Happy Holidays on the Close of Our 50Th Anniversary Year

THE SCRATCH SHEET VOL. 24

December 29, 2010

Happy Holidays on the Close of Our 50th Anniversary Year

Who is This Guy? (Answer Forthcoming)

IN THIS ISSUE

1. A Visit with Al Bullock
2. Hum Woes
3. Gingers Anyone?
4. Additions to the Class of ’60 Family
5. A Christmas Card from Girard
6. A Visit to Paul Jayne
7. Where’s that Memorabilia?

1. A Visit with Al Bullock

In Mid-October we were informed that our great and good friend, Al Bullock, had incurable bladder cancer and had received a prognosis of less than a year of life remaining. So we decided a visit to Al was in order, similar to the visits we had made to Hap Cohrs and Frank Rieg. Those in striking distance of Al’s retirement home in the Ocean City, MD area were informed of the planned visit. The Ghosts and Goblins of Halloween did not deter Rich and Linda Adams, Rocco D’Amico, Dan and Sandy Ferro, Joe and Linda (O’Hara) Frigiola, John Kane, Dennis and Carolyn Lambrecht, and Leo (see photo above) and Karen Michaluk from gathering to spend a day with Al and his wife Bernadette.

Ground (l to r): Bernadette and Linda O; Seated: Dan and Sandy, Al, Joe; Standing: John, Leo and Karen, Rich and Linda, Dennis and Carolyn, Rocco

Al has not been in good health for a number of years. Along with diabetes he has a number of other ailments which we saw at our 50th reunion. Fortunately he has the care of his wonderful wife, Bernadette. Al has chosen not to accept the potential of advanced radiation and chemo, having watched his first wife and mother go through that process to no avail, 25th years ago. He is without pain now, though he tends to sleep a lot. His visitors were amazed at his good spirits throughout the days we spent with him. You might say: “the same old Al.”

On Halloween, Bernadette provided us with a fabulous buffet at their home in Bishopville. A somewhat raucous crowd apparently scared away all the neighborhood trick or treaters. In place of the usual Hum bonfire and parade we had an awards ceremony. Going back to the old Class Poll in Corinthian 1, plaques were presented to the three winners of four awards from that poll.

D’Amico presenting “Best Dressed” to Ferro Lambrecht presenting “Most Naïve” to Michaluk

Kane presenting “Most Bashful” to Michaluk Adams presenting “Most Noted Seeker of Recognition” to Al

GIRARD COLLEGE

THE CLASS OF 1960

WINNER OF THE CLASS POLL

FOR MOST

NOTED SEEKER OF RECOGNITION

ALBERT BULLOCK

PRESENTED BY HIS LOVING CLASSMATES

OCTOBER 31, 2010

Now you other Class Poll winners, don’t get your hopes up that you’re about to get your framed certificate. It we get a chance to mock you sometime, maybe we’ll throw one in, in your honor. And that goes for you too Charlie, another double winner: Most Typical Hummer, and Class Wolf.

One of the highlights of the evening was the appearance of Mr. Bashful, Leo Michaluk, with his wife Karen. Leo has been off the radar for a few years, but he showed up to cheer his old friend. Leo had triple bypass surgery this year, but has recovered, and is back to work. He teaches Accounting at Camden College, and still works in software development. A warning: keep your grandkids away from the trombone. Given the recent experiences of our concert band’s first, second, and third trombones, Al, Leo, and Frank Rieg, we are coming to the conclusion that the trombone is bad for you.

The day after Halloween those who could remain had a nice breakfast in an Ocean City hotel, and then took Al and Bernadette to lunch at the Country Club near their home.

We should note that a number of classmates who were unable to attend the events, gave Al a call in the preceding week. Bernadette reports that each and every call made Al’s day. So if you’re so inclined please feel free to give Al a call at 410-352-9971.

1. Hum Woes

We reprint a piece from the Philadelphia Inquirer’s website on the Hum’s dire fiscal situation. In our next Scratch Sheet Pete Shoemaker will contribute his assessment of the current problems.

PhillyDeals: Investment woes spur cuts at Girard College

By Joseph N. DiStefano

Girard College's enrollment fell to 532 in September, from a peak of 752 in the fall of 2007. Only 24 first graders are being accepted at the boarding school. Above, students participating in a cooking contest in 2007.

Three years of falling real estate prices, and three bad bets placed with a giant Wall Street bank, have pushed Philadelphia's city-run Girard Estate to make drastic cuts at Girard College, the free boarding school set up by Philadelphia's richest citizen in his will about 180 years ago.

"We have downsized the school," Joseph S. Martz, executive director of the Board of City Trusts, which manages Girard's $500 million in investments, told me in his office Monday.

Girard College - founded through the will of business tycoon Stephen Girard in 1833, two years after his death - still has 50 students enrolled in this year's senior class but is "only taking 24 first graders," Martz said. Enrollment peaked at 752 in the fall of 2007 but fell to 532 in September. Martz says it will likely go below 400 during the next few years.

School staffing has dropped to 205, from a high of 269. There are still plenty of youngsters trying to get in, but officials have had to turn more away.

When he went to work managing the estate four years ago, Martz had hoped to diversify Girard's holdings. The estate owns office buildings in Philadelphia and upstate cities, as well as Schuylkill County hard-coal fields, where contractors also cut timber, run windmills, and hope to find gas.

The estate raised $88 million leasing its headquarters building, currently run by SSH Management L.L.C., and plowed that money into real estate funds and new buildings - including 3501 Island Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia, leased and occupied last week by Deutsche Bank AG's trucking affiliate, DB Schenker.

But when investment markets collapsed in the fall of 2008, the value of Girard's stock-and-bond portfolio fell from more than $400 million to about $250 million.

The trust will run Girard College this year on a $23 million budget. Building sales and economies have cut the estate's administrative expenses nearly in half, to $1.8 million, on Martz's watch. The estate's staff now totals 17, down from 72.

Girard has trimmed its debt from $181 million in the early 2000s to $155 million, and the trust has set aside millions more to pay back a $42 million mortgage on a property it owns, the Aramark tower, by its due date in 2012. Once the loan is paid down, "I think it's quite an attractive sale candidate," Martz told me.

But the bleeding has increased from a string of interest rate "swaps" the city placed with the giant Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. in connection with bonds the estate sold in 1999, 2001, and 2002. JPMorgan has defended its swaps as legitimate financial-planning tools.

The swaps were supposed to protect Girard from rising interest rates. Instead they have cost millions, based on what turned out to be an uneven trade:

The estate pledged to pay JPMorgan about 5 percent interest on the bonds, in exchange for floating-rate payments from the bank.

The bank's payments were set at prices based on the arcane Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Municipal Swap Index, which yielded about 5 percent when the swaps were made but is currently yielding less than 1 percent as U.S. interest rates remain at record lows.

Now, Girard has to pay the difference. Girard owes a cumulative $29 million on the swaps, more than one year's budget for Girard College. Girard has not had to pay out the cash; instead, it is using properties it owns as collateral. But that keeps the estate from being able to sell some of its buildings to raise more money.

Other Philadelphia institutions, from the school district to the Delaware River Port Authority, have lost tens of millions more from swaps, which enriched financial advisers while impoverishing taxpayers and toll payers. Bloomberg News estimated in a story last week that state and local governments had paid Wall Street banks a collective $4 billion in recent years for these interest-rate bets (swaps) gone wrong.

As Martz notes, the swaps could still end up making money for Girard - if interest rates recover before the swaps expire years from now. A real estate recovery would help a lot more. But it won't likely come soon enough for Girard College's next few entering classes. "We will stay smaller," pledges Martz, until the markets come back.

1. Gingers Anyone?

Fay Culver has been making Hum Gingers for the reunion committee meetings. She produced a slew for our Class Reunion Dinner. You’ll remember the gingers we got for Friday lunch dessert in the first eight or nine years in the Hum. Well Faye’s are just like those. Of course, in our later years, when the baking had been contracted out, we got a ginger that looked and tasted like a hockey puck. Faye’s are not like those. So here’s Faye’s recipe. Great for your New Year’s party!

Bob said you needed a copy of my recipe for the Girard Ginger Cookies.

I've emailed this recipe to several people who requested it at last May's 50th reunion.

Well here it is, at least the way I make them.

Girard Gingies / Hum Ginnies

In a large bowl thoroughly mix together:

1 1/2 sticks of butter (melted it measures about 3/4 of a cup)

1 cup of dark brown sugar (packed firmly into the cup)

1 bottle (12 oz.) of molasses ( I used Grandma's Robust)

When mixed together, stir in

3/4 cup of cold water (I add a little more later if it's impossible to mix)

Sift together and stir in

6 cups of flour (I used Gold Medal)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

(I use generous teaspoons of the spices since it's a spicy cookie recipe)

Dissolve and stir in

2 teaspoons of baking soda dissolved in 3 teaspoons of cold water

Chill dough for at least a couple of hours.

I've refrigerated it overnight. It's just easier to handle when it's cold.

The original recipe calls for this dough to be rolled out and cut with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter.

It is much too messy to do it that way and you have to use a lot more flour to prevent the dough from sticking.

I make 32 round balls of the dough and set them on parchment papered cookie sheets.

32 is what the original recipe indicates it would make.

You can certainly make a few less, that will make a little bigger cookie.

The secret here is to keep your hands moist with cold water as you make the balls and as you flatten them on to the cookie sheets. The water prevents sticking and you can easily flatten the ball between your hands to lay on the sheets. Remember to flatten the ball or the cookie won't be as big as expected.

Place them far apart on lightly greased cookie sheets or use the parchment paper, which I prefer to use.

Bake at 350 for 15 to 18 minutes (I usually take them out at the 15 minute mark)

I use two large cookie sheets at a time with 8 cookies on each sheet.

Half way through the baking time I switch the 2 sheets in the oven so they bake evenly.

Let them cool for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

And that's it!!!

I found this link on the Internet if you want to check it out. A little different, using lard.

1. Additions to the Class of ’60 Family

Well, we continue to go forth and propagate. Ed DiRomaldo, Art Garfein, and Pete Shoemaker inform us that each has been blessed with a new grandchild, in Pete’s case his first. Ed tells us that his new granddaughter will be the toughest kid on the block. Yo Ed, give her a break. Well in her case she’ll have to be with that new grandfather.

1. A Christmas Card from Girard

Master of the web, Rich Adams sent us a link to the new Hum greeting card for the season. Check out the following link to see it: Along with great photos of the Hum, the current kids and activities, you will find other links to more Girard material.

1. A Visit to Paul Jayne

Despite being afflicted with Parkinson’s, Paul was able to attend 3 of the reunion events with the aid of his twin sons. He led us down the aisle in his wheelchair to begin the chapel service, and also attended the Class Dinner, and luncheon. We hope to treat Paul to lunch toward the end of January somewhere near his home in Woodbury Heights, NJ. If you would like to join us for this event, let Rocco know, 301-229-0834.

1. Where’s that Memorabilia?

Well we’re a little behind. The large, enhanced photo of our class picture on the steps of Founders Hall has been sent out to everyone who requested it. If you never received it, or would like it let John Kane know, and he will send it to you. John’s at 215-343-5769. He has a few left.

We have had some delays in producing the various DVDs, CDs, and Corinthian II as a result of hardware and software problems. In the case of the hardware, some of Bob Culver’s duplicating equipment broke down. The software problems involved continued loss of Rocco’s brain cells. The hardware problems have been resolved, and those who requested the various CDs and DVDs should start receiving them in January. Progress on Corinthian II is being made, but we beg your patience.