We flew into Boston where we were met at the airport by Lynne's Uncle Ed. We stopped for dinner at Union Oyster House near Haymarket in Boston. Lynne and I both had Boston clam chowder and then shared a large appetizer order of steamed clams. It was an excellent way to start off our six days in New England.
We stayed in Olney House, a dormitory on the Wriston Quad. Our room was rather dirty and run-down but Olney was convenient. The class rendevous was in the same building in a common room and the Quad is walking distance to anywhere on campus. Bathrooms were down the hall but our room had a bonus - a full bath! Unfortunately, the occupants during the year were responsible for cleaning it and didn't. Lynne prevailed on the cleaning staff who made an exception and cleaned it - Thank You!
We were the first on the class list to register Friday morning. Friends and acquaintances arrived throughout the day. Friday night there was a class reception at the Hope Club. On the way down, I chatted with Lynne's classmate Fred David who is a a friend, it turns out, of Lucy's freshman advisor at Thacher, Alice Meyer! It is a small world indeed.
Saturday morning we visited with Lynne's Aunt Dottie and Uncle Ed in their home in Providence. For lunch, we attended a discussion on diversity at Brown, held at Pembroke. It was a very interesting meeting and provoked a lot of comment from the audience. Back at Brown we heard a talk by Lynne's classmate Spencer Crew, Director of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington. On the bus to Bristol Sunday we had a chance to get better acquainted with Spencer and his wife Sandy, also a classmate of Lynne's.
Saturday night we went to dinner at Walter's La Locanda Del Coccio on Federal Hill in Providence and shared a wonderful meal with Beverly Rodda and Ralph and Barbara Begleiter. Walter's specializes in Italian and Jewish-Italian food. Walter came out to visit and he said he knows Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, the owner of Lidia's in Kansas City. We missed the class dinner and the photograph, which was taken at the dinner. We do have a photo from the 25th reunion, however. We then drove back to Brown in the rain to catch the Pops Concert at Meehan Auditorium.
Sunday morning we caught the bus to the class picnic in Bristol, RI. The picnic was held at the Herreshoff Museum. As soon as we left the bus we saw the Defiant, the second of four yachts Bill Koch had built in his successful 1992 America's Cup bid. The Herreshoff (pronounced Harris-hoff) brothers were yacht builders in the late 19th and early 20th century. Nat Herreshoff was an MIT graduate, Class of 1870. We toured a small fraction of the museum and met Natalie Herreshoff, niece of the founders.
Sunday evening we went to a class reception by the river in downtown Providence at Bella Vista and at sunset saw Waterfire, the creation of Brown alum Barnaby Evans. We walked along the river and then back up the hill to Thayer Street and back to Brown.
Monday morning we marched along with Lynne's class out the Van Winkle Gate and down the hill along with faculty, other alums, and the newly-minted graduates. All along those standing applauded the marchers. When it was our turn, we lined the sidewalk and applauded the marchers in their turn. We saw a famous parent and his entourage right across the street. Then we marched again to the applause of the later reunion classes and the graduates.
After we checked out of the dormitory we drove up through Boston, stopping at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain to visit Dick's great-great-grandparents' gravesite. We left a bouquet of flowers just as it began to rain. We had ice cream at J P Licks in Coolidge Corner with Beverly and John and visited with them and John's friends Ken and Barbara. We then drove to Concord, New Hampshire where we checked in to the Comfort Inn and then to Makris Lobster House where we both had steamed lobster.
Tuesday morning we met Lynne's high school math teacher Kay Reardon at Bread and Chocolate in Concord. Kay then invited us back to her home where we visited with her and her sister. Next we drove to Belmont and Laconia to visit with some of Lynne's high school classmates and then back to Boston and our flight home.
