Class of 1902
Whether you are present or not, whether or not you are overwhelmed with present-day cares and worries, there isn't a man of you who doesn't have a chance to go back in thought for a few minutes to recall events of the past years. How have we as a group been influenced by the time spent in college? What are the things which coming to us during that time have stayed throughout the years? And, because it is not wise for men of any age to spend too much time in retrospect, what have we learned in college and after that is to help carry on this world of ours?
Of course we aren't expected to be philosophical all the time, and from generalizing we may at any minute touch a thread which leads to personalities, such as"I wonder how A is getting along," and
"What a career B has had." And if time permits soon we are reviewing the group with whom once we were so closely associated. It seems strange to me that not infrequently the list of F's in my chapel pew comes back to me, and it is impossible to resist the thoughts of those men which are sure to follow.
To what am I leading? Some belated news of individuals which should have been on the records earlier, such as the enthusiastic editorials in the Bogalusa, La., papers when Dan Cushing was nominated for mayor, "and certain to be elected." By the way, they refer to him as Colonel Cushing. Belated congratulations are due, but I am not sure from the editorials whether we are to offer them to Dan, or to the city of Bogalusa.
Gus Parry writes that he is still in the ring, or in his own words, more poetical than mine, "still sending up rockets." Gus always has a contribution, and this time records a protest about the "New Deal" spelling of Dartmouth. An extra H after the T he says puts the speller in the class of the fellow Johnny Roe used to tell about, the one who spelled ALAS with two L's and two S's. The "New Deal" part of it comes in because it increases the use of ink and paper 11 2/9%. (The computations were made by the statistician, A. N. Parry, Jr.)
Albert W. Wells sent in a new business address, 10 South LaSalle St., Chicago. He is with Paul H. Davis Co., investments.
Our member of the board of trustees Was elected an alumni member of Phi Beta Kappa by the Dartmouth chapter, as you probably noticed in the press announcements. I like that very much, only I hope they didn't ask Art to pass an exam or something. Also it might be a good idea, if the Phi Beta Kappa society is going to admit that they missed a fellow occasionally and are willing to correct such mistakes, to take the next step and admit a few errors of commission.
General Stone may be thirty-five years older than he was when we graduated, but you'll never guess it from his letters. In the first place, his handwriting is just about as illegible as ever, and again he is still an optimist, God bless him for that. But that handwriting may lose its charm, as he says he has been learning to play the typewriter.
Ben Riley had things to say about certain political matters (too numerous to mention), and I won't go into that here. In spite of everything Ben says "Look forme in Hanover," and that's the right idea.
A short letter from Charlie Goddard merits consideration, in spite of its brevity. It's an art to express much in small space, and after I learn that some of you feel that in this column I have been doing just the opposite, the more do I appreciate the terse, meaty epistle.
Well, unless I have overlooked something, the slate is clean. All my news is on the record, and if there are gaps I am sorry, but after all a class secretary cannot be omnipresent. Yet before this particular summer pause for recuperation there are three things more to say. First of all, I think the class has a special debt to pay to John Gilman and his reunion committee (to any reunion committee for that matter, but I happen to be where I know more about this committee just now). They have been working to make our 35th a success. May the rest of us do our part.
Secondly, while it isn't a secretary's job to mention such things as the Alumni Fund, I can't make out that he should consider it not a matter of class business. So from the depths of my secretarial chair I have to say that I know that the campaign is still alive, and that it is the hope of the class as a whole that Fitzgerald may receive as near a 100% reply as physical conditions will permit. All of us would like to see more than 67% of the class represented.
And thirdly, I hope you will realize that much as some of you would like a formal class report, after all the class column in the ALUMNI MAGAZINE actually has given much more than a five-year report would give. But in addition there is the weightier argument that by giving the MAGAZINE a whole class subscription we are giving the best kind of support to what is admitted by college men generally to be one of the best alumni publications in the country. As a class I think we are far better off to continue as long as we can the general support of a project which is significant to all classes and all lovers of Dartmouth.
Secretary, 130 Woodridge Place, Leonia, N. J. Here's to our Thirty-fifth.
