We are saddened by the passing of Barbara Knoebel. Those of you who attended the Kingston Trio Concert might remember enjoying the Knoebel’s during one of Barbara’s “good days”. Read her obituary at this link and you can reach Dick at rlkn@yahoo.com

Our 50th Reunion Fund will expand the 61 legacy.

Have you made your 2009-2010 contribution?

Below are links that explain more about the fund and the opportunities we have in leaving our legacy to Lehigh.

50th REUNION FUND

61 ENDOWMENT FUNDS

BEQUESTS AND DEFERRED GIVING

THE ASA PACKER SOCIETY and THE TOWER SOCIETY

STEPS BUILDING

61 CHALLENGE FUND

PERSONAL GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

The First Nostalgia Concert at Lehigh is History

And the Kingston Trio made it more than memorable. Jack Davidson said it best calling this current trio “a gold standard replica of what we enjoyed so much”.
Yes, they hung Tom Dooley for the 14,732nd time and Charley’s wife now hands him a Starbucks as the train comes rumbling through and we well remember where the flowers have gone. This was a very special evening for a very special class. If you were there, you felt it from the start (and we had at least 45 class members plus spouses and friends amongst the crowd of 650).

Funny, Jack Davidson recalled the resistance by Lehigh for us to blow our $3000 blazer revenue on a concert for an up and coming group in 1959. In the fall of 2008,Lehigh challenged 61’s wisdom again as we suggested a second coming. Karla Morales of the Development Office says it all: “What a wonderful concert! I must tell you–and the other fellows’ involved -that the KT concert was all the talk at Reunion Weekend! Great vision, good work. Kudos to the class of ‘61!”

So many to thank: Ed Watters and Joe King for believing from the get go; the financial backers from the class that put their money up against a short deadline; Ken Weaver for marketing the concert and inspiring Jack Davidson to join us against incredible obstacles; Jim Williams for publicizing the concert with WDIY and The Morning Call; George Spill for making the early events of the day both fun and meaningful; Larry Moyer for the souvenir program that captured the spirit of the concert so well; Chad Davis of the alumni office for coordinating all the logistics of the event from its earliest conception to getting the Trio on the plane the Day after, not missing a beat in the time between.

Jack Davidson! A story within the story. We are all blessed to cross this man’s path. Enjoy the Video and Jack’s classic remarks about then and now. It is not hard to realize why we were thrilled to honor his return to campus. Take a moment to enjoy the Photo Album Ken Weaver made for Jack and his family. To all the Class members who came, thanks for the support. To those of you waiting for the 50th, we’ll make it special, but count on hearing about the 48th.

As they say in Georgia, “We done real good, y’all”

The funding came from the members above. The Morning Call helped us bring some local followers to Zoellner. We are a remarkable class to think that over 45 of us attended the Trio event in a non-Reunion year. Keep October 17 on you calendar and return to Bethlehem for the Yale game and some class fun before and after.

On April 2 Lehigh held its annual Scholarship Dinner at Mountaintop Campus.

Stacy’s gratitude is expressed in a letter.

Click to read more about the Lehigh Class of 1961 Scholarship (PDF link)

Class officers Joe King, Paul Smith and Ed Watters flank the 61 Challenge Scholarship winners and finalists at halftime of the Cornell game on October 4. All finalists received plaques while the 3 winners received $1000 each from the Class of 61 Scholarship Endowment funds.