Moravian College Magazine

1945

From Jane Smith Ebelhare:

Our 60th reunion weekend was super! The parade was so much fun as we walked the “Moravian Mile” through Bethlehem in our purple and gold outfits, with decorated hats to tip to the judges. How nice it was for President and Mrs. Rokke to join our class for the Saturday night dinner. Those able to come were: Jackie Haas Bauder, Louise Savapoulos Chiaparas, Gloria Gately Chipman, Lois Moser Harke, Beryl L. Harrison, Phyllis Rose Iacocca, Jackie Stout McGiffert, Janet Moyer Paulus, Lillian Stefko Schaedler, Alice Joyce Yeager, and me. Betty Wachstetter Griffis attended the 50+ Breakfast, but I didn’t get the opportunity to talk to her. Thanks to Bertie Knisely ’69 and her staff for doing such a great job.

In a recent letter, Janet Moyer Paulus sent a message: “To our classmates, we had one grand reunion. While the turnout was good, I still find myself wishing others had joined us. We missed you, and you missed out on a good time.”

Eleanor Beidelman Kline had the opportunity this summer to visit a Polynesian village in Texas, with true Polynesians performing their dances and serving a wonderful luau. Eleanor stays busy with water aerobics and judging the “yard of the month” in her neighborhood.

In late June, Dottie Stump Lied looked forward to spending a week at Cape May, N.J., with her daughter and her husband. Her granddaughter (the cellist), who lives in Pittsburgh, planned to spend the week with them, and her grandson was also to be there. In July, Dottie and a friend planned to join a group from their recreation center for a trip to Nova Scotia. Dottie hopes to get a lot of good snapshots, especially of lighthouses, to use as subjects for her watercolors. She has started two new knitting projects—a toddler sweater and an afghan—and spends a lot of time researching material for the adult Sunday School class she teaches. For relaxation, Dottie and a group of friends like to do jigsaw puzzles.

When she returned from the reunion, Lois Moser Harke had to pack and prepare to move July 18. She was moving “around the corner or across the lawn, however you want to view it,” but it was still a lot of work.

Via Jackie Bauder, I have received news of Florence Drebert Fritts and her husband, Warren. He had knee surgery in May and was pretty much incapacitated, though he’s improving steadily. They have been able to get out more, and recently they had an impromptu picnic in the park with friends from Easton. Florence has been wearing dark glasses recently, since she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and hit her forehead on the cement, resulting in two very black eyes. They are hopeful that her bruises will be gone soon and Warren will be walking better, so they can make a trip to Easton to see more of their great-granddaughter, Riley.

Jackie also e-mailed the sad news of Ann Bachert’s death July 21 in St. Luke’s Hospital.

It has been an unusually warm summer here in Colorado, but the nights cool off beautifully. Andy and I have spent a lot of time doing “old people stuff”: catching up on doctors and dentists so we can fly into action in the fall and winter. We should still be here at home, though, when I start to ask you for news for the winter issue.

1943

1942

From Mary Kuehl Concevitch:

Arlene Kruse Huet of our class died May 18 in the Phoebe Home in Allentown, where she had resided for just three weeks. She was a member of the American Federation of Musicians and was a pianist and vocalist for various clubs and establishments in New York City. Her husband, Roger, died in 1984.

The sympathy of the class is extended to Mary Alice Veronis Thompson and to Virginia Paulsen Kocher, whose husbands died recently.

A note this past spring from Caleb Holyoke, husband of Jane Topliss Holyoke, reports that Tippy is suffering from macular degeneration and lung cancer.

At Founder’s Day on May 20, our table consisted of Betty Birk Nowicki, Ruth Schantz Fortino, Phoebe Arnold, Ruth Wallace Paul, Alma Kuehner, and me.

1941
Reunion May 19-20

From Ruth Hemmerly Kelly:

Most of my news is about our dear classmate Thelma Scheifele Heiberger and her family. She and Bob have moved to Midlothian, Va., to be with her daughter Roberta and husband Stuart. Thelma and Bob are happy there, cared for very well, and have opportunities to attend concerts, lectures, and other events. They are 12 miles from Richmond. But she still thinks of Pennsylvania and all that Moravian has meant to her, and hopes classmates will keep in touch.

Thelma and Bob’s grandson, Ashley, graduated from Moravian College and later received a degree from Widener School of Law’s Harrisburg campus. They have eight great-grandchildren, six of them out in Missouri.

I moved into Moravian Village of Bethlehem last December and am enjoying life with much less cooking (one meal a day is provided). There are nice people around, activities but little housework, always company for dinner, and a beautiful view of South Mountain.

Men of 1941-46

From Lloyd Fatzinger:

While reviewing the list of Men of the ’40s, I found myself wishing I could, for a short time, revisit the Moravian College I knew. How I’d love to sit in the Day Student Lounge with Bill Kraus, Steve Sydorak, Al Nagy, Scott Bower, Bill Kilpatrick, Whitey Wolfram, and others one more time; sing in the College Glee Club under of Willard Bilheimer or Jack Kline; work on the Comenian with the Donchez brothers; sit in chapel and sing those Moravian chorales; join in the talk sessions in Sam Zeller’s or Gil Gillespie’s offices; hang out in the EmCee on the second floor of Comenius Hall; sit in Doc Ettinger’s history classes or Dr. Herr’s English classes; talk to Dr. Haupert and Dean Hassler; listen to Bishop Moses’ dry humor.

It’s these things that shaped much of my life. I never realized what those days would mean: how I’d remember leading cheers at football and basketball games; singing in churches and on radio over the Easter break; reading the proof of my column in the Comenian; going to German Club outings; putting up with the freshman dink while carrying books in a pail. What molded me were the friendly reminders by professors that they were preparing us for the future; their outlook on what was right; their belief that we could be something regardless of what we decided to do after leaving the classroom.

I’m proud of how well my classmates did after leaving Moravian. I’m sure those of us in that tight group who attended MC in my day—and by that, I mean professors, administrators, and students who knew each other well enough to use nicknames—all feel much the same. We are slowly leaving the scene, but I think we all did much to make us proud, and to pave the way to the Moravian College of this day.

1939

1938

From Christine Roberts Fraley:

Pat Ruhe Kehs traveled to Morocco with her family in March. Unfortunately, her daughter, Deidre Kehs McKosky ’70, was not able to join the trip. But her grandson, who is studying in London, was with them. Deidre was able to go on the family trip to Beijing four years ago.

A Christmas letter from Jeanette McCandless Vary says she is doing well. She drives to the grocery store, post office, beauty shop, and lunch with friends. Her daughters, Jean and Janice, are very attentive. Jean is affiliated with Penn State’s Hershey Medical Center, and Janice is a deacon in the Episcopal Church.

I saw Olivia Musselman Barnes and Mary Fabian Strock in March at the Allentown Alumna Club luncheon. Both were doing fine and staying active. Olivia’s ankle that she broke last October has healed, and she is walking well again.

1937

1935

From Wilma Kistler Uhrich:

Thanks for the response to my plea for news!

It wasn’t until Phyllis Iobst Hill called that I learned her husband, Graham, died July 31, 2004, of a stroke and pneumonia. Our sympathy goes out to her and her family. She visited with her sons and four daughters, who live in Louisiana. Three girls have five sons, and the fourth will be married in July. Phyllis plans to stay in her home as long as possible. She is fortunate to have a son living in Sumter who is very good to her. Her chief recreation is her weekly duplicate bridge club. She does no cooking but most days has lunch with her son and his wife, who is head of counseling at Sumter High School.

Jane Reynolds Parsons has had a wonderful life. After Moravian, she got her B.A. from Oberlin College and her M.A. in mathematics from Lehigh University. She married a Presbyterian minister, and they had six children, including a set of twins. While rearing the children, Jane went back to teaching and engaged in research at Edinboro University.

Jane and Bill have been around the world! During retirement, they taught two years at a college in Japan, worked three months on an Indian reservation in New Mexico, spent three months in Scotland with Bill as an exchange minister, and took five trips to New Zealand. Jane had a Fulbright teaching fellowship and studied in Germany. They visited Elizabeth in South America and spent a couple of months with missionary friends in Africa. They also led a group on a trip to China.

They live in a 100-year-old home on the Susquehanna River. They feed the birds, go to a small gym about four times a week, go to church, walk, visit friends, and read a lot. One of their daughters lives next door and has a daycare center for preschool children. All their children are very helpful and visit often. They have nine grandchildren (three of them married) and one great-grandchild.

Elizabeth Wallace Schlenker travels back and forth between her daughter Priscilla’s home an hour away, Martha’s home in Adelphi, Md., and her granddaughter Anne’s home in Cheshire, Conn. She also spends time at the cottage in Mount Gretna, where her daughter Christina came to visit from Kenya and where they had a big Wallace family reunion. She has two great-granddaughters. Her daughter Priscilla is very involved as vice president of her synod. Christina continues teaching math at Nairobi Academy. Martha’s card business is thriving. Elizabeth’s two sisters, Ruth and Christine, her brother Ned, and she get together on a regular basis in Bethlehem. Elizabeth reads her Greek New Testament and enjoys walking.