CLASS OF 1868
It is generally expected that the decennial reunion will attract most attention, unless it be the twenty fifth. The class of '68, however, would register its most successful reunion as that of the forty-fifth anniversary gathering, when twelve of. the twenty-six living members met in Hanover and spent two days recounting old times and visiting familiar and unfamiliar places, seeing, however, few familiar faces outside of their own numbers, as all of the faculty of 1864 to '68 were gone and not one of the Board of Trustees of that time is now living.
The tullowing is a list of those present: Cassius S. Campbell, Derry Village, N. H. ; Curtis B. Childs, Henniker, N. H. ; Charles F. Emerson, Hanover, N. H. ; Hiram M. George, Dorchester, Mass. ; John K. Lord, Hanover, N. H. ; Jesse K. Macmurphy, Derry Village, N. H. ; Ray - mond Noyes, Haverhill, Mass. ; Gilman L. Parker, Reading, Mass. ; Walter S. Parker, Reading, Mass. ; Elmer Small, Belfast, Me. ; George B. Vanderpoel, Chatham, N. J. ; Colin R. Wise, Passaic, N. J.
In addition to the above list there were present members of classmates' families as follows: Mrs. Childs, Mrs. Condit (Prof. Lord's sister), Mrs. George, Mrs. Macmurphy and her friend, Miss Stiles, Arthur H. Lord; Miss Noyes, Mrs. Vanderpoel and son, Ambrose Ely, and they were most welcome and added much to the enjoyment of the occasion.
A few of the class came to Hanover on Saturday, but the majority came on Monday, and were housed in Richardson Hall with the veterans of 1863.
The first formal gathering of the class and families was on Tuesday noon at Prof. J. K. Lord's, where Professor and Mrs. Lord gave a delicious lunch on their piazza, where a couple of hours were spent in recalling college days; here Professor Lord was at his best in entertaining the company, with "merry jests and humorous stories gleaned from his personal recollections and experiences. The collation was enlivened by accounts of pranks, scrapes, and similar diverting incidents of college life related by several members of the class, Noyes and George being the chief narrators."
After a short stroll about the village, the company reassembled at the home of the secretary, where Mrs. Emerson and her two daughters served iced tea and shrub with simple refreshments; on the front piazza a group picture was taken of the class, including the ladies and children and one grandchild, Emerson Day. Later the members of the class gathered on the steps of the Tuck Building for a group of the twelve members present. Half-tones of these two groups have been made, and they will appear in the report of the class secretary soon to be issued.
In the evening of Tuesday, the 24th, the class gathered in College Hall for a banquet, at which eleven sat down at the table, Vanderpoel having left town in the late afternoon. As the class secretary had general charge of the arrangements, he will allow another member of the class to give an account of the banquet:
"There were eleven members at the banquet, which was an evening of quiet enjoyment, when after the general varied conversation that usually accompanies the satisfaction of appetite, our thoughts were taken back to college days by the discussion of the preliminary report made by our secretary; it was decided to add an account of the reunion to the report and also some group pictures for the final issue.
"The discussion of the report brought back college associations and led to an estimate of the former methods and teachers, in which the expression of opinion was mixed with experience and anecdote. This, with discussion of subjects that came in by suggestion, carried us along till midnight, when we separated.
"The reunion was the pleasantest the class has held, being made more agreeable by tie presence of the wives and children of some members of the class. It was a cause of much regret that we were unable to secure a room large enough for a banquet at which we could be accompanied by the ladies."
Secretary, Prof. Charles F. Emerson, Hanover, N. H.
