1972

Cynthia Clifford
415-563-5273
cynthiaclifford999@gmail.com

Carol Schlosnagle Bradford is enjoying a busy retirement, volunteering for an organization that supports foreign diplomats who work in embassies in Washington, DC, including taking them on tours of local sites, arranging speakers and organizing events. After 12 years living and working in Asia, she especially enjoys the interactions with international groups. Virginia “Gini” Procino Hartmann—bless her—drafted a report for me on our August mini-reunion. I flew to Burlington, NC, to visit my aunt and cousins, and then visited Kathy Stewart in Harrisburg, PA. Kathy had found a great venue, and she and I met up with Gini, Barbara Cox Bisset and Barrie Parsons Tilghman in a lovely seafood restaurant in Wilmington, DE (Jane Chaisson Blake almost made it). As is always the case when we Hood classmates get together, it was wonderful to pick up right where we last left off. We spent most of our time together laughing and all had a terrific time. Check out this video of Barrie and her sister Ellen demonstrating how to make Maryland Beaten Biscuits: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcsrT6NfCAg. Later that day, Gini drove me to Watchung, NJ, where I was delighted to spend time with her and Tom in their beautiful new home, which I had last seen when it was under construction. Soon thereafter, Gini and Tom made a 120-mile pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. She writes, “I wish I could convey the simplicity and peace of walking all day toward a goal, eating simple meals, washing our clothes in a laundry sink, and sleeping in bunk beds in the various pilgrim hotels. Tom and I talk about The Way all the time and get a dreamy look in our eyes.” Kathy is a frequent visitor to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as she attempts to keep up with the burgeoning family of niece Claire, who recently gave birth to a baby girl. Ellie joins big sister Jane, who just turned two. Kathy reports a newfound hobby of constant shopping for little girls’ fashions. She enjoyed the nation’s largest recreational vehicle show in Hershey, PA, last fall; admiring Kathy and Larry Belikoff’s life on the road, she’s considering a smaller unit geared toward older, physically challenged travelers. She’s going old school for the holidays, preparing lemon marmalade and Springerle cookies for family and friends. Following the recent election, Kathy says she can now be reached at the Home for the Terminally Catatonic, where she can be found with a distant gaze and tears in her eyes (hehe). Janice Williams Martin writes that she and Al recently took the Market Fest AHI Tour of Germany and then to Paris, and fully enjoyed sailing on the Rhine and Moselle rivers. They are enjoying retirement, especially summer visits to their lake cottage in Connecticut and visits with their sons. Allison Zack (Jeffrey Hagerich) and Mike enjoyed a tour to Sicily; then took a two-week National Geographic Adventure Tour to China, which included hiking parts of the Great Wall; they were able to visit their daughters and their families—one in Singapore and the other in Camarillo, CA. Can we believe that it’s been 45 years? A reminder to save the date for our reunion: Friday-Sunday, June 9-11, 2017. Thanks to Linda Cumber Gifkins, our Facebook page announces that the Hampton Inn and Suites Ft. Detrick is offering a special rate of $119. Jane Esselen Blocker reports that Linda, Chrisse Butler Hassett, M.A.’75, and others from the Memorial crew are bringing their significant others…and I hope you’re all planning to do so as well. I’ll be celebrating the holidays with my sister, Debi, her husband, Dave, my nephew, Rowan, and his fiancee, Hallie. My best wishes to you all for great health and happiness in the New Year!