Class of 1903
"Bucky" Lewers over in Little Old New York issued, shall we say, a formidable summons to 1903 men to appear before the dean of the college on January 18. The summons was in due form, in fact "Bucky" used all the Latin he could recall. Translated, it promised that there would be no celery salad on the menu. Winfield Rice, Bowles French, Arthur Cohen, Ray Brown, Harold Hess, and "Bucky" the inimitable graced the occasion. My correspondent goes on to say, "All of the '03 men looked prosperous and as healthy as increased weightwould permit." Now I ask you fellows, can you beat a New Yorker in these times? "None of them had anything particulaito report except possibly that Rice hadquit playing tennis and French had justcome back from several weeks in Bermuda,when we all thought he had been so busy.
"The dinner program was a great success, with 'Hoppie' in a most remarkablespeech of introduction and Laycoch withall his usual vigor and effectiveness."
Cleland Richardson Neal of New 'ioik City, "Demosthenes" of our college days, died on January 17, 1934, of cerebra hemorrhage. Interment was at his birthplace, Amesbury, Mass. Dr. Otis P. Mudge attended the services as a classmate.
Prof. Harold H. Scudder of New Hampshire University recently delivered a historical address before the Manchester Institute of Manchester, N. H., on prominent men in the Granite State of the Daniel Webster era. Harold is head of the department of English at the University, and as a former journalist is delving back into the political past.
The Craven Laycock dinner given by the Boston Alumni Association on January 20 was attended by the following 1903 men: Dr. "Hamlin Bennett, Ernest L. Brown, M. R. Brown, E. K. Burbeck, Victor M. Cutter, Rev. Charles T. Hall, Arthur E. Hanlon, Preston W. Howard, Edward H. Kenerson, Arthur K. Smith, Orvil W. Smith, and Alexander L. Stockwell. The afternoon tea was a decided success, and the memory of the dinner program will linger long with those in attendance.
In the January number I told the story of a 1903 dinner party out in sunny California and stated that Herb Follett and wife issued the invitations. The source of my information, and I certainly considered it reliable, called the host and one of his guests all kinds of names in his estimation of their life's efforts and then with becoming modesty said, "As for myself, Istand by and applaud." The following letter from Herb Follett only serves to make a tempest in the teapot, but I publish it with the hope that it may serve to add another chapter at a later date. "To mysurprise I read in the 1903 Notes that I gavea dinner party. The facts are that the dinner party was given by Wynne Mattesonhimself, and Frank and I attended withour wives, and had a very delightful evening. Wynne is so modest that while he wasbragging about his classmates in '03, heforgot to put in anything concerning himself—even forgetting to indicate that hewas the host. As they would say in lettersto Time, 'Please give this as much publicityas you gave the original story.'—H. C.Follett."
Advice: Throw another party, Herb, and let us see what Wynne will say about that. A recent letter from "Tute" Worthen out in Los Angeles, Calif., says in closing, "This is probably the longest letter I haveever written." I wish I could reproduce the letter. It will be in the class report instead. "Tute" is another of our classmates who has made good with a capital G. In part he says, "Since 1912 I have been with theLos Angeles City Park Department as construction superintendent. In 1930 we hada million dollars as relief fund for thePark Department, which called for furnishing work for about 3,000 men. That seemedquite a chore, and I thought that that number of constantly changing men was thelimit. This was followed by the CountyRelief Work, changed to RFC, to CWA,which resulted in our getting from 5,000to 10,000 men per day working from fourto sixteen days per month, with an averagehandling of 25,000 different men permonth. This is all there has been to do, andhas resulted in my neglecting all outsideinterests, friends, and family. Also it isimpossible to contact this number of peopleand their needs without taking on some oftheir load."
Secretary, 198 Humphrey St., Marblehead, Mass
