Class of 1933
If you had examined the last ALUMNI MAGAZINE as carefully as we did, you would have discovered '33 men popping up in various unaccustomed nooks and crannies.
Bill Alden appeared on page 20 in the correspondence column as the author of a spirited outburst on the subject "Foreign Study." .... Cal White, on page 35, as a much-traveled member of the "Farthest North" Dartmouth Club of Alaska Fuller Ripley, also on page 35, as the new president of the Cheshire County (N. H.) Dartmouth Alumni Association Mansfield Sprague, as vice president of the Bridgeport, Conn., alumni PeteGrace, as retiring, and Clark Schmidt, as incoming president of the St. Louis alumni group Max Waldsmith as historian of the last named group.
Also, thanks to the enterprising editors of the whimsically named "Squeaks from the Golden Gate" (official publication of the Dartmouth Alumni of Northern California), we are enabled to pass on to you the information that J. E. Ziemen is not living at 2438 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii.
Is IT ART?
The February issue of Esquire was a notable one, not only because three Dartmouth men were among the contributors, but also, mirabile dictu, because one of the three was a member of that great, silent class of 1933.
A full page (36, to be exact) is given over to the hitherto unknown work of one Frederic A. Birmingham, who has American art critics all agog over his daring portrayals of life in the great metropolis.
The full power of his work is best exemplified in his "Hippopotamus in the96th Street Subway Station."
Of himself, Mr. Birmingham says (p. 22): "I am twenty-four years old, a NewYorker. I went to prep at Trinity School,New York, and at Williston Academy,Easthampton, Mass. I graduated from Dartmouth in 1933, and it was there that mytalent for inferior drawings was discoveredby lecturing professors. At present, myspare time (24 hours a day) is occupiedwith writing, music, and tennis. Mountainclimbing is my favorite hobby, and my ambition, seriously, is to manufacture a newkind, of ski wax."
And, while we are on the subject of ski wax, Cliff Johnson has a cabin 85 miles from. Nashua that he has built and would like to sell space in to winter sports en thusiasts. Cliff, beside building this cabin and working for the Nashua Gummed and Coated Paper Cos., has had the misfortune to "throw his sa-cro-ili-ac out of joint," and had been in bed for ten days when he wrote us.
NUPTIAL NOTES
Mr. and Mrs. Irving Southworth of Andover, Mass., have announced the engagement of their daughter, Virginia, to Mr.Richard Gerstell of Harrisburg, Pa. Miss Southworth attended Abbott Academy, Baldwin School, and Vassar, whence she graduated with the class of 1934.
Mr. Gerstell, one gathers, is connected with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Charlie Clark writes from 945 No. Elmwood Ave., Oak Park, 111.: . . . . "Theonly member of the class whom I seeregularly is Bill Winn, -who lives on thenorth side of Chicago. He has been marriedfor several years and is working for theGoodrich Rubber Co.
"I have beeyi working for a year for theA. B. Dick Co. (mimeograph mfg.) here inChicago, and I am now a salesman.
"My main purpose in writing this letteris to let you know that I will shortly beleaving the ranks of the free. I blew everycent I had for an engagement ring lastmonth and proposed on Christmas eve. Hername is Genevieve Morris, an Oak Parkgirl whom I've known since kindergartenand first kissed in fifth grade. She is agraduate of Illinois. The wedding date isnot set, so don't look for an announcementbefore 7iext fall.
"I'm plugging away on a master's degreeat Northwestern's night school, and itkeeps me quite busy. All I have to do nowis write a thesis."
From Bob Guggenheim, who besides being a busy family man is doing a little refining and smelting on the side in Salt Lake City:
"On several occasions since graduationand while in Mexico I had contemplateddropping you a line, but somehow I nevergot around to do so. / had a bit of news foryou and for the magazine last spring whilepassing through Chicago en route to SaltLake City, having seen Sholly, Jack Robinson, Johnnie Coleman, Bob Critchell, andone or two other drunks, but as the information given me then is not news now Iwon't pass it on.
"As you may or may not know, I wasdown in Mexico since graduation untilMay last, when I was transferred to thisoffice. Needless to say that as much as I enjoyed Mexico I like the States better andam entirely satisfied with my transfer. Theonly pleasant thing about Mexico was theweekly bullfights. I was living up to myreputation as being a close second for classtoreador and became quite an 'aficionado'(meaning bullfight connoisseur) and didnot miss one bullfight during my entirestay in Mexico. If I thought the S. P. C. A.wouldn't get after me, I would be in favorof initiating the sport in the States, andbelieve you me the first place that I wouldpick would be Memorial Stadium.
"At present I am ore buyer (don't put anapostrophe in front of that either), and mytrips take me in peculiar places and Inaturally come in contact with the so-calleddesert rats of the mining industry.
"There are several Dartmouth lads hereof ancient origin. After each football gameduring the past season we got together andeither celebrated or drowned our sorrowsin the customary manner.
"Bob Turner passed through here in August and I understand from him that he istrading in horses (on the side of course) andseems to be quite prosperous. At that timehis official job was taking care of UmfteenCamp boys,—acting as guide on a trip toYellowstone Park. Needless to say that theHotel Utah, where they stayed for the evening, is still counting up the broken pieces.Dame Rumor has it that Bob is becomingdaily nearer the matrimonial stage, and,although not official, it may be that he ismarried at the present time.
From the loyal Kaplinger:
"For some months I have threatened towrite this letter, but until now I justcouldn't get myself in the proper mood.So much of my time is spent pounding thisbloody typewriter that when the work isdone I'm glad to set it aside and give it arest.
"By some strange act of fate I have become a semi-journalist along with myregular duties as classified manager of theSpringfield Shopping News. My work hasbrought me in contact with many phases ofjournalism, advertising, and merchandising.
"Although the Shopping News is distributed free to some 65,000 homes in andabout the retail center of Springfield, itsdevelopment and control closely parallelsthat of a daily newspaper with a paid circulation. Our classified section alone coversan average of twelve full columns and exceeds at all times the regular classified sections of all the local daily newspapers.
"In order to create further interest in ourpaper we have from time to time tried feature pages of one type or another. It hasbeen my duty to write and make up thesepages. To begin with I wrote a full page ofsports, which terminated after I had assailed practically all forms of local sportsmanagement. The heat was so terrific thatwe were threatened with libel suits from allsides. Thus in order to forego further disturbances the sport page was discontinuedand a building page substituted.
"With this new effort I managed to assail the F.H.A. administration enough toprovoke further libel threats, and consequently this feature had to be dropped.Possibly as a punishment for my crusadingI was handed the task of writing a 'Downtown with Suzanne' page of shop talk andgossip. This means one page of chatter,blah, and sissy talk each week. What a jobfor a so-called former sports commentator,but it pays good money and who can overlook that!
"Bill McCombs is living in town, and webrowse around together quite a bit. For aguy that has such a standing career inMontreal he's not doing so well in theseparts. Seems the gals in this here localaren't quite tough enough, or somethinglike that. At any rate we patronize a damnfine spaghetti joint once a week, and Bill isalways looking for a new date for the occasiou.Perhaps it's the spaghetti—whoknows?
"Bob Ley, the soldier of fortune, pickedup what few pennies he had earned sincehis graduation from college and with acouple of extra pairs of size fourteen shoesis combing the shores of sunny Florida inquest of excitement, females, and queerspecimens of human society. He has no object other than to see the world and life inthe raw. There's more truth than fictionin that last remark.
"So much for the local picture. I have avivid story of Art Connelly's rise to fameand fortune that I think might interest you,but that will come in my next correspondence.
ORIENTATION NOTE: We are still at C 31 Morris Hall, Soldiers Field Sta., Boston, Mass.
Secretary, Morris C 31 Soldiers Field Sta., Boston
