Diane St. Cyr Francis and her husband will be taking a ‘bite out of winter’ by spending a month in Tucson, Arizona.   We will be attending the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, and Diane will be working at the Rocks and Minerals Magazine booth.  They are being very careful, and are both fully vaccinated.

Jacqueline Shapiro writes that she is living in Miami, Florida, where she continues to work as a criminal defense attorney specializing in federal criminal appeals.  “I’ve been in private practice since 2010, and before then was an Assistant Federal Public Defender for 14 years.  The law has been a fulfilling profession, albeit stressful; working to preserve basic constitutional guarantees, including the rights to due process and a fair trial, remains as important now as ever and I feel privileged to be able to do my small part towards that end.   As a former theater major at Smith, my love of all the arts abides. I look forward to the pandemic waning so that it begins to feel safe to congregate at museums, concerts, plays and local Smith Club events, not to mention being able to visit with family and friends across the country!  Hoping everyone stays healthy in 2022.”

From Class Secretary Stefanie Solnick Cargill:  Dear Classmates, our 50th Reunion is just around the corner…in whatever form it may take!  Depending on Covid levels, I hope to see many of you in Northampton in mid-May; otherwise, I’ll see you on Zoom.  Our Reunion preparation began several years ago, before Covid was even a “thing”.  One of the Reunion deliverables I hope you will all enjoy is a Memory Book that has been compiled with inputs from us all.  Each of us will have a personal space in the book.  At minimum, there will be a student-days photo and some basic information.  Many of us also contributed short essays on our careers, families, what we are doing and thinking now, and our hopes for the future.  Some classmates submitted additional photos or other artwork. 

My term as Class Secretary will end with our Reunion.  Over the past ten years, I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with the news of our classmates.  I was a homebody when I was at Smith.  Most of my connections came thru my major – Studio Art – and my house – Baldwin.  As your class secretary I have seen the wide range of what we have experienced in our lives.  There were accounts of great accomplishments and absolutely amazing trips as well as the most tragic of stories.  As your ‘editor’ I gently massaged your news to make it clear and readable, to allow everyone to have their moment while still staying within my per-issue column limit of 750 words.  My experience early in the Covid shutdown was most memorable.  Because everybody was at home and had time to write, I found myself BURIED under about 18 to 20 times (yes!) the usual amount of news you would send me.  In spite of all the late nights whipping my column into shape, it’s been fascinating.  Thank you.    

Sec. Stefanie Solnick Cargill, 1224 E. La Jolla Drive, Tempe, Arizona  85282, rhpt70@cox.net.