70th Birthday Bash

• Front row: ?, Bob Block, Ed Schneider, Jack Sedwick, Cedrick Kam, Bill Rich, Don Clausing, Dave Gang, Jim Lawrie, Dave Cooperberg
• Second row: Paul Fitzgerald, Roger Anderson, Joe Grasso, Dan Bort, Ron Weiss, Bill Adler, Dan Hedges, Jim Snyder
• Third row: Dan Tom, Warren Connelly, Tim Gifford, Skip Waterhouse, Norm Silverman, Ted Levin, Tom Stonecipher, Clark Wadlow, Ed Heald
• Forth row: Gerry Bell, David Stanley, John Blair, Toby Mathias, Hugh Boss, John Fieselmann, Peter Emmel

A few short paragraphs cannot capture the joy, excitement, and variety of activities available at the Napa 70th Birthday bash for the Class of 1968. There were so many options for golf, tennis, wine tasting, shopping, walking, sight-seeing, dining, hot air ballooning, and just visiting that no one person could experience them all. While a few determined oenophiles arrived Sunday or Monday to get a jump on the wineries, most of us arrived at the Silverado on Tuesday afternoon, September 13th, where we were taken to our rooms in golf carts. The majority of units were cute outdoor bungalows with small gardens and patios and surprising privacy considering the size of the resort. On our first night a cocktail reception and dinner were held at The Arbor in the Silverado Resort. It was a lovely setting for an outdoor meet and greet event. (Thanks to Gerry Bell for organizing the evening.)

 

On Day 2, Wednesday, September 14, the golfers began at 8:00 a.m. thanks to the efforts of Hugh Boss. Reviews were quite positive: “The golfers among us had a wonderful time. The courses were beautiful, and the weather was perfect.” An outing at the tennis courts was organized by Toby Mathias. The wine lovers left by bus on Jim Lawrie’s Sonoma Road Trip at 8:30 a.m. with two itineraries. All of us got to sample the wonderful Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blanc at Merry Edwards and many joined the wine club. She was the first woman to start a vineyard in Sonoma and is still going strong. Half the group then went to see Michael Talty and taste his incomparable award-winning Zinfandels. Michael, an old friend of Jim’s, put on quite a show for us and let us dip into a tank of freshly picked and squished grapes. He basically runs the winery with a staff of one, himself. The rest did some barrel tasting at another close-by vineyard and we all finished up at Francis Ford Coppola’s Disneyworld of wineries for a lovely patio lunch. It’s a full-scale resort with several restaurants, swimming pools, and a trove of costumes form the Godfather and other movies. Dinner followed at Tre Posti, arranged by Gerry Bell. This was a more formal setting with excellent food and wine and lots of time to catch up with classmates.

 

On Day 3, Thursday, the last full day, there were many options. The brave ones, led by Gerry Bell and Clark Wadlow, went hot-air ballooning arising for a 5:30 a.m. continental breakfast at the Silverado with departure at 6:00 a.m. There was unanimous praise for the beauty of the event. Despite some minor balloon malfunctions and funny stories, everyone made it back safely. The golfers enjoyed another fine day on the two picturesque courses while most of the rest of us took off for the famous vineyard and restaurant on the Napa Wine Train Trail, V. Sattui. Arranged by Tad Hooker and Gerry Bell, we toured the cave (limited by preparations for a wedding), walked into the vineyard, and watched the famous Napa Wine Train pull up. The Cabernets were very impressive, and we enjoyed a great tasting before lunch on the veranda facing the vineyards. The wines were indeed so good that yours truly and several others ordered freely (I suffered sticker shock when the shipment arrived few weeks later). For the non-wine crowd on Thursday, there was a luncheon trip to the Hog Island Oyster Bar in Napa, arranged by Bob Block. The highlight of Day 3 and indeed the entire birthday reunion/celebration, was the class dinner at Ed and Liliane Schneider’s. Chez Schneider is a beautiful mountaintop home facing west across the Napa Valley. The wine, the company, the food, the band, the view with spectacular sunset, and reconnecting with classmates, made for a magnificent and unforgettable evening. The pictures speak for themselves. At the end of this all-to-short evening, we reluctantly left our gracious hosts to return to the Silverado.

 

On Friday morning, Day 4, we said our goodbyes and insisted that we must start immediately to plan our 75th Birthday Bash. Virtually all attendees indicated their intention to be in Hanover for our 50th Reunion in June of 2018.

 

The list of very satisfied participants included: Bill and Marsha Adler, Roger Anderson, Gerry and Jackie Bell, John and Chris Blair, Bob and Laura Block, Dan and Diana Bort, Hugh and Kelly Boss, Don and Emmy Clausing, Warren Connelly and Carolyn Rand, David and Michelle Cooperberg, Peter and Sally Emmel, Joe and Samantha Feitz, John Feiselmann, Paul and Kathy Fitzgerald, Dave Gang and Roberta Hillenberg-Gang, Tim and Katherine Gifford, Joe and Maureen Grasso, Ed and Sue Heald, Dan and Adele Hedges, Tad Hooker, Gary and Kathryn Horlick, Cedric and Betsy Kam, Jim and Bev Lawrie, Ted and Stacey Levin, Toby and Laurie Mathias, Warren and Marilyn Regelmann, Adam Regelmann and Season Oglesby, David Regelmann and Jennifer Wong, Weston Regelmann, Riley Regelman, Bill Rich and Sylvia Hahn-Griffiths, Ed and Liliane Schneider, Jack and Deborah Sedwick, Norm Silverman and Deborah Wolney, Jim and Sarah Snyder, Dave and Cindy Lou Stanley, Tom Stonecipher and Lisa Albert, Dan Tom, Clark and Vicki Wadlow, Mark Waterhouse and Lesley Cosgrove, and Ron and Janet Weiss.

 

So … September 13-16, 2016, Tuesday through Friday, headquartered at the Silverado Resort (www.silveradoresort.com) in the town of Napa, CA, just as we were for our 60th birthday.  We’ve turned to midweek for this gig, in part because midweek was so successful for our eastern ski trip to Okemo, in part because Napa is far less crowded and hectic midweek in the high-demand wine harvest month of September … and in large part because we’re old enough to do whatever we want whenever we want!

 

For our 60th birthday party, Ed Heald and Ed Schneider (our man on the ground in Napa) stamped out a marvelous template for us to follow this time.  For our 70th, Ed and Ed will do a by-popular-demand return engagement planning and coordinating the highlight of our reunion – our culminating birthday banquet Thursday night, September 15, at Ed Schneider’s beautiful hilltop home in St. Helena.  In addition to our collective 70th birthday, we’ll be celebrating during our stay Dan Hedges’ actual 70th birthday, Cedric Kam’s official retirement, and Mr. and Mrs. Bell’s 25th wedding anniversary.  (And they said it wouldn’t last!)  In any event, I am looking forward that evening to the most memorable meal of my life!

 

As for the rest, much like the last time, except that access to wineries, vineyards, tours and tastings may be better because of our midweek timing. Also, Silverado Resort is featuring a number of “destination services” like bicycling, hot-air ballooning, a gourmet cooking course, and possibly even a casino night if there’s sufficient interest.

 

And, of course, golf.  Silverado has two courses, one of which – the North Course – is the site of an official PGA tournament stop each October.  Apparently Napa has gone a little golf crazy because of this, so it behooves golfers to make up their foursomes and reserve their tee times well in advance (as in, six months or more in advance – and I believe they’ll take reservations now.)

 

Here are some specifics as they stand now:

Lodging – We have a block of 40 rooms set aside for us at the Silverado for Tuesday through Thursday nights, September 13, 14, and 15.  Also a handful of rooms on Sunday and Monday nights for early arrivals.  Most of these are their “Mansion Rooms” – the standard luxury hotel room – which with tax and resort fees will run about $280 a night.  I’ve asked them to set aside a few 1BR suites (about $400 a night) for those so inclined, and even a couple of 2BR suites (about $550) if there are any couples that want to stay together.

 

Within a couple of weeks, once all my paperwork with the resort is processed, I’ll be able to email you a link that will enable you to make your reservation online, both for your room and (very important!) for golf, and for any of the individual “destination services” that interest you.  (Have fun perusing their website.)  The good news is they won’t require a deposit from you now, only your credit card number.

 

Dining – In addition to the banquet at Ed Schneider’s Thursday evening, we’re planning a reception and dinner at a delightful Silverado venue called The Arbor (discovered and arranged by Ed Heald last time) for our arrival night Tuesday.  This on the assumption that there will be little interest in a dining expedition off-site after traveling a good part of the day.  Ed Schneider is taking on the tough task of scoping out Napa Valley restaurants for our Wednesday night meal – last time we visited Tra Vigne, a wonderful place in St. Helena; this time Ed is certain he can find something equally good a bit closer to the hotel.  (Note: We’ll travel to the Wednesday and Thursday soirees by bus – a designated driver for all of us so we can enjoy the wine!)

 

Wine – There are so many vineyards, so many wineries, so many wines … and I know so little.  (My wine expertise ranges from, “Hey, this is good!” to “I’m not real crazy about this one.”)  Fortunately, I know people, and several of them have stepped forward to help.  Last time we had one group expedition to a winery, and the rest was left to “on your own.”  (And on your own is still a perfectly acceptable way to go.)  But we have so much knowledge and expertise in this class (not just about wine either, but that’s another story) that I figured, “Why not use it?”  Here’s what we have so far:

•   Tad Hooker has volunteered to leverage his 30-year “best customer” status at V. Sattui winery  (so exclusive the stuff is not available in stores!) to see if he can arrange a private tour, tasting, and possible lunch at the winery.  This will likely occur Wednesday.

• Jim Lawrie, by virtue of living in Reno (not all that far from Napa) is familiar with a number of places, and has even volunteered to lead an expedition to Sonoma Valley (next valley over) if anyone is interested.  (Jim is an expert on Sonoma wines – I know, because he has schooled me!)

• Bob Block led our wine foray (the Hess winery) for our 60th, and has a number of places in mind for this go-round.   Based on my experience with him on our Eastern ski trips – well, if you really want to learn something about wine, hang around with Bob!

 

As we’ve discussed this, what we’d like is to have a number of wine tours/tasting options available each day, so that groups of us can go to various places – you can visit your favorites, or the ones you’re curious about, or whatever.  Please let me know whatever preferences you have, and especially let me know if you’re willing to lead a group of us for a tour or tasting.  The Wine Trust will be glad to welcome you into the fold!

 

Okay, that’s probably enough for now.  I’ve let my enthusiasm run away with me again.  What I need from you are three things:

• Most important, your confirmation that you’ll be joining us; or, if you know you can’t make it, that regrettable piece of information.   We need a critical mass – I’m not worried about that – but in the event we look like we might become oversubscribed, sooner is better than later for arranging more rooms.  So, please reply quickly.

• Second, I need money – the Silverado wants an initial deposit as “earnest money” for our block of rooms set-aside and as a deposit on our Tuesday night dinner.  For now, $150 per person ($300 per couple) will do.  Please make your check payable to “Dartmouth ’68 70th Birthday”; my mailing address is at the end of this.  What’s the total tariff, you ask?  Don’t know yet – it primarily involves three dinners with some nice wines, plus two bus rides, so once we have a better handle on meal planning and our number of attendees, we’ll be able to work out the total.  I’ll probably ask for it in two more installments for ease of budgeting – and if I overestimate, I’ll return the excess to you or send it on to the Dartmouth College Fund in your name, whatever your preference.

• Third, please contact any classmates not on this email distribution that you regard as fishable, work on fishing them, and have them contact me.  What’s worked really well for our Hanover reunions is the “who’s coming?” list, and I’d like to use that leverage this time as well, and as soon as we can.

 

Finally, my thanks to Ed Heald, Ed Schneider, Tad Hooker, Jim Lawrie, and Bob Block for all their help already, and for their willingness to help even more – and to you too for wading through this thing and, I hope, joining us.  We only turn our biblical three score and ten once, and while from my actuarial viewpoint we are an extraordinarily healthy and long-lived class, nothing is forever.  So let’s do this right, and make it the best mini any class has ever held.

 

Keep well.

 

Gerry