On the occasion of his 70th Reunion at Harvard University, Lee Humphrey ’53 wrote this personal reflection of gratitude.
“It’s been good run. Harvard continues to be part of my life and my two closest friends are classmates Tom Hexner and Bill Aldrich. (We used to call him ‘Willie’ at college, but he made us change it when we got out.) I am happily married, second time around, courtesy of Smith College. My main connection to Harvard is probably through the Harvard Musical Association, founded in 1837 and where I have been a member since 1964. In its early years, it sponsored public concerts by the Harvard Orchestra, which eventually evolved into the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
For my part, I have been much involved in environmental matters, trying to counter the damages done by the fossil fuel industries. And as a good environmentalist, I drive the electric Nissan Leaf. Like a lot of others, I am concerned that we don’t seem to be able to get a handle on our changing climate. And I don’t like the growing alliance between China and Russia. The dance of the autocrats.
I remain a strong Democrat (with a capital D), although I lapsed in 1956 and voted for Dwight Eisenhower. But nothing since. I am particularly pleased that in 2015, I was part of NO BOSTON OLYMPICS, which despite a lot of money and power on the other side, kept the Olympics out of Boston. My kids are accomplished and just as much are the several grandchildren they have bestowed on us. None of them seems to notice that I am 91 years old, which is nice. When I was a kid, I never imagined I would get this old. Still, my mother died at 105 and four months, which could mean several more years for me to keep pushing on. Harvard has been a big help.”
Read Lee’s ”Residents Still Concerned Over Natural Gas Pipeline” from The Boston Sun.
