54 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN | CLASS NOTES recovered by the senior running back, who starts ‘raring, tearing’ down the field. He dodges the last defender, ‘Job or Grad School,’ and crosses the goal line! Touchdown! The extra point is good! Graduation! Yes, the Class of 1973 ‘Returns for Reunion’!” Everyone celebrated, led by cheerleaders Doug Hampson, Missy Muendel, Pat (Teller) Beadling, John Dittmeier, Moya Dittmeier and John O’Hara. Immediately following the “play,” we formed the number 1973 and sang “Raring, Tearing” and “Lehigh Will Shine Tonight,” accompanied by the Lehigh Alumni Band. By now, you may have figured it out … not only did we win the Petty Flag, we swept the awards at the parade, also winning for the most reunion attendees (126) and the highest percentage of class members attending reunion! Our final highlight, the class dinner, took place Saturday evening in the Wood Dining Room on the Iacocca Mountaintop Campus. After dinner, Betsy Adams, Pat Beadling, Ruth Scriptunas, Missy Muendel, Nancy (Wilson) Ahlum and Celeste Varricchio shared their stories, from serious to hilarious, of what it was like to be among the first coeds on Lehigh’s campus. We also welcomed special guests Anna Smith and Nathanael Borger, members of our adopted Class of 2023; special faculty members Roger Simon, professor emeritus of history, and his wife, Marna; and Ed Kay, professor emeritus of computer sciences and engineering, and his wife, Janice, who taught a number of our classmates. Hats off to the Reunion Committee and the Alumni Office for their efforts in making our 50th reunion “the one to remember”! ’74 Bill White, 5418 Holiday Drive, Allentown, PA 18104, whitebil1974@gmail.com I’ve been lucky enough to occasionally get together with classmates who settled in the Lehigh Valley, either at football tailgates or for lunch or drinks. One of those is Mike Actis-Grande, remembered by many of us for his excellent sports commentary on the radio and in The Brown and White. I asked him to share his story. Here it is: “I fulfilled a promise I made to my wife, Marlene, about 45 years ago, that after we retired, we’d move to be near her family in Pennsylvania,” he wrote. “So, in 2021, we sold the house in Brewster, N.Y., and moved to the Lehigh Valley. We downsized, replacing our 57-year-old home in Brewster with a new smaller home in an over-55 community. “Not that we’ve been here much. Since we arrived, we’ve been summoned to Seattle, Nashville, Charlotte, Des Moines and Wilbraham, Mass., for babysitting duty (six grandchildren) and vacationed in Hawaii and Vancouver. We also hosted an Actis-Grande family reunion on Captiva Island a couple of months before Hurricane Ian wiped out the island. “Come to think of it, because of our children’s peripatetic lifestyles, over the past 20 years, we’ve also traveled to San Francisco, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Washington D.C., and Denver. Some of those visits came in ‘clusters.’ For example, we first visited Nashville (what a fun town!) 11 years ago, traveling there about 10 times between 2011 and 2014, often driving from my daughter’s home in Indianapolis. And we just returned from a two-weekbabysitting stint there, getting a chance to attend a concert (something we enjoy doing) at the Ryman Auditorium. “I guess I still consider myself a lifelong New Yorker, though. Living there for almost 70 years qualifies me, but it was time to leave. Each of our four children and most of our friends left the area, and Marlene and I could work remotely on the few professional engagements we had remaining. Plus, the house in Brewster was, like us, not getting any younger. Also, COVID ratcheted up housing prices in our area to the point where, financially, it was the right time to sell. “We were not strangers to the Lehigh Valley. Because of Marlene’s family connections, I’ve been traveling through here for the past 50 years. Our oldest daughter, Kristen, is a Lehigh graduate (Class of ’03). We visited her the four years she was there, and I’ve returned on occasion for various Lehigh-related events. “There were a few adjustments for me once I arrived here. Looking for my car in parking lots, I must have walked past it about 10 times before I realized that it now had a Pennsylvania plate instead of a New York one. I was thinking that I lost the plate in the front of the car before remembering that in Pennsylvania, you only have one plate in the back. My first time riding the commuter rail to Philadelphia, I had trouble paying the “senior fare” before boarding the train until someone pointed out the fact that seniors ride SEPTA for free. At Lehigh Valley International Airport, I could park and take a short walk to the terminal, without having to float a bond issue to pay for parking. But being a lifetime Jets fan (a member of ‘Gang Green Nation’), I had to come to the realization that all that green I was seeing in football season … was for the Eagles. “I still follow Lehigh sports, both the men’s and the women’s teams, though I have a soft spot for the football team, having broadcast the games for three years. (I broadcast three years of men’s basketball, too, so I have a soft spot for them as well). I’ll try to attend more games, though being on the road a lot makes that difficult. “Looking forward to the 50th reunion in June.” Speaking of that, if our 50th hasn’t been on your radar, you should put it there. Our reunion chair, Jim Galletly, sent a group email out this spring asking for volunteers to contact classmates in their living groups or to serve in other capacities. If you’re interested in getting involved or have any questions, email Jim at Jimgalletly3@yahoo.com. ’75 Thom Hirsch, 139 McHenny Court, Chester, MD 21619, ThomasHirsch44@Outlook.com Fifty years ago, the Yom Kippur War raged, the first Arab oil embargo occurred, Billy Joel released “Piano Man” and Elton John “Yellow Brick Road,” and “The Exorcist” novel was published. These are reminders that our 50th reunion is coming up June 12-15, 2025. If you have not been back to Lehigh in a while, the campus is even more beautiful with the stunning new buildings, and with our new President Helble, there is renewed optimism and excitement on campus. Make it a point to return to Lehigh for our 50th to see your classmates and renew friendships. I reached out to Rick Mingione, Alpha Chi Rho brother and cross-country runner. Rick is excelling in senior running. He recently won gold medals in the 5K and 10K at the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. He is highly ranked as a half-marathoner and is training for the half-marathon title in the National Senior Games in 2024. Rick had raced 10Ks with classmate Greg Smith in Pittsburgh in the 1970s and surprisingly met him in Naperville, Ill., at a starting line 30 years later. After nearly 40 years in the chemicals business, including a stint in London, Rick and wife Margie retired to Bucks County, Pa., using this as a base for frequent international travel and to visit their three daughters, who were all runners, and four grandsons,
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