 1969 left Princeton on graduation day with a framework of class institutions that were basic. There was a Board of Governors, with a Chair and a Vice Chair; there were two Class Treasurers, a representative to the Alumni Council, and chairs of committees for organizing reunions, coordinating Annual Giving, and coordinating a Memorial Fund Drive to produce a capital gift by the 25^th Reunion.  Over the years the organizational chart of the Class became more elaborate. The Board of Governors, 31 strong in the year 2000, remained at the helm.  It nominated, for five-year terms, a Class President, five Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Class Agent to coordinate Annual Giving, and a Reunions Chair.  Two institutional innovations – the appointment of Regional Vice Presidents and the creation of a Community Service Fund – spawned new positions, while another initiative, construction of a Class website, would soon generate a third position for web maintenance.  By 2009 a written constitution was in place, formalizing these and other institutional roles.  A Class Board of Governors still anchored governance, while three elected officers (President, Treasurer, Secretary) and an unspecified number of officers appointed by the President for a wide range of functions – nine of which were identified in the constitution – provided Class leadership over a five-year term.   As compared with the first two years following graduation – years for which President Goheen described the Class as “that solid phalanx of reactionary Old Tigers” (Shepard 1971)—its institutions attested to an evolution in the scope of class activities and to an expanding vision of  what the Class was and what it intended itself to be in the future.

The service and commitment of innumerable individuals who gave of their time, their talent, and their treasure brought life to these institutions and in this sense made the Class over time. Twelve Classmates served as Class Presidents, eight as Class Treasurers, two as Class Secretaries, seven as Reunion Chairs, and 10 as Class Agents for Annual Giving.   A number of these were the same individuals. Countless others contributed as members of their teams or committees.  Take, for instance, reunion committees.  The reunion committee for the 25^th Reunion, chaired by H. Clay McEldowney, distributed responsibility for no less than 11 separate functions among its members:  headquarters, food, uniforms; housing; P-rade; Class book; registration/treasurer; Memorial Service; entertainment; mailing/publicity; alumni forum; children’s activities; and special gifts.  By itself, the Class book (25^th Reunion Yearbook) required the efforts of an editor, a Class poll editor, a “Reflections” editor, and two associate editors – all ‘69ers.  Class gatherings between Reunions – Alumni Day, Harvard and Yale games and, since 2008, Mini-Reunions-- called on the service of Classmates to plan and carry off events and activities.  For major Class projects, notably the Community Service Fund and its successor PICS, not only program creation but also subsequent program operation and growth elicited talent, time and treasure from members of the Class.  Classmates also served the University at large, as University trustees (Brent Henry, Charter Trustee and, since 2011, Vice Chair, and Michael Porter), as representatives to the Alumni Council, and in the offices of the President and Public Affairs (Bob Durkee, currently Vice President and Secretary) and Annual Giving  (Bruce Freeman).  Others have given of their time and talent to Princeton in Africa, the Princeton Alumni Association of Germany, the Aspire campaign, Engineers Without Borders, the Bendheim Center for Finance, the Gardner Magic Project and other University programs led by or involving ‘69ers.

Communications are the lifeblood of nations.  Print media, historians claim, may well be the single most important ingredient, along with education, enabling the construction of modern nations. The Class of 1969 has been more than ably served in assuring first-class communications by its two Secretaries, Ross Wales (1969-74) and Paul Sittenfeld  (1974 – present).  Every member of the Class is familiar with Paul’s Class Notes in the Princeton Alumni Weekly.  Penned, as word has it, by quill, these notes alone maintained virtual community among Class members before the age of the internet.  Even after the Class of 1969 joined the information age on October 10, 2000 --- thanks to the new Class web site constructed by Class Agent Bob Loveman and George Morton -- Paul’s weekly Class Notes remained the mainstay for sharing news, reflections, and personal and family highlights of individual Class members.  Even the very rich upgraded website maintained by webmaster Jeff Kaplan, one of the signature achievements of the Bill Charrier presidency, enhances but does not replace Paul’s notes for ongoing communications.  As one President’s letter put it, Paul has been the “glue” of the Class.  He was one of the two initial recipients of the President’s Award at the 35^th Class Reunion, cited for “keeping us closely tied together through his encyclopedic knowledge of the Class and our families, relayed … through his special writing style.” (Bott 2004)  In 2006 Class officers nominated Paul for the prestigious Alumni Council Award for Service to Princeton, for which he and two other alumni were selected.

Class Presidents have had the custom, since the 25^th Reunion at least, of articulating, at the beginning of their term of office, priority goals they wished to pursue. Expanding connections among members of the Class has been a frequent theme. President Chuck Freyer expressed this as the goal of establishing “a variety of frameworks that would encourage 69’ers to do more things together – both things that are fun and social, and things that are of benefit to our communities.”  To this end his presidency established a network of regional Vice Presidents.  Each regional VP would organize in his region one or two events a year “that have a special Class of 1969 touch to them” (Freyer 2000). This gave institutional form to an idea that had been percolating for several years. Under Alex Sanger’s presidency in the mid-late 1980s, for example, regional Class dinners were organized.  President Dick Bott took this theme of “connectedness” one step further by inaugurating annual Mini-Reunions.  The first of these took place at Gettysburg in fall 2007, hosted by retired Princeton history professor James McPherson.  By giving more support to regional initiatives Bill Charrier endeavored in his presidency to extend “further afield” than allowed by most "close to home” Class gatherings, Classmates’ participation “in the vibrant life of the Class and of the University” (Charrier 2009). President Rick Kitto similarly committed to “invigorating our regional outreach” by seeking “to arrange for more mini and micro gatherings outside the Northeast” (Kitto 2014).  Such efforts have yielded a rich harvest of occasions and venues through which an ever-widening circle of Classmates have been able to share in the making of the Class of 1969 over the years.  The commissioning of the “Ying-Yang” logo under Jack McCarthy’s presidency – emblem of the Class flag, of sorts -- has given symbolic resonance to this making.

Thus have the bonds of belonging among members of the Class been forged over the years.

The Class Gives

Nations act ideally to enhance the welfare of their citizens and to foster peace and understanding in the world.  When bedecked in their best suit, nations give, both at home and abroad.  The Class of 1969 gives in two ways primarily: to the University each year through Annual Giving, and to the community at large, through special projects. 

The Annual Giving record of the Class has been exemplary. The chart below summarizes performance over the first 49 years.  Highlights are the major reunion years, beginning with the 20^th, when presumably enough Class members had attained financial “maturity.” The total raised over the 49-year period is approximately 17.9 million dollars.  The 5^th, 10^th, and 15^th Reunions set records for dollars raised in major reunion years.  Participation for the 45^th Reunion was the highest of any Class over the previous ten years.  The amount raised for the 50^th Reunion has set a class record.

Among special projects, the Community Service Fund (CSF) and its successor and flagship program, Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS), stand out.  The creation of the Fund was made possible through another giving program, the Memorial Fund Drive, through which a major capital gift was constituted for the 25^th Reunion.  The product of the Fund at the time of the Reunion amounted to some $800,000.  Visionary leadership on the part of a few Classmates achieved what in retrospect was unthinkable at the time; namely, convincing the University to allow a sizeable portion of this sum to be dedicated to a specific funding target in which the Class of 1969 would maintain a presence.  This was the provision of paid summer service internships for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, in a variety of domestic and international non-profits and public service organizations. These internships had a distinctive ‘69er twist.  Besides the service orientation of the internships, Class members would mentor the interns.  Such mentorship would not only support the interns during their summer service but also encourage and guide them in leveraging their experience for lifelong benefit. The CSF funded 13 summer internships in 1996, its first year.  Since then, the program’s growth was nothing short of spectacular.  CSF was able to provide grants for 22 interns in summer 1997.  Although able to fund only 27 internships in 2001, the program received 100 applications from undergraduates, a 67% increase over the previous year. A breakthrough was achieved for summer 2005, when 40 internships were funded.  This number grew to 69 for summer 2006, thanks to the assimilation of internships from the Class of 1955’s pioneering Project 55, which had itself provided inspiration and guidance to the CSF at its founding.  At about this time the CSF assumed a new name, Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS).  A high of 75 internships was reached for summer 2008.  The financial crisis of that year caused a reduction in the number of funded interns for the following summer, despite high program demand indicated by the 348 undergraduates who applied. This trend would continue.  The program would eventually reach another turning point.  This came in 2014, when 94 interns were fielded.  In 2015, this number rose to 115, then to 160 in 2016, when the applicant pool numbered nearly 600.  Summer 2016 in fact marked a milestone, recording 1000 student interns funded since the founding of the CSF. The all-time high was 187 interns fielded in 2018. All of these student interns have had their eyes opened to the rewards of working in the non-profit field and serving others. The internship has been for many of them a life-changing experience.  For some this meant changing their career goals, for others deciding what they would do upon graduation.  In some cases, interns have started their own non-profits which now take PICS interns each summer.  PICS has been twice recognized by the Alumni Council with its Community Service Award, most recently in 2013.  It truly embodies Princeton’s informal motto of being “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.”

The growth of CSF/PICS was due in no small part to an institutional structure that provided a framework for growth and enabled outreach to a widening range of stakeholders and participants.  From the start, CSF was independently incorporated, having its own governing board and its own staff. While retaining its identity as the signature legacy program of the Class of 1969 and involving primarily members of the Class as directors, board members, donors, and mentors, it acquired an ever-widening range of stakeholders.  These included partnering organizations hosting interns, numbering more than 130 in 2018, and other alumni classes who joined.   By 2010 PICS would characterize itself as “a broadly-based Princeton alumni institution” engaging “alumni from 29 Princeton classes and regional associations” (PICS 2010 Annual Report). The 2011 board had members from the classes of 1967, 1970, 1971, 1977, 2001 and 2006 and welcomed a new representative from the Princeton Club of Philadelphia.  A notable evolution had taken place in what might loosely be called the “ownership” of PICS.  Today, with a majority of board members from 15 classes with numerals spanning over 4 decades, in addition to the Class of 1969, and prominent faculty members as well, PICS rightly describes itself as “multigenerational.”  The Class of 1969 remains, nonetheless, the cornerstone of the program, solely responsible for its creation and the initial years of operation, providing its leadership throughout its existence, and largely responsible for funding throughout the existence of the program. Such funding is directly through Classmates’ contributions or indirectly through their donations to partner organizations that provide half of the stipends to interns.  PICS board members have assumed the lion’s share of funding required for overhead, and most of these board members have been ‘69ers. Funding of PICS internships, all of which are paid, comes in varying parts from the host organizations where the students intern, from PICS itself, and from Federal Work-Study funding.  The majority of the funding comes from Princeton classes, Princeton clubs and generous Princeton alumni all across the country. With students receiving $500/week for an 8- or 10-week internship, the total amount expended on stipends was almost $950,000 in 2018.  These stipends allow all Princeton students, regardless of aid status or financial circumstance, to apply for and hold a PICS internship.

While CSF/PICS represents the Class’s legacy program, other projects with similar aspirations have involved Classmates in leading roles.  Two of the founders of Princeton in Africa are ‘69ers:  George Hritz, former President, and Jim Floyd, current Vice President.  The Community Service Fund helped Princeton in Africa get off the ground.  Since 1999, when the program became an independent organization affiliated with Princeton, it has provided 550 yearlong fellowships for recent college graduates throughout the United States.  More than a hundred organizations working in 36 countries across the African continent have sponsored fellowship recipients.  George recounts his experience of the founding as an instance of ‘69ers’ “not going to take no for an answer.”  A different kind of project benefitted from the leadership of David Fisher and John Sease. In 1987 they set up a Princeton alumni association in Germany to facilitate German/American cultural exchanges.  Since then this association and the German Summer Work Abroad program, of which David became director after 1996, have become instrumental in arranging summer internships for Princeton undergraduates in Germany and Austria.  Each summer 20-30 student interns work in corporations, museums, law offices, and government ministries in the two countries.  Since 1981, the Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund, initiated under the presidency of Bob Flohr, provides stipends to deserving undergraduates – a son or daughter of a ‘69er, whenever possible.

The Class Celebrates

America has its July 4^th, France its Bastille Day.  The Class of 1969 has its Reunions – both the annual reunions on campus at graduation time, and since 2008, Mini-Reunions.  Classmates gather to share memories, re-connect with one another, celebrate Class achievements, and simply have fun.  Reunions are testimony to the vibrancy of the Class as an enduring community. Class Presidents bear this out in their annual letters, as do personal testimonies of individual Presidents.  

The Class’s “very own” Charter Bus was a hit at several Reunions.  At the 10^th Reunion its “spectacular” performance drew such crowds from other classes, recounted former Class President Bob Flohr, that people “talked about it to me for years after.” At the 45^th, Charter Bus helped carry the Class through three evenings of dancing the night away, playing the Class theme song “Dancin’ in the Street” along with its own tunes.  The 40^th Reunion featured a “Magical Mystery Tour,” arranged by Lynn Shostack, Honorary Classmate and widow of Classmate David Gardner, a lover of magic. Seven musical groups, one of which featured Classmate Barry Miles Silverlight, helped the ‘69ers mark their 40^th. Other memorable moments included Class dinners.  The Charriers had a knack for locating ideal venues for the Saturday night dinner:  the top of Fine Tower for the 38^th, commanding a “front row, eye level” view of the fireworks (Bott 2007), and, for the 39^th, the Class of ’56 lounge at the football stadium (Bott 2008). Mentioning the Charriers brings to mind another noticeable feature of Reunions:  the participation of spouses, families and children, not only in the celebratory activities but also in the planning, the preparation, and even the execution of some events.  The Sanger children, for instance, made posters for the P-rade during Alex’s tenure as Class President.

The Class seemed to have found a way to score records for reunion attendance.  The 30^th Reunion, for instance, set all-time records for both number and percentage of the class attending (Freyer 1999).  Turnout at the 38^th Reunion was so impressive that Classmate and University administrator Bob Durkee remarked at the Class dinner “how much the extraordinary Class of 1969 off-year reunion turnout and involvement of many” ‘69ers in Princeton-related activities meant to the administration (Bott 2007). 

The 25^th Reunion marked a turning point in the history of the Class.  Chronology alone assured this, but there was more to the historical uptake of that moment.  Several Classmates, in the years leading up to the Reunion, had been considering ways to translate their personal involvement with philanthropic work into a Class initiative having community service as its theme. Sentiment in favor of doing something of this kind gelled at the 25^th Reunion, and the idea was broached of using part of the legacy gift to create internships with non-profit organizations for undergraduates.  The idea had a feature that appealed especially to Classmates who had been personally involved with non-profits; namely, members of the Class serving as mentors to the interns.  Several goals would be achieved at once. According to Andy Brown, one of the formulators of the idea, Classmates involved with philanthropic organizations would pursue their “non-profit passions” by working with highly committed student interns.  Struggling non-profits would receive assistance.  The interns themselves would experience what it meant to be “in the nation’s service and in service to others.”  As Andy put it:  “It was a three-legged stool and all the legs needed to be equally supportive. . . . It was, in short, a ‘win-win’ for the University, for students, and for Classmates.”

Moving from enthusiasm for the idea at the 25^th Reunion to its realization was another matter.  The entire product of the Memorial Fund Drive belonged to the University, argued the University, citing the agreement setting up the endowment.  Carving out a portion of the legacy gift for a purpose of the Class of 1969’s own design, however worthy, was a radical departure from past practice.  While the university looked favorably on the intent behind the idea, it was not inclined to relinquish to the Class discretion in the distribution of funds.  Discussions focused on the terms of the original agreement.  Fortunately for the proposal’s advocates, there was a clause in that agreement, little noticed until then, that suggested the possibility of some consultation of the Class in the use of the funds.  There was also a precedent for involvement of another class, Ralph Nader’s Class of 1955, in the use of donated funds for a worthy purpose -- in the case of Project ‘55, the provision of fellowships for graduating seniors.  Four Classmates set out to research the details and elaborate a recommendation.  Marc Miller, Class President at the time, Jim Gregoire, who would lead the program from its inception, and several other Classmates engaged extensive and sometimes difficult discussions with representatives of the University’s Development Office and central administration.  An understanding was reached that recognized effective management of the program by the Class of 1969 while reserving to the University the exercise of a veto on any expenditure it deemed problematic.  The veto has never been exercised.  Moreover, the provision pertained only to the portion of the Memorial Fund designated for the program, totaling some $400,000. Over any other funds raised by the CSF it had complete control.  Marc Miller, reflecting on the initiative and on the discussions that ensued to bring it to life, discerned in the action of the Class a distinctive generational trait.  “We always looked at ourselves,” Marc remarked, “as different and unique” – the last all-male class, the class associated with change in the eating clubs.  The creation of CSF, and the determination that enabled an inspired idea to become an operating reality, was reflective, in short, of “the new Princeton.”  For his part in “conceptualizing and leading the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund,” Jim Gregoire was recognized at the 35^th Reunion, along with Paul Sittenfeld, as recipient of the first President’s Award (Bott 2004).

The addition of Mini-Reunions gave a whole new dimension to Class celebration.  These smaller gatherings between annual reunions, held in early fall, were intended to provide Classmates who might not otherwise have been able to attend the large May-June gathering an opportunity to re-connect in a more low-key, intimate setting. Such gatherings proved from the start to be well-suited to a very different kind of experience.  This was a combination of venue and program having a specific historical or cultural emphasis.  The personal connections and expertise of both Classmates and Princeton faculty enabled the leavening of festive moments of the gathering with cultural enrichment.  Gettysburg was the theme of the first two Mini-Reunions (2007, 2008) and Antietam that of the third (2009).  For all three, Professor Emeritus James McPherson generously offered attendees first-rate Civil War fare.  Then it was off to France – Paris and Normandy, to be exact – for 2010.  Here Honorary Classmate Professor André Maman invited attendees to dine in the French Senate and, along with his wife Lil, made Classmates and their significant others in attendance feel at home.  Two Americana themes shaped the 2011 and 2012 Mini-Reunions:  Lincoln’s Springfield and The Virginia Dynasty’s Charlottesville, the latter with an emphasis on James Madison (Princeton, 1771).  Then back to Europe for 2013, this time to Germany – to the Rheingau to be precise – where Classmate David Fisher and his wife Étel crafted a marvelous historic, and cultural and gastronomic, introduction to Germany flushed with the expert knowledge and insights of German Studies Professor Michael Jennings, an unabashed oenologist.  The latest pre-50^th “other Reunion” was the 2017 “Micro-Reunion” organized by Dan Harman and Steve Houck at the historic Frances Tavern in New York City, where George Washington gave his farewell address to his soldiers in 1783.

The Class Honors and Remembers

A nation, affirmed the distinguished nineteenth-century French scholar and intellectual Ernest Renan, is “a soul, a spiritual principle.”  This means first, “the common possession of a rich legacy of memories,” and second, “the will to continue to value the heritage that has been received in common” (Renan, “What Is a Nation?” 1882).

The Class of 1969 over its half century of existence has affirmed its sense of itself as a “soulful” community in two ways:  by honoring certain individuals who have shaped the past and present lives of Classmates, and of the Class, in ways that transcend the norm, and by remembering Classmates who are no longer with us and whose memory we honor.  The first is manifest in the invitation offered individuals to become Honorary Classmates of the Class of 1969.  The first such honoree was Harold Bott.  Father of classmate Dick Bott, Harold headed Parent Giving for the 20^th Reunion, which raised the largest dollar amount ever given until then by a group of parents in recognition of a reunion. Subsequently two Honorary Classmates were named at the 35^th Reunion:  Librarian of Congress and former history Professor James Billington and Professor Paul Muldoon, poet, educator and, in 2008, head of Princeton’s new Lewis Center for the Arts.  The next named Honorary Classmate was Seva Jaffe Kramer, Executive Director of CSF since Fall 1996, recognized in 2005 for the skill and dedication she brought to the new program, helping to make it top ranked among Princeton’s community service projects (Bott 2005).  Two more Honorary Classmates were named in 2006:  Lynn Shostack Gardner Moore and Margery “Muffin” Slonaker.  Both were spouses of deceased Classmates.  Lynn was best known for establishing the acclaimed David A. Gardner Memorial Magic Project, recognizing David’s lifelong love of magic by providing grants to members of the University Community interested in studying topics broadly related to magic. Margery  served, since the 30^th Reunion, as Class Associates Chair, reaching out to widows of deceased Classmates to offer comfort and to assure them of their continued belonging to the Class.  In 2008, esteemed and beloved Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and French Senator d’Outre-Mer André Maman became the sixth Honorary Classmate.  His courses in French language and civilization left fond memories and had lasting impact on several Classmates.  For a few, André Maman inspired their future careers in France and French studies.  In 2010 history Professor James McPherson, known to Classmates for the historic visits he led of Civil War battle sites and Lincoln’s birthplace at four Mini-Reunions, became the seventh Honorary Classmate. In 2014 he was joined by Anne Charrier and President Christopher Eisgruber. The range of Anne’s service to the Class over the years is familiar to those who have attended Reunions and Mini-Reunions.  Besides assisting in planning, organizing, and carrying out events and activities, she applied her artistic talents to the design of the Class Memorial Garden and to the “Dancin’ in the Street” logo for the 45^th Reunion.

One item in the proposal made to the University for use of the 25^th Reunion Memorial Drive gift was the allocation of $100,000 toward the creation of a Class of 1969 Memorial Garden.  The University was fully in accord with this proposed use of the gift.  The Garden was intended to be a place that fostered a “spirit of contemplation and retreat,” commemorating deceased Class members, as well as a location for Class events at Reunions (Freyer, 2002, 2003). For the 35^th Reunion, Honorary Classmate Lynn Shostack Gardner Moore added a finishing touch, gifting a beautiful bench honoring her deceased husband David Gardner and all other deceased Classmates (Bott 2006).  The Garden and the bench are a reminder of the bonds that remain even after the passing of Class members .  Another kind of remembering takes place at each annual Reunion:  the Class Memorial Service.  The 35^th Reunion Memorial Service included readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Classmate Vince Farrell and from the Scriptures by Mary Hack and Margery Slonaker, a Memorial Roll Call by Paul Sittenfeld, a homily delivered by Classmate The Rev. George Handzo and a benediction offered by Classmate The Rev. Jeffrey von Arx, S. J., and the singing of “Ave Maria” solo, and of “Old Nassau” in unison.  Personal memories of departed ‘69ers are elicited in these special moments of reunion, along with gratitude for their lives and service.  The Class of 1969 thus remembers.

What then is the legacy of the Class of 1969?  Like the definition of a nation, which has defied the best efforts of the most brilliant minds, response to such a question eludes us. But there may be at least the flavor of an answer, a sense of what has mattered most throughout the 50 years of history of the Class, captured in Rick Kitto’s recent personal reflections on his time as Class President.  Rick writes:

“I've really enjoyed being President because from time to time you hear from Classmates -- some of whom you know well and some of whom you don't -- and it's just interesting staying in touch.  Also, another thing I've learned is that many of our Classmates get together with each other from time to time without facilitation from us so-called class organizers, and this especially occurs far from Princeton.  Many of us have strong ties to each other as a result of our common experience and there's nothing that can diminish that, even time.”

George Sheridan

Class Historian

Sources:

• Class of 1969 Website (princeton1969.org): 
• News/President’s Letter/Archived Letters, referenced by President’s name and year of the letter (eg Freyer 1999).  Letters from 2009 on.
• News/Princeton Alumni Assn of Germany (PAAG), Princeton in Africa (PiAf)
• Giving/PICS-CSF Home Page
• Correspondence with Presidents, Past and Present, including Presidents’ Letters 1999-2008, Annual Reports 1971-72, and personal archives
• Correspondence and interviews with other Classmates

50^th Reunion Book Addenda and Corrections

The following essay by Anne Charrier H’69 was inadvertently left out of the 50^th Reunion Book, so we run it here:

The Women of ‘69

I was welcomed “on board” early by the Class of ’69 – Bill and I met at Theatre Intime in 1966 and married November of Senior Year.  I still giggle thinking that since we were a “married couple” we were deemed suitable as chaperones for Campus Club weekends!  Skirting the dangers of climbing the Yamasaki fountain [in an evening dress], not to mention the episode of the nighttime assault of the Chapel roof [ridgepole duly attained], life at Princeton was too fabulous.  This would be my adopted Alma Mater – lack of diploma notwithstanding.  Over the years Bill and I have grown wonderfully woven into the fabric of the Class – and it has given me so many opportunities to participate.  From Reunions costuming, to the fantastic opportunity to design the Class Memorial Garden and its Yin-Yang sculpture, to serving on the board of PICS, to constructing lighted signs for major Reunions, I was so warmed at being chosen an Honorary Member of the Class.  This honor I wish to hold representative of a terrific group of women – the Ladies of the Class of ’69.  Following are just a few of the wonderful ladies who grace the Class of ’69 - I wish I could single out all of them!

Do-ers:

   Pinky McEldowney, “digging” into Ethiopia with Clay as Princeton’s Engineers Without Borders brought water to a remote village.

   Liza Meyer, 40th Reunion Costume Co-Chair with Chris, twisting yards of orange tape onto hundreds of magician’s wands.

   Chris Kitto, “First Lady” showing her design talent with a fabulous new 50th scarf.

PICS Board:

   Seva Kramer taking the Class of ’69 Community Service Fund to rebirth as Princeton Internships in Civic Service [PICS].

   Maureen Marston administering PICS’ first in-depth strategic retreat [doubling its summer internship program].

   Marilyn Jerry, lawyer serving “pro bono,” for more than a decade as recording secretary.

Donors:

   Lynn Shostack establishing “The David Gardner Magic Project” – major grants for creatively-thinking Princeton professors.

   Martha Ferguson supplying kegs and kegs of the world’s best beer – her own Devil’s Backbone – for the 45th.

Extraordinaires:

   Marian Bott orchestrating with Dick 69’s first international Mini-Reunion in France 2010.

   Étel Fisher doing the same fabulous job with David for the 2013 trip to Germany.

   Sue Kennedy keeping the bar incredibly high with Steve for the Class’ 2018 trip to South Africa.

Fabulous Ladies of ’69

Here’s to Ladies who’ve “stood by” their Tigers

Ladies who’ve worked Class Reunions

Ladies who’ve marched in the heat and the rain

Ladies who’ve danced ‘til the band packed it in

Ladies who’ve rolled up their sleeves and got down

Ladies who’ve provendered picnics and tailgates

Ladies who’ve hosted Class Dinners and parties

Ladies who’ve organized major events

Ladies who’ve traipsed to and fro in attending

Ladies who’ve traveled the world near and far

Ladies who’ve lent expertise and advice

Ladies who’ve funded and gathered donations

Ladies who’ve partnered and loved and remembered...

All - Special Ladies of ’69

Anne Charrier H ’69

Further 50^th Reunion Book Addenda and Corrections

In the 50^th Reunion Book some long picture captions were truncated to a single line – this owed to publisher software. The full captions are viewable online at the profiles of the affected Classmates.

The picture on page 18 is that of Hank Dudley, not of Past President Earl Kivett.