April 2012 - Alumni News - Williams College

hard to act against the economic
interests of a friendly government,
but the addiction to fossil
fuels in the U.S. and the rest of
the industrialized world has to be
broken, and stopping this pipeline
is a very good start. Twelve
thousand people showed up,
and after some speechifying in
Lafayette Park they proceeded to
encircle the White House about
two to four deep, with innovative
placards, including quoting some
speeches on the environment
from President Obama’s 2008
campaign. It was a civilized affair,
and I did not see anyone arrested.
There were students from many
universities as well as a small contingent
of Williams students who
came by overnight bus. A mock
section of black plastic-covered
pipe undulated around the White
House, carried above the heads
of some students. A few days
after the protest, the president
referred the pipeline proposal
back for further review, including
an investigation of lobbying
tactics that may have influenced
the State Dept. to express its
satisfaction with the project. The
trip gave us the opportunity to
visit with Jane and Crane Miller,
who had volunteered legal and
bail services! Since none were
needed, we instead enjoyed some
memorable Turkish food at the
Ezme Restaurant, near Dupont
Circle.” Thanks, Nick, for your
up-close-and-personal experience.
Phil Fradkin continues to
produce creative and picturesque
photography, and I wish you
could view his “Winter Sunrise
Over Brock’s Boathouse and
Tomales Bay.” This beautiful
December image captures the
spirit of the holiday season and
serves as the introduction to
his next creative effort involving
images rather than words.
“I will be sending one monthly
for those requesting them or a
short series of my digital images.
For those who gave me a photo
printer on my 75th birthday, I
would like to make a gift of a
signed photograph of their choice
printed on archival paper. For
others, unframed photographic
prints of West Marin, Calif., and
the American West are available
at a reasonable price. A few are
on display outside my office in
downtown Point Reyes Station.
Call or email me for an appointment:
philfrad@earthlink.net. I’m
not new to photography. Taking
photos for publications dates
back to my first newspaper job
in 1960. The equipment I have
used spans a century of camera
technology. I began with a simple
Kodak; graduated to a large
formal Speed Graflex; a medium
format, twin-lens Rollieflex;
various single-lens reflex cameras;
and finally digital cameras. Such
photo and design conscious
publications as the Los Angeles
Times and Audubon magazine,
book publishers such as Alfred
A. Knopf and the University of
California Press used my images
both on covers and inside with
my texts. A Life magazine editor
even asked to see a sample of
my photographs. Except for
some freelance assignments to
illustrate articles by such noted
writers as Page Stegner and Peter
Matthiessen, the images were
secondary to my words. Now
photos are my dominant interest,
and they provide a quick, intuitive
way to tell a story. I have a
number of exciting directions
in which I want to travel. If you
know anyone else who would
like to join this trek, please have
them contact me with an email
address. In the next few months,
I plan to have a website for my
photographs. Information about
my writing life is available on my
current website at www.philipfradkin.com
as well as a small
photographic component.” Many
thanks, Phil, for your update,
and you will no doubt be hearing
from more classmates.
Len Kirschner, president of
AARP Arizona and former director
of AHCCCS, was quoted in
the Dec. 18 editorial section of
The Arizona Republic in support
of using money to help people
in need. “In advocating for the
extension of the 1-cent-perdollar
state sales tax, we should
remember the words of the wise
people who led this country
during our tumultuous history.
Supreme Court Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes said: ‘Taxes are
what we pay for civilized society.’
VP Hubert Humphrey, in the last
speech before his death, opined,
‘The moral test of government is
how it treats those in the dawn
of life, the children; those in the
shadows of life, the sick, the
needy and the handicapped.’
n 1956–57
Finally, it was Abraham Lincoln
who said, ‘The legitimate object
of government is to do for a community
of people whatever they
need to have done, but cannot so
at all, or cannot so well do, for
themselves in their separate and
individual capacities.’ If we listen
to these three great Americans,
we must do better.” Len, hope
you achieved your extension.
We lost a well-remembered
classmate and have heard
from several close friends, and
especially from his wife Kathleen,
who wrote on Jan. 4, “My
husband Dick Ennis died on Nov.
EPHCOMPLISHMENT
Arne Carlson ’57, governor of Minnesota from 1991-99, received
a Humphrey Legacy Award for his continuous work to improve the
governance of Minnesota. Most recently he worked with former U.S. Vice
President Walter Mondale to design a compromise to resolve the state’s
2011 budgetary deadlock.
30 this past year. He had many
good friends and memories from
his years at Williams. He was a
wonderful husband and father
and is deeply mourned by his
family,” including four children
and five grandchildren. Kathleen
shared Dick’s obituary, which
appeared in the Naples Daily
News, the Washington Post and
in the online Bronxville paper.
Please contact me if you’d like to
read the full obituary. A Williams
obituary appears at the end of
this issue. Thank you, Kathy.
Looking forward to June and
our 55th. Many of you will have
made plans to be with your classmates
as you read this update.
Ted Cobden, Tom Slonaker, Pete
Fleming and others, including
yours truly, will have been in
touch with the reunion schedule
and details of our weekend
together.
SENDPHOTOS
illiams People accepts
Wphotographs of alumni
gatherings and events. Please
send photos to Williams
magazine, P.O. Box 676,
Williamstown, Mass. 01267-
0676. High-quality digital
photos may be emailed to
alumni.review@williams.edu.
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