Update 11-18-14

 

Hi,

 

Unfortunately, some sad news first, from a couple of people:

 

First, from  Eileen Howell:  Sadly, I have to tell you that Karen Grimm has passed away.  She was found in her home today, Wednesday, November 12th, and she died of natural causes.  As soon as I have information concerning the funeral arrangements, I'll let everyone know.

    This has been a most difficult e-mail to write.  Only last Saturday, we spent a lovely day in the city. 

 

Next, from Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  Did I forget to let you know that one of our loyal Alumni Association members passed away suddenly last week?  She was Karen Grimm – class of '64.  Those of us on the Alumni Association board were, and still are, quite shocked.  Karen’s presence at our meetings will be missed.

    While Booker Gibson was still coming to our meetings, Karen always brought her delicious brownies because she knew he – and the rest of us – enjoyed them.
    Also, I just read the following message from her sister, Dorinda on FAcebook:  The "Celebration of Life Service" for Karen will be on December 6th at 11 AM,  It will be at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior, 888 Rockaway Avenue, Valley Stream.  The placement for donations in Karen's memory is still being worked on.

 

[Rich – Our best to Karen’s family and friends, of course.  Someone on Facebook asked if Bob Grimm, class of ‘65, was Karen’s brother.  He was, and from what we know, he’s still living healthily in Connecticut.]

 

Happier thoughts, from Allen Moss:  Moss in Maine here.  Hope all you folks are well.  Just returned from my yearly sojourn to New York to visit my NYU graduate school friends.  Took in Cabaret with Alan Cummings and the new revival of the 1944 musical On The Town.  Both were fabulous productions.  Also chowed down at two great restaurants in the theater district area:  Nocellos and Frankie and Johnny's.  Highly recommend both if you are looking for excellent quality food in the area.
    I have to say that the more I visit New York – this was my 22nd trip doing this visit thing – the less appealing the city looks to me.  Since the 42nd street area has become Disneyfied, with its mile high marquees, multiple flashing lights, and blinding advertisements, it has absolutely no resemblance to the area of old.  Ahhh... those charming days of smelly, sleazy storefronts and delicious $1.00 a slice greasy pizza at the corner of 42nd street and Broadway.  I remember taking the Jamaica bus with some of the guys – Neil Guberman, Greg Kaplan, Elliot Weinger and Barnet Kellman – from the edge of Green Acres and then hopping the subway to Times Square.  Indeed, it was a "gentler, quieter time."
    I probably have become spoiled after living for 17 years in my quiet New England college town of Brunswick.  Being on hyper-stimulation drive for four days just doesn't cut it for me anymore.  But I am sure I will be back next year because nothing beats a Broadway play.  And it is always great to see friends of 40+ years duration.  Have a great Turkey Time everyone!

 

From Barnet Kellman:  I loved the story about you, Carol Oditz, the T-shirt, and my 27-year-old self.  Very funny.  Thanks.

 

Stu Borman wrote:   I put the four photos of Zelda in a new Zelda White Nichols album on the South High School photo site.

 

And Zelda wrote:  I just took a look at all the pictures posted.  Third row from the bottom is me with Ellen Epstein Silver at a zoo in Los Angeles.  It was taken about 13 years ago, I think.  I wish names were attached to the pictures.

 

[Rich – If people write Stu with the missing names of people in the pictures, I’m sure he’ll try to post them.  He’s a meticulous guy.  The reason for the lack of identification on some photos is neither Stu nor I can remember all the people.]

 

Valerie Nelson Gillen confirmed:  You can lift anything you want from my Facebook page.  If I wrote, it you can use it.

 

Similarly, Betsy Fels Pottruck mentioned:  Just to let you know it is OK to post about my Facebook page.

 

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, I was at a birthday party for a neighbor, and he introduced a long-time family friend, Paul Tracey.  Paul was originally from South Africa and arrived in the United States in 1966 as part of the international tour of the Broadway show Wait A Minim.
    Paul created the show with his brother, Andrew, not intending it to be an act or a show.  Their father, Hugh Tracey, was a well-known musicologist, one of the first who collected African music, so Paul and Andrew were raised hearing it.  When they performed some of it informally, they were asked if they had an act.  After they said, "No," they realized they could put one together, and they performed it in Johannesburg.  Several producers saw it, and Paul said they were giggling through the serious parts.  When asked why, they said because they knew they could expand the act into a show.
    After its local success, it toured South Africa and several countries in Africa, then it went to London and New York.  It was first picketed in New York because it had an all-white cast, but people like Harry Belafonte asked the picketers if they'd seen the show, and when they said they hadn't, he explained that it was anti-apartheid, and that these were good people.
    After its year on Broadway, the show continued its international tour, and Paul said its best audiences in the States were in Washington, DC and Los Angeles.  The show satirizes various international people living in South Africa, so audiences needed to know a little about international politics to understand it.  Paul said it was often compared to Beyond The Fringe which preceded it in the Golden Theater, because it had that kind of humor.  I guess I didn't really understand the show when I saw it and thought it was a tuneful little revue.  But that also means that a very much younger version of me saw a very much younger version of Paul Tracey perform on Broadway in 1966.
    The songs from the show are posted on YouTube, and a section of the show as performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show" is on Vimeo -- you can get the necessary information to access it from the YouTube comments section.  There's also a piece about Hugh Tracey.

    When Hugh Tracey started collecting African music in the 1920s, he used a wire recorder.  This was before audio tape.  And people couldn't understand why he was collecting the music because “the Africans clearly had no culture.”  Whew.  Tracey also adapted and simplified the African instrument the Mbira, which he turned into the kalimba.  You'd recognize it because in the 1950s he sold 10,000 of these handmade instruments to Creative Playthings in the United States.  The sales helped fund the International Library of African Music which he created in 1954 to archive the music.  It’s now affiliated with Rhodes University.

 

The class of '65 50th Reunion:  Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26, 2015, Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge.

The South '65 e-mail addresses:  reunionclass65 . blogspot . com  (please remove the spaces)

The South '65 photo site:  picasaweb . google . com/SouthHS65  (ditto)


Rich