Notable Dates in '63 History
Sept. 15, 1959: 801 of us assemble in Alexander Hall to hear President Goheen proclaim us Princeton's finest class ever.
July 1, 1978: Philip Cannon becomes the first member of the class elected to the Princeton board of trustees.
Sept. 15, 2007: Jeremy Kinsman, former Canadian ambassador to Russia, Italy, the U.K., and
the European Union, returns to Princeton as the Diplomat in Residence at the Woodrow Wilson
School for the 2007-08 academic year.
March 13, 1960: Martin Luther King visits campus to meet with students and deliver a sermon in the Princeton Chapel.
May 31, 2008: Neil Diamond performs at our 45th Reunion. Or does he? Controversy
immediately springs up about whether it was really Neil Diamond or an impersonator, and spills
over into spirited debate in on-line discussion groups the following week, with strong adherents
on both sides. To settle the matter, it is put to Reunion Chairman Ed Walsh. When asked
whether it was really Neil Diamond or an impersonator, Ed replies "yes." The controversy
continues, and the legend grows.
July 1, 1963: Our first slate of class officers as alumni begin five year terms to continue through
our 5th Reunion: Dave Gouldin, president; Bob Stafford, vice president; Bill McWhirter,
secretary; Hank Gutman, treasurer; and Jeff Grad, class agent. McWhirter and Grad serve for
three years and are succeeded by Selden Edwards as secretary and Tim Callard as class agent.
July 1, 1968: Following our 5th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us
through our 10th Reunion in 1973: Tony Cox, president; Tim Callard, vice president; Selden
Edwards, secretary; Hank Gutman, treasurer; and Philip Cannon, class agent.
July 1, 1973: Following our 10th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us
through our 15th Reunion in 1978: Bill Conner, president; Jeff Moss, vice president; Selden
Edwards, secretary; Peter Hoey, treasurer; and Bill Harman, class agent.
May 5, 1963: In an act of deep symbolic meaning, a television set is tossed from the top of Blair Tower and explodes on impact on the stairs below.
No one actually knows what that deep meaning was, even five-plus decades later, and the forum for hypotheses remains open.
July 1, 1994: Dennis Keller is elected to the Princeton board of trustees and serves a total of 14 years.
July 1, 1994: Duke Sloan is elected to the Princeton board of trustees.
Oct. 25, 1996: "The Song Goes On," written by Jeff Moss, is performed for the first time at a special Triangle Club performance at McCarter Theater,
"The Tiger Roars: A Salute to Princeton University's 250th Anniversary."
Jeff wrote it specifically for that occasion, and it serves as the show's finale with the full cast participating.
Since then, the song has been a feature of our class's memorial services at the Chapel during our major reunions.
July 1, 1978: Following our 15th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 20th Reunion in 1983:
Bill Harman, president; Bryce Chase, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Philip Claverie, treasurer; and Russell Carpenter, class agent.
July 1, 1983: Following our 20th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through or 25th Reunion in 1988:
Steve Macaleer, president; Russell Carpenter, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Bryce Chase, treasurer; and Earl Hoffman, class agent.
July 1, 1988: Following our 25th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 30th Reunion in 1993:
Jim Morgan, president; Jeff Fort, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Warren Wood, treasurer; and Malcolm Mackay, class agent.
July 1, 2001: Dick Krugman is elected to the Princeton board of trustees.
Sept. 27, 1959: Shortly after arriving on campus, we discover that the TV series "Maverick," with James Garner, has the status of something of a cult ritual at Princeton.
Students troop out of Firestone to watch each Sunday evening episode at the Student Center, then return an hour later.
July 1, 1993: Following our 30th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 35th in 1998:
Dennis Keller, president; Peter Hoey, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Bob Eisenstadt, treasurer; and Gerry Meistrell, class agent.
After two years, Dexter Peacock succeeds Gerry as class agent for the next three.
July 1, 1998: Following our 35th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 40th in 2003:
Peter Hoey, president; Malcolm Mackay, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Doug Esson, treasurer; and Bob Eisenstadt, class agent.
July 1, 2003: Following our 40th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 45th in 2008:
Dick Haverland, president; Hank Moses, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Bill Green, treasurer; and Bob Eisenstadt, class agent.
June 30, 2000: The Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, launched in 1996 on the occasion of Princeton's 250th anniversary and co-chaired by Dennis Keller,
completes its five year mission with a total of $1.14 billion, substantially exceeding the original goal. Dennis's co-chairs are fellow trustees Jay Sherrerd '52 and Janet Clarke '75.
Jan. 19, 1963: The Baltimore Dairy Lunch, familiarly known as the Balt and prized by both town and gown, closes after 42 years in business at its location on Nassau Street opposite Nassau Hall. Students feel the loss especially keenly and hold a mock funeral, complete with a dirge created for the occasion by the Triangle Club and performed by The Balt Funeral Funeral and Marching Society.
Dec. 1, 1960: To wild acclaim, Bishop Homer Tomlinson, the self-declared King of the World and a candidate for president of the United States, visits the Princeton campus. A band leads a procession to the steps of Whig Hall, where the King addresses a large and enthusiastic throng.
July 1, 2008: Following our 45th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 50th in 2013:
Philip Cannon, president; Steve DeRochi, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Bob Kent, treasurer; and Bob Eisenstadt, class agent.
July 1, 2013: Following our 50th Reunion, a new set of class officers takes over to lead us through our 55th in 2018:
Steve DeRochi, president; John Duff, vice president; Selden Edwards, class secretary; Bob LeFever, treasurer; and Bob Eisenstadt, class agent.
July 1, 2018: Following our 55th Reunion, new officers take over to lead us through our 60th in 2023:
John Duff, president; Bob LeFever, vice president; Selden Edwards, secretary; Jim Pickman, treasurer; and Bob Eisenstadt, class agent.
After two years, George Harmon replaces Selden as class secretary after Selden, substituting for our original class secretary, Bill McWhirter, serves for 54 years.
Nov. 5, 1960: The Kingston Trio performs to a packed house at Dillon gym. We already know all their music, because at the time we arrived at Princeton the previous fall, it had seemed as if Kingston Trio songs were drifting from the windows of dorm rooms everywhere on campus.
April 15, 1963: Professor David Donald, the eminent Civil War historian, gives over one of his lectures to Allen Foster in his course about The Civil War and Reconstruction.
In McCosh 10, Allen's topic is "Reconstruction in Quachita Parish, Louisiana," in which he presents his original research challenging a then-prevailing view about Reconstruction.
Allen's research is later cited in books by Professor Donald and other scholars. Allen's lecture is the only one known to have been delivered by a Princeton undergraduate.
Sept. 18, 1960: We return as sophomores to learn that compulsory Chapel attendance (or its equivalent elsewhere), which had previously been required of all freshmen and sophomores for a certain number of Sundays each semester, is a thing of the past.
We got off easy. A generation or two back, attendance was required daily.
As later recalled by a then-student who had become an Episcopal bishop, the jibe of that earlier time was: "Don't rustle your newspaper in Chapel; you may disturb your neighbor, who is sleeping."
Nov. 24, 1962: In the finale of the football season vs. Dartmouth, and the last game for '63's seniors, a PAT by Dave Gouldin is the final point scored by a '63er.
It is also the last scoring kick in the annals of Princeton football by a straight-ahead kicker. The following year, Charlie Gogolak '66 becomes the first in a succession of soccer-style kickers that continues to the present.