Come Sail Away
Perhaps it was because three of my grandparents were born in England, the fourth, an eighth great grandfather, born there quite long ago, or due to my dad and his father being in the Navy, I became interested in ancestry and boats. Over the last 25 years I’ve built several small wooden boats, and through that made several friends and organized many ‘Messabouts’.
Over the past decade I’ve been watching lots of YouTube videos on wooden boats and those that sail them, which led in time to videos of couples sailing wooden and fiberglass boats all over the globe for years at a time.
It was thus with great excitement that I read about “Project Atticus” in the Spring 2025 Pomona College Magazine. I’d not heard of this channel before, but I will now enjoy binge-watching the past decade of these videos, and any upcoming videos as well!
—Steve Lansdowne ’71
Prompts of Fond Memories
As a former editor of Pomona College Magazine, I read each issue with interest. The Spring 2025 obituaries have prompted some special memories of four people:
Perdita Sheirich was an unsung hero of the College; her myriad notes regarding births, professional and personal achievements, and obituaries captured, preserved and celebrated the fabric of the campus community for decades.
Gordon Hazlitt ’54 was a legendary editor of PCM when I arrived in 1984. He was one of several editors with whom I had the pleasure of working (Christine Kopitzke ’75, Dennis Rodkin ’83, Tom Wood, Mark Wood).
And finally, let’s remember parents and grandparents who are often unappreciated. The late Peter and Winky Hussey (parents of Duncan Hussey ’13) helped support athletics at Pomona, funding facilities and nearly single-handedly organizing tailgate parties before and after football games. They were tireless advocates and supporters of the College.
All four, in different ways, contributed mightily.
—Don Pattison
Pomona, California
Remembrances from the Golden Age
I was alarmed to find nothing in the Spring issue from my ’56 classmates. I miss knowing who is still around and what they are about. At 90, I would enjoy any bits about fellow aged lives. I have memories of the ’50s that are laughable now—Stinky’s hamburgers! May Queen! Gracious Living! I waited on tables at dinners. Are there still served dinners? My life is limited now, of course, to reading, writing a column for a local paper here in small-town Arizona, and musing about the meaning of life. I’m shorter and fatter and am married to my third husband. I don’t miss my teaching or my ministry, but I do miss my departed friends, like Ann Williams ’56 with whom I had wonderful trips and many laughs.
—Elaine Stoppel Jordan ’56
Correction
Friends, on page 8 of the Spring 2025 PCM, you identify 1982 commencement speaker Bill Bradley as a New York senator. Although “Dollar Bill” starred for the New York Knicks, he represented New Jersey in the Senate.
—Steve Johnson ’82
Write to Us at PCM
Pomona College Magazine welcomes brief letters to the editor about the magazine and issues related to the College from the extended Pomona community—alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, donors and others with a strong connection to the College. Write to us at pcm@pomona.edu or mail a letter to Pomona College Magazine, 550 N. College Ave., Claremont, CA 91711. Letters should include the writer’s name, city and state of residence, class year for alumni and contact information. With rare exceptions, letters should be no more than 400 words in length. Letters are selected for publication based on relevance and available space and are subject to being edited for brevity and clarity.