CLASS OF 1906

On January 1 Charlie Crane severed his connection with the Brattleboro (Vt.) DailyReformer, with which he has been associated for the last eight years, to become director of publicity for the National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier. Charlie is already at work in his new position, and expects soon to move his family to Montpelier. Charlie's new book, "Pendrifter," which we mentioned in the last issue of the MAGAZINE, will be reviewed in a later number.

Nothing that happened at our twenty-fifth reunion last June caused more excitement at our headquarters than the arrival of Fred Welch and his family after their record-breaking trip from Pullman, Wash. Nearly everyone in the class inspected Fred's marvelously efficient car, with its convertible seats, its pneumatic mattresses, its compact cupboards and cooking equipment, and Fred exhibited wondrous patience in answering all of the questions, wise and otherwise, with which he was plied by his curious classmates. At Christmas time I received a letter from Fred with a full account of his return trip, which is so interesting that I am going to print it here in full for the benefit of the rest of you. Dear Francis:

I thought perhaps you would be interested to know that the Welches arrived safely at their home hearth at 4 P.M., August 31, after traveling 13,350 miles and just about circling the old United States. Our luck held with us throughout and we still had the original Pullman air in all five tires when we got home. Had my first puncture about a month ago at 18,000 miles. The other four tires are still 0. K.

We completed our trip almost as planned, both as to time and place visited. However, we quickly found that we could not keep our schedule and accept the kind invitations extended to us by many of our classmates while at Hanover. Spent four days in and around Boston, a week in New York, and four days in Washington. Saw Chet Everett and Sam Bartlett in New York and Joe Chase at Roanoke Rapids, N. C. Joe was superintending the reconstruction of his house, destroyed by fire last spring. He and Mrs. Chase made us very welcome, and we were only sorry that our stop had to be limited to about an hour.

We went south as far as St. Augustine, Fla., and then turned west. No special adventures except that we arrived in Gulfport, Miss., too late to secure a cabin and were forced to break camp and start for New Orleans at 2 A.M. to avoid being completely .eaten alive by mosquitoes. From New Orleans we went through Shreveport and Dallas to Pecos, Texas, then north to the Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. We all voted these the scenic high point of the trip. A most wonderful six-hour trip going down 765 feet underground. It was almost impossible to believe that some of the formations which we saw were mere stone built up by the drip of water for untold ages. In contrast to the mighty pillars with an estimated age of fifty million years was some of the most delicate tracery, surpassing in line and form the greatest carvings of man. The caverns are beautifully lighted by electricity, and the lamps so hidden that nowhere do you get the direct glare to spoil the harmony of shades and shadows. If you ever come West be sure and mark this down as one thing you cannot afford to miss.

From Carlsbad we continued north and west through Socorro and Carrezozo, New Mexico, along the southern edge of the Painted Desert to Holbrook, Arizona, the petrified forest, and the Grand Canyon, another stupendous spectacle but altogether different from the Caverns in its effect on the observer. Then south to Phoenix and Yuma across some real desert with forests of giant cacti 80 to 40 feet in height. We here experienced the hottest weather in our whole trip—El Centro, Calif., with 119 degrees in the shade at 4 P.M.

Spent a week with my sisters in and around Los Angeles, then turned north through Bakersfield to the Yosemite Valley and the big trees. From here we cat across to the Carquinez Straits Bridge, missing all the large cities, and followed the Redwood Highway, a wonderful drive to Crescent City, crossed the Coast and Cascade Range to Grant's Pass and Crater Lake, Oregon, and then home via Bend, Oregon, and the Columbia River Highway. We were not particularly tired and were rather sorry to dismantle our kit and cease our happy nomadic existence for the prosaic round of our daily grind.

I listened in to the broadcast of the Dartmouth-Stanford game and was sadly torn between loyalty to Dartmouth and pride in Western football. I got quite a kick out of it when the announcer said, "We will now listen to Dartmouth singing her Alma Mater Song," and over the air came the strains of "Five Hundred Gallons."

I am busy as per usual this semester with 90 freshmen in two sections of plane surveying, 16 juniors in railways, 1$ seniors in water supply and seven in geodesy. Have been writing this off and on for two months. Hope it isn't too late by the time it reaches you.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Very truly yours,

Secretary, Hanover, N. H.