Bart Saxbe
Date: August 20, 2019

Memories? I remember how indignant Tom was when he was inadvertently left with the pledges on the pledge hike when he was pledgemaster. 

Neale Adams
Date: August 20, 2019

Tom contributed to the 50th Reunion book. Classmates should have a copy, but if it's hard to find, this is what Tom wrote a few years ago: 

Fifty years ago, in June of 1963, many of us started on new paths. Most of the class celebrated graduation, but I jumpstarted graduate studies with a field geology course in the Snowy Mountains west of Laramie, Wyoming. For an Eastern flatlander, this immersion in a new social and geographic environment was challenging, but exciting. The appeal of crisp skies, rugged peaks, and jeans has been central to my life ever since, even if some practices such as chew, Coors Beer, and cowboy hats were only brief fads. Geology fieldwork in and around mines of the Rocky Mountains became the other compelling attraction. The academics at Amherst gave me an excellent foundation for a career in geology research that allowed me to work and live in great places, with special people.

Four years of graduate school in New York City were an odd kink in my path, but a unique time of discovery that could happen only at age 22 in a great city. A highlight was meeting and marrying my wife, Marti, at Columbia University, and enjoying wonderful trips to her family home on the Jersey Shore. In 1967 we took off for Menlo Park, California, clueless about that part of the country, but with a great job that evolved for the next 35 years. My assignments were to make friends and do fieldwork in France, Spain, Canada, and Australia. The Three Mile Island disaster brought the uranium boom to an abrupt halt, but provided the opportunity to jump laterally within the U.S. Geological Survey to geochemical studies of copper, cobalt, and gold ore deposits.

A more leisurely pace allowed more time at home with our two young girls. We had a lovely home, literally at the end of the dirt road in Evergreen, Colorado, at a time when teachers challenged the good students, and girls could play three sports. Marti learned to play and coach soccer, eventually taking the high school team to state champion - ship in 1990, with both daughters quite academic: research on the geology and geochemistry of known ore deposits (mines) to make resource estimates for government agencies and to guide exploration by industry. We bought a nice house, had gardens and chickens in the back yard, and I rode a bike to work. Some would call us foolish for not loving the Bay Area, but we found it crowded and the climate too predictable.

So in 1973 we negotiated a move to the Denver area to live in the mountains, enjoy four seasons, and jump into exciting research fueled by the energy crunch of the 1970s. With big budgets and much attention, energy resources research took on a global perspective that allowed me playing on that Cinderella team. Values gained at Amherst were im part ed, I think, to daughters Katie and Laura, and we could basically get out of their way. Katie chose a fine college in Northwest Massachusetts (declining the offer from Amherst), that put her on the fast track to world-class research on plant ecology and tenure at Berkeley (across the Bay from where she was born), while Laura found her place with graduate students in Classics and English literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder, then the University of Indiana, and now is finishing her PhD degree in Denver.

The new millennium found us needing a boost. Our girls were doing well in their professions, and I was bored by writing more papers that few took the time to read. So I retired after 35 great years with the USGS, and we packed tons of stuff and moved to Vermont to start a new life across Lake Champlain from the Adirondacks, where I spent 15 summers as a kid (and became addicted to mountains). Burlington is a fine small city, with wonderful people and progressive programs that gave us the boost we wanted. We rebuilt a small barn as an art studio for Marti and enjoyed the gardens, lakes, and snow of the Green Mountain State from 2002 to 2007. A grandchild arrived in 2005, and we found that the commute to California was a mess of cancellations, especially in winter. So we searched for a home that was within driving distance of our daughters and grandchild, but also a stimulating place for us to pursue our own activities.

We settled on the small town of Las Vegas, New Mexico, for its high-elevation seasons and what we think is a New England feel with deciduous trees and Victorian homes (built after the railroad arrived in 1879). We spent two years refurbishing a lovely “neoclassical cottage,” doing much of the work ourselves. I saved some of the fun puzzles like rewiring and extreme makeovers of two baths for myself; replacing rusty pipes with PEX plumbing is a very satisfying accomplishment (I give free lessons). Marti has published a children’s book (illustrated by her woodcut prints) and gets good sales and feedback through the El Zocalo cooperative art gallery that she helped start. The small-town life has limitations, but numerous opportunities for strong relationships. With geology research and consulting in the rear view mirror, I now find satisfaction in giving back to groups like a local church, Habitat for Humanity, Kiwanis, and city committees. When the trip from New Mexico to California got too complicated, we moved again, to Petaluma, California. We gained a lot but had to leave many good friends and activities behind.

Personal evolution over 50 years isn’t always linear. In late 2010, my doc advised me of a sudden increase in blood pressure. I thought I was pretty healthy with good diet and exercise on my road bike; I took 15- mile rides the week before going to the ER. The outcome was neatly done quadruple-bypass surgery that fixed my heart, but the open-heart surgery set me back for several months. Rebuilding lost conditioning is now akin to rehab after a sports injury, though not as rapid as in youth, but hikes, road biking, and heavy work on home projects are possible and enjoyable as I turn 70. I don’t recommend a week’s vacation in the heart hospital, but it sure beats the alternatives and gives me a second chance that many do not get.

Looking back over 50 years, it is clear that the academic, athletic, and social environment at Amherst created a strong foundation and many opportunities after graduation. My one regret is that I did not spend more time just hanging out with friends. I hope my classmates have had as many choices and good outcomes as has been my good fortune. The work ethic that we learned at Amherst built confidence to achieve “success”—an interesting life path in association with creative and loving people.

Ted Truman
Date: August 21, 2019

And I did not know that he was a counselor at Camp Lincoln which I attended in 1952 and 1953. Perhaps he was then a camper there and we never made the connection 

Bill Amend
Date: August 21, 2019

Thanks so much for this detailed story of our beloved, Tom. Connie & I (plus Dave Holmes) had wonderful experiences with Tom & his sister at Wilmington Friends School, here in Delaware. His father (Duane) was a wonderful math teacher (also an Amherst graduate in the 30's) who encouraged me to even look at Amherst in 1958.
 I'll share his wonderful story with fellow Friends' graduates at our 60th reunion end-October

Alan Bernstein
Date: August 21, 2019

Rereading Tom’s personal essay was inspiring and reminded me what a great bunch of guys we were/are!  Best wishes everyone.