Posts filed under ‘Penn State alumni’
Remembering “Dr. Mel”
Mel Goldstein, an iconic New England meteorologist who publicly and cheerfully battled cancer for more than 16 years, has died.
“Dr. Mel,” as he was known, died yesterday at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was 66.
I first learned of Goldstein ’67 back in 2002, when the Alumni Association’s receptionist at the time, Kay Tomczuk, showed me a profile of him in the Hartford Courant. Kay had lived in Connecticut for many years, and Dr. Mel was pretty much a legend up there—for his meteorology smarts, his upbeat on-air personality, and his determination and relentless good humor in the face of a diagnosis of multiple myeloma.
We liked the Courant profile so much that we end up reprinting it in our November-December 2002 issue. If you click on the magazine spread above, it’ll take you to the story as it originally appeared in the paper.
Since then, we’ve followed the ups and downs of Dr. Mel’s cancer fight—the disease typically has a life expectancy of only three years—and were saddened last June when the physical pain of the disease finally forced him to give up his on-air role.
You can watch a video remembrance of Dr. Mel and his contributions—to meteorology and to humanity—below.
Tina Hay, editor
Reflecting on Two Months—and Two Scandals
My mom didn’t get it.
In our phone conversation on Nov. 11, it was clear she didn’t understand the weight of the allegations against Jerry Sandusky, the firing of Joe Paterno, the nuclear fallout that was Penn State in those first few days.
“Imagine this happening at Syracuse,” I said. She instantly understood.
I’m not a Penn Stater. I grew up in central New York, as did most of my family and friends. And while the Sandusky scandal shook me as an employee of the University and writer for The Penn Stater, the feeling was, for the most part, once removed.
I didn’t grow up worshiping Paterno, spending Saturdays in Beaver Stadium, or bleeding blue and white. The only way I could begin to empathize with Penn Staters, and the only way I could convey the crisis to my mother, was to imagine the same scenario rocking the biggest college in our proximity, and my alma mater, Syracuse University.
Exactly one week later, it did. (more…)
Guaranteed to Cheer You Up
Our former Alumni Association colleague Sara Jones, who now works at Michigan State, passes along a wonderful video that I feel fairly certain you will love.
If you go to the website for the video, you can read a bit more detail about how this guy Chris set up the situation with Danielle. Or you can forget about that and just enjoy the video. Four minutes of pure love.
Tina Hay, editor
Obituary: Former Ebony Editor Herbert Nipson
One of Penn State’s most prominent journalism grads, Herbert Nipson ’40, has died at the age of 95.
Nipson spent 38 years at Ebony magazine, the last 15 of those as executive editor. He started as an associate editor there in 1949 and was named editor in 1972, so he was on staff throughout an important time: the U.S. civil-rights movement.
He’s credited with expanding the magazine’s reach substantially during that time, according to an obituary in the Los Angeles Times: “By the time he retired … the magazine enjoyed national recognition and mainstream appeal for both its issue-oriented reporting and its cultural coverage.”
Nipson, a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus, grew up in Clearfield, Pa. He’s thought to be the first black student on the staff of the Collegian; he started there in 1936 and eventually was named assistant sports editor. He also ran cross-country for Penn State.
You can read more about Nipson at BlackHistory.psu.edu.
Tina Hay, editor
Am I Too Late for a Gift Suggestion?
If you’re a fan of folk, bluegrass, or Appalachian music—and maybe even if you’re not—you might enjoy checking out a new holiday CD called The Gathering.
The project is the work of five musicians, including Mike Compton (known for his work with John Hartford and with the Nashville Bluegrass Band), Rhiannon Giddens (of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops), Joe Newberry, Jason Sypher, and a Penn Stater: Laurelyn Dossett ’84. You may remember we talked about Laurelyn Dossett a couple of years ago when her duo Polecat Creek appeared on the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion.
The Gathering, recorded this past August in a house in the woods of North Carolina, is a really interesting collection, including a couple of recognizable Christmas songs, some less well-known material, and six original songs written by Dossett. I just listened to a preview of the album on iTunes and heard everything from a Bill Monroe instrumental called “Old Ebenezer Scrooge” to “Christ was Born on Christmas Morn,” a jazzy piece dating to the vaudeville era, to an absolutely lovely version of “O Holy Night.”
Laurelyn Dossett ’84 (lower right) and the rest of the gang involved in "The Gathering."
It’s all done in a rootsy fashion, with plenty of banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and close vocal harmonies.
The album is getting some very good reviews. MySanAntonio.com gave it 4-1/2 stars, and the Wall Street Journal called it “a very special album.” My favorite was the one from the Chicago Sun-Times, which rated The Gathering higher than the new Christmas CD from Carole King (whose music I’ve loved since I was 14). The Sun-Times wrote about The Gathering:
“Come for the wintry warmth of Dossett’s family tale ‘Redbird,’ but by all means stay for the version of ‘O Holy Night’ sung by Gidden and backed only by upright bassist Jason Sypher. Superb.”
Tina Hay, editor
More on Sam Griffith
Maj. Sam Griffith ’97, killed in Afghanistan Dec. 14, 2011
Yesterday I heard from Maj. Erik Orient ’99, a Penn State Naval ROTC instructor who knew Sam Griffith ’97, the Marine officer killed in Afghanistan last Wednesday.
Erik sent along a note from the pilot who flew Griffith’s body from an airport near where he was killed to Kandahar, the first stop on Griffith’s final journey back to the U.S. A memorial service was held for Griffith yesterday in Virginia Beach.
The letter, written last week, was so touching that I thought I’d post it in its entirety here. The name of the pilot is unknown.
I carried a hero yesterday and was honored to do it, although I wish I never had to. The Marine had been killed in action.
I was flying near one of the airports we operate near when I recieved a call on the radio that we would become a Hero Flight and needed to divert to pick him up. We landed and I knew that he would not be transferred to my aircraft for about two hours, yet I could see there were already Marines waiting at the edge of the flightline. As I walked over I was hit by the fact that I knew (more…)
A Penn Stater, Sam Griffith, Killed in Afghanistan
One of my Alumni Association colleagues forwarded to me an email the other day with some sad news: A 36-year-old Penn State grad, Maj. Sam Griffith ’97, has been killed in Afghanistan.
Griffith, a Marine fighter pilot by training who was serving a tour of duty with the reserves, was shot and killed last Wednesday, Dec. 14, in Helmand province. He was part of the Marine Corps Reserves’ 4th Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, out of West Palm Beach, Fla.
The email notifying us of Griffith’s death came from Dave Schlosser ’97, president of our L.A. chapter, who knew Griffith from their Penn State days. Back then, Schlosser was dating someone who lived near Griffith’s hometown in the Raleigh, N.C., area, so when Griffith would go back home for a weekend, Schlosser would catch a ride with him.
“We would make the trip together in his beautifully restored 1960s Ford Mustang, leaving mid-afternoon Friday for the nine-hour drive and returning Sunday night,” Schlosser wrote. “I met him through the ride board at the HUB, and although many might think it strange to hop in a car with a total stranger, we quickly realized we had much in common (like both being Eagle Scouts), and it made the long drives go by quick.”
Griffith, whose funeral takes place today in Virginia Beach, becomes the seventh Penn Stater to die in Afghanistan or Iraq; the complete list is here.
Griffith was 36 and leaves behind a wife, Cassandra Warnock Griffith ’99, whom he met at Penn State, and two young boys. You can read news coverage of Griffth’s death here, here, and here, with the latter story offering a particularly heartbreaking detail: “The family says his 7-year-old son wrote Griffith a letter asking him not to go on this tour, saying he’d be furious if he was killed in action.”
Tina Hay, editor
Here’s a Random Assortment of Happy News
Update: It looks like the Daily Mail has removed the story about Ty Burrell already. I can’t even find a cached version to show you. It’s too bad, because the story and photos were pretty sweet. If anyone knows a way to view the article online, please let us know in the Comments section. —Tina
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I hit a wall where I don’t think my brain can process one more piece of ugly or sad news coming out of the Sandusky scandal. In case you happen to be feeling that way today, we offer you a few bits of more upbeat news.
—Chicago Bears placekicker Robbie Gould ’03 is having an excellent year. This story from the Bears’ website was written a couple of weeks ago, just after he had kicked field goals of 50 and 53 yards in the same game, a loss to the Raiders … and then this past Sunday, in an overtime loss to the Broncos, he kicked one of 57 yards—a team record.
Better yet, this past Monday—the day after the Denver game—he took a bunch of needy kids shopping. Gould, through his Goulden Touch Foundation, gave a $120 shopping spree at Target to each of 99 kids from Mooseheart Child City and School, a place for children and teens who don’t have a stable home life. Gould was there for the shopping, and the article about the event has a small gallery of photos from the event that should make you smile.
—Then we have Modern Family star Ty Burrell ’97g and his cute little adopted daughter. It seems little Frances
Your Letters on the Scandal
As a teenager, I wrote a “Dear Abby” style column for my high-school newspaper. I, the advice guru, would respond to “Stressed Senior” or “Perplexed Prom Date” with a witty, convenient solution to the problem in 300 words or less.
Truth be told, most of the letter writers were my friends, whom I’d convince to detail recent heartbreaks or college-rejection sagas for the student body’s reading pleasure. And my advice was mostly banal—Take a bubble bath! Call a friend!
More interesting, though, was the relief my friends seemed to find in just writing about their feelings. Despite my nagging to do so, expressing their emotions publicly provided a catharsis that even confiding in a best friend during study hall could not.
Today, I’m the letters editor at The Penn Stater. This means I’m responsible for organizing the manageable handful of compliments, criticisms, and occasional corrections we receive for the previous issue, and editing them for print. The methodical process has become an almost-soothing constant in the rushed weeks before deadline.
On Nov. 4, that, like everything else at Penn State, changed. (more…)
Campaign for RAINN Hits $500K Goal
On Nov. 10, a group of Penn State alums launched ProudToBeAPennStater.com, a grassroots effort with two goals: help restore pride to Penn Staters everywhere, and support victims of child sexual abuse by raising $500,000 for RAINN, the Rape Abuse Incest National Network. This morning, the campaign hit $500K. The current total: $500,565.
Also, the autographed helmet for sale on eBay is still up for grabs. Proceeds from the auction, which ends Wednesday, Dec. 7, will go directly to RAINN.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
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