Class of 1906
William Halsey Edgerton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Halsey C. Edgerton, arrived in Hanover on the afternoon of March 29. Besides Ned French, president of the Boston Alumni Association, there were present from the class of 1906 at the annual dinner in Boston on March 7, Gott Brooks, Randall Cooke, Tom Connell, Lymie Frazier, Charlie Main, Harold Patten, Cliff Perry, and Ralph Thompson. At the class luncheon at the Parker House on April 3, Chapin, Cooke, Denison, Frazier, Main, and Powers turned up. The next luncheon will be held at the same place on May 3.
All that is a good showing, but our class really did itself proud at the annual dinner of the New York Alumni Association on March 13, winning the Class of 1879 Cup, offered annually as a prize to the class with the greatest percentage of its members present. Thurlow Gordon worked hard to get the crowd out, rounding up besides himself Tom Barker, T. Brown, Brack Hazen, Bill McGrail, Ned Redman, Elon Pratt, Charlie Milham, Lonnie Russ, and Ned Bullard (Medical School '06). Elon Pratt was a member of the committee in charge of the banquet.
Nineteen hundred and six has always been prominent in the affairs of the New York Dartmouth Club. At present three of them are serving on Selective Process committees: T. Brown, Mike Edgerton, and Elon Pratt. Elon, I learn, gets in on lots of dinners. He recently had his picture published along with a lot of other distinguished gentlemen at the luncheon of the New York Advertising Club, and on April 8 he was a guest at the testimonial dinner given by the Antique Collectors' League of America in honor of Homer Eaton Keyes and Charles Messer Stow. I imagine most of our class would like to have been present on that occasion to pay our respects to Homer Eaton teacher, friend, counselor of so many of our number.
Rev. Elwood Erickson, who has been occupying the pulpit of a friend in northern New Jersey for the past six months, has recently gone to Los Angeles, where he will be located for some months to come. On his way out he stopped off in Chicago for a visit with Nat Leverone, and in Reno, Nevada, to see his old roommate, Clyde Souter, now the leading attorney of that interesting city and one of the outstanding political figures of his state. Erickson's new address is 1725 North Whittey Ave., Hollywood, Calif., care of Mrs. L. P. Libby.
Nat Leverone has sent me oil a long letter from Bug Gardiner, so interesting that I wish the MAGAZINE allowed me space enough to print it all. Here are some of the newsiest parts: Of Tourtellotte, whom he visited recently at Victoria, B. C., he writes: "Turtle possesses in a high degreethat characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon raceso dear to the heart of Clothespins Richardson as exemplified in his English 16classes, namely the grit and power of assimilation. He has the grit to stick to acareer with the Canadian National S. S.Co., in the face of a discouraging lack ofappreciation of his grand qualities bysuperiors who are too far away to take realinterest in him, and probably too worriedabout their own futures to care what happens to someone else. I am sure he willeventually be rewarded if he doesn't dieduring the process. He also has assimilatedenough of the. Canadian customs and mannerisms to be taken by the natives as oneof their own, and so far as I can see hasnever been thought of as a dam yankee."
And of Harry Higman, who lives, as does Bug, in Seattle, Wash.:
"For years and years he was a tower ofstrength in the Seattle Boy Scout work inan active way. I am thankful to him thatmy boy Bud was in his troop while he wasits leader. Now that he is out of that hestill leads this same group of boys in theiroutdoor pursuits and is just as active physically as the boys are. The boys fairly worship him, and he is a great power for inspiring and instilling the best that isAmerican in the makeup of youth at a timewhen it is most needed. He is a wonderfulskier himself, and every week-end this pastwinter he has taken a group of his boys,including Bud, to Snoqualmie Pass summit for skiing trips, with the result thatsome of them are rated among the bestthere are among the juniors in these parts.His own son Chet and his nephew, BobHigman, are so clamed good that it iswonderful to watch them perform. Bud responds enthusiastically to all this and Ihave hopes that when he gets to Hanoverhe will get the best that the winter sportshave to offer to boys that can really ski.They are all counting on going up to Mt.Rainier in April to see the national championships, at which Durrance and otherDartmouth stars are expected to displaytheir skill.
"Harry has perhaps as comprehensive aknowledge, not only of the geography ofthis country by actual travel over its peaksand valleys and other rough spots, but ofthe trees and shrubs and ferns and flowersand other flora, as any nature-lover there isout here. I heard him out-Latin HaroldRugg one time in a discussion ori ferns,which was so far over my head that Iwondered where I had been spending mytime. He knows all the birds by name andnote and their habits. Each spring he takesthe boys around to the bird haunts duringtheir migrating period and has them justas much interested as he."
And of himself, he writes:
"Our business frequently threatens to remove me from the northwest coast to otherparts of the world, but for the past sevenyears has not done so and instead has keptme steadily and interestingly occupied outof but near enough to Seattle to maintainmy residence there. Last year we put in abusy season repairing the breakwater atthe mouth of the Columbia river. We havejust been awarded another contract fordoing more of the same, and this yearpromises to keep me similarly occupied. Iput in my time in a triangular series ofmotor trips between Seattle, Portland, andAstoria, pausing about long enough tolight and take off again. If I were only aSir Malcolm Campbell or an Amelia Earhart I might find time to enjoy life between jumps. When Edith and I find timeto be together it is usually when she accompanies me on such buggy rides.
"I am living in hopes of being at the30th reunion and will be there if possible.However it is too far in the future to makeany plans for it now, as my doings for nextyear are on the knees of the gods, if theyare on anyone's knees. One thing that offerscomplications is that our boy Bud graduates from the high school at that time, anda parent hates to miss such an occasion forhis son's sake if not for his own. Quite naturally I am proud of this big kid of ours.He is just past 16 and is as tall, but notnearly as wide and thick, as his dad, anddoesn't look as though he ever would be.He has a brilliant mind along scientificlines and has me flatly floored when heasks me what I would do to correct certainerratic performances in radio tubes or howairplane stabilizers should be redesigned toavoid various shortcomings. I ean beat himat golf only just barely often enough tomaintain a grudging respect in him for myphysical prowess, but otherwise he has mehung, drawn, and quartered in outdoorsports. We are counting on his enteringDartmouth in the fall of '36, and so far hehas kept on the Honor Roll, which I tellhim he has got to do to enter.
"All is well in our family and there havebeen no breaks in the last 20 years, notsince my father and Edith's passed on. Mymother and sister are living with us andare very well. Our oldest daughter, Sue, ismarried to a young fellow who is rapidlymaking a name for himself in the construction world. They live at the Bonneville Dam near Portland and we see themoften. They have two fine kids, and I amgradually becoming reconciled to the titleof grandpa. I have a hard time being myage though. Our younger daughter,Dorothy, graduated from the University ofWashington last June and is now workingin our Seattle office. She should have beena boy, as she wants to be a contractor. Edithis fine and growing more lovely every day.Life is full and happy for her. My work isvaried and interesting and keeps me young,and my associates are most agreeable, so allis well with me."
Secretary, Hanover, N. H.
