Mary McMunigal Burland
610-733-4009
mburl5@verizon.net

Mindy Laighton Wilcox
619-462-6230
mlwilcox3@gmail.com

Sue Montag Wood and Peter were headed for Japan when she reported from Australia that this has been a year of family trips.   She and Peter took their 12-year-old twin grandsons to Dubbo to the Open Plains Zoo.  Their cottage for the night had a view of giraffes and other African animals.  In July they took their son and another grandson who had just turned 18 to Uluru to experience the majesty of this amazing rock in the middle of Australia.  (Uluru is the indigenous name for Ayers Rock)  In January their fourth grandson and his mother will travel with them to the Australian Open in Melbourne, Sue’s favorite city.  Sue can offer many sightseeing ideas for any classmate traveling to Australia! Ruth LaBrie-Wilcox and Ken split their time between Portola Valley and San Francisco, California.  They were spared from the fires in northern California except for the smoke but know many people who lost their homes and all their belongings.  Both of her married sons and grandchildren Oliver, Chloe and Roman live in California.   She volunteers at the San Francisco Botanical Garden as a Children’s Walk Guide and a trustee.  She and Ken are active with the Asian Society and the Asian Art Museum and they travel to China at least once a year. Pam Borden Heckert and Clark moved to Redstone, CO in August leaving their Delaware home of 32 years for sale.  Their two youngest children, Anneliese and Peter, live near them while the other two are fending for themselves on the East Coast.  Last spring Pam had a long phone chat with Anneliese Smola Peace ’70 in Westminster, CO; they have not yet met, but Pam wanted Annelids to know that her younger daughter was names after her, the first runner Pam ever saw at Hood!  Pam and Kate Healy Drummond hope to continue their tradition of meeting for a mutual birthday lunch in the fall when Pam returns east to visit. Betsy Cooper Pizzolato joined the grandma club on June 27 when daughter Karen and husband Richard brought Eleanor Jane Heine into the world.  She and husband Tom are crazy with joy over her.  Karen just returned to work so Betsy and Tom are the Tuesday caregivers.  They drive about an hour on Monday, spend the night with the new family and take care of the baby all day Tuesday which, she reports, is pure fun. Mindy Laighton Wilcox and Bill traveled to Normandy last summer on a Hood Alumni sponsored trip.   Marj Menchey Berkheimer ’70 and husband Phil were also part of the group consisting of Hood College and Northwestern University graduates.  Both Bill and I, Mary McMunigal Burland, have been busy substitute teaching this fall.  He’s at our local middle school, and I’m teaching art for 3 months at the school where I taught for 35 years. This has been an interesting experience as my art skills are mediocre at best!  We did manage to squeeze in a week at Kiawah Island after Hurricane Matthew went through, fortunately, we had no property damage, but the dunes were severely eroded.  Now that November is here, I am looking forward to the holidays and the arrival of a new grandchild in a few weeks. Mindy and I hope all is well with all of you!  We’d love to hear from you!