CLASS OF 1906

In the last number of the MAGAZINE I chronicled Charlie Crane's change of occupation on January 1 from journalism to publicity director of the National Life Insurance Company at Montpelier, Vt. The January issue of the National Messenger contains a fine portrait of Charlie and a full-page Biography, which I am entering in the class files. A recent letter which I received from him concerning his new book, "Pendrifter," contains this paragraph of general interest:

"It may seem odd that on the wings of this little book—or in the wake of it—I have sailed into the life insurance business. I am up here on the fifth floor of this fine marble palace at Montpelier, making a noise like work, but there is all the time the siren call of literature—and if it wasn't for my wife and three children, I should run from this temple of finance and mortality tables back to my first love, the newspaper."

Two of Charlie's children are now in high school, and the family is remaining in Brattleboro until the end of the school year, when they expect to move to Montpelier.

The Excavating Engineer for January contains a picture of the present stage of the construction work on the Cle Elum Dam near Ronald, Wash., and informs us that "Winston Brothers Company of Minneapolis are handling this job with W. H. Gardiner of their Seattle office in charge." This work is being done for the Reclamation Bureau of the United States government, and the sum of $1,200,000 is to be spent on the work during the fiscal year ending June 80, 1932.

It will interest the class to know further concerning Bug that he has recently become a grandfather by the advent on this earth of William James Mikkelson, son of Susan Gardiner Mikkelson. This doubles the membership in the 1906 Grandfathers' Club, allowing Cary Smith only half the votes for the immediate future.

The January number of The Earth Mover contains two articles of interest to members of our class. The first is entitled "Wonderful Colorado River and Its Control," and deals with the construction of the gigantic Hoover Dam for the purpose of stabilizing the flow of the Colorado River and making possible its use for power and a water supply. This is the largest undertaking of its kind yet attempted and the estimated cost to the Federal Government that its building inaugurates is $165,000,000. The second article, "Amazing Creation of Boulder City, Nevada," concerns the building of an ultramodern city to accommodate three thousand people in an almost inaccessible desert. Here live the workers on the Hoover Dam, under conditions that are most comfortable, in spite of the fact that the thermometer at the dam site registered a maximum of 128 degrees last summer. Our particular interest in these two articles rests in the fact that Gus Ayers is the chief engineer for the Six Companies, Inc., constructors of the project.

Both these engineering items came to me from Frank Eastman in Harrisburg. If the rest of you 1906 men were as interested in sending your secretary items for this column as Frank is, I should not approach each month wondering how in thunder I can fill my space.

Secretary, Hanover, N. H.