Class of 1906
While I am pounding out these few notes on my typewriter, every bank in the United States is closed, by order of the President, making us all feel poorer than ever, and heaven knows we were poor enough before. Yet in spite of all that most of us are not sunk so low that we cannot spare- something for the College in her hour of great need. Our class agent for the Alumni Fund, Nat Leverone, is already hard at work, and soon every member of the class will have received a personal appeal from him for contributions. Even the smallest gift will be most welcome. Let us all get out and push and see if we cannot come through with—whatever the total amount may be—the largest number of subscribers to the fund from the class of 1906 that we have ever had.
Last December Charlie and Alma Milham took a most delightful 1800-mile motor trip through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama, and report a gorgeous time. On their way home they stopped in Roanoke Rapids, N. C., and looked up Joe Chase. Here is what Charlie has to say of it: "We waited for him in hisoffice. As you know, he's the big man forthe power company there—Carolina division of the Virginia Electric and PowerCompany. Doubtless, you've never seen aman look so surprised in all his life as Joedid when he came in and recognizedme and made Alma's acquaintance. Weswapped a lot of yarns and called eachother a lot of names and then Joe grabbedus up, willy-nilly, and took us off home tomeet Coralie. That was all right, after we'dmet Coralie, for she's A-i, I can tell you.Both Joe and his wife are looking fine, andthe pictures we saw enabled us to judgethat they have a splendid son and anequally worthwhile daughter. You canguess how we all liked the visit when Itell you that we intended to stop for halfan hour and stayed two hours and a half—and the Chases seemed to bear up underit well.
"By the way, did you know that Joe'shouse burned down a year ago last June,and that was why he and Coralie did notattend the 25th? Never mind, though;they've built themselves another, and it'sright comfortable and decidedly hospitable."
Kid Gleason is in Chicago once more. He says that after having tackled two or three hundred different jobs during the past few years, he has finally decided to go back to selling a variety of fruit juice, which if exposed to air develops a kick like an army mule and has all the flavor of champagne of the vintage of '48. His address is care of the United Vineyards Association, 160 East Illinois St.
Charlie Main's firm, Chas. T. Main, Inc., has been selected as engineers for the new Parcel Post Building, Boston, in association with Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch, & Abbott as architects. Recently Joe Story, who is in the office of the Supervising Architect, Treasury Department, Washington, called on Charlie in Boston in connection with this work. Charlie relays on to me the information that Joe's oldest daughter, Virginia, was married on March 1 to Byron Neilson, a graduate of the University of Utah, who is now located in Washington with the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. One of the other girlswhose name I have not yet learned from Joe—was married in August, 1931, to George L. Cole, and has a small boy. This lets Joe join Cary Smith and Bug Gardiner as members of the 1906 Grandfathers Club.
Bert Ramie still sends out silver notes from his cornet in the good old way he used to do. This winter he has organized a brass quartet, consisting of himself, his son Donald, aged thirteen, sousaphone; his son Robert, aged twelve, trombone, and another youngster of twelve, trumpet. They have been playing with great success in church and Y. M. C. A. circles in Concord throughout the winter, and have had lots of fun out of it. The Concord Monitor for February 9 carried a fine picture of the three boys, who are all pupils at the Rundlett Junior High School.
In the February issue of the MAGAZINE I gave you the low-down on Nat Leverone and his anti-superstition activities, and told you I hoped to have the sequel later. Well, here it is, as a blithe Chicago newspaper man tells it:
Nathaniel Leverone, president of theAutomatic Canteen Cos. of America, joinedthe Anti-Superstition Society, then crackedmirrors, petted black cats, and walkedunder ladders on Friday the 13th.
"We don't believe in this bad luckhooey," he explained.
Shortly afterward Mr. Leverone prepared to leave his office in the MerchandiseMart to attend a meeting of the AntiSuperstition Society at the Hotel Sherman.
About the time he reached for his hat,a bunch of bandits walked in and toldhim to "reach for the sky." The gun boysmade a neat haul, just how much Mr.Leverone declined to say but he admittedthey got a goodly sum.
Well, Mr. Leverone kept his appointment with the other anti-hooey gentlemenand right zestfully did they offer toasts tothe destruction of superstition. Four dayslater Mr. Leverone's office was again heldup. A larger sum was taken.
Undaunted Mr. Leverone stroked moreblack cats at cetera, and said:
"I consider it a piece of good fortunethat no one was shot during the holdups.That's something," he said, "but I mustadmit my wife sort of lost her enthusiasmfor the movement when I was robbed thesecond time."
Another letter from Charlie Milham starts off like this:
"The New York Herald Tribune of February 26 is before me, and I find in it anitem having to do with the DartmouthChapter of Phi Beta Kappa. If the newspaper is to be believed, 1906 seems to havemade a fairly complete sweep of the annual election—you as president, Art Meservey, vice-preside?it; Harold Rugg, treasurer; Ralph Beetle, auditor; Foster Guyer,one of the three trustees. Five out of sevenoffices! Have the 1906 members of Dartmouth's Phi Beta Kappa set up a steamroller political machine?
"I shall hope to find the answer in thenext (April) issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE. If the section devoted to alumni news failsto mention the remarkable accomplishment of the dominant party in the College'soldest Greek letter society, it could onlymean either that the Herald Tribune is asunreliable as are all newspapers or that thesecretary of the great and glorious class of1906 is holding out on his constituents—that he is, over-modestly, suppressing news.
"Come on, young man! Blazon it out inthe 1906 notes'. Tell all the class that if wedon't amount to much in other ways, atleast we amount to something in Phi BetaKappa! If you don't—well, for one thing, Ishall cease sending you possible newsitems."
Well, the Herald Tribune is right, I must confess, modesty or no modesty, but I am not going to give away any political secrets by telling you how we did it!
Does anyone know Toot Bourne's full address? I know he is in Chicago, but the postal authorities don't think that is enough.
Secretary, Hanover, N. H.
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