1930s

36 Class Secretary — John Norton;

jwn176@aol.com

37 Class Secretary — Kathleen Coverick’08;

kathleen.coverick@gmail.com

38 Class Secretary — Meg Julian ’03, ’06JD;

6 Carriage Trail, Princeton NJ 08540; 646-246-5480; megjulian@gmail.com 

39 Here Comes the News

It has been wonderful hearing from so many ’39 classmates and family members. Father Rodney Kissinger shared his Seasoned Spirituality website, www.frksj.org. He has written extensively and embraced the digital age. Vin Dollard, via his daughter, Nancy Dollard Buckley, reminisced about the dorms he lived in: Brownson, Carroll, Howard and Alumni. He also told a funny story that might make current students think twice before “commenting” about parietals. Back then, girls were allowed on campus for game days only; some students used to hang out of the windows and call girls to come over. One day, while out in South Bend, a group found a discarded mannequin and brought it back to campus, hiding it in a student’s bed and telling him one of the girls had snuck in. Though Vin’s last trip to campus was a “boys weekend” about 20 years ago, he still follows the games and noted he’s never tired of holding hands with Jean, his wife of 69 years. A three generational connection was made when Robert (Bob) Plain ’69 wrote to share that he was classmates with my uncle, Tim Meskill ’69. Bob’s father, George Plain, played football for Elmer Layden, and a number of his kids live nearby in Rhode Island. Although George passed away in 2006, Bob still looks for ’39 news in each magazine. It is a small world, drawn closer through our connections to ND. Another daughter, Suzie Raff ’82SMC, reported that her dad, Jim Raaf, lives in Snowmass Village CO and will celebrate his 98th birthday in May. Despite using a wheelchair and having difficulty hearing well enough to talk on the phone, he still is excited for ND football, solitaire and sharing stories. His family has an extensive ND-SMC history, including: Jim’s late wife, Angela Courter Raaf ’39SMC, daughter Barbara Raaf Wolff ’75SMC and three grandkids who are ND alums. His youngest grandson is Adrian Wolff ’16. Jim looks forward to his great-grandchildren continuing the ND tradition. Your longtime secretary Bill Donnelly shared a story about Frank Pfaff, a classmate he had many connections with despite never meeting personally. During their senior year, Bill wrote a regular column for Scholastic magazine. One week he reported on a group of Saint Mary’s girls who were discussing Notre Dame guys who might be considered good prospects for dates. Frank was mentioned, only they couldn’t find him in The Dome under the letter “F.” Bill reports some coincidences shared with Frank, who lived in Cranford NJ for 30 years. Bill spent six months teaching there in 1942. He purchased his first Florida property in Boynton Beach in 1980; Frank retired to the same town. The spring issue lists Boca Raton as Frank’s address at his death in April; Bill has called Boca Raton home for 18 years. Finally, a wonderful letter arrived from Stewart J. Roche ’39JD, one of the older living graduates of the Law School, which was established in 1869 and graduated its first class of three students in 1871. Stewart was Law School president his senior year and spent time in the Counter Intelligence Corps during WWII. He turned 100 in February and continues to golf, hitting three of his nine lifetime holes in one since turning 90. I hope he’s gotten his 10th since the writing of this column. Keep the news and stories coming. — Seth O’Donnell; 17 Marion St., East Greenwich RI 02818; 603-828-7335; seth.odonnell@gmail.com