1926 in the Hills: The Glorious Fifth

Though the smoke of battle has hardly cleared away, may we repeat that our Fifth Reunion constituted the greatest gang of good guys and gals ever gotten together at a gleeful gathering to guard against gloom. In numbers, some seventy-two '26ers from all parts of the country wandered back to Hanover's plain on Friday, June 12. California met Maine, Illinois met Massachusetts, and all assembled in Gile Hall to renew acquaintances and toast the college and the class of '26.

After six days of rain, Friday showed Hanover in all its summer glory and it was not long before the gay Spanish toreadors of 1926 with twelve beautiful senoritas, costumed as such, could be seen on all parts of the campus. For those who could not be there we can only say they missed one of the finest gatherings of the class and a congenial fellowship which they alone can appreciate.

The reunion opened with a bang. 1921 and 1926 held a da,nce in Robinson Hall on Friday night. The green and white polo costumes of 1921, the red and black of 1926, presented an array of color second only to the good time which lasted far into the wee small hours. One could not believe unless present that Tiny Marsans flitted around the dance floor as nimbly as any one of the graceful and lithe figures of our reunion girls. Interwoven with the official functions, we can only intimate the exhuberance and joy of getting back to Hanover, the thrill of handclasps after five years away, upon meeting such men as Doug Everett, Ritchie Smith, Sid Hayward, Herb Darling, Bill Viall, Jim Oberlander, Johnnie Manser and a host of others.

Saturday dawned as beautiful a day as its predecessor and at 9:30 in the morning some forty members of the class lined up on the campus to oppose 1928 in their traditional baseball game. With Art Forrest in the pitcher's box and Bruce Eaken behind the bat, '26 set out to defend their reunion championship, which was won two years ago against the class of 1924. Doug Everett covered first base, Tom Farwell played third, while Charlie Bishop, Joe Batchelder, Fred Hurd, Clarence McDavitt, Ted Infield, Chuck Webster and Don Steele played second base, short stop and other positions especially provided for the occasion. 1928 took the lead for the simple reason that up to this point the 1926 interference had been rather ragged but in the third inning, our interference, headed by Tiny Marsans, preceded the runner and it became impossible to put him out at any base. With such a system, 1926 forged ahead and scored at least two thousand runs. At the close of the contest, 1928 claimed an extra half run and the question of victory was not decided until the 1926 class meeting, at which time it was unanimously carried that we had won the ball game. In this contest, 1926 used only forty-three players, while 1928 had six men present, but were ably assisted by several youthful members of the class of 1921.

The Class then strolled over to the Natural Science Building where the class meeting was held. Movies taken during our undergraduate days were shown and we can assure you that scenes of senior days, carnival, Old Timers' Day and Commencement are not hard to look at after five years out. The comments from the audience officially proved that the class of 1926 has not lost any of its supreme ability for making witticisms. Doug Everett then took charge of the meeting and presented Sid Hayward who, as secretary of the College, proposed that the class adopt a new constitution. The primary purpose of this new form is to substitute for the four class officers one man to act as Secretary-Chairman of the class for the next five years, with an executive committee of five men to assist him, the idea being to gain greater efficiency by centralizing the duties in one man. The new constitution was moved and unanimously carried and Hal Marshall was appointed chairman of a nominating committee. The following slate was recommended and it was unanimously carried.

Secretary-Chairman—J. Branton Wallace.

Executive Committee—Clarence McDavitt, Treasurer; Doug Everett, Ritchie Smith, Tiny Marsans, Dean Chamberlain, George Scott.

Doug Everett then retired in favor of Brant and received a hearty vote of appreciation from the class for his work as president during the past five years.

It was then moved and carried that a resolution be framed in memory of those members of our class who have departed this life and can no longer be with us. Ritchie Smith was appointed to draw the resolution, setting forth our expression of grief, and it was accepted that word be sent to the parents of our deceased classmates, regretting their and our loss, yet with the knowledge that in spirit these '26 men are with us and that our Dartmouth feeling for them will never die.

Here follows the list of deceased members of the class: William W. Coppock, Robert W. Emmes, Leslie Waggener, Jr., Charles K. Abbe, Edwin S. Brooks, Paul G. Plummer, Harold C. Sibley, Frederic B. Snyder.

The cafeteria held few charms in our undergraduate days but on Saturday noon it held a class luncheon and its atmosphere was very different. Amidst Wah-Hoo-Wahs and individual repartee, the class partook of chicken pates and thoroughly enjoyed their first meal together.

Our space is limited so we will pass on to official events without reminding you to too great an extent of those in-between times when bull sessions could be found in most every room of Gile Hall. But in our enthusiasm for seeing the members of our class, we have almost forgotten that at 6:30 Saturday night the committee arranged a feed for the girls of 1926 at Mrs. Walkers'. With Barbara Hayward officiating, they (and we mean by "they" a great gang of good gals) had their own class dinner and later attended "Berkeley Square," a production presented by The Players in Webster Hall. Meanwhile, the reuning toreadors held their banquet and we are here to state that it was a good party. A delicious meal was followed by Tiny Marsans presiding. Adhering to the vote of the class, the baseball trophy was presented to the class of 1926 by the class of 1926. Special songs by Fat Howland and Wally Wallenhaupt, made up an evening not to be forgotten. Ritchie Smith was awarded a handsome silver cup for traveling the greatest distance to reunion, coming from Berkeley, California. Obbie Barker from Egypt was disqualified for professionalism. Deacon Hurd made a biblical speech on a bibulous subject, showing extensive" research of materials and his conclusions were a revelation. For further details on this point, speak personally to any member of the class who attended the Fifth. At the close of the banquet, President Hopkins dropped in to speak a few informal words to us, and emphasized his conviction that Dartmouth and other such institutions represented an entity in American life whose future is assured. We might mention in passing that Herb Darling, Dan Drury and Hal Marshall, posing as the Unholy Three, branded most of the members with an "x" on the forehead in order to make us feel that we were still Freshmen in search of a picture fight.

And so far into the night until 11:30 when, in conjunction with the class of 1921, we strolled, more or less, into The Nugget to enjoy an old-time gripping, hair-raising, melodrama, with tinpan piano, peanut barrage and special solos by Ritchie Smith during breaks in the film. We will leave our good time at this function to your imagination. 80-Bo Williams and Ran Cox, incidentally, should be awarded the senior fence for not having slept in three days, while Bill Viall was runner-up, with Wally Wallenhaupt and Tom McWilliams tied for fourth.

A third beautiful day of reunion settled upon Hanover but the usual peace and calm of 1926 activities were transferred to Locke Lyme Cabins where everything from gingerale to a 440-yard dash was indulged in. An inter-office baseball game started the activities and as much as we hate to admit it, the bond salesmen, headed by Charlie Bishop, Bill Hughes and Fred Hurd, apparently carried off the honors. Tiny Marsans, who incidentally has increased to 285 lbs., won the mechanical weight reducer and then proceeded to take charge of the official field day. Nine relays, consisting of four men each, were organized and various types of races were run off. Dean Chamberlain's relay team won the balloon relay race which only goes to show that the good old New Hampshire air is still there, Dean still being a Hanover resident. Paul Allen made a tremendous bid for victory and with the help of a lighted cigarette actually burst his balloon. After the main party had come to a close, Herb Darling, Dan Drury, Ritchie Smith and Bill Hughes spied a white rabbit in the middle of the athletic field. Tiny offered a $lO prize for the first one to catch it. The $lO is still in Tiny's pocket and the white rabbit remains untouched by human hands. Meanwhile, Sid Hayward was busy filling many feet of film with a record of the day's activities which we hope everyone will some time enjoy. Strange as it may seem, Bob Edgar and Bill Farnsworth were missing from this party but we have not to date found out the reason for their absence. We, however, have our suspicions. Jud Bellaire, hailing from lowa, demonstrated his athletic ability and copped the individual trophy by beating out Dan Drury, Clarence McDavitt, and Herb Redman. Chuck Elliott, Charlie Abbott, Dick Mann and Bruce Eaken deserve special mention, traveling around the bases without the least complaint after it was all over. They were too winded to talk. Charlie McKenna, local Hanoverite, and proprietor of The Trading Post, ran the 440-yard dash and would have needed only a 220-yard handicap to have won the race, while Warren Crosby, who had traveled nearly two thousand miles to reunion, agreed that all competitors had done well and that he enjoyed it immensely from the side-lines.

After the athletic events we adjourned to the dining hall of Camp Pinnacle where Mrs. Thayer served us a fine luncheon. Again Tiny Marsans presided and presented the various prizes which were won during the 1926 field day. A very good looking bronze statue of a runner was presented to Jud Bellaire for gaining the greatest number of individual points. Jud made a short speech saying that he had always aspired to win a trophy and that he was very glad to have been able to accomplish this at his fifth reunion. Everyone who attended the Sunday outing received a prize of some kind, even those who did not run including Julius Katzieff, a visiting artist of note, and all agreed that the affair had been a huge success. After dinner the shady spots were dotted with the black and red uniforms of groups taking it easy under the trees. Many adjourned to the lake and had a swim before returning to Hanover.

There are certain reasons why men cannot return to reunion and probably the anticipation of being married within a few days after reunion might be one of the best. But in spite of this fact, Bob Carr and his best man, G. P. Chipman, found time to join the party even though it was for a short time.

We have been rather selfish in our enthusiasm for the class up to this point but we are to state that the girls of 1926 are O. K. If you ever wish beauty, personality and charm tied up in a group of girls, call on the Class of 1926 to produce. We might exaggerate our own story of them so we will let the girls tell what kind of a time they had. Here it is.

"The boys had made all the arrangements in advance so all that we had to do was to get into our costumes and everything else was perfect. On Sunday we were whisked away high in the hills near Hanover Center to the swellest place imaginable, a grand, old farmhouse with a wonderful view and fields full of wild flowers. Barbara Hayward was the most charming hostess, being everywhere at once and seeing to it that we all had a good time. It seemed as though the place had been planned just for us. There was a marvellous swimming hole, just the kind you would like, and the sun was just right for one of those adorable June sun baths; you know, the kind that gives you a good start on your summer coat of tan. We think the boys knew just what would please us most.

"The luncheon afterwards was the best thing ever. Can you imagine old-fashioned red-checked tablecloth and napkins in this little old-fashioned farmhouse? The boys will probably think this is the Ladies Home Journal shopping page but there are some things we just have to rave about and this is one of them. The luncheon suited our appetites to a T after our swim—delicious creamed chicken and all the fixings and heaps of strawberry shortcake. We had eaten so much that after lunch all we could do was to bask in that glorious mountain air and sunshine. Later, when ambition again returned, we played crazy games for prizes which the boys had provided. Bertha Darling and Myrtle Tomlinson were tied for first in the baseball throw, while Barbara Hayward, Lee Littlefield, Sally Drury and Myrtle Tomlinson were the best relay team. Bertha Darling was first in the hop, skip and jump and, incidentally, was very much the life of the party.

"After all that exercise and fun we quieted down and cooled off by playing bridge under the trees. Helen McKenna and Thelma Gleason were the winners. The high scores for the whole day were Helen McKenna and Myrtle Tomlinson who were given some adorable prizes. All this has been about our Sunday picnic but there were ever so many wonderful things about the reunion that we could rave on and on forever. The dinner at Mrs. Walker's and 'Berkeley Square' in Webster Hall are things which we will all remember. We think the committee planned everything perfectly and we regret that we can only show our appreciation to the Class of 1926 by saying that they are the finest lot of men that we have ever seen. If we have anything to say about it, we will certainly be there at the tenth."

So you can see that the girls had a good time and we only regret that Charlie Bishop's wife, Edith, could not have been there, too. She made a great many of the arrangements for the girls' events and worked as diligently as any member of the committee could to provide a good time.

We do not have a complete list of all those who returned at our fingertips but among others who attended the reunion were: Tom Floyd Jones, KenKorten, Warner Thompson, Fred Gurney and Lee Powers. Art Smith found time to come all the way from Milwaukee while Monk Bourne made the trip from Cleveland. Paul Leussler wended his way across the continent from Nebraska, while Norry Williamson, Warren Fellingham, Ken Korten and Carlie Blunt represented Chicago.

Don MacKay, now a practitioner in the legal profession, left no doubts as to his ability to pick a beautiful wife-to-be. Tom Mac Williams and Wally Wollenhaupt ably assisted two members of the Class of 1925 to join in our reunion. Bleek Williams, now a banker from Hackensack, New Jersey, and proponent of the bald men's club, was an enthusiastic member of the party. Ed Cole, and we compliment his matrimonial choice, is responsible for part of this write-up but if it displeases you it should not be held against Ed. He is now making good as a director of dramatics at Yale while Bud Banfield is also doing dramatic work at Mercersberg Academy.

Lest we have failed to mention any of the girls present, may we give a special tribute to the following: Barbara Hayward Helen McKenna Bertha Darling Myrtle Tomlinson Sally Drary Thelma Gleason Marian Marshall Mona Forrest Winifred Burrell Alice Cole Paula Korten Lee Littlefield Mrs. John Manser Mrs. Jim Oberlander

They're 1926 girls—we like them lots and we hope that they will all come back to the tenth. So, without further ado, we will sign off. We think the boys had a wonderful time and if we failed to mention others than Tommy Littlefield, Skipper Smith, Walt Rankin, S. P. Weston, Ed Gulbenkian, Bob Stopford, Pren Carnell, Tony Gleason, Morey Quint, and Tom Farwell, it is only because we have had to write this report before the smoke of our fifth reunion cleared away. We hope everyone had a wonderful time. Ask the man who was there and make up your mind to be at the tenth in 1936.