Class of 1921
Big news of the month among classmates was the announcement in metropolitan newspapers everywhere of the marriage of our own Werner Janssen, noted composer and orchestra conductor, and Ann Harding, Hollywood film actress. The ceremony took place in the Caxton Hall registrar's office in London at 4 in the afternoon, the 7-year-old daughter of the popular blond actress being among the few witnesses. Clive Brook, English actor, was best man. Part of the Associated Press release follows:
"Janssen, son of a New York restaurateur and guest conductor of the NewYork Philharmonic in 1935, arrived firstand alone in a taxicab. He wore fortnalmorning dress.
"The bride and her daughter, Jane, arrived in a big limousine. A police inspector helped Jane out, and they enteredswiftly by a side entrance.
"Shortly, she reappeared to pose for thephotographers. Sneezing often, she explained with a smile, 'I've got the flu.'
" 'Mum. is married,' little Jane announced solemnly. The exuberant Janssen kissed them both, and his bride observed, 'There's not going to be any longhoneymoon, as I open in 'Candida' tomorrow at 'Brighton.' "
Werner has held the headlines in musical circles for some time as conductor of (he New York Philharmonic-Symphony or- chestra. In undergraduate days, he modestly performed with a piano solo among 'he specialty acts of the Glee Club, and composed musical numbers for the Carnival shows.
Charlie Stickney again makes the column through removal from metropolitan New York to the Lehigh Valley area. He has signed up as statistical analyst with Allen E. Beers & Co. investment securities company, at 818 Hamilton St., Allentown, Pa. He is living at 202 Madison St. He writes that all '21ers are welcome at the new address and that insurance men in New York can still reach him by calling Rector 2-2688, an "open-end" wire to his office in Allentown.
Ort Hicks is getting wound up for the next annual Alumni Fund drive, and correspondence indicates some of the boys are already laying aside a few shekels against the high-pressure tactics that are about to take the spotlight.
Dick Hill has been heard from, and is at present with Sweet, Brent fc Co., security firm in Manchester, N. H. and is living at 14 Munroe St.
Which reminds us of another Manchester visitor, our one and only Fat Childs. He apparently made a special trip to Hanover last week in an effort to refute some of the "libelous, irrellevant, and unfounded" insinuations which appear in this column each time he attends (or does not attend) a football game. We promised to stick to facts in the future. Whereupon we were informed that the skiing is good at the camp which Fat and some other Manchester friends have completed at the foot of Mt. Cardigan near Bristol, N. H.— and that Bob Burroughs and wife called the preceding Saturday and finding no one in, left a "message in the snow." We didn't know just how to take that.
We saw Ray Kelsey a moment recently, strolling down past the Gay Nineties and the wharfs on Atlantic Ave., Boston. Neither of us asked what the other was doing in that section of town. Ray has left the London and Lancashire Insurance Co. which he represented for a number of years at Portland, and is now with the Hanover Fire with offices at 41 Milk St.
Bob Burroughs came in for a puff which took a whole page with picture in the January issue of the National Life Insurance Co. monthly organ. It seems Bob has made the honor roll for having sold oodles of insurance during last year, and for having turned in one application a week for 208 consecutive weeks. Good going.
Rog Wilde writes that Gene Leonard, Hal Bolles, George Harris, Paul Smith, Frank Cosgrove, Ky Frost, Fig Newcomb, Bill Perry, and Bob Elsasser have been added to the subscription list of the MAGAZINE since last month. Also, Gordon Merriam, located at the American Legation, Teheran, Iran, Persia, has subscribed with a check dated December 14. It reached Chicago on January 6.
Jack Hubbel is now located in Boston, residence 27 Larchwood Drive, Cambridge; office, Simmons Co., Watertown, Mass. He writes that "Red Kerlin journeyed Eastfrom San Francisco in the middle of January. He had a reunion with Skinny Mooreand Mac Johnson, the perennial bachelor,in New York, and with Roger Wilde andmyself in Chicago on his way back home."El Fisher is now at Miami, Fla., shaking a cold. El finished his second year thisfall as campaign manager for the Cleve-land Community Fund Drive, and againwent over the top with a total fund ofover $3,300,000. Now he has been namedgeneral chairman, which is the biggesthonor that a private citizen can receive."
Cliff Hart comes to life with a picture of Al Laffey posed in two-column, page 1 newspaper style, featuring his two daughters (?). He doesn't say what paper carried the story, but he does warn Batchelder and Ryder that Al is still in the running for the Dionne trophy. He also states that H. Lincoln Miller is practicing law, Chamber of Commerce Bldg., Jamaica, L. I.
Cliff likewise corrects the impression conveyed in last month's column that the New York class dinner was arranged "for" him—he states it was "by" him—and that the next bigger and better time has been postponed until April, when Rog Bird will perform. He also calls attention to the December issue of Life magazine, which used Ralph Steiner's grotesque photograph of Jimmy Durante as a frontispiece, giving Ralph a byline. Says Cliff: "Afteran eight-year absence—probably in thedarkroom—Ralph should come to the nextdinner."
Harry Chamberlaine finds time to come through with the following account of the class dinner in Chicago as one of the high- lights of Joe Lane's furniture show. Here's Harry's letter:
"The Chicago 1921 dinner during the Furniture Market was very peachy.
"Through the good offices of our Number 1 clubman and premier story teller, Bill Embree, the meeting took place in a private dining room at the Chicago Athletic Club. Thus there were no restrictions on story-telling.
"Joe Lane, who we seem to recall is in some kind of furniture business down South, tells a very excellent story. For the benefit of those who haven't seen him recently, Joe has kept his figure, about 90% of the hair he used to have (maybe that is giving him a little break), and his additional poise and maturity adds greatly to his story-telling ability.
"Johnnie Hasbrook, who is Chicago's very busiest young man, had to go to some other meeting and couldn't make ours.
"Jack Hubbell negotiated the loan of a batch of football films. Ort Hicks loaned the projector and sound equipment, and they both left it to Ned Price and me to run them off. Ned's help was principally moral. The consensus of comment seemed to be that it was hoped for the sake of Mrs. P. and Mrs. C. that we were better as lawyer and Good Housekeeper than as movie operators. We achieved the running of the third quarter of the Yale game both backward and upside down. With accompanying sound effects it was no mean feat. Rog Wilde reported on the condition of the treasury—l think. I promised Rog that's all I would say. He reminded me that he also writes things for publication in these notes.
"Dick Hart, Ken Thomas, and Rock Grundman lent their presence, helped deplete the Scotch, and added a number of new stories fresh from a stockyard bank, the coal business, and the mortgage bank business respectively.
"Red Kerlin missed the dinner by one day.
"Ike Chester missed the dinner, but he made the entertainment features. He went down to Rock Island earlier in the day to buy up another plant for his company, and the seller insisted on Ike looking the plant over before he bought it. He sold us on the idea that it was good business for him to do so, so he was welcomed to the fold.
"And that covers the part of the meeting that can be reported on.
"P.S. Jigger Hodgdon just dropped in the office. He was married last Saturday, January 30, to Miss Dora Hirshheimer of LaCrosse, Wis. That leaves Mac Johnson with one less on his side. Jigger will live in Cleveland at the Bolton Square Hotel, and is doing comptrollering for the Cleve- land Plain Dealer."
Tom Clevefand, notorious Wellesley realtor, writes a newsy letter which is worth reproducing. Here it is:
"I note in the January issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE that 'Chick' Stiles is bragging of the fact that he finally pulled himself together to attend the 'get-together' before the Harvard game last fall. I understand from 'Fat' Childs that the '21ers there thought that he was a '15 man until 'Dan' Ruggles introduced him to the boys.
"Yours truly attended the alumni dinner in Boston last month—'21ers there made up in spirits what they lacked in numbers. Those present were 'Don' Mix and 'Dick' Barnes down from Worcester, 'Fran' Cosgrove, Dr. Allen Brailey, and'Vance' Clarke.
"Betty and I were in Hanover Saturday and Sunday to look the Carnival situation over. I intended to call on you, but the 'hospitality was so ferocious,! as James P. Richardson once said, that we never did get to it. 'Ma' Smalley did her stuff and arranged quarters for us over at the White Farm in Norwich, and we had a grand time.
"Tom Norcross is at present in Nassausprawled on one of those coral beaches with a 'Tom Collins' in each fist, I'll bet."
Secretary, Dartmouth Press, Hanover, N. H.
