46 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES able to repeat unless I have a full-time agent to handle my baggage, car rental and smartphone. Votre amie (Your friend), Bob.” The only news I have is about Richard Schmidt, Bob Hoyt and Bob Arndt. So it won’t be mostly white space, I had to add more boring stuff about me—like Kay and I spent two weeks in northern North Carolina, just south of Sparta and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was great getting away from the Florida heat and enjoying the cool, mountain air. Our son and I rented electric bikes and rode over 185 miles through the beautiful countryside. I did not feel comfortable on the e-bike, but it did carry us over a lot of scenic roads. When I first rode my pedal-powered bike at home, I checked the tires twice, thinking they had gone flat! We actually rode the entire width of the Blue Ridge Parkway several times—make sure you read that correctly. ’53 Herb Roemmele, 12133 Plantation Way, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 33418; (732) 796-3013; herbertroemmele@gmail.com In June, we celebrated our 70th reunion. “We are the famous class of 1953.” Ten loyal ’53ers sang these words loud and clear as we proudly marched and golf-carted our way along the parade route. It ended at the flagpole, the same flagpole we saluted 70 years ago. The lower campus looked very much as it did then. Elsewhere, Lehigh has dramatically changed, expanded and become a truly great university. I called it a miracle reunion—who would have dreamed about returning to campus 70 years after graduation? Lehigh’s president honored us by coming to the Tauck room at the new Business Innovation Building for our reception prior to dinner. This area and courtyard of the impressive new building are named for our own Arthur Tauck. President Joe Helble told of the plans for Lehigh’s future, challenges in today’s higher education environment and the importance of alumni support. One has to be impressed with the new buildings, new programs, the new College of Health, record number of applications for admission, etc. He also promised a better football team this fall. Our president, Joe Workman, and his wife, Eleanor, along with their daughter and son-in-law sat at a table with Nick Gentile and four of Nick’s family. Nick was honored earlier in the week with the prestigious Alumni Award for our class. Nick’s grandson, Jacob Long, made quite an impression when he rose and asked Lehigh’s president if he could tell Jacob whether he will be admitted to the Class of 2028. He has applied and was anxious to know. At another table sat Jack Platt, with wife Julie and daughter, and Tony Latour and his wife, Gloria. Also at that table were Pete Strategos and wife Kathy and son. Joe recognized and thanked Pete for his great work in writing our reunion song set to the music of “Lehigh Will Shine Tonight.” And he then directed us on how to sing it. We did not win the prize for best parade performance, but many thought we were pretty “terrific.” Pete and I would share the prize, if we had one, for traveling the farthest. Pete lives in The Villages in Florida, and I am in West Palm Beach, Fla. In his remarks, Joe said that the Class of 1953 Endowed Scholarship Fund now stands at $600,000, enough to provide partial financial support to two students each year. Joe also mentioned that our “mini” reunion held in 2021 was so successful that there has been some sentiment to try one again in a few years. Please let Joe or me know what you think about that idea. It would be a one-day affair, probably in a September or October. I had the pleasure of sitting at the third table with two former Columbia (N.J.) high school classmates Bob Gill and Art Tauck. They were friends from kindergarten days. Bob lost his wife to cancer several years ago, and he was joined by a longtime JCPenney friend. He rotates his year between New Jersey and the west coast of Florida. Art was there with his wife, Ronni. They have moved their winter headquarters from Mexico to Vero Beach, Fla. Howard Harman attended with his granddaughter, who graduated from Lehigh a few years ago. He lives in the small town of Friedens, Pa., not far from the 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville. The bravest classmate to return was Warren Stevens, who drove himself alone from south Jersey after recovering from having a leg amputated. He got around very well with a walker and wheelchair. Warren is always in good spirits and positive about life. I close with a sad note to inform you of Charley Hull’s passing. Charley was a very good football player, great personality and loyal Sigma Nu. He was always enthusiastic about his Lehigh days. He was an actor and co-founded Theatreworks, a touring company that brought professional performances to millions of young people across the country. Keep your news coming. My email is herbertroemmele@ gmail.com, or call on my cell at 732-796-3013. I look forward to hearing from you with “tidbits” for our next column. ’54 Mark Davis, 302-422-1861; 18655 Piper Lane, Ellendale, PA 19941; markLdavis@ verizon.net Hello, fellow members of the Class of ’54. We have been too long silent. Now to bring you up to speed, we’ve had great communications from three of our class members. The first to break the silence was Dick Schreiber, who called one evening in May. Unfortunately, I was out, so he had a lovely conversation with my wife, Marge. She couldn’t wait to tell me upon my arrival home. Dick and his wife, Barbara, recently sold their business of 31 years, the Rhinebeck Department Store, and are fully retired. At nearly 90, he still enjoys playing tennis (doubles) once a week and is having a wonderful retirement. If you’d like to contact him, his email address is dick3280@ gmail.com. Dick was followed by Edwin (Ed) Van Brunt. Ed is currently living in Phoenix, Ariz., with his wife of 68 years, Nancy. Ed lived in Richards 2A as a freshman. He later joined Delta Tau Delta and spent the balance of his years with the fraternity. BTW, his wife Nancy is a graduate of Cedar Crest College, so he, as well as I, spent many nights at the doors of Curtis Dorm saying good night to the loves of our lives. My wife was just a year behind Nancy, but they knew one another. If any of you mechanical engineering grads would like to contact Ed, his particulars are 1650 West Glendale Ave., Apt. 2135, Phoenix, AZ 85023; phone, 802-544-8423; email, BigEd VBir@aol.com. I’m certain that he would be happy to hear from you. The last person to respond was Bernard (Bernie) Grossman. Bernie is an industrial engineering grad. He sent me a very nice email in which he mentioned that 2024 will be our 70th reunion year. He indicated that he already has it on his calendar. I’m certain that he is looking forward to meeting what few of us remain. Bernie, with luck, I’ll see you there! While at Lehigh, Bernie was a member of the Tau Delta Phi fraternity. He described it as a “wonderful group” with many good memories. He mentioned that while he was there, the house experienced
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