Best Wishes for Laura

The article by Scott Sabocheck with photography by Adam Fenster (“A Sprinter’s Marathon,” March-April) was simply outstanding. Scott captured perfectly the character and admirable behavior of Laura Lockard ’17 as she has battled and overcome illness. Adam’s photographs captured this young woman’s courage and determination as she refused to give in to unexpected bad news in her life, and has overcome obstacles with grace and humility. Learning about a young person with such bravery and determination on the UR campus made me proud to be a graduate of UR. I wish Laura all the best in her future career. She is a special young woman. Scott and Adam, likewise, have displayed great skill in accurately telling her story. This is one of the best pieces I have ever read in Review. Congratulations to all.

David Ragusa ’68, ’76W (MS)

Sarasota, Florida

Checking out the Data

I was pleased to read President Seligman’s article in the March-April issue, announcing the University’s new major data science thrust. It was particularly gratifying to learn that the project is to be supported, and quite fittingly so, by Wegmans, a pioneer among the nation’s grocery chains in the effective use of checkout-scanner technology.

The 10-digit universal product code that appears on all grocery products was first adopted in the 1960s, and during the next decade, grocery chains invested in the special registers needed to read the codes. The vast majority of chains were more than satisfied with increased speed through the checkout lines. They weren’t interested in the data from each transaction that the machines recorded on tape, so they merely reversed each tape and wrote over it when it was full.

Wegmans was one of the first three chains in the nation to realize that scanner data could be harnessed to manage their inventories, purchases, and marketing efforts. These leaders began to sell the sales data to manufacturers who could use it as a test market to evaluate new products. As manager of marketing information for a Fortune 500 food manufacturer, I was among those who purchased data for this purpose.

Eventually, all grocery chains improved the quality of the scanner data, selling the product sales information to intermediate processors who linked it into national samples, creating reports which allowed manufacturers to evaluate the performance of their products versus their competitors, sooner and more accurately, than with the manual audit and warehouse withdrawal systems that had existed previously.

Having Wegmans as an active supporter assures success for this great new U of R venture.

Ed Russell ’55

Charlottesville, Virginia

Tuning into WRUR

I’ve been following with interest the letters regarding UR’s radio station (March-April, January-February, and November-December). I did basketball play-by-play in the early ’60s for WRUR. We had some very talented players in those days—Mike Berger ’62, ’73M (PhD), the late Jim Sweet ’63, and Doug Pies ’60S come to mind. We covered most games at home and away. I’m not sure how many listeners we had, especially for games at the Palestra, but I certainly enjoyed the experience. Some “senior” WRUR listeners may remember this programming note.

James (JP) Morgan ’62

Portsmouth, Rhode Island

 

Spring Informal

We heard from several alumni who identified friends and classmates in the photo that kicked off Class Notes for the March-April issue.

Anders Henriksson ’71 and Ken McCasland ’73, ’76S (MBA) both spotted Paul Kreuzer ’72 as the man in a blue sweater in the center of the photo.

On the steps to the left is the late Jerry Bruckel ’71, according to his niece, Sarah Iler ’04, who says the identification was verified by her father, William Iler ’75. David Skonieczki ’71 agrees, writing that “sitting at the stairway is auburn-haired, short-sleeved, button-down-collared Jerry Bruckel ’71. Most likely, the blonde-haired coed standing on the stairway with Jerry is his then girlfriend, Carol Danielson ’71. Both were wonderful UR friends of mine.”

Chuck Johnson ’72 writes: “There is no question the young lady in the aqua blouse next to the tree is Diane Ross ’72.” She and Chuck’s senior year suitemate, Rick Basehore ’72, are approaching their 42nd anniversary of marriage, he notes.

And, finally, Kent Lerner ’73 wondered if the date was correct because he recalls that when he arrived in the fall of 1969, there were still large trees on the quad, not the immature one shown in front of Morey.

“While I do not recognize any of the people in the photo, I’m quite sure that this photo was taken some time after 1969. Possibly even after I graduated in 1973,” he writes.

“The last time I visited the U of R, in 2013, I was delighted to see large healthy trees in the quad. It made me feel really good. It also made me realize how many years have come and gone since I was there.”

Melissa Mead, University Archivist and the author of Review’s regular Ask the Archivist column, replies:

Many thanks to all for helping identify classmates in this photo and in others that have appeared in Review—putting names to faces is one of our greatest challenges, and so it’s enormously helpful to have those who were there willing to weigh in.

One thing that we do know, however, is that the film was developed in April 1969 because the slide has been clearly date-stamped.

Soon after the groundbreaking of the River Campus in 1927, “Elm Hill” was suggested as a name for the new campus because of the elms that dotted the former “Oak Hill” golf course.

Happily, that name was not chosen.

As early as 1960, Dutch elm disease began to affect the trees; the July 31, 1968, issue of Currents (a publication for staff and faculty)noted that seven of the original elms remained on the Eastman Quadrangle and that nine red oaks had been planted. The tree in the photo is likely one of those young oaks.

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Review welcomes letters and will print them as space permits. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity. Unsigned letters cannot be used. Send letters to Rochester Review, 22 Wallis Hall, P.O. Box 270044, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0044; rochrev@rochester.edu.