203 Poage Farm Road

Cincinnati, Ohio 45215

December1989

Christmas, and family news time again.

The Neergaards are still in Cincinnati, but no longer engaged in the making of soap. Dick took the opportunity of a departmental restructuring to retire in October, but is continuing his work on the processes of strategic planning on a consulting basis. The kids threw a surprise retirement party for Dick that was a roof raiser, right out of the Good Old Days, worth retiring several times for.

Our plans are eventually to relocate to New England, to Lenox in the Berkshires with a pied ˆ terre in Boston, but for the near future we will remain in Cincinnati where Lois' mother lives an energetic and contented life in a nearby retirement home. In the meantime, Lois is pleased to have found a good ice-skating teacher.

The year has been a gentle one for us. We managed to get away in the spring to the Berkshires, and in the fall had a leisurely trip visiting museums on the East Coast. Dick's business trips to Latin America for the first time included a several-week sojourn in Brazil, an exciting experience in a most fascinating country.

The kids, as is the wont of growed-up offspring, are having their lives gain shape, at least professionally (no response yet to our hints about progeny, other than Sue's presenting us with grand cats):

Sue's moved along in her head-hunting career, being since mid-year in charge of college recruiting for GE's jet engine division, enabling her now to hunt a higher class of head. She's located in Cincinnati, and much to our delight is continuing to live at home with us, at least for the time being (thus the grand cats).

Richard's still with P&G in Germany, now possessed of a Brand to manage (the Pumica fruit juice line), and feeling rather good about life. We're looking forward to his being with us this Christmas.

Arthur, also still with P&G doing packaging development, is on the countdown to starting a several year assignment in Brussels next spring, a prospect he is finding most pleasant to contemplate. In the meantime he busies himself weekends poking through wrecks under more fathoms of the surface of the Atlantic than I would care to go, weekends punctuated with interludes of skiing, water and snow.

Peter remains wired into the computer network at Carnegie Mellon University, where he collects (we discovered when we visited him last September) vast numbers of trophies for volleyball, lacrosse, tennis etc.

We expect fall next year to take a leisurely meander through Europe, visiting sons, looking up friends, steeping ourselves in the pleasantries we remember from there, and discovering new ones to remember.

Please accept our most cordial greetings and our best wishes for the new year.

Merry Christmas, and may the New Year live up to its exciting promise..................from all the

Neergaards