Thayer School News
To all external appearances this is just another of those beautiful autumn mornings which we all know so well in Hanover. The foliage is at its breath-taking height, and the stillness of the town is broken only by the notorious dog pack. On one hand I hear Mr. Nettles explaining the importance of subgrade drainage to an apparently eager class of highway engineers. On the other Dean Garran speaks of rivets and shears and things. But beneath this calm is the feeling of suppressed excitement. Tomorrow at this time all will be different. For tomorrow the Crusaders visit us, and along with them—and against them—thousands of week-end visitors. The biggest crowd in ten years is predicted. We are all looking forward to this Saturday, and to Monday too.
George Hawkins '32 spent a week or so in and about Hanover with his bride who, before September 19, was Margaret Lowe Robinson. We enjoyed very much having them both around.
On the same day Bob Johnson '31 in the neighboring town of Arlington took unto himself a wife. Her name was Thelma Ward, and we offer our congratulations along with our rebuke for not having come to Hanover. Perhaps tomorrow we shall see them.
About a month behind is Wayne Van Leer '31, whose marriage to Grace Wynona Beaman is scheduled for October 22 at Falls Church, Va. Miss Beaman has already been introduced to the charms of Hanover, but we hope Mrs. Van Leer will come here soon.
Late in the summer Merit White '31 dropped in on us with his wife from the remote location of California where he is on interesting soil conservation work for the government.
We seem to be a month behind the editors in offering our congratulations to J. P. Margeson Jr. '15, on his appointment as vice-president of Marshall Field and Company, but our congratulations are none the less sincere. For details I may refer you to the October issue of Fortune.
It's pretty late to tell you about the mighty interesting and enthusiastic letter which the Dean received last summer from Herb Mandeville '31, but it's good news even now. Herb was so determined to get into real, honest-to-gosh civil engineering that he didn't stop until he got to Roode-poort, Transvaal, South Africa. He's working there now on road and sewerage work, and is so completely thrilled with the activity and possibilities of the gold country that I'm afraid the prospects of bumping into him on Broadway in the near future are pretty poor. His is the kind of letter that makes this game of engineering seem pretty vital and worthwhile.
Another return from a member of our foreign delegation came in from Jerry Updyke '30, last summer from Manila, P. I. Last spring Jerry passed his examination for his professional license with the staggering total of 87% to take first place by a fairly wide margin. This record was so outstanding that it made the newspapers. Jerry's another whose letters inspire us.
Barney Tomlinson '36 came to Hanover a few weeks ago with some welcome addition to our growing collection of building materials, which are displayed in the museum which he revamped for us last year. He is doing real engineering design as well as construction and estimating in the firm of Tomlinson and Hawley in Bridge port, Conn.
Ed Elsenhans of the same class is working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Gordon Spencer is with Adams and Ruxton, contractors of Springfield, Mass., and Deane Lamson is with the National Meter Company. Incidentally, this class has started the circular letter method of spreading their news among themselves, this going the rounds monthly, I believe. It seems like a fine way to keep contacts which are pleasant to them.
Don Phinney '34 entertained me royally on his Quabbin Reservoir job last June, which I started to visit with the International Conference from Harvard. But Don rescued me and showed me a great deal more than I could have seen in the large group. He has been honored with a promotion to senior engineering aid, and is working in the soil laboratory and in the field on sampling operations. He's doing a fine job, and his experiences are mighty interesting. The residents of Massachusetts might be justified in complaining about the amount of gas he burned up showing me the job.
