S P R I N G 2 0 2 2 | 4 7 N O T E S cent female). Fraternities/Sororities: Then, 30 fraternities/0 sororities. Now, 12 fraternities/8 sororities/5multiculturalGreekorganizations. Freshmanclass: Then, 697. Now, 1,519. Food: Then, LambertonHall. Now, Lower University Center dining hall, Upper UC retail food shops, Rathbone dining hall, Brodhead dining hall, by my count six cafes around campus, two “grab and go” locations, one food truck. Saturday classes: Then, all four years. Now, NOPE! (Editor’s note: Beall Fowler calculated for our 50thReunionyearbook that studentsnow actually attend one semester less of class time over four years than in 1959.) TheMarching Band: Then, theMarching 97. Now, the Marching 97. Room, board and tuition: Then, $2,500. Now, $72,330. Campuses: Then, Asa Packer. Now, Asa Packer, Mountaintop and Goodman. Colleges and enrollment: Then, Arts and Sciences (18 percent), Business (23 percent) and Engineering (58 percent). Now, Engineering (25 percent), Business (24 percent). Arts and Sciences (37 percent), Health (1 percent), Intercollegiate programs (11 percent). More “nows”: 2,300 programs and courses, 111 majors, 87 master’s and Ph.D. programs, 552 full-time faculty, 79 countries represented in student population, 250 study abroad programs in 74 countries, 150 clubs, 25 NCAA collegiate sports, 80 restaurants in town. Men’s clothes: Then, Tom Bass. Now, L.L. Bean. Bars: Then, Tally Ho, Ted’s, “any club or fraternal organization open on Sunday.” Now, Molly’s Bar and Grill, The Fun House, Sotto’s Pizza. Shoes: Then, Bass Weejuns, engineer boots. Now, Bean boots, All Birds. Dress: Then, jackets and ties at fraternity dinner. Now, T-shirts and jeans. Some interesting information popped up during this research, such as the Marching 97 history. Rose Rush ’23, the current historian of the Marching 97, clarified: “In 1947, William Schempf took over as director of bands, at the time, the Brown andWhite Band. We were then at 130-plus members, but Schempf adopted what is traditionally known as our 97-member format: 12 ranks of eight people plus one drummajor. This carried over when Jonathon Elkus replaced Schempf, and the band is known to have 97 persons. So, in 1959, it is believed the Brown andWhite Band was strictly 97 people. We actually got referred to as the Marching 97 starting in 1965.” There you have it—the name of the band is a brand! Like the Big Ten is more than 10, and Heinz 57 is less than 57, etc. Another theme also arose during the research: the decline and fall of the Greek system. In our days, Lehigh social life was mainly on The Hill, with 30 robust national fraternities on or off campus. House Party Weekend, IFCWeekend, LU-LC weekend displays all centered around the Greeks. Fraternity alumni flocked to “the house” for cocktails and dinner after the Lafayette game. Many parties were open to all university students of drinking age with chaperones to monitor compliance. Now the number is down to 12, and that count is optimistic as several houses are in trouble for various reasons. Why? Discussions with classmates who were active on their alumni boards yield various causes but no simple answers. Now that would be an interesting column at a later date. Announcement: Lehigh1959. Our very own Class of ’59 Facebook page. Have your grandchildren help you set up your Facebook account then go to Lehigh1959 for the latest class news and an opportunity to connect “real time” with your ’59 classmates. ’60Williams E. Millsom, 67 Mystic Road, North Stonington, CT 06359. (860) 5362926 (H), (860) 235-3618 (C); bill. millsom@gmail.com Hello classmates, this is my last column before the celebration of our 60th Reunion next June. Hopefullymany of you will be able to attend. Our class president, Jack Kennedy, has arranged for our reunion dinner to be held in theMural Roomat the Hotel Bethlehem on Saturday, June 11. This is a great location and will minimize driving for many of us. Jack is working to get the new president of Lehigh, JosephHelble ’82, to visit us there. You will be getting details from the University in the comingmonths. Received a nice note from Craig Anderson, who is planning tomake the reunion. He and Judy celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this summer. Theymarried 48 days after she asked for his autograph when he was amember of the St. Louis Cardinals. They went to Tampa for the weekend to celebrate. Their daughter, Jill Anderson ’91, is VP of development and alumni engagement at MoravianUniversity and has a son attending school there. Craig’s son,Mike, works forNova Industries and has a daughter at West Chester University. Craig missed a reunionwith theNY Mets and a trip to theKentucky Derby due toCOVID. Ira Friedman and his wife, Linda, did one better thanCraig and Judy as they celebrated their 61st anniversary inAugust. Ira keeps in good shape by playing tennis on a regular basis and running three to fivemiles aweek. Ira and Dave Eyer exchanged emails as Dave is trying to get a list of all of our classmates who have passed away. Dave has had some health problems and is no longer playing tennis or running. Both plan to be at the reunion. Before the Lafayette game I had a call from John Cunningham, who was wondering if I planned to attend. I did not as it would have been too difficult for me tomake it across the field and into the stands. John and his wife, Karen, did attend, as did Ira and Harry McNally. John informedme of the passing of Bob Peterson. Bob had been in poor health for a couple of years. He also toldme that Nat Day ’62 has had problems with COVID. Bruce Davis emailedme in themiddle of the football season and expressed his concern over the teamlosing seven straight and not even scoring a touchdown. He said it would not have been tolerated at theUniversity of Florida, where Bruce taught formany years. Later sent a follow-up email after Lehighwon its first of three straight games hoping they would be able to turn around the season, which they did. Jerry LeVasseur sent me an email in which he informed me that our Sigma Phi fraternity brother, Jay Pisauro, passed away last spring. Jay had a successful accounting practice before retiring toMyrtle Beach so he could concentrate on golf. Jay played ice hockey for many years, but his first love was always golf. Jay is survived by his wife, Joyce, their four children and seven grandchildren. At the time he sent me the email, Jerry was hoping to get back to being a volunteer coach for Bowdoin’s women’s cross country and track teams now that sport teams are coping with COVID. ’61Robert Paternoster, 448 N. Bellflower Blvd., Suite 302,
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