Class of 1902
Greetings to all. After the MAGAZINE vacation again we resume our round-thetable message, but now with an added interest, since now we are entering on that college year at the end of which we hope again to meet in person and satisfy ourselves in a way which monthly notes in a journal can hardly hope to accomplish. If you will review the past four years you will find many reasons why Percy Dorr is paying great attention to plans for our June meeting. Already the chairman of the reunion committee, John Gilman, is busy with details, and with your help we should have not only a large attendance, but one of our best reunions. Don't miss it.
As I write this, my thoughts turn to the two men whose passing occurred since my last letter, Allie Adams and Arthur Tuttle. Some of you perhaps have never realized the extent of their love and loyalty to the class. Only a few days before his death, Arthur Tuttle met John Gilman at a Rotary Club meeting, and their last words at parting were "See you at our Thirtyfifth." Both men had kept in touch with the class, and Allie Adams was a far better correspondent than most men. I have at least four letters, real letters, and all show a depth of feeling which perhaps all men have but few care to show.
Since Allie is gone, it will do no harm to quote a bit from a letter acknowledging the one I sent on behalf of the class at the time of the death of his son. "I have hadmany letters from everywhere, from oldfriends and many new ones, and they areso comforting to myself and family, butto receive a letter from the class secretary,the last one in the world who I wouldthink would take time off to write such afine letter, puts me in a position whichseems to lack words to get over to youwhat that letter means to us all."
Yes, old friends are best. I'd like to elaborate on this point, but I am afraid my space is too jealous. Anyway you might consider the proposition that those who have known you longest like you for what you are down deep inside, while among the more recent additions to your circle of friends there may be those attracted by mere externals, or on the other hand if your luck hasn't been so good, there are people who just wouldn't come near enough to get into a circle.
In his spring lecture tour Roy Hatch accomplished a great deal. In St. Louis he again achieved a notable triumph under conditions which would seem to most of us insurmountable. Let me quote:
"The recent meeting of the Department of Superintendence (N.E.A.) at St. Louis will linger long in memory as the occasion for one of the finest demonstrations of teaching ever witnessed by those privileged to be present.
"Roy Winthrop Hatch, with the platform of the great Auditorium as his classroom, and facing the kindly but critical observation of six thousand teachers from every state in the Union, gave a masterly demonstration of how to teach a controversial subject.
"A typical class of young Americans, intent on their topic, 'Supreme Court Decisions on New Deal Measures,' forgot audience and were indifferent to microphones, as they responded to the skilful leadership of Mr. Hatch."
And from another report (the SchoolExecutive):
"With the exception of President Stoddard, no individual scored a greatertriumph during the convention than Prof.Roy W. Hatch, of the State Teachers College, Montclair, N. J. In the opinion ofmany school men, this was the high lightof the convention from the practical standpoint. The vast majority of the audiencefelt with Rabbi Silver that the demonstration was a thrill of the rarest kind, and itis hoped that the 1937 convention will alsostage such a demonstration. No speechcould ever advocate academic freedommore strongly than did this part of theprogram."
But Roy did more than this. I won't attempt to list his speaking engagements; he visited George Graham in Birmingham and staged a different sort of demonstration. This time on the golf links. But whatever happened there is pale when you cast your eye over this clipping from a Birmingham paper:
"Dr. George S. Graham shot a hole-inone at the Birmingham, Country Club Friday, turning the trick on the ninth holeof the east course. Dr. Graham's ace wasa real feat in that he made the shot witha No. 5 iron in the face of a strong wind.The hole is about 160 yards."
When interviewed by our demon reporter, George said, "I knew I got off agood drive up over the rise, but I couldn'tsee down to the green. When I got up tomy caddy, he was quite excited, 'Boss, yoknow youah ball went in de hoi?' 'Goway with you. If that ball is in the cupI'll give you two bits.' The other caddiesfor the threesome asked if that went forthem, too, and I allowed it did, but I began to feel funny. So we all went over tothe green and there was that pill right inthe cup."
Of course you don't believe all of this, you probably got as far as accepting the hole-in-one, but you stopped when I told you I interviewed George in person. Yet that is also true. You see the annual fishing trip staged by Dan Hatch 'O6 drew from the class of 1902 such devotees as R. W. Hatch, G. S. Graham, and W. H. Murray. On the return from Lac Marois I met some of the party, and I can vouch for the fact that years had been forgotten, and not only had old days been relived but new days had been added.
The June number of the MAGAZINE reported the annual Secretaries Meeting, but it didn't tell you that on my way up I stopped in Amherst long enough to see Frank Moore. Actually I caught him right on the job, outdoors with a mathematics class getting first-hand data with a transit for some problem in trigonometry. Frank's spring vacation trip to the West Indies did a lot of good, even though, as the students said, he worked on navigation all the way down and back. However, the family got back all right, so Frank, or somebody, must have gotten the right answer.
I am not sure that I have covered all the items on my desk saved over from spring, but I know that once more I am just yearning for correspondence. It is too much to ask for a 100% response from the class, but in this our thirty-fifth year out of college it would be a great treat to us all if every one would do his bit to raise the percentage above last year.
Cheerio.
Secretary, 130 Woodridge PL, Leonia, N. J.
