JUST EMAIL ME
AND IT WILL BE ADDED TO OUR SITE
DECEMBER 2013
What a lovely surprise ! Trevor, you have done an amazing job of the web site, and I look forward to perusing it regularly .
Before I have a senior moment, again, I wish to thank all those day boys who always brought me sandwiches for break, made to order by a legion of Mothers and Nannies. Because of your compassion I always had a desk full of food. I wonder if that was the start of high cholesterol and diabetes?
Life has treated me well , thank G-D. My wife and I left South Africa in 1997 for Australia and settled in Perth for 11 great years where our only daughter finished school and studied . She then married, settled in Melbourne which has a large and thriving Jewish community. We moved to Melbourne 5 years ago and have two spectacular grandsons, the oldest is 5 today and the youngest a feisty 2.
In Perth the Sacs old boys are well controlled by David Ellis, whom you will remember, We even had a regatta on the river against Bishops! Dont remember who won. I remember nearly falling overboard and being saved by Stewart Wait. I didn't spill my beer!
I have many memories of Rosedale, Some concerning the late John Ince, Sean Day, Graeme Goldin (his name is not on the list), The Boss (not Bruce Springsteen) and his Alsatians with smoking in the bushes next to the old tennis court. If there was one person who scared me, it was him. I could waffle on for hours.
I have been busy getting a reunion of people from Keetmanshoop together for next year in Keetmans. Looking semi promising. Also have been longing to visit Cape Town again. But I will definitely put it on hold till the Great 2016 Bash.
Can't wait to see you all !
Best Regards to you all and Seasons Greetings.
Harry Luchtenstein
PS: There was a long article in the Aus. Jewish News about The Yom Kippur War, in which Doodie Silbowitz died . He is mentioned in the Article. If anyone wishes to read it, I will attempt to find it.
Wonderful idea. You have made a great start and some of the team photos evoke memories of faces long forgotten. The portrait of the boss hints at a softer side that I never knew.
Will be happy to send or add some images of my own. I recall with great regret that I had made a super 8 video that covered n E1 Nancy class in 1966. Various dissidents had stacked a pile straw boaters at the entrance to E1 and had attached the bottom hat to the door knob. All the hats collapsed on top of him when he opened the door. Great hilarity. He carried on without a comment if I recall correctly. I should feel ashamed, but don’t. Also had filmed the spray painting of the white lions at the entrance to the school with red paint (by some un-identified vandals who are known to me and a few others). Does anyone recall these events?
Sadly the video was stolen from my New York apartment during a burglary.
Have attached a photo of from the reunion held in Sydney last month. Alan Lipman, Rob Corry, Ernie Kirsten. Rory McCarthy and Phil Lipshitz were also there. Over 50 old boys present.
Fond Regards
Norman Levin
Hi guys –
As I sit here in my home in Connecticut (just outside New York) in the midst of a snow storm, having just watched Madiba’s memorial service in Soweto, I have been reflecting on the extraordinary changes since we were all together nearly 50 years ago. To wit – never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a black President of the United States flying to SA to eulogize a globally beloved black former President of South Africa. It gives me hope for other parts of the world struggling with seemingly “insoluble” challenges!
I am equally amazed at some events in my own life – when I left SA for good in 1974, I never would have guessed that I would return in 2010 to see my eldest daughter marry a South African on a Stellenbosch wine estate, or that in 2013 my youngest daughter (a premed student) would elect to study Afrikaans at Harvard because she is intrigued by it (I don’t have the heart to tell her how much I hated studying Afrikaans in my time!)
Life takes many interesting twists and turns!
I continue to be blessed with a wonderful family – 4 daughters, one son-in-law, one granddaughter and two fiancés (second and third daughters getting married next year, so I will be impoverished after two weddings in one year!) and a great marriage to Ginny. Business keeps me too busy, but I still enjoy it so plan to keep on working for a few more years.
Great to hear from all who have written – Harry, Trevor, Norman, David, Harold!
Best wishes to all
Sean Day
As I sit here in my home in Connecticut (just outside New York) in the midst of a snow storm, having just watched Madiba’s memorial service in Soweto, I have been reflecting on the extraordinary changes since we were all together nearly 50 years ago. To wit – never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a black President of the United States flying to SA to eulogize a globally beloved black former President of South Africa. It gives me hope for other parts of the world struggling with seemingly “insoluble” challenges!
I am equally amazed at some events in my own life – when I left SA for good in 1974, I never would have guessed that I would return in 2010 to see my eldest daughter marry a South African on a Stellenbosch wine estate, or that in 2013 my youngest daughter (a premed student) would elect to study Afrikaans at Harvard because she is intrigued by it (I don’t have the heart to tell her how much I hated studying Afrikaans in my time!)
Life takes many interesting twists and turns!
I continue to be blessed with a wonderful family – 4 daughters, one son-in-law, one granddaughter and two fiancés (second and third daughters getting married next year, so I will be impoverished after two weddings in one year!) and a great marriage to Ginny. Business keeps me too busy, but I still enjoy it so plan to keep on working for a few more years.
Great to hear from all who have written – Harry, Trevor, Norman, David, Harold!
Best wishes to all
Sean Day
Thanks for finding my current email address. Good to hear from you.
I see that you are living in Massachusetts. During the early 80's I commuted to Boston about once a month for about four years. Despite living on the west coast of Canada I have never found a seafood restaurant that compares to Legals Sea Food.
My family and I moved to Vancouver in 1981 and have been living here ever since. I worked in the computer industry for over 40 years as a Business Analyst/Systems Designer/Programmer and retired several years ago after starting and building two software businesses. After retirement I got bored with golf and started helping my wife with a little home based nougat making business she started after visiting her family in Jhb. one year and discovered Sally Williams nougat. That led to her selling her candy at local farmers markets where it is hugely popular and that in turn led me to starting my third computer business, www.whatsatthemarket.com, which is a website that is designed to help farmers market vendors to make more sales. The website was officially launched two weeks ago for the local Vancouver markets (it has over 30,000 shoppers already registered) and the intention is to have it operating North America wide by mid 2014. We will see.
Thanks again and a special thanks for your other email pertaining to our potential health issues. It is appreciated.
Take care,
Ivan Kalley
I see that you are living in Massachusetts. During the early 80's I commuted to Boston about once a month for about four years. Despite living on the west coast of Canada I have never found a seafood restaurant that compares to Legals Sea Food.
My family and I moved to Vancouver in 1981 and have been living here ever since. I worked in the computer industry for over 40 years as a Business Analyst/Systems Designer/Programmer and retired several years ago after starting and building two software businesses. After retirement I got bored with golf and started helping my wife with a little home based nougat making business she started after visiting her family in Jhb. one year and discovered Sally Williams nougat. That led to her selling her candy at local farmers markets where it is hugely popular and that in turn led me to starting my third computer business, www.whatsatthemarket.com, which is a website that is designed to help farmers market vendors to make more sales. The website was officially launched two weeks ago for the local Vancouver markets (it has over 30,000 shoppers already registered) and the intention is to have it operating North America wide by mid 2014. We will see.
Thanks again and a special thanks for your other email pertaining to our potential health issues. It is appreciated.
Take care,
Ivan Kalley
JANUARY 2014
Recently retired from fulltime work as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in Fish Hoek. I will continue to work in a congregation we opened in Masiphumelele, a nearby township, where, amongst other things, I shall mentor a new young pastor. We have also established a pre-school/creche there for 60 children and I will continue to lead that work. We provide meaningful early education for the little children.
My wife died shortly after our 40th class reunion and so now I am a happy bachelor. My daughter, who is a professional musician with the Kwa-Zulu/Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban (and is a Sharks supporter!) keeps a close check on me.
I played squash till 57, when I needed to stop, because of family inherited heart problems. I do however still go regularly to a gym.
Thank you to all have done the good work to establish this website.
David van Duyker
It is oft said that Africa is in your bones, in your soul! My recent sojourn in Kigali, Rwanda confirmed
that. Kigali is a far cry from my days at UCT where some may argue I spent more time on the rugby
fields than studying for my medical degree. Since leaving medical school I have been on a rather
circuitous route to where I am today. After a brief period in New Zealand (to play more rugby!) I
completed my specialist training in Durban, followed by a fellowship in paediatric anaesthesia at the
University of Washington in Seattle. I then returned to Durban where I spent almost 20 years in
paediatric anaesthesia at the King Edward VIII hospital at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.
However, the draw of Cape Town was too great and I accepted an offer for the Second Chair of
Anaesthesia at UCT and subsequently continued my passion i.e. paediatric anaesthesia at the Red
Cross Children’s Hospital. An offer to return to Seattle in 2008 to take up a professorial position
as Director of Regional Anaesthesia at Seattle Children’s Hospital was an opportunity not to be
missed. But the draw of Africa never leaves you! Having previously spent time in Kinshasa, I was
a little tentative about Rwanda with its equally troubled history. Kinshasa had been a disturbing eye opener for someone who had hardly travelled in Africa thanks to the restrictions imposed on us growing up in apartheid South
Africa. I never felt comfortable in Kinshasa. The facilities, especially
health care, were unbelievably poor. The mission team had been greeted with no running water in the operating theatres, unreliable
electrical supplies, toilets that you preferred to stay out of no matter how desperate you might be and antiseptic soap that was
nowhere to be found. As a result of the almost complete breakdown of health services, it was not surprising that over 600 patients of
all ages were waiting to be assessed for surgery. On a positive note, despite the difficulties, over 200 congenital facial deformities
were corrected without complication. Rwanda on the other hand was a gem! Ravaged by the horrific
genocide of the recent past, it could not have been a greater surprise. The country was spotlessly clean and the people outgoing
and friendly. The country continues to rebuild and there was no overt hint of the genocide apart from the memorial sites that
served as a gruesome reminder of the fallibility of human nature.
The mission team was greeted by a similar number of patients waiting for much sought after surgery. However, I had an added
bonus in that my daughter, Melissa*, a fellow anaesthesiologist who trained at UCT, was on her first mission.
What were we doing in central Africa you might ask? Simple really! We had joined Operation Smile, a global non-profit
humanitarian medical service out of Norfolk, Virginia, that has been correcting cleft lip and palate and other facial deformities
in countries with limited medical resources around the world for almost 30 years. Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA), based
in Cape Town, was founded and registered as a section 21 company in March 2006. OSSA was established to serve Southern
and Central Africa including Madagascar. To date OSSA has sponsored missions to Madagascar, Swaziland, Rwanda, DRC,
Namibia, and also served parts of South Africa. OSSA is run by a dynamic group of young ladies who make our lives as medical
professionals as comfortable as possible in unfamiliar environments.
The contrasts of Africa are intriguing. Why is it that surgical and (forgive my bias!) more importantly, anaesthetic expertise to
perform safe surgery is lacking? Children and adults up to 70 years have uncorrected cleft lips and yet there is no shortage of
cell phones! In Kigali we even had a law student wait patiently in line with everyone else to have surgery. He was not going to
miss this opportunity. Thankfully he was able to write his law exam the following day, which we only realised when he politely
requested not to return for his follow-up appointment. Some of the stories behind the people who come for surgery
make you realise the impact that the missions have on their lives. There are many stories but perhaps the ones that have left the
biggest impression on me include the family who walked over 300km to have surgery because they couldn’t afford to pay for
transport; Simeon, the 21 year old, who had never seen a motor vehicle before he boarded the Peace Corps bus to travel to the
mission; and the initial terror and subsequent joy of 14 year old Vian, the Ugandan lad who, as a young boy, had escaped human
sacrifice (still a tribal custom in Uganda!), and travelled to Kigali with his uncle and guardian for surgery. At the end of each mission one realizes that we have a lot to be thankful for! I reflect on the mutual outpouring of goodwill from a team of volunteers from all walks of life, who give up much of their annual leave to change the lives of people they have never met and are never likely to see again. The beauty of Op Smile is in the people that volunteer. All work – and play – with a common purpose; lawyers serve as photographers, product managers as data capturers and of course surgeons, nurses and anaesthesiologists – all coordinated by a vibrant group of young ladies from Op Smile head office. Often referred to as the “Dream Team,” the South African team completed a record 252 surgeries in Kigali in just five operating days with incredible efficiency
without compromising safety. Each volunteer is affected by a mission in different ways. I left Kigali bursting with pride. Not
many fathers are blessed with the opportunity to share such an experience with his daughter* in the heart of Africa!
Adrian Bosenberg
*Tragically Bosie's twin son and daughter died in a motor vehicle accident while travelling together in South America.
Recently retired from fulltime work as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in Fish Hoek. I will continue to work in a congregation we opened in Masiphumelele, a nearby township, where, amongst other things, I shall mentor a new young pastor. We have also established a pre-school/creche there for 60 children and I will continue to lead that work. We provide meaningful early education for the little children.
My wife died shortly after our 40th class reunion and so now I am a happy bachelor. My daughter, who is a professional musician with the Kwa-Zulu/Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban (and is a Sharks supporter!) keeps a close check on me.
I played squash till 57, when I needed to stop, because of family inherited heart problems. I do however still go regularly to a gym.
Thank you to all have done the good work to establish this website.
David van Duyker
It is oft said that Africa is in your bones, in your soul! My recent sojourn in Kigali, Rwanda confirmed
that. Kigali is a far cry from my days at UCT where some may argue I spent more time on the rugby
fields than studying for my medical degree. Since leaving medical school I have been on a rather
circuitous route to where I am today. After a brief period in New Zealand (to play more rugby!) I
completed my specialist training in Durban, followed by a fellowship in paediatric anaesthesia at the
University of Washington in Seattle. I then returned to Durban where I spent almost 20 years in
paediatric anaesthesia at the King Edward VIII hospital at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.
However, the draw of Cape Town was too great and I accepted an offer for the Second Chair of
Anaesthesia at UCT and subsequently continued my passion i.e. paediatric anaesthesia at the Red
Cross Children’s Hospital. An offer to return to Seattle in 2008 to take up a professorial position
as Director of Regional Anaesthesia at Seattle Children’s Hospital was an opportunity not to be
missed. But the draw of Africa never leaves you! Having previously spent time in Kinshasa, I was
a little tentative about Rwanda with its equally troubled history. Kinshasa had been a disturbing eye opener for someone who had hardly travelled in Africa thanks to the restrictions imposed on us growing up in apartheid South
Africa. I never felt comfortable in Kinshasa. The facilities, especially
health care, were unbelievably poor. The mission team had been greeted with no running water in the operating theatres, unreliable
electrical supplies, toilets that you preferred to stay out of no matter how desperate you might be and antiseptic soap that was
nowhere to be found. As a result of the almost complete breakdown of health services, it was not surprising that over 600 patients of
all ages were waiting to be assessed for surgery. On a positive note, despite the difficulties, over 200 congenital facial deformities
were corrected without complication. Rwanda on the other hand was a gem! Ravaged by the horrific
genocide of the recent past, it could not have been a greater surprise. The country was spotlessly clean and the people outgoing
and friendly. The country continues to rebuild and there was no overt hint of the genocide apart from the memorial sites that
served as a gruesome reminder of the fallibility of human nature.
The mission team was greeted by a similar number of patients waiting for much sought after surgery. However, I had an added
bonus in that my daughter, Melissa*, a fellow anaesthesiologist who trained at UCT, was on her first mission.
What were we doing in central Africa you might ask? Simple really! We had joined Operation Smile, a global non-profit
humanitarian medical service out of Norfolk, Virginia, that has been correcting cleft lip and palate and other facial deformities
in countries with limited medical resources around the world for almost 30 years. Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA), based
in Cape Town, was founded and registered as a section 21 company in March 2006. OSSA was established to serve Southern
and Central Africa including Madagascar. To date OSSA has sponsored missions to Madagascar, Swaziland, Rwanda, DRC,
Namibia, and also served parts of South Africa. OSSA is run by a dynamic group of young ladies who make our lives as medical
professionals as comfortable as possible in unfamiliar environments.
The contrasts of Africa are intriguing. Why is it that surgical and (forgive my bias!) more importantly, anaesthetic expertise to
perform safe surgery is lacking? Children and adults up to 70 years have uncorrected cleft lips and yet there is no shortage of
cell phones! In Kigali we even had a law student wait patiently in line with everyone else to have surgery. He was not going to
miss this opportunity. Thankfully he was able to write his law exam the following day, which we only realised when he politely
requested not to return for his follow-up appointment. Some of the stories behind the people who come for surgery
make you realise the impact that the missions have on their lives. There are many stories but perhaps the ones that have left the
biggest impression on me include the family who walked over 300km to have surgery because they couldn’t afford to pay for
transport; Simeon, the 21 year old, who had never seen a motor vehicle before he boarded the Peace Corps bus to travel to the
mission; and the initial terror and subsequent joy of 14 year old Vian, the Ugandan lad who, as a young boy, had escaped human
sacrifice (still a tribal custom in Uganda!), and travelled to Kigali with his uncle and guardian for surgery. At the end of each mission one realizes that we have a lot to be thankful for! I reflect on the mutual outpouring of goodwill from a team of volunteers from all walks of life, who give up much of their annual leave to change the lives of people they have never met and are never likely to see again. The beauty of Op Smile is in the people that volunteer. All work – and play – with a common purpose; lawyers serve as photographers, product managers as data capturers and of course surgeons, nurses and anaesthesiologists – all coordinated by a vibrant group of young ladies from Op Smile head office. Often referred to as the “Dream Team,” the South African team completed a record 252 surgeries in Kigali in just five operating days with incredible efficiency
without compromising safety. Each volunteer is affected by a mission in different ways. I left Kigali bursting with pride. Not
many fathers are blessed with the opportunity to share such an experience with his daughter* in the heart of Africa!
Adrian Bosenberg
*Tragically Bosie's twin son and daughter died in a motor vehicle accident while travelling together in South America.
MARCH 2014
Married to Pat and living in Somerset West. Two grown up boys in Glasgow and Stellenbosch. Working as a Certified Financial Planning practitioner in Octofin brokerage. Play golf and bowls. Play lead guitar in EARLY EDITION, a 6 piece rock band playing that great music of the 60s and 70s. Clive Jordaan another co-member of the band. Clive is playing the bongos to my left in the photo.
Gavin Hillyard
Married to Pat and living in Somerset West. Two grown up boys in Glasgow and Stellenbosch. Working as a Certified Financial Planning practitioner in Octofin brokerage. Play golf and bowls. Play lead guitar in EARLY EDITION, a 6 piece rock band playing that great music of the 60s and 70s. Clive Jordaan another co-member of the band. Clive is playing the bongos to my left in the photo.
Gavin Hillyard
APRIL 2014
What a terrific website. Once I got into it, couldn't leave. Great job Trevor.
So sorry to hear about Mike De Wet's passing. He was my Deputy Head Prefect when I was head boy back in 1967. What a great guy. Had lost touch with him once I left SA after UCT.
Enjoyed those pictures of you going full speed on the wing. We always knew if we could just the get the ball to you quickly with a bit of space, your legs would do the rest.
Even though I was in the class of 67, I think I still have more friends today from your 66 group. Also unusual that 7 of our 15 on the rugby team were Jewish! Those sure were wonderful carefree days and I just loved playing rugby, which I unfortunately had to give up after matric when I had that kidney surgery. Today my game is tennis. Love it, but don't play often enough. That game has helped me make great friends on three continents and many cities.
Trevor, thanks so much for the trip down memory lane.
Hope you are well and flourishing and loving what you are doing.
Best regards,
Charles Klass
PS: Was fun watching the war cry 2014 style. I remember when I had to lead it from the stage back in the old days
What a terrific website. Once I got into it, couldn't leave. Great job Trevor.
So sorry to hear about Mike De Wet's passing. He was my Deputy Head Prefect when I was head boy back in 1967. What a great guy. Had lost touch with him once I left SA after UCT.
Enjoyed those pictures of you going full speed on the wing. We always knew if we could just the get the ball to you quickly with a bit of space, your legs would do the rest.
Even though I was in the class of 67, I think I still have more friends today from your 66 group. Also unusual that 7 of our 15 on the rugby team were Jewish! Those sure were wonderful carefree days and I just loved playing rugby, which I unfortunately had to give up after matric when I had that kidney surgery. Today my game is tennis. Love it, but don't play often enough. That game has helped me make great friends on three continents and many cities.
Trevor, thanks so much for the trip down memory lane.
Hope you are well and flourishing and loving what you are doing.
Best regards,
Charles Klass
PS: Was fun watching the war cry 2014 style. I remember when I had to lead it from the stage back in the old days
JUNE 2014
What a fantastic web site.
Under the ‘Where are we now’ tab you can add Peter Pretorius. He lives part of the year in Namibia (Windhoek) and the balance is split between Cape Town and Germany. At least that is what he told me when I last spoke to him about a year ago.
Unfortunately he has not quite taken the leap into the 20th, let alone the 21st century, so does not have an e-mail address. He had the misfortune to get his tertiary education at Maties, I always commiserate with him on this aspect of his education. They’ve always been a bit behind the times.
Kind regards,
Peter Theron
What a fantastic web site.
Under the ‘Where are we now’ tab you can add Peter Pretorius. He lives part of the year in Namibia (Windhoek) and the balance is split between Cape Town and Germany. At least that is what he told me when I last spoke to him about a year ago.
Unfortunately he has not quite taken the leap into the 20th, let alone the 21st century, so does not have an e-mail address. He had the misfortune to get his tertiary education at Maties, I always commiserate with him on this aspect of his education. They’ve always been a bit behind the times.
Kind regards,
Peter Theron
DECEMBER 2015
Greetings Gentlemen:
It is close to the end of a year that has been full of many challenges and surprises. Getting ready to take the family down to Lorne in Victoria. A magnificent beach that is perfect for young kids to practice their surfing and participate in local life-saving program called Nippers. I will be building sand castles with my youngest boy (Levi) aged 3 years while my 12 year old twins (Jacques and Raphael) scope out the talent on the beach and practice looking cool.
Thought that you guys might enjoy this photo from 1965 with the late Sidney Gelbart, Nelson Babrow, Phil Lipshitz, George Singer, Lionel Lifson and me. I have not named all the partners but can do so if anyone wants to know their names.
I am sure that you all remember Sid who was a remarkable rugby player. Much feared by anyone that he went after. His devastating tackle took down any size of opponent. He could launch himself like a torpedo travelling parallel to the ground. Impact point was a few inches above the ankles. The result was that both legs would leave the ground simultaneously and even the heaviest and tallest would hit the turf with a sudden thud leaving them dazed and out of action for a few minutes. I was never on the receiving end thanks to my ability to convert fear induced adrenalin into speed.
George Singer, if you recall, was the American Field Scholar that joined us at the beginning of year 9. He stayed with Laurence Tyfield and his family as an exchange student. Phil Lipshitz and I become close friends with him as he lived nearby in Camps Bay. He hailed from Tulsa Oklahoma. Was a remarkable and engaging fellow that many of us got to know and love. Was a great 440 runner and tried his hand at rugby. His story telling ability was unique and with his western drawl any tale sounded amazing. George opened to door to the outside and gave us an insight into the mind of an authentic American who helped set the pace in academic excellence in D1. I was fortunate to have him coach me in maths and I can still vaguely remember how to do binomial theorems and calculus from those days when we would steal a bottle of vodka from Mr Tyfield’s liquor cabinet and drink it mixed with orange concentrate and ice. I used to catch up with George in New York but sadly have not been in touch for some years. (I have added George to the mailing list and hopefully he will receive this and have a chuckle.)
I will unfortunately not be able to visit SA for the 50th class reunion. I say this with sadness as there are many of you that I would enjoy seeing and renewing past friendships. I don’t know about how you feel about the significance of this 50th milestone. I find it hard to believe that I am this old. With young children running around me, coaching soccer, playing with Lego, attempting Minecraft, attending tennis matches, going to school functions and fetes. I feel like a young man at the beginning of life instead of being in my final quarter.
I have chatted to Alan Lipman and we are both eager to arrange a parallel reunion dinner at a similar time to the one planned in CT. About 10 of us met for a dinner in 2006 and it was a great evening. Please let me know if you will be in Australia and have an interest in attending. In fact, there is no reason why you can’t attend both the Sydney and the Cape Town events. We can plan accordingly. Once we know the level of interest we can set it up at a great location in Sydney.
Look forward to hearing for you.
Best regards and wishes for the holidays to you all.
Norman Levin
Greetings Gentlemen:
It is close to the end of a year that has been full of many challenges and surprises. Getting ready to take the family down to Lorne in Victoria. A magnificent beach that is perfect for young kids to practice their surfing and participate in local life-saving program called Nippers. I will be building sand castles with my youngest boy (Levi) aged 3 years while my 12 year old twins (Jacques and Raphael) scope out the talent on the beach and practice looking cool.
Thought that you guys might enjoy this photo from 1965 with the late Sidney Gelbart, Nelson Babrow, Phil Lipshitz, George Singer, Lionel Lifson and me. I have not named all the partners but can do so if anyone wants to know their names.
I am sure that you all remember Sid who was a remarkable rugby player. Much feared by anyone that he went after. His devastating tackle took down any size of opponent. He could launch himself like a torpedo travelling parallel to the ground. Impact point was a few inches above the ankles. The result was that both legs would leave the ground simultaneously and even the heaviest and tallest would hit the turf with a sudden thud leaving them dazed and out of action for a few minutes. I was never on the receiving end thanks to my ability to convert fear induced adrenalin into speed.
George Singer, if you recall, was the American Field Scholar that joined us at the beginning of year 9. He stayed with Laurence Tyfield and his family as an exchange student. Phil Lipshitz and I become close friends with him as he lived nearby in Camps Bay. He hailed from Tulsa Oklahoma. Was a remarkable and engaging fellow that many of us got to know and love. Was a great 440 runner and tried his hand at rugby. His story telling ability was unique and with his western drawl any tale sounded amazing. George opened to door to the outside and gave us an insight into the mind of an authentic American who helped set the pace in academic excellence in D1. I was fortunate to have him coach me in maths and I can still vaguely remember how to do binomial theorems and calculus from those days when we would steal a bottle of vodka from Mr Tyfield’s liquor cabinet and drink it mixed with orange concentrate and ice. I used to catch up with George in New York but sadly have not been in touch for some years. (I have added George to the mailing list and hopefully he will receive this and have a chuckle.)
I will unfortunately not be able to visit SA for the 50th class reunion. I say this with sadness as there are many of you that I would enjoy seeing and renewing past friendships. I don’t know about how you feel about the significance of this 50th milestone. I find it hard to believe that I am this old. With young children running around me, coaching soccer, playing with Lego, attempting Minecraft, attending tennis matches, going to school functions and fetes. I feel like a young man at the beginning of life instead of being in my final quarter.
I have chatted to Alan Lipman and we are both eager to arrange a parallel reunion dinner at a similar time to the one planned in CT. About 10 of us met for a dinner in 2006 and it was a great evening. Please let me know if you will be in Australia and have an interest in attending. In fact, there is no reason why you can’t attend both the Sydney and the Cape Town events. We can plan accordingly. Once we know the level of interest we can set it up at a great location in Sydney.
Look forward to hearing for you.
Best regards and wishes for the holidays to you all.
Norman Levin
JULY 2016
Hi Trevor
Very nice website - thank you.
I actually live in New Zealand, not South Africa.
John Jones is not listed - he lives in South Africa. I also met Peter Baxter in New Zealand many years ago. He moved up to Auckland and we lost touch.
I tracked down Norman Coppin to Brighton, England in 2005. It was a case of lucky sleuthing and a few shots in the dark with emails to similar names. He was so shy and quiet and was teased for it. I remember one of the teachers trying to bribe him with money to shout out! I tried to continue corresponding with Norman, but he clearly wanted to forget his past. He changed his name to Charles Chevers-Coppen.
This is what he wrote to me -
What a wonderful surprise to hear from you and thanks for the efforts to look me up. I am on the other side of the world and have been for the last 32 years. Many years ago, after my mother's death I continued her name and at the same time simplified the surname. I always hated "Norman" so am known by my second name Charles- all of which explains the email address.
His email address then was [email protected] I doubt he is interested in making a connection, but who knows now?
His address was:
26 Royal Crescent Mansions,
100 Marine Parade,
Brighton,
East Sussex
BN2 1AX
Interesting to see that Rob Cotty has moved to Australia. I had coffee with him in 2002. He was living in New Zealand then.
I loved the life story of Doc Freund. I had no idea of his amazing life. I wish you had something on Adendorff. He taught me to love science and if it had not been for him I would never have got a chemistry degree. I spent many happy hours in the lab during lunch hours.
All the best
Andre Lategan
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SEPT 2016
Now: December 2015 we spent 2 weeks at our fishing shack near Stilbaai. We woke up one morning and my wife said “I want to wake up to waves and not to traffic noise for the rest of our lives”. So we have been living out at Bettys Bay for the past year and loving it. I am a keen spearfisherman, surfer and fisherman, so this is just right. Our daughter is a Senior Lecturer and course convenor at UCT Business School and our one and only grandson is in Grade 2 at SACS Junior.
Working and Academic: After school I went to do Engineering at UCT, but second year maths totally befuddled me, so dropped it and did a year of Geology. Dropped out and did a year of road construction. Definitely not in my future, so used my earnings and completed Geology Hons at Wits University. For the next 6 years I was a Mine Geologist on JCI (pre-Kebble) Gold and Platinum mines. Then sold everything and ’79 to ’81 spent 1½ years travelling in Australasia. After returning I worked for a Groundwater Consulting Firm up in Johannesburg for 6 years. Then in 1987 I returned to the Cape and worked as a Groundwater Research Scientist at the CSIR in Stellenbosch until 2004. This was a wonderful job, very interesting work and with a bunch of really bright folk. In 2004 I realised one of my long-term plans and retired from formal work at age 55. I continued doing Groundwater Consulting work, but also lots of fishing and spearfishing and more travel adventures.
Adventures: After my stint as a miner, I was planning to leave SA on a yacht, which meant going to South America and Caribbean, but the yacht I caught a ride on was going to the Maldives. So we ended up travelling through Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This was 1979 to ’81, at the height of apartheid sanctions, so most the Asian countries did not allow Saffers in. At Nepal Immigration our passports were put in a bottom drawer and we were given a “Travel pass”, a rather dodgy looking sheet of writing with a few official stamps. But it worked, and we did some great trekking, including the 280 km Annapurna Circuit including Annapurna Base Camp. My wife and I returned from Australia via a 100-day Darwin to Durban yacht trip.
During ’04/’05 I spent a total of 5 months in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. This was exploring and delineating a groundwater resource for the Oyu Tolgoi Copper/Gold mine, then an Ivanhoe project, now Rio Tinto. Some really harsh conditions, I experienced one winters night of -42oC and 40oC the next summer in a 5-hour dust storm. Mongolia is larger than Germany, yet at that time there were only 700 km of paved roads. With a then population of less than 2 million, and half of them living in Ulaan Bataar, the countryside was gloriously underpopulated.
In ’06 we spent a few weeks sailing the Ionian Sea on my cousins 54 ft aluminium yacht. One evening I casually remarked that La Rose was wasted in the Meditteranean, and that it should be sailed to the Tuamotos and Polynesia, and that I would help him sail across the Atlantic and Pacific. The bug obviously bit, as at a family braai a year later he said “Yes, but not through the Panama, we are going via the Antarctica”. So the adventure began. Over the next 3 summers we sailed from Greece to Spain, across the Atlantic to Brazil, down the Brazil Coast to Uruguay, and down the Argentine Coast to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. Then in 2010 six of us sailed past Cape Horn and on down to Antarcitca. Everyone who happens to read this, I urge you to do your utmost to go on one of those Cruise ships down to the Antarctica. This will be one of your life highlights. After the Antarctic trip we then sailed up the Chilean fiords to Chiloe Island. This is wild country. One sails for days on end without coming across any signs of humans. Then disaster: La Rose ended up on the rocks at Easter Island harbour entrance, and was broken beyond repair.
So sailing finished, we bought a Toyota bakkie for some bush travels. Our first was to Uganda via Tanzania and Rwanda. Bosie’s description of his facial operations in Rwanda is spot on. Calm and friendly folk, an absolute pleasure to travel there, but with a lurking background pressure cooker of total overpopulation.
SACS in 1966 and the lack of any political education: There is no doubt that we received zero political education, but my take is that we were on the cusp of changes. Remember that Dylans “The Times they are a-Changin” only came out in 1964. I do know that my 3 younger brothers all came out of SACS much more politically aware than I was. Whether that was due to elder brother influence, or some teacher influence is open to debate. I do recall my very first political discussion and criticism of the Apartheid system. It happened one October Saturday afternoon when “swotting” for matric. David Dahlcamp and Harold Joffe were quite critical, and my jaw dropped, I had never heard such talk before. Well, when I got to Wits matters changed, changed so much that I even spent a weekend in jail, and George Bizos was to be my defender, but charges were dropped.
My one big disappointment was our Standard 8 Science “Build a model” project. My classmates built telephones and doorbells and got A’s or B’s. I built a solar water heater that heated a 1kg Frisco can of water to “too hot to the skin” over lunch break. I got a D for my effort! Telephones have been replaced by cell-phones and doorbells are now digital. But my solar heater is seriously cool these days.
Cheers
John Weaver
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NOV 2018
I am glad to find that I am not entirely forgotten, but I am beginning to feel like a Japanese WWII veteran stumbling out of the jungle on some remote Pacific island to discover the war has been over for 50 years. Thanks for facilitating this little reunion.
I have heard from the two Keiths, Engers, and Watkins. I will plan some sort of get together with Keith Watkins when I am in Cape Town in January/February. As to that trip my Dad isn’t traveling with me, he still lives in CT, and is most reluctant to travel anywhere. I have made several visits to SA over the years, but never connected with any of the old school. As I said Dad is 95, and while in reasonably good health he has some issues with age related macular degeneration, and has been diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL). That is being monitored by an haematologist/oncologist I met on my visit early this year, Danie Kotze.
My wife Susan died in 2007, and I remain a widower, carrying a little more weight than I am comfortable with (dieting is a bitch!), but not too bad. Other than cataract surgery a few years ago I am in reasonable health.
So many of those names and faces bring back all sorts of memories. Many of them were with me in Miss Herbst’s Std 2 class which was in the Junior School library. Norman, Keith Watkins, David Silbowitz, and others are remembered. That was the year many of us were the charter 3rd Claremont (SACS) Cub Pack led by Miss Schnugh, who was not a teacher, but assigned by the Boy Scout Association.
I understand that Kurt Ittershagen-Strauss died back in 2014/15, and another odd SACS 66 grad, Peter Nunnelley died in 2012
Regarding Robin Whiteford war stories there are two which are etched in my memory.
The first involved Bruce Miller, and a latin homework translation of Caesar’s Gallic Wars. “The Boss” called on Miller to read his rendition to the class. He seemed to know who to target in any class. The result was a disaster, leaving “The Boss” slowly shaking his head and uttering, “Miller, Miller, Miller, have you ever considered farming?”
The second was a Whiteford/Mick Orford interaction. Orford was teaching geography, and had been lured into one of his digressions regarding his year in the Antarctic as part of the UK Geophysical team. He was standing on the desk, waving a rule about, telling us about enduring an Antarctic storm in a physically demonstrative manner. It was at that point “The Boss” walked into the classroom, and everything froze, the class, Orford on the desk, and “The Boss”. The two of them looked at each other, “The Boss” just said “carry on”, turned and left the room. It was the only time I had ever seen him a bit flabbergasted.
Enjoy your trip, and give my regards to the guys in Oz.
Leonard Oglesby
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Gus Wylie kindly forwarded me your correspondence with old boys of 66 - I am not on the group mailing list. Attached a photograph of the shooting team from that time - it brought a smile to my face. I recall a fellow crack shot and some scenes from one of the Western Province tours to Bloemfontein....how did we manage to retain ammunition such that we could take pot shots at the farmers water tanks as we wizzed by on the train?! Someone was very taken with hypnotism and you were a very willing subject. I believe I met your Father once and remember him as being very tall and friendly. On occasion you drove a large car to visit me in Rondebosch on a Saturday afternoon......
Post army training, I continued shooting for a couple of years at the Bellville range with Enfield 303’s and did quite well. It was a very different world to UCT where I was a student of Psychology, first undergraduate and then post graduate and I gave up the smell of gun oil and gunpowder and haven’t pulled a trigger since.
I was part of the standard 9 ‘ghost’ class of 1965, when a near whole class of boys failed and had to repeat the year. We became D4 the following year and were housed in a science lab as our classroom. A number of us had been at the school for several years and as such were part of the group of boys due to matriculate in 1966, but we became dislocated and finished in 1967. I suppose that experience may have contributed to my interest in Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, but I certainly learned about the regressive power of the adolescent peer group and the woeful lack of care from the school - never a moment of individual enquiry about the processes at play, even when half the class was missing, playing truant. I recall Mr Whiteford coming in one day, despairing I believe at our plight, but as was his way, he could only ridicule and diminish and suggest as we had reached our intellectual ceilings, why don’t we all just leave! He had no idea about the forged school reports, the delinquent behaviour and seemingly oblivious to the fact that there were boys of intellect who were ‘vacating’ their own minds.
Fortunately, I found University a breath of fresh air and was able to forge a different self perception. I lectured for a few years at Rhodes University before moving to London and training as a Psychoanalyst - the fellow behind the couch who is interested in your dreams, fantasies and ruminations! For thirty odd years I sat daily listening to the concerns of the people of Kensington and learning about the English Psyche. It has been a rich life intellectually and emotionally and very satisfying. I retired at Christmas and plan to spend some time in South Africa giving something back through teaching/lecturing and so forth in the years to come before spending my dotage back in London, which is home.
I have included Trevor Kaye on the e mail as I hope he will circulate my news to the1966 class of which I was once a member. I have a clear memory of Trevor at Groote Schuur Hospital - you had sent a request for a Psychiatric opinion on a patient. I remember the clean, crisp upright handwriting, so unusually legible for a doctor, on the referral form and meeting you briefly about it - I don’t recall the patient at all!
My best wishes to my school mates of old.
John Tydeman
Dear Norman
Some years ago, I had a conversation with John Ince, a well meaning gentle man. In passing, he referred to the two predators operative during our school years and mused about their different techniques - one groomed boys, the other more opportunistic and impulsive. It was as though he, like me, was casting his mind back to that time and was simply stating the status quo. He didn't seem to reflect on the fact that it wasn't questioned or dealt with by those in authority.
This to my mind captures something of that era - obedience and corporal punishment were valued more than questioning and education in its true sense, where you develop the individual, and there is an element of survival to it all - you don't acknowledge openly problems, especially emotional ones - not manly!
I don't think this was unique to SA at that time. Certainly from my experience of England and the Boarding school ethos of old, it doesn't seem much different. Times have changed and there is more enlightenment re pedophilia and encouragement to explore problems and emotional development of children. I see SACS now has a school counsellor on the staff. However, in retrospect, I am surprised by the staff's lack of ability to make any attempt at exploring a troubled peer group when we were about 16 years old, which I referenced in my earlier e mail.
I have a certain sympathy with your statement which I have now read, but don't feel as strongly about it as you do. I don't know that the staff were equipped to explore their own thoughts re the political situation, for example, let alone with the boys! Adolescence is such a precarious time emotionally, there is bound to be some scar tissue. My sadness is more being aware that if all rebellion in stifled in adolescence, you only produce soldiers, compliance and loose creativity - creativity is thinking outside the box and the established order.
As chance would have it, this very afternoon, my wife told me she is to meet the school counsellor at SACS on Monday to discuss some clinical matter, so I will get a little inside snapshot of life there now. (My wife is/ was a Consultant Child Psychotherapist, now retired and like me is trying to put something back into the system that educated us.)
Psychoanalytic theory has been a useful template through which to understand the human condition. The least said about your boss of old the better - narcissism barely does it justice!
You have I see relocated twice - once to the USA and then Australia. Quite a feat. I would have thought, post NY, Aust. would seem insular and slow and far away- perhaps you wanted that.
Spending some time in CT now has proved to be unsettling - it provokes such mixed emotions and being witness to unfolding tragedy ( too strong perhaps) as the society adapts to a different reality is painful. So many opportunists seem to have been missed for better reconciliation and thus one meets a fair bit of apparent white guilt. But it seems skin deep. I appreciate this is a contentious view and no doubt not appreciated by those who have stayed and have to defend their position in society.
These are my thoughts of the moment - I hope that are of some use to you. Should you feel they are worth sharing more widely with the others, please do so.
Best wishes for the summer break and a good new year.
John Tydeman
Dear John:
Thank you for your thoughtful letter to the class. I would like to respond in more depth at a later stage. I found your insights and perspective on conditions at SACS to be very accurate. I suspect that your comments are only the tip of the iceberg and that there is much more that you have to say.
May I suggest that you look at the SACS66 blog written some years ago that elicited an interesting response and cost me a few friendships. You will find it onsacs66.blogspot.com. It is also linked on the SACS 66 old boys site.
I would like to invite you to take the opportunity and share some more of your comments with the old boys. Perhaps your input may reactivate some of the discussion that took place back then.
I live in Melbourne after spending 20 years in Manhattan working for a part of that time as an Exec. VP with Donald Trump on the development of his West Side Manhattan project. During this time I was in part time training as an analyst with NPAP in NY with a view that I may change careers and become a psychoanalyst. One of my assignments in 1989 was to identify and describe a psychopathology. Naturally I selected my esteemed employer for my case study who I described, quite accurately, as a pathological narcissist (non-malignant).
Not quite retired but working towards it. Have twin 15 year old boys and a 6 year old. In the midst of a divorce. I import lights and supply retailers.
Very best regards.
Norman Levin