1960-1964: The Stanford Years

Thanks in part to Andover's terrific training, my undergraduate years at Stanford were not very challenging.  I was able to skip some of the required math courses, permitting me to dabble in Greek art, history, and language (but ask me some time about my Greek language professor...).  For my Freshman year I lived at Stern Hall with a senior roommate, for the latter part of my Sophomore year I was at the Stanford in Germany campus, and for my Junior and Senior years I lived off campus with Ron Moore in the tiny cottage built by the Fowle's Japanese gardener (see a picture of it below), where we threw some great parties, and took our meals at the El Campo Eating Club.  We had steady girl friends: Nancy Ann Nash for Ron (he eventually married her - they were together until her death in 2023), and Becky Holt for me (she ended up marrying a mutual friend).

These years were fraught with seismic events: the Vietnam War, the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, the Freedom Riders in the South (including Brother Len), the rise of the hippie counterculture, the first human in space (Yuri Gagarin in 1961).  I went to the San Francisco Symphony and Fillmore West, and skied a whole lot at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.  I took acid (once with Len!), tried TM (Transcendental Meditation), and read all of Carlos Castaneda's books.  Towards the end of my Senior year I tried some belladonna (deadly nightshade), and ended up wandering the streets of Palo Alto, knocking on the door of a home to warn the occupants that there were Martians welding in their garage.  Ah, those college years!

During my Sophomore year I spent six months in Beutelsbach, at the Stanford in Germany campus.  We went on field trips to Rome, Prague, and East Germany, where we saw Berthold Brecht's wife act in his "Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis" (I couldn't understand a word).  We entered East Germany at "Checkpoint Charlie", the single crossing point (on foot or by car) for foreigners into Berlin.  We were hosted by a group of young East Berliners who told us how great life was in East Germany.

Beutelsbach is a small village in Bavaria, about two hour by autobahn from Munich.  I had purchased a 1962 VW bug which I used to travel to Munich, staying with friends on Starnberger See (he was an editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung).  Munich is a wonderful city, especially during its festivals.  We Stanford students enjoyed two in particular: Fasching and Oktoberfest.  I remember one festival where the crowd seemed especially enervated: so much so that the German attendees seemed a bit nervous at the high level of energy.  It turns out that participants were Australians on a tour of European bars (no cathedrals, no art galleries, no museums), and this was there final stop before flying back home.  You have to admire the Aussies for their focus on what is important in life...

I have virtually no photos of my Stanford years (I don't think I even owned a camera then).  However, my sweet mother saved my 1961-62 letters to her and John, bless her - you can read them here (just click on any underlined link):

Sep 1961 - Jan 1962: California

Jan - Jun 1962: Stanford in Germany

Mar 1962: Rome

Jun 1962: East Berlin

Jul 1962: Beutelsbach -> Yugoslavia -> Greece -> Turkey

(And for proof that I actually went to Stanford, here are my grades and diplomas:)

BS grades, BS degree, MSc grades, MSc degree