Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Winter 2007 | Page 17

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CLASS NOTES
1929
Ralph Meserve was honored by
First Parish Congregational Church
in Saco as part of the “Nifty Nineties” celebration honoring members
of the church who are 90 years old
or more.
1936
Roy Fairfield was honored by Saco
Mayor Mark Johnston ‘71 and the
City Council for his work in preserving local Saco history, researching,
taking care of town records and
archiving at Dyer Library. Herbert
Dyer e-mailed the Alumni Office
in September that he had lost his
Thornton Academy sweatshirt in
Hurricane Katrina and was seeking
a new one. The Alumni Office was
happy to oblige. Herb is living in
Metairie, LA.
1938
Laura Harmon Ekengren’s husband Ernie passed away in March
2006.
1942
Lucy Kozloff Murphy wrote to the
Alumni Office recently with news.
“I sold my home in Abington, MA,
and moved to Seattle to be near
my youngest son Michael and his
wife, and two grandchildren. I miss
Abington, and I would like to hear
from my classmates.”
1945
Fred Arno’s granddaughter Brooke
is a finalist in the Oscar Mayer Weiner jingle contest, finishing in the
top five out of 18,000 contestants
for her rendition of the well-known
commercial. Check out her winning
performance at www.singthejingle.
com.
Dorothy Rae Whitehead
Guay wrote that she and her husband are “enjoying our family of
three children, two grandchildren
and great grandchildren.”
1946
The class celebrated its 60th anniversary at Joseph’s by the Sea
in September with 35 classmates,
spouses, and one daughter in attendance. They’re looking forward
to Number 70 in 2016. Fred Clark
was honored by Saco Mayor Mark
Johnston ‘71 and the City Council
for his work in preserving local Saco
history by researching, taking care
of town records and archiving at
Dyer Library.

1956
The Class of ‘56 enjoyed a wonderful three-day celebration for their
50th reunion in July, with a record
turnout of, ironically, 56% of their
classmates! The class also made a
gift to the Thornton Academy Annual Fund to recognize their reunion.
Former coach Donald Russell flew
in from Texas for the big event. “It
was a great experience for me to
be at the reunion. Also, I made two
trips to the campus, the first time in
ten years—greatly impressed.” Former teachers Elizabeth Morse ‘43
and Caroline Strong also attended
the reunion.
1957
50th Reunion
Bob Keithley and his wife Lynne
have moved back to Saco. Bob is
busy planning the 50th reunion for
this fall and would love to hear from
classmates.
1958
Barry Gallant and Mike Searles and
their wives, Roberta Sargent Gallant ‘62 and Ellen Searles, fulfilled
a long-time dream last summer.
Here’s their account of the journey.
“Our 9-week camping adventure
with two travel trailers and a dog
took us across country, through the
beautiful Canadian Rockies, entering Alaska in the first part of July.
Highlights included the mountainous Banff and Jasper State Parks in
British Columbia, the nearly 1,400
mile drive up the Alaska Highway,
and a glacier landing on the flanks of
Mt. McKinley. We also enjoyed king
salmon fishing on the Kenai River,
wildlife viewing in Denali National
Park, and a bumpy 80+ mile ride
over the “Top of the World Highway”
to Dawson City, stopping at the tiny
town (pop. 20 something) of Chicken, Alaska, to pan for gold. During
the trip we met many nice people,
ate some great food and enjoyed
the great outdoors.” Carole Warren
Spiller wrote to the Alumni Office
in January: “We will have two granddaughters at the end of March! Don
is retiring this summer, and I am
getting ready to tour Greece with
my showband Special Blendz.”
1960
Maynard Pelkey wrote from his
home in Aruada, CO, in August to
share news. “My wife Faith retir Y