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CLASS NOTES
36 SUMMER 2012 | ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
When I called
Phyllis Schutz Cashin
, she hadme
laughing−she’d decided to write a paper on“New
Ages.” There were the “Boomers”; we’re the “Aged
Ageds.” Many of her friends are in their 90s and
still sharp. How about a geriatric tea party?!
Phyllis is only one hour from campus, in the
Thousand Islands, and recently drove to have
lunch with her granddaughter Elizabeth’14.
“We’re becoming enthused about our 65th Re-
union and plan to make the trip,” she said; “can’t
let John Quirk be the only one!”
Carmen Tringali Carbone
is very busy volun-
teering at the hospital.
Margie Sabia Crotty
had
her daughter visiting from Las Vegas. As for me,
the prom season is on at my dress shop. Have a
great summer!
1949
For information about becoming a reporter for
this class, please contact Sharon Henry, 315-229-
5585 or shenry@stlawu.edu, or Kim Hissong, 315-
229-5837 or khissong@stlawu.edu.
Next Reunion: 65th, 2014
1950
Barbara Grouls Audet ’50
1711 Bent Tree Circle
Ft. Myers, FL 33907
sluorg5@embarqmail.com
Next Reunion: 65th, 2015
Too many obituaries and too little good news,
but here goes.
Fradley Garner
writes that he is still in Copenha-
gen, Denmark, freelancing and that his book
Har-
lem Jazz Adventures
has recently been published
in Canada, the United States and the United King-
dom by Scarecrow Press. Frad also presents it in
a three-minute video at www.jazzbaron.com. For
more on the book, see“Laurentian Reviews” in the
“On Campus” section of this magazine.
Speaking of Copenhagen, my late husband,
Ollie,
and I were visiting there sometime in the
1970s and after a long, exhausting day of touring
the Tuborg brewery (Ollie's choice) and Elsinore
Castle (my pick), we went to our hotel's bar for
a drink. Hearing a distinctively American voice,
we looked up to see
Hank Hulbert,
a classmate
we had not seen since graduation. Hank's distin-
guished career is described in the obit column.
Bill Haley
reports that he and
Phyllis Failing
Martin
recently paid their annual visit to
Nancy
Dee Gates
at Skidaway Island, Ga., and found
Nancy enjoying a good life there. She plays tennis
and golf, serves as a docent at a landmark house
in nearby Savannah and knows a large group of
PiPhis in the area.
Phyllis and Bill live in Edenton, N.C., the "prettiest
town in the South," and enjoy life on Albemarle
Sound with annual visits to Destin, Fla., and Lake
George, N.Y., with summer visits to the Chautau-
qua Institute and the Shaw Festival in Ontario.
Thirty years ago, as a student at St. Lawrence, I heard a
make-believe story that made me think. I’ve saved it in a
book of special quotes and today I share an abbreviated
version with you.
“Imagine yourself on a long and important journey that
can bring you all the things you’ve ever wanted out of
life. In the middle of the forest, down a dusty, winding
road, you spot a shiny bell. Do you stop and pick it up or
keep walking?
“Walking further and getting tired, you arrive at the
shore of a cool, fresh lake. Nobody is around. You can
strip and go swimming if you like.
“Finally exiting the woods, you see a sunny, green
meadow with clean white cottages, happy people and
a clear blue sky. In the middle of the meadow is clearly
the most outstanding feature: a high brick wall. Climbing
the wall is necessary to reach your destination, recogniz-
ing that there is no guarantee that you’ll make it or what
dangers are on the other side. The village is attractive; do
you climb the wall or not?”
* The bell represents love o ered to you.
* The lake is temptation and stands for all the easy, se-
ductive things that keep you from doing what you re-
ally ought to do.
* The village is conformity, dragging you down.
* The wall is the last great obstacle to the realization of
your greatest dream in life.
I’d pick up the bell, enjoy my swim, settle into that vil-
lage and sooner or later climb the wall.
And that wall is high. My goals and dreams morph all
the time. In my teens I dreamt of travel, and through a
St. Lawrence study abroad program, Scandinavia, Europe
and northern Africa were possible.
My 20s brought marriage, children and love. We settled
in a rural community, working, playing and giving back
to our community through our 30s.
The fourth decade has been lled with tragedy (when
our oldest son died), opportunity (being named third-
generation president of our business), and reconnecting
(to St. Lawrence).
As I celebrate my milestone 50th birthday, the transfor-
mative past decade has forcedme to think deeply about
what really matters.
Leaving a legacy is at the top of my list. Giving time, tal-
ent and treasure matters. For St. Lawrence this means a
family scholarship program for students challenged by
the costs of studying abroad. It also means a gift to the
Annual Fund, to make a di erence in the lives of stu-
dents today. It also means mentoring students through
the Shadow a Saint program and communicating with
recent graduates challenged by the current job mar-
ket. And this means working with the Alumni Executive
Council to connect with multiple generations of Lauren-
tians as deeply committed as I am to making St. Law-
rence even better for the next generation.
My life is better for the time I have spent reconnecting
with St. Lawrence. I left in 1984 when St. Lawrence was a
very di erent place, at least through my eyes. As I come
full circle back to where I thought about bells, lakes,
meadows and walls, I am comforted by my solid educa-
tion and by being a Laurentian for Life.
Deena Giltz McCullough ‘84
Past President, Alumni Executive Council
Deena McCullough
served as president of the
Alumni Executive Council
2010-2012; at Reunion
2012, she passed the
gavel to Steve Todd ’92.
YOUR ALUMNI COUNC I L
e Make-Believe Story with a Real Ending